COX DESIGN SOUTHERN IOWA SPRINTWEEK OPENS THURSDAY
WITH KNOXVILLE ‘360’ NATIONALS PRESENTED BY VERMEER
by: Brian Stickel

KNOXVILLE, IA (July 30) - The sixth annual Cox Design Southern Iowa SprintWeek opens Thursday night with the 17th annual Knoxville ‘360’ Nationals, presented by Vermeer. The three-day event at Knoxville Raceway kicks off ten straight nights of non-winged and winged, 360- and 410-cubic-inch sprint car racing at the Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa and the legendary half-mile dirt track in Knoxville. Amongst the over 100 entries for the ‘360’ Nationals are past champions Garry Lee Maier of Kansas, Gary Wright of Texas, Wayne Johnson of Oklahoma, and Jesse Giannetto of Iowa. In addition, they will be challenged by veterans like A.J. “Skip” Jackson of New South Wales, Australia, Dale Blaney of Ohio, Jason Johnson of Louisiana, Jonathan Allard of California, Shane Stewart of Oklahoma, Ricky Logan of Arkansas, Brian Brown of Missouri, Travis Rilat of Texas, and Don Droud, Jr., of Nebraska.

Other top entrants for the American Sprint Car Series-sanctioned event are Danny Martin, Jr., of Florida, Lauren Densley of Victoria, Australia, Matt Linder of Georgia, Bryan Dobesh of South Dakota, Josh Higday of Iowa, Tim Norman of Indiana, Kaley Gharst of Illinois, Lee Grosz of North Dakota, Jan Howard of Misissippi, Randy Martin of Missouri, Tim Allison of Ohio, Fred Cade of Ontario, Canada, Chuck Hebing of New York, Chris Schmelzle of British Columbia, Canada, John Kearney of Kansas, Robby Vaughn of Washington, Joe Ramaker of Idaho, and Darren Stewart of Oklahoma. In addition, entries have been received from Natalie Sather of North Dakota, Darren Long of Ohio, T.J. Winegardner from Florida, Foster Landon of Oklahoma, Timmy Thrash of Mississippi, Chuck Swenson of South Dakota, Eric Baldaccini of Texas, Korey Weyant of Illinois, and Matt Moro of Iowa.

The 2007 Cox Design Southern Iowa SprintWeek point championship, which will crown “Mr. Sprint Car”, opens at Knoxville on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, August 2-3-4, with the 17th Annual Knoxville 360 Nationals for winged 360-cubic-inch sprint cars. The preliminary night features on Thursday and Friday will offer Southern Iowa SprintWeek points, as will the $10,000-to-win Saturday night 360 Knoxville Nationals finale. In addition, the regular Casey’s General Stores-sponsored 410 c.i. sprint car feature will award SprintWeek points and drivers may compete in both the 360 c.i. and 410 c.i. sprint car divisions on that Saturday night.

Following the first three nights, action resumes with the Sunday, August 5, $5,000-to-win Brodix Tournament of Champions at Knoxville Raceway. Eighteen sanctions will send 62 entrants to the ‘360’ invitational. The Brodix ToC has become ‘360’ sprint car racing’s international version of baseball’s All-Star game, where the best of the best from the United States, Canada and Australia are invited to compete against each other.

The focus of the “Mr. Sprint Car” title hunt will then head 26 miles east to the Southern Iowa Fairgrounds in Oskaloosa for the Monday, August 6, 12th annual Musco Lighting Front Row Challenge. The wildly successful event is promoted by Terry McCarl and Bill McCroskey of McTwo Promotions, and will pay $5,000 to the winner. However, it will pay $50,000-to-win if one of the front row drivers accepts the challenge to start at the back of the pack. On Tuesday, August 7, the same Osky track hosts the non-winged 410’s for the $30,000-to-win sixth annual Searsboro Telephone Ultimate Challenge. This innovative event is part of Emmett Hahn’s non-winged O’Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT circuit. McCarl and McCroskey advertise this Tuesday night show, as the ‘one night stand for 30 grand’.

The ten straight nights of racing is concluded back on the Marion County Fairgrounds with the 47th annual SuperClean Knoxville Nationals presented by Factory Value Parts, on August 8-11. The prestigious event will pay a record $150,000 to the winner of the finale on Saturday, which will again be seen live on the Speed Channel. The Wednesday and Thursday preliminary night features pay $12,000 to win each, while the Friday night Factory Value Parts World Challenge invitational for the best drivers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, pays $10,000 to win. Associate sponsors include NOS Energy Drink, Weld Racing, and Northland Oil-Lubricants.

Those seeking information on the sixth annual Cox Design Southern Iowa SprintWeek should contact Brian Stickel at Knoxville Raceway. Cox Design & Metal Fabrication, Inc. is an Iowa corporation formed in January of 1988 specializing in the design and fabrication of a variety of metals, and whose web-site address is www.cox-design.com . For ticket information about the August 6-7 events in Oskaloosa, fans are urged to call 515-957-0020. For info regarding the August 2-5 and August 8-11 events at Knoxville, fans can call 641-842-5431 or visit the track’s web site at www.knoxvilleraceway.com .