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Joining Smith and Peters on the official pre-entry list are Roland Johnson of Tampa, Florida; Dwight Snodgrass of Indianola, Iowa; Randy Droescher of Larchwood, Iowa; Bill Smith of Rushmore, Minnesota; David Brown of Marshall, Missouri; Earnest Jennings of Norman, Oklahoma; and Dale McCarty of Eldorado Springs, Missouri. In 2010, Johnson finished fourth and Snodgrass finished seventh, while Brown, Bill Smith, Jennings and Randy Smith finished 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th, respectively. Droescher finished 15th in 2008, while McCarty claimed 22nd in '09. This year, in addition to certifying that he or she is at least 50 years of age on June 3, the driver must certify that he or she hasn't competed in more than 10 winged 410 c.i. sprint car feature races in the past two years. Knoxville Raceway director of racing Ralph Capitani said today, "So far, I'd say former National Championship Racing Association (NCRA) champion Mike Peters has to be considered the early favorite this year as he has won it once and finished in the top five another three times. Of course, Randy Smith is another past Masters Classic winner and he is a former six-time '410' track champion here. Roland Johnson surprised many last year with his strong run in his son R.J.'s machine and former two-time '360' track champion Dwight Snodgrass looked good in his 'rookie' Masters effort. With May 15th approaching rapidly as the next 'early bird' pre-entry deadline, who knows who else is going to throw his or her hat in the ring in an attempt to win the 19th annual Knoxville Masters Classic?" Knoxville Raceway will host an open track practice for the Masters Classic competitors on Thursday, June 2, from 7 to 9 p.m. The $2,000-to-win, 22-lap Knoxville Masters Classic will take place on Friday, June 3, along with a regular $1,250-to-win, 15-lap feature show for the track's weekly Lucas Oil Championship Cup Series '360' competitors. Those Masters Classic competitors will be allowed to compete in both portions of the night's program, if they so desire. The 22nd NSCHoF induction banquet will be held on the afternoon of Saturday, June 4, in the Dyer-Hudson Hall on the Marion County Fairgrounds. Then, the Saturday night program will include the track's three winged sprint car divisions in Lucas Oil Championship Cup Series competition. The night's three feature races will include a $400-to-win, 12-lap main for the 305's, a $3,000-to-win, 20-lap main for the 410's, and a special $2,000-to-win, 15-lap main for the 360's. "There seems to be a renewed interest amongst the senior racers this year in our Masters Classic," said Capitani. "We've even heard from former World of Outlaws (WoO) regular Tim Gee that he is considering making the long tow from his home in Alberta, Canada, for the weekend." For information on the Friday-Saturday night races at the Knoxville Raceway, please visit the track's web site at www.knoxvilleraceway.com To purchase tickets to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame induction banquet, fans are urged to call Lori DeMoss at 1-800-874-4488 or e-mail her at ldemoss@sprintcarhof.com. Banquet tickets are just 25 dollars each, but need to be reserved in advance.
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