‘I think we have a shot’ Area drivers poised to compete at Knoxville Nationals

By: 
Tom A. Savage, Contributing writer

The Knoxville Nationals are the Super Bowl of sprint car racing. Held annually on the second weekend of August, the event brings in more than 100 of the best sprint car drivers in the world.

This year’s event, scheduled for Aug. 11-14 with a total purse of $1,066,055, is the 60th annual and it gets the attention of high-dollar teams from California to New York to Australia.

Located just south of Des Moines, the annual event is obviously also a draw for several local drivers who spend much of their time on the Huset’s track.

The Nationals are sanctioned by the widely-recognized World of Outlaws (WoO), a touring series that features the sport’s top drivers. Since its formation in 1978, the Knoxville Nationals has pretty much gone to form with one of the WoO drivers winning the event.

Not that long ago, only a handful of drivers had a legitimate chance at winning the Nationals, which paid $150,000 to the 2019 winner, David Gravel. The 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But this year’s event seems a bit more wide open with 13 different drivers winning at various WoO events over the summer. Several times this summer, there have been many cars in contention for the win in the late stages.

It’s still a longshot, but there are a few drivers with Huset’s ties that could make some noise next month.

Justin Henderson of Tea is the current points leader at both Huset’s and Knoxville this season, and he’s been on a recent terror. He’s won twice at Knoxville and has four victories at Huset’s. 

The wins at Knoxville are an obvious confidence builder, but those were on regular Saturday night shows. The WoO wasn’t in town, and when that potent group makes its way to the Nationals next month, Henderson will have his hands full.

“I’d probably retire, on the spot,” he said when asked what it would be like to win it. “If none of the wrong things happen, I think we have a shot. We wouldn’t be able to withstand too many disadvantages over the weekend.”

With qualifying, a heat race and a feature race on the two qualifying nights (Wednesday and Thursday), there is an incredible amount of pressure to collect as many points as possible. Those points determine the starting positions for Saturday night’s championships.

Typically, the WoO cars are strong from the start, which puts them in great position on one of the two qualifying nights.

“They race from place-to-place-to-place, and their baseline is solid wherever they go. They’re learning things all year long, and that’s something we just can’t do. When it comes time for the money race, they are able to use the knowledge they have by being out on the road all year, whereas we’re only able to use our local knowledge,” Henderson said of the more-seasoned WoO drivers. “Local knowledge will only take you so far. The racer knowledge – as far as the driver is concerned, and the baseline knowledge – as far as the car is concerned, those two things add up when you’re talking about World of Outlaws guys. It doesn’t take long for that to become a big advantage.”

Six-time Huset’s Speedway champion Mark Dobmeier will also take a crack at the Nationals this year. The Grand Forks, N.D., native just recently returned to the sport after taking more than a year off due to injury. He suffered two crushed vertebrates in a crash last summer at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis.

He’s made the A feature event at the Nationals, a feat some consider a huge win by itself. Making the A feature at the Knoxville Nationals means you’re one of the top 24 cars in the world.

Despite the heavy odds against a non-WoO driver, Dobmeier said he’s headed to Knoxville with one goal in mind.

“If you don’t think it’s possible, you better not even go down there,” he said when asked if he could win it. “It’s possible, but there’s a huge number of competitive cars. The competitiveness with the Outlaws is as good as it’s ever been right now.”

Jack Dover is third in points at Huset’s in the 2021 season. He’s made the trek to Huset’s from his home in Springfield, Neb., for every race this year, and he too, will take a swing at the Nationals next month.

The 31-year old has competed in eight Nationals, but he’s never made the A feature event. Twice, however, he was the final transfer and missed the cut by just one car.

“Realistically, our goal is to make the A feature,” he said. “If you can make the A main at the Knoxville Nationals, that’s saying something. If we can make it, anything after that is a bonus. You gotta have a lot of luck on your side at Knoxville. Everything has to fall in line.”

Others with Huset’s ties scheduled to compete this year include father Terry McCarl, and his two sons, Austin and Carson. That trio joins brothers Greg, Kenny and Jerry Weld in 1963 and brothers Tasker, Sawyer and Roger Phillips in 2017 and 2018 as the only participants with three immediate family members competing in the same year.

Matt Juhl of Tea is also scheduled to compete. He is currently fourth in the Huset’s point standings and finished last year fourth overall in the Knoxville point standings. He’s also won twice at Knoxville during regular season shows.

Category:

The Brandon Valley Journal

 

The Brandon Valley Journal
1404 E. Cedar St.
Brandon, SD 57005
(605) 582-9999

Email Us

Facebook Twitter

Please Login for Premium Content