Mike Peter, Randy Smith & Others Return to Knoxville

Masters Classic in 2011

04-27-2011

Randy Smith of Mount Ayr, Iowa, and Mike Peters of Wichita, Kansas, winners of the 2008 and 2002 Knoxville Masters Classic winged 360-cubic-inch sprint car race for drivers age 50 and older, have already entered this year’s $2,000-to-win edition of the 22-lap ‘senior tour event’ on Friday, June 3.  The 19th annual Knoxville Masters Classic will again be held at the Knoxville Raceway during the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame (NSCHoF) induction weekend.  

 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.