NEWTON, Iowa — Doug Clark, who was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2016, has been named Honorary Starter for the Hy-Vee PERKS 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race June 15 at Iowa Speedway.
Clark flagged his first race at Knoxville Raceway in 1981, then in 1983 joined the Knoxville Raceway staff and became the head flagman until he retired in 2019, turning the flags over to his son Justin.Â
Prior to Knoxville Raceway, Clark flagged at Huset’s Speedway where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame there in 2012. He also flagged at Hartford Speedway in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota.Â
Laughingly, Clark expressed his desire to be considered for a possible starter role for one of the upcoming Iowa Speedway events to Lori Cutter with Champion Race Promotions. Cutter reached out to Hy-Vee officials, who turned to NASCAR West Coast representative Brooke Shuman.
It was an easy sell to Shuman who had witnessed Clark flag at many races at Knoxville Raceway as she is married to longtime USAC driver Casey Shuman, whose father Ron Shuman, won the Knoxville Nationals.
Jessica Cooley with Hy-Vee Sports Marketing reached out to Clark and offered the Honorary Starter position. Clark expressed his deep gratitude for the opportunity and accepted.
