KNOXVILLE, Iowa — The 34th Xtream powered by Medicacom 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank hits Knoxville Raceway Thursday for the first of three nights of action.
Two days before the event begins, 107 entries have been posted for the $152,000 event. The two preliminary night features pay $3,000 to the winner, while Saturday’s main event will pay $20,000 to win, plus $500 per lap led, making it possible for the race winner to earn as much as $35,000.
A who’s who of sprint car drivers, including Sammy Swindell, Danny Lasoski, Terry McCarl, Kerry Madsen, James McFadden and two-time and reigning winner Brian Brown have won the event that was run for the first time at the Marion County Fairgrounds in 1991.
When it was first run, the event was known as the Limited Sprint Nationals and it was run the weekend following the Knoxville Nationals.
The inaugural event drew 58 cars — the same number as the first Supermodified Nationals (now known as the Knoxville Nationals) in 1961. A crowd estimated at 4,000 saw Knoxville regular David Hesmer come on strong during the second half of the 25-lap event and earn the victory and a $2,500 payday.
The event moved to May in 1992 and was run in September in 1993 when it was known as the Knoxville 360 Nationals for the first time. Garry Lee Maier won in ’92 and ’93.
Still, the 360 Nationals didn’t find its permanent home on the schedule for more than a decade. It was run at the end of August and mid-July and enjoyed a five-year stint in mid-June before it took it’s now-permanent date on the weekend prior to the Knoxville Nationals in 2004.
Knoxville 360 Nationals Winners
1991 David Hesmer
1992 Garry Lee Maier
1993 Garry Lee Maier
1994 Lee Nelson
1995 Danny Lasoski
1996 Terry McCarl
1997 David Hesmer
1998 Gary Wright
1999 Dennis Moore Jr.
2000 Wayne Johnson
2001 Terry McCarl
2002 Jeff Swindell
2003 Dennis Moore Jr.
2004 Billy Alley
2005 Billy Alley
2006 Jesse Giannetto
2007 Shane Stewart
2008 Wayne Johnson
2009 Terry McCarl
2010 Shane Stewart
2011 Shane Stewart
2012 Shane Stewart
2013 Shane Stewart
2014 Brian Brown
2015 Terry McCarl
2016 Sammy Swindell
2017 Clint Garner
2018 Terry McCarl
2019 James McFadden
2020 Kerry Madsen
2021 Giovanni Scelzi
2022 Aaron Reutzel
2023 Brian Brown
