KNOXVILLE, Iowa — The Knoxville Nationals may not be happening this year, but the best sprint car drivers in the country will still converge on Knoxville Raceway this weekend for what will be the highest-paying event of the season.
Restrictions because of COVID-19 forced the cancelation of the Nationals and will limit the crowd for this weekend’s The One and Only that will be sanctioned by the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and highlighted by Saturday’s $50,000-to-win Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank.
While the Knoxville Nationals is run over three days, this event will feature three nights of racing with the field capped to 70 entries and all competitors hitting the track all three nights.
Headlining the field is Kyle Larson, who drives the Paul Silva-prepared No. 57 sprint car. Larson has already won a pair of World of Outlaws races and an All Star feature at Knoxville Raceway this season and won last week’s Ironman 55 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo.
Last year’s Knoxville Nationals winner David Gravel, who won at Knoxville in May, will wheel the familiar No. 41 Jason Johnson Racing entry, while reigning World of Outlaws champion and 2018 Knoxville Nationals winner Brad Sweet is entered in his familiar Kasey Kahne Racing/Mike Curb No. 49.
Ten-time Knoxville Nationals winner Donny Schatz and the Tony Stewart Racing team and last year’s Nationals runner-up Logan Schuchart, aboard the Shark Racing No. 1s, will also be among the front runners.
Other contenders for victory will be two-time Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions titlist Aaron Reutzel, who has won twice at Knoxville this year, Knoxville regular Brian Brown, Kerry Madsen, who won last weekend’s 360 Nationals, Joey Saldana, Parker Price-Miller, Sheldon Haudenschild, Shane Stewart, Rico Abreu, Sammy Swindell, Tim Shaffer and Daryn Pittman.
The Saturday night headliner, named for longtime Knoxville Raceway promoter Ralph Capitani, will be run for the ninth time. In the past, the event has been held on the Sunday night prior to the Knoxville Nationals. Gravel is the defending winner of the race.
While the Knoxville Nationals runs 50 laps, the Capitani Classic will be only 30 tours of the historic black-dirt half-mile at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
Drivers will accumulate points through the first two nights of racing, which each conclude with $10,000-to-win features, to help determine their starting positions on Saturday night.
The One and Only Entry List:
09 Matt Juhl
1a Jacob Allen
1s Logan Schuchart
2 Carson Macedo
2c Wayne Johnson
2k Kevin Ingle
2ks Brooke Tatnell
2m Kerry Madsen
3 Ayrton Gennetten
3p Sawyer Phillips
3z Brock Zearfoss
4Terry McCarl
5 Ian Madsen
5c Colby Copeland
6 Bill Rose
7 Tim Kaeding
7bc Tyler Courtney
7s Jason Sides
7taz Tasker Phillips
7x Justin Henderson
9 James McFadden
9w Ryan Giles
11 Zeb Wise
11k Kraig Kinser
12n Joey Saldana
13 Paul McMahan
14 Parker Price-Miller
14k Tori Knutson
15 Donny Schatz
15h Sam Hafertepe Jr.
17 Sheldon Haudenschild
17a Austin McCarl
17b Josh Baughman
17w Shane Golobic
18 Gio Scelzi
19 Shane Stewart
19p Paige Polyak
20 A.J. Moeller
21 Brian Brown
24 Rico Abreu
26 Cory Eliason
27 Tucker Klaasmeyer
27c Carson McCarl
28 Scott Bogucki
33m Mason Daniel
35 Zach Hampton
39 Sammy Swindell
39m Anthony Macri
41 David Gravel
41s Dominic Sceliz
42 Sye Lynch
44 Chris Martin
44s Trey Starks
R44 Jeff Swindell
48 Danny Dietrich
49 Brad Sweet
49j Josh Schneiderman
49x Tim Shaffer
55 Hunter Schuerenburg
56 Joe Simbro
56n Davey Heskin
57 Kyle Larson
64 Scotty Theil
70 Cale Thomas
71 Spencer Bayston
83 Daryn Pittman
83r Lynton Jeffrey
87 Aaron Reutzel
88 Kyle Offill
99 Skylar Gee