Cars on Tour National series kicks off its three-race Northern Swing with
this Friday night's event atop Iowa's ½-mile Knoxville Raceway dirt oval.
Friday's card atop the famed Knoxville Raceway marks the series first event
at the Marion County Fairgrounds aside from the track's annual 360
Nationals, which has been sanctioned by the American Sprint Car Series since
1996.
Friday's event opens the three-race Northern Swing for the O'Reilly ASCoT
National series, with ensuing events at Hartford, South Dakota's I-90
Speedway on Tuesday, June 24, and then Huron, South Dakota's Dakota State
Fair Speedway on Saturday, June 28.
Gary Wright, winner of the Knoxville 360 Nationals ten years ago in 1998,
enters Friday's card at Knoxville Raceway with a 38-point lead as he pursues
an unprecedented fifth consecutive ASCS National championship, which will
once again be worth $50,000.
Louisiana's Jason Johnson enters Friday's card as the only driver to capture
more than one ASCoT National feature win this season, as the "Ragin' Cajun"
climbed to second in points on the strength of his fourth series win of the
year on May 10.
While shut out of victory lane in ASCoT action thus far in 2008, Oklahoma
City native Wayne Johnson may enter Friday's event with the upper hand after
racing to victory lane at Knoxville Raceway over each of the past two
Saturday nights. Now calling Knoxville home, Johnson enters Friday's event
just a dozen points behind Jason Johnson and 50 markers off of "The Texan's"
lead pace.
Wright and the unrelated Johnson duo lead a loaded contingent of 14
full-time ASCoT National teams that are set for all three Northern Swing
events including past ASCS National champions Zach Chappell (Talala, OK),
Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) and Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS).
Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK), the series' 2006 Rookie of the Year, has
climbed to seventh in points with one victory to his credit, with
20-year-old Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) this year's leading Rookie of the
Year contender over a crop that includes Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK),
17-year-old Kathryne Minter (Bedford, TX) and Chris Tarrant (Greenville,
TX).
Jack Dover, the 18-year-old from Springfield, NE, that captured his first
ASCoT National win in Oklahoma City just over a month ago to crack the top
ten in points, is set for all three Northern Swing events along with
20-year-old Donnie Ray Crawford (Broken Arrow, OK) and the Broken Arrow, OK,
combination of Aaron Berryhill and Sean McClelland aboard the No. 97 entry.
Fargo, North Dakota's Natalie Sather, who has posted several recent strong
runs at Knoxville, kicks off her ASCS Midwest Region title defense with
Friday's card.
Ankeny, Iowa's Matt Moro leads the regular Knoxville contingent into the
event by holding a slim lead in track points over South Dakota's Gregg
Bakker, with other top track shoes including Brett Mather, Josh Higday and
Joe Beaver.
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