Winning at Knoxville Raceway was never a problem for Danny Lasoski. Winning the Knoxville Nationals was.
With 67 feature victories and seven track championships in his pocket entering Saturday night’s 38th annual Amoco Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway, Lasoski scored what may have been the most popular victory in the history of the prestigious event.
A ruckus crowd screamed, stomped, cheered and toasted their local hero following what may have been the greatest race in Nationals history.
Lasoski’s first Nationals triumph in 16 attempts came in Dennis Roth’s Beef Packer’s No. K3 Eagle, earning the team led by crew chief Jimmy Carr, $100,000.
“I’m ecstatic,” Lasoski said. “I’m at a total loss for words for the first time in my life. This is the greatest day of my life.”
Lasoski’s triumph was Sammy Swindell’s loss as Lasoski passed Swindell on the
final lap to claim the victory.
The pair raced side-by-side for virtually the entire race with Lasoski glued to the bottom
and Swindell pushing the cushion.
Close behind the lead duo throughout was cushion-running Jac Haudenschild.
Swindell led the first 10 laps before Lasoski hugged the rail to take over on lap 11. After the pair traded the lead several times, Lasoski held a slight lead when the pair entered lapped traffic on lap 22 or the 30-tour event. As the pair waged a dogfight for the lead, Haudenschild closed to within striking distance and appeared poised to steal the glory.
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