KNOXVILLE, Iowa — The 109-driver entry list for the 63rd edition of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals this week at Knoxville Raceway includes seven racers who have won the legendary event at least once.
The group is led by 11-time Nationals winner Donny Schatz, who will look to tie Steve Kinser with 12 victories in the prestigious event that will pay Saturday night’s winner a whopping $190,000 — the largest winner’s purse in sprint car racing this season.
Reigning Nationals victor Kyle Larson has won two of the past three Nationals main events and enters the event on a hot streak with three victories in his last three sprint car races.
World of Outlaws point leader David Gravel won the Nationals in 2019, while High Limit point leader Brad Sweet claimed his lone Nationals triumph the previous year.
Tim Shaffer (2010), Kraig Kinser (2005) and Sammy Swindell (1983) round up the previous winners participating in this year’s Nationals.
Four drivers in the field (Schatz, Sweet, Swindell, Pittman) have won the World of Outlaws championship.
• Sammy Swindell will be participating in his 48th Knoxville Nationals competition. That’s by far the most on the all-time list. Steve Kinser is second with 39 Nationals to his credit.
Kinser, however, has made the Nationals A-main more than any driver with 35 starts. Should Swindell (34) make the main event, he would tie Kinser in that category.
• Donny Schatz is the all-time lap leader in Knoxville Nationals action with 339 laps ahead of the field. Kinser has led 301 laps. Third on the list is Doug Wolfgang with 152 laps led.
• Brian Brown has been chasing a Knoxville Nationals victory for nearly 20 years. He’s been close on numerous occasions, including three consecutive (2012-2014) second-place finishes to Donny Schatz.
Brown, who got his 66th Knoxville Raceway victory earlier this summer, feels his team made progress during Sunday’s Capitani Classic and believes he can contend this week. Brown hits the track during Thursday’s preliminary program.
“In the A we tried some things that we’ve never done before, just trying to make some extra gains,” Brown said regarding the Capitani Classic. “Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t. That’s all part of racing, especially at this level. We now know what we need to do to improve and I’m confident in saying we are more than ready for Thursday.”
• Steve Kinser has 27 top-10 finishes in the Knoxville Nationals. Donny Schatz has accumulated 23 top-10 efforts.
• The Rookie of the Nationals was first presented in 1980, but the first award winner to win the Nationals was David Gravel, who was the top rookie in 2010 and won the race in 2019.
Kyle Larson also turned the trick, claiming rookie honors in 2012 and topping the race in 2021 and 2023.
Drivers in this year’s field who have claimed the rookie award but who have yet to win the Nationals are Daryn Pittman, Brady Bacon, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Danny Dietrich, Aaron Retuzel, Giovanni Scelzi, Tanner Thorson, Ayrton Gennetten, Buddy Kofoid and Chase Randall.
• The total purse for the four days of racing is $1,153,005, with $190,000 to win and $15,000 to start in Saturday’s main event.
Thursday and Friday night features each pay $12,000 to win, with $4,000 to the winner of Friday’s Hard Knox main event.
• Three sets of brothers are in the field — Tasker and Sawyer Phillips, Austin and Carson McCarl and Carson and Cole Macedo.
As well the only father and sons entered are the McCarl brothers and their Hall of Fame father Terry.