KNOXVILLE, Iowa – A list of 48 drivers boasting multiple World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series championships, Knoxville Raceway track titles and countless sprint car wins across the country will do battle on Friday night at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
Led by 10-time World of Outlaws sprint car champion Donny Schatz and three-time Knoxville Raceway 410ci track champion Brian Brown, the field assembled for the Outlaws’ #ReturnToRacing may be one of the best ever outside of the annual Knoxville Nationals.
“We’re so excited to return to racing, and especially at a place as welcoming and comfortable as Knoxville, in such unusual times,” said World of Outlaws Series Director Carlton Reimers. “The goal has never been to be the ‘first’ back to racing, but to work to be the ‘best.’ We hold ourselves and our teams to high standards. Everyone at Knoxville Raceway, Marion County and even at Governor Reynolds’ office, have been working so hard to make this event as safe as possible.
“With the best teams in the country loading up and the grader hitting the track, we can finally start to think about the racing.”
The World of Outlaws Invitational presented by McKay Group with Nationwide Insurance will mark the first race back for the World of Outlaws since the COVID-19 pandemic brought sports worldwide to a halt in mid-March.
With social distancing and phased reopening of states in effect, the field for the event was limited to 48 entries, selected by invitation and comprising much of the top 18 in both the World of Outlaws point standings and last year’s Knoxville Raceway 410 sprint car points.
Among those drivers in attendance will be all of the World of Outlaws’ full-time competitors, including defending series champion Brad Sweet, who won his first title last season over Donny Schatz in the closest points battle in the history of the tour.
“I never thought this would be how I’d be defending my 2019 World of Outlaws championship,” Sweet said. “Of course, after winning the 2018 Knoxville Nationals, I’m pretty excited to be returning to Knoxville to jump start the 2020 season.”
In addition to Sweet and Schatz, the other Outlaw mainstays entered for Friday night include Sheldon Haudenschild, Logan Schuchart, Daryn Pittman, Kraig Kinser, Carson Macedo, Jason Sides, David Gravel and Jacob Allen, along with Rookie of the Year contenders Mason Daniel and Wayne Johnson.
Defending home turf is a strong field of locals, including Brown, Terry and Austin McCarl, Justin Henderson, Lynton Jeffrey and Matt Juhl, while the Pennsylvania Posse will be represented by Danny Dietrich, Brent Marks, Brock Zearfoss, Lucas Wolfe and recent iRacing sensation Robbie Kendall.
The California sprint car hotbed has Rico Abreu, Gio and Dominic Scelzi, Cory Eliason and Shane Golobic in the lineup, with Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Stars Circuit of Champions titlist Aaron Reutzel and IRA Bumper to Bumper Outlaw Sprint Series champion Bill Balog flying the flags for their respective tours as well.
To add a little NASCAR flavor to the roster, both Kyle Larson and Kasey Kahne – driving for their eponymous teams – will also head to The Sprint Car Capital of the World on Friday.
The World of Outlaws Invitational at Knoxville can be viewed live on DIRTvision starting at 7 p.m. ET Friday night.
Knoxville Raceway World of Outlaws Invitational Entry List
Car No. – Driver – Hometown
1A – Jacob Allen – Hanover, Pa.
1S – Logan Schuchart – Hanover, Pa.
2 – Carson Macedo – Lemoore, Calif.
2C – Wayne Johnson – Tuttle, Okla.
2KS – Chad Boespflug – Hanford, Calif.
2M – Kerry Madsen – St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia
3P – Sawyer Phillips – Pleasantville, Iowa
3Z – Brock Zearfoss – Jonestown, Pa.
4 – Terry McCarl – Altoona, Iowa
5 – Brent Marks – Myerstown, Pa.
7 – Justin Henderson – Tea, S.D.
7S – Jason Sides – Bartlett, Tenn.
7TAZ – Tasker Phillips – Pleasantville, Iowa
09 – Matt Juhl – Tea, S.D.
9 – Kasey Kahne – Enumclaw, Wash.
9W – Ryan Giles – Grimes, Iowa
11K – Kraig Kinser – Bloomington, Ind.
13 – Paul McMahan – Nashville, Tenn.
14 – Parker Price-Miller – Kokomo, Ind.
15 – Donny Schatz – Fargo, N.D.
15H – Sam Hafertepe Jr. – Sunnyvale, Texas
15M – Bobby Mincer – Burlington, Iowa
17 – Sheldon Haudenschild – Wooster, Ohio
17A – Austin McCarl – Altoona, Iowa
17B – Bill Balog – North Pole, Alaska
17W – Shane Golobic – Fremont, Calif.
18 – Ian Madsen – St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia
21 – Brian Brown – Grain Valley, Mo.
24 – Rico Abreu – St. Helena, Calif.
24W – Lucas Wolfe – Mechanicsburg, Pa.
26 – Cory Eliason – Visalia, Calif.
33M – Mason Daniel – Springville, Calif.
41 – David Gravel – Watertown, Conn.
41S – Gio Scelzi – Fresno, Calif.
41X – Dominic Scelzi – Fresno, Calif.
44 – Chris Martin – Ankeny, Iowa
44S – Trey Starks – Puyallup, Wash.
48 – Danny Dietrich – Gettysburg, Pa.
49 – Brad Sweet – Grass Valley, Calif.
55 – Hunter Schuerenburg – Sikeston, Mo.
55K – Robbie Kendall – Catonsville, Md.
56N – Davey Heskin – St. Michael, Minn.
57 – Kyle Larson – Elk Grove, Calif.
64 – Brooke Tatnell – Sans Souci, NSW, Australia
71 – Shane Stewart – Bixby, Okla.
83 – Daryn Pittman – Owasso, Okla.
83R – Lynton Jeffrey – Sydney, NSW, Australia
87 – Aaron Reutzel – Clute, Texas