Driver Profile: Don Droud Jr.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
(Eric Arnold) Since the mid 1990’s, Don Droud Jr. has been a regular competitor at the Knoxville Raceway. Hailing from Lincoln, Nebraska, Droud has 12 Knoxville Raceway feature wins and has been the runner-up four times in the Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup Series standings. After driving for legendary car owner Gil Sonner the past seven seasons, Droud will race the Troy Renfro-owned TKS Motorsports #2KS sprint car in 2015 as they try to compete for their first championship.
“We are excited for this season,” said Droud. “Our focus will be on Knoxville weekly and with a new team, our expectations are realistic. We don’t know how we will stack up with the tough competition we have, but hopefully we are fast and can compete for wins. Troy and I have worked together in the past and if we can be as good as we have in the past, we should be OK.”
Racing roots run deep in the Droud family. Don Droud Sr. raced motorcycles, super modifieds, sprint cars, late models, and won several track championships. Droud Sr. was inducted into the Nebraska Auto Racing Hall of Fame in 2011 after a successful career as a driver, owner and promoter that spanned more than 50 years.
Don Jr. started racing at age 16 in street stocks and late model-type cars before jumping into a sprint car in his twenties. After performing well weekly at Midwest Speedway in Lincoln and at Eagle Speedway, Don started visiting Knoxville regularly in the mid 1990’s. In his first full seasons at Knoxville, Don finished second in points in 1997 and again in 1998.
With six “top 5” point finishes and eleven in the “top 10”, Droud has an impressive resume at Knoxville Raceway. On August 24, 1998, he broke the track time trial record with a lap of 14.934, and held that record for the next seven years.
Don has qualified for the Knoxville Nationals A-Main five times. His best finish was in 2006, when he placed ninth with Pace #44 sprinter. That same year, Droud became one of the few drivers to qualify for the A-Main of the Chili Bowl (finished 22nd), Belleville Midget Nationals (finished tenth), and the Knoxville Nationals in the same year.
He won his first Knoxville feature on June 14, 1997 in the Craig Cormack DOCC #1BK car. Starting in eighth place and taking the lead on the second lap, Droud beat many notable drivers that night, including Craig Dollansky, Skip Jackson, Doug Wolfgang, and Ryan Jamison.
In 2001, Droud Jr. etched his name in the history books as the winner of the inaugural 1200 pound Knoxville Nationals that paid $12,000 to the winner! Don won his preliminary night feature from the fourth row, while a youngster named Kasey Kahne won the other preliminary feature. The event featured 97 cars competing on one night that were split into an odd/even format.
On the finale of that 2001 race, Droud and Terry McCarl were involved in an accident in the first lap and had to make repairs in the work area. They both rejoined the field at the tail. Several cars ran out of fuel toward the end of the 30-lap race in a wild series of cautions at the end. Five lead changes occurred with Kerry Madsen the first to run out of fuel on lap 25, while Dennis Moore Jr. would lead lap 28 and run out of fuel. Kenny Jacobs crossed the finish line first, but was seven pounds light at the scales, giving the improbable win to Droud Jr. and his car owner Mark Burch. Danny Smith finished second, and Terry McCarl was third.
After finishing a disappointing 13th in points in 2014, Droud Jr. is looking to rebound and finish in the top ten for 2015, possibly even in the top five. Good luck to Don Droud Jr. and Troy Renfro in 2015!
Don and owner Troy Renfro would thank their partners in 2015: Casey's General Stores, Des Moines Industrial Products, Indy Race Parts, Maxim, AO Design, Don Ott Racing Engines, CSI, Tony Moro Collision Center, Tony Moro Powder Coat and Blasting, R.B. Harmon, and Vahlco Wheels.
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