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MASTERING THE MECCA: World of Outlaws Drivers on the Challenges of Knoxville Raceway

MASTERING THE MECCA: World of Outlaws Drivers on the Challenges of Knoxville Raceway

The half mile presents a unique puzzle to solve, even for the sport’s best

KNOXVILLE, IA (June 12, 2025) - Few dirt tracks are as difficult to master as Knoxville Raceway.

The legendary 1/2-mile dirt track has presented challenges to Sprint Car drivers for decades. It’s home to the sport’s most prestigious race, the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s, so it’s only fitting that Knoxville doesn’t often allow newcomers to conquer. The toughest race to win should be hosted by one of the sport’s toughest tracks.

Knoxville is the next destination for The Greatest Show on Dirt. The Premier Chevy Dealers Clash is bringing the country’s best Sprint Car drivers to the Iowa town for two nights of racing (June 13-14). It’s a key opportunity for teams to get important laps and gauge where they stand against the best ahead of the Knoxville Nationals (Aug. 6-9). Any driver will tell you that you can never get enough laps at Knoxville.

David Gravel is one of the best, currently, when it comes to competing at Knoxville. The defending Series champion has topped a dozen races on the Marion County Fairground, including the 2019 Knoxville Nationals. Even though his résumé boasts plenty of success, he’s still found it to be a difficult track to get ahold of, especially learning the bottom groove.

“You just can’t go around that track and lock your elbows and make laps and win races there,” Gravel said. “Nine times out of ten, it gets technical, and the cushion gets really big and too high up the track, and the bottom comes into play. It’s the most technical track we race at, and it provides the biggest loss in time with mistakes. You make a mistake there, and you lose more time than anywhere else.

“Running the bottom to perfection lap after lap is something that’s really hard to do at Knoxville, especially when the track gets really slick and it’s just one-tire width wide on the bottom. It takes a lot of patience, a lot of concentration, and a good race car to do it.”

Bill Balog has been making trips to Knoxville for the past two decades. Despite his countless accomplishments up north, including 10 Interstate Racing Association (IRA) titles, the “North Pole Nightmare” has struggled to grapple with the black zook clay. Balog did display improvement last year, finishing fifth on his Knoxville Nationals prelim night to qualify for his first finale.

Balog shares similar feelings to Gravel on attacking the lower groove at Knoxville. It’s a challenge shared by many drivers. A major piece of Danny Lasoski’s legacy was running it better than anyone, a trait that helped lift him to four Knoxville Nationals championships.

“When the bottom is good, you have to be down there, and it’s harder than it looks to keep your speed up down there,” Balog said. “I wish I had all the answers. We’ve had decent nights there, and we’ve had a lot of bad nights. It’s definitely a hard racetrack to get a handle on. If your car’s not good, you’re just not going to be any good. There’s no way around it.”

Knoxville has become a home track of sorts for Fresno, CA’s Giovanni Scelzi. After joining forces with the Iowa-based KCP Racing, he relocated to the “Hawkeye State.” Knoxville is now one of Scelzi’s best tracks. He’s won there eight times, most recently claiming a 2024 Knoxville Nationals prelim.

“Hot Sauce” views the mental element as another obstacle. Drivers are competing at a facility unlike any other. The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum looms outside Turn 2. It’s flanked by both the Bryan Clauson and Dennis Albaugh Suite Towers. Massive grandstands sit along both straightaways. The history is palpable. You know you’re at the mecca of Sprint Car racing when you make a lap at Knoxville.

“I think that, obviously, the stakes are higher there,” Scelzi said. “Even for a local Knoxville race, it’s super intense having a facility with the Hall of Fame and just everything with when you walk in that racetrack, how it makes you feel, you really want to be successful at it.”

And just like the others, Scelzi notes the racing surface is tricky for a variety of reasons.

“The shape of the racetrack is obviously unique,” Scelzi said. “I feel like it’s probably the best half mile we go to surface-wise. There’re always two lanes, sometimes three lanes. With the corners, it feels like they’re longer than the straightaways are. You’re almost turning more than you’re going straight, so exit there is very important to make sure you get going down the straightaways.”

Gravel, Balog, Scelzi, the remainder of the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car stars, and many more are set to invade Knoxville this weekend (June 13-14) for the Premier Chevy Dealers Clash

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