11/16/2009
Written By: Brian Stickel, Knoxville Raceway
Category: CASEY'S Pit Pass  

KNOXVILLE -  The Western Springs Speedway in Auckland, New Zealand, is the third speedway ‘Down Under’ to confirm that it will host a 2010 Knoxville World Challenge qualifier for Americans.  The 30-lap “Wynn’s International Sprint Car Classic” event will take place on Saturday, November 28, and it will serve as a qualifying site for Americans for the 2010 World Challenge race during the 50th annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals presented by Lucas Oil.  To date, three American ‘outlaws’ have confirmed their intentions to compete in Auckland.
 
Said Knoxville director of racing Ralph Capitani, “Western Springs Speedway has been a World Challenge qualifying track for a number of years and we are proud to have them back on board for 2010.  Promoter Lewis Dawson has indicated that he expects Craig Dollansky of Minnesota, Joey Saldana of Indiana and Jonathan Allard of California to all be contesting the NZ$4,000 to win event, which carries with it a guaranteed starting spot in the Friday, August 13, 2010, Knoxville World Challenge.”
 
The Wynn’s International Sprint Car Classic event, featuring a NZ$12,250 total purse, will join the NZ$4,000-to-win January 1, 2010, Thunder Down Under at Robertson Holden International Speedway in Palmerston North, New Zealand, and the $30,000-to-win January 23-24, 2010, Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic at Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, as official qualifying events for Americans for the seventeenth edition of the World Challenge during the fiftieth Goodyear Knoxville Nationals.  International sprint car drivers from Australia, Canada and New Zealand will continue to be eligible for the Knoxville World Challenge simply by competing in the Knoxville Nationals.  The starting line-up for the 2010 World Challenge will remain a sixteen-car inversion based upon a driver’s qualifying night points.  Confirmed domestic drivers for the Western Springs show include current New Zealand champion Dean Brindle and 2007 national champion Jamie McDonald.  Some of the other confirmed drivers include Carl Wilson and Alan Wakeling, both of whom have competed at Knoxville Raceway in the past.
 
For more information on the Knoxville Raceway and its World Challenge, fans are urged to visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com.