7/28/2010
Written By: Brian Stickel, Knoxville Raceway
Category: CASEY'S Pit Pass  

KNOXVILLE  -  This year’s seventeenth annual Premier Chevy Dealers Knoxville World Challenge and the 50th annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals have several ‘feel good’ story lines, but one of the best involves American Danny Smith and Australian Trevor Green.  This past (American) winter, when South Australian Trevor Green suffered a season-ending back injury, he called Hoosier friend Danny Smith and offered him his sprint car ride in Australia for the prestigious Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic.  A few weeks ago, when Danny suffered a similar fate while racing in northern Ohio, he figured ‘turnabout is fair play’ and he offered his ride for the Goodyear Knoxville Nationals and its Premier Chevy Dealers World Challenge to Trevor.  According to Knoxville director of racing Ralph Capitani, “Gang, now those two racers are the definition of ‘class act’ in my book!”
 
As of today, with Aussie Trevor Green taking over Danny Smith’s sprint car ride for the (American) summer, the Knoxville Raceway has received a total of twenty-seven entries for its 20-lap, $10,000-to-win Premier Chevy Dealers Knoxville World Challenge invitational on Friday, August 13.  Interestingly enough, Australians are twelve of those entrants, while Americans are eleven of them.  Two Canadians and two New Zealanders are also entered.  American Wayne Johnson is entered, although he recently suffered severe leg injuries in a sprint car and his status for the Knoxville Nationals is not known at this time.  Americans have won the World Challenge title nine times, while Australians have won seven World Challenge titles since its inception in 1994.
 
  Those entered in the seventeenth annual Premier Chevy Dealers Knoxville World Challenge are (years as World Challenge titlists are in parentheses):
 
Team Australia:
 
2, A.J. “Skip” Jackson, Sydney, NSW, AUS (1995, ’97, ’98)
3, Kerry Madsen, St Marys, NSW, AUS (2008)
4, Trevor Green, Adelaide, SA, AUS
V5, Max Dumesny, Warrnambool, VIC, AUS (1994)
12, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, AUS (2009)
12AU, Paul Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, AUS
AUS20, Domain Ramsey, Newtown, VIC, AUS
35AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, AUS
55, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, AUS
59, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, AUS (2006)
AUS77, Mitchell Dumesny, Nelson, NSW, AUS
96AU, Bruce White, Merrylands, NSW, AUS
 
Team Canada:
 
4X, Toni Lutar, White Rock, BC, CAN
57C, Chris Schmelzle, Victoria, BC, CAN
 
Team New Zealand:
 
2T, Colin Entwisle, Baypark, NI, NZ
11P, Ian Easton, Foxton, NI, NZ
 
Team United States:
 
0, Jonathan Allard, Chico, CA, USA
1, Sammy Swindell, Memphis, TN, USA
5W, Lucas Wolfe, Souderton, PA, USA
7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN, USA
9, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN, USA
10A, Ricky Logan, Little Rock, AR, USA
24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, USA
41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA, USA
57, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK, USA
77X, Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City, OK, USA  -  injured; status unknown at this time
91, Paul McMahan, Elk Grove, CA, USA
 
            Fourteen Americans are eligible to compete this year in the Premier Chevy Dealers Knoxville World Challenge after having qualified at select races in Australia and New Zealand.  The eligible Yanks are Jonathan Allard, Jason Johnson, Ricky Logan, Paul McMahan, Joey Saldana, Jason Sides, Danny Smith, Sammy Swindell, Craig Dollansky, Wayne Johnson, Terry McCarl, Jerry Richert (Jr.), Shane Stewart, and Lucas Wolfe.  International sprint car drivers from Australia, Canada and New Zealand will continue to be eligible for the Premier Chevy Dealers Knoxville World Challenge simply by competing in the 50th annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals at the world-famous Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.  The starting line-up for the 2010 World Challenge will remain a sixteen-car inversion based upon a driver’s qualifying night points, for which thirty starting spots are budgeted.  For more information on the Knoxville Raceway and its seventeenth annual Premier Chevy Dealers Knoxville World Challenge, fans are urged to visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com.