Stewart and Newman Getting Dirty This Weekend

KNOXVILLE, IOWA – Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman are in the heat of battle for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.  With all the pressure on the Stewart-Haas Racing teammates, how do they relax the night before a race.  This weekend they’ll take their minds off their title runs by climbing in a dirt late model racer and taking on some of the best dirt track racers in the country.

Newman and Stewart will be at Knoxville Raceway to take part in the Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals along with Kenny Schrader.  Dirt Late Model stars  Earl Pearson, Jr., of Florida, Matt Aukland of North Dakota, defending champion Tim McCreadie (2008) of New York, and John Duty of Oregon are all entered in this weekend’s sixth annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals, proving once again that the $40,000-to-win, $2,500-to-start event draws the best dirt late model drivers in the land, coast-to-coast and border-to-border.

Amongst the eighty (80) pre-entries are and such dirt late model racing stars as Brady Smith (2007) of Wisconsin, Brian Shirley (2006) of Illinois, Scott Bloomquist (2005) of Tennessee, Brian Birkhofer (2004) of Iowa, Steve Francis of Kentucky, Josh Richards of West Virginia, Darrell Lanigan of Kentucky, Rick Eckert of Pennsylvania, Jimmy Owens of Tennessee, Dale McDowell of Georgia, Jimmy Mars of Wisconsin, Vic Coffey of New York, Eric Jacobsen of California, Tommy Elston of Iowa, Shannon Babb of Illinois, Billy Moyer of Arkansas, Darren Miller of Illinois, Jeep Van Wormer of Michigan, and Jeff Aikey of Iowa.

According to Knoxville’s director of racing Ralph Capitani, “Without a doubt, this is the best field we’ve ever assembled for the Late Model Nationals in its history, both from a quality and quantity perspective. If you are a dirt late model fan from anywhere in the country, you will want to be here on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. While the temperatures may be cool, the racing will be red-hot!!”

Joining the 80-car field, for the first time ever, will be the always-exciting International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) modified stock car division for a special 40-car invitational. For more information on the sixth annual Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals, and all of the fan-oriented special events scheduled over the course of the three days and nights, fans are urged to visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com and www.sprintcarhof.com.