Well race fans, in the first half of the 2018 season, we have witnessed some first time feature winners taking their place in victory lane. While there have been many, here are a few notables who caught my attention.
Minot, North Dakota's Dusty Lawson scored his first Sprint Car feature win at Estevan Motor Speedway featuring the Canadian-American Outlaw Sprintcar Series on Friday, June 22. Despite hometown favourite Kyle Fedyk's sizeable early lead, Dusty worked his way back to within striking distance. A pass on the last lap would prove to be Kyle's undoing to secure Dusty's first checkered flag and a trip to victory lane.
McKenna Haase of Des Moines, Iowa won her first 360 sprint car feature at Knoxville Raceway on May 12, following up with another feature win on July 7. She had previously won 3 features in the 305 sprint car class at the famous half-mile dirt track. McKenna has not only found success on the track, but has been a positive influence in her community as well as on social media. Her pro-active online promotion of racing and of herself is refreshing. McKenna Haase is a racer whose stock is definitely rising.
Leduc, Alberta's Sklyar Gee scored his first career feature win with the ASCS National Sprint Car Tour at the NAPA Grizzly Nationals at Gallatin Speedway in Belgrade, MT. on Saturday, July 7. Schedule permitting, Skylar's experiences with different racing groups and speedways continue to improve his on-track skills. In May, the Canadian driver won a rain-shortened UMSS race at Princeton Speedway, Mn. followed by a 2nd place finish the next night at Cedar Lake Speedway, Wi. Skylar has also been getting valuable seat time at Knoxville Raceway where he had improved from a Top 10 early in the season to a Top 5 finish in May.
As we enter the sprint car Month of Money, it is quite apparent that North Dakota's Donny Schatz is the man to beat. He dominated Night 1 of the World of Outlaws weekend at Knoxville Raceway at the end of June. He followed that up at Eldora Speedway, winning both the Knight Before the King's Royal and the 35th $50,000-to-win King's Royal. Love him or hate him, the #15 World of Outlaws team is getting it done and in convincing fashion.
All the fun, excitement and drama of sprint car racing's biggest week in Iowa begins at Knoxville Raceway on August 2 with the 28th 360 Sprint Car Nationals and concludes with the 58th Annual 410 Knoxville Nationals on August 11. Whether you are there in person or following online, the gathering of the sprint car community in this historic place is a special time indeed.
Until next time race fans...
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