Kendra Jacobs

Cannot believe it’s over already…Knoxville Night 4

kendra — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 16:52:34 +0000

The Sunday following the Knoxville Nationals is possibly the most depressing day I’ve ever encountered…repeatedly. It doesn’t get any different with age or time. I have to admit I was still pretty teary-eyed and choked up leaving the track again this morning.
When I went to bed the fairgrounds was alive with drivers, crewmembers and fans alike toasting the week and each other. The energy level was high and everyone was happy. Good times. Good people.
Just hours later the only thing moving was a motorhome, easing its way quietly out of its assigned spot and out the gate. Those who had ventured outside were slow moving. The smiles had faded and friendly gestures consisted of only a slight nod. Reality had set in. The greatest week in sprint car racing had ended. And what a week it was.
Prior to last night’s race I really think I could have picked 10 legitimate drivers with a shot at winning the Knoxville Nationals. The field was so full of talent, clear to the back of the field. There were some drivers that I was surprised weren’t in the A-Main, including Knoxville Raceway point leader Danny Lasoski, Jason Sides who’s arguably had his best season to date, Dusty Zomer who’s won several Knoxville shows this year, Pennsylvania Posse standout Greg Hodnett, and quite possibly the crowd favorite, Jac Haudenschild. To say we were missing such great drivers in the field, but still had the depth we did, I think, shows the immense talent pool we have in the sport right now.
However, the crowd in the grandstands was noticeably lower than what I’ve seen in the past. Rumors swirled that nearly 10,000 tickets were still available. And this is one of very few years I can remember, maybe only the second year I can remember, that we didn’t have 100+ cars.
So what’s to blame and what’s the solution? The economy? Gas prices? Are we at the point where we’re going to have to choose 360 engines or 410s and finally get back to one universal form of great sprint car racing? There are no easy answers and it’s going to take cooperation across all series, promoters, tracks and drivers to find them.
In the end, it was Donny Schatz that took the checkers, winning his fifth Knoxville Nationals title. He now ties Doug Wolfgang for the second most Nationals wins, behind only Steve Kinser who has an amazing 12. He had a fast race car and made some daring moves from the drop of the green flag to get to the point. He wasted no time and that was pivotal.
Then there’s Shane Stewart. This guy passed more cars than anyone else all weekend long. On Friday he went from 17th to second in the Race of Champions. He climbed from 13th to second in the World Challenge. And on the big night, when it counted, he again fell just feet short of scoring his first ever Knoxville Nationals win, charging from 17th to second. His starting position hurt him, but even more than that, he didn’t go anywhere in the first 10 laps, leaving him basically a 40-lap race to get the win. It wasn’t enough. I do think, however, that five more laps and we would have seen Stewart take it all.
Austin McCarl destroyed his race car on the first lap of the A-Main, possibly the most damage I’d seen to a car all week. He walked away uninjured. Also witnessed what could have been a record-setting amount of blown engines throughout the week. It’s a costly week for sure for these race teams, but it’s also the week that it’s worth the most.
Big props to Ralph Capitani and the staff at Knoxville Raceway for the Friday-night format change. The “revenge draw” line up for the Race of Champions was a big hit. I look for many other tracks across the country and possibly some other series to adopt this concept.
A conversation on Wednesday night with some Aussie fans peaked my interest throughout the week: The lack of safety mandates in the sport. It’s a big concern of mine and something I think, if researched and implemented in the right way, could be a monumental step in the right direction for the sport.
My other concern is getting the fans excited and involved in the sport again. The overall energy of the week was down. Creative marketing and promoting could get the fans back to the track all day, rather than just for the race. I look for Knoxville to continue to think of new ways to intrigue the fans and get them involved and excited about the sport again.
The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame is a must see. Beyond the history of the sport that’s displayed and honored, the entertainment aspect of the building is phenomenal. A full theater on the second level plays racing videos all day from all eras of the sport. The second level also hosts an open party-feel atmosphere for fans to watch the night’s event. That’s where I was honored to sit each night. Not only was the view fantastic, but sitting with fans from all over the country cheering on different drivers was both fun and educational. I had a blast with everyone up there. Also got the opportunity to introduce a lot of them to Twitter. Hopefully I converted a few.
Finally, a big thank you to Jeanne Butler and everyone at Butlerbuilt. Without her, I wouldn’t have been able to make the trip to God’s Country. She’s also one of the most forward-thinking people in the sport on safety issues and for that, she has my respect and support. To Tim Shaffer, Jason Sides and their race teams for always making me feel welcome. My parents for putting up with me all week invading their space, hogging the water and using all of the electricity. (Yes, a few breakers were blown with all of my chargers.) And to all of the fans who followed on Twitter and got me even more excited about this sport and what lies ahead.
It’s over for now, but I’m already looking forward to the 2012 Knoxville Nationals. No doubt it will be a great one. I should probably start shopping for my plane tickets now. And, trust me, so should you!

Knoxville Nationals — Night 2

kendra — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:17:45 +0000

Night two in the books and the starting line-up for the 51st running of the Knoxville Nationals is set. Fifty laps of the greatest racing in the country will break out in just over 24 hours. I get chills thinking of what this race means to these guys. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s back up.
On Thursday, I attended the yearly media luncheon in Dyer Hudson Hall. This is the same building where I was crowned the 1996 Knoxville Nationals queen, so every time I walk in there, I get flashbacks of where my parents were sitting, the answers I gave, the moment I was crowned. That was so much fun. But, I digress.
In this year’s media lunch, they had two sets of drivers come in to answer questions and talk to the media about what the race means to them. Some of the highlights were Steve Kinser admitting that he cannot hear anything after years and years in a sprint car, so every question had to be repeated to him, sometimes by his teammate Donny Schatz. Kinser commented on his first Nationals experience in the 1960s when he came with his famous father, Bob, and slept in a tent right on the railroad tracks.
Local racing star Danny Lasoski said that the drivers who race here every week do get an advantage over the others because they get to experience the track in every form – dry, slick, sticky. He also commented on how well Kevin Swindell has done out here and how he would be the local driver to really watch on Saturday night.
Jason Meyers, reigning World of Outlaws champion, attended as well, even though he had spent numerous hours in the local hospital getting fluids due to either the flu or food poisoning. Although his season didn’t start out with a bang, he feels that his No. 14 team is far more consistent this year than last. His average finish has improved and the team has reached the point where they really feel they have a strong grasp on the car now. Meyers left the luncheon early and immediately returned to the hospital.
Ralph Capitani attended his last luncheon as Race Director of Knoxville Raceway. After 45 years at the helm, Cappy announced that John McCoy would take over as Race Director, while the track continues to look for a General Manager. If you remember right, Cappy said that while he never has a favorite in the race, he does, sentimentally, hope that Sammy Swindell wins it this year. Hmmm…Cappy may be psychic.
Brian Carter with the World of Outlaws made some promising comments about the series’ outlook in 2012. Carter is adamant that the series is working on a television package that will include more coverage in 2012, including national coverage every other week from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The series is also expanding its DirtVision online live coverage next season. Carter also stated that they plan on adding at least 10 more races to the 2012 WoO schedule, likely at tracks the sanctioning body has never been at before.
I see the 410 world of sprint car racing heading in the right direction. According to the powers that be that is. The drivers sound confident as well. And the amount of feedback I’ve gotten from both sprint car fans and NASCAR fans on my Twitter feeds this week is just incredible. There’s a new level of interest in this sport and I’m hoping that leads to bigger and better things.
However, the small car count as well as the small crowd thus far in the week, has me concerned. Like everything else in this country, the sport has been hurt by the economy. Sponsors are pulling out. Teams are disappearing. Fans are unable to pay the gas prices to get here anymore. It’s sad…but, to me, it’s better than just a general loss of interest. This is something we can bounce back from. We’ve just got to keep the momentum the sport has going. Keep the racing great and keep the fans entertained and they’ll keep coming back.
My father’s return to racing last night made me excited and nauseous both at the same time. That’s going to have to be another blog. I have at least tonight to watch him race again and I just can’t risk getting emotional before that.
Last night’s racing just didn’t seem as exciting as Wednesdays. There weren’t the big names, but there were a lot of good guys. I think that was evidenced in the B-Main, which may be the most stacked race I’ve seen out here so far this week. Just look at the guys who didn’t make the A-Main last night: Greg Hodnett, Kevin Swindell, Jac Haudenschild, Danny Lasoski.
Last night, Meyers appeared to be the car to beat. He looked the best throughout the heat races and then in the A-Main too. I’m still shocked that he didn’t win that race. Mark Dobmeier, another Knoxville regular, stunned the crowd and took the win. I couldn’t hear the crowd outside, but I know the fans inside the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame were going crazy. There’s nothing like seeing an underdog take a win away from the reigning World of Outlaws champ.
So the field is set with Sammy Swindell and Brad Sweet on the front row. I’m going to pick my winner right now…Jason Meyers. He just looked so smooth last night and I know his team has said they’ve found what they were missing in the closing laps of last night’s feature event. If that’s the case, he’ll be even better tomorrow night. Others in the top-three…Slammin’ Sammy and Brian Brown. That’s my podium choices.
Alright…time to get ready for Night 3. After taking it easy and resting up on Thursday night, this one better be packed with Dingus, Turn 3 and more fun after the checkers fly.

The Need for More than 140 Characters…

tjslideways — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 23:01:01 +0000

I think my Twitter addiction is proving itself in my attempt to write this blog. I want to tell you everything that’s going on out here in Knoxville, but my brain is trying to do it in 140 characters or less, which is impossible.

Or is it?

The 2012 #KnoxvilleNationals Night 1. Swindell wins. Stewart fast. Heskin feel good story. Engines blown. Dingus packed. Turn 3.

Did you get all of that? I didn’t think so…because there’s no way you could fully grasp everything that happened in one day out here unless you were here. If you’re a sprint car fan…a real sprint car fan…then you have to make the trip to the Knoxville Nationals. After one year, I promise you’ll be hooked.

To expand on my above tweet…Sammy Swindell took the first preliminary night win. If you’re looking at the results for the race, you’d think that was the big story. But you’d be mistaken. What’s everyone talking about today? Shane Stewart’s incredible charge from 24^th to fourth in the A-Main. Not to mention the incredible slide job he did on the final lap of the B-Main to even make it to the A.

Davey Heskin’s run in the feature event was phenomenal. At one time this Knoxville regular had a straightaway lead on the competition. When cautions took that away from him, he battled Swindell with slide jobs for the win. Swindell didn’t run away with it. Heskin was right there.

The other big stories of the night were engine failures. There’s no secret that these race teams want to get all they can out of their cars for this race week, which sometimes leads to tricking up engines, etc. to get a little more. I’m not accusing anyone of doing that, but we did seem to have a substantial amount of blown engines last night. Notably, Donny Schatz’s early in the feature and the defending champion Tim Shaffer’s late in the same race. This is Shaffer’s second blown engine of the week as he lost one Monday at Oskaloosa too. While Schatz remained in the top 10 in the points, Shaffer is mired way back. It’s going to be a big hole for him to climb out of to defend last year’s win.

The biggest disappointment of the night was the low car count. Only 44 cars started the heat races. In a race that typically draws a minimum of 50 cars for each of the qualifying nights, this was astoundingly low.

The crowd seemed smaller than normal, too. And not just in the grandstands. All day around the track, there just doesn’t seem to be the same excitement level, hype and goings-on as is usual. I don’t know if last year’s 50^th Anniversary just spoiled us, but this year’s “event” just doesn’t seem as eventful yet.

I’ll tell you where the crowd was large: Dingus Lounge. This play amazes me. Once a hallway-sized bar, it now includes an outdoor area about four times the original bar size. And last night, it was bumpin’. (My high-school aged cousin told me that’s the appropriate word.) Rumor has it this place clears at least $5,000 an hour during the Nationals. From the time the races ended until the bar closed was three hours or $15,000. I think I’m in the wrong business.

Where does everyone go after Dingus? You would think to bed, right? I mean, it’s 2 a.m. Nope…the party moves to Turn 3. This isn’t how the Nationals used to be. Everyone would gather under the grandstands. Now, everyone goes to where the haulers sit in Turn 3. I would guess there were between 1,000 and 1,500 race fans there last night. I’m not going to admit how late I stayed up drinking water with all of them, but I will say that the vast majority long outlasted me. And likely will tonight, too.

The personal highlight of the night to me was watching the night’s action with my Dad in the Sprint Car Hall of Fame. He dissected every lap for me. Showed me the preferred line on the track. Talked to me about the surface and how it was affecting the handling of some cars. I learned so much that I can take tonight with me, because he won’t be there to tell me what’s going on.

Yes, that’s right, my Dad’s racing tonight. Those are words I haven’t spoken in two years. I’m by far more nervous than him. Beyond the physical issues of racing again, the emotional toll it takes on these drivers is what bothers me the most. It’s a roller coaster. And like a lot of the drivers told me last night, “I love this place, but I can pretty quickly hate it.”

There’s so much more to talk about, but I’ve run out of time. Qualifying for Night 2 starts in about an hour and I’ve got to get in there. I don’t want to miss a second of it.

Going back to Knoxville

tjslideways — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:02:25 +0000

When Steve Post and I talked about Knoxville during our preview show, I found that it really is hard to put the place into words. I can talk about the racing. I can talk about the people. I can tell you how fun it is and how the race is accompanied by a four-day party. But, really, Knoxville plays a much bigger role in my life than just one week out of each year. Looking back, I can honestly say that Knoxville is where I grew up. Not like a hometown, but more of a maturity starting point.

My first ever memory from Knoxville revolves around my Aunt Marybeth wearing a pink mini skirt. It wasn’t anything over the top. And it wasn’t anything that you wouldn’t see a woman wearing on a regular basis. However, to a group of hungover guys, aching for some afternoon fun under the main grandstands (the backstretch grandstands didn’t yet exist), this pink mini skirt was the highlight of their day. She was holding my hand, shuttling me over to Hy-Vee for something or other. But when we walked by this group of race fans with a plate of mud, entertaining themselves by watching unfortunate passer-bys step in it, the pink skirt was everything. Cat calls. Shouting. Begging for her to just talk to them. I didn’t understand it then. But I remember thinking “this place is crazy.”

In the years that passed and as my sister, Jenn, and I grew older, Knoxville became a place of freedom. My parents seem to relax the rules a little bit while we were there. As long as we “stayed together” we were allowed to basically run wild. Now I’ll tell you this, and I’m not sure this is the same with all kids, but when our parents gave us freedom…we actually didn’t abuse it. Our idea of wild was sleeping out in a tent. Dancing under the grandstands. Watching the “bus rides”. We were good kids, which is probably why the reigns never got tightened.

In the early 1990’s is when I found my group of friends at Knoxville. Brian Brown, who constantly told us that he was going to be a race car driver when he grew up “just like my uncle, the Dude.” PJ Schmidt, a Knoxville regular who is now grown, but still comes to the track now and then. Mark Chevalier, a Minnesotan that somehow got mixed up with all of us misfits. He was the smart one, the level-headed. He was the one who wrote us letters like clockwork every off season on Steve Kinser stationery. Through these guys, we met the Mottet brothers – AJ and Billy and their friends. AJ now owns Dingus across the street and Billy has a beautiful family. My sister and my friend, Jen, another Ohioan were my girls, along with “Mindy from Indy”. Our group was a fun one and every Knoxville Nationals was like a class reunion.

The 1996 Nationals was when I was Queen and my sister was first runner-up. I remember that she jokingly (I hope) stated that she was going to push me in front of a car so that I couldn’t fulfill my duties and therefore she would have to take over. The truth is, I never felt like she and I had won anything different. We were inseparable that week. It truly was one of the best weeks of my life. I felt like I was part of the Nationals not just a kid running around enjoying what it had to offer.

In the years that followed, life began getting in the way of my Nationals experience. College classes, jobs, then my NASCAR schedule. I returned for the 50^th Anniversary last year and reported live for KNIA/KRLS radio, another highlight of my years at Knoxville. Talk about feeling like a part of it! I got to live it, speak it, and know that for those at home who were missing it like I had for so many years, I could, in some small way, make them feel like they were there. The adrenaline was addictive and I loved every minute.

Traveling to Knoxville this year was a last minute decision. With the help of great friends – Jeanne Butler with Butlerbuilt is a Godsend – I was able to get a plane ticket and make the trek. My Dad is returning to racing, which I’m still unsure of. I’m not worried about him physically. My Dad’s always been a superhero to me. Unbreakable. I worry more about his addiction level. Let’s face it…an addict who goes clean for two years doesn’t take one hit (or in his case 3) and just walk away again. So…we’ll see where this goes.

For now, as I’m sitting here waiting to board the final lag of my trip to God’s Country, aka Knoxville. I’m wondering what memories I’ll take home from this year’s Nationals. Will there be a surprise winner? Will I add to that group of friends? Will I form a stronger bond with my parents? Or will I just relax and enjoy not hearing the word “NASCAR” for a week? I think all stand a pretty good chance.