Since 2005, when the change to the weekend before the Knoxville Nationals was implemented, the 360 Knoxville Nationals has continually built a reputation as arguably the biggest and best 360 show in the nation. With drivers coming from all over the globe to compete for $152,000 in purse money, this year’s show is set to be the biggest yet.
The qualifying night format change creates intense racing, especially in heat races. An invert forces the fast drivers to pass and get to the front of the heat for an accumulation of points throughout the night. Only the top 50 qualifiers make the heats; the rest are put in the last chance heats, in which the first eight finishers will fill the back of that night's C feature (starting in the sixth row). A driver cannot start on the pole of the 360 Nationals without having to pass cars. Anyone who starts up front has passed a lot of good cars to earn that spot. With an invert of 6, 4 out of each heat transfer to the A Main. In the main, they invert 8 cars. On the finale Saturday night, cars start straight up by accumulated points from their qualifying night. What the fans can expect is intense and exciting racing. There are now so many strong drivers, and with the small invert, the front row is typically filled with equally strong racers, making it difficult for the 3rd row to advance. This leads to very entertaining opening laps, with your top qualifying cars starting in the 3rd row trying to get their best starts and accumulate as many points as possible for their qualifying night.
With the pre-entry list set, returning 360 Nationals Champions include Terry McCarl, Aaron Reutzel, Brian Brown, and Clint Garner, vying for the $20,000 to win prize. 360 Knoxville weekly teams coming into the Nationals include Aaron Reutzel and Chase Randall. Jamie Ball always has a strong showing at his home track as well. The Phillips brothers (Tasker and Sawyer) have been putting on consistent performances as well. Kaleb Johnson, now running a Dennis Gainey-partnered car, has also shown to be a tough contender.
410 Knoxville weekly teams, who have either been doing double duty all season or have started running double duty, are always entertaining to watch. This year’s 360 Nationals entries from the weekly 410 class include Aaron Reutzel, Chase Randall, the McCarl brothers (Austin and Carson), Dusty Zomer, Matt Juhl, J.J. Hickle, and Garet Williamson, rounding out the weekly 410 drivers competing in the 360 Nationals.
Each race season, the 360 Nationals traditionally serve as a warm-up for the 410 Nationals for many national 410 drivers. Many drivers are entered in the 360 Nationals, forgoing the Iron Man race at I-55, a scheduled World of Outlaws show paying $20,000. The fact that this show is skipped by many drivers who would otherwise run it shows the momentum the 360 Nationals has gained over the years. Drivers such as Tyler Courtney, Justin Peck, Danny Dietrich, Parker Price-Miller, Kasey Kahne, Cory Eliason, Zeb Wise, Cole Macedo, and Daryn Pittman, to name a few, are on the entry list for this year’s biggest 360 show.
With some changes to the ASCS in the offseason, the ASCS National Tour is still running strong, with hotshots including Seth Bergman, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Matt Covington, and Hank Davis all poised to make their mark this week. In the offseason, World Racing Group purchased the ASCS from the Hahn family. Under the new management, they have taken an aggressive approach with live streaming and technical inspection on a more thorough and consistent basis. For the first time in several years, Seth Bergman has been leading the points and has gotten off to a huge start. Sam Hafertepe Jr. was expected to cruise to his 6th championship, but Bergman leads Sam by 96 points going into the 360 Nationals. It should be a very intense competition, with some of the biggest names and best talent around the world competing for the 34th Knoxville 360 Nationals.
- Eric Arnold on Jul 31, 2024
- Article Date: 7/31/2024 by Joanne Cram