KNOXVILLE, IOWA (May 10, 2010) - In what may be one of the best ‘feel good’ stories of the 50th annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals presented by Lucas Oil, 50-year old Max Dumesny of Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, winner of the 1985 “Race of the States,” has entered this year’s August 11-14 Knoxville Nationals and Premier Chevy Dealers World Challenge… alongside his 22-year-old son Mitch. ‘Mad Max’ made a huge name for himself at the 25th annual Nationals by piloting Bob Trostle’s sprint car to the “Race of the States” win over former Trostle drivers Doug Wolfgang and Shane Carson, respectively.
Max Dumesny will be wheeling his own Valvoline-sponsored Maxim sprint car number AUS5, while son Mitchell will pilot his father’s Valvoline Engine Armour/PWR Performance Products Maxim sprinter number AUS77. Max and Mitch will be the first-ever father-son duo in the sixteen-year history of the Premier Chevy Dealers Knoxville World Challenge. The international invitational, which is the finale on Friday, August 13, is a $10,000-to-win, 20-lap invitational featuring the best sprint car drivers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States of America.
According to Knoxville Raceway director of racing Ralph ‘Cappy’ Capitani, “We are very excited to receive Max Dumesny’s entry for this year’s Goodyear Knoxville Nationals and Premier Chevy Dealers World Challenge. Max has always been a great competitor at Knoxville, and he has also been a great ambassador for our ‘sister city’ of Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, home of Premier Speedway’s Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic every January. And, while I would love to see his wife Melinda back in a sprint car at the Knoxville half-mile, as she has been one of our more popular weekly drivers when she summered here years ago, we are equally excited to see his their Mitch race here for the first time. And I see where Brooke Tatnell of New South Wales, another fine Australian champion, has now entered the World Challenge, too. Who knows? Maybe the great Garry Rush will think about coming out of retirement for our 50th Nationals this August!”
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, including Warrnambool’s Classic. 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 more information on the Knoxville Raceway and its seventeenth annual Premier Chevy Dealers Knoxville World Challenge, fans are urged to visit www.knoxvilleraceway.com.
- Knoxville Raceway on May 11, 2010
- Article Date: 5/11/2010