Wednesday marks the start of the biggest sprint car race on the calendar.
I took the liberty of giving my 10 drivers who have the best chance of winning the 60th Knoxville Nationals below.
Five will prelim night on Wednesday. The other five go out on Thursday. That wasn’t by design, I got lucky I guess.
Anyways, so these are definitely pound for pound the best rankings out there. No one has better takes than I do, obviously. These 10 guys will win and no one else has a chance. And please send any negative messages to Jared Stansbury at jared@CycloneFanatic.com.
Here it goes.
10. Logan Schuchart
Wednesday Night
Logan Schuchart has been no stranger to winning Crown Jewel races. He’s taken each of the past two Jackson Nationals wins. He finished second at the Knoxville Nationals in 2019. I think he can be a strong contender to win, but until he completes that step, he’s back in 10th on our list.
9. Donny Schatz
Wednesday Night
It’s no secret that Donny Schatz knows how to race the track at Knoxville Raceway. The guy has won as many Knoxville Nationals as I have fingers – he’s obviously good there. However, the results this season haven’t came for Donny like they normally have in the past. He’s hoisted just one trophy in 2021 which happened to be his 300th career win at Dubuque.
8. Justin Henderson
Wednesday Night
The Capitani Classic is merely an exhibition race when it comes down to the swing of things with the Knoxville Nationals, but Henderson put on a show during the pole shuffle, winning three bouts to improve his starting spot for the feature. Although Henderson went backwards in the feature, he’s shown unmatchable speed at different times throughout the racing season. If he and his team make things click, he could be one to watch.
7. Brian Brown
Thursday Night
Brian Brown’s summer got a bit of a kickstart at Eldora in July. The Knoxville fan favorite made a crew chief switch, going to Danny Lasoski, and is garnering some momentum going into Knoxville. Brown showed speed at both the Cappy and Oskaloosa on Monday, as well as coming home with two podiums during Kings Royal week. I dunno. This could be the year for him.
6. Brad Sweet
Thursday Night
I didn’t think I’d be writing about how lackluster the 2018 Knoxville Nationals and two-time, defending World of Outlaws champion has been at the half mile this season, but here we are. Brad Sweet has performed and ran at the highest level just about anywhere this season. Just not at Knoxville. Sweet finished P6 and P16 during the Brownells Big Guns Bash weekend. He was half a lap behind the leader laps into the Cappy. Sweet will always be a player, but it may not be in the cards this year.
5. Gio Scelzi
Wednesday Night
It seems like every time he hits the track at Knoxville, Gio Scelzi gets better. Also known as the youngest driver to ever start a Knoxville Nationals feature, Scelzi has taken it upon himself to grow as a driver and succeed this season in the No. 18 for KCP racing. The young gun earned his first 360 Knoxville Nationals championship on Saturday and will look to gun for a big win this weekend.
4. Kerry Madsen
Thursday Night
Kerry Madsen wasn’t supposed to stay in the Tony Stewart Racing No. 14 car long term – that’s why the nameplate said ‘Smoke’ on it during his first win in the car – but the Australia native and longtime Knoxville driver is behind the wheel of a top car. Madsen will be a force to be reckoned with, after he took both Jackson Nationals prelim nights and stayed consistent throughout the summer. The No. 14 is sure to be a force.
3. David Gravel
Wednesday Night
I know I wrote that winning the Capitani Classic doesn’t get you any closer to a Knoxville Nationals win, but David Gravel did just that in 2019 when he won his first title. He might be my most intriguing story to watch during the week, as far as potential goes. If the No. 2 team can hit on something, Gravel might get his second Nationals title.
2. Carson Macedo
Thursday Night
I told myself, my friends, and numerous others throughout the summer that after Carson Macedo swept the weekend at Knoxville in June, he would be my favorite to win the big race. The guy I have in front of him is the best driver in the world right now – if I hear one peep out of the dumb Lewis Hamilton fans, I swear… Macedo has the likes of Philip Dietz behind him turning wrenches on the 41 car. He won with Jason Johnson, Gravel, and now looks for his third title, with Carson Macedo behind the wheel.
1. Kyle Larson
Thursday Night
If you’re reading this Kyle Larson won another *insert type of vehicle Larson drove that day* race. The guy wins in everything. He won the Not Nationals last year. He’s had three wins in his past three races, in a late model crown jewel, a NASCAR Cup Series race, and a Osky Challenge W. If he’s not your favorite, then I can only assume that you watch Formula 1 24-7 and think that two competitive cars on the track is good racing.
Honorable Mention – I didn’t even reference Kings Royal winner Tyler Courtney, so again please email Jared with any complaints. Thanks for reading.
