LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR | Posted: Thursday, August 10, 2006 7:00 pm
Two Lincoln drivers — Billy Alley and Don Droud Jr. — have secured starting spots in the $140,000-to-win A feature for the Knoxville Nationals tonight in Knoxville, Iowa.
Both Alley and Droud Jr. were fastest in time trials on their respective qualifying nights this week, performances that went a long way in securing their spots in the biggest sprint-car race of the season.
Coverage of tonight’s features will begin at 9 p.m. on SPEED (cable channel 231).
Alley, the current points leader on a weekly basis at Knoxville Raceway, will start 13th in tonight’s 24-car main event.
Droud Jr., who only secured a ride at Knoxville within the last two weeks, will start no further back than the fifth row. As one of the top 10 point-getters after Wednesday and Thursday, Droud Jr. earned a spot in Friday night’s scramble. Scramble results, combined with qualifying, determined tonight’s top 10 starting spots.
The front row is likely to include Donny Schatz and Craig Dollansky. The only former Knoxville Nationals champions currently locked into the feature are 12-time winner Steve Kinser and 1983 winner Sammy Swindell.
Kinser and Swindell will start side-by-side in row 10.
— Todd Henrichs