BARBERVILLE, Fla. (Jan. 16 — Armed with a new ride for the Crate Racin’ USA Winter Shootout Series while he waits for his own cars to be constructed, Jake Knowles of Rome, Ga., enters tonight’s Sunshine Nationals finale at Volusia Speedway Park riding fourth in the nine-race miniseries points standings after completion of the first two events of the season.
The overall Winter Shootout points champion will receive $2,500, and the next big events for the series will be a three-race engagement scheduled Feb. 4-6 at third-mile East Bay Raceway Park in Gibsonton, Fla. Other events remaining on the schedule include the Crate Racin’ USA portion of the Tuckassee Toilet Bowl Classic weekend Feb. 25-27 at Clarksville (Tenn.) Speedway, and the series finale that’s inked March 19-20 at Modoc (S.C.) Raceway.
House Car Driver
Knowles will have another opportunity to build on his early-season momentum in the finale of the three-day DIRTcar Racing-sanctioned weekend scheduled tonight at the D-shaped, half-mile oval, after rain forced cancellation of last night’s races. That event will not be made up, reducing the three-race collaboration between the DIRTcar Pro Late Model division and Crate Racin’s USA’s Newsome Raceway Parts Dirt Late Model Series to a two-race weekend.
Knowles, who was recently tabbed to drive Jason Welshan’s house car entry representing Savage Chassis, finished a disappointing 17th in the season-opening Ice Bowl at Talladega Short Track after exiting the 50-lapper while running fourth, and backed that up with a solid sixth-place showing in the opening event of the Sunshine Nationals held Jan. 14 at Volusia. He’s aboard the company’s house car after ordering two cars over the winter from the steadily-growing chassis business.
“I had sold both of my cars, and Jason [Welshan] and I have been talking for about a year about working together, just kinda joking around with each other,” Knowles said. “I finally ordered two cars from him, and when this series approached they weren’t ready yet. I really wanted to run this Winter Shootout Series, so Jason [Welshan] said, “Well, let me just let you run mine. So that’s how I ended up in this ride, and it really worked out better all around for us both.”
Welshan drove his own machine to an impressive flag-to-flag victory in the Ice Bowl, and the Maryville, Tenn., driver also plans to participate in the full Winter Shootout Series. He is listed second in points, currently two spots (and 18 points) ahead of Knowles in the chase for the miniseries title.
Winter Shootout Series (current standings):
- Dylan Knowles, 180 points; 2. Jason Welshan, 172; 3. Cody Overton, 168; 4. Jake Knowles, 154; 5. Jody Knowles, 134; 6. Michael Page, 100; 7. Mack McCarter, 96; 8. Eli Beets, 94; 9. Mark Whitener, 94; 10. Kyle Bronson, 92.
So Far, So Good
Knowles has been impressed with the house car thus far, and is happy with his early-season performances, especially taking into consideration that he doesn’t have a lot of experience at Volusia
“We had a good run here Thursday night, and this is a kinda new place for us that we don’t race a lot,” Knowles said. “We’re still getting used to the car and there’s some things we’ve got to change to suit me better, but that’s a process you have every time you’re in a different deal. Like any new car, we’ve got to put a notebook together. We finished pretty good a couple nights ago, and didn’t have but 50 competitive laps in the car, and I think that’s a pretty good start. We’re getting better every time we race it.”
Racing Continues at Volusia
A strong car count in the mid-50s has been on the grounds this weekend, a representation that includes some of the best drivers from both DIRTcar and Crate USA. The third and final event tonight [Jan. 16] is expected to draw more of the same, and pit gates will open at 2 p.m.
The race will pay $10,000 to the winner, and also be the inaugural event for the brand new E-Z-GO Challenge Series, which is a collection of high-paying “series within a series” events for Crate Late Model competitors. Highlighting the night on the four-division program will be a Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Dirt Late Model Series event that’ll pay $10,000 to the winner. Kyle Bronson of Brandon, Fla., claimed a victory in the WoO season opener Jan. 14 at the facility.
Florida Late Models and 602 Late Models will also be on the busy card of events.