Lasoski Wins Another Knoxville Title

KNOXVILLE, Iowa August 17, 2003; Chuck Schoffner writing for the AP reported that Danny Lasoski is so good at the Knoxville Raceway that not even a broken shock could stop him.

His left rear wheel vibrating in the final laps, Lasoski held off perennial runner-up Donny Schatz on Saturday night to win the Knoxville Nationals for the third time.

"Right now I'm so proud of this car I could almost bawl," Lasoski said.

Lasoski extended his Knoxville record by winning for the 82nd time on the half-mile dirt oval and collected $125,000 in the nation's richest and most prestigious events for sprint car drivers.

But it didn't come without a scare. The shock on his left rear wheel broke late in the race - Lasoski wasn't sure exactly when - and it took all the skill he could muster to stay in front as he weaved through lapped traffic.

"All I know is the thing started vibrating," Lasoski said. "I didn't know what was wrong with the car. It was loose and loose."

Lasoski also won the Nationals in 1998 and 2001. He acted as if it were his first title.

The 44-year-old driver from Dover, Mo., known on the World of Outlaws circuit as "The Dude," jumped onto the top wing of his car, flexed for the cheering crowd of 30,000 and set what might have been a track record for fist pumps.

Among the first to greet him on the victory stand was his car owner, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

"He won this thing with a broken shock," Stewart said. "He did that on his own. It wasn't us."

Starting from the No. 4 position, Lasoski immediately moved into second place behind Schatz, the pole sitter. On lap No. 8, Lasoski went to his favorite part of the track, the inside, to pass Schatz and led the rest of the way in the 30-lap race.

Schatz made a run at Lasoski in the 21st lap and had another chance when a restart was ordered with two laps to go after Daryn Pittman's car stalled. But Lasoski sped away when the race resumed and Schatz had no chance to catch him.

"He got a great start in the restart," Schatz said. "We weren't fast enough to catch him."

Schatz finished second for the third time in four years. Kenny Jacobs was third and defending champion Steve Kinser finished sixth. Erin Crocker, the first woman to run in the championship race, was 22nd in the 24-car field.