ASCS 35: 360 Knoxville Nationals Stores Three Decades of Rich History at “Sprint Car Capital”

KNOXVILLE, IA (August 6, 2026) — Sprint Cars and Knoxville Raceway mesh together like peanut butter and jelly.

The Iowa-based 1/2-mile black dirt facility has hosted car racing since 1901, but the track’s rise in popularity came with the arrival of the 410 Sprint Car edition of the Knoxville Nationals in 1961 and later the 360 Knoxville Nationals in 1991.

The 36th running of the Xtream Powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals pres. by Great Southern Bank takes place Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 6-8, with drivers hunting for a $20,000-to-win payday through 30 laps.

Let’s take a trip down the decades that shaped the crown jewel of 360 Sprint Car Racing:

The 1990s

The final decade of the twentieth century introduced the 360 Sprint Cars one week after the 410 event for what was originally billed as the Limited Sprint Nationals on Aug. 24, 1991, with 58 drivers competing.

The 25-lap event saw Marshalltown, IA native David Hesmer best Garry Lee Maier to score a $2,500 check and the honors of being the first-ever 360 Nationals champion. Maier got his time in Victory Lane by becoming the first two-time champion with back-to-back wins aboard the Jimmie Rogers Jenkins No. 11x from 1992-93.

In 1995, the American Sprint Car Series joined the fold to sanction the event, with Danny Lasoski taking the victory before becoming the first driver to win both the 360 and 410 editions of Knoxville Nationals with three scores (1998, 2003-04). Altoona, IA’s Terry McCarl won his first of five 360 Nationals Championship Features in 1996. The 1998 season stores the only event victory for four-time Series champion Gary Wright.

360 Nationals Winners (1991-99)

1991 – David Hesmer

1992 – Garry Lee Maier

1993 – Garry Lee Maier

1994 – Lee Nelson

1995 – Danny Lasoski

1996 – Terry McCarl

1997 – David Hesmer

1998 – Gary Wright

1999 – Dennis Moore Jr.

The 2000s

The new millennium began with an Oklahoma takeover as Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson became the first driver to win the 360 Nationals and the ASCS National Tour championship in the same year.

Between 2001-05, three drivers won their second career 360 Nationals title, starting with McCarl in 2001, Dennis Moore Jr. in 2003, and Billy Alley completing a back-to-back effort from 2004-05. The outlier of the group was Jeff Swindell, who scored his only victory in 2002.

The final two drivers to score their first event victory of the decade were Jesse Giannetto and Shane Stewart in 2006 and 2007, respectively. Johnson won his second 360 Nationals Feature in 2008, and McCarl earned his third triumph in the 2009 running.

360 Nationals Winners (2000-2009)

2000 – Wayne Johnson

2001 – Terry McCarl

2002 – Jeff Swindell

2003 – Dennis Moore Jr.

2004 – Billy Alley

2005 – Billy Alley

2006 – Jesse Giannetto

2007 – Shane Stewart

2008 – Wayne Johnson

2009 – Terry McCarl

The 2010s

Stewart and crew chief Paul Silva became one of the most threatening duos in 360 Nationals history with a record four consecutive Championship Feature wins from 2010-13. In that span, Stewart nabbed the 2011 ASCS National title – the second and last of his career.

The first driver to topple Stewart’s reign came from Higginsville, MO’s Brian Brown, who scored his first win in the 2014 running in his 15th career attempt. McCarl returned to the top in 2015 for his fourth triumph. In 2016, Sammy Swindell showed that age doesn’t affect speed as he became the oldest driver to win the 360 Nationals at 60 years of age aboard the No. 3s A.G. Rains machine.

Sioux Falls, SD’s Clint Garner pulled off the upset with the 2017 victory, then McCarl tied Stewart on the all-time wins list with his fifth victory in the 2018 edition. James McFadden became the first Australian driver to win the 360 Nationals with his triumph in the 2019 edition for Kasey Kahne Racing.

360 Nationals Winners (2010-2019)

2010 – Shane Stewart

2011 – Shane Stewart

2012 – Shane Stewart

2013 – Shane Stewart

2014 – Brian Brown

2015 – Terry McCarl

2016 – Sammy Swindell

2017 – Clint Garner

2018 – Terry McCarl

2019 – James McFadden

The 2020s

McFadden’s time as the only Australian champion did not last long, as St. Mary’s, New South Wales native Kerry Madsen led all 25 laps to win for Big Game Motorsports in the COVID-19-impacted event of 2020. The next year saw a thrilling fight with Giovanni Scelzi besting Daryn Pittman to the twin checkered flags to become the youngest 360 Nationals champion at 19 years old.

There was an increase in laps from 25 to 30 for the Championship Feature for the 2022 showcase. The added count did not affect Aaron Reutzel, who became the latest former ASCS National Tour champion to win at Knoxville when he took the Ridge and Sons Racing No. 8 machine to his first win.

Brown returned to the limelight in 2023 by inching to a 0.02-second margin of victory over Reutzel at the finish line for the first $20,000-to-win purse in the event. The last two runnings of the event have seen first-time winners: Tyler Courtney took the Clauson-Marshall Racing No. 7BC to Victory Lane in 2024, and Rico Abreu outdueled Kyle Larson for the win in 2025.

360 Nationals Winners (2020-2025)

2020 – Kerry Madsen

2021 – Gio Scelzi

2022 – Aaron Reutzel

2023 – Brian Brown

2024 – Tyler Courtney

2025 – Rico Abreu

ASCS 35: 360 Knoxville Nationals Stores Three Decades of Rich History at “Sprint Car Capital” KNOXVILLE, IA (August 6, 2026) — Sprint Cars and Knoxville Raceway mesh together like peanut butter and jelly.