Four Past Winners Headline Wednesday Knoxville Prelim Field

Donny Schatz is seeking his record-tying 12th career Knoxville Nationals crown this week. (Cameron Saich/CS Productions photo)

By Jacob Seelman, SWN News Editor

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 12, 2026) – A quartet of previous NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals winners, headlined by defending champion Ryan Timms, lead the list of 48 cars entered for Wednesday’s opening preliminary night of the historic event’s 65th running.

The 19-year-old Timms takes center stage on BRANDT Professional Agriculture Qualifying Night at Knoxville Raceway, hoping to go back-to-back in sprint car racing’s most prestigious race and also back up his 360 Knoxville Nationals title from a weekend ago.

He’ll again drive the Albaugh/Hampel Oil No. 10 for car owner Shane Liebig, the same car he’s piloted to the weekly 410 sprint car points lead at the half-mile Marion County Fairgrounds dirt oval this season.

Timms is joined by CJB Motorsports’ Donny Schatz, Big Game Motorsports’ David Gravel, and Hall-of-Fame legend Sammy Swindell in the past winners category of Wednesday night’s field.

Schatz is an 11-time champion of the Knoxville Nationals, while Gravel won in 2019 and Swindell earned top honors in 1983.

Swindell is contesting his record 50th Knoxville Nationals and will drive a special gold-liveried Schnee-Lawson Chassis No. 1 in honor of the milestone, hoping to make his 33rd championship feature start come Saturday night.

Other top contenders in Wednesday’s field include defending High Limit Racing champion Rico Abreu, now-NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series star Corey Day, six-time ASCS National Tour champion Sam Hafertepe Jr., Australian ace James McFadden, Pennsylvania Posse star Chase Dietz, and national-level regulars like Sheldon Haudenschild, Gio Scelzi, and Emerson Axsom.

Three drivers on Wednesday – Steven Snyder Jr., Rees Moran, and Rodney Huband – are making their first Knoxville Nationals attempt and will be in the running for JETCO Rookie of the Year honors.

Hot laps are slated for 6:45 p.m. Central time Wednesday evening, with live coverage all week long available on DIRTvision through an annual subscription.

The format pays points every time a driver hits the racetrack, with 200 points for fast time, decreasing by two per position throughout the field. Heat races line up with an invert of eight, paying out 100 points to the winners and decreasing by three per position. The top four in each heat make the A-Main.

Combined points from qualifying, heat race, and feature finish (A, B, or C-Main) help determine the drivers locked into Saturday’s championship feature, with the top 16 drivers in combined points between Wednesday’s and Thursday’s preliminary programs guaranteed into the finale A-Main.

The split field preliminary entry lists are below: