Mike Knight Racing

May 29, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Mike Knight Still Looking For Some Luck On The Road After Tough Memorial Day Weekend Tripleheader

RIPLEY, NY –Mike Knight knew that his first season of extensive traveling as a dirt Late Model driver wouldn’t be easy.

But after a tough Memorial Day Weekend on the road with the Independent Racing Series (IRS), the rising young star from Ripley, N.Y., can’t help but wonder what he must do to catch a break.

Knight, 21, had little to show for his three-race IRS swing through Ohio to Raceway 7 in Conneaut (May 23), Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville (May 24) and Cannonball Speedway in St. Clairsville. He finished 15th in the 50-lap A-Main at Raceway 7 after he simply “missed the setup”; failed to qualify for the headliner at Muskingum County (finishing seventh in the first B-Main); and had to settle for a 17th-place finish in the 50-lapper at Cannonball after leading early in the race.

“It was a real frustrating weekend, that’s for sure,” said Knight, who made his first career start at both Muskingum County and Cannonball. “The real disappointing race was at Cannonball. We were real good there, but we just didn’t keep our stuff together again.”

Knight was a major-league contender at Cannonball. He set fast time in qualifying – besting the 33-car field with a lap of 15.548 seconds around the high-banked, three-eighths-mile oval – and then finished third in his heat and the dash. Starting third in the feature, he blasted into the lead on lap three with a pass of Tim Dohm.

Dohm nosed back ahead of Knight to lead lap five, but Knight regained command on lap five and proceeded to flex some serious muscle. He looked primed to score his first-ever IRS victory – until hitting a hole in the surface on lap 16 and falling to third behind new leader Robbie Blair and Dohm.

“Then I felt my car starting to lose power,” said Knight. “A few laps later I hit that hole again and broke the driveshaft.”

Forced to retire early, Knight could only shake his head after seeing a great run go bad.

“I called (World of Outlaws Late Model Series star) Chub (Frank) and Mike Farr (of Genesis Shocks) on Sunday morning and talked for an hour about some things to do to the car to get us going,” said Knight. “We made a bunch of changes (for Cannonball) and the car was great, but we just didn’t have any luck.

“It was cool to have the guy who won the race, Eddie Carrier Jr., come up afterwards and say, ‘Man, you were fast. We didn’t have anything for you.’ But we have to put a whole race together and get a good finish, not just run good and drop out.”

Knight ended the weekend ranked seventh in the IRS points standings and third in the tour’s Rookie of the Year battle.

Despite his rough stretch, the driver known as ‘Hollywood’ is focused on getting his program headed in the right direction and will head back out on the IRS trail this weekend for the final two events of the ‘Rapid Refund Week’ swing. He will compete at Skyline Raceway in Stewart, Ohio, on Friday night (May 30) and Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on Saturday night (May 31).

An up-and-coming dirt Late Model driver whose breakout 2007 season was highlighted by a points title at Eriez Speedway, Knight has an ambitious schedule of 70-plus races across the region planned with his family-owned team in 2008. His operation carries sponsorship from Arrowhead Wine Cellars, Mobilia Fruit Farm, Ottawaya’s Auto Body, Knight Farms, RJB Construction, Chessa’ Pizza, NYPenn Surveying, TeCulver Contracting, Genesis Shocks, Lehman Motorsports, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts and American Racing Tires.

For more information on Mike Knight, visit www.mikeknight9k.com.

MKR PR.



	May 29, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mike Knight Still Looking For Some Luck On The Road After Tough Memorial Day Weekend Tripleheader RIPLEY, NY –Mike Knight knew that his first season of extensive traveling as a dirt Late Model driver wouldn’t be easy. But after a tough Memorial Day Weekend on the road with the Independent Racing Series (IRS), the rising young star from Ripley, N.Y., can’t help but wonder what he must do to catch a break. Knight, 21, had little to show for his three-race IRS swing through Ohio to Raceway 7 in Conneaut (May 23), Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville (May 24) and Cannonball Speedway in St. Clairsville. He finished 15th in the 50-lap A-Main at Raceway 7 after he simply “missed the setup”; failed to qualify for the headliner at Muskingum County (finishing seventh in the first B-Main); and had to settle for a 17th-place finish in the 50-lapper at Cannonball after leading early in the race. “It was a real frustrating weekend, that’s for sure,” said Knight, who made his first career start at both Muskingum County and Cannonball. “The real disappointing race was at Cannonball. We were real good there, but we just didn’t keep our stuff together again.” Knight was a major-league contender at Cannonball. He set fast time in qualifying – besting the 33-car field with a lap of 15.548 seconds around the high-banked, three-eighths-mile oval – and then finished third in his heat and the dash. Starting third in the feature, he blasted into the lead on lap three with a pass of Tim Dohm. Dohm nosed back ahead of Knight to lead lap five, but Knight regained command on lap five and proceeded to flex some serious muscle. He looked primed to score his first-ever IRS victory – until hitting a hole in the surface on lap 16 and falling to third behind new leader Robbie Blair and Dohm. “Then I felt my car starting to lose power,” said Knight. “A few laps later I hit that hole again and broke the driveshaft.” Forced to retire early, Knight could only shake his head after seeing a great run go bad. “I called (World of Outlaws Late Model Series star) Chub (Frank) and Mike Farr (of Genesis Shocks) on Sunday morning and talked for an hour about some things to do to the car to get us going,” said Knight. “We made a bunch of changes (for Cannonball) and the car was great, but we just didn’t have any luck. “It was cool to have the guy who won the race, Eddie Carrier Jr., come up afterwards and say, ‘Man, you were fast. We didn’t have anything for you.’ But we have to put a whole race together and get a good finish, not just run good and drop out.” Knight ended the weekend ranked seventh in the IRS points standings and third in the tour’s Rookie of the Year battle. Despite his rough stretch, the driver known as ‘Hollywood’ is focused on getting his program headed in the right direction and will head back out on the IRS trail this weekend for the final two events of the ‘Rapid Refund Week’ swing. He will compete at Skyline Raceway in Stewart, Ohio, on Friday night (May 30) and Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on Saturday night (May 31). An up-and-coming dirt Late Model driver whose breakout 2007 season was highlighted by a points title at Eriez Speedway, Knight has an ambitious schedule of 70-plus races across the region planned with his family-owned team in 2008. His operation carries sponsorship from Arrowhead Wine Cellars, Mobilia Fruit Farm, Ottawaya’s Auto Body, Knight Farms, RJB Construction, Chessa’ Pizza, NYPenn Surveying, TeCulver Contracting, Genesis Shocks, Lehman Motorsports, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts and American Racing Tires. For more information on Mike Knight, visit www.mikeknight9k.com. MKR PR.