PREVIEW: Grosz confident heading into 360 Knoxville Nationals
By Spieker Promotions
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 6, 2020) – The biggest 360 Sprint Car race of the year is upon us as the 30th annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals kicks off tonight at the famed half-mile on the Marion County Fairgrounds, Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.
In three previous starts at Knoxville this season, Lee Grosz has tallied a pair of top 10 finishes, both of which were eighth-place efforts on June 6th and June 20th, and a heat race win.
“The last time we went [to Knoxville] we made some improvements,” said Grosz. “We didn’t get the finish we wanted, but I felt like we gained speed each time we hit the track. I’m feeling pretty confident rolling into the weekend. Hopefully, we can draw a decent number [on our preliminary night] and lay down a decent lap during time trials.”
Last year at the 360 Knoxville Nationals, Grosz laid down the second-quickest qualifying lap during time trials and finished the night with an 18th-place run in the preliminary feature. That locked him into the field of 24 for the championship main event on Saturday night.
“Hopefully we can get it locked into the A-main on Saturday again and actually be able to race the feature this time,” said Grosz. “Last year we had a part failure that caused the motor to have a stumble.”
Grosz unfortunately was unable to turn a lap at speed and was credited with a 24th-place finish.
“[Before last year] it had been a while since I’ve raced a Saturday night feature at the Nationals. The last one was around 2013 or 2014, so it would be fun to make the championship feature again this year,” commented Grosz.
The driver of the Moyle-powered J&J No. 4J will attempt to qualify for Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win main event tonight. For fans that can’t make it to Knoxville, DirtVision.com will have live video coverage.
This week, one of Grosz’s biggest fans and supporters, Larry Hesteness of Hi-10 Sports Center, passed away.
“This weekend is dedicated to Larry and the Hesteness family,” said Grosz. “Larry started sponsoring us my first year in sprint cars and he also sponsored me when I raced snowmobiles for a few years, so he’s been with us since the start.”
Lee and the entire team would like to thank all their sponsors for their continued support!
Grinch Service & Sales
HI-10 Sports Center
Kickass Beef Jerky
J&J Auto Racing
Moyle Racing Engines
Vigen Farms
Penske Racing Shocks
Fischer Auto Body
2020 Stats:
Races: 10
Wins: 1
Top Fives: 6
Top Tens: 8
