Josh Baughman Knows Knoxville Wins Equal Immediate Prestige

Winning a race in the Knoxville Nationals equals immediate prestige for 360 and 410 sprinters alike.

Aug 3, 2017 by Victoria Beaver

Josh Baughman Knows Knoxville Wins Equal Immediate Prestige

Texas native Josh Baughman is running double duty over the next two weeks, a feat he attempts each time he arrives at Knoxville (Iowa) Speedway for its annual festival of speed.

While he doesn't run his 410 in weekly competition, he uses it at the Sprint Car Capital to gain knowledge of the unique track and get more laps under his belt. Baughman, along with more than a hundred drivers, will be fighting hard for at least one win during the 27th annual Knoxville Nationals, which get started Thursday night.

The designation of Nationals winner brings a lot of authority to a race team.

"It's the biggest sprint car race in the world. The fans and the atmosphere make it unique." Baughman said. "Just to race it alone is a huge prestige. If you go out and run good at the Knoxville Nationals, it defines your whole career."

Scheduling conflicts have stopped Baughman from making it to Iowa as much has he would like to this year.

"I've only been to Knoxville a handful of times this year -- around four or five times -- but I've run double duty when I've been here, running our 410 and 360 in the same night," Baughman said. "We try to get as many laps as we can; normally we come here eight times a year. This year we haven't had the opportunity to get up there as much as we would like to."

After struggling in his heat last week, Baughman entered the B-Main in 12th position, found what he was missing, and passed 10 cars in 12 laps to advance to the A-Main.

"Our 360 program is really strong at Knoxville," he said. "We always run pretty well here. We try to get up here as often as we can and make laps. Last year, we had a good qualifying night, ended up qualifying third, and were running top five when we blew an engine on the final lap. I feel really good about [Thursday]. Last weekend, we ended strong after not starting out very good. It's obviously a tough crowd, but we feel good."

Baughman knows that the competition will be stiff these next two weekends, as hometown racers with a deep knowledge of the track and top competitors from around the country flood the field.

"All the guys that come to Knoxville this time of year, they're top-notch teams and they're all looking for a win," Baughman said. "You're racing against the best professionals in our sport, guys that you can race hard against and not tear anything up. That's always fun."