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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
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FORMER
OPEN WHEELER SWEEPS STOCK CAR OPENER by Norm Bogan |
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Often you come across a race driver that catches your attention, not by his performance, but the way he carries himself. The driver makes an impression, not just on the track, but with his inner strength, such as tenacity, stubbornness, thinking on the run and coolness under fire that carries him through a career as a race driver. I first met Van Knill about five years ago as a
sixteen-year-old kid that had just made the jump from quarter
midgets to full midgets and began to campaign on the USAC Western
States Midget series. He
and Matt Rossi, were both serving under the tutelage of veteran
mechanic and car builder, Rick Stewart from Phoenix.
Van had moved up from the very active and prolific Arizona
Quarter Midget series that spawned drivers like Jerry Coons Jr., J.J.
Yeley, Jeremy Sherman and R.J. Johnson. Van achieved the USAC Western States Midget
Rookie of the Year honors. One
of Knill’s most memorable races occurred in 2003 at Madera,
finishing runner up to Michael Lewis.
During that event, he had an on-track encounter with fellow
racer, Tony Stewart. Van recalled how Tony drove under his midget and nudged him
up the track, flipping Van “the bird” and moved on. Shortly afterward, the roles reversed and Van dove into the
corner low, nudged Tony up the track and regained position and
returned the gesture as he passed by.
At the finish, it was Lewis, Knill and Stewart.
He had just outrun one of the best! With costs escalating and so many long tows to
USAC events from their Tucson home base, the Knill team of Van and
his Dad, Bob looked at moving to the Super Late Model series at
nearby Tucson Raceway Park, as Van enrolled at the University of
Arizona, studying Communications and Engineering.
Struggling with the bigger car and a declining series, the
Knill team had high hopes of getting back on track for the 2005
season and arranged with Jackson Racecars in Palmdale, California to
refurbish one of their old cars and maintain it for them to campaign
with the strong field at Irwindale Speedway. Van could now concentrate on his studies at
Arizona, during the week and then he and Dad would fly to California
on Saturday morning and return home on Sunday.
Although the logistics were somewhat better, it was still a
strain on their racing budget with little sponsor help.
Early in the season, he was involved in a crash that nearly
destroyed his car and missed five races, due to a tapped-out
checkbook, before returning. This season has been one plagued with rainouts,
water seeping onto the Irwindale racing surface and other rain
related maladies, but finally on April 15th, it all came
together. Van and Bob
were upbeat early in the day, in fact, Van was so confident that he
took a little nap in the driver’s seat, just to develop some karma
with his racing steed, a Ford Taurus. Practice clocking found Knill to be fifth fast,
but when it came to qualifying, he posted quick time.
His spin of the roulette wheel for inversion came up with a
one, putting Van on the pole for the Dash, where the finish would
determine the starting front four rows of the feature.
Knill collected the Dash win over Dan Moore and these two
became the standard bearers for the fifty-lap feature. As the final race of the evening got underway,
Knill jumped into the lead, not to be overtaken for fifty laps. At times, he established a half-straightaway lead over the
second place car, until a yellow flag situation closed the gap.
Once again, Van was able to move forward as Dan Moore and
Chris Johnson carried on a race-long dice for the second position. As the checkered flag waved, Van Knill had won
his first feature since quarter midgets and was soon comparing notes
with Chris Johnson Jr. about a quarter midget Grand Nationals race
at Sacramento a few years ago.
Van had led for 37 laps, when Chris passed him with three
laps to go, costing Knill the victory and the national championship. Van is very articulate and easy to interview.
He relishes the opportunity afforded by winning races.
He and his Dad have reached a cusp, where they really need a
financial investment into their racing operation, to continue in
their quest for this year’s Super Late Model Championship, as they
currently lead the points. Van is completing his education and even his
dating involves racing, as his steady is Billy Boat’s daughter,
Tricia. Off weekends
often finds Van following the exploits of Tricia’s younger
brother, Chad, who is currently running sprint cars and trucks at
the age of fourteen. |
