Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Hi, i know Knoxville Nationals 2009 has only just ended, but me and a few friends are planning a trip over from the UK to visit Knoxville for the first time to watch the 50th Nationals. We are all regular visitors to the USA to watch sprint cars, we make an annual trip to Florida in February, also been to Charlotte for the Finals, Vegas, and regular trips to PA. Your sport is fantastic, nothing comes close to it over here. A trip to Knoxville is top of the list for 2010.

We are after a little bit of advice as where to stay, which hotels/motels etc. We dont mind a bit of travelling into knoxville each day, but you guys will know what is the best way to do it, Are hotels easy to book or do they get taken pretty quick? We want to try and get organised pretty soon so we can book flights etc and know how much to budget!

Any advice would be appreciated, Thanks.

I really think that the hotels near the Des Moines airport have become the best options. With highway 5 being a direct shot and 4 lanes to knoxville now its a very quick drive. If u do stay in Des Moines dont get lazy and stay up there all day though, get to
Kville early enough to wander around town.

Make sure your travel agent knows you want to go to Knoxville IOWA...seems like a few years ago I read about an Aussie fan getting on a charter plane and ending up in Knoxville Tennessee.

Loose is when you hit the wall with the rear of the
car, tight is when you hit the wall with the front of
the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and
torque is how far you move the wall.

We have stayed in Newton at the Newton Inn for the last two years. It is not fancy by any means but it is clean and comfortable. It is a straight shot down 14 to Knoxville, about 26 miles. I would make reservations as soon as possible but even waiting awhile, I don't think you will have trouble getting a room.

t-warrior

Has there been any talk about possibly starting some sprint car racing across the pond in Great Britain, joining the U.S., New Zealand, Australia and Canada with this thrilling type of motorsport. Drag racing has made its way pretty big time down under and is becoming popular in several European countries so maybe sprint car racing isn't far behind. The one thing these two motorsports have in common is huge horsepower to weight ratios.

Adding $6 trillion of debt in his 1st term and now if 
elected again he wouldn't have to worry about an 
electorate in 2016 so the sky is the limit.And his EPA 
would continue to put the screws to oil drilling and 
mining for coal.Can you say bankruptcy.

Other option is renting a camper/RV in Des Moines getting reservations at one of the north campgrounds in Knox and take in the event nonstop, much much more convienant for the Die Hard sprint fan that wants to be in the middle of it all, just a idea?

wife here lol..never want hubby to be blamed for anything i might say ..you might consider contacting the Knoxville chamber of Commerce..they have a rent a room program where many in the town rent rooms in their homes that week..its really nice to be right there..and not have to travel far...Many I have known have went this way and will not do anything else ever again...We rent a room from darbo every year..its great..we have become friends and makes the trip even more ..They match you to a renter so you are not around pets if you dont like animals and such..smokers w/smokers and other things like that. Prices will vary from each one but i doubt ever as expensive as hotel rooms are at that time...Good Luck

I agree with Cooldevin, stay in Des Moines. We stayed by the airport at the Holiday Inn, plenty of restaurants nearby, and a short easy drive to Knoxville. Just make sure you have a designated driver, there will be cops pulling people over on the way back each night.

very basic thing, get there for the 360 nats, 2 osky nights and plan for a rain day or two after the sat. final scheduled day

Stay in Knoxville with a family, it is the ONLY thing to do and the smartest. Heck, if you start dealing with the Chamber of Commerce right now you'll likely end up within walking distance which should help especially if you're like most of the Limey's I've known, slurp, slurp, chug, chug, lol.

You will get the absolute feeling and be a part of the whole scene during your visit and it will come without wasting time commuting or worrying about that 'drive home'. There is enough to do in and around Knoxville you should stay pretty busy. Have a great time, see you there, Take It Easy....

Hi, can i just thank everyone for all your help and advice, i have been contacted by a number of people willing to help out with our plans for next year, hopefully all will drop into place with flights etc.

To answer Jeff24's question regarding sprints in the UK, unfortunately there are no real facilities that could handle the high speed of sprint cars, we only have approx 6 decent venues on dirt, they are only 1/4 mile max. We have way too many health and safety problems here in the UK to run sprints, hence regular trips to the US. we have got Brisca F1 and F2 racing here, i know that some forum members are familiar with this racing and have attended races here, hopefully they were impressed. It is good close competitive racing that also has an element of contact in it, i am sure you would love it if it were to come to the US, it is very popular here.

Thanks for help.

You might want to check out Pella, Iowa if your staying in a hotel. Only 13 miles from the track , very nice little town. Oskalossa is just a short trip down the highway if your there

for Monday and Tuesday.