The event originated as a one-day competition for Super Modifieds, later expanding to four days of racing for Sprint Cars. Marion Robinson conceived the idea for the Knoxville Nationals, with the first race held in 1961, won by Roy Robbins. The prize money has grown significantly over the decades, from $1,000 in 1961 to $1,000,255 total purse in 2010, with $150,000 awarded to the winner that year.
The 1990 Nationals are considered one of the best in history, featuring Doug Wolfgang advancing from the D-Main to finish fifth in the A-Main, and a dramatic finish between Sammy Swindell and Bobby Allen, with Allen winning with two laps remaining. The 1991 event saw 170 entrants and 75,000 fans. In 1969, Kenny Gritz won the event, passing Jan Opperman with four laps left, but tragically died in a crash two weeks later, leading to a rule change mandating roll cages. The 2010 race was extended to 50 laps for the event’s 50th anniversary, with Tim Shaffer winning after Sammy Swindell’s tire blew and Donny Schatz experienced engine trouble.
Steve Kinser is the most successful driver in the history of the event, with 12 wins, 17 top-five finishes, and 26 top-ten finishes. His son, Kraig Kinser, won in 2005, making them the first father-son duo to win the Knoxville Nationals. Donny Schatz has won the event eleven times (2006-2009, 2011–2015, 2017, 2022). Other multiple winners include Doug Wolfgang (five times), Kenny Weld and Danny Lasoski (four times each), and Mark Kinser and Kyle Larson (three times each). Kenny Weld was the youngest winner, at 18 years old in 1964.
The highest car count occurred in 1991, with 166 entries. Mark Kinser holds the record for quickest qualifying time, achieving it ten times. Cody Darrah holds the one-lap track record with a time of 14.547, set in 2009. Donny Schatz won the championship race in 2013 from the 21st starting position, the lowest starting position for a winner in the two-segment race format. Karl Kinser has been the car owner for a record 14 victories, with three different drivers: Dick Gaines, Steve Kinser, and Mark Kinser.
From 1961 through 1977, the race was unsanctioned, except for the 1973 event which was sanctioned by the All Star Circuit of Champions. Ted Johnson’s World of Outlaws sanctioned the event from 1978 through 2005. Due to a sanctioning body split in 2006, the Nationals were sanctioned under Knoxville Raceway track rules. Since 2012, the World of Outlaws name has been associated with the race, but the event is still operated by Knoxville Raceway officials.
Garry Rush became the first Australian driver to qualify for the championship race in 1979, finishing 7th. Kerry Madsen is the highest-finishing Australian, taking second place in 2015. Max Dumesny was the first Australian to win a feature at Knoxville, winning the 1985 Race of States. In 2018, Tom Harris became the first British driver to compete at the Nationals.
In 1991, Knoxville Raceway began hosting a Nationals event for 360 cubic inch engine sprint cars, held annually the week before the Knoxville Nationals. Shane Stewart and Terry McCarl share the record for most wins with five victories each. In 2004, the Late Model Knoxville Nationals were created, held annually at the end of September, with Scott Bloomquist, Brian Birkhofer, Mike Marlar, and Jimmy Owens as repeat champions. Mike Marlar became the first three-time winner of the Late Model Knoxville Nationals in 2021.
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