Knowland Gearing Up For Five Races In Eight Days
TOPEKA, Kan. – Taegan Knowland is set for one of his busiest on-track stretches of the season, with racing in two different divisions over an eight-day span.
The 10-year-old racer from Topeka, Kan., will begin with a doubleheader Tuesday, July 23 in his Race Driven Performance No. 17 Bandolero, as the Cookout Summer Shootout Series races its rain-delayed round eight and scheduled round nine at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway’s frontstretch quarter mile.
He’ll then fly from North Carolina to Minnesota and return to the seat of a quarter midget Saturday and Sunday, July 27-28, for the All-American Clash Series stop at Little Elko Speedway.
It’s the second straight year the All-American Clash Series has made a midsummer appearance at Elko, and this year’s visit marks races three and four of the quarter midget tour, which visits four tracks in four different Great Plains states.
Elko’s quarter-midget track sits on the grounds of the three-eighths-mile paved oval, which is NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series-sanctioned and has hosted ARCA Menards Series races in the past.
Knowland will then return to Charlotte for the Summer Shootout finale on Tuesday, July 30, wrapping up the 10-race mini-series in the Bandolero Bandits division and aiming to secure a top-five finish in the Shootout point standings.
In total, Knowland will race five times in eight days, a challenge he’s eager to tackle.
“First off, it’s exciting to get back in a quarter midget next weekend with the All-American Clash Series and to race at Little Elko; it’s a fun track and somewhere that’s very different than our hometown club in Topeka,” said Knowland. “Spending most of the summer putting our focus on the Bandolero has been needed and I’ve learned so much, but it’s always nice to race with good friends and get back to the roots of what started us in racing as a family.
“I’m also ready to finish the Summer Shootout strong and, hopefully, grab our first race win before the end of the summer,” he added. “We’ve been really fast and been close the past couple of races, but had some bad luck that kept us from going after victories. The goal is to try and shake that monkey off our back before it’s all over!”
Knowland would like to thank ATP Restoration, Race Face Brand Development, the Friends of Jacklyn Foundation, Qdoba of Topeka, Jeremiah Bullfrogs Bar & Grille of Topeka, Manhattan and Junction City, Royal Signs, Thrivent Financial, and DC Lawn Care for their partnership and support of his racing efforts.
For those unable to attend Knowland’s Summer Shootout races at the track, FloRacing will stream the event live.
Jeremiah Bullfrogs is continuing to hold local watch parties for each round of the Summer Shootout in support of Knowland. Topeka-area fans looking to get in on the fun can do so by visiting the restaurant at 2827 Southwest Wanamaker Road, with the FloRacing broadcast kicking off at 4 p.m. Central time.
About Taegan Knowland
Taegan Knowland is a 10-year-old Kansan whose dreams of racing were strong from his earliest years. A first-generation racer, Knowland began racing quarter midgets in 2021 and has since compiled a record of more than 30 victories, including a highlight win in 2022 at historic Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway.
Knowland currently races quarter midgets nationally in the NASCAR Youth Series (formerly the USAC.25 Series) and has also branched out into Bandolero car racing, with plans to compete for Race Driven Performance in the prestigious Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and other major INEX-sanctioned events.
