A Saturday "NIGHT" with Driver Mark Knight
West Georgia Speedway and it's a Saturday night that fans are ready to see a fast and furious race. in Sammy Dukes new division "The Crate" cars.
Mark Knight the driver of the blue #K17 crate car, hails from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has a wife "Rhonda" and 2 sons Matthew and Ryan.
He is just 40 years old and was born 11/12/1967. He drives a Rocket Race car with a 604 Crate engine. He has a superb racing background that features running second in points at Penton Hobby in the year 2000, he has won 12 to 14 races at West Georgia Speedway in Hobby and modified Hobby. He also won 2 crate races at Whitesburg, Georgia.
His pit crew chief is Chuck Crane , and his son Matthew Knight.
Mark has some great sponsors such as Anthony Hill Grading, D&K truck repair plus Quality Retreads LLC, and a lot of great friends along the way.
Like all great drivers he has his favorites and they surprised me because I have seen both drivers drive here in Georgia, one is Shane Clanton and the other is Rusty Johnson. Now these are some well known and well liked drivers.
The Crate cars are almost as fast as the Sportsman cars, as a matter of fact their races draw some big fans. In this division a driver that stands out among the crowd is a heavy set man that when you look at him, you think there is no way he is going to crawl behind the seat of his Crate car, but some how he does.
This is one of the nicest drivers that one person could meet, he has that southern accent and is not a driver that is afraid of having a conversation with someone like myself. And all I am is a video journalist, that also works part time for Motorsportamerica magazine. My job can be hectic but I like it an that is all that matters. Now getting back to the driver that reminds me of NASCARS Buddy Baker, because Buddy was also a huge gentle giant, Mark Knight reminds me of him in lots of ways, his driving hard and charging and also for being funny.
He works hard on his car, and can really have a car dialed in and everything working right on those great nights, and he wins more races than you would imagine driving his blue #K17 around that 3/8th oval dirt track in Whitesburg Georgia. West Georgia Speedway held the Crate Car Championship in May and Mark finished in 2nd place behind his foe #07 of Dewayne Aldridge. That night would be long as Mark protested the #07 of first place winner Dewayne, the night was long as they had to tear Dewayne's Car down to make sure he was legal and put it this way around 3 a.m. Dewayne Aldridge was awarded the first place cash of $1ooo and they all headed home, Mark Knight just a little lighter in his pocket.
The championship Crate race featured also Abrey Merritt a Sportsman driver that had a crate engine installed because he was looking for the big cash, but Merritt and "Mad" Max Kitchens along with Brian Reese were at the back of the pack beating and banging on each others cars, it was almost like a slug fest except they were in the back with no chance of winning the race, so why were they content on beating each others car to pieces?. Who knows, what we do know is that #07 of Dewayne Aldridge walked away with the cash and Mark Knight did not return to Whitesburg the next Saturday night because that heavy toll of being rattled and rocked for 40 laps took a physical toll on Mark Knight. Don't worry you will see K17 back at West Georgia Speedway soon, and he will be taking a checkered flag, because he is a great driver and you can't keep a great driver down.
When I asked Mark if he had any other comments, he looked and me and with a "Big smile" said "I love racing , he just wished it didn't cost so much".
Mark Knight the driver of the blue #K17 crate car, hails from Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has a wife "Rhonda" and 2 sons Matthew and Ryan.
He is just 40 years old and was born 11/12/1967. He drives a Rocket Race car with a 604 Crate engine. He has a superb racing background that features running second in points at Penton Hobby in the year 2000, he has won 12 to 14 races at West Georgia Speedway in Hobby and modified Hobby. He also won 2 crate races at Whitesburg, Georgia.
His pit crew chief is Chuck Crane , and his son Matthew Knight.
Mark has some great sponsors such as Anthony Hill Grading, D&K truck repair plus Quality Retreads LLC, and a lot of great friends along the way.
Like all great drivers he has his favorites and they surprised me because I have seen both drivers drive here in Georgia, one is Shane Clanton and the other is Rusty Johnson. Now these are some well known and well liked drivers.
The Crate cars are almost as fast as the Sportsman cars, as a matter of fact their races draw some big fans. In this division a driver that stands out among the crowd is a heavy set man that when you look at him, you think there is no way he is going to crawl behind the seat of his Crate car, but some how he does.
This is one of the nicest drivers that one person could meet, he has that southern accent and is not a driver that is afraid of having a conversation with someone like myself. And all I am is a video journalist, that also works part time for Motorsportamerica magazine. My job can be hectic but I like it an that is all that matters. Now getting back to the driver that reminds me of NASCARS Buddy Baker, because Buddy was also a huge gentle giant, Mark Knight reminds me of him in lots of ways, his driving hard and charging and also for being funny.
He works hard on his car, and can really have a car dialed in and everything working right on those great nights, and he wins more races than you would imagine driving his blue #K17 around that 3/8th oval dirt track in Whitesburg Georgia. West Georgia Speedway held the Crate Car Championship in May and Mark finished in 2nd place behind his foe #07 of Dewayne Aldridge. That night would be long as Mark protested the #07 of first place winner Dewayne, the night was long as they had to tear Dewayne's Car down to make sure he was legal and put it this way around 3 a.m. Dewayne Aldridge was awarded the first place cash of $1ooo and they all headed home, Mark Knight just a little lighter in his pocket.
The championship Crate race featured also Abrey Merritt a Sportsman driver that had a crate engine installed because he was looking for the big cash, but Merritt and "Mad" Max Kitchens along with Brian Reese were at the back of the pack beating and banging on each others cars, it was almost like a slug fest except they were in the back with no chance of winning the race, so why were they content on beating each others car to pieces?. Who knows, what we do know is that #07 of Dewayne Aldridge walked away with the cash and Mark Knight did not return to Whitesburg the next Saturday night because that heavy toll of being rattled and rocked for 40 laps took a physical toll on Mark Knight. Don't worry you will see K17 back at West Georgia Speedway soon, and he will be taking a checkered flag, because he is a great driver and you can't keep a great driver down.
When I asked Mark if he had any other comments, he looked and me and with a "Big smile" said "I love racing , he just wished it didn't cost so much".
Tino Patti (an MSA Reporter) My Blog
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