Knoxville Dragway raises $5K for area law enforcement

By Ken Lay

Maynardville — Knoxville Dragway hosted its first major event of the season recently and it was a race to benefit law enforcement officers from Knox and Union counties.

The second annual "Outrun the Po Po" was contested Saturday, April 29, and it gave racers the opportunity to compete against deputies from the Knox County Sheriff's Office and the Union County Sheriff's Department.

All proceeds went to support deputies from both departments.

"It was a good time," said Knoxville Dragway owner and operator Wes Clapp, which owns the racing facility with his wife Kristin and her parents Doug and Kathy Southers. "This was to help the deputies in both the Knox County and Union County Sheriff's Departments.

"We wrote each a check for $2,500, so we raised a total of $5,000," Clapp said. "We saw some growth from last year and we'd like to see more.

"But I think we wrote them each a check for $1,200 or $1,500 last year."

KCSO had five deputies participate in the event and Union County had several officers participate. One officer from the Tennessee Highway Patrol also competed.

"(Knox County) Sheriff (Tom) Spangler had five deputies come down and he really wanted to have more, but they're a little short-handed right now," Clapp said. "Union County had seven or eight and we had a guy come from the THP.

"We're hoping to have them take a bigger role next year. I want to thank the officers and I want to thank everybody for coming out for the event.

Knoxville Dragway's racing season runs from March until November every year. Races are held on Fridays and Saturdays.

"On Fridays, we have Test, Tune and Fun Night," Clapp said. "On Fridays, anybody can come with any car and race.

"On Saturdays, we have bracket racing, No-Prep Racing and Outlaw Racing."

On June 3, the drag strip will host a Southeast Gassers Association race.

"That's a big event for us and it's fun and it's very critical to the track," Clapp said.

For more information about upcoming events at Knoxville Dragway, visit the venue's Facebook page or its website, knoxvilledragway.com.

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