Who needs the newest, shiniest equipment — certainly not Gene Knaub. With a five-year-old late model and a 10-year-old engine, he beat out a field of 27 limited late models at BAPS Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Before the event, car owner Donnie Broderick called on Knaub to drive his limited late model in support of BAPS Motor Speedway and to make a good showing for Broderick’s company Superior Homes, a sponsor at the track. Mission accomplished, with Knaub beating out local hot shoe Coleby Frye for the win.
He earned the victory with an engine that likely had less horsepower than most of his competition had.
Knaub built the engine in Broderick’s winning car 10 years ago. Back then, rules dictated a maximum of 3.48 inches of stroke, 5.7-inch connecting rods and a flat-tappet camshaft. Today, racers can have up to 3.5 inches of stroke, 6-inch connecting rods and a roller camshaft.
“I figure the engines built to the newer rules have about a 25-horsepower advantage,” Knaub, of Dover, Pennsylvania, said. “The point proven is that an engine not far off the pace — one with a disadvantage according to the rule book — can do well with an experienced driver.”
Knaub started racing in 1986. The 57-year-old has raced in just about every oval-track class in Pennsylvania. When Knaub broke his back in the late 1990s, he took a decade-long sabbatical from driving. He returned to the driver’s seat in 2007, racing primarily limited late models since then, and has more than 130 feature wins in late models.
While Gene Knaub has raced for Broderick for 19 years, he’s typically accompanied by his wife, Kendra, for most the events he competes in. The two race and camp throughout the racing season.
“My wife is my longest time supporter,” Knaub said. “I have a couple of helpers who come to the track, but I am a one-man band. If the car doesn’t run well, it is my fault. I’m the setup man, driver and engine tuner.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
