Sprint Car Racing’s biggest event begins tonight with the first of two nights of qualifying at the 59th Knoxville Nationals. Saturday night’s championship lineup will be determined by a points system which includes qualifying, heat races and qualifying feature races. Race director John McCoy says there are activities around the track for fans of all ages.

The more than one million dollar purse will pay 150 thousand dollars to the winner. Saturday night’s championship race will be 50 laps.