Donny Schatz

Donny Schatz debuted an all-chrome Knoxville Nationals paint scheme during July's Kings Royal weekend. Schatz will be looking for his eighth Knoxville Nationals title this week. (Jeremy Elliott | jelliott@pennlive.com)

There is no other Sprint Car race in the world with the prestige and the competition of the Knoxville Nationals.

This year's entry list features 112 drivers from every corner of the country. There is also an international flair with five drivers signed up from Australia.

To open PennLive's full coverage for the 54th running of this event, we are handicapping the preliminary nights. Here is a look at 10 drivers to watch and five notables in Wednesday's qualifying night at the famed Knoxville Raceway.

Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tenn: Swindell has won the Nationals once (1983) and been on the podium eight times. He left the World of Outlaws tour to run Knoxville the last couple weeks to prep and avoid missing Saturday's A-Main for the third straight year.

Justin Henderson, Tea, S.D.: The Knoxville regular had his best finish a year ago — he was third — after starting fourth in the field. Henderson is second in points at the legendary speedway this season after placing fifth in Sunday's Capitani Classic.

Shane Stewart, Bixby, Okla.: A five-time winner of the 360 Nationals at Knoxville, Stewart has qualified for the A-Main 13 times. He had back-to-back podium finishes in 2010 and 2011 but is struggling a bit coming into this event.

Craig Dollansky, Elk River, Minn: It's been a scale-back year for Dollansky and his Big Game Motorsports team going from World of Outlaws regular to Knoxville Raceway weekly competitor. Dollansky has four third-place finishes at the Nationals and is always a threat.

Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Okla.: This is the one big race Pittman hasn't fared well in, as he has yet to register a podium finish in 11 A-Main tries. Pittman's best showing was a fifth-place run in 2011, but he is the second best driver in the country the last two years and is overdue for a good run.

Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D.: Schatz is the best Sprint Car driver in the world and has won this race seven times in the last eight years. Every time he touches the track at Knoxville Raceway, he is the heavy favorite. This year is no different.

Greg Hodnett, Thomasville, Pa.: The Thomasville driver is central Pennsylvania's version of "Mr. Reliable" at the Knoxville Nationals. He has qualified 14 times for this race and has finished in the top six five times. Hodnett, who has been fast of late, had his best finish in 1997 when he was second.

Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, Pa.: There hasn't been a lot to cheer about this season, but Shaffer has shown flashes of improvement. He was second at the Knight before the Kings Royal and seems to find speed in big events. Besides, Shaffer won the Nationals in 2010 and is the only man to beat Schatz the last eight years.

Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, Calif.: Sweet has limited experience in the Knoxville Nationals, but he put it on the front row for the A-Main in 2011 while subbing for the injured Joey Saldana. Sweet also captured the World of Outlaws lone visit to the big half-mile oval this season.

David Gravel, Watertown, Conn.: It's a big deal to win a preliminary night at Knoxville, and Gravel got it done a year ago. This year, Gravel has more resources behind him with well-funded Dennis Roth Motorsports and has shown speed on the WoO circuit with four wins.

OTHER NOTABLES

Jac Haudenschild: Qualified for the Nationals 18 times and has two podium finishes.

Mark Dobmeier: Stormed from 10th to first in WoO event at Huset's this year. He was sixth in 2011.

Danny Dietrich: Dietrich was "Rookie of the Year" last year and is looking for more in 2014.

Kraig Kinser: Kinser won the Nationals in 2005 and could use a breakout week to turn his season around.

Randy Hannagan: Set fast time at the Capitani Classic and has made Saturday's A-Main 10 times.