Knoxville's Riley Goodno takes aim at being first Iowan to win Knoxville Nationals

KNOXVILLE — Riley Goodno was born to be a hockey player.

Goodno's father grew up in Minnesota, where hockey is king. So it came as no surprise that Goodno was an exceptional hockey player growing up, eventually playing for the Des Moines Oaks during his high school days at Knoxville.

But when you grow up just down the street from the fabled Knoxville Raceway, well, it doesn't take long to catch the racing bug.

Goodno, 19, who graduated from Knoxville High School in May, has his sights set on the biggest prize of all this week.

Goodno is one of 200 drivers entered in the 61st annual Knoxville Nationals.

There is nothing Goodno would love more than to win the prestigious race on his home track in his hometown, but he knows the odds are stacked against him.

"It's pretty fun to race in the Knoxville Nationals. I look forward to it every year," Goodno said. "It's going to be great racing at my hometown track. I will be able to sleep in my own bed, which is something I don't get to do much during the season. We travel a lot. We got to Huset's Speedway every Sunday and we are racing the Knoxville weekly series. We travel all over the Midwest. When the World of Outlaws are in the Midwest, we travel and race with them. I've learned a lot from them."

Growing up, Goodno was always big into hockey, following in his father's footsteps. He also picked up his father's love for racing cars, and when the family moved from Ankeny to Knoxville, Goodno was all in on racing.

"In middle school I played baseball and football, but when I got to high school I really started taking racing seriously. I quit baseball and football because it took up too much time during racing season," Goodno said. "Hockey season was in the winter, so hockey and racing season never came together too often."

Goodno started racing when he was five, working his way up through the different classes. When he was six he was racing go-karts at English Creek Speedway just outside Knoxville.

Goodno was 16 when he first got behind the wheel of a 360 sprint car, running short tracks in Illinois and Missouri to get the feel of it.

When he turned 17, Goodno moved up to the 410 class and started running Knoxville Raceway on a weekly basis.

Goodno picked up his first 410 top 10 and finished 14th in the point standings last season at Knoxville Raceway. His six top-10 finishes in the 360s were good enough for seventh in the owner points in that class. He also spent Sundays at Huset's Speedway in South Dakota and finished sixth in those standings.

This season, Goodno is 13th in the Knoxville Raceway 410 points standings with one top-10 finish and is ninth in the points standings at Huset's Speedway with three top-five finishes and four top-10s.

Goodno, who works for his father painting lines on highways when he is not racing, already has over 60 races under his belt this season, with 40 more scheduled after Nationals.

Goodno admits it can be a little nerve-wracking racing with guys he idolized growing up, but he is not afraid to test his skills and mettle against the best sprint car drivers in the world.

And if he wants to one day be a Knoxville Nationals champion, he is going to have to learn how to beat them.

"It's definitely a little intimidating, but at the same time it's cool to be racing against the guys I used to watch on TV and in the stands," Goodno said. "It's a definite long shot, but it would be really cool to be the first Iowan to win Knoxville Nationals. That would bring a lot of joy to my hometown if I could win the Knoxville Nationals."

Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA Today Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 31 years at The Hawk Eye. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Knoxville High School graduate competing in Knoxville Nationals