[3] In 1979, The Knotts family purchased an Oldsmobile 442 race car, attempting to make Cup Series starts without any prior ARCA or Sportsman experience on the longer circuits.
On the 14th lap, Knotts hit the outside wall in the short chute just past the start finish line.
His car spun off the track sideways across the infield grass and struck passenger side first against the inside concrete wall entering turn one.
Current rules require drivers to have intermediate experience before being allowed to participate in the three “restrictor plate” (superspeedway) races at Daytona, Talladega, and since 2022, Atlanta.
His daughter Toysa and her family were part of a November 2017 banquet celebrating his induction[5] (key) (Bold - Pole position awarded by qualifying time.