Night number one of the Arnold Motor Supply Knoxville 360 Sprint Car Nationals presented by Vermeer is in the books and it was a night of extremes for drivers that had to be considered pre-race favorites. The last two champions of the event, Wayne Johnson and Shane Stewart, finished one-two while a couple of other big names never even got out of the starting blocks Thursday night.
Dale Blaney had racked up the third highest point total through qualifying and the heat races and was slated to start sixth in the twenty lap main event. He pushed off with the rest of the twenty-four-car field and made a slow lap or two before stalling on the frontstretch. After two courtesy laps Blaney tried again to light the fire under his #6 with no luck and the race started without him. A first turn melee that saw Matt Covington go for a tumble brought out the red and it looked like Blaney might have been handed a gift as his crew now had time to change out the MSD box assuming that was the issue. When the field pushed off once again Blaney soon found that there was something else that was keeping his car from starting and his night was through.
The 2007 champion Shane Stewart started inside row two and outdragged pole-sitter Dustin Daggett from Michigan into run one for the lead at the drop of the green. Wayne Johnson, the defending 360 Nationals champion started right behind Stewart and he soon disposed of Daggett and picked up the chase for the lead. Johnson shadowed Stewart for the next several laps until the midway point when he drove under him in turn one to take the lead. Quick qualifier Billy Alley who started eighth was now third and had the top two in sight as the leaders began to work traffic, while Tony Bruce Jr. was doing his best to chase down Daggett for fourth.
The top five cars kind of settled in over the final five laps as even in traffic nobody was able to make a move and Johnson put himself in a good position to repeat his title by taking the win. Stewart was second, Alley will come out of night number one as the high point man finishing third while Bruce slipped by Daggett in the final laps to finish fourth. Kaley Gharst took the green in fourteenth and raced the Phillips Floors #7K up to sixth at the checkers while current ASCS National Series point leader Jason Johnson was the hard charger of the night coming from twenty-third to finish in seventh. Chuck Swenson faded from the front row to eighth, Ricky Logan was ninth and Johnny Anderson came from row eleven after winning the B-Main to take tenth in the feature.
Wayne Johnson leads Shane Stewart off turn two and down the back straightaway - Barry Johnson photo
360 Nats Thursday Notes…… Dustin Selvage currently ranks fifth in the track’s weekly points and had to be looking forward to a big weekend at the 360 Nationals, but instead it will be a big disappointment as he could not get his car to fire all night long and never even took to the track……After timing in sixth quick Jason Johnson missed out qualifying for the feature in the first heat race by inches as Ryan Anderson held him off at the finish line. After changing motors Johnson didn’t show much in the B-Main starting third and finishing third, but he salvaged a pretty good point night with the big run to seventh in the feature. He will be fun to watch from deep in the pack on Saturday night……Another of the pre-race favorites coming into the week had his night, and perhaps his whole weekend go down the tube at the drop of the green in heat race number two. Clint Garner currently leads the 360 track points at Knoxville and has been dominating at times on Saturday nights this season. After setting the seventh quick time Garner and Tasker Phillips made contact once coming off four at the start and again going for the low groove into turn one sending Garner into a spin. Rod Richards found himself with nowhere to go as he drilled Garner head on and then went for a tumble. Both cars were finished for the night……Ohio driver Greg Wilson set the third fastest time in qualifying and then had his driveline go sour as he was trying to push off for the third heat race. Wilson did not return for the C-Main later in the evening……Kyle McCutcheon pulled his #5 car for twenty-four hours straight from Alamogordo, New Mexico, to Knoxville only to have his engine erupt in a ball of flames as he took the checkers in heat race number four……Phillips hooked the rear bumper of New Mexico’s Kyle Sager and the two went for a spin in turn one during the B-Main sending Ricky Montgomery hard into the wall and nearly upside down…….Matt Covington ran away with the 2009 season opener in the 360’s here at Knoxville and he qualified well here tonight with the fourth fastest time. After failing to advance from his heat race Covington ran second to Johnny Anderson in the B-Main before his first lap tumble in the feature……Sixty-one cars are on the list for the second night of qualifying on Friday and we were told that more than thirty drivers will be doing double duty on Saturday night when the 410’s run a full show alongside the finale for the 360 Nationals…..We’ll look for you in Knoxville!
Dale Blaney had racked up the third highest point total through qualifying and the heat races and was slated to start sixth in the twenty lap main event. He pushed off with the rest of the twenty-four-car field and made a slow lap or two before stalling on the frontstretch. After two courtesy laps Blaney tried again to light the fire under his #6 with no luck and the race started without him. A first turn melee that saw Matt Covington go for a tumble brought out the red and it looked like Blaney might have been handed a gift as his crew now had time to change out the MSD box assuming that was the issue. When the field pushed off once again Blaney soon found that there was something else that was keeping his car from starting and his night was through.
The 2007 champion Shane Stewart started inside row two and outdragged pole-sitter Dustin Daggett from Michigan into run one for the lead at the drop of the green. Wayne Johnson, the defending 360 Nationals champion started right behind Stewart and he soon disposed of Daggett and picked up the chase for the lead. Johnson shadowed Stewart for the next several laps until the midway point when he drove under him in turn one to take the lead. Quick qualifier Billy Alley who started eighth was now third and had the top two in sight as the leaders began to work traffic, while Tony Bruce Jr. was doing his best to chase down Daggett for fourth.
The top five cars kind of settled in over the final five laps as even in traffic nobody was able to make a move and Johnson put himself in a good position to repeat his title by taking the win. Stewart was second, Alley will come out of night number one as the high point man finishing third while Bruce slipped by Daggett in the final laps to finish fourth. Kaley Gharst took the green in fourteenth and raced the Phillips Floors #7K up to sixth at the checkers while current ASCS National Series point leader Jason Johnson was the hard charger of the night coming from twenty-third to finish in seventh. Chuck Swenson faded from the front row to eighth, Ricky Logan was ninth and Johnny Anderson came from row eleven after winning the B-Main to take tenth in the feature.
Wayne Johnson leads Shane Stewart off turn two and down the back straightaway - Barry Johnson photo360 Nats Thursday Notes…… Dustin Selvage currently ranks fifth in the track’s weekly points and had to be looking forward to a big weekend at the 360 Nationals, but instead it will be a big disappointment as he could not get his car to fire all night long and never even took to the track……After timing in sixth quick Jason Johnson missed out qualifying for the feature in the first heat race by inches as Ryan Anderson held him off at the finish line. After changing motors Johnson didn’t show much in the B-Main starting third and finishing third, but he salvaged a pretty good point night with the big run to seventh in the feature. He will be fun to watch from deep in the pack on Saturday night……Another of the pre-race favorites coming into the week had his night, and perhaps his whole weekend go down the tube at the drop of the green in heat race number two. Clint Garner currently leads the 360 track points at Knoxville and has been dominating at times on Saturday nights this season. After setting the seventh quick time Garner and Tasker Phillips made contact once coming off four at the start and again going for the low groove into turn one sending Garner into a spin. Rod Richards found himself with nowhere to go as he drilled Garner head on and then went for a tumble. Both cars were finished for the night……Ohio driver Greg Wilson set the third fastest time in qualifying and then had his driveline go sour as he was trying to push off for the third heat race. Wilson did not return for the C-Main later in the evening……Kyle McCutcheon pulled his #5 car for twenty-four hours straight from Alamogordo, New Mexico, to Knoxville only to have his engine erupt in a ball of flames as he took the checkers in heat race number four……Phillips hooked the rear bumper of New Mexico’s Kyle Sager and the two went for a spin in turn one during the B-Main sending Ricky Montgomery hard into the wall and nearly upside down…….Matt Covington ran away with the 2009 season opener in the 360’s here at Knoxville and he qualified well here tonight with the fourth fastest time. After failing to advance from his heat race Covington ran second to Johnny Anderson in the B-Main before his first lap tumble in the feature……Sixty-one cars are on the list for the second night of qualifying on Friday and we were told that more than thirty drivers will be doing double duty on Saturday night when the 410’s run a full show alongside the finale for the 360 Nationals…..We’ll look for you in Knoxville!
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