A Few Thoughts On Departing Promoters And An All Iowa Points Update

As we near the first of September it is time to take a look at where the All Iowa Points stand as we head into "specials season", but before that I wanted to say a few words about the promoters at two of my favorite tracks who have, or will be stepping away.

First let's start with Brian Gaylord who, along with his wife Marcie have been the promoters for several years now at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson. Brian announced in July that this would be his final season at the helm of the track that is tucked into the southeast corner of Iowa and, including this coming Thursday night he still has four events remaining on the schedule. Brian and his team at LCS have always done a great job with track prep and race night presentation and he has never been afraid to throw some extra money out there in an attempt to bring in more cars. His "Drive for Five" concept where drivers can earn an extra $3,000 by winning the finale has boosted his Late Model car count for the weekly shows that counted as qualifiers and he has taken care of the Sprint Car fans as well by booking the Sprint Invaders as well as the POWRi 410's. I look forward to being there with the Invaders on Friday, September 22nd, and of course I wouldn't miss the event that will be his finale, "Shiverfest" on Saturday October 28th.

It is my understanding that at least one party has indicated interest in stepping into the role in 2024, but at this point there is nothing solid to report. The Fair had purchased a large section of the grandstands from the I-80 Speedway during its liquidation auction and it was my understanding that the plan was to run the 2024 season through mid-August and then close down to tear down the current grandstand and put up the new one. I wonder that if they do not have a promoter step up before March of next year if that project will get moved to the Spring and early Summer instead perhaps making the facility even more attractive to a promoter who might want to those events that would require a higher seating capacity.

Thank you Brian and Marcie for all that you have done for racing in the tri-state area for the past several years and for the hospitality that you have extended to all of us at Positively Racing! See you this Thursday night for the "Drive for Five" finale and season championships.

In a move that is even making national news, Ricky and Brenda Kay announced that they are stepping out of the promotional duties immediately at the Davenport Speedway. This came at the conclusion of the World of Outlaws Late Model tripleheader on Saturday sponsored by Hoker Trucking. I had heard rumors that the Kay's were not happy with some things that had been going on at the track, so this did not come as a complete surprise, and they must have been truly challenging to walk away from what they and their team had accomplished over the past few years.

With Ricky and "The Dirt Doctor" Al Dlouhy leading the way, they transformed the quarter-mile into a wide, progressively banked track that by feature time on most nights drivers could literally run six to eight different lines and be competitive based upon how they had setup their car. With the population base to support it, the track started hosting bigger and bigger events and as more national touring drivers had the chance to race it, the more of them proclaimed it as "my favorite track to race at." A MARS sanctioned race in July of 2021 was named the "Race of the Year" by Dirt On Dirt and another national series event was the runner-up in that category last year.

Several people have taken to social media to "provide the facts" behind the decision while Ricky and Brenda showed the class that I would expect from them in their press release. "Yes, last night was the last race for K Promotions at the Davenport Speedway located on the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds. We can't thank Shawn Loter, Vicky Speth and the entire Mississippi Valley Fairboard enough for giving us the opportunity four years ago. There were a lot of learning curves along the way and last night once again proved to us that national tours belong at the Davenport Speedway. We can't express enough gratitude towards the racers, the fans, Jeff and Penny Hoker, our family and especially our staff for all of the support over the last four years to make Davenport Speedway a top racing destination in the country. As the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds looks for their next promoter please show your support. We are sure they will be able to find someone that will step up and be a better and stronger promoter."

I was asked publicly on a Facebook comment to interview the two of them and "get the facts" behind the decision, but given that other people were already relating the "facts", or at least how they have seen them, I politely declined. To me Ricky and Brenda handled it perfectly knowing that they still want racing to continue at the Davenport Speedway. For me to "dig deeper", in my opinion would have been an insult to two people that I greatly respect and appreciate.

So what happens next at Davenport? Even with solid car counts weekly racing can be a tough nut to crack financially if the promoter only gets the race night ticket and pit pass revenue to cover the expenses, so the board may have to "give a little" in their agreement with the new promoter if it has been what I have understood it to be. Also, a prospective promoter might have to hope that perhaps the most prominent supporter of dirt track racing in this area, Jeff Hoker, continues to soften his stance a bit coming out of this breakup. In a Facebook post from Sunday Hoker wrote, "I can't support something that won't support the people who made this place what it is, and trust me without them it will never be what it is now." And he finished it by stating, "Hopefully in some form we will be able to make something happen elsewhere, but it won't be here."

On Monday night Jeff made it clear that he did not feel like the situation was the fault of the fairboard and he also indicated that he sees one way, and one way only that a national show like the Quad Cities 150 returns and that he is pretty sure that this option will be presented soon.

Stolen from the Davenport Speedway - K Promotions Facebook page

Whatever that is, or however it may be I do hope that we continue to see racing at the Davenport Speedway in 2024 and beyond. I know that our Sprint Invaders teams absolutely love to race there and it would be a shame to have the favorite track of Brandon Overton, Hudson O'Neal, Devin Moran and so many others fade into oblivion.

Now I look forward to sitting with Brenda in the stands again, just like we did that night in Tipton when we first met watching Justin racing his Four Cylinder. Thank you Ricky and Brenda Kay for an amazing four year run at Davenport!

Okay, so let's take a look at the nine divisions of the All Iowa Points and see how the Fall Specials might decide who will be the 2023 champions.

In the Late Models Andy Nezworski holds a comfortable 20-point advantage over five-time champion Justin Kay. Nick Marolf, Denny Woodworth and Tommy Elston are technically still in the hunt, but all of them will need to make a big move over the next few weeks as Late Model shows become far and few between as we near the end of September. With the AIP's 5-point scale with one point increments, the challengers will have to be within five points by the time Shiverfest rolls around to deny Nezworski of his first AIP championship.

Late Model Top Ten as of August 27th

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Andy Nezworski Buffalo 96

2 . Justin Kay Wheatland 76

3 . Nick Marolf Moscow 69

4 . Denny Woodworth Mendon IL 68

5 . Tommy Elston Keokuk 68

6 . C.J. Horn Cedar Rapids 64

7 . Cade Richards Lincoln NE 51

8 . Eric Pollard Dubuque 49

9 . Bobby Pierce Oakwood IL 48

10 . Jason Perry Payson IL 44

Austen Becerra appeared to be on his way to a second straight All Iowa Points Modified championship leading the standings throughout the first half of the season. However, both Jeff Larson and Jeremy Mills have surged past Becerra in the last two weeks so Specials Season will definitely decide this one. And, with Joel Rust currently next on the list that means all of the top four drivers will be looking for their second AIP Modified title.

Modifieds Top Ten as of August 27th

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Jeff Larson Freeport IL 136

2 . Jeremy Mills Garner 132

3 . Austen Becerra Carthage IL 125

4 . Joel Rust Grundy Center 109

5 . Chris Zogg New Liberty 106

6 . Todd Shute Des Moines 101

7 . Jed Freiburger Dubuque 91

8 . Tim Ward Gilbert AZ 87

9 . Travis Denning Sterling IL 87

10 . Jarrett Brown Ainsworth 84

With a sixty point advantage it is pretty safe to say that Brayton Carter will earn his second AIP Championship in the Limited Modified division. The rest of the top ten is tightly bunched though, so who will join "Speedy Bray" on the podium?

Limited Modifieds Top Ten as of August 27th

1 . Brayton Carter Oskaloosa 186

2 . Colby Fett Algona 126

3 . Dan Hovden Decorah 125

4 . Jarrett Franzen Maquoketa 122

5 . Tony Olson Cedar Rapids 119

6 . Logan Anderson Eddyville 111

7 . Alec Fett Thompson 110

8 . Ty Griffith Webster City 105

9 . Matthew Looft Swea City 104

10 . Ben Chapman Clarence 102

I love how Blogspot will suddenly change the layout even though you did the exact same thing as before. Anyway......

Derek Green's 29-point bulge in the Stock Car division is pretty solid so the question comes as to how much will the top contenders race over the next nine weeks? For Green it would be his first All Iowa Points title while for Kelly Shryock he will look to add the Stock Car championship to his three Modified crowns where the first one came way back in 1989. Keep an eye on John Oliver Jr. as well who would be looking to match his 2018 AIP Stock Car championship.

Stock Cars Top Ten as of August 27th

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Derek Green Granada MN 139

2 . Kelly Shryock Fertile 110

3 . John Oliver Jr. Danville 106

4 . Mitch Hovden Decorah 105

5 . Kaden Reynolds Cedar Rapids 103

6 . Mike Albertsen Audubon 100

7 . Mike Nichols Harlan 95

8 . Damon Murty Chelsea 88

9 . Kevin Donlan Decorah 87

10 . Elijah Zevenbergen Ocheyedan 84

We can crown Mike Smith as the 2023 All Iowa Points Hobby Stock Champion right now as his amazing total of 231 points boosted by 34 feature wins is 111 points better than Chris Hovden's impressive 120 point total. Randy Lamer snatched the 2022 AIP championship away from Smith in what turned out to be the final Hobby Stock race of the year. That won't happen this time as Mike will become the fourth member of the Smith family from Lake City to win an All Iowa Points championship.

Hobby Stocks Top Ten as of August 27th

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Mike Smith Lake City 231

2 . Chris Hovden Cresco 120

3 . Brandon Nielsen Spencer 115

4 . Dylan Clinton Edgewood 105

5 . Randy Lamar Buffalo 104

6 . Dustin Gulbrandson Hartford SD 103

7 . Kevin Bruck Dunlap 92

8 . Luke Ramsey Bedford 87

9 . Jeremy Crimmins Fort Dodge 83

10 . Tracy Halouska Worthing SD 79

        Tucker Richardson Morning Sun 79

When I did this story in 2021 I essentially handed the Four Cylinder championship to Caine Mahlberg at the time. However, Cyle Hawkins had a goal in mind and not only did he mount a huge comeback, he used a borrowed car to take the All Iowa Points title during the final race of that season in Columbus Junction. Then in 2022 Hawkins backed it up with what was essentially a wire-to-wire run to his second straight championship. He has got a lot to overcome to make it three straight though as Kolby Sabin holds a 59 point lead going into the Fall. That would mean that Hawkins would have to win twelve times against fields of ten or more cars just to catch the leader and that would assume that Kolby does not earn any additional points going forward. Cyle taught me to "never say never", but Sabin looks like a first-time AIP champ to me.

Four Cylinders Top Ten as of August 27th

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Kolby Sabin Des Moines 164

2 . Cyle Hawkins Blue Grass 105

3 . Brad Stahl Ossian 100

4 . Shannon Mahlberg Dunlap 98

5 . Levi Volkert Correctionville 90

6 . Tyler Thompson Sioux City 85

7 . Michael Gardner Jr. Des Moines 83

8 . Caine Mahlberg Dunlap 81

9 . Trent Reed Missouri Valley 77

10 . Jacob Welter Farley 74

         Terry Bickford Shannon City 74

In the Sprint Cars we could see something that has never happened before as Chase Randall could be the first driver to win the All Iowa Points Championship in two different divisions in the same season. If he pulls it off it will be the second straight 360 title for the Texas teenager. With only two more 410 races on the schedule that I can see at this point, Aaron Reutzel and defending champion Austin McCarl still have a shot at him while Reutzel will need to debut with the Sprint Invaders in September to catch Randall in the 360's. It is a two man race in the 305's where defending champion Lee Goos Jr. has surged to the lead recently leaving Tyler Drueke in "catch up mode" if he wants to score his third AIP title.

410 Winged Sprints Top Ten as of August 27th

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Chase Randall Waco TX 43

2 . Aaron Reutzel Clute TX 40

3 . Austin McCarl Altoona 39

4 . Brian Brown Grain Valley MO 35

5 . David Gravel Waterford CT 27

6 . Rico Abreu Rutherford CA 26

7 . Buddy Kofoid Penngrove CA 25

8 . Kyle Larson Elk Grove CA 25

9 . Carson Macedo Lemoore CA 24

10 . Kerry Madsen St. Marys NSW 24

360 Winged Sprints Top Ten as of August 27th

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Chase Randall Waco TX 47

2 . Aaron Reutzel Clute TX 42

3 . Garet Williamson Columbia MO 31

4 . Paul Nienhiser Chapin IL 23

5 . Jamie Ball Knoxville 19

6 . Cody Ledger Omaha NE 15

7 . Chris Martin Ankeny 14

8 . Jason Martin Lincoln NE 13

9 . Scott Bogucki Mclaren Vale SA 13

10 . Stuart Snyder Waverly NE 13

305 Winged Sprints Top Ten as of August 27th

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Lee Goos Jr. Hartford SD 84

2 . Tyler Drueke Eagle NE 73

3 . Gunnar Pike South Bend NE 49

4 . Andrew Sullivan Arnolds Park 45

5 . Cody Wehrle Burlington 45

6 . Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg SD 40

7 . Brandon Bosma Rock Rapids 31

8 . Stu Snyder Waverly NE 31

9 . Tanner Gebhardt Burlington 30

10 . Kade Higday Pleasant Hill 27

You can find the full rundown of the All Iowa Points in all nine divisions at any time by going to Positively Racing and clicking on the Points page.

Seven Titles Decided On A Busy Night In Vinton

With last week's postponement of what would have been the season championship races for the six weekly divisions at the Benton County Speedway moved to August 27th, that would make for a busy night as now the champion for the inaugural season of the PRO Late Model Tour would also be decided. Now mix that in with Vinton's annual Boomtown events where the the track prep team for promoters Rick and Corey Dripps were unable to put water on the surface for the two days leading up to race night, and that made for a full and challenging evening. But as usual here at the Bullring, the grandstands were packed and ready for action and the 109 drivers on hand, for the most part, delivered with an eventful evening of racing where seven champions were crowned.

First off, let me state that there is no better announcer for a night like this than Ryan Clark. Not only did he keep us all updated on the point championship scenarios and who needed to finish where in order to clinch, or overtake their competition to win the track title for 2023, but he was also able to give us a list of all previous track champions and even the winners of the season championship features throughout the history of the Benton County Speedway. Now, to some of the younger fans, that might not have meant much, but for all of those longtime BCS regulars it had to be a treat to hear some of those great names of the past! Not only does Ryan do an exceptional job of calling the races, his historical statistics are second to none and it just adds so much to the enjoyment of an evening such as this one.

Great job my friend!

It would be features only for the six weekly divisions with the lineups set as follows. If you were in the top twelve in the current point standings, and you were in attendance here tonight, you would be included in the invert. For example, in the Sport Compacts, nine of the top twelve ranked drivers were on hand and therefore point leader, and now 2023 track champion Lukas Rick lined up ninth on the seventeen car starting grid.

The PRO Late Model Tour would line up their heats straight up by points staggered across the three of them using a passing point system that would then have the high point man, Curt Martin, draw a card from Ace to eight to determine the invert for the thirty lap feature. He would draw the four.

From a fan's standpoint I thought that both lineup procedures were pretty cool for use on a Season Championship night, much better than starting the features straight up by current points.

The Legend Cars would be first and with it only being about 5:50 p.m. the sun was still high, the breeze was blowing and the track that did not get its normal drink of water over the past two days was a bit dry and dusty. Soon the entire sixteen car field was rooting for the bottom and passing only happened when someone slipped up out of the groove in the turns. Pole-sitter Griffin McGrath, who also pilots a pavement Late Model around the upper Midwest and who heads up the Legends Direct dealership in Cedar Rapids grabbed the lead early and never made a mistake in taking his first win here in Vinton. Kacey Korsmo kept the heat on in second, Danny Lehmkuhl did make his way up from twelfth to third, Michael Weber sealed the track title by finishing fourth and Cole O'Brien filled out the top five. Legends Direct will be putting some big money on the line for the Legend Cars this coming Sunday, September 3rd, as they will be part of a four class program here that we will tell you about later.

The Sport Mod feature would be up next for fifteen laps with championship contenders Sam Wieben and Tony Olson lining up eleventh and tenth respectively. Now you know that you might be in for a case of yellow fever when the first caution waves for a Modified driver that had asked to be able to take a couple of hot laps behind the field. He didn't even make it out of turn four before spinning. Once back to green, front row starters Robert Patava and Aaron Waller left the door open for Josh Banes to take the point and he would lead through lap eight when Bradley Ivy spun in turn three.

On the restart Brady Hilmer would go to work on Banes for the lead and as the lead duo raced side-by-side into turn one on lap eleven, my eyes were on the slowing car of Tony Olson who had been running fourth at the time. As he coasted over the top of turn one heading to the pit area it was Hilmer who was now crossing the start/finish line with the lead, but where was Banes? His #28 was in the infield near the end of the back stretch and when the caution waved for a car that had spun in turn three after lap twelve was scored, he would climb out and show Hilmer "that he was number one.....twice" as described my Mr. Clark.

The race would go back to green with just three laps remaining and four drivers from Dysart leading the way and just as Hilmer was exiting turn four to take the checkers, the caution waved instead for Hunter Wimer who was sitting sideways in turn one. Now I know that this has to be a snap decision, but in our new world of Raceceiver technology it would seem that we could go ahead and throw the checkers with the green light still on while saying "there's a car sideways in turn one so be careful". Not only that, but we have to go back to a two lap restart, so thankfully nothing changed up front over those extra two laps and Hilmer scored the win with Wieben earning the track championship in second. Joe Docekal came from seventh to third making it an all Dysart podium while Kyle Olson finished fourth. Will Wolf had come all the up from sixteenth to fifth, but he was nipped at the line for the position by Patava at the end of overtime.

We talked about Lukas Rick earlier, he was the only driver to come into the night assured of a track championship without even having to show up, but he did so anyway. First a few side comments, congratulations to the Sports Compact drivers here at Vinton for coming out seventeen strong on championship night and for having a solid car count all season. While other tracks in the state struggle to get to double digits and others continue to run the class when they only get three or four cars each week, it is nice to see that Vinton can still pull them in. Perhaps somebody needs to share the secret?

I have heard some of the reasons why the car counts are down at some tracks and it seems that the fault would lie within the competitors and their fans in those cases. One All Iowa Points track that averaged more than twenty a week dropped them from the roster a couple of years ago "because of all the drama" that they generate and I know that one track this year finally told the drivers that they can tech themselves because the promoters were tired of the whining and bitching. Another track, the CJ Speedway has already said that the class has been cut for 2024, so when you see a track like Mason City that had two cars show up last night, you have to wonder just how much longer will this division continue. 

But I digress.

This race showed how entertaining the class can be as pole-sitter Stephen Randall would set the pace for the first five laps with drivers going three and four wide while jockeying for position. A caution for debris would give Nolan Tuttle the chance to get up to speed quicker on the restart as he would now take the lead and Lukas Rick would have to do his track championship interview later as his car was being towed back to the pits after dropping a transmission while running fifth with six laps remaining.

Cristian Grady had started outside of the invert in twelfth, but he would be riding the back bumper of Tuttle in the closing laps. As the white flag waved, Grady was able to squeeze under Tuttle exiting turn two and they raced wheel to wheel down the back stretch with Grady earning the Christe Door Company $100 last lap pass bonus by taking the win by less than a car length over Tuttle. Randall would hold on for third, Colton Stewart finished fourth with Robert Rundle fifth.

Ten Stock Cars lined up next for fifteen laps with Leah Wroten needing a top three finish to wrap up her second track championship here at Vinton. I knew this because she was among the former Hobby Stock track champions mentioned a little later in the night. Kaden Reynolds was her challenger and he wasted no time blasting from sixth to first on the opening lap. With Norman Chesmore and Jeff Wollam battling for second, and for determining who would be third in the final point standings, Leah was looking like fourth might be the best that she could do until Wollam dropped out with mechanical problems during a lap seven caution.

Two laps after the restart Wroten made the pass on Chesmore and then rode out one more late race caution to seal the deal as Kaden won the battle, while Leah won the war. Chesmore finished third, Kyle Olson in the #49 formerly driven by Ian Huff was fourth and Sport Compact graduate Logan Clausen was fifth.

The Hobby Stocks rolled out next for fifteen laps and while both Cory VanderWilt and Justin Wacha were still within reach, it would have taken a poor showing from point leader Joren Fisher to see any change at the top of the standings. Pole-sitter Bradly Graham would get all the way sideways in turns three and four on the opening lap, but somehow make the save without collecting the field, but he did lose several positions. This would allow Dalton Weepie to take the lead and through two more restarts he was unbeatable driving away to take the win. It was the kind of performance that would have made you doubt the fact that this was just his second career feature win and Weepie's first victory at Vinton. Matt Brown came from eighth to second, Fisher closed out his second title in three years by running third, Graham battled back to fourth and Michael Kimm closed out the top five.

I made my way down trackside to catch this picture of Troy Cordes as he waved to the crowd during introductions. Troy came into the 2023 season ranked fifth on the list in the Cumulative All Iowa Points for Modifieds since the year 2000 and I believe that Ryan mentioned that he has the most career wins here at Vinton. After taking the lead from Chase Weimer on lap two and then swapping it with Jacob Snyder on laps four and five, it looked like Cordes might add to that win total. But after the fourth caution of the race, track champion Joel Rust drove under Cordes to take the lead on lap twelve and he would drive away over the final eight laps for the convincing win. The only track champion to also win his or her feature tonight. Cordes would take the runner-up money, Brennan Chipp came from eleventh to third, Patrick Flannagan was fourth and Snyder finished fifth.

The thirty lap PRO Late Model Tour finale would close out the evening and, after eighteen feature race cautions thus far, our hope would be that this one would go flag-to-flag so that we could go raid Bobby Hansen's cooler full of retro beer for one cold one before making the 101 mile drive home.

Nope.

It would take four tries to get the twenty-two car field to finally score a lap, but now that we were racing this would be a good one. And I mean a REALLY good one that featured eight official lead changes among three drivers. Bryan Klein and Corey Dripps had started from the front row and basically they would race side-by-side for the first seventeen laps. Klein down low and Dripps up high. Who would lead each lap would be determined by who had best hit their marks during that trip around the quarter-mile oval and thankfully due to the scoreboard, new to the track here in 2023, and the electronic scoring I can tell you that the leader was:

Laps 1-7: Klein

Lap 8: Dripps (he actually took the lead when he had to squeeze under the lapped car of Michael Trulson forcing him to the middle line in turns three and four)

Laps 9-10: Klein (Dripps went back to the top in three and four allowing Klein to get back to the lead)

Lap 11: Dripps

Lap 12: Klein

Lap 13: Dripps (the leaders now each had a lapped car just ahead racing in their line)

Laps 14 -17: Klein

The caution would wave at this point for Chase Brunscheen who had spun in turn four and we would now notice that J.D. Auringer, who had started the Brandon Davis owned #62 from twelfth, had worked his way up to third for the restart. Once back to green this would now become a three car battle with Auringer trying to find some racing room and when he would give the middle a try, the crowd would buzz with the three-wide action for the lead.

Dripps would regain the lead on lap twenty and, once he dropped Klein to third, Auringer would go to work on the leader. Corey would fight him off for a couple of laps, but with five remaining Auringer would take the lead and then go on to score the entertaining victory. Nick Marolf would slip by Dripps late to finish second and with his third place finish Dripps would become the PRO Late Model Tour points champion in its first season. Corey achieved the same thing 25 years ago when he was the first ever NKF Tour Modified Champion back in 1998.   

Klein would have to settle for fourth while C.J. Horn rounded out the top five. It was an impressive finish to the first PRO Late Model Tour season that also debuted here at Vinton back in June with just ten cars signing in for that first show. With twenty-two on hand tonight, organizer Brandon Davis has to be excited to build upon that over the offseason as he prepares for the sophomore edition.

It is always good to see both Rick and Corey Dripps as we developed a great friendship back in those NKF Tour days and they, along with their fine staff here at the Bullring are always very welcoming to all of our Positively Racing writers. Since we often sit in the same area it is also good to say hi to the friendly people in the stands and I even made a few new friends on this night since I broke out the vintage Roger Dolan race shirt that we printed back in 1992.

There is one more night of racing on the schedule in Vinton, and that will be this Sunday September 3rd, when the Sprint Invaders make their second appearance of the season joined by the Sport Compacts, the American Iron Racing Series and the aforementioned Legends Direct Midwest Shootout. Pack those stands again!

Reutzel Wards Off Wimmer To Score IRA Checkers At 34 Raceway

The heat broke just in time for a fun night of Sprint Car racing at 34 Raceway Friday night as the Bumper to Bumper IRA Sprint Car Series returned to southeast Iowa for the second time in 2023. Unfortunately with the scorching weather throughout most of the day, the start of Iowa high school football and perhaps a few people who chose to stay home and watch on Flo, the grandstands were bit light but those who were in attendance were treated to an entertaining thirty lap feature to close out the evening.

A pair of Knoxville regulars Austin McCarl and Aaron Reutzel earned the front row starting positions and they would swap the lead on the opening lap with Reutzel getting back to the loop first. As Reutzel started to pull away IRA regular Danny Schlafer would snatch second away from McCarl only to have Austin take it back a few laps later when he started to work the low line in and out of turns one and two.

With Reutzel cruising the cushion on both ends and most of the lapped traffic down low, the leader was not really being slowed, however McCarl was still closing the gap until he too reached those lappers down in his preferred line. Sixth starting Brandon Wimmer had made his way up to third and he was now closing in on the lead duo as well while working the cushion in both sets of turns. The top three would be within about eight car lengths of each other around lap eighteen when Reutzel seemed to sense that his high line was no longer the fastest and once he went to the bottom he would again put some distant on his challengers who were now in their own battle for second.

With the laps winding down Reutzel looked to have this one well in hand only to have Joel Myers Jr. slow in front of him exiting turn four. The leader would get by him and Wimmer would nip McCarl at the stripe just before the caution waved with just two laps now remaining. On the restart Reutzel went to the bottom and stayed there while Wimmer followed him into turn one and then drifted to the cushion out of two. With a big run down the back stretch Wimmer pounded the cushion in turns three and four giving him the momentum to sail by Reutzel down the front stretch, if only he had the room to do so.

The leader would exit turn four off the bottom and then drive up the track toward the flagstand where the cars would make contact. A big crash was avoided though when Wimmer stood on the brakes and once back up to speed there would be no catching Reutzel who would complete the flag-to-flag victory. Wimmer would settle for second with McCarl taking third while Zach Hampton slipped by IRA point leader Brenham Crouch in the final two laps to finish fourth. Paul Nienhiser started thirteenth and was quickly up to fifth mid-race before finishing in sixth. Jordan Goldesberry and Jake Blackhurst were next in line while Travis Arenz came from sixteenth up to ninth. Knoxville's Riley Goodno would complete the top ten. 

Aaron Reutzel from a couple of weeks ago at Knoxville - Barry Johnson photo

The IRA Sprint Cars now head south to the Federated Auto Parts I-55 Speedway in Pevely, Missouri, for what I believe to be their first ever appearance at that facility on Saturday night.

In support class action the American Iron Racing Series ran a non-stop fifteen lap feature with Dennis Etten pacing the field through the early laps. Hometown driver Doak Allen Jr. was on a mission though to win here at 34 and on lap six he drove his Sterzings Potato Chips #01 under Etten in turns three and four to take the lead. With Allen now pulling away the battle for second heated up and when Etten and Robin Atkins made contact on the front stretch with six laps remaining it would cut down the left front tire on the car of the early leader.

Allen was in control and would close out the final laps to take the victory with Atkins a distant second. Bart Miller started tenth and finished third, Bruce Yoerger was fourth and Owen Hayes filled out the top five while Etten nursed his #23 in for eighth.

This would be the final point race of the season for the Mini Hauler division here at 34 and when regular winner and point leader Brian Tipps exited from his heat race early it looked like the door might be open for a new winner on this night. Eric Detlefsen would lead the way early before the caution waved on lap five for a fire under the hood of Larry Hooper's truck. On the restart Jeff Bockes would go to work on Detlefson and the driver who took a twenty-plus year hiatus after racing in the old Sportsman division here would take the lead on lap eight and pace the final four laps for his second win of the season. Tipps, who had started the race from seventh, slipped by Detlefson exiting turn four on the final lap to take second and earn the track title while Sheldon Brockett and James Ruble closed out the top five.

I had a great time sitting with my Sprint Invaders announcing partner Bill Wright, just enjoying a night of racing with no microphone anywhere near us. Outside of perhaps my long time guru Kurt Moon, there is nobody that knows more about the drivers and owners in the world of winged Sprint Car racing. Make sure that you have his website Open Wheel 101 bookmarked!

The forecast for Saturday night looks fantastic for racing and 34 Raceway will be back in action with their Pepsi Season Championship event with an adult admission price of just five dollars. Time to pack those stands for some more great racing action this Saturday night at 34!

Pierce Stays Hot In Hoker 150 Opener at Davenport

I know this isn't "news" to you at this point, but it was hot in Davenport on Thursday. I mean really freakin' HOT, the type of heat that makes you yearn for any hint of a breeze, something that only came along every now and then until the sun went down. After that, only the vortex caused by twenty-eight World of Outlaws Late Models circling the quarter-mile at the Davenport Speedway would get the flag moving and provide some relief, even though it was probably more of having something to take your mind off the heat for a few minutes. 

I thought that I had a plan to beat the heat. With hot laps pushed back an hour to 7:30, I arrived at the track around 6:15, bought my ticket and then made a leisurely stroll across Locust Street to have dinner in air conditioned comfort at one of the track's many fine sponsors, the Gypsy Highway. I wore my only remaining white racing shirt, a vintage Sammy Swindell Old Milwaukee one where the art had purposely been made to look like it was twenty years old even when it was new, and I hadn't even broken a sweat when I stepped into the air conditioned facility where a live band was already in action on "Bike Night".

My meal timed out perfectly for me to find a seat that had been saved for me by Fred Peters and his nephew just before hot laps and they both looked like they had just finished a marathon. Even at a Late Model show, my shirt had already drawn two compliments and was still dry at this point, but in a matter of just a few minutes it was soaked in sweat as it literally felt like you were sitting in the world's biggest sauna.

For this weekend, with the normal pit area off the back stretch setup for camping, most if not all of the teams were pitted on the black top parking lot outside of turn four and I can't even imagine how much hotter it had to be on that surface as the teams prepared for the evening.

With the sun setting in the west, and what was left of that breeze now gone, we were now ready for qualifying with the second car out, Chad Simpson turning the quickest lap for Group A at 13.473 seconds. In those first eighteen cars it looked like the track had slowed a bit with the cushion getting closer and closer to the top on both ends, but that was not the case as series point leader Bobby Pierce would tour the quarter in 13.380 as the 20th car on the clock and, as the 30th car out for qualifying, Cade Dillard would have the third fastest time of the night with a 13.508 seconds.

After four sessions of practice for the Xtreme Outlaw Midgets, none with more than four cars in one session, we were finally ready to do some racing at just a few minutes before nine o'clock and the events of the first heat race were noteworthy.

Matt Ryan would get sideways in turn one and collect Brent Larson on the initial start, but both drivers would be able to continue. On the second try at a start, Kyle Bronson who was supposed to be on the inside of the third row, got "a nice jump" as an impartial announcer would say, driving under and ahead of the drivers in the second row to immediately put himself into one of the four transfer spots and when the leader, Chad Simpson, slipped off the top of turns one and two after scoring lap one, Bronson would now be lined up on the inside of Ryan Gustin in the first double row for the restart.

As the green flag waved "The Killer" was forcing Gustin high off of turn four and after stabbing the brakes Ryan would shove his nose right under the rear end of the #40B as they raced down the front stretch. Of course when Bronson set the car for the cushion entering turn one, Gustin did not make the turn driving over the banking and then having to go to the work area to try to make repairs to the nose of his car. Yes, it was the retaliation that took Gustin out of contention, but let's just say that Bronson was not making any friends in this one.

As it played out though, Shane Clanton who had started fourth would take the win followed by Bronson, the eighth starting Larson and the ninth starting Todd Cooney would complete the top four. Show me the last time that a "time 'em and then start 'em straight up" heat race had starting positions four, five, eight and nine in the top four.

Heats two and three would see the top four starters be the top four finishers while seventh starting Brian Shirley would crack the top four in the final heat. That did not come as a surprise though as "The Squirrel" had stumbled on the cushion in turns one and two on both of his qualifying laps, so you knew that he was faster than what he had posted.

Simpson would redeem himself by winning the first Last Chance Showdown while Jason Rauen advanced from sixth to score the third and final transfer spot while the top three starters, Tyler Bruening, Spencer Diercks and Trevor Gundaker ran that way in the oddly named second Last Chance Showdown.

After another set of Midget hot laps the stage was set for thirty-five laps of feature racing with $10,000 going to the winner on night one of this three day weekend promoted by the Outlaws with Dennis Erb Jr. and Shane Clanton starting from the front row. Erb would show that the low line was now working by leading lap one only to have Clanton go sailing by on the outside to take the point on the second circuit. Third starting Bobby Pierce made it a three car race and he was testing both lines while looking for racing room around the two veteran drivers.

It was an entertaining three car battle for the lead until Pierce pounded the cushion in turns three and four and vaulted to the lead on lap six and he then left his competitors in his wake. With the race going non-stop, Erb would keep the leader in his sights as they both maneuvered through traffic, but he would get no closer than half of a straightaway back as Bobby Pierce cruised to victory on this steamy August evening. Brandon Sheppard would work his way up to third at the checkers after starting sixth, Nick Hoffman finished fourth and Bronson advanced from seventh to fifth. Again it would be no surprise that Brian Shirley would be the Hard Charger coming from sixteenth to sixth with Chris Madden, Cade Dillard, Tanner English and Brent Larson closing out the top ten.

Hustling back out to the car to not only beat the traffic, but to get to the air conditioner as soon as possible, I got one more "love the Swindell shirt" from a younger fan that was much faster than I am and it was sweet relief once the AC took hold.

The Xtreme Outlaw Midgets will join the Late Models for the final two nights of the Hoker 150 here at Davenport. The "Drive for 5 Finale" at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson has been postponed from tonight to next Thursday August 31st, a decision that I had privately questioned until sitting in the grandstands on this night. The IRA Sprint Car show is still on for tonight at 34 Raceway with the start time pushed back by a half hour with fans encouraged to arrive a bit later than normal and to stay hydrated!

I will be one of those later arrivals tonight at 34 and then on Sunday night we plan on making the drive north to Vinton for Season Championship night along with the 2023 finale for the PRO Late Model tour. Hope to see you out there on the Back Stretch!

Larson Goes Wire To Wire For Second Knoxville Nationals Title

Starting from the pole position and quickly opening up a big advantage over his competitors, Kyle Larson dominated in winning his second Knoxville Nationals championship in the 62nd running of the event Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway. The only other driver to lead all fifty laps after the race was lengthened from thirty laps with the 50th Annual event in 2010, Donny Schatz would move from third to second on the opening lap, but not even the eleven-time winner could maintain Larson's blistering pace.

Rico Abreu, who had started second only to nearly fall to fourth early, charged past Schatz on lap fourteen to take second and the first caution of the race would wave one lap later when this year's Rookie of the Nationals Chase Randall slowed with a flat right rear tire. As a push truck went to retrieve Randall from turn two and take him back to the work area for a tire change, there was an anticipation in the air from the sellout crowd wondering if Rico could now keep pace with Larson. That mood quickly changed though when Abreu's right rear also went flat during the caution and he would join Randall at the back of the field for the restart.

Again Larson would pull away from Schatz, but many in the crowd were now watching the progress of David Gravel. After getting caught up in an incident early on his qualifying night, Gravel had finished second in the Friday night feature to start him from twenty-second on this grid and the 2019 Nationals champion was now in the top ten and was still on the move before the caution waved for the lap twenty-five fuel stop, or Sprint Car halftime.

Kyle Larson's #57 was fast from the start - Barry Johnson photo

After the five minute break the top three would be Larson, Schatz and Thursday's winner Carson Macedo while Gravel lined up seventh and Abreu had charged back to eleventh. Logan Schuchart would make the first big move though as he charged by both Macedo and Schatz to take second on lap twenty-seven and now Sprint Car's Million Dollar Man would try to keep pace with Larson.

He would keep the leader in sight, never getting close enough to challenge though and Schuchart's bid for his first Nationals victory could come to an end on lap forty in a puff of smoke. Gravel was now up to third and again the crowd was abuzz hoping that someone would at least be able to mount a challenge on the popular Larson. However, with just ten laps remaining and the unlikely obstacle of lapped traffic coming before the checkers, they knew that Kyle would be hard to beat. And when Gravel and Schatz started throwing sliders at each other, that would allow Larson to open up nearly a full straightaway advantage.

Gravel cleared Schatz for second on lap forty-two and it was obvious that the two fastest cars were now at the front of the field and the one in second was not gaining any ground on the one in front. And that is how this one would come to a close with Kyle Larson backing up his 2021 Nationals title with the crown here in 2023. Gravel would finish second while Schatz would make it an impressive podium in third. During the post race press conference Donny noted that it is tough to win this race from the pole position and now he looks for Larson to win the Indy 500 from the pole in 2024. 

Kyle Larson celebrates with his son Owen - Barry Johnson photo

Gio Scelzi made a great run from ninth to fourth including an amazing three lap segment when he slugged it out with Carson Macedo who finished fifth. Brad Sweet recovered nicely from a hard crash on Thursday night to come from sixteenth to sixth. Rico Abreu once again passed a lot of cars, despite having started from the front row as he rallied to seventh. Buddy Kofoid finished where he started in eighth, Kerry Madsen was ninth and Sheldon Haudenschild advanced from twentieth to tenth.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds welcomed the capacity crowd and then introduced Presidential candidate Ron DeSantis during the opening ceremonies and the the racing got off to a scary start when fourth-starting Cody Ihlen hopped a wheel coming to the green and went through a nasty series of end over end flips down the front stretch as the E-Main took the green. The young driver from southwest Minnesota was reported to be conscious and talking with the rescue personnel before being taken to the local hospital.

Matt Covington was also taken in for observation after his front stretch crash in the D-Main. James McFadden was leading the B-Main on lap ten when he had a tire blow sending him into the turn one guardrail before riding out a couple of "endos" and Tasker Phillips also got upside down in the B-Main.

That puts a wrap on the 2023 Knoxville Nationals and once again the entire Knoxville Raceway crew treated our team here at Positively Racing just like we were one of the top outlets in the sport. I want to thank my photographer and good friend Barry Johnson, his wife Stephanie and daughter Aidan for once again allowing me to take over their spare bedroom for seven nights and this week would not be the same without my Nationals "family" the Nachbors; Jeff, Keith, Sam, Sean and Ethan who keep me well fed, well informed and greatly entertained for four straight nights in our beloved Section I. Can't wait to see you all again in 362 days (it's a leap year after all)!

We will take a week now to decompress and while the Sprint Invaders will be at the Peoria Speedway next Saturday night August 19th, I will be back on the mic with Bill W and the Invaders on Sunday night, August 20th, at the Adams County Illinois Speedway in Quincy.

Hope to see you there and, as always, thank you for reading the Back Stretch!

Reutzel, Gravel, Bogucki and Heskin Lock In Through "Hard Knox" Friday

It was not that many years ago when the Friday night show at Knoxville saw the drivers ranked fifty-first on back in points in competition with the night's feature winner earning the sweet prize of the eleventh starting position in Saturday night's C-Main. Sure, they threw in events like the Race of States, the World Challenge and even the Mystery Feature to try to spice things up a bit, but looking back now it's a wonder that they were able sell any Friday night tickets if they weren't part of the four night set.

Then along came the "Hard Knox" Friday night concept, something that I will still attribute to current track publicist Eric Arnold until somebody proves me wrong. All of the drivers ranked seventeenth on back in points after the two nights of qualifying, and on this night there would be seventy-eight of them, would have the equal opportunity to race their way directly into Saturday's Championship event by finishing in the top four of the Friday night feature, with fifth place set to lineup eleventh in Saturday's B-Main and so on back.

Brilliant!

The format continues the increase of the crowd size from Wednesday to Thursday to Friday and then to another Saturday night sell out, and it gives drivers like Aaron Reutzel and David Gravel a reprieve. Both were caught up in first lap incidents during their respective heat races on Wednesday night and under the old method of qualifying their week would have been all but over. But now, after racing their way to a one-two finish on Friday night their dream of winning the 62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's is very much alive!

Reutzel has been one of the top competitors during weekly action at the Knoxville Raceway the past two seasons and, after having the 360 Nationals title snatched away from him last Saturday night, you know that he has to be one driver to watch in Saturday's fifty lapper after his dominating performance on Friday. Aaron was quick time in Group 1, then finished third to Gravel and the Mayor of Port Royal Dylan Cisney (notice that I didn't use quote marks there, he actually is the mayor of Port Royal, Pennsylvania) in the first heat race. Reutzel then led all twenty-laps to take the win and, more importantly the twenty-first starting spot for the title race. 

Aaron Reutzel - Barry Johnson photo

Gravel had to work a little harder as he was the 30th car out to qualify in Group 1 and needed to post a lap in the top twelve just to make the four car heat race invert where three cars advanced. Recall that he went out 34th on Wednesday and set quick time, but as Section I dirt track prep expert Ethan Nachbor pointed out, "this track is different". David would post the fourth best time starting him side-by-side with Reutzel in row two of the first heat, a race that he would then run away with. Starting seventh in the twenty-five lap feature, Gravel wasted little time getting to the front as he sailed by Scott Bogucki on lap ten to take second. As the laps were winding down Gravel had closed in on the leader, but he could never mount a challenge as Reutzel won by a couple of car lengths.

Speaking of Bogucki, what a crazy nine days it has been for the likeable Australian! Last Thursday night he runs third on his qualifying night of the 360 Nationals only to have his engine torn down after a protest. He was then disqualified from the event when it was determined that the ASCS stamped heads had been modified. On Monday he climbs aboard the Liebig #10 car and crashes hard at the Front Row Challenge in Oskaloosa. The team makes repairs and on Wednesday, after qualifying seventh quick he could not make the transfer out his heat race or the B-Main. But that is what "Hard Knox" Friday is all about, a reprieve as Bogucki starts from the outside of the first row and runs a solid third to make the big show on Saturday.

This is the only feature race all season where you will watch the race for fourth more than any battle that might develop for the lead and, since Reutzel was in control anyway it was easy to give your full attention to the final transfer position. Brandon Wimmer would hold the spot until lap fifteen when Parker Price-Miller charged by him. PPM had started ninth and appeared to have the speed to run down Bogucki for third, but as the laps ticked away there would be a new challenger making the scene. Running the absolute bottom on both ends, and even putting the left front up on the berm in turns one and two, former track champion Davey Heskin was on the fly. The Minnesotan had started the race next to Price-Miller in row five and he was now closing ground quickly with the Knoxville regulars, and especially the trio from Herman sitting next to me, urging him on. Heskin would drive by "The Law Firm" with three laps remaining and while Parker tried to battle back he would come up short as Heskin sealed the deal locking in a minimum payout of $15,000 on Saturday night. 

Yes, that is what it pays to finish last in the Knoxville Nationals Championship feature!

The winner will take home $185,000 and while that is a lot of cash, the title of being a "Knoxville Nationals Champion" eventually becomes the most important thing to these drivers. Will Donny Schatz tie Steve Kinser's record of twelve championships? Will Kyle Larson, David Gravel or Brad Sweet get his second? Or will one of the twenty other competitors ad their name to the list of winners of the greatest Sprint Car race on earth?

If you don't already have a ticket for tonight, you'll either have to scalp one or dial up DirtVision to find out!

Lineups courtesy of Knoxville Raceway's website

A MAIN

Row 1. 57 Kyle Larson (482)

24 Rico Abreu (480)

2. 15 Donny Schatz (479)

1S Logan Schuchart (479)

3. 41 Carson Macedo (474)

39 Hunter Schuerenberg (462)

4. 55 Kerry Madsen (459)

83JR Buddy Kofoid (459)

5. 18 Gio Scelzi (458)

14 Corey Day (458)

6. 4 Ian Madsen (455)

3J Dusty Zomer (453)

7. 5 Spencer Bayston (451)

2KS Chase Randall (449)

8. 7BC Anthony Macri (449)

49 Brad Sweet (449)

9. B Main Transfer #1

B Main Transfer #2

10. B Main Transfer #3

B Main Transfer #4

11. 8 Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX)

2 David Gravel (Watertown, CT)

12. 10 Scott Bogucki (McLaren Vale, SA, AU)

2M Davey Heskin (St. Michael, MN)

B MAIN

Row 1. 13 Justin Peck (449)

83 James McFadden (447)

2. 9 Kasey Kahne (446)

88 Austin McCarl (443)

3. 21 Brian Brown (439)

71 Shane Stewart (439)

4. 6G Garet Williamson (438)

7TAZ Tasker Phillips (437)

5. 7W Dustin Selvage (435)

17 Sheldon Haudenschild (434)

6. 9P Parker Price-Miller (Kokomo, IN)

19 Brent Marks (Myerstown, PA)

7. 7TW Brandon Wimmer (Fairmount, IN)

5T Ryan Timms (Oklahoma City, OK)

8. 1 Justin Henderson (Tea, SD)

11 Cory Eliason (Visalia, CA)

9. 26 Zeb Wise (Angola, IN)

22K Kaleb Johnson (Sioux Falls, SD)

10. 21H Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK)

4W Jamie Ball (Knoxville, IA)

C MAIN

Row 1. 3 Tim Kaeding (San Jose, CA)

39M Justin Sanders (Aromas, CA)

2. 49X Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA)

2K Lynton Jeffrey (Sydney, NSW, AU)

3. 4CW Chris Windom (Canton, IL)

5C Dylan Cisney (Port Royal, PA)

4. 7S Robbie Price (Cobble Hill, BC, CA)

17W Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA)

5. 17B Bill Balog (Hartland, WI)

42 Sye Lynch (Apollo, PA)

6. 12X Ayrton Gennetten (Gravois Mills, MO)

18T Tanner Holmes (Jacksonville, OR)

7. 52 Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)

6B Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD)

8. 24T Christopher Thram (Sanborn, MN)

1K Kelby Watt (Adel, IA)

9. 1C Brenham Crouch (Lubbock, TX)

1X Jake Bubak (Arvada, CO)

10. 3P Sawyer Phillips (Pleasantville, IA)

3Z Brock Zearfoss (Jonestown, PA)

D MAIN

Row 1. 11N Harli White (Lindsay, OK)

25 Lachlan McHugh (Gold Coast, QLD, AU)

2. 20G Noah Gass (Mounds, OK)

24H Kade Higday (Pleasant Hill, IA)

3. 50YR JJ Hickle (Quilcene, WA)

22 Riley Goodno (Knoxville, IA)

4. 13JT Mark Dobmeier (Grand Forks, ND)

91 Kyle Reinhardt (Neptune City, NJ)

5. 35 Zach Hampton (Plainfield, IN)

10V Cap Henry (Bellevue, OH)

6. 70 Kraig Kinser (Bloomington, IN)

101 Kalib Henry (Sacramento, CA)

7. 44 Chris Martin (Ankeny, IA)

21T Cole Macedo (Lemoore, CA)

8. 1M Don Droud Jr. (Lincoln, NE)

83T Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, CA)

9. 16A Colby Copeland (Roseville, CA)

55T McKenna Haase (Des Moines, IA)

10. 95 Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK)

17X Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA)

E MAIN

Row 1. 16 Brooke Tatnell (Sans Souci, NSW, AU)

35B Austin Bishop (Elverson, PA)

2. 44P Skylar Prochaska (Lakefield, MN)

105 Cody Ihlen (Pipestone, MN)

3. 1A Chase Dietz (York, PA)

W19 Trent Pigdon (Cardup, WA, AU)

4. 20 AJ Moeller (Rockwell City, IA)

2KK Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD)

5. 4J Kevin Thomas Jr. (Cullman, AL)

27 Carson McCarl (Altoona, IA)

6. 17AU Jamie Veal (Warrnambool, VIC, AU)

45 Rusty Hickman (Bendigo, VIC, AU)

7. 121 RJ Johnson (Tampa, FL)

9H Landon Hansen (Newton, IA)

8. 15JR Cole Mincer (Burlington, IA)

6X Frank Rodgers III (Lucas, IA)

9. 4K2W Matt Wasmund (Jackson, MN)

65 Jordan Goldesberry (Springfield, IL)

10. 6 Bill Rose (Plainfield, IN)

37 Ayden Gatewood (Caruthersville, MO)

11. G5 Gage Pulkrabek (East Grand Forks, MN)

56 Joe Simbro (Pleasantville, IA)

12. 78 Bill Wagner (Reeder, ND)

15H Sam Hafertepe Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX)

Macedo Wins, Larson Accumulates The Most Points At Knoxville On Thursday

Winning a qualifying night feature during the Knoxville Nationals is quite an accomplishment, but it doesn't always give you the results that you expect. Just ask Logan Schuchart who last year won the Wednesday night main event only to come up short with a point total that did not make the top sixteen to lock into Saturday night's main event. After two night's of qualifying for the 62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's, Schuchart will remain as the only driver to have that dubious distinction after Carson Macedo scored the win and placed himself fifth in the points standings. Schuchart, by the way, finished seventh on this night and scored enough points to start fourth in Saturday's big show proving that winning isn't everything when it comes to the first two nights of the Nationals.

There are a few good storylines from Thursday's show and let's start with Carson Macedo who, in his last appearance here at Knoxville in June, left in an ambulance after a grinding and fiery crash. He raced in a great deal of pain the following week at Beaver Dam and during his post race comments tonight he stated that he was finally feeling better. The special wrap for the Nationals on his Jason Johnson Racing #41 even included flames as a tribute to the Fire and Safety Team here at the Knoxville Raceway who prevented a more critical outcome. 

Carson would start tonight's twenty-five lap feature from fourth and would settle in behind leaders Anthony Macri and Garret Williamson early. A bit of contact would take place when Macedo picked off Williamson for second. A red flag would fly when Daryn Pittman flipped in turn three after losing a left rear wheel on lap fifteen and on the restart Macedo would take the lead from Macri in turns one and two only to have the caution wave again after lap sixteen was scored when Ian Madsen had spun in turn four and collected the start cone.

As the next lap was being scored Macri would exit turn four so low that he would kick that same cone out onto the race track causing another caution and, since there would be no more "original starts" on this night, the officials that retrieved the cone mercifully took it back into the infield with them.

Carson Macedo - Barry Johnson photo

With Macedo now out front we will loop in two more storylines, the first being that of Kyle Larson. After starting the race from fifth, Larson actually dropped a spot or two early, then passed a couple of cars before the tenth starting Spencer Bayston went charging by him during those first fifteen laps of green flag action. Kyle was in the top five before Pittman's red and the cone involved stoppages, and with each restart he would seem to gain a position. When Kyle's brother-in-law and former Nationals Champion Brad Sweet took a hard tumble in turn one after blowing a right rear tire with four laps remaining he was sitting in third and that looked like where he would end up, but as Macedo was exiting turn four to come to the checkers, Jamie Veal got upside in turn two leaving us with one last restart. 

Kyle Larson (57) works to the inside of Anthony Macri - Barry Johnson photo

Larson would again take advantage of a race stoppage to slip by Bayston on the final lap to take second as Macedo scored the win. Bayston would finish in third and with his point total for the night landing him in thirteenth, he revealed in the post-race press conference that this would be the first time that he has ever qualified for the A-Main at the Nationals. And a quick note about the winner, Carson Macedo. Announcer Johnny Gibson shared that his best ever finish at the Knoxville Nationals was a ninth place run.

Let's loop in that third big storyline of the night now with another back-to-front run by Rico Abreu. As the second car out to qualify it was no surprise that Rico would set quick time and gather the 200 points that goes with it, but when he came up one spot short of transferring to tonight's A-Main from the first heat race he was forced to run the B-Main. Abreu would walk away from the field in that one to start from the inside of row eleven in the feature knowing that, if he could make a run toward the front that the pole position for the Championship race was not out of reach.

Rico would not pass a bunch of cars early, in fact I believe that he was about fourteenth when the red flag flew for Pittman, and he was still in thirteenth after the second cone caution, but the charge would start from there. He would would pick up seven spots in the four laps prior to Sweet's crash and he would move to fifth over the final four laps to put him side-by-side on the front row with the friend that he has grown up racing with in Saturday night's Championship race.

No doubt about it, Rico has put on a show and has been lightning fast here the past two nights that he has raced here at Knoxville. But if not for the late race incidents and restarts he would have finished eighth instead of third in the 360 Nationals and might not have even cracked the top ten on this night. Before you accuse me of being a wet blanket, know that it is going to make a big difference that he will be starting up front on Saturday and Rico Abreu is my pre-race favorite to secure his first Knoxville Nationals victory.

After leading the first fifteen laps Macri slipped to fourth at the checkers. Austin McCarl was flying around the cushion during the first fifteen laps and had come from eleventh to fourth, but he would drop two spots to sixth after all of the restarts. Logan Schuchart had also made an appearance in the top five, but would fall to seventh at the checkers, Dusty Zomer locked himself into Saturday's finale with his eighth place finish, Buddy Kofoid came from twenty-second to ninth and Brock Zearfoss was tenth.

 

Spencer Bayston - Barry Johnson photo

David Gravel appears to be the hands down favorite for tonight's "Hard Knox" program as four more drivers will race their way into the title race on Saturday. 

Points courtesy of KnoxvilleRaceway.com

 A main Cars

1 57 Kyle Larson 482

2 24 Rico Abreu 480

3 15 Donny Schatz 479

4 1S Logan Schuchart 479

5 41 Carson Macedo 474

6 39 Hunter Schuerenberg 462

7 55 Kerry Madsen 459

8 83JR Buddy Kofoid 459

9 18 Gio Scelzi 458

10 14 Corey Day 458

11 4 Ian Madsen 455

12 3J Dusty Zomer 453

13 5 Spencer Bayston 451

14 2KS Chase Randall 449

15 7BC Anthony Macri 449

16 49 Brad Sweet 449

B main cars

17 13 Justin Peck 449

18 83 James McFadden 447

19 9 Kasey Kahne 446

20 88 Austin McCarl 443

21 21 Brian Brown 439

22 71 Shane Stewart 439

23 6G Garet Williamson 438

24 7TAZ Tasker Phillips 437

25 7W Dustin Selvage 435

26 17 Sheldon Haudenschild 434

“Drivers for Hard Knox Night”

27 42 Sye Lynch 434

28 5X Daryn Pittman 432

29 52 Blake Hahn 429

30 3Z Brock Zearfoss 429

31 4W Jamie Ball 416

32 7TW Brandon Wimmer 415

33 17B Bill Balog 414

34 10L Scott Bogucki 414

35 16A Colby Copeland 412

36 19 Brent Marks 412

37 18T Tanner Holmes 411

38 12X Ayrton Gennetten 410

39 21H Brady Bacon 408

40 4CW Chris Windom 408

41 17AU Jamie Veal 404

42 11 Cory Eliason 404

43 21T Cole Macedo 403

44 2 David Gravel 403

45 25 Lachlan McHugh 401

46 1X Jake Bubak 401

47 22 Riley Goodno 399

48 1 Justin Henderson 394

49 35 Zach Hampton 394

50 101 Kalib Henry 392

51 4J Kevin Thomas Jr. 392

52 39M Justin Sanders 392

53 3P Sawyer Phillips 391

54 7S Robbie Price 382

55 83T Tanner Carrick 382

56 26 Zeb Wise 381

57 1M Don Droud Jr. 380

58 27 Carson McCarl 380

59 50YR JJ Hickle 379

60 3 Tim Kaeding 378

61 2K Lynton Jeffrey 377

62 9P Parker Price-Miller 373

63 16 Brooke Tatnell 370

64 5T Ryan Timms 367

65 17W Shane Golobic 367

66 20 AJ Moeller 364

67 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr. 361

68 22K Kaleb Johnson 358

69 49X Tim Shaffer 357

70 24T Christopher Thram 350

71 1K Kelby Watt 345

72 1C Brenham Crouch 344

73 55T McKenna Haase 340

74 1A Chase Dietz 340

75 11N Harli White 339

76 20G Noah Gass 335

77 8 Aaron Reutzel 333

78 44P Skylar Prochaska 332

79 65 Jordan Goldesberry 328

80 91 Kyle Reinhardt 327

81 95 Matt Covington 315

82 70 Kraig Kinser 315

83 6B Clint Garner 310

84 5C Dylan Cisney 306

85 6 Bill Rose 302

86 17X Terry McCarl 300

87 18R Ryan Roberts 300

88 24H Kade Higday 294

89 35B Austin Bishop 291

90 4K2W Matt Wasmund 286

91 56 Joe Simbro 273

92 13JT Mark Dobmeier 272

93 45 Rusty Hickman 271

94 44 Chris Martin 270

95 G5 Gage Pulkrabek 270

96 2M Davey Heskin 269

97 2KK Kevin Ingle 267

98 121 RJ Johnson 265

99 6X Frank Rodgers III 263

100 15JR Cole Mincer 255

101 37 Ayden Gatewood 238

102 W19 Trent Pigdon 236

103 9H Landon Hansen 235

104 105 Cody Ihlen 223

105 78 Bill Wagner 220

106 10V Cap Henry 209

Schatz Headed For Number Twelve?

The 62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's got underway Wednesday with defending champion Donny Schatz getting by National's rookie Chase Randall with three laps remaining to take the qualifying night feature victory. His 479 point total tops the list of the fifty-two drivers in competition on this first night and, while it may not be high enough to put Schatz on the front row for Saturday's championship event, it will definitely have him in a good position to pursue his twelfth Knoxville Nationals title, a feat that would tie him with "The King" Steve Kinser for the most wins in Sprint Car racing's most prestigious event. 

Donny Schatz - Barry Johnson photo

Top notch announcer Tony Bokhoven shared the interesting fact that this would be Donny's first qualifying night feature win since 2003, a year that another Tony Stewart owned car was driven to victory by Danny Lasoski and that means that in all of his eleven Nationals title, Schatz did not win on his qualifying night.

Barry Johnson photo

He probably would not have won this year either if not for a grinding crash involving Justin Peck on lap seventeen of the night's twenty-five lap finale. Peck, who had qualified second quick to start the night, was in a position to put his Pella Corporation sponsored #13 on the pole for Saturday night, but when he ran up over the right rear of Sheldon Haudenschild while racing for fifth exiting turn four, his car shot to the right and he slammed the outside guardrail at top speed with his car then ricocheting across the front stretch. Luckily all of the oncoming cars were able to miss him and thankfully Peck was able to climb out of the mangled race car under his own power. 

At the time of the accident young Chase Randall was challenging race long leader Blake Hahn and appeared to have Hahn cleared before the red flag flew. If the race would have stayed green, and with Schatz nearly a straightaway back in fourth behind Kerry Madsen, this one would have likely gone to Randall, but as we saw here this past Saturday night, "it's never over until it's over!" 

With Hahn bringing the field back to green, Randall again got a big run off the top of turns one and two and the threw the slider in three and four to take the point on lap eighteen. Schatz made quick work of both Madsen and Hahn to get to second, and it seemed inevitable that he would fly by Randall as well. But the kid did not go down easy as he crossed over the first pass by Schatz to regain the lead down the back stretch and then blocked his challenger in turns three and fourth causing the large Wednesday night crowd to get loud. 

Chase Randall (2KS) takes the lead from Blake Hahn - Barry Johnson photo

Gone are the days when Schatz would hear the boo birds prominently here at Knoxville and with this one being a battle between a legend and a prodigy, you had the sense that this crowd would be happy with either result. Randall did his best to ward off the challenge until lap twenty-two when Schatz put a strong slider on him in three and four to take the lead and soon the victory. Randall's runner-up finish should lock in the Troy Renfro owned #2KS to Saturday night's finale while Sheldon Haudenschild's run from twelfth to third at the finish will still leave him a bit short when it comes to the point totals. Kerry Madsen finished fourth, Hahn faded to fifth, Sye Lynch finished sixth and Hunter Schuerenberg drove the Swindell Speed Labs #39 to seventh. Dustin Selvage posted his best finish of the season here at Knoxville running eighth after starting second, Brandon Wimmer showed his old form running his retro Gold Eagle ride to ninth and Gio Scelzi nipped Tasker Phillips in the closing laps for tenth.

Scelzi and Phillips both had to transfer out of the B-Main so Gio's tenth place finish started from twenty-first. Phillips had to pass Jamie Ball on the final lap to claim the fourth and final transfer position from the B-Main and he was absolutely flying during the early laps of the feature moving from twenty-fourth to eleventh in the first nine laps. 

Two of the night's pre-race favorites were effectively eliminated on the opening lap of their respective heat races.

David Gravel showed his speed when, as the 34th car out to time, he posted the night's fastest lap of 15.458 seconds. This is by far the latest that we have seen a quick qualifier go out in recent memory and it may have been due to a track prep process that was a bit out of the norm. After some morning showers, the forecast was for a round or two of thunderstorms during the afternoon so no water was added until about five o'clock when the blue skies overhead made it obvious that the forecast was wrong. Usually during qualifying here at Knoxville, the 410's ride the cushion pushing it further and further up the track, but on this night the fast way around was by using the bottom, especially on the exit of turn four and that was what Gravel did to lay down his quick lap.

Starting eighth in the first heat race though, Gravel got sideways in turn four as he tried to make a move under McKenna Haase and he was then clipped by Justin Sanders. The contact sent him nose first into the outside guardrail and even though he was able to stay in motion after a full spin, he drove straight to the work area with heavy front end damage. Unable to restart and being scored in tenth, this would send Gravel to the C-Main, a race that he would win to start him twenty-first in the B-Main where he then raced his way up to eleventh.

With the Friday night "Hard Knox" opportunity to still make Saturday's A-Main by finishing in the top four of the main event, it was a bit of a surprise that Gravel and his team chose to run the C and the B as it sill left him 21st on the points list from night one.

Barry Johnson photo

Despite being the first car out for qualifying Aaron Reutzel posted the twelfth best lap and when he collided with Dustin Selvage on the front stretch while taking the green in the second heat race, Reutzel spun and made contact with the outside rail entering turn one. There would not be enough time to replace the front end in the work area, so his team called it a night with the opportunity to come back strong on Friday.

The other half of the field is set to go tonight and with the relatively low point totals posted by Wednesday's competitors the front row for Saturday's headliner is likely on the line.

Wednesday's points courtesy of the Knoxville Raceway website:

1 15 Donny Schatz 479

2 39 Hunter Schuerenberg 462

3 55 Kerry Madsen 459

4 18 Gio Scelzi 458

5 14 Corey Day 458

6 2KS Chase Randall 449

7 13 Justin Peck 449

8 83 James McFadden 447

9 9 Kasey Kahne 446

10 7TAZ Tasker Phillips 437

11 7W Dustin Selvage 435

12 17 Sheldon Haudenschild 434

13 42 Sye Lynch 434

14 52 Blake Hahn 429

15 4W Jamie Ball 416

16 7TW Brandon Wimmer 415

17 10L Scott Bogucki 414

18 19 Brent Marks 412

19 21H Brady Bacon 408

20 21T Cole Macedo 403

21 2 David Gravel 403

22 1X Jake Bubak 401

23 22 Riley Goodno 399

24 1 Justin Henderson 394

25 39M Justin Sanders 392

26 7S Robbie Price 382

27 83T Tanner Carrick 382

28 26 Zeb Wise 381

29 1M Don Droud Jr. 380

30 27 Carson McCarl 380

31 50YR JJ Hickle 379

32 2K Lynton Jeffrey 377

33 9P Parker Price-Miller 373

34 16 Brooke Tatnell 370

35 49X Tim Shaffer 357

36 24T Christopher Thram 350

37 1C Brenham Crouch 344

38 55T McKenna Haase 340

39 1A Chase Dietz 340

40 8 Aaron Reutzel 333

41 91 Kyle Reinhardt 327

42 95 Matt Covington 315

43 70 Kraig Kinser 315

44 17X Terry McCarl 300

45 24H Kade Higday 294

46 13JT Mark Dobmeier 272

47 44 Chris Martin 270

48 2M Davey Heskin 269

49 2KK Kevin Ingle 267

50 15JR Cole Mincer 255

51 37 Ayden Gatewood 238

52 9H Landon Hansen 235