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