Fall "Specials" Season Is Upon Us

The vast majority of the tracks in our region have completed their season championship event and that means that we now swing into the Fall special events schedule. Granted, with a heat index of 110 degrees or more, we are still in the dog days of summer, but don't be surprised if you need to pull out the cold weather gear in a matter of a few weeks.

Perhaps one of the biggest and most anticipated special events on the schedule actually kicks off tonight with the revamped Yankee Dirt Track Classic at the 300 Raceway in Farley. Practice and qualifying for the Stock Cars will be on the card tonight before two nights of preliminary action for the division on Wednesday and Thursday. Then on Friday night, the $100,047-to-win Stock Car Rampage will headline the night with a $15,000-to-win XR Super Series Late Model program serving as a stout support class. The big event then draws to a close on Saturday with the Late Models gunning for a $50,047 top prize along with racing for the Modifieds and Sport Mods.

While I am still skeptical about these big paying shows that require a stout up front investment (Entry Fee) from the drivers, that is not going to curb my curiosity in regard to seeing how a division that typically races for between $300 and $500 to win on a regular night will behave with a hundred grand on the line. That along with a full show for the Late Models has both Barry and I planning to make the trip up to Farley for both Thursday and Friday, weather permitting. Check back in here next week for our coverage of this unique event.

With the month of September about to appear I also like to take a look at the current standings in all nine divisions of the All Iowa Points to see who might have a title wrapped up, or to see who all remain in contention for an elusive state championship.

Let's start with the Late Models where Travis Denning and defending champion Tommy Elston have been swapping the lead back and forth. With three wins in three nights this past weekend, Denning is now back on top of the standings by just one point over Elston who has a repeat on his mind. Evan Miller and three-time champion Matt Ryan, the world's fastest art teacher, remain in contention as well.

All Iowa Points

Late Model

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Travis Denning Sterling IL 96

2 . Tommy Elston Keokuk 95

3 . Evan Miller Silvis IL 82

4 . Matt Ryan Davenport 75

5 . Denny Woodworth Mendon IL 61

6 . Nick Marolf Moscow 60

7 . Andy Nezworski Buffalo 55

8 . Zach Zeitner Bellevue NE 55

9 . Bobby Pierce Oakwood IL 53

10 . Eric Pollard Peosta 50

By this point in the season we usually have a clear cut leader in the Modifieds, but that is definitely not the case in 2024 as at least seven drivers still have a shot at winning the championship. That includes the 2022 champ Austen Becerra who is in a dead heat right now with Jed Freiburger at the top of the list as well as the 2009 champion Jeremy Mills who is in seventh. Ethan Braaksma, Chris Zogg and Tim Ward have all taken turns at the top of this list in 2024 and Troy Cordes, who came into the season as the sixth ranked driver in cumulative points since the year 2000 is just ten points back in his quest for his first AIP title.

All Iowa Points

Modified

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Austen Becerra Carthage IL 125

2 . Jed Freiburger Dubuque 125

3 . Ethan Braaksma Newton 122

4 . Troy Cordes Dunkerton 115

5 . Chris Zogg New Liberty 108

6 . Tim Ward Gilbert AZ 104

7 . Jeremy Mills Clear Lake 101

8 . Jeff Larson Freeport IL 93

9 . Kelly Shryock Fertile 82

10 . Joe Chisholm Osage 78

Brayton Carter - Barry Johnson photo

The Limited Modified class will once again have more than ten drivers eclipse the 100 point mark, but they are all chasing Brayton Carter who has all but clinched his second straight and third overall All Iowa Points championship. Jarrett Franzen, Jake Sachau and two-time champion Logan Anderson have all had stellar seasons, but with fifty top five finishes including nineteen victories already to his credit Carter has a 43 point bulge heading into specials season. 

All Iowa Points

Limited Modified

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Brayton Carter Oskaloosa 192

2 . Jarrett Franzen Maquoketa 149

3 . Jake Sachau Denison 140

4 . Logan Anderson Eddyville 137

5 . Ty Griffith Webster City 132

6 . Logan Veloz Colona IL 122

7 . Dan Hovden Decorah 115

8 . Shane Paris Muscatine 107

9 . Alec Fett Thompson 103

10 . Dylan VanWyk Oskaloosa 97

It is a battle between two former AIP champions for the Stock Car title as Mike Nichols (2019) leads John Oliver Jr. (2018) by just five markers. A tip of the hat to Kelly Shryock who ranks third in these standings and ninth on the Modified list as well. The veteran driver is a three-time All Iowa Points Modified champion, the first one coming in 1989 before doubling up in  2017 and 2018.

All Iowa Points

Stock Car

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Mike Nichols Harlan 184

2 . John Oliver Jr. Danville 179

3 . Kelly Shryock Fertile 127

4 . Mike Albertsen Audubon 108

5 . Dustin Griffiths Ottumwa 98

6 . Mitch Hovden Decorah 95

7 . Myles Michehl Fort Dodge 79

8 . Kevin Donlan Decorah 78

9 . Kaden Reynolds Cedar Rapids 76

10 . Blake Adams McIntire 74

Defending Hobby Stock champion Mike Smith had a slow start, for him at least, to the 2024 season, but he has surged ahead of the pack during July and August and appears to be headed to his second straight AIP title. I say "appears" because despite his current 37 point advantage, Smith traditionally shuts down his racing following the IMCA Super Nationals, so that still allows challengers like Jordan Miles and Brandon Nielsen as well as former champions Dustin Gulbrandson (2020) and Dustin Griffiths (2014) to still have an outside shot at tracking Smith down with a strong specials season.

All Iowa Points

Hobby Stock

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Mike Smith Lake City 176

2 . Jordan Miles Bernard 139

3 . Dustin Gulbrandson Hartford SD 137

4 . Brandon Nielsen Spencer 135

5 . Dustin Griffiths Ottumwa 123

6 . Nathan Ballard Marengo 114

7 . Jimmy Doescher Hollandale WI 98

8 . Randy Lamar Buffalo 97

9 . Bradly Graham Victor 93

10 . Daniel Wauters Tipton 93

Three years ago at this time I counted him out of contention stating that Caine Mahlberg was in control of the Four Cylinder All Iowa Points race. That was before Cyle Hawkins went on an amazing run through the specials season and then won his first AIP championship in the final race of the year. Cyle would repeat the title in 2022 before finishing as the runner-up to Kolby Sabin last year and in 2024 Hawkins will be the first driver in the division to win three championships in the class before he steps up into a Stock Car in 2024.

All Iowa Points

Four Cylinder

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Cyle Hawkins Blue Grass 142

2 . Cristian Grady Cedar Rapids 90

3 . Michael Gardner Des Moines 87

4 . Anthony Clark Omaha NE 86

5 . Jacob Welter Farley 78

6 . Brandon Reu Donnellson 75

7 . Levi Volkert Correctionville 73

8 . Tyler Thompson Sioux City 67

9 . Barry Taft Argyle 59

10 . Oliver Monson Clear Lake 55

We have been crowning All Iowa Points champions since 1967 and last year was the first time that one driver, Chase Randall, was able to capture championships in two divisions in the same year taking both the 410 and the 360 Winged Sprint Car titles. Now, just one year later, Aaron Reutzel is poised to repeat that feat in the same two divisions. His lead is slim right now in the 410 class with the 2022 champion Autsin McCarl just six points back, but the number of events remaining in the division are minimal. In the 360's Reutzel's thirteen point edge over Tasker Phillips will likely hold up due to the light Fall schedule for the class. And in the 305 division Lee Goos Jr. is on his way to being the first driver to post three straight championships in the class.

All Iowa Points

410 Sprint

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Aaron Reutzel Clute TX 52

2 . Austin McCarl Altoona 46

3 . Chase Randall Waco TX 38

4 . Kerry Madsen St. Marys NSW 30

5 . Garet Williamson Columbia MO 28

6 . Kyle Larson Elk Grove CA 23

7 . Carson Macedo Lemoore CA 20

8 . Kaleb Johnson Sioux Falls SD 20

9 . Scott Bogucki McClaren Vale SA 20

10 . Rico Abreu Rutherford CA 18

11 . Ryan Timms Oklahoma City OK 18

All Iowa Points

360 Sprint

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Aaron Reutzel Clute TX 46

2 . Tasker Phillips Pleasantville 33

3 . Paul Nienhiser Chapin IL 29

4 . Patrick Heikkinen Eveleth MN 26

5 . Jamie Ball Knoxville 24

6 . Chase Randall Waco TX 22

7 . Jason Gorman New Hampton 18

8 . Terry McCarl Altoona 17

9 . Owen Carlson Somerset WI 15

10 . Ryan Bunton Morton IL 15

All Iowa Points

305 Sprint

Pos. Driver Hometown Points

1 . Lee Goos Jr. Hartford SD 53

2 . Cody Wehrle Burlington 37

3 . Tanner Gebhardt Burlington 37

4 . Gunnar Pike South Bend NE 35

5 . J Kinder Iberia MO 30

6 . Shayle Bade Raymond NE 26

7 . Cole Vanderheiden Papillion NE 25

8 . Mike Mayberry Fremont 25

9 . Dugan Thye Burlington 24

10 . Dusty Ballenger Harrisburg SD 24

You can keep up with the All Iowa Points, updated on a weekly basis on the Points page at Positively Racing. The regular season my be over, but you have plenty of time to get back out to the tracks before racing draws to a close for 2024 and we hope to see you out there on the Back Stretch!

Kyle Larson Goes Flag To Flag For His Third Knoxville Nationals Title

Warding off an initial challenge from Daryn Pittman and then flirting with Giovanni Scelzi past that the halfway mark, Kyle Larson paced all fifty laps to earn his second straight and third overall Knoxville Nationals championship Saturday during the 63rd edition of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's.

Pittman, who had started to the outside of Larson in row one had the momentum coming out of turn four to complete the opening lap, but when Larson came up the track the driver who recently came out of retirement to wheel the Kreitz Racing #69K had to stab the breaks in order to avoid contact. Five laps would be scored with Larson out front before the caution waved for Logan Schuchart who had slowed coming down the front stretch and amazingly his crew would be able to complete a gear change during the allotted time in the work area. 

Once back to green Larson would again drive away from the competition as the fourth starting Carson Macedo made his way into second and just prior to the mid-race break, Giovanni Scelzi had come from fifth to third while Anthony Macri had advanced from eighth to fourth. Young Corey Day was also on the move as he would now restart the race in fifth after starting eleventh.

It would take just three laps for Scelzi to slip by Macedo for second and the capacity crowd could see that he was now closing in on Larson as well. Some fans would even rise to their feet a couple of laps later when Gio pulled within two car lengths of the leader, but Kyle would then again nail his line and pull away. Day would get by Macri and after he drove by Macedo for third with less than ten laps remaining, the gaps between first and second, and second and third were too much to overcome as Larson cruised to victory. With Scelzi, Day and Macedo next in line the state of California rules the world of Sprint Car racing right now with Pennsylvania's Anthony Macri closing out the top five.

Brian Brown would finish in sixth, Tyler Courtney slipped from third to seventh, Scott Bogucki was the top Aussie in eighth, Sheldon Haudenschild finished ninth with Jacob Allen closing out the top ten.

2024 Knoxville Nationals Champion Kyle Larson - Barry Johnson photo

Brad Sweet was a flag-to-flag winner of the B-Main that saw Justin Peck, David Gravel and James McFadden make the big show as well. The top four starters were the top four finishers and transfers from the C with Brenham Crouch taking the win. Same could be said for the D-Main with veteran driver Don Droud Jr. scoring the win and the E-Main went ten laps on a green racing surface with the top four finishing as they had started with Sawyer Phillips the first to the checkers.

This closes out another fun week of visiting with friends and enjoying the pinnacle event of the sport. As always I appreciate the hospitality of Barry, Stephanie and Aidan Johnson who allow me to stay at their home for the week and it is always great to spend the week with the Nachbor family, Keith, Jeff, Sean, Sam and Ethan both before and during the races. They are my Section I family! It was also good to have my long-time friend John Vantiger join me for the week as he has not been to the Nationals since 1988 and it was good to have another of my Class of '81 buddies Todd Wibben join us for Saturday as well. And it was great to get fired up for the evening with some great steaks and conversation with "the grill wizard" Jack Donlan and his wingman Ed Holmes. 

I also want to give a tip of the hat to Angie and her entire team that handles us Media types during the Nationals as they make us all feel welcome and important. Just 361 days until we can do it all again! 

With An Early Assist Donny Schatz Takes "Hard Knox" Friday Feature

Perhaps never has the outcome of a first heat race been so consequential to the outcome of the evening as what we witnessed at the Knoxville Raceway on Friday night. Eleven-time Knoxville Nationals champion Donny Schatz was still racing on Friday night to determine his starting spot for the finale for the first time since 1997 and with an early qualifying slot he was able to set fast time in the first flight of the huge seventy-nine car field. This would place him fourth in the starting lineup for the first of six heat races and if he could just finish in the top three, Schatz would then start the twenty-five lap feature event from the pole position. The Friday night feature where the top four finishers lock themselves in to the Championship feature in positions twenty-one through twenty-four.

"The Knoxfather" Donny Schatz - Barry Johnson photo

When the green flag waved on this important first heat race, Schatz quickly moved to third and even had a run at second as the field entered turn two for the first time, but behind him McKenna Haase had hopped the right rear of Terry McCarl launching her cage first into the outside guardrail where she then flew through the air for several yards before landing hard upside down without the cushion of the top wing that had been shredded upon impact.

After several tense moments McKenna walked gingerly to the ambulance and was later transferred to the hospital for evaluation.

On the restart Schatz did not get the start that he wanted and he would remain in fourth as the field thundered down the back stretch. Tanner Holmes, Jack Dover and Lynton Jeffrey had set sail ahead of him and with the track still in "first heat" condition, Schatz was not able to make up any ground. In the final laps he would get to within about five car lengths of Jeffrey, but he would cross the checkered flag in fourth and would instead be starting from the pole position of the B-Main where a victory would place him twenty-first in the feature lineup, a long way from the top four that would be needed to make it into Saturday's Championship event.

BUT WAIT!

Dover, behind the wheel of the Estenson Racing #14, a driver who is no stranger to the Knoxville Raceway, inexplicably did not go to the scales to check for the minimum weight rule that would have made his second place finish official. It is likely that the Race Director had even reminded the drivers over the Raceceiver that the top three needed to scale, but Dover would be the first this week to ignore/forget that direction and his resulting disqualification would move Donny Schatz up to the third and final transfer spot in the first heat and, more importantly, back to the pole position of the night's main event.

Has there ever been a more consequential lapse of memory at the world's most prestigious Sprint Car event?

Barry Johnson photo

Sorry, but the remaining story lines in the qualifying races don't even come close to being as noteworthy so let's move on to the twenty-five lap main event where, again, the top four finishers would lock into the Saturday's finale. Logan Schuchart would start alongside Schatz and they would put on a great show through the first three laps as Donny would lead the opening circuit, Logan would slip by him on lap two and then Donny would come charging back to the point on the third trip around the legendary half-mile. 

The caution would wave on lap six for a Cale Thomas spin in turn four and, once back to green, Schatz would stretch it out with Schuchart, Austin McCarl and Justin Henderson in tow. Henderson would soon take third from McCarl and as Emerson Axsom closed in, sparks started to trail from McCarl's #88. Axsom would take that valuable fourth spot from an obviously slowing McCarl who would then coast to a halt a lap later with rear end damage.

The final eleven laps would be relatively uneventful as Schatz would cruise to the win over Schuchart. Justin Henderson would put the Forbrook #5 back in the show finishing third, the impressive young non-wing convert Axsom would make the big show in fourth while Lynton Jeffrey came up one position short in fifth. Cole Macedo came from fourteenth to finish sixth, Spencer Bayston advanced the same number of positions to place seventh, Kaleb Johnson went from thirteenth to eighth, Buddy Kofoid started seventeenth and landed in ninth while Tanner Holmes closed out the top ten.

That brings us to Championship night for the 63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's where the defending champion, who is currently on an impressive four race win streak, Kyle Larson will start from the pole alongside the recently unretired Daryn Pittman. And yes, eleven-time champion Donny Schatz will start from the inside of the eleventh row, where if he is able to make a run to the front, the capacity crowd will go absolutely nuts!

My prediction? Larson will win for the third time in the last four years.

Logan Schuchart - Barry Johnson photo

Justin Henderson - Barry Johnson photo

Emerson Axsom - Barry Johnson photo

Larson Tracks Down Abreu For Thursday's Nationals Victory

From his Sprint Car standpoint, 2024 had been a bit of an off year for Kyle Larson and car owner Paul Silva, but the dynamic duo captured lightning in a bottle when Larson went from twenty-first to first at the Ironman 55 opener at Pevely last Friday. It continued with the sweep of I-55 on Saturday and then a thrilling victory on Monday over young Corey Day at Terry McCarl's Front Row Challenge in Oskaloosa. On Thursday Larson again pulled off some late race heroics to get by long-time friend Rico Abreu to make it four in a row on Toyota Qualifying night at the 63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's. 

Four big wins in a row now for Kyle Larson, will he make it five on Saturday? - Barry Johnson photo

Abreu had some momentum of his own going into the night after running away with Sunday's Capitani Classic here at Knoxville, but it would be his fellow front row starter Bill Balog that would race out to the early lead in the twenty-five lap headliner and he would even stretch it out a bit before Rico reeled him back in to take the lead at the mid-race point. Carson Macedo and then Kyle Larson would soon drop Balog to fourth and with lapped traffic now in play the large Thursday night crowd would be treated to a great three car battle for the lead.

Rico Abreu - Barry Johnson photo

Macedo looked to have a run at the leader with nine laps remaining, but when Rico expertly split a pair of lappers he would escape as Macedo now came under fire from Larson. The current NASCAR Cup points leader would then take the runner-up spot and with his sights now set on the leader he would quickly close the gap. Abreu was strong though and maintained the advantage until he raced into turn two on lap twenty-four.

The slower car of Danny Sams III appeared to hop the berm and then drift to the top of turn two, right into the path of the leader who was sailing around the cushion and when Rico had to check up for a split second, that was all that Larson needed to get a run on him down the back stretch and to take the lead in turns three and four coming to the white flag. Abreu would try to mount a comeback on the final lap, but to no avail as Larson took the victory with Macedo close behind in third. Tyler Courtney slipped past Balog late to finish fourth, Daryn Pittman was sixth, Brad Sweet was seventh, Brady Bacon finished eighth while Zeb Wise and Brian Brown closed out the top ten.

Barry Johnson photo

Pittman, the former World of Outlaws champion who recently came out of retirement to drive the Kreitz Racing #69K was the quick qualifier of the night coming out eighth in the qualifying order and he then put on one of the most dominant performances that we have seen in sometime here during his heat race. Starting eighth, Pittman was able to stick the bottom and drove past hot shoes like James McFadden and Brad Sweet like they were standing still to get into the top four. Then, after a late race caution, he was able to get by Landon Crawley to take the win. A feature race victory would have given Daryn a perfect score of 500, something that only one driver has been able to accomplish in this century and that was David Gravel in 2017. 

Barry Johnson photo

In the second heat the crowd had two tight races to follow in the final laps as Hunter Scheurenberg slipped by Ryan Timms to take the win and eighth starting Tyler Courtney dropped Spencer Bayston out of the final transfer spot.

Kyle Larson was the first car out to qualify and posted the third quick time which would have lined him up eighth in heat race number three. However, when Ryan Giles scratched, Larson would go to the inside of row four for the start and he would get up to fourth on the opening lap before finishing third behind Tasker Phillips and Zeb Wise.

A late caution in the fourth heat would allow Carson Macedo to take the win over Daison Pursley, but all eyes were on the three car battle for the final transfer where Brian Brown passed Chris Windom late and then held off Logan Schuchart to make the A-Main. The night would not get any better for Schuchart as he would later finish eighth in the B-Main leaving him in infield for the finale.

While once again stacked with talent, Thursday's B-Main did not develop the excitement as the event did the night before as Dusty Zomer, Cap Henry, James McFadden and Cory Eliason earned the final four starting spots in the main event.

Larson's victory and Pittman's solid showing both earned them 490 points, but it will be Larson that will start from the pole position for Saturday's National Championship event as he looks for his second straight and third overall title. The remainder of the drivers who have locked in for Saturday's show, courtesy of KnoxvilleRaceway.com, is below while the remaining entries can come back tonight for an opportunity to make Saturday's finale by finishing in the top four of Friday night's A-Main.

Jeff Broeg photo

A main qualifiers
1 57 Kyle Larson 490
2 69K Daryn Pittman 490
3 7BC Tyler Courtney 483
4 41 Carson Macedo 480
5 18 Giovanni Scelzi 471
6 24R Rico Abreu 470
7 21 Brian Brown 467
8 39M Anthony Macri 465
9 21H Brady Bacon 463
10 10 Scott Bogucki 460
11 14 Corey Day 459
12 19 Brent Marks 458
13 17B Bill Balog 458
14 17 Sheldon Haudenschild 457
15 2KS Chase Randall 456
16 1A Jacob Allen 453

B main qualifiers
17 49 Brad Sweet 452
18 13 Justin Peck 450
19 83SR James McFadden 444
20 8 Cory Eliason 444
21 09 Matt Juhl 444
22 2 David Gravel 443
23 23 Garet Williamson 443
24 3J Dusty Zomer 436
25 3Z Brock Zearfoss 435
26 33W Cap Henry 433

Scelzi Swipes Knoxville Nationals Opener From Allen

Using a three-wide move in traffic with just three laps remaining, Giovanni Scelzi swiped the lead from Jacob Allen to take the win on BRANDT Professional Agriculture qualifying night #1 of the 63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's at the Knoxville Raceway.

Giovanni Scelzi sporting a new wrap takes the Wednesday win - Barry Johnson photo

Allen, who did not compete in the 2023 Nationals while taking a break from the sport, appeared to be well on his way to repeating his qualifying night victory from two years ago after starting from the pole position in the twenty-five lap headliner and then driving away from the talented field. Just as Allen was approaching traffic on lap nine, Jamie Ball slowed on the back stretch to produce the only caution in the race bringing the field back to the push bar of the leader for the restart.

As the green flag waved, Allen again pulled away from his competition as Chase Randall and Justin Peck waged a battle for second. Behind them a sixth starting Giovanni Scelzi was showing some speed and by the time he slipped into the second spot with eight laps remaining, Allen had built up a full straightaway advantage. Lapped traffic would now come into play though and when Allen found one of the back markers in his preferred lower line, it broke his momentum and Scelzi quickly erased the gap.

 

Jacob Allen was fishing the bottom - Barry Johnson photo

Scelzi's first bid for the lead fell short as Allen was able to ward him off, but as they raced down the front stretch on lap twenty-two Scelzi squeezed between Allen and the slower car of Matt Juhl to take the lead in a daring move that thrilled the large opening night crowd. Jacob was able to make one more run at Gio in the closing laps, but he could not get back to the front as Scelzi scored the win. Allen was close behind in second, Justin Peck followed in for third, Chase Randall slipped to fourth and Brent Marks filled out the top five. Scott Bogucki finished sixth ahead of Brock Zearfoss who had started eleventh. Aaron Reutzel advanced five spots to finish eighth, Corey Day was ninth and B-Main winner Anthony Macri was the Hard Charger of the race taking tenth after starting from the eleventh row. 

Barry Johnson photo

It was another one of those nights when you wanted to draw a low number for the qualifying order as the first car out to qualify, Matt Juhl set quick time and collecting the 200 points that comes along with it. Anthony Macri, the 11th car to hit the track, qualified second quick and then you had to go back to seventh in the qualifying order to find a driver outside of the first eleven to trip the clock and that was an impressive run by Sheldon Haudenschild who was the 35th driver in the fifty-two car field out to qualify. Sheldon then started seventh and finished fourth to transfer out of the second heat landing him on the outside of the fourth row as the top point man who had made the transfer. He would then fade to twelfth in the feature.

The first three heat races were relatively uneventful after positions were determined on the opening lap, but the action picked up in heat four after Kalib Henry's grinding crash in turn one that he walked away from "a bit beat up" as he would describe during his interview. The red flag was a break for young Corey Day who had jumped the cushion in turn three the lap before losing a lot of ground on the fourth place car of Tim Shaffer. With the restart Day was able to drop the winner of the 50th Nationals out of the final transfer position and Aaron Reutzel picked up an extra three points slipping by John Carney II for the win.

The fifth and final heat got off to an interesting start when pole-sitter Lance Moss drove up in front of fellow front row starter Brandon Wimmer with the contact skewing the nose wing on Wimmer's car to the right. Caution waved a few laps later when Moss slowed in a cloud of smoke and following the restart you had a battle for the lead with Chase Randall passing Wimmer late for the victory while the race for fourth got interesting real fast when Tanner Holmes made a run at Carson McCarl. They would exit turn four side-by-side with McCarl holding on by inches to make the show. Holmes would later finish seventh in the B-Main to end his evening.

With several of the top qualifiers failing to transfer out of their heat races, this would setup a very entertaining B-Main where the final four starters for the night's A-Main would be determined. Front row starters Anthony Macri and Matt Juhl would finish one-two, but the three car battle for the final two transfers would bring the crowd to their feet as the checkers waved. Coming from the tenth starting spot, Buddy Kofoid was the fastest car on the track and he would get to fourth by mid-race. However, his effort to get to third would eventually cost him a spot in the main event. With two laps remaining Kofoid would drive by Garet Williamson to take third and when Williamson went from high to low in turns three and four to come back at Buddy, he would pinch off a big run from David Gravel who was still on the outside looking in. Williamson was able to slide up in front of Kofoid in turn two to get back to third and when Buddy left the door open on the bottom of turns three and four on the final lap, the current World of Outlaws point leader Gravel came charging through to steal the last transfer at the checkers.

The driver who ranks second in the Outlaw points and eleven-time Knoxville Nationals champion Donny Schatz had a night that was well below his standards as he qualified 38th, then won his heat from the pole to start from 19th in the feature. Early in the feature Schatz and Gravel would make contact in turn three and after making a save from spinning, Schatz would have been one of the first cars to be lapped if not for that lap nine caution. Donny would finish 18th in the main event so he will be back on Friday to get a second chance to lock in to Saturday's show.

Donny Schatz makes the save after contact with David Gravel - Barry Johnson photo

Scelzi would be the top point scorer on Wednesday with a relatively low total of 471 so while the top eight in the night one standings provided below courtesy of KnoxvilleRaceway.com would normally be "locked in" for Saturday's A-Main, that might not be the case this year for drivers such as Chase Randall and Jacob Allen.

Thursday's qualifying night action will feature defending Nationals champion Kyle Larson who is red hot coming in after sweeping the weekend at I-55 and then taking a thrilling win over Corey Day at Oskaloosa's Front Row Challenge on Monday. And keep your eye on Sunday's Capitani Classic winner Rico Abreu as well.

Wednesday Points

1 18 Giovanni Scelzi 471
2 39M Anthony Macri 465
3 10 Scott Bogucki 460
4 14 Corey Day 459
5 19 Brent Marks 458
6 17 Sheldon Haudenschild 457
7 2KS Chase Randall 456
8 1A Jacob Allen 453
9 13 Justin Peck 450
10 09 Matt Juhl 444
11 2 David Gravel 443
12 23 Garet Williamson 443
13 3Z Brock Zearfoss 435
14 87 Aaron Reutzel 430
15 9 Kasey Kahne 424
16 55 Kerry Madsen 424
17 18T Tanner Holmes 418
18 27 Carson McCarl 417
19 9P Parker Price Miller 413
20 48 Danny Dietrich 407
21 14J Jack Dover 401
22 83JR Michael Kofoid 400
23 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr 398
24 22 Riley Goodno 397
25 15 Donny Schatz 392
26 52 Blake Hahn 390
27 4W Jamie Ball 388
28 2X Lynton Jeffrey 385
29 6B Brandon Wimmer 383
30 3P Sawyer Phillips 382
31 J2 John Carney II 377
32 1M Don Droud Jr 376
33 21T Cole Macedo 376
34 24T Christopher Thram 358
35 49X Tim Shaffer 346
36 23L Jimmy Light 344
37 55T McKenna Haase 343
38 70 Kraig Kinser 337
39 101 Kalib Henry 332
40 45X Jace Park 313
41 44 Chris Martin 310
42 6W Dustin Selvage 307
43 99 Skylar Gee 301
44 17GP Cale Thomas 297
45 19H Joel Myers 290
46 15JR Cole Mincer 278
47 23M Lance Moss 275
48 10V Brian Paulus 268
49 G5 Gage Pulkrabek 267
50 11N Kasey Jedrzejek 255
51 2K Kevin Ingle 236
52 1 Sammy Swindell 229