Swindell Top Outlaw; 360 Winner Determined On the Final Lap and After At Knoxville

It doesn't matter if it is overcast, cold, damp and windy. When the World of Outlaws come to the Knoxville Raceway a large crowd will show up no matter what the conditions are and, in fact, some of the best racing here will be seen in this type of weather. That was definitely the case Saturday night  as drivers were able to find the racing line that worked best with their setup low, high and just about every inch of real estate in between on the big half-mile.

The 25-lap headliner for the World of Outlaws got off to a rough start when fifth-starting Kraig Kinser hooked the inside berm in turn one and went for a tumble. The accident grew as in the scramble to miss the rolling Kinser, Rager Phillips and Don Droud Jr. made contact sending both of their rides upside down as well. All drivers were uninjured and in fact Kinser would be able to restart after making repairs during the clean up of the Droud/Phillips tangle.

Local favorite Brian Brown had earned the pole position with a dominating win of the Dash and when the green waved again he drove away from fellow front-row starter Craig Dollanksy. The racing was intense behind them though and on lap three Steve Kinser pulled a big slider on Terry McCarl in turns one and two. The two may have touched just a bit and when it looked like a big wreck was about to happen Ian Madsen took evasive action just behind them. Kinser and McCarl made the save, but Madsen spun sideways and rolled his car over once to necessitate a red flag. The crowd buzzed when McCarl gestured to Kinser as the two came to a stop side-by-side under the flagstand and the two veterans used hand signals to discuss the finer points of driving this track that both have won so often on. Madsen went to the work area for his crew to do a quick check and he returned for the restart with some bent up wing panels. But on his first time going through turn two, he once again looped the car and tipped it over onto its side in virtually the same exact spot as just moments before.

The chilled crowd was ready to watch some green flag racing and the field now delivered as Brown fought off a couple of challenges from Joey Saldana following the restart before again setting sail on the cushion and opening up a lead. Sammy Swindell had originally started seventh, but slid up to fifth following Kraig Kinser's mishap and he was now the man on the move blowing past Saldana for second and running down Brown when the leader began to work traffic. Swindell started searching out some different grooves as he closed in and on lap fifteen he entered turn three high, kicked the right-rear off the cushion and aimed the nose wing for the very bottom of turn four and that combination allowed him to drive past Brown for the lead with ten laps remaining.

Brown was not about to give in maintaining Swindell's pace and as those two negotiated lapped traffic that was racing two and three-wide in front of them, both Saldana and Dollansky were closing in setting up what looked like would be a classic battle. Unfortunately that never materialized though as sixth-running Kerry Madsen tangled with the lapped car of Robby Wolfgang in turn three and the caution waved with just six laps to go.

On the restart Swindell had wide open space in front of him, plus the battle for second was now the focus for Brown, Saldana and Dollansky. Sammy walked away over the final three miles to take the win as his Big Game Tree Stands teammate Dollansky prevailed over Saldana in the battle for second. Brown was fading at the end, but still had enough to fight off a last lap slider from Donny Schatz to finish fourth and when Schatz lost some momentum on that missed bid at Brown, Danny Lasoski was there to take advantage and finish in fifth. Dusty Zomer came all the way from row eleven to seventh, Jason Sides from row ten to eighth, Brad Sweet took ninth and Terry McCarl finished where he started in tenth.

The 18-lap main event for the 360 division was a thriller that saw six lead changes on the track and one in the tech area before determining a winner. It too though had to wait for the third try before getting underway as Alan Ambers spun on the first attempt at a start, and the second try brought the crowd to silence. Lee Grosz started on the inside of row four and as he raced his way into turn one he hopped the wheel of Joe Beaver sending the #4J of Grosz into a high-speed tumble that bounced him high into the air. The car hit near the top of the guardrail in turn one and was launched even higher yet before landing on its side in a crumpled mass. The Knoxville Raceway Safety Crew rushed to the scene to assist and you could feel the collective sigh of relief when it was radioed up to announcer Tony Bokhoven that Grosz was alert and talking. And the crowd gave up a great round of applause when the young man from Harwood, North Dakota, climbed from the car under his own power a few minutes later.

Once started veteran driver Tom Lenz, who has not posted a top-five finish in the division since 2009, drove to the early lead with Josh Higday in hot pursuit. With Lenz working the middle groove, Higday drove by him on the outside of turn four to take the lead on lap three only to have Lenz take it right back with a bold move in turns one and two. As these two swapped the lead Nate Van Haaften was closing in and on lap six he found the bite that he needed off the low line of turn four to race from third to first. Higday soon dispatched of Lenz and now had to set his sights on a new obstacle between himself and victory in Van Haaften. The caution waved with five laps remaining as Beaver slapped the turn four guardrail and on the restart it was clear that we would have a battle to the wire with Higday up high and Van Haaften down low.

Higday would get the advantage on the restart only to give back that lead with three circuits remaining. As the white flag waved the two contenders crossed the line wing-to-wing with Van Haaften holding a split second advantage and they remained even exiting turn two. The lapped car of Ambers loomed ahead though and when he went to the bottom entering turn three, Van Haaften's chosen groove was no longer available and Higday was first to the checkers. However, after making the minimum weight at the scales it was discovered that Higday was using a tire that was not legal and the official victory would go to Nate Van Haaften. Clint Garner who started tenth would now be the runner-up with Lenz holding on for third, division rookie Carson McCarl was fourth and Russ Hall rounded out the top five.

K-Ville Notes......I hustled to get up to Knoxville in time to catch the last few minutes of Ralph Capitani's Retirement Party/Reception during the afternoon and it was great to get a chance to talk to the man who will always be remembered as one of the most respected figures in racing. He will be missed in his duties, but we all hope to see him around the track here for many years to come as he gets a chance to sit back and enjoy the events that unfold each race night at this legendary facility that "Cappy" played such a major role in developing......Absolutely no drop off is expected and even he will tell you that bigger and better things are ahead under the leadership of Promoter Toby Kruse, race Director John McCoy and Marketing Director Brian Stickel, all three of which I had the opportunity to watch do their jobs so well on this race night......Trey Starks has been anxiously awaiting his first opportunity to race at the Knoxville Raceway and, after turning sixteen, the Puyallup, Washington, youngster made quite an impression. He will always remember his first heat race at Knoxville as he outran the pole-sitter, some old guy named Schatz, and then left Joey Saldana far behind to take the win and earn the pole position for the Dash. He was able to hold on for third in that one putting him in the second row for his first-ever main event at the track, against the World of Outlaws nonetheless! The youngster tried to maintain the fast pace early, but faded to a 16th-place finish in what will still be a night that he will remember for the rest of his life.....The 360's had a couple of other incidents during preliminary action. Dylan Peterson would take an awkward roll down the frontstretch when his right rear axle broke loose during group qualifying. He would be able to make repairs in time to start the feature from the tail. And in the third heat Matt Moro was an innocent victim when Chad Heimbaugh tried to exit too low off of turn four and the berm shot him hard right into Moro. Both cars got upside down although Heimbaugh was able to return to action later in the evening......Series announcer John Gibson still sends chills down my spine when he gives the familiar call of "often imitated, never duplicated, the greatest show on dirt, the World of Outlaws", but he is going to have to put a little more of a redneck twang in a his voice when listing Terry McCarl's new sponsor Lord I Apologize Barbecue Sauces. Think I'm gonna order a couple of bottles right now.....A big thanks to Bill Wright and Stacy Ervin for allowing me to join them in the warm booth and it was great to see the entire crew again as they "put me to work" to earn my comfort. I also enjoyed meeting Des Moines Register sportswriter Andy Hamilton who is looking forward to covering the track for the state's premier newspaper.

Persistent rain looks like it will wash out all of my Sunday night options so my April racing schedule is complete. I want to thank all of you who have visited this month as you have made this the most amount of traffic in one month ever here on the Back Stretch topping July of 2010. Keep checking back in, or better yet, place a bookmark here and I will do my best to keep you entertained and informed about the racing action here in the heart of it all, Iowa. And, if you haven't done so, make sure that you check in with all of my colleagues at Positively Racing where you will also find racing schedules and our own unique look at points.

All Missouri Points Through April 22nd

If you are looking for the current All Iowa Points click here

Late Models

Pos.		Driver	Hometown	Points
1	.	Chris Hawkins	Neosho	10
2	.	Jesse Stovall	Galena	10
3	.	Brad Looney	Republic	9
4	.	Scott Weber	Festus	8
5	.	Jason Russell	Henley	7
6	.	Kevin Coyne		7
7	.	Will Vaught	Seneca	6
8	.	Dewayne Kiefer	St. Genevieve	5
9	.	Jack Sullivan	Greenbriar AR	5
10	.	Jeff Johns		5
11	.	John Anderson	Omaha NE	5
12	.	Terry Phillips	Springfield	5
13	.	Tim Ratajczyk	Columbia IL	5
14	.	Tommy Cordray	Browning	5
15	.	Brandon Sheppard	New Berlin IL	4
16	.	Chris Lapp	Barnett	4
17	.	Jake Griffin	Quincy IL	4
18	.	Jason Bodenhammer	Centerview	4
19	.	Jeremy Kelley		4
20	.	Justin Wells	Aurora	4
21	.	Ron McQuerry	St. Albans	4
22	.	Walt Imhoff		4
23	.	Brandon Imhoff	Lake Ozark	3
24	.	Craig Smith	Godfrey IL	3
25	.	Jason McBride	Carbondale IL	3
26	.	Jon Binning	Warrensburg	3
27	.	Ken Essary	Galena	3
28	.	Mike Collins	Council Bluffs IA	3
29	.	Rusty Schlenk	Jackson MI	3
30	.	Tony Jackson Jr.	Lebanon	3
31	.	Andrew Johns		2
32	.	Jon Kirby	Russelville AR	2
33	.	Justin Russell	Henley	2
34	.	Ken Rumble		2
35	.	Rick Lebow	Galena	2
36	.	Bobby Pierce	Oakwood IL	1
37	.	Bill Leighton Jr.	Omaha NE	1
38	.	Lane Ehlert		1
39	.	R.C. Whitwell	Tucson AZ	1
40	.	Shane Essary	Galena	1
41	.	Steven Clancy	Odessa	1
42	.	Vance Wilson	Bowling Green	1

Sprint Cars

Pos.		Driver	Hometown	Points
1	.	Tommy Worley Jr.	Bismarck	12
2	.	A.J. Bruns	Lincoln IL	8
3	.	Brian Brown	Grain Valley	6
4	.	Jimmy Hurley	Springfield IL	6
5	.	Rod Crabdree	Desloge	6
6	.	Dustin Barks	Farmington	5
7	.	Jason Keith	Fredericktown	5
8	.	Jonathan Cornell	Sedalia	5
9	.	Sammy Swindell	Bartlett TN	5
10	.	Chad Ely	Adelaide AUS	4
11	.	Joey Saldana	Brownsburg IN	4
12	.	Kasey Burch	Farmington	4
13	.	Terry Gray	Memphis TN	4
14	.	Tim Crawley	Benton AR	3
15	.	Anthony Nicholson	Bartlett TN	2
16	.	Donny Schatz	Fargo ND	2
17	.	Jimmy Bridgeman	Farmington	2
18	.	Kyle Bellm	Nixa	2
19	.	Alex Shanks		1
20	.	Eddie Gallagher	Piperton TN	1
21	.	Jason Sides	Memphis TN	1
22	.	Joey Moughan	Springfield IL	1
23	.	Tyler Blank	California	1

Modifieds

Pos.		Driver	Hometown	Points
1	.	Dean Wille	Warrensburg	14
2	.	Erik Maggard	Brighton	12
3	.	Rusty Griffaw	Festus	12
4	.	Ryan Gustin	Marshalltown IA	12
5	.	Terry Schultz	Sedalia	12
6	.	Jason Hughes	West Plains	10
7	.	Jason Russell	Henley	10
8	.	Rodney Sanders	Happy TX	10
9	.	Terry Phillips	Springfield	10
10	.	Jeremy Greenwalt	Potosi	9
11	.	Steven Glenn	Hamilton	9
12	.	Brent Thompson	Park Hills	8
13	.	Jackie Dalton	Carthage	8
14	.	Jeremy Payne	Springfield	8
15	.	Kasey Nations	Park Hills	8
16	.	Kent Nations		8
17	.	Mark Miner	St. Louis	8
18	.	Tim Setzer	Archie	8
19	.	Jim Body	Diamond	7
20	.	Paden Phillips	Chanute KS	7
21	.	Tim Hancock	Mt. Olive IL	7
22	.	Cody Conner		6
23	.	Jason Hughes	Watts OK	6
24	.	John Allen	Chanute KS	6
25	.	Rustin Miller	Houston	6
26	.	Stormy Scott	Las Cruces NM	6
27	.	Tim Karrick	Basehor KS	6
28	.	Billy Smith	Park Hills	5
29	.	Brad Buck	Paragould AR	5
30	.	David Wietholder	Liberty IL	5
31	.	Hunter Marriott	Brookfield	5
32	.	Jeff James	Stanton IA	5
33	.	Johnny Bone Jr.	Pea Ridge AR	5
34	.	Mark Dotson	Cameron	5
35	.	Matt Mevert		5
36	.	Mike VanGenderen	Newton IA	5
37	.	R.C. Whitwell	Tucson AZ	5
38	.	Ron VerBeek	Oskaloosa IA	5
39	.	Ronnie Vernon	Friendship TN	5
40	.	Shay Woods	Humeston IA	5
41	.	Tony Jackson Jr.	Lebanon	5
42	.	Bobby Pearish	Joplin	4
43	.	Brandon Ball	West Plains	4
44	.	Danny Scrogham	Peculiar	4
45	.	Jacob Davis	Millersville	4
46	.	Justin Neuman	Crocker	4
47	.	Matt Dotson	Sturgeon	4
48	.	Mickey Burrell	Fair Grove	4
49	.	Mike Henson		4
50	.	Robby Arnold	Paragould AR	4
51	.	Ron Keith	Shawnee KS	4
52	.	Scott Crigler	Alton	4
53	.	Steve Muilenberg	Sparta	4
54	.	Yancy Shepard	Smithville	4
55	.	Brent Holman		3
56	.	Chad Lyle	Oak Grove	3
57	.	Cory Wray	Jamesport	3
58	.	Danny Crane	Columbia	3
59	.	Darren Shaw	Lathrop	3
60	.	Dennis Elliott	Mount Ayr IA	3
61	.	Dereck Ramirez	Woodward OK	3
62	.	Jake Richards	Kansas City KS	3
63	.	Jon Gray		3
64	.	Ken Schrader	Concord NC	3
65	.	Kenny Wallace	Concord NC	3
66	.	Lucas Dobbs	Eldorado Springs	3
67	.	Lucas Lee	Paris TN	3
68	.	Mitch Keeter	Webb City	3
69	.	Paul Bauman		3
70	.	Robbie Bryant	Willard	3
71	.	Timmy Hill		3
72	.	Colson Kirk	Urbana	2
73	.	Conrad Miner	St. Charles	2
74	.	Glenn Bratti	Springdale AR	2
75	.	Jamie Ragland	Lebanon	2
76	.	John Yeoman	Granby	2
77	.	Josh Poe	Drexel	2
78	.	Kelly Shryock	Fertile IA	2
79	.	Logan Martin	West Plains	2
80	.	Michael Lee	Paris TN	2
81	.	Robbie Reed	Mexico	2
82	.	Shawn Knuckles	Poplar Bluff	2
83	.	Tyler Brown	Stoutland	2
84	.	Zack Vanderbeek	Oskaloosa IA	2
85	.	Aaron Marrant	Orrick	1
86	.	Austin Matthews	Dexter	1
87	.	Brian Green	Pierce City	1
88	.	Bryan Rowland	Woodward OK	1
89	.	Craig Wood	Eldorado Springs	1
90	.	Doug Wood	Festus	1
91	.	Greg Hughes	West Plains	1
92	.	Jason Estes	Winston	1
93	.	Gunner Martin	Blue Springs	1
94	.	Johnny Scott	Las Cruces NM	1
95	.	Jonathan Rowan	Jackson TN	1
96	.	Matt Eaton	Park Hills	1
97	.	Rick Conoyer		1
98	.	Shad Badder	Oak Grove	1
99	.	Steven DeLonjay	Quincy IL	1
100	.	Todd Wilson	Spickard	1
101	.	Zachary Sanders	Kearney	1

Limited Modifieds

Pos.		Driver	Hometown	Points
1	.	Kris Jackson	Lebanon	30
2	.	Shawn Strong	Republic	24
3	.	Scott Drake	Webb City	18
4	.	J.C. Morton	Springfield	16
5	.	Trevor Hunt	Liberty	15
6	.	Shane Blair		14
7	.	Scotty Martin	Independence	13
8	.	Chad Clancy	Smithville	12
9	.	Greg Swearingem	Bismarck	12
10	.	Mike Higley	Tecumseh KS	10
11	.	Bobby Maggard Jr.	Republic	9
12	.	Michael Stake	Phillipsburg	9
13	.	Jeff Stotts	Trenton	8
14	.	Josh Sissom	Cape Girardeau	8
15	.	Scott Tracer	Rector AR	8
16	.	Ted Ballinger	Halfway	8
17	.	Brad Smith	Belton	6
18	.	Eddie Gross		6
19	.	Jeremy Chambers	Oswego KS	6
20	.	Mike Savage	Annapolis	6
21	.	Steve Muilenberg	Sparta	6
22	.	Truman Asher	St. Joseph	6
23	.	Aaron Marrant	Orrick	5
24	.	Adam Hemby	Puxico	5
25	.	Jacob Ebert	Oak Grove	5
26	.	Jerry Brown	Prescott KS	5
27	.	Mike Floyd	Holts Summit	5
28	.	Mike Tanner	Kansas City	5
29	.	Nic Hanes	Trenton	5
30	.	Andy Beauchamp	Springfield	4
31	.	Ben Piper	West Plains	4
32	.	Cole Fowler		4
33	.	Gregg Piotrowski	Fort Scott KS	4
34	.	Jason Otto	Richland	4
35	.	Kenny Harris		4
36	.	Logan Martin	West Plains	4
37	.	Nic Bennett	Grain Valley	4
38	.	Ryan Middaugh	Fulton	4
39	.	Tyler Droste	Waterloo IA	4
40	.	Bob Kerbs	Nevada	3
41	.	Brett Shields	Mount Ayr IA	3
42	.	Dewayne Hobbs	Halfway	3
43	.	Gunner Martin	Blue Springs	3
44	.	James McMillin	Warrensburg	3
45	.	Jerry Lankton	Lampe	3
46	.	Jim Piercy Jr.	Nixa	3
47	.	Jon Melloway	Hallsville	3
48	.	Logan Martin	West Plains	3
49	.	Mike Hailman	Reeds Springs	3
50	.	Lonnie Duncan	Alton	3
51	.	Tim Eaton	St. Joseph	3
52	.	Tyler Lewis	Columbia	3
53	.	Brian Webster	Richland	2
54	.	Chad Staus	Otterville	2
55	.	Clay Hale	Cameron	2
56	.	Craig Roden	Montgomery City	2
57	.	Jason Billups	Holt	2
58	.	Jeff Miller	Hermitage	2
59	.	Matt Rose	Liberal	2
60	.	Robbie Hamlett		2
61	.	Tim Gage	Campbell	2
62	.	Zane Blanchard		2
63	.	Tony Manley	Osborn	2
64	.	Bill Schaar	St. Robert	1
65	.	Brad McKinnon		1
66	.	Brian Blair		1
67	.	Casey Greubel	Lacona IA	1
68	.	Cody Brill	Harrisonville	1
69	.	Cody Nivens	Fair Grove	1
70	.	Colt Pruente		1
71	.	Darin Claxton	Warensburg	1
72	.	Huey Jacobs	Stewartsville	1
73	.	Jeff Frowhitter		1
74	.	Jesse Sobbing	Glenwood IA	1
75	.	Jason Brigman	West Plains	1
76	.	Kaleb Copher	Webb City	1
77	.	Lane Pennington	Qulin	1
78	.	Lonnie Duncan	Alton	1
79	.	Nick Newton	Kansas City KS	1
80	.	Patrick Mahnken	Fulton	1
81	.	Stacey Hall	Bolivar	1
82	.	Wes Bestgen	Osborn	1