With a line of thunderstorms looming to the north and west of the Knoxville Raceway we all found out just how fast a Nationals qualifying night could be completed as Race Director John McCoy and his entire staff pulled off the miracle of running off an entire show Thursday in just over two hours. Of course there was also a great deal of cooperation from the drivers and their crews as well who were hustled through a full program that saw the final checkered flag wave just minutes before nine o'clock and, by my check of the radar while driving home, only twenty minutes ahead of the rain.
The car count was down a bit for the opening night of the Arnold Motor Supply Knoxville 360 Nationals, but that was actually a blessing as at 41 it not only reduced the qualifying session by about ten minutes, it also eliminated the need for a C-Main and what would then be the required break so that those drivers transferring could get ready for the B. So in essence, if the count would have been at 50 or higher as we have seen in the recent past, this show would not have made it to the end.
As so often is the case a story line in one or more of the qualifying heats will play a major role in deciding the outcome of the feature and the beauty of it is that you just never know what, or when that will be. On this night you can look back to heat race number three for developing the plot. Young Brandon Hanks was in control and driving away from the field as the race for the fourth and final transfer spot to the A-Main was the one to watch. The all-time winningest driver at Knoxville, Danny Lasoski was stalking young Jamie Ball and Ball was holding him off by powering around the bottom in both sets of turns.
Lasoski was trying every line he could think of to try to get his Mark Burch Motorsports #1M around Ball, but try as he may he could only get to within a car-length of the hometown favorite. Then, as the white flag was set to be waved, Ball moved up to the cushion in turns three and four and Lasoski saw his chance. Driving to the bottom Lasoski pulled even with Ball coming down the front stretch, but Ball pinched him down and beat the veteran to the bottom in turn one as Lasoski pitched his car sideways to keep from making contact.
As Hanks made his way through turn four for the final time his powerplant went up in smoke and he limped across the line to still win by a close margin over Josh Baughman. Cody Ledger finished in third and Ball successfully held off Lasoski to send "the Dude" to the B-Main, a race that he would win by holding off Ryan Roberts to start 21st in the feature.
Shortly after that B-Main was completed the the drivers for the 20-lap A-Main were hustled to the staging area as the lightning moved closer and was now drawing some nervous rumbling from the crowd with each air-to-ground strike. Hanks had to return to his pit after pushing off for one last adjustment, so he would start at the back and Lasoski was one of the last cars to join the field as the parade lap honored the trusting crowd.
Just seconds after the green flag waved, it was replaced by the red when Kade Higday smacked the turn one guardrail and then went for a trio of flips. The young driver climbed from the wreckage uninjured and the field was again quickly pushed off for the restart with front row starters Jamie Ball and Bryan Clauson battling for the early lead. Sammy Swindell and Terry McCarl started in the second row, but fifth-starting Josh Baugham slipped by the two of them into third on the opening lap and he had the best seat in the house for the race for the lead.
Clauson was the winner of the USAC Midget feature the night before in Solomon, Kansas, and his Circular Insanity Tour continued here but after his early challenges were thwarted by Ball, he began to fade through the field. With Ball now comfortably out front, the man to watch was Lasoski who was slicing through the field like a hot knife through butter. Some of his moves definitely brought the fans to the edge of their seat, but when you are trying to get to the front after starting 21st in a twenty lap race you can't always be courteous. Ian Madsen was on the receiving end of a Dude slider and the Aussie tried to return the favor as he chased him all the way to the checkers.
Meanwhile, back up front, Sammy Swindell had slipped by Baughman for second with a few laps remaining and while he was closing the gap on the leader Swindell ran out of time as Jamie Ball scored the popular win. Sammy was second with Baughman an impressive third, the defending 360 Nationals Champion Terry McCarl finished where he started in fourth and Lasoski put on the drive of the night coming in fifth. Madsen was still chasing him in sixth, Tony Shilling wrapped up a solid night in seventh, Clauson finished eighth, Justin Henderson was ninth and Ryan Giles completed the top ten.
At the Nationals it is all about the points though and on the strength of his fastest qualifying time Henderson accumulated the most markers with 481 while Swindell and Shilling were next in line with 480 each. The feature winner Ball is seventh on the list with 467.
Thursday's show reminded me of another big event that was run off in quick fashion to beat the weather two years ago and while some fans will say, "why can't we just do this all the time" it is definitely tough on the drivers and crews who did need to take a little more time to prepare. Races that end by 9 p.m. are fine if weather is threatening, but if you have me on my way home by ten o'clock on any given night, I am thrilled.
The qualifying action continues tonight (Friday) with the second half of the field and Saturday night is Championship night with the 305 class running a full program in support. I have other commitments that will keep me on the sidelines until perhaps Sunday when I might join the annual Capitani Classic in progress.
The weather has cooled off and looks like it will be great for racing this weekend. Get on out and enjoy an event near you!
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