Member
Knoxville Raceway 6-3-17
USAC Sprints with 360 & 305 Sprints
2017 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend
Results & Story by Bill Wright
Justin Grant Cashes $5,000
in USAC’s Return to Knoxville! Wayne Johnson Cruises to
12th Win in 360’s, Kevin Hetrick Wins
3rd of Season With 305’s by Bill
Wright KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 3,
2017) – Justin Grant led from start to finish to score his first ever
triumph at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World” in the crazy 30-lap
AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series feature Saturday night at the
Knoxville Raceway. The Ione, California native was the class of the
field despite several caution periods throughout the event. The
win came aboard the Sam McGhee Motorsports #11 and was worth
$5,000. Wayne Johnson was also a wire-to-wire winner in the 360
sprint car class. In the 305 class, Kevin Hetrick made a last
corner pass to record his third victory of the season and fourth in his
career here. The largest crowd of the season thus far was on
hand to enjoy Iowa Corn District 5 and Iowa Corn District 9
Night. Grant shot out from his pole
position to start the USAC main in event with Robert Ballou and Chad
Boespflug in tow. Just one lap was recorded when a multi-car
accident on the backstretch marred things. Among the crashed
cars were veterans Jon Stanbrough and Brady Bacon. Nick Bilbee,
Hunter Schuerenberg and Brody Roa were also
involved. Stanbrough and Bilbee would retire, while Bacon would
make extensive repairs and rejoin the field. Tyler Courtney, who was
running fourth on the restart, slammed the turn one wall when action
resumed, but kept it on all fours and kept on trucking. The
lead trio remained the same, but action heated up back in the
pack. By lap five, Chris Windom had charged from
18th into the top ten. Courtney rebounded and
passed Boespflug for third on lap six, but eight circuits later, he would
suffer a vicious ground-pounder in turn two. He walked away
from his destroyed machine. Grant led Ballou, Boespflug,
Chase Stockon and CJ Leary back to green. A wicked battle for
fifth commenced involving Josh Hodges and Windom before Dave Darland, who
was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in the afternoon,
bicycled in turn two and came to a stop. While the leaders
remained the same, Hodges and Windom battled for fifth. Soon,
CJ Leary entered the fray, and he and Windom went back and forth a number
of times for position. No one would match Grant in
the end, as he sailed under the checkers ahead of Ballou, Boespflug,
Stockon and Leary. Hard-charger Windom, Kevin Thomas Jr.,
Hodges, Shane Cottle and Bacon, back from the tail, rounded out the top
ten. Thomas set quick time on the night, while Hodges, Windom,
Courtney and Bacon won heat races. Leary took a B main that was
marred by a flip involving Joe Bares. He was
uninjured. “Those yellows and reds were
killing me,” said Grant in Victory Lane. “You don’t want to sit
around and think about things, especially here at
Knoxville. The nerves start playing on you. It’s
incredible to be standing in front of this crowd on this
racetrack. These guys give me a great racecar. This
thing was a rocket ship tonight. I can’t put this into
words. I wasn’t comfortable at the start of the night, but here
we are. It shows how good this team is.” “We got beat fair and square
tonight,” said Ballou. “Justin ran 30 perfect
laps. We pretty much (stunk) tonight, compared to where we
should be. I’m rusty. We need a jump
start. I lost forty pounds over the winter after breaking my
neck and we’re trying to find out what makes me
comfortable. I’m glad to be second, because it felt like about
a tenth place car. To be on the podium…just to race again is a
blessing.” “(Grant’s) been fast all
year,” said the third running Boespflug. “They’ve been the one
to chase all year. We’ve been struggling the last few races, so
to get on the podium tonight…I think we found some things and hopefully,
we can carry this momentum on to PA Speedweek. It was my first
time here, and hopefully, we can come back next year.” Wayne Johnson drove around
front row starters, Tayler Malsam and Terry McCarl and never looked back
to record his twelfth 360 win. McCarl chased him most of the
way, while Clint Garner settled into third after passing Ryan Giles on lap
three. The event was slowed only
once on lap eleven, when the sixth place car of McKenna Haase and the
seventh place machine of Jamie Ball came together in turn
one. Haase spun, collecting Matt Moro who crashed into turn
two. He was unhurt. Johnson led the field back
to green, ahead of McCarl, Garner, Giles and Malsam. Johnson
pulled away the last seven laps to win over McCarl, Garner, Giles and
Ball. Malsam, hard-charger Chris Martin, Austin McCarl, Joe
Beaver and Christian Bowman completed the top ten. Malsam set
quick time, while Haase, Devin Kline and Ball won heat races. “We’ve been so bad in the
last year and a half, and we haven’t known what we’ve been doing,” said
Johnson in Victory Lane. “They convinced me we needed to do
some stuff different. Old school guys got old school
ways. They talked me into some crazy things and they
worked. I knew right away our car was good. To drive
by those guys early…Terry’s no slouch here. I just knew the car
was good on the bottom in one and two.” Chris Walraven was the
pacesetter early in the 15-lap 305 feature ahead of Matt Stephenson and
Ryan Leavitt. Casey Greubel slowed to a stop with four laps in
the books, and Walraven led the field to green ahead of Stephenson,
Leavitt, Kevin Hetrick and Tyler Glass. Hetrick shot into
third, and shot around Stephenson for second on lap six. Kade Higday entered the top
five and traded fourth with Stephenson twice. Eric Bridger then
entered that battle for position as well. Up front, Walraven
was cruising on the bottom, tailed by Hetrick. On the final
lap, the leader hesitated behind a lapped car in three. Hetrick
made his winning move, sliding across Walraven’s nose and dragging to the
finish line for his fourth career win here. Walraven trailed
him ahead of Stephenson, Bridger and Higday. Glass, Leavitt,
Matthew Stelzer, Brandon Worthington and Brad Comegys rounded out the top
ten. Higday posted quick time, and Stephenson, Dan Henning and
Leavitt won heats. “I thought Chris was going
to have the win there,” said Hetrick after his victory. “We
kept gaining, and thank goodness there was lapped traffic, or he would
have been gone. The lapped car worked to my advantage, and
we’ll take it. To win three out of five here is
unbelievable. There’s still nine races left, and we’ll just
take it one race at a time. Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2
laps: 1. 44,
Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (1), 18.549 (NTR); 2. 32, Chase
Stockon, Fort Branch, IN (25), 18.782; 3. 23C, Tyler Courtney,
Indianapolis, IN (9), 18.798; 4. 69, Chad Boespflug, Hanford, CA (4),
18.931; 5. 12, Robert Ballou, Rocklin, CA (7), 18.941; 6. 11, Justin
Grant, Ione, CA (22), 19.095; 7. 71P, Dave Darland, Lincoln, IN (35),
19.097; 8. 63, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (32), 19.102; 9. 17N, Nick
Bilbee, Indianapolis, IN (3), 19.166; 10. 17GP, Stevie Sussex III, Laveen,
AZ (5), 19.190; 11. 30, CJ Leary, Greenfield, IN (15), 19.191; 12. 2,
Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (12), 19.222; 13. 81, Jon Stanbrough,
Avon, IN (19), 19.229; 14. 21, Carson Short, Marion, IL (34), 19.240; 15.
91R, Brody Roa, Buena Park, CA (18), 19.266; 16. 52, Isaac Chapple, Willow
Branch, IN (30), 19.268; 17. 74X, Josh Hodges, Tijeras, NM (14), 19.372;
18. 5, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (26), 19.522; 19. 17R, Kyle Robbins, New
Castle, IN (8), 19.561; 20. 78, Rob Caho Jr., Wyoming, MN (21), 19.612;
21. 15F, Aaron Farney, Brookston, IN (28), 19.653; 22. 66S, Corey Smith,
Kokomo, IN (6), 19.675; 23. 71A, RJ Johnson, Phoenix, AZ (23), 19.812; 24.
57, Shane Cottle, Kokomo, IN (33), 19.944; 25. 7K, Bruce St. James,
Phoenix, AZ (16), 19.961; 26. 4X, Eric Schulz, Sioux Falls, SD (10),
20.003; 27. 77K, Katlynn Leer, Moulton, IA (27), 20.427; 28. 0, Alex
Schriever, Hartford, SD (11), 20.527; 29. 77, Dustin Smith, Russiaville,
IN (13), 20.542; 30. 12G, Kelly Graham, Hedrick, IA (20), 20.688; 31. 21K,
Ryan Kitchen, Lincoln, NE (31), 20.865; 32. 19, Joe Bares, Grand Rapids,
MI (2), 20.915; 33. 42AU, Gary Rooke, Oak Flats, NSW, Aust. (29), 21.020;
34. 71, Robert Bell, Colfax, IA (17), 21.060; 35. 14S, Rob Sharits, Sioux
Falls, SD (24), 21.963. Heat one (started), 8 Laps,
2:41.1: 1.
Josh Hodges (2); 2. Robert Ballou (5); 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6); 4. Jon
Stanbrough (3) / 5. Nick Bilbee (4); 6. Aaron Farney (1); 7. Bruce St.
James (7); 8. Gary Rooke (9); 9. Dustin Smith (8) Heat two (started), 8 Laps,
2:41.7: 1.
Chris Windom (2); 2. Justin Grant (5); 3. Chase Stockon (6); 4. Carson
Short (3) / 5. Stevie Sussex III (4); 6. Corey Smith (1); 7. Eric Schulz
(7); 8. Robert Bell (9); 9. Kelly Graham (8) Heat three (started), 8 Laps,
2:41.8: 1.
Tyler Courtney (6); 2. Brody Roa (3); 3. Dave Darland (5); 4. RJ Johnson
(1) / 5. CJ Leary (4); 6. Kyle Robbins (2); 7. Ryan Kitchen (8); 8.
Katlynn Leer (7); 9. Rob Sharits (9) Heat four (started), 8 Laps,
2:42.3: 1.
Brady Bacon (5); 2. Shane Cottle (1); 3. Chad Boespflug (6); 4. Hunter
Schuerenberg (4) / 5. Isaac Chapple (3); 6. Joe Bares (8); 7. Rob Caho Jr.
(2); 8. Alex Schriever (7) B main (started), 12 Laps,
4:14.7: 1. CJ
Leary (3); 2. Nick Bilbee (1); 3. Stevie Sussex III (2); 4. Isaac Chapple
(4); 5. Aaron Farney (7); 6. Dustin Smith (13) / 7. Kyle Robbins (5); 8.
Bruce St. James (9); 9. Katlynn Leer (11); 10. Eric Schulz (10); 11. Gary
Rooke (17); 12. Alex Schriever (12); 13. Corey Smith (8); 14. Rob Sharits
(18); 15. Rob Caho Jr. (6); 16. Kelly Graham (14); 17. Joe Bares (16); 18.
Robert Bell (18); 19. Ryan Kitchen (15) A main (started), 30 Laps,
NT: 1. Justin
Grant (1); 2. Robert Ballou (2); 3. Chad Boespflug (3); 4. Chase Stockon
(5); 5. CJ Leary (11); 6. Chris Windom (18); 7. Kevin Thomas Jr. (6); 8.
Josh Hodges (17); 9. Shane Cottle (21); 10. Brady Bacon (8); 11. Isaac
Chapple (16); 12. Dave Darland (7); 13. Stevie Sussex III (10); 14. Carson
Short (14); 15. Aaron Farney (19); 16. Hunter Schuerenberg (12); 17.
Dustin Smith (22); 18. Tyler Courtney (4); 19. RJ Johnson (20); 20. Brody
Roa (15); 21. Nick Bilbee (9); 22. Jon Stanbrough (13). Lap
Leader: Grant
1-30. Hard-charger: Windom. 360 Results Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2
laps: 1. 26,
Tayler Malsam, Seattle, WA (1), 16.140; 2. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA
(17), 16.205; 3. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (13), 16.228; 4. 2M,
Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (12), 16.269; 5. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls,
SD (21), 16.275; 6. 5M, Troy Manteufel, St. Peter, MN (6), 16.285; 7. 9,
Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (14), 16.314; 8. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA
(4), 16.316; 9. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (26), 16.318; 10. 2KS,
Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (18), 16.326; 11. 22, Rager Phillips,
Pleasantville, IA (25), 16.370; 12. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (7),
16.373; 13. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (3), 16.391; 14. 15,
Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (2), 16.491; 15. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville,
IA (8), 16.513; 16. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (16), 16.553; 17. 5MRP,
Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA (9), 16.596; 18. 17, Tyler Groenendyk,
Oskaloosa, IA (20), 16.714; 19. 81A, Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS (24),
16.908; 20. 19, Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres, IA (5), 17.035; 21. 8L, Tom
Lenz, Marion, IA (19), 17.053; 22. 9M, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO
(23), 17.080; 23. 14, Josh Riggins, Lincoln, NE (10), NT; 24. 3P, Sawyer
Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), NT; 25. 6, Mitchell Alexander,
Knoxville, IA (15), NT; 26. 26N, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust.
(22), NT. Heat one (started), 7 Laps,
1:58.2: 1.
McKenna Haase (2); 2. Chris Martin (1); 3. Ryan Giles (4); 4. Austin
McCarl (3); 5. Matt Moro (5); 6. Tayler Malsam (6); 7. Chris Morgan (7);
8. Ricky Montgomery (8) DNS – Scott Bogucki Heat two (started), 7 Laps,
1:57.5: 1.
Devin Kline (1); 2. Christian Bowman (2); 3. Clint Garner (5); 4. Rager
Phillips (3); 5. Terry McCarl (6); 6. Calvin Landis (4); 7. Rob Weuve (7)
DNS – Josh Riggins, Mitchell Alexander Heat three (started), 7 Laps,
1:57.2: 1.
Jamie Ball (2); 2. Tyler Groenendyk (1); 3. Wayne Johnson (6); 4. Joe
Beaver (4); 5. Nate Van Haaften (3); 6. Sawyer Phillips (8); 7. Troy
Manteufel (5); 8. Tom Lenz (7) A main (started), 18 Laps,
NT: 1. Wayne
Johnson (4); 2. Terry McCarl (2); 3. Clint Garner (3); 4. Ryan Giles (5);
5. Jamie Ball (8); 6. Tayler Malsam (1); 7. Chris Martin (13); 8. Austin
McCarl (12); 9. Joe Beaver (9); 10. Christian Bowman (11); 11. Rager
Phillips (14); 12. Calvin Landis (17); 13. Nate Van Haaften (18); 14.
Devin Kline (10); 15. Sawyer Phillips (21); 16. Tyler Groenendyk (15); 17.
McKenna Haase (7); 18. Chris Morgan (19); 19. Tom Lenz (22); 20. Rob Weuve
(20); 21. Matt Moro (6); 22. Troy Manteufel (16); 23. Ricky Montgomery
(23) DNS – Josh Riggins, Scott Bogucki, Mitchell Alexander. Lap
Leader: W. Johnson 1-18. Hard-charger: C.
Martin. Howard Law $200: Rob Weuve. 305 Results Time Trials (Qualifying
Order): 1. 24,
Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (20), 17.042; 2. 56W, Chris Walraven,
Knoxville, IA (5), 17.210; 3. 35, Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL (11),
17.270; 4. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (22), 17.305; 5. 76, Brad
Comegys, Bondurant, IA (1), 17.318; 6. 1B, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA
(6), 17.351; 7. 55X, Matt Stephenson, Altoona, IA (19), 17.386; 8. 12T,
Tyler Glass, Cedar Rapids, IA (16), 17.525; 9. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA
(7), 17.552; 10. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (21), 17.571; 11. 64,
Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA (8), 17.582; 12. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA
(9), 17.607; 13. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (13), 17.801; 14. 41D, Dan
Henning, Columbia, IA (17), 18.083; 15. 71, Brandon Worthington,
Indianola, IA (15), 18.156; 16. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (4),
18.161; 17. 1, Clifford Jones, Pleasant Hill, IA (14), 18.223; 18. 67, Jon
Hughes, Knoxville, IA (3), 18.498; 19. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA
(18), 18.549; 20. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (10), NT; 21. 23T, Travis
Rewerts, Des Moines, IA (12), NT; DQ (Scales) - 48D, Dallas Mendenhall,
Unionville, MO (2) Heat one (started), 6 Laps,
NT: 1. Matt
Stephenson (4); 2. Matthew Stelzer (3); 3. Eric Bridger (5); 4. Jeff Wilke
(2); 5. Evan Epperson (1); 6. Chase Young (7); 7. Dallas Mendenhall (8);
8. Kade Higday (6) Heat two (started), 6 Laps,
1:48.8: 1. Dan
Henning (2); 2. Tyler Glass (4); 3. Brad Comegys (5); 4. Chris Walraven
(6); 5. Casey Greubel (3); 6. Clifford Jones (1) DNS – Rob
Kubli Heat three (started), 6 Laps,
1:47.4: 1.
Ryan Leavitt (3); 2. Kevin Hetrick (6); 3. Brandon Worthington (2); 4.
Kelby Watt (4); 5. Mike Mayberry (1); 6. Jon Hughes (5) DNS – Travis
Rewerts A main (started), 15 Laps,
NT: 1. Kevin
Hetrick (4); 2. Chris Walraven (1); 3. Matt Stephenson (2); 4. Eric
Bridger (5); 5. Kade Higday (10); 6. Tyler Glass (7); 7. Ryan Leavitt (3);
8. Matthew Stelzer (8); 9. Brandon Worthington (12); 10. Brad Comegys (6);
11. Jeff Wilke (14); 12. Evan Epperson (16); 13. Mike Mayberry (15); 14.
Clifford Jones (17); 15. Dan Henning (9); 16. Jon Hughes (18); 17. Kelby
Watt (11); 18. Dallas Mendenhall (20); 19. Casey Greubel (13); 20. Chase
Young (19) DNS – Rob Kubli, Travis Rewerts. Lap
Leaders: Walraven 1-14, Hetrick
15. Hard-charger: Higday.
410 Results
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