Member
Knoxville Raceway 65th Annual Season Opener
April 21, 2018
410, 360 & 305 Sprints
Results & Story by Bill Wright
Austin
McCarl Dominates for First Knoxville Triumph in
Season Opener! by
Bill
Wright KNOXVILLE,
Iowa (April 21, 2018) – Austin McCarl drove the
TKS Motorsports #2KS to a dominating win in the PellaMotors.com/Kraig Ford
Season Opener at the Knoxville Raceway Saturday night! After several
years of trying, it was the Altoona, Iowa native’s first career win at the
famous half-mile, and he left no doubt as he collected $4,000 for his
win. McCarl
shot out in convincing fashion to start the 20-lap 410 feature event to
lead Brooke Tatnell, Jamie Ball, Justin
Henderson and RJ Johnson in the early going. McCarl entered lapped traffic on the fifth lap, and had opened up a 2.6 second lead on Tatnell. Two laps later, he had lapped up to
twelfth place just past the halfway mark, he was lapping the tenth place car of Davey Heskin, with several lapped cars between himself and
Tatnell. Henderson
slide by Ball for third, before Heskin tipped
over in turn two, bringing a red flag. The restart saw Austin
leading Tatnell, Henderson, Ball and Terry McCarl back to green. Terry would take fourth
from Ball, while on lap sixteen, contact between Ball and Tasker Phillips
sent the former upside down. Though
Tatnell made slide attempts on both that
restart, and one with two to go for AJ Moeller, who suffered a flat right
rear tire, they were to no avail. Austin McCarl would pull away and celebrate his first win
here. Tatnell followed him to finish a
steady second, while Terry McCarl charged up to
third, followed by hard-charger, Wayne Johnson and Matt Juhl, who claimed fifth on the last lap. Tasker
Phillips, Henderson, Heskin, RJ Johnson and
Rager Phillips rounded out the top ten.
Lynton Jeffrey would set quick time over the field, before missing his
heat to attend his daughter’s prom walk-through. Austin McCarl, Terry McCarl and
Moeller won heat races. “I’ve
been so close a couple of times, and I felt like I let one slip away last
year,” said an emotional Austin McCarl in
Victory Lane. “What a way to start the year! We got to
traffic, and things got hairy with a couple of guys. I’ve watched
enough races to know they can be won or lost in traffic. I did as
well as I could, and the sprint car gods made me earn that one! We
had reds and yellows…I just wanted Doug (Clark) to throw the
checkers.” Jon
Agan shot from his starting spot in the third
row to claim an early lead in the 18-lap 360 feature event over Matt Moro,
Clint Garner and Christian Bowman. Jamie Ball would grab fifth from
Calvin Landis on lap five. Veteran Tom Lenz would tip over in turn
two six laps in to bring the red. Agan
led the field back to green, with Moro taking a shot at him with a slide
job. The momentum lost by Moro, allowed Garner to puonce on the second spot. Meanwhile, Ball shot
by Bowman into fourth. Agan’s good run
came to an end when he slowed and went pitside
on lap eight. Lee Grosz would spin on the back chute ten laps in, to
bring out the final caution. Garner
would pull away the last eight laps, securing his 34th 360
win here by 5.3 seconds ahead of Ball, who passed
Moro late in the going. Moro was third, followed by Landis and
hard-charger, Seth Bergman. Bowman, Matt Cov”ington, Ryan Giles, Sawyer Phillips and
Skylar Gee completed the top ten. Ball registered quick time over
the 26-car field, while Joe Beaver, Tyler Groenendyk and Gee won heat races. “Maybe
I should have took it a little easier in the heat race,” said Garner in
Victory Lane of a near crash in his heat. “I’m glad we didn’t crash
there. It felt like we were about to go upside down. To come
out and win the feature…that’s too cool. This is the only exercise
I’ve done this year…I’ve been working and pushing snow.” Before
a lap could be completed in the 15-lap 305 main event, defending track
champion, Eric Bridger got over the turn three cushion and ended upside
down. He was unhurt. Devin Kline shot to the point from
outside row two when the green fell for keeps, followed by rookie Jayce
Jenkins and Chase Young. Kelby
Watt made his presence felt, grabbing third on lap two, while Ryan Leavitt
followed him into fourth a lap later. Kline had built a three-second
lead and was into lapped traffic by the seventh circuit. Watt and
Leavitt waged a good battle for third behind him. The only caution
would come with three laps to go, when Kevin Hetrick stopped inside turns
three and four. Kline
would pull away from the field, winning his 11th career
305 feature, ahead of Watt, who grabbed second, and Leavitt. Jenkins
ran a steady race to come home fourth, ahead of Matthew Stelzer. Hard-charger Evan Epperson, Chase
Young, Mike Mayberry, Joe Simbro and Mike Ayers
rounded out the top ten. Hetrick registered quick time, while Simbro and Bridger won heats. “These
young kids keep coming up and giving everyone a run for their money,” said
Kline in Victory Lane. “Last year (in the 360’s) definitely helped, and it’s fun to be racing here no
matter the class. I couldn’t have asked for a better night.
Things have slowed down for me a little, and I think my reaction time is
much better.” Join
us next week, Saturday, April 28, for Town Crier Night featuring the 410,
360 and 305 sprint cars! For more information,
visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com! 410
Results Time
Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1.
12, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (2), 15.246; 2. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (5), 15.268; 3. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (1), 15.307; 4. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (13), 15.380; 5. 5J,
Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (6), 15.401; 6. 83, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD
(9), 15.409; 7. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (3), 15.483; 8. 56N, Davey
Heskin, St. Michael, MN (17), 15.495; 9. 20, AJ
Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (20), 15.513; 10. 7W, Tasker Phillips,
Pleasantville, IA (8), 15.534; 11. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City, OK
(7), 15.545; 12. 7, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA
(14), 15.609; 13. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona,
IA (21), 15.646; 14. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (19),
15.908; 15. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (18), 15.917; 16. 4, Dakota
Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (10), 15.943; 17. 9, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (4), 15.945; 18. 75,
Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (12), 16.317; 19. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (15), 16.715; 20. 15, Bobby Mincer,
Burlington, IA (16), 17.893; 21. 85, Chase Wanner, Agency, IA (11), 18.375; 22. 28, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (22), NT. Heat
one (started), 8 Laps, 2:09.8: 1.
Austin McCarl (2); 2. RJ Johnson (4); 3. Brooke
Tatnell (5); 4. Tasker Phillips (3); 5. Dakota
Hendrickson (1); 6. Bob Weuve (6) DNS – Lynton
Jeffrey, Scott Bogucki Heat
two (started), 8 Laps, 2:14.0: 1.
Terry McCarl (6); 2. Josh Schneiderman (2); 3.
Wayne Johnson (3); 4. Rager Phillips (1); 5.
Davey Heskin (4); 6. Jamie Ball (5); 7. Bobby
Mincer (7); Heat
three (started), 8 Laps, 2:16.6: 1.
AJ Moeller (4); 2. Carson McCarl (1); 3. Matt
Juhl (6); 4. Chris Martin (2); 5. Justin
Henderson (3); 6. Chase Wanner (5) DNS – Glen
Saville A
Main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1.
Austin McCarl (1); 2. Brooke Tatnell (6); 3. Terry McCarl
(8); 4. Wayne Johnson (11); 5. Matt Juhl (7); 6.
Tasker Phillips (12); 7. Justin Henderson (3); 8. Davey Heskin (10); 9. RJ Johnson (5); 10. Rager Phillips (15); 11. Carson McCarl (9); 12. Josh Schneiderman (13); 13. Chris
Martin (14); 14. Lynton Jeffrey (18); 15. Bob Weuve (17); 16. Glen Saville (20); 17. AJ Moeller (4);
18. Jamie Ball (2); 19. Dakota Hendrickson (16); 20. Bobby Mincer (19) DNS
– Chase Wanner, Scott Bogucki. Lap Leader: A. McCarl 1-20. Hard-charger: W.
Johnson. 360
RESULTS Time
Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1.
5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (22), 16.206; 2. 21, Robbie Price, Cobble
Hill, BC, Can. (8), 16.223; 3. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (7), 16.308; 4. 9, Ryan Giles,
Grimes, IA (10), 16.387; 5. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (6), 16.486; 6.
4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (21), 16.544; 7. 3P,
Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (3), 16.546; 8. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux
Falls, SD (20), 16.549; 9. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (13), 16.558;
10. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (14), 16.608; 11. 8L, Tom Lenz,
Marion, IA (18), 16.627; 12. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND (2), 16.630; 13.
53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (19), 16.637; 14. 95, Matt Covington,
Glenpool, OK (12), 16.650; 15. 99, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (15),
16.664; 16. 23, Seth Bergman, Snohomish, WA (23), 16.679; 17. 17, Tyler
Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (1), 16.686; 18. 25,
Dylan Peterson, Hartford, SD (25), 16.692; 19. 40C, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (5), 16.707; 20. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA (11), 16.709; 21. 6, Mitchell
Alexander, Knoxville, IA (26), 16.818; 22. 9N, Wade Nygaard, Grand Forks,
ND (24), 16.850; 23. 2D, Dusty Ballenger, Harrisburg, SD (9), 17.079; 24.
47, Brant O'Banion, Sioux Falls, SD (16),
17.121; 25. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (17), 17.292; 26. 24N, Nathan Mills,
Bondurant, IA (4), 18.943. Heat
one (started), 7 Laps, 1:59.2: 1.
Joe Beaver (2); 2. Calvin Landis (3); 3. Seth Bergman (1); 4. Jamie Ball
(6); 5. Sawyer Phillips (4); 6. Wade Nygaard (8); 7. Ryan Giles (5); 8.
Nate Van Haaften (9); 9. Cody Wehrle (7) Heat
two (started), 7 Laps, 2:03.3: 1.
Tyler Groenendyk (1); 2. Matt Covington (2); 3.
Clint Garner (4); 4. Robbie Price (6); 5. Tom Lenz (3); 6. Matt Moro (5);
7. Dusty Ballenger (8); 8. Brad Comegys (7); 9.
Nathan Mills (9) Heat
three (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.5: 1.
Skylar Gee (2); 2. Dylan Peterson (1); 3. Christian Bowman (4); 4. Jon
Agan (5); 5. Lee Grosz (3); 6. McKenna Haase (6); 7. Mitchell Alexander (7); 8. Brant O'Banion (8) A
main (started), 18 Laps, NT: 1.
Clint Garner (4); 2. Jamie Ball (8); 3. Matt Moro (1); 4. Calvin Landis
(3); 5. Seth Bergman (17); 6. Christian Bowman (2); 7. Matt Covington
(13); 8. Ryan Giles (9); 9. Sawyer Phillips (10); 10. Skylar Gee (12); 11.
Joe Beaver (11); 12. Robbie Price (7); 13. Dylan Peterson (16); 14.
McKenna Haase (6); 15. Tyler Groenendyk (14); 16. Wade Nygaard (19); 17. Mitchell
Alexander (20); 18. Nate Van Haaften (25); 19.
Dusty Ballenger (22); 20. Brad Comegys (21); 21.
Cody Wehrle (23); 22. Nathan Mills (26); 23. Lee
Grosz (18); 24. Jon Agan (5); 25. Tom Lenz (15);
26. Brant O'Banion (24). Lap
Leaders: Agan 1-7, Garner 8-18.Hard-charger: Bergman. 305
Results Time
Trials (Group Qualifying): 1.
35, Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL (3), 17.329; 2. 22, Ryan Leavitt,
Knoxville, IA (1), 17.371; 3. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (2), 17.439; 4. 5C,
Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA (8), 17.536; 5. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA
(13), 17.700; 6. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (7), 17.787; 7. 56, Joe
Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (11), 18.000; 8. 26,
Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (10), 18.318; 9. 33, Jayce Jenkins, Colfax, IA
(14), 18.513; 10. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (6), 18.802; 11. 50, Mike
Ayers, St. Charles, IA (4), 18.860; 12. 48D, Dallas Mendenhall,
Unionville, MO (17), 19.130; 13. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (5),
19.628; 14. 64C, Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA (15), 20.171; 15. 67, Jon Hughes,
Knoxville, IA (12), NT; 16. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (16), NT; 17.
DQ (Light at Scales) - 99, Matthew Stelzer,
Papillion, NE (9). Heat
one (started), 6 Laps, 1:52.3: 1.
Joe Simbro (2); 2. Mike Mayberry (3); 3. Kelby
Watt (4); 4. Jayce Jenkins (1); 5. Matthew Stelzer (6); 6. Mike Ayers (7); 7. Dan Henning (5) DNS
– Kevin Hetrick, Jon Hughes Heat
two (started), 6 Laps, 1:47.8: 1.
Eric Bridger (2); 2. Ryan Leavitt (4); 3. Devin Kline (5); 4. Dallas
Mendenhall (1); 5. Chase Young (3); 6. Casey Greubel (7); 7. Evan Epperson (6) DNS – Jeff
Wilke A
Main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1.
Devin Kline (4); 2. Kelby Watt (7); 3. Ryan Leavitt (8); 4. Jayce Jenkins
(2); 5. Matthew Stelzer (10); 6. Evan Epperson
(12); 7. Chase Young (1); 8. Mike Mayberry (5); 9. Joe Simbro (3); 10. Mike Ayers (14); 11. Dallas Mendenhall
(9); 12. Casey Greubel (11); 13. Kevin Hetrick
(15); 14. Dan Henning (13); 15. Eric Bridger (6) DNS – Jon Hughes, Jeff
Wilke. Lap Leader: Kline
1-15. Hard-charger: Epperson
Clint Garner Grabs Win #34 in 360’s, Devin Kline Tops
305’s
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