Knoxville Raceway August 8-11, 2018

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Knoxville Raceway August 8-11 2018

58th Annual Knoxville Nationals

Around the Track: Chris Dunkin Video - Drone View of Knoxville Raceway

Wednesday Feature Video Thursday Feature Video Friday Feature Video

Saturday Nationals Video Speed Sport Challenge Video

Celebrating Jason Johnson Video

Wednesday Results & Story by Bill Wright

Greg Hodnett Wins One for the PA Posse on Night #1 of the Knoxville Nationals!

Kyle Larson and Donny Schatz First and Second in Points

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 5, 2018) – Greg Hodnett won his first 410 feature at the Knoxville Raceway since 1994, on Brandt Professional Agriculture Night #1 of the 58^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. The Spring Grove, Pennsylvania native led all 25 laps of the main event, holding off Tim Shaffer at the line, and garnering $12,000. Kyle Larson, who finished third, was high point driver of the night, followed by Donny Schatz, who drove from 21^st to fifth, and had to make his way to the main event through the B main.

Hodnett led early over Brock Zearfoss, Shaffer, Lucas Wolfe and Gio Scelzi. Scelzi moved into fourth on lap two, while Larson entered the top five. Hodnett was getting into lapped traffic, when Jamie Ball could not avoid Clyde Knipp in turn four and turned over. He was uninjured.

Shaffer snuck under Zearfoss to take over second on the restart, and Scelzi and Larson followed him into third and fourth shortly thereafter. Austin McCarl slowed with motor issues with 14 laps in the books, bringing out the yellow flag. Larson used the restart to get by Scelzi for third. With six laps to go, Dominic Scelzi’s top ten run ended when he stopped on the frontstretch.

Hodnett took the field back to green ahead of Shaffer, Larson, Scelzi and Wolfe. Donny Schatz and Ian Madsen, who had to advance through the B main came from the back of the field, used restarts to surge through the field and salvage good point nights.

In the end, Shaffer would make a late charge, but Hodnett was too strong in the Mike Heffner #27. Shaffer finished second, ahead of Larson, Gio Scelzi and Schatz. Ian Madsen (from 22^nd), Lucas Wolfe, Aaron Reutzel, Kerry Madsen and Zearfoss rounded out the top ten. Logan Schuchart set quick time on the night, but failed to go to the scales after winning the B. Brady Bacon, Ball, Dominic Scelzi, Clyde Knipp and Zearfoss won heats.

Larson (475) led the top ten in points, ahead of Schatz (474), Reutzel (473), Kerry Madsen (473), Shaffer (471), Gio Scelzi (468), Ian Madsen (467), Hodnett (462), Wolfe (453) and Daryn Pittman (452). (Complete Points Below)

“I knew we were probably sitting ducks,” said Hodnett of his restarts up front. “We only come out here once a year, and I don’t know where to go. I’d never really been in a position leading a race here. (Danny) Lasoski was texting (the crew) and giving them a few pointers. I want to thank him for that. This is huge for us after a poor qualifying effort and mediocre heat race.”

“How about this car?” said Shaffer, who won the 50^th edition of the Knoxville Nationals. “My guys are making my job a lot easier. We needed to get every point we could get, and every position meant so much. We’re in pretty decent shape.”

“I kind of ran a little bit of a sloppy race there,” said the third place Larson. “Our car was really tight on exit, so it made it hard to be smooth and consistent anywhere I ran. All in all, it was a good night. We came and did what we had to do. Last year, I was a little nervous after Wednesday, having to talk to Chip (Ganassi), but we’re good to come back Saturday this year.”

The 58th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores continues Thursday, August 9, and continues through Saturday, August 11. There are still tickets available for the biggest event in sprint car racing! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

Knoxville Raceway - Sprint Car Capital of the World!

www.knoxvilleraceway.com

Knoxville Raceway: 5h: 8 more days until the 58th annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's General Store on August 8-11!!! Order tickets now! ️ bit.ly/2u1lVMo more

Brandt Professional Agriculture Night #1 of the 58^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (3), 14.933; 2. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (5), 15.133; 3. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (24), 15.139; 4. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (1), 15.208; 5. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (18), 15.282; 6. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (2), 15.296; 7. 0, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (35), 15.305; 8. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (4), 15.346; 9. 4K, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (12), 15.350; 10. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (45), 15.368; 11. 71, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (17), 15.406; 12. 13X, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (10), 15.422; 13. 49X, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (40), 15.424; 14. 24W, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (28), 15.438; 15. 3H, James McFadden, Ormeau, QLD, Aust. (20), 15.439; 16. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (15), 15.485; 17. 27, Greg Hodnett, Spring Grove, PA (23), 15.531; 18. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (6), 15.577; 19. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (37), 15.588; 20. 4, Brock Zearfoss, Jonesville, PA (21), 15.614; 21. 11, Roger Crockett, Medford, OR (25), 15.647; 22. 5H, Sammy Walsh, Orangeville, NSW, Aust. (31), 15.649; 23. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (41), 15.656; 24. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (30), 15.664; 25. 12N, Cole Duncan, Lockbourne, OH (26), 15.731; 26. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (39), 15.769; 27. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), 15.811; 28. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (38), 15.824; 29. 97G, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (34), 15.827; 30. 29, Willie Croft, Roseville, CA (7), 15.854; 31. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (33), 15.858; 32. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (14), 15.923; 33. 71X, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (19), 15.926; 34. 10, Clyde Knipp, California, MO (13), 15.948; 35. 85, Chase Wanner, Batavia, IA (27), 15.964; 36. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (22), 15.976; 37. 17WX, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (36), 16.012; 38. 28P, Brian Paulus, Mooresville, IN (32), 16.021; 39. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (8), 16.127; 40. 9X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (29), 16.144; 41. 68, Chase Johnson, Penngrove, CA (42), 16.224; 42. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (43), 16.380; 43. 70S, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (9), NT; 44. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (16), NT; 45. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (44), NT.

Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:39.9: 1. Brady Bacon (1); 2. Clint Garner (2); 3. Gio Scelzi (6); 4. Roger Crockett (4) / 5. Logan Schuchart (8); 6. Brent Marks (3); 7. Daryn Pittman (7); 8. Davey Heskin (5); 9. Chase Johnson (9)

Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 2:41.3: 1. Jamie Ball (2); 2. Sammy Walsh (4); 3. Greg Hodnett (5); 4. Kerry Madsen (8) / 5. Shane Golobic (1); 6. Paul McMahan (6); 7. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 8. Sawyer Phillips (3); 9. Kevin Ingle (9)

Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:40.2: 1. Dominic Scelzi (4); 2. Tim Shaffer (6); 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2); 4. Aaron Reutzel (8) / 5. Bill Balog (3); 6. Austin McCarl (7); 7. Jason Sides (5); 8. Brian Paulus (1); DNS - 9. Jeff Swindell

Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:42.3: 1. Clyde Knipp (2); 2. Matt Juhl (4); 3. Bobby Mincer (1); 4. Lucas Wolfe (6) / 5. Donny Schatz (8); 6. Hunter Schuerenberg (3); 7. Sheldon Haudenschild (5); 8. Kasey Kahne (7) DNS - 9. AJ Moeller

Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 2:39.7: 1. Brock Zearfoss (5); 2. Kyle Larson (7); 3. Chase Wanner (2); 4. Willie Croft (3) / 5. James McFadden (6); 6. Ian Madsen (8); 7. Jake Bubak (1); 8. Cole Duncan (4) DNS - 9. Tasker Phillips

B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:15.7: 1. Donny Schatz (2); 2. Ian Madsen (3); 3. Daryn Pittman (4); 4. Austin McCarl (6) / 5. Paul McMahan (8); 6. James McFadden (9); 7. Kasey Kahne (7); 8. Sheldon Haudenschild (12); 9. Lynton Jeffrey (5); 10. Brent Marks (14); 11. Cole Duncan (13); 12. Bill Balog (16); 13. Shane Golobic (18); 14. Sawyer Phillips (15); 15. Davey Heskin (10); 16. Jason Sides (11); 17. Hunter Schuerenberg (17); 18. Chase Johnson (21); 19. Brian Paulus (19); DQ (Scales) - Logan Schuchart (1) DNS - 21. Jake Bubak; 22. Kevin Ingle; 23. Jeff Swindell; 24. AJ Moeller

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Greg Hodnett (2); 2. Tim Shaffer (4); 3. Kyle Larson (6); 4. Gio Scelzi (5); 5. Donny Schatz (21); 6. Ian Madsen (22); 7. Lucas Wolfe (3); 8. Aaron Reutzel (7); 9. Kerry Madsen (8); 10. Brock Zearfoss (1); 11. Daryn Pittman (23); 12. Willie Croft (13); 13. Sammy Walsh (10); 14. Brady Bacon (19); 15. Matt Juhl (12); 16. Roger Crockett (9); 17. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16); 18. Clint Garner (14); 19. Bobby Mincer (20); 20. Chase Wanner (18); 21. Dominic Scelzi (11); 22. Austin McCarl (24); 23. Clyde Knipp (17); 24. Jamie Ball (15). Lap Leader: Hodnett 1-25. Hard-charger: Schatz.

Thursday Results & Story by Bill Wright

Brad Sweet Dominates on Night #2 of the Knoxville Nationals!

Brad Sweet and Chad Kemenah Will Start on Row One Saturday Night

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 9, 2018) – Brad Sweet picked up where he left off in Sunday’s Weld Racing Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank, by dominating the Thursday Toyota Night qualifier for the 58^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. The Grass Valley, California native took home $12,000 for his win in the Kasey Kahne Racing #49. Sweet also secured himself the pole position for Saturday night’s $150,000 championship event. He will be flanked by Ohio’s Chad Kemenah, while the second row will be comprised of Wednesday high point drivers Kyle Larson and Donny Schatz.

Sweet started sixth in the 25-lapper, but wasted no time in getting to the front. He had the lead by turns three and four, ahead of Mark Dobmeier, Rico Abreu, Terry McCarl and Jacob Allen. Josh Schneiderman smacked the wall on the backstretch and slowed to a stop to bring a caution one lap in. Sammy Swindell spun a lap later, but fortunately, just avoided tipping over.

The rest of the event went green. Sweet led the field back to green ahead of Abreu, who had passed Dobmeier, McCarl and Allen. Tim Kaeding moved into the top five on the restart, and then grabbed fourth from McCarl on lap four. David Gravel, who started 13^thshot from sixth to fourth on lap five. Two circuits later, he worked by Dobmeier for third.

Sweet jetted into lapped traffic on lap nine. He built a huge lead over Abreu that eclipsed four seconds with ten to go. There was no stopping the “Big Cat”, who took the checkers ahead of Abreu, Gravel, Kaeding and McCarl. Chad Kemenah, Cory Eliason, hard-charger Shane Stewart (from 23^rd), quick timer Carson Macedo and Kraig Kinser rounded out the top ten. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Chris Martin, Dave Blaney, Swindell and Eliason won heat races. Don Droud Jr. took the C main, while Macedo claimed the B.

“That was fun,” said Sweet in Victory Lane, who will also receive $2,000 from SprintCarUnlimited.com for earning Saturday’s pole. “The car has been on rails all weekend. The job is only half done now. We’re obviously in good position on Saturday night. That’s what it’s all about. I think we made a little bit of a statement tonight. We by far had the best car. I feel like they’re going to be gunning for us on Saturday, so we just need to do our job. I feel like coming to (races like the Capitani Classic)…it doesn’t pay a lot and the competition is so tough…I need that extra track time. I’m not Donny Schatz. We’ve been tuning on this racecar.”

“That felt good,” said Abreu. “We just keep getting our car better and better. Thanks to all the fans…it’s cool to see this place packed. It’s cool to be in this environment. There’s no place in the world that creates so much energy. It’s a lot like the Chili Bowl…and both are races we’ve had success at. Three years in a row to be locked in the A main, it just shows how good this team is.”

“We had kind of a disappointing day qualifying,” said Gravel. “We really needed to win that heat race. It just wasn’t a good night point-wise. We had a really good car early in that A main. It wasn’t what we wanted, but we made the best of it. We’ll move on, we just needed to qualify better.”

Two firsts for the Knoxville Nationals occurred. Gio Scelzi, just 16 years, eight months and 14 days old this Saturday, will become the youngest driver to ever qualify for the championship event. That eclipses Jeff Gordon’s 1989 start at 18 years, and 15 days old. Also, Tom Harris of Banbury, Oxfordshire, became the first driver to compete at the Knoxville Nationals from the United Kingdom.

The top sixteen drivers locking themselves into Saturday night’s A main in the first eight rows included Sweet, Kemenah, Larson, Schatz, Aaron Reutzel, Kerry Madsen, Tim Shaffer, Carson Macedo, Gio Scelzi, Tim Kaeding, Ian Madsen, Jacob Allen, Rico Abreu, Greg Hodnett, Shane Stewart and Terry McCarl.

Those drivers who will start in rows one through five of Saturday’s B main include Parker Price-Miller, Lucas Wolfe, Daryn Pittman, Brock Zearfoss, Cory Eliason, Mark Dobmeier, David Gravel, Sammy Walsh, Austin McCarl and Kraig Kinser.

Friday’s FVP Night will include the drivers who missed the top 26 in points. The top four finishers in Friday night’s main event will earn starting spots 17-20 in Saturday’s championship. The fifth place finisher will start 11^th in Saturday’s B. The $10,000 Speed Sport World Challenge will also be run. If the winner of the race has not qualified already for Saturday night’s main event, they will be awarded the 25^th starting spot. Two-time and defending World Series Sprintcars (WSS) champion James McFadden will start on the pole, alongside Lynton Jeffrey.

The 58th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores continues with FVP night, Friday, August 10. There are still tickets available for the biggest event in sprint car racing! For more information, visitwww.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

Knoxville Raceway - Sprint Car Capital of the World!

www.knoxvilleraceway.com

Knoxville Raceway: 5h: 8 more days until the 58th annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's General Store on August 8-11!!! Order tickets now! ️ bit.ly/2u1lVMo more

Toyota Night #2 of the 58^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (9), 15.520; 2. 10H, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (6), 15.608; 3. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (20), 15.627; 4. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (1), 15.634; 5. 71P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (41), 15.643; 6. 28, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Au (19), 15.691; 7. 44, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (5), 15.748; 8. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (10), 15.767; 9. 2, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (50), 15.783; 10. 7, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (18), 15.810; 11. 91T, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (3), 15.838; 12. 1X, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (2), 15.857; 13. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (47), 15.861; 14. 17X, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (36), 15.862; 15. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (35), 15.894; 16. 7C, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (21), 15.902; 17. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (33), 15.925; 18. 99G, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (14), 15.942; 19. 48, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (16), 15.948; 20. 35, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (34), 15.97; 21. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (26), 15.977; 22. 39, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (40), 15.980; 23. 21AU, Jordyn Brazier, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (13), 15.982; 24. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (44), 15.985; 25. 83, Cory Eliason, Selma, CA (49), 15.989; 26. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (23), 15.993; 27. 26, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (42), 16.001; 28. 17W, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (12), 16.005; 29. 5, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (46), 16.020; 30. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (31), 16.026; 31. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (45), 16.032; 32. 9R, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (15), 16.059; 33. 70, Dave Blaney, High Point, NC (11), 16.076; 34. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (51), 16.084; 35. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK (39), 16.121; 36. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (29), 16.123; 37. 44M, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (7), 16.125; 38. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (48), 16.137; 39. G1, Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA (37), 16.150; 40. 25, Bobby McMahan, Elk Grove, CA (22), 16.204; 41. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (28), 16.214; 42. 35P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (17), 16.244; 43. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (25), 16.258; 44. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (43), 16.259; 45. 28AU, Allan Woods, Brisbane, QLD, Aust. (32), 16.274; 46. 81, Lee Jacobs, Dalton, OH (30), 16.308; 47. 3X, Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (24), 16.308; 48. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (27), 16.332; 49. 18J, Jenna Frazier, Rio Linda, CA (8), 17.756; 50. 84, Tom Harris, Banbury, OXFD, UK (38), 18.088; 51. 2MM, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (4), NT.

Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:42.8: 1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2); 2. Mark Dobmeier (4); 3. Kraig Kinser (3); 4. John Carney II (5) / 5. Scott Bogucki (7); 6. Carson Macedo (8); 7. Matt Covington (1); 8. Cale Thomas (6) / 9. Lee Jacobs (10); 10. Thomas Kennedy (9)

Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 2:47.1: 1. Chris Martin (1); 2. Rico Abreu (5); 3. Spencer Bayston (4); 4. Chad Kemenah (8) / 5. Rager Phillips (2); 6. Jac Haudenschild (10); 7. Joey Saldana (3); 8. Trey Starks (7) / 9. Skylar Prochaska (9); 10. Don Droud Jr. (6)

Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:45.9: 1. Dave Blaney (2); 2. Tim Kaeding (6); 3. Harli White (3); 4. Jacob Allen (8) / 5. Skylar Gee (5); 6. Greg Wilson (9); 7. Jordyn Brazier (4); 8. Paige Polyak (7) / 9. Kyle Reinhardt (10); 10. Brian Brown (1)

Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:44.2: 1. Sammy Swindell (2); 2. Brad Sweet (8); 3. Gary Taylor (1); 4. David Gravel (3) / 5. Shane Stewart (7); 6. Brooke Tatnell (4); 7. Josh Baughman (6); 8. Danny Dietrich (5) / 9. RJ Johnson (9); 10. Jenna Frazier (10)

Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 2:45.1: 1. Cory Eliason (4); 2. Wayne Johnson (2); 3. Josh Schneiderman (3); 4. Terry McCarl (6); 5. Parker Price-Miller (8); 6. Jamie Veal (5); 7. Carson McCarl (7); 8. Allan Woods (9); 9. Bobby McMahan (1); 10. Tom Harris (10)

C main (started), 10 Laps, 2:18.1: 1. Don Droud Jr. (1); 2. RJ Johnson (4); 3. Bobby McMahan (2); 4. Lee Jacobs (5) / 5. Skylar Prochaska (3); 6. Tom Harris (6) DNS - 7. Thomas Kennedy; 8. Kyle Reinhardt; 9. Brian Brown; 10. Jenna Frazier; 11. Matt Moro

B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Carson Macedo (1); 2. Parker Price-Miller (2); 3. Shane Stewart (6); 4. Jamie Veal (12) / 5. Scott Bogucki (3); 6. Danny Dietrich (11); 7. Don Droud Jr. (19); 8. Cale Thomas (8); 9. Josh Baughman (9); 10. Greg Wilson (18); 11. Skylar Gee (10); 12. Brooke Tatnell (14); 13. Rager Phillips (16); 14. Lee Jacobs (23); 15. Allan Woods (17); 16. RJ Johnson (22); 17. Paige Polyak (5); 18. Trey Starks (4); 19. Joey Saldana (15); 20. Carson McCarl (7); 21. Jordyn Brazier (13); 22. Jac Haudenschild (20); 23. Bobby McMahan (21); DNS - 24. Matt Covington

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Brad Sweet (6); 2. Rico Abreu (2); 3. David Gravel (13); 4. Tim Kaeding (5); 5. Terry McCarl (4); 6. Chad Kemenah (8); 7. Cory Eliason (10); 8. Shane Stewart (23); 9. Carson Macedo (21); 10. Kraig Kinser (11); 11. Mark Dobmeier (1); 12. Jacob Allen (7); 13. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (15); 14. Parker Price-Miller (22); 15. Spencer Bayston (9); 16. Wayne Johnson (18); 17. Jamie Veal (24); 18. Sammy Swindell (17); 19. John Carney II (3); 20. Chris Martin (19); 21. Gary Taylor (20); 22. Dave Blaney (16); 23. Harli White (12); 24. Josh Schneiderman (14). Lap Leader: Sweet 1-25. Hard-charger: S. Stewart.

Thursday Results & Story by Bill Wright

Redemption for Logan Schuchart on Hard Knox Night at Knoxville!

Dominic Scelzi Cashes in “Golden Ticket” with World Challenge Win

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 10, 2018) – Logan Schuchart took a big step towards redeeming himself with his first career win at the Knoxville Raceway in Friday’s FVP “Hard Knox” Night at the 58^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals. After being disqualified Wednesday for not visiting the scales in a transfer spot, the Hanover, Pennsylvania native won a spirited duel with Brian Brown to claim the win and a guaranteed spot in Saturday night’s $150,000 to win championship event. Brown will join him in the “Big Dance” along with Paul McMahan and Matt Juhl as the top four finishers (full Saturday lineups below).

Schuchart grabbed the early lead in the 25-lap main event, ahead of Brown, McMahan and Sheldon Haudenschild. When Haudenschild got sideways on the second lap, Juhl shot into fourth. On lap five, Brown rode the cushion by Schuchart for the first of four lead changes. The leaders entered lapped traffic on lap eight, and Juhl got by McMahan for third.

Schuchart found his way back to the point in heavy lapped traffic on the tenth circuit before Spencer Bayston got into the turn one wall. Haudenschild grabbed the final transfer from Juhl on the restart, in a battle that was every bit as good as the one for the lead. Juhl would snatch it back at the halfway point.

Brown would recapture the lead with ten to go, but Schuchart would rebound to regain the fore for good a lap later. Both Haudenschild and Jamie Veal pressed Juhl for the coveted fourth position. Haudenschild would shoot by for the spot, but a ride over the inside berm in turn three would give the spot back to Juhl.

Up front, Schuchart pulled away in traffic, and took Brown, McMahan and Juhl with him to Saturday night’s championship event. Haudenschild finished sixth and will start 11^th in Saturday’s B. Veal, Sammy Swindell, Davey Heskin, Hunter Schuerenberg and Brent Marks rounded out the top ten. Schuchart and Brown set quick times over their respective groups, while Clint Garner, Don Droud Jr., Josh Schneiderman, Brown, McMahan and Haudenschild won heat races. Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Bayston took the B mains.

“If anyone was going to ask, I know where the scales are now,” said a happy Schuchart in Victory Lane. “My leader of this team (grandfather Bobby Allen who is in the hospital) has taught me its not about how you get knocked down, it’s how you get back up. He’s taught Jacob (Allen) and I since we were young kids if you work hard enough, you can get to where you want to go. He’s the man and a champion. He won this thing in 1990 with little to nothing. He’s my hero, and it’s weird him not being here. It’s the first race my grandpa has not been at since I was about ten years old. I know he’s watching, and he’s proud. He’s got both his cars in the A main tomorrow night.”

“I’ve never been so happy to run second in my life at Knoxville,” said Brown. “Logan…he does a phenomenal job, night in and night out. We were racing so hard. I knew I was using my tires up pretty good. I’m just happy. If you knew what we went through the last forty hours, you would cringe. It shows you to work hard and never give up. We start 18^thtomorrow, and I’m ready. After last night, I figured there’d be no way. We had a vibration and figured out what it was.”

“I just can’t thank my guys enough,” said an emotional McMahan. “To be here at Knoxville, and put it in the show, I’m so blessed. Our team is just a bunch of misfits that give me a hell of a racecar every night. My wife’s not here, so that’s hard for me right now. My son and my daughter are here, my mom and dad and my brother are here. We’ve got the whole family here.”

“It’s unbelievable and a dream come true,” said Juhl of his first Knoxville Nationals A main start. “My guys worked their tails off. This is a phenomenal place to come to (and race weekly). I drive five hours every week to come here, and we will keep doing it. It’s awesome to come down here and you get treated so well. It sets you up for the Nationals too.”

Wild World Challenge

The Speed Sport World Challenge was a wild affair that saw Dominic Scelzi earn a “Golden Ticket” as Saturday night’s 25^th starter in the Knoxville Nationals championship event. Allan Woods would tip over before a lap could be completed, and when Jordyn Brazier exited, it left just sixteen entries.

Brooke Tatnell led from the pole early over Skylar Gee, Scelzi, James McFadden and Cory Eliason. Scelzi would slide by Gee for second on lap four. McFadden would follow him into third three laps later, before the United Kingdom’s Tom Harris stopped in turn four.

Scelzi would use the restart to slide by Tatnell. McFadden followed him into second, while Austin McCarl moved into fourth. Tatnell would get over the turn one cushion and spin ten laps in. Carson Macedo, Kerry Madsen and Ian Madsen took evasive maneuvers to avoid him, with Ian suffering some right front damage.

Scelzi led McFadden, McCarl, Tim Kaeding and Gee back to green. Kaeding was on the move and used the low side to gain third on the restart. In some great action, McCarl would shoot from fourth to second on lap 12, before McFadden reclaimed the runner-up spot a lap later. On lap fourteen, McCarl and Kaeding put McFadden behind them and battled for second.

Meanwhile, Scelzi was pulling away for his first win here over Kaeding, McCarl, Kerry Madsen and McFadden. Macedo, Gee, Tatnell, Eliason and Terry McCarl rounded out the top ten.

“I’m so out of shape, I’m worn out!” said an excited Scelzi in Victory Lane. “My guys gave me a perfect racecar. We’ve been so good around here all year. I’m speechless. We’re in the show. I’ve been waiting 21 years to say that. Never in a million years did I think I’d win here, especially in front of a Nationals crowd on Friday night. I’ve got so many emotions running through my mind. This is the greatest moment of my life by far!”

Brad Sweet is Knoxville Nationals Champion!

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 11, 2018) – Brad Sweet completed a sweep of three events in seven days at the Knoxville Raceway, with his popular victory in front of a sellout crowd in the finale of the 58^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. The win was worth $150,000 for the Grass Valley, California native and came aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing #49 team. The biggest win in sprint car racing was preceded by wins for Sweet in Thursday’s qualifying night, and Sunday’s Capitani Classic.

The parade lap for the finale was paced by the Jason Johnson Racing #41. When the green flew, Sweet took off from the pole and led early in the 50-lapper over fellow front row starter, Chad Kemenah, Donny Schatz, Aaron Reutzel and Kyle Larson. Larson moved by both Reutzel and Schatz to take third by lap three. Undeterred, Schatz worked back by Larson on lap six.

Sweet was in lapped traffic by the seventh circuit. Schatz took to the cushion, passing Kemenah for second on lap nine. Larson followed him into third on lap ten. Sweet built a lead of 3.8 seconds on lap 15, while Larson and Schatz engaged in an epic duel behind him. Meanwhile, Kemenah and Reutzel were also battling for fourth.

Rico Abreu was running ninth when he tipped over in turn four on lap 19. He was uninjured. Sweet led Schatz, Larson, Reutzel and Kemenah back to green. Larson slid in front of Schatz for second, before the field stopped for the mandatory red flag period on lap 25. At the time, the top ten included Sweet, Larson, Schatz, Kemenah, Reutzel, Tim Shaffer, Carson Macedo, Kerry Madsen, Shane Stewart and Ian Madsen.

Reutzel jumped into fourth, and Macedo cracked the top five on lap 27. Sweet missed his mark on lap 28, and Larson got by for a pair of laps, before “The Big Cat” took control again. He was in lapped traffic and pulling away again on lap 34. Schatz reeled in Larson, passing him with nine to go.

While Schatz’s car was getting better and sizing up Sweet, Kerry Madsen crashed with two to go while running eighth. That set up a two-lap Dash to the checkers.

Sweet hit his marks perfectly, and edged Schatz by .133 of a second. Larson, Reutzel and Tim Kaeding followed. Macedo, Kemenah, Logan Schuchart, Shane Stewart and hard-charger David Gravel rounded out the top ten. Dave Blaney won the D main, Sam Hafertepe Jr. claimed the C main, and Parker Price-Miller took the B main.

Special awards included the Jesse Hockett “Mr. Sprint Car” Award won by Carson Macedo, and Rookie of the Nationals, won by Gio Scelzi. The Best Appearing Car went to Sheldon Haudenschild, followed by Terry McCarl and Brian Brown. Best Appearing Crew went to the Jason Johnson Racing #41, followed by the Stenhouse/Marshall #17 team and the Tony Vermeer Racing #55.

“How about that sh*t boys and girls?” asked an excited Sweet in Victory Lane. “I held off two of the best in the business. This car was flying all weekend. It wasn’t easy against the hardest competition in the world. I made a few mistakes. I wasn’t sure if I wanted that (late red) or I didn’t. Donny was breathing down my neck. I thought I better hit these two laps on the bottom perfect. They weren’t perfect, but they were good enough to get the win! I was uptight and nervous all day. That video of Jason Johnson came on (in pre-race ceremonies), and I teared up. My mind went really calm. I knew what Jason would do…just run the sh*t out of it! That’s what I did. I sure hope he’s looking down smiling. I dreamed about the feeling he had when he won it. It’s unbelievable! I just want to cry, faint, hug, kiss and drink lots of beer!”

“We were good at the end,” said Schatz. “We just had to go where he wasn’t. That yellow helped us with two to go and gave us a chance. We made the best of it, but he was really good. He could go anywhere on the racetrack. Hat’s off to these guys, they worked awful hard for it. They worked hard for it. We did our best…it was just second best.”

“It was a lot of fun,” said Larson. “It was a good race. I felt we were the best three cars all week. It was a lot of fun racing Donny the first half. I was able to get by him before the break, and give Brad a run there for a little while. I’m so happy for Brad. He’ll be my brother-in-law here in a month. It’s cool to have a family member win the Knoxville Nationals, and to get to duke it out a little bit there with him for the lead.”

Mediacom Season Championship Night will crown Knoxville Championship Cup Series champions Saturday, August 25. For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com

Knoxville Raceway - Sprint Car Capital of the World!

www.knoxvilleraceway.com

Knoxville Raceway: 5h: 8 more days until the 58th annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's General Store on August 8-11!!! Order tickets now! ️ bit.ly/2u1lVMo more

Results of the 58^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores

D Main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. 70, Dave Blaney, High Point, NC (2); 2. 71x, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (3); 3. 7c, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (1); 4. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (4); 5. 99G, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (6); 6. 9R, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (5) / 7. 17w, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (8); 8. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (14); 9. 9x, Jake Bubak, Arvada, OH (10); 10. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (9); 11. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (12); 12. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (17); 13. 7, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (7); 14. 84, Tom Harris, Banbury, OXFD, UK (16); 15. 25, Bobby McMahan, Elk Grove, CA (13); 16. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (15); 17. 28P, Brian Paulus, Mooresville, IN (11); 18. 18J, Jenna Frazier, Rio Linda, CA (19); 19. 10, Clyde Knipp, California, MO (18) DNS – 85, Chase Wanner, Agency, IA; 12N, Cole Duncan, Lockbourne, OH; 44M, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA; 28AU, Allan Woods, Brisbane, QLD, Aust.; 21AU, Jordyn Brazier, Sydney, NSW, Aust.; 0, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust.; G1, Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA; 28, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust.; 11, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK; 2c, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK; 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA; 4K, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA; 2mm, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA; 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA; 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ

C Main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (2); 2. 39, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (6); 3. 35P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (1); 4. 17x, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (13); 5. 44, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (3) / 6. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (8); 7. 7w, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (15); 8. 29, Willie Croft, Fresno, CA (16); 9. 70s, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (17); 10. 68, Chase Johnson, Penngrove, CA (11); 11. 81, Lee Jacobs, Dalton, OH (10); 12. Kevin Thomas Jr. (20); 13. Dave Blaney (19); 14. 17wx, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (18); 15. 1x, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (7); 16. 91T, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (4); 17. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (5); 18. Skylar Gee (23); 19. Rager Phillips (24); 20. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (14); 21. John Carney II (21); 22. Matt Covington (22); 23. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (12) DNS – 3H, James McFadden, Ormeau, QLD, Aust.; 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can.; 48, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA

B Main (started), 22 Laps, 6:18.5: 1. 71P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (1); 2. 9, Daryn Pittman, Bixby, OK (3); 3. 5, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (7); 4. 4, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (4) / 5. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (9); 6. 24w, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (2); 7. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (11); 8. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (16); 9. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (6); 10. 35, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (12); 11. Spencer Bayston (22); 12. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (19); 13. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (10); 14. 83, Cory Eliason, Selma, CA (5); 15. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (18); 16. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (13); 17. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (14); 18. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (20); 19. Skylar Prochaska (21); 20. 7s, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (17); 21. 97G, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (15); 22. Trey Starks (24); 23. 5H, Sammy Walsh, Orangeville, NSW, Aust. (8); 24. Josh Baughman (23) DNS – 26, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN

A Main (started), 50 Laps, NT: 1. Brad Sweet (1); 2. Donny Schatz (4); 3. Kyle Larson (3); 4. Aaron Reutzel (5); 5. Tim Kaeding (10); 6. Carson Macedo (8); 7. Chad Kemenah (2); 8. Logan Schuchart (17); 9. Shane Stewart (15); 10. David Gravel (23); 11. Ian Madsen (11); 12. Tim Shaffer (7); 13. Jacob Allen (12); 14. Gio Scelzi (9); 15. Greg Hodnett (14); 16. Dominic Scelzi (25); 17. Daryn Pittman (22); 18. Parker Price-Miller (21); 19. Brock Zearfoss (24); 20. Matt Juhl (20); 21. Paul McMahan (19); 22. Kerry Madsen (6); 23. Terry McCarl (16); 24. Rico Abreu (13); 25. Brian Brown (18). Lap Leaders: Sweet 1-27, Larson 28-29, Sweet 30-50. Hard-charger:Gravel.

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