by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, June 4, 2011 – Terry McCarl used a late race surge to pass Danny Lasoski and record win #50 in his career at the Knoxville Raceway.  The win was even more special as Terry’s son Austin, finished in the third spot.  Jon Agan scored his second win of the season, and sixth in his career at Knoxville in the 360 class, and Jamie Ball scored his first career sprint car win in the 305 class.

Lasoski shot around front row starters, Austin McCarl and Bronson Maeschen to start the 20-lap main event.  With four laps in the books, the only stoppage of the race occurred when a wreck involving Mike Moore and Josh Higday also collected JD Johnson in turn four.  None of the drivers were injured.

Lasoski led Austin McCarl, who was keeping pace with him throughout the race, Terry McCarl, Lynton Jeffrey, Don Droud Jr., and Dusty Zomer, up from eleventh.  Austin McCarl used the cushion to stay with the bottom-running Lasoski.  Just past the midway point, the young McCarl pulled beside Lasoski, who changed his line to the high side.

Meanwhile, Terry McCarl, who had been passed for third by Lynton Jeffrey, started to find a middle groove on both ends of the famous half-mile.  He moved past Jeffrey into third on lap 14, and then dispatched of his son on lap 16.  One lap later, he made a rare low pass of Lasoski to maintain the lead for good in the VerMeer Motorsports #55 Eagle Chassis with Don Ott power.

“We weren’t very good when we had that early red,” said the winner.  “I had to search and search.  We changed our line, and we’re not paid to finish second.  We’ve come a long way as a team, having just started in late April.  You pass Danny on the bottom, and you’ve done something here…but then again, Lynton Jeffrey passed me on the top.  You have nothing to lose back in third.  I was just able to find something in the middle.  I’m proud of both my sons, Austin and Carson.”

Lasoski held second, while Austin McCarl completed the podium.  Zomer, who had dropped back as far as ninth, came back in much the same fashion as the winner, and grabbed fourth.  Quick-timer, Kevin Swindell, Jeffrey, Maeschen, Don Droud Jr., Mark Dobmeier and Dustin Selvage rounded out the top ten.

Dobmeier, Josh Schneiderman and Zomer took the heats.  Danny Heskin and Mike Moore were involved in an accident in the second heat, but were uninjured.  Heskin was done for the evening.

Larry Ball Jr. shot out to an early advantage in a special $2,000 to win 20-lap feature for the 360 Knoxville Championship Cup Series.  Jon Agan started in row four, but was already in a four-way battle for second with Ryan Roberts, Matt Moro, Russ Hall and Dennis Moore Jr.  It was Hall who moved into second in the battle.

On lap eight, disaster struck for the leaders, who both ran the bottom.  While Roberts was bidding to pass both, Hall got into the back of Ball, and both spun, with Ball tipping over.  He was unhurt, but done.

Roberts inherited the lead in front of Agan, Moro, Moore Jr. and Chad Humston.  Sixth-running, Clint Garner, who entered the night leading in points, suffered a flat left rear and had to restart at the back of the pack.

Agan pounced on Roberts on the restart and moved to the point in the Agan Motorsports #4.  Another pair of cautions late did not slow down Agan, but they did provide some excitement behind him.  Austin Alumbaugh broke a rear axle with fourteen laps in the books, and Tasker Phillips got into the turn four wall while running ninth on lap 17.  Chad Humston benefited most from the restarts and ended up third behind Agan and Roberts.

Moro was fourth and Jack Dover moved up from row six to complete the top five.  Lee Grosz, Garner back from the rear, Gregg Bakker, Joe Beaver and Moore Jr., who appeared to run out of fuel at the completion of the race, completed the top ten.

“I was getting tired of those yellow flags,” said the victor.  “This was a lot of laps for us, but I like that.  I was just worried about fuel.  This feels great, and I can’t thank everyone here at Knoxville Raceway enough.”

Humston scored quick time, while Beaver, Nate Van Haaften and Dover won heats.  Alumbaugh took the B.

It was an exciting night for Jamie Ball in the 305 class.  He began the night by setting a new one-lap record for the class, touring the track in 16.925 seconds, besting the record set by Brandon Wimmer in 2008.  After winning his heat from row two, he posted outside row three for the feature.

Young Bart Friedrichsen led at the outset and maintained it despite a stoppage by Marty Stephenson on the frontstretch with a lap in the books.  In his heat race, Stephenson turned over in turn four, but was unhurt.

Friedrichsen led fellow front row starter, Tasker Phillips, Carson McCarl, Ball, and J Kinder, up from tenth, back to green flag racing.  Ball worked by McCarl into third on lap three, and worked by Phillips for second on lap seven.

Meanwhile, Friedrichsen was steady up front.  Matt Stephenson did a 360 spin and kept it going on lap nine.  The yellow was thrown, however, setting up a three-lap dash to the checkers.  Friedrichsen maintained his lead, but Ball was right on his nerf bar.  Ball calculated his winning pass on the high side, and made it on the last lap going into turn one.

Friedrichsen finished second, followed by Phillips, McCarl and Matthew Stelzer, Kinder, Mitchell Alexander, Steve Palmer and Cody Ambers rounded out the top ten.  Ball and Alexander took heat race wins.

“(Friedrichsen) was on the bottom, so the only place I could run was the top,” said Ball.  “I finally got the lead in turn two, and I changed my line to the bottom in three and four to keep him behind me.”

Don’t miss next Friday and Saturday night, June 10 and 11, for the Mediacom Shootout with the World of Outlaws taking on the Knoxville regulars!  The 305 class will be the companion series on Friday night, while the 360’s will be running on Saturday!

410 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order, 1 lap): 1. 1s, Kevin Swindell, Charlotte, NC (19) 15.651; 2. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (5) 15.987; 3. 33, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (12) 15.997; 4. 55, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (27) 16.035; 5. 1, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (3) 16.148; 6. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (18) 16.282; 7. 98, JD Johnson, Goddard, KS (2) 16.285; 8. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (7) 16.305; 9. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (22) 16.351; 10. 7TW, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (13) 16.365; 11. 71R, Ryan Anderson, Deloit, IA (25) 16.372; 12. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (14) 16.383; 13. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (8) 16.410; 14. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (23) 16.439; 15. 56JC, Johnn Cressman, Sioux Falls, SD (4) 16.470; 16. 81, Austin Johnson, Shakopee, MN (16) 16.620; 17. 68, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (10) 16.677; 18. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (20) 16.677; 19. 10, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (17) 16.731; 20. 6, Danny Heskin, St. Michael, MN (24) 16.835; 21. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (15) 17.001; 22. 84, Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (21) 17.006; 23. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (26) 17.006; 24. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (6) 17.021; 25. 2, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (1) 17.082; 26. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (9) 17.688; 27. 45, Mark Johnson, Des Moines, IA, NT.

Heat one (started), 8 laps, 2:20.0: 1. Mark Dobmeier (4) 2. Kevin Swindell (8) 3. Brandon Wimmer (5) 4. Rager Phillips (2) 5. Terry McCarl (7) 6. Josh Higday (9) / 7. Ben Wagoner (1) 8. JD Johnson (6) 9. Austin Johnson (3)

Heat two (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Josh Schneiderman (4) 2. Ryan Anderson (5) 3. Don Droud Jr. (6) 4. Bronson Maeschen (7) 5. Lynton Jeffrey (8) 6. Mike Houseman Jr. (3) / 7. Bob Weuve (9) 8. Danny Heskin (2) 9. Mike Moore (1)

Heat three (started), 8 laps, 2:20.6: 1. Dusty Zomer (5) 2. Davey Heskin (3) 3. Danny Lasoski (8) 4. Dustin Selvage (6) 5. Austin McCarl (7) 6. AJ Moeller (2) / 7. Rob Kubli (1) 8. Johnn Cressman (4) DNS – Mark Johnson

B main (started), 7 laps, 2:07.9: 1. Johnn Cressman (2) 2. JD Johnson (1) 3. Mike Moore (6) 4. Austin Johnson (3) 5. Bob Weuve (8) 6. Ben Wagoner (5) / 7. Rob Kubli (7) DNS – Danny Heskin, Mark Johnson

A main (started), 20 laps, NT: 1. Terry McCarl (3) 2. Danny Lasoski (4) 3. Austin McCarl (1) 4. Dusty Zomer (11) 5. Kevin Swindell (6) 6. Lynton Jeffrey (5) 7. Bronson Maeschen (2) 8. Don Droud Jr. (7) 9. Mark Dobmeier (12) 10. Dustin Selvage (8) 11. Josh Schneiderman (13) 12. Davey Heskin (15) 13. Ryan Anderson (10) 14. Bob Weuve (23) 15. Rager Phillips (16) 16. Johnn Cressman (19) 17. Mike Houseman Jr. (14) 18. Austin Johnson (22) 19. Ben Wagoner (24) 20. AJ Moeller (17) 21. Brandon Wimmer (9) 22. Mike Moore (21) 23. Josh Higday (18) 24. JD Johnson (20). Lap Leaders: Lasoski 1-16, T. McCarl 17-20. Hard-Charger: Weuve.

360 Results

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 1m, Chad Humston, Giltner, NE, 16.207; 2. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.255; 3. D12, Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell, IA, 16.322; 4. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE, 16.426; 5. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA, 16.438; 6. 5J, Larry Ball Jr., Knoxville, IA, 16.576; 7. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA, 16.622; 8. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 16.637; 9. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.658; 10. 04, Chad Heimbaugh, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.718; 11. 11x, Gregg Bakker, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.739; 12. 53x, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE, 16.764; 13. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA, 16.767; 14. 33A, Austin Alumbaugh, Higginsville, MO, 16.775; 15. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA, 16.811; 16. 51x, Mike Peters, Wichita, KS, 16.821; 17. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA, 16.866; 18. 7K, Robby Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.879; 19. 54, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 16.884; 20. 10, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA, 16.966; 21. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND, 16.968; 22. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA, 16.989; 23. 7s, Tim St. Arnold, Des Moines, IA, 17.067; 24. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 17.075; 25. 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO, 17.118; 26. 5, Dave Glennon, Casselton, ND, 17.237; 27. 12, Rod Richards, Van Meter, IA, 17.349; 28. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 17.494; 29. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL, 17.919; 30. 21A, Dustin Beenken, Sheldon, IA, 18.429.

Heat one (started), 7 laps, 2:04.1: 1. Joe Beaver (2) 2. Chad Humston (6) 3. Jon Agan (4) 4. Ryan Roberts (5) 5. Casey Friedrichsen (7) / 6. Ricky Montgomery (9) 7. Chad Heimbaugh (3) 8. Mike Peters (1) 9. Tom Lenz (8) 10. Alan Zoutte (10)

Heat two (started), 7 laps, 2:05.3: 1. Nate Van Haaften (1) 2. Clint Garner (6) 3. Tasker Phillips (4) 4. Gregg Bakker (3) 5. Matt Moro (5) / 6. Austin Alumbaugh (2) 7. Tyler Groenendyk (7) 8. Dave Glennon (9) 9. Jimmy Davies (10) 10. Tim St. Arnold (8)

Heat three (started), 7 laps, NT: 1. Jack Dover (3) 2. Dennis Moore Jr. (6) 3. Russ Hall (4) 4. Larry Ball Jr. (5) 5. Lee Grosz (7) / 6. Robby Wolfgang (1) 7. David Hall (2) 8. Jarrod Schneiderman (8) 9. Rod Richards (9) DNS – Dustin Beenken

B main (started), 10 laps, NT: 1. Austin Alumbaugh (2) 2. David Hall (3) 3. Tyler Groenendyk (6) 4. Chad Heimbaugh (1) 5. Mike Peters (4) / 6. Jarrod Schneiderman (9) 7. Tom Lenz (7) 8. Robby Wolfgang (5) 9. Alan Zoutte (13) 10. Rod Richards (10) 11. Ricky Montgomery (8) 12. Jimmy Davies (12) 13. Dave Glennon (11) DNS –  Tim St. Arnold, Dustin Beenken

A main (started), 20 laps, NT: 1. Jon Agan (7) 2. Ryan Roberts (3) 3. Chad Humston (6) 4. Matt Moro (2) 5. Jack Dover (11) 6. Lee Grosz (15) 7. Clint Garner (5) 8. Gregg Bakker (10) 9. Joe Beaver (12) 10. Dennis Moore Jr. (4) 11. David Hall (17) 12. Nate Van Haaften (13) 13. Russ Hall (9) 14. Casey Friedrichsen (14) 15. Mike Peters (20) 16. Tyler Groenendyk (18) 17. Chad Heimbaugh (19) 18. Tasker Phillips (8) 19. Austin Alumbaugh (16) 20. Larry Ball Jr. (1). Lap Leaders: Ball Jr. 1-7, Roberts 8, Agan 9-20. Hard-Charger: D. Hall.

305 Results

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 5JR, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 16.925 (NTR); 2. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Omaha, NE, 17.294; 3. 97, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 17.334; 4. 6, Mitchell Alexander, Knoxville, IA, 17.558; 5. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 17.575; 6. 33, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA, 17.764; 7. 29, Bart Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 17.803; 8. 92c, Cody Ambers, Knoxville, IA, 17.952; 9. 55KC, Bob Hildreth, Iowa Falls, IA, 17.983; 10. 93A, Alan Ambers, Knoxville, IA, 18.004; 11. 88, J Kinder, Holt’s Summit, MO, 18.058; 12. 22, Chris Mallicoat, Boone, IA, 18.063; 13. 2, Steve Palmer, Des Moines, IA, 18.080; 14. 21, Keith Carlberg, Webster City, IA, 18.104; 15. 55, Matt Stephenson, Altoona, IA, 18.163; 16. 87, Cale Hutchings, Bloomfield, IA, 18.356; 17. 12, TJ Peterson, Des Moines, IA, 22.326; DQ (Weight) – 36, Marty Stephenson, Mitchellville, IA.

Heat one (started), 6 laps, NT: 1. Jamie Ball (4) 2. Carson McCarl (3) 3. Tasker Phillips (2) 4. J Kinder (6) 5. Bart Friedrichsen (1) 6. Matt Stephenson (8) 7. Bob Hildreth (5) 8. Steve Palmer (7) 9. TJ Peterson (9)

Heat two (started), 6 laps, NT: 1. Mitchell Alexander (3) 2. Matthew Stelzer (4) 3. Alan Ambers (5) 4. Cody Ambers (1) 5. Cale Hutchings (8) 6. Chris Mallicoat (6) 7. Keith Carlberg (7) 8. Marty Stephenson (9) 9. Nate Van Haaften (2)

A main (started), 12 laps, NT: 1. Jamie Ball (6) 2. Bart Friedrichsen (1) 3. Tasker Phillips (2) 4. Carson McCarl (4) 5. Matthew Stelzer (5) 6. J Kinder (10) 7. Mitchell Alexander (3) 8. Steve Palmer (12) 9. Cody Ambers (7) 10. Bob Hildreth (8) 11. Chris Mallicoat (11) 12. Keith Carlberg (13) 13. Matt Stephenson (14) 14. Alan Ambers (9) 15. TJ Peterson (16) 16. Marty Stephenson (15) DNS – Cale Hutchings, Nate Van Haaften. Lap Leaders: Friedrichsen 1-11, Ball 12.