Nate Van Haaften Uses Last Lap Pass to Win 360’s
by Bill Wright
Knoxville, IA, June 10, 2016 – After qualifying, Terry McCarl had his work cut out for him. The Altoona, Iowa veteran did what he had to do, and stood atop the World of Outlaws podium Friday on Budweiser Night with the World of Outlaws. The win aboard the TMAC Motorsports #24 was worth $12,000. In 360 action, Nate Van Haaften picked up his first feature win of the year by surging by race-long leader Calvin Landis on the final circuit.
McCarl timed in 12th quick, but quickly surged from outside row three to finish second in his heat. That gave him a trip to the Dash, and an invert of eight in that event put him on the pole. After winning the Dash, McCarl took off to an early lead in the 25-lap feature event over Donny Schatz and Kerry Madsen.
McCarl utilized the cushion the first half of the race, while Schatz kept pace on the bottom side of the track. At the halfway point, a fourth running Kerry Madsen got sideways behind a lapped car and flipped. Fifth running Brad Sweet was also caught in the melee along with the lapped cars of Bronson Maeschen and Brooke Tatnell. Sweet’s team would make repairs to the front end and continue, and Tatnell would also restart at the tail.
McCarl chose the inside line over Schatz, David Gravel, Brian Brown and Dusty Zomer on the restart. Zomer quickly moved by Brown and Gravel into third. Meanwhile, Schatz’s pursuit of the leader peaked on lap 15. He briefly moved to the point, only to have McCarl reclaim the spot coming to the line.
Behind the leaders, Brown and Gravel traded fourth place in great racing action. Up front, McCarl increased his lead down the stretch in capturing his 57th career feature win at Knoxville. Schatz settled for second, ahead of Brown, who captured third on the last lap, Zomer and Gravel. Fourteenth starting Craig Dollansky, Daryn Pittman, Danny Lasoski, hard-charger Shane Stewart and Justin Henderson rounded out the top ten.
Stewart rebounded from a rough night that saw him crash hard in the heat race. After bringing down the back-up car, he started at the rear of the B, capturing the fourth and final transfer spot. He then drove from 24th to finish ninth. Henderson and Sweet set quick time in their respective groups, while Henderson, Gravel, Sweet and Lynton Jeffrey won heats. RJ Johnson captured the C main, and Ian Madsen won the B main.
“We just beat the best driver and team in the world,” said McCarl in Victory Lane. “They still are the best driver and team in the world. For us to beat them one night is pretty amazing and we’re pretty proud of it. It was a real driver’s track. It was rough and heavy and slick. I just kept telling myself to keep the tires underneath me. Donny is really good at keeping his tires underneath him until traffic. Actually when we got to traffic, I was happy. I moved down a car width and we were really good.”
“He was awful good,” said Schatz of McCarl. “He did a great job. This place is tough to be out front leading. Sometimes, you’re in the catbird’s seat when you are running second. I thought I had the catbird’s seat, but Terry did a good job. He made the right moves at the right times. We learned something from that so that’s good. Things are a little different around here, and we need to adapt to those changes.”
“We had a rough night, but this team keeps digging hard,” said Brown of his rough night that began with an ignition problem early in the night. “They were able to overcome it. I really felt we had something for those guys on that last red. I made a mistake and spun the tires. We had to get back by Dusty and (Gravel) there. To be on the podium with these two guys is nothing to be ashamed of.”
Calvin Landis led the 18-lap 360 feature as soon as the green fell, ahead of Nate Van Haaften, who started sixth, and Tyler Groenendyk. Jamie Ball took third on lap two and climbed one more spot a circuit later. With five laps down, however, his mount went up in smoke, bringing the only caution of the event.
Landis led the restart, ahead of Van Haaften, Groenendyk, Joe Beaver and Clint Garner. Garner shot by Beaver on lap seven for fourth, and rode around Groenendyk for third on lap 12. Landis would slow a bit in traffic down the stretch. As he rode the cushion, Van Haaften was gaining on the low side. Garner and Beaver also reeled in the leaders, setting up an exciting finish.
Van Haaften would take the point, getting under Landis in turn three on the last lap and riding to his fifth career win. Landis would checker second, ahead of Garner and Beaver. The top four were within one second of each other at the finish. Tony Shilling was fifth after starting 15th. Groenendyk, Mike Van Haaften, Sawyer Phillips and hard-charger Chris Morgan completed the top ten. Beaver set quick time, while Phillips and Jon Agan claimed heat races.
“We’ve been behind the ball game this year,” said Van Haaften in Victory Lane. “We got our good motor back last week. We’ve been working really hard and we have it dialed in. This big Maxim is back together. We destroyed it last year when we were trying to take the point lead. Knoxville’s the best, like Johnny Anderson always said!”
Join us tomorrow night for the finale at the Xtream Shootout powered by Mediacom. The 360 sprints will again be in action! In addition to the great racing, featuring our Knoxville regulars against the World of Outlaws, many activities for all ages are planned for Saturday! For a full list of activities, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1D, Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (14), 15.438; 2. 5, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (3), 15.455; 3. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (7), 15.498; 4. 2L, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (20), 15.503; 5. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (17), 15.581; 6. 29, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (18), 15.648; 7. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (2), 15.655; 8. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (5), 15.714; 9. 83, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (21), 15.725; 10. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (12), 15.783; 11. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (11), 15.700; 12. 7w, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (6), 15.833; 13. 1s, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (15), 15.909; 14. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (8), 15.923; 15. 7, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (1), 15.954; 16. 7D, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (4), 15.961; 17. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (9), 16.033; 18. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (13), 16.156; 19. 35, Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL (10), 16.674; 20. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (16), 16.990; 21. 13, Clyde Knipp, California, MO (19), 17.108.
Time Trials Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (14), 15.818; 2. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (5), 15.827; 3. 82, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (4), 15.874; 4. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (1), 15.953; 5. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (13), 16.054; 6. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (11), 16.076; 7. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (19), 16.090; 8. 2, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (2), 16.093; 9. 71, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (20), 16.093; 10. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (21), 16.099; 11. 2KS, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (10), 16.126; 12. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (3), 16.172; 13. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (7), 16.239; 14. 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (12), 16.331; 15. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (17), 16.338; 16. 41X, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (15), 16.430; 17. 1B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (8), 16.453; 18. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (16), 16.459; 19. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (18), 16.533; 20. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (9), 16.622; 21. 10, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (6), 17.029.
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:10.4: 1. Justin Henderson (1); 2. Donny Schatz (2); 3. Brian Brown (6); 4. Daryn Pittman (3); 5. Joey Saldana (5) / 6. Ian Madsen (4); 7. Paul McMahan (8); 8. Logan Schuchart (7); 9. RJ Johnson (9); 10. Clyde Knipp (11); 11. Kevin Hetrick (10)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.1: 1. David Gravel (1); 2. Kerry Madsen (3); 3. Danny Lasoski (2); 4. Tim Kaeding (4); 5. Jason Johnson (5) / 6. Tasker Phillips (6); 7. Dustin Selvage (8); 8. Josh Schneiderman (7); 9. Bob Weuve (10)
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.3: 1. Brad Sweet (1); 2. Dusty Zomer (2); 3. Sammy Swindell (4); 4. Craig Dollansky (6); 5. Jamie Veal (5) / 6. Jason Sides (7); 7. Jacob Allen (3); 8. Jake Bubak (9); 9. Paige Polyak (8); 10. Greg Wilson (10); 11. Dakota Hendrickson (11)
Heat four (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Lynton Jeffrey (1); 2. Terry McCarl (6); 3. Bronson Maeschen (2); 4. Brooke Tatnell (3); 5. Austin McCarl (5) / 6. Davey Heskin (9); 7. Scott Bogucki (7); 8. AJ Moeller (10); 9. Dominic Scelzi (8); 10. Shane Stewart (4)
C main (started), 10 Laps, 2:53.3: 1. RJ Johnson (1); 2. Chris Martin (3) / 3. Davey Heskin (4); 4. Jake Bubak (2); 5. Greg Wilson (6); 6. AJ Moeller (8); 7. Dakota Hendrickson (10); 8. Kevin Hetrick (5); 9. Bob Weuve (7); 10. Clyde Knipp (9)
Dash (started), 6 Laps, 1:40.9: 1. Terry McCarl (1); 2. Donny Schatz (4); 3. Kerry Madsen (2); 4. Dusty Zomer (3); 5. David Gravel (6); 6. Brad Sweet (7); 7. Lynton Jeffrey (5); 8. Justin Henderson (8)
B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Ian Madsen (1); 2. Tasker Phillips (3); 3. Jason Sides (4); 4. Shane Stewart (11) / 5. Paige Polyak (8); 6. Josh Schneiderman (7); 7. Jacob Allen (2); 8. Scott Bogucki (6); 9. Logan Schuchart (5); 10. Chris Martin (12); 11. Dominic Scelzi (10); 12. Paul McMahan (9) DNS – Dustin Selvage, RJ Johnson
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Terry McCarl (1); 2. Donny Schatz (2); 3. Brian Brown (9); 4. Dusty Zomer (4); 5. David Gravel (5); 6. Craig Dollansky (14); 7. Daryn Pittman (13); 8. Danny Lasoski (11); 9. Shane Stewart (24); 10. Justin Henderson (8); 11. Ian Madsen (21); 12. Sammy Swindell (10); 13. Jason Johnson (19); 14. Jamie Veal (18); 15. Tim Kaeding (15); 16. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 17. Joey Saldana (17); 18. Brad Sweet (6); 19. Austin McCarl (20); 20. Jason Sides (23); 21. Brooke Tatnell (16); 22. Tasker Phillips (22); 23. Kerry Madsen (3); 24. Bronson Maeschen (12). Lap Leader: T. McCarl 1-25. Hard-charger: Stewart.
360 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (11), 16.124; 2. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (3), 16.142; 3. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (7), 16.159; 4. 9, Ryan Giles, West Des Moines, IA (10), 16.202; 5. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (5), 16.213; 6. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (19), 16.346; 7. 10, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (14), 16.369; 8. 17, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (16), 16.380; 9. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (6), 16.384; 10. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (1), 16.389; 11. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (2), 16.446; 12. 33V, Mike Van Haaften, Otley, IA (20), 16.580; 13. 22, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA (18), 16.590; 14. 9M, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO (17), 16.652; 15. 75X, JT Imperial, Mesa, AZ (15), 16.770; 16. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (13), 17.077; 17. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (9), 17.316; 18. 19, Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres, IA (4), 17.381; 19. 81A, Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS (12), NT; DQ (Light at the Scales) 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can. (8), 16.965.
Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.5: 1. Sawyer Phillips (1); 2. Jamie Ball (4); 3. Matt Moro (2); 4. Calvin Landis (3); 5. Joe Beaver (6); 6. Nate Van Haaften (5); 7. Tony Shilling (7); 8. JT Imperial (8); 9. John Anderson (9) DNS – Chris Morgan
Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.1: 1. Jon Agan (2); 2. Clint Garner (6); 3. Mike Van Haaften (1); 4. Tyler Groenendyk (3); 5. Ryan Giles (5); 6. Alan Zoutte (4); 7. Tom Lenz (8); 8. Ricky Montgomery (7); 9. Alex Hill (10); 10. Rob Weuve (9);
A main (started), 18 Laps, NT: 1. Nate Van Haaften (6); 2. Calvin Landis (2); 3. Clint Garner (7); 4. Joe Beaver (8); 5. Tony Shilling (13); 6. Tyler Groenendyk (1); 7. Ryan Giles (5); 8. Matt Moro (9); 9. Mike Van Haaften (12); 10. Sawyer Phillips (11); 11. Chris Morgan (20); 12. Tom Lenz (16); 13. Ricky Montgomery (14); 14. Alan Zoutte (3); 15. Alex Hill (19); 16. John Anderson (17); 17. Rob Weuve (18); 18. JT Imperial (15); 19. Jon Agan (10); 20. Jamie Ball (4). Lap Leaders: Landis 1-17, N. Van Haaften 18. Hard-charger: Morgan.