by Bill Wright and Bryan Hulbert                                                             

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 10, 2017) – David Gravel swept Toyota Night #2 at the 57^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway.  After setting quick time, the Watertown, Connecticut native won his heat and the feature after starting eighth in both events aboard the CJB Motorsports #5.  It was the first time for a perfect 500-point score since Steve Kinser did it in 1992.  The win was Gravel’s second in his career at Knoxville, paid him $12,000 and set him up on the pole of Saturday’s night’s $150,000 to win championship event.

Disaster befell Knoxville Nationals defending champion, Jason Johnson before a circuit could be completed in the 25-lap main event.  After getting sideways, he collected the machine of Dominic Scelzi.  Scelzi would restart at the tail after repairs, but Johnson would not be as lucky.

Once the green fell again, pole-sitter, Mark Dobmeier, showed the way, ahead of Brooke Tatnell and Wayne Johnson.  Gravel entered the top four on the second lap, and claimed third from Wayne Johnson on lap four.  Brian Brown would drive from sixth to fourth on laps six and seven.

Gravel used the low side to shoot by Tatnell for second on lap eight, as Dobmeier entered lapped traffic.  Tatnell’s great third place run would derail on lap ten with a blown right rear.  The caution negated a Gravel pass of Dobmeier for the lead in turn two.

Dobmeier would pull away in clean air on the restart, while Brown challenged Gravel for the second spot, taking it briefly.  The leaders entered lapped traffic again on lap 18, and Gravel slid under Dobmeier in heavy lapped traffic on lap 19 to take the lead for good.

Gravel pulled away to victory, while Brown took second with two laps to go.  Dobmeier, Ian Madsen and Daryn Pittman followed.  Wayne Johnson, Terry McCarl, Danny Dietrich, Spencer Bayston and hard-charger, Rico Abreu completed the top ten.  Joining Gravel as heat winners, were Chris Martin, Thomas Kennedy, Dale Blaney and Josh Baughman.  Abreu won the B main, while Lee Jacobs took the C.

Gravel will start Saturday night’s main event alongside Donny Schatz.  They will be joined in order by Brad Sweet, Kerry Madsen, Brian Brown, Terry McCarl, Daryn Pittman, Greg Hodnett, Kyle Larson, Shane Stewart, Austin McCarl, Paul McMahan, Mark Dobmeier, Rico Abreu, Ian Madsen and Wayne Johnson.

Tradition dictates that the ten drivers locking into Saturday’s B main will stay put instead of taking the option of starting over with the remaining field on Friday.  That was the case again this year.  Those drivers included Justin Henderson, who will be on the pole, Trey Starks, Jason Sides, Dusty Zomer, Lucas Wolfe, Christopher Bell, Danny Dietrich, Tim Shaffer, Matt Juhl and Dominic Scelzi.

“I did get the lead (on lap 10), but the yellow came out,” said Gravel in Victory Lane.  “I knew Mark would be good in open track.  I was just going to run behind him until we hit traffic and run the bottom.  I was lucky I got back by Brian.  I made the mistake of running down the track, but the top was the fastest way around.  I’m in a zone right now.  Little holes look big.  Like Kyle Larson said, I’ve never driven a sprint car this good.  Hopefully, Saturday, we can duke it out.  I’m happy to be in the books.  Hopefully, we have something for them Saturday.”

“I’m just proud to be standing here,” said Brown.  “I could have named you five or six times throughout this night I should be on the hook.  From the C main last year to here we are now…we’ve just wanted an opportunity to win the Knoxville Nationals and we’ve put ourselves in position.  Congratulations to David and his team.  I never thought we’d see a perfect score again in my lifetime.  The exciting part is we have the World Challenge tomorrow to work on things.”

“He showed speed all night long,” said Dobmeier of Gravel.  “He had it from the word go.  The lapped cars held me up a bit.  In the end, I think I was a little too patient with them.  I needed to try the bottom in one and two.  That’s where I lost the race.  Tonight it bit me.  We’ve only hit two weekly shows here, and we’ve definitely stepped our big track program up.”

Join us tomorrow night for FVP Night at the 57^th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores!  For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

(Lineups, Points and Speed Sport World Challenge Starting Grid Below)

410 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 5, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (8), 15.072; 2. 83, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (2), 15.185; 3. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (6), 15.291; 4. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (13), 15.377; 5. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (1), 15.493; 6. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (18), 15.500; 7. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (23), 15.520; 8. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (12), 15.543; 9. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (37), 15.566; 10. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (19), 15.575; 11. 81, Lee Jacobs, Dalton, OH (3), 15.589; 12. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (7), 15.606; 13. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (20), 15.626; 14. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (24), 15.638; 15. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (30), 15.640; 16. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (29), 15.649; 17. 3S, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (40), 15.667; 18. 10H, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (39), 15.721; 19. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (21), 15.722; 20. 3, James McFadden, Ormeau, QLD, Aust. (36), 15.759; 21. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (14), 15.781; 22. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (35), 15.785; 23. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (32), 15.790; 24. 1X, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (4), 15.791; 25. 29, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (22), 15.795; 26. 39, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (33), 15.808; 27. 10V, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (10), 15.811; 28. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (42), 15.832; 29. 12N, Cole Duncan, Lockbourne, OH (43), 15.850; 30. 9Z, Jared Goerges, Brainerd, MN (9), 15.894; 31. 53, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (11), 15.906; 32. 17M, Max McGhee, Camby, IN (5), 15.947; 33. 1, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (31), 16.019; 34. 1Z, Dale Blaney, Hartford, OH (41), 16.022; 35. X1, Mason Moore, Chico, CA (16), 16.047; 36. 00, Dane Lorenc, Lancaster, NY (28), 16.057; 37. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (26), 16.067; 38. 3K, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (50), 16.112; 39. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (46), 16.117; 40. 17X, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (15), 16.133; 41. 99G, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (25), 16.215; 42. 13V, Seth Brahmer, Norfolk, NE (44), 16.280; 43. 9N, Wade Nygaard, Grand Forks, ND (34), 16.284; 44. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (17), 16.288; 45. 5J, Jeremy Schultz, Beaver Dam, WI (49), 16.325; 46. 23W, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (38), 16.424; 47. 13, Clyde Knipp, California, MO (48), 16.470; 48. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (51), 16.496; 49. 19L, Todd King, Sheboygan Falls, WI (47), 16.709; 50. 94, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (53), 17.190; 51. 9C, Roger Campbell, Clyde, OH (52), 17.346; DQ (Nose Wing) 52. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (27), 15.809; 53. 35V, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (45), NT.

Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:42.3: 1. David Gravel (8); 2. Jack Dover (2); 3. Ian Madsen (5); 4. Spencer Bayston (3); / 5. Jacob Allen (4); 6. Dane Lorenc (1); 7. Trey Starks (7); 8. Skylar Gee (9); / 9. Lee Jacobs (6); 10. Scott Winters (10);

Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 2:46.7: 1. Chris Martin (1); 2. Dominic Scelzi (4); 3. Daryn Pittman (7); 4. Kyle Reinhardt (3); / 5. Sammy Swindell (5); 6. Justin Henderson (8); 7. Tasker Phillips (6); 8. Seth Brahmer (9); / 9. Max McGhee (2); 10. Clyde Knipp (10);

Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:49.7: 1. Thomas Kennedy (2); 2. Tim Kaeding (1); 3. Terry McCarl (8); 4. Wayne Johnson (6); / 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4); 6. Jason Sides (7); 7. Chad Kemenah (5); 8. Josh Schneiderman (3); / 9. Greg Wilson (10); 10. Wade Nygaard (9);

Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:43.9: 1. Dale Blaney (2); 2. Kraig Kinser (1); 3. Brian Brown (8); 4. Jason Johnson (7); / 5. Don Droud Jr. (4); 6. Cole Duncan (3); 7. Bobby Mincer (9); 8. RJ Johnson (5); / 9. Paige Polyak (6); 10. Todd King (10);

Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 2:45.0: 1. Josh Baughman (1); 2. Danny Dietrich (4); 3. Mark Dobmeier (6); 4. Brooke Tatnell (7); / 5. Rico Abreu (8); 6. Mason Moore (2); 7. James McFadden (5); 8. Jeremy Schultz (9); / 9. Jared Goerges (3); DNS 10. Jeff Swindell (10);

C main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Lee Jacobs (1); 2. Paige Polyak (2); 3. Greg Wilson (6); 4. Wade Nygaard (5); / 5. Todd King (8); 6. Clyde Knipp (7); 7. Jared Goerges (3); 8. Roger Campbell (9); 9. Max McGhee (4); DNS 10. Scott Winters (10); 11. Jeff Swindell (11); 12. Brent Marks (12); 13. Jamie Veal (13);

B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Rico Abreu (2); 2. Justin Henderson (1); 3. Trey Starks (3); 4. Jason Sides (4); / 5. James McFadden (9); 6. Chad Kemenah (7); 7. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (11); 8. Tasker Phillips (5); 9. Don Droud Jr. (12); 10. Josh Schneiderman (13); 11. Cole Duncan (14); 12. Skylar Gee (17); 13. Paige Polyak (22); 14. RJ Johnson (8); 15. Jeremy Schultz (20); 16. Lee Jacobs (21); 17. Mason Moore (15); 18. Greg Wilson (23); 19. Bobby Mincer (19); 20. Wade Nygaard (24); 21. Jacob Allen (10); 22. Seth Brahmer (18); 23. Dane Lorenc (16); 24. Sammy Swindell (6);

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. David Gravel (8); 2. Brian Brown (6); 3. Mark Dobmeier (1); 4. Ian Madsen (9); 5. Daryn Pittman (5); 6. Wayne Johnson (2); 7. Terry McCarl (7); 8. Danny Dietrich (11); 9. Spencer Bayston (12); 10. Rico Abreu (21); 11. Tim Kaeding (18); 12. Josh Baughman (20); 13. Trey Starks (23); 14. Dominic Scelzi (10); 15. Jason Sides (24); 16. Justin Henderson (22); 17. Jack Dover (14); 18. Kyle Reinhardt (13); 19. Thomas Kennedy (15); 20. Kraig Kinser (19); 21. Chris Martin (17); 22. Dale Blaney (16); 23. Brooke Tatnell (3); 24. Jason Johnson (4); Lap Leaders: Dobmeier 1-18, Gravel 19-25; Hard Charger: Abreu

Combined Event Points for the 57th annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store

A-Main Lock-ins:

1. 5, David Gravel, 500
2. 15, Donny Schatz, 492
3. 49, Brad Sweet, 489
4. 2M, Kerry Madsen, 487
5. 21, Brian Brown, 486
6. 24, Terry McCarl, 478
7. 9, Daryn Pittman, 474
8. 27, Greg Hodnett, 472
9. 57, Kyle Larson, 469
10. 2, Shane Stewart, 469
11. 2KS, Austin McCarl, 466
12. 4, Paul McMahan, 463
13. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, 462
14. 24R, Rico Abreu, 462
15. 18, Ian Madsen, 458
16. 2C, Wayne Johnson, 457

B-Main Lock-ins:

17. 83, Justin Henderson, 453
18. 44S, Trey Starks, 448
19. 7X, Jason Sides, 443
20. 82, Dusty Zomer, 438
21. 24W, Lucas Wolfe, 438
22. 14B, Christopher Bell, 437
23. 29, Danny Dietrich, 435
24. 49X, Tim Shaffer, 435
25. 09, Matt Juhl, 429
26. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, 429

Remainder of combined point standings:

27. 55, Brooke Tatnell, 429
28. 41, Jason Johnson, 429
29. 68, Chase Johnson, 427
30. 39, Spencer Bayston, 425
31. 1M, Danny Lasoski, 424
32. 2MM, Matt Moro, 416
33. 17B, Bill Balog, 414
34. 71, Kevin Thomas, Jr., 414
35. 67X, Parker Price-Miller, 413
36. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, 407
37. 53, Jack Dover, 405
38. 10V, Kyle Reinhardt, 405
39. 3K, Tim Kaeding, 403
40. 17X, Josh Baughman, 400
41. 1, Thomas Kennedy, 400
42. 17, Jac Haudenschild, 400
43. 93, Sheldon Haudenschild, 400
44. 7W, Tasker Phillips, 396
45. 1B, Dustin Selvage, 395
46. 1Z, Dale Blaney, 392
47. 44, Chris Martin, 388
48. 10H, Chad Kemenah, 388
49. 21AU, Jordyn Brazier, 388
50. 22, Rager Phillips, 388
51. 3G, Carson Macedo, 387
52. 9X, Jake Bubak, 386
53. 3, James McFadden, 386
54. 56N, Davey Heskin, 386
55. 20, AJ Moeller, 385
56. 11K, Kraig Kinser, 383
57. 15H, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 382
58. 17W, Harli White, 380
59. 51, Joey Saldana, 380
60. 1X, Don Droud, Jr., 376
61. 19P, Paige Polyak, 376
62. 81, Lee Jacobs, 376
63. 5H, Cory Eliason, 369
64. 71A, R.J. Johnson, 367
65. 70, Clint Garner, 363
66. 99, Brady Bacon, 363
67. 3S, Sammy Swindell, 360
68. 12N, Cole Duncan, 359
69. 1A, Jacob Allen, 358
70. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, 357
71. 26, Tayler Malsam, 338
72. 8H, Jason Kendrick, 335
73. X1, Mason Moore, 335
74. 95, Matt Covington, 332
75. 4X, Dakota Hendrickson, 330
76. 87, Aaron Reutzel, 328
77. 99G, Skylar Gee, 327
78. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, 326
79. 00, Dane Lorenc, 321
80. 5J, Jeremy Schultz, 313
81. 15M, Bobby Mincer, 310
82. 12W, Josh Walter, 309
83. 84, Scott Bogucki, 309
84. 1P, Curtis Evans, 306
85. 9Z, Jared Goerges, 306
86. 13V, Seth Brahmer, 305
87. 83C, Adam Cruea, 302
88. 9N, Wade Nygaard, 301
89. W20, Greg Wilson, 298
90. 17M, Max McGhee, 298
91. 85, Chase Wanner, 291
92. 13, Clyde Knipp, 271
93. 19L, Todd King, 269
94. 1S, Logan Schuchart, 269
95. 10, Tyler Bear, 265
96. 23W, Scott Winters, 265
97. 94, Jeff Swindell, 255
98. 9C, Roger Campbell, 236
99. 19, Brent Marks, 223
100. 35V, Jamie Veal, 216

SPEED SPORT World Challenge Lineup:

Carson Macedo 387 – Thomas Kennedy 400

Lynton Jeffrey 407 – Brooke Tatnell 429

Jason Johnson 429 – Dominic Scelzi 429

Lucas Wolfe 438 – Ian Madsen 458

Shane Stewart 469 – Greg Hodnett 472

Terry McCarl 478 – Brian Brown 486

Kerry Madsen 487 – Brad Sweet 500

James McFadden 386 – Harli White 380

Corey Eliason 369 – Jason Kendrick 335

Skylar Gee 327 – Scott Bogucki 309

Logan Schuchart 269 – Jamie Veal 216