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^th shot 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, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

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.

Final Combined Points

A main

1        49      Brad Sweet  491

2        10H   Chad Kemenah      479

3        57      Kyle Larson 475

4        15      Donny Schatz        474

5        87      Aaron Reutzel       473

6        2M     Kerry Madsen        473

7        49X   Tim Shaffer 471

8        41      Carson Macedo      469

9        71      Gio Scelzi    468

10      3        Tim Kaeding 467

11      18      Ian Madsen  467

12      1A     Jacob Allen  465

13      24R    Rico Abreu  463

14      27      Greg Hodnett        462

15      2        Shane Stewart        458

16      24      Terry McCarl         455

B main

17      71P    Parker Price-Miller 454

18      24W   Lucas Wolfe 453

19      9        Daryn Pittman       452

20      4        Brock Zearfoss       444

21      83      Cory Eliason 440

22      13      Mark Dobmeier     437

23      5        David Gravel         431

24      5H     Sammy Walsh       431

25      2KS   Austin McCarl       429

26      11K   Kraig Kinser 426

Friday Competitors

27      7C     John Carney II       425

28      39      Spencer Bayston    424

29      09      Matt Juhl     423

30      11      Roger Crockett      421

31      28      Scott Bogucki        420

32      15H   Sam Hafertepe Jr.   416

33      41S    Dominic Scelzi      416

34      35      Jamie Veal   415

35      29      Willie Croft 411

36      13X   Paul McMahan      405

37      99      Brady Bacon 404

38      0        Lynton Jeffrey       404

39      40      Clint Garner 403

40      4K     Kasey Kahne         401

41      1        Sammy Swindell    400

42      3H     James McFadden   400

43      1S      Logan Schuchart    400

44      2C     Wayne Johnson     399

45      71X   Kevin Thomas Jr.   398

46      17W   Harli White  396

47      91T    Cale Thomas 395

48      70      Dave Blaney 394

49      5J      Jamie Ball    392

50      44M   Chris Martin 390

51      10      Clyde Knipp 390

52      49J     Josh Schneiderman 390

53      17X   Josh Baughman     390

54      1X     Don Droud Jr.        389

55      85      Chase Wanner       388

56      99G   Skylar Gee   384

57      48      Danny Dietrich      383

58      19P    Paige Polyak 383

59      44      Trey Starks  383

60      15M   Bobby Mincer        382

61      17      Sheldon Haudenschild     382

62      G1     Gary Taylor 378

63      7        Carson McCarl       376

64      56N   Davey Heskin        371

65      7S      Jason Sides  368

66      19      Brent Marks 367

67      55      Brooke Tatnell       367

68      17B    Bill Balog    362

69      12N   Cole Duncan 361

70      9R     Rager Phillips        352

71      3P      Sawyer Phillips      351

72      21AU Jordyn Brazier       348

73      97G   Hunter Schuerenberg       347

74      26      Joey Saldana 344

75      17WX          Shane Golobic       342

76      W20   Greg Wilson 333

77      28P    Brian Paulus 319

78      95      Matt Covington     316

79      9X     Jake Bubak  314

80      28AU Allan Woods 313

81      68      Chase Johnson       312

82      81      Lee Jacobs   310

83      71A   RJ Johnson  310

84      25      Bobby McMahan   304

85      2K     Kevin Ingle  302

86      3X     Jac Haudenschild   301

87      70S    Jeff Swindell 298

88      20      AJ Moeller   294

89      35P    Skylar Prochaska   286

90      21      Brian Brown 283

91      21K   Thomas Kennedy   281

92      7W    Tasker Phillips       280

93      91      Kyle Reinhardt      268

94      84      Tom Harris  265

95      18J     Jenna Frazier         259

96      2MM Matt Moro   230

Friday Speed Sport World Challenge Lineup (20 laps)

1. James McFadden, 400
2. Lynton Jeffrey, 404
3. Jamie Veal, 415
4. Dominic Scelzi, 416
5. Scott Bogucki, 420
6. Austin McCarl, 429
7. Sammy Walsh, 431
8. Cory Eliason, 440
9. Parker Price-Miller, 454
10. Terry McCarl, 455
11. Tim Kaeding, 467
12. Ian Madsen, 467
13. Carson Macedo, 469
14. Kerry Madsen, 473
15. Skylar Gee, 384
16. Brooke Tatnell, 367
17. Jordyn Brazier, 348
18. Allan Woods, 313
19. Thomas Kennedy, 281
20. Tom Harris, 265