by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 8, 2019) – Another great night of racing ended at the Knoxville Raceway with Connecticut’s David Gravel in Victory Lane. The driver of the Jason Johnson Racing #41 will start next to Wednesday high-point driver Aaron Reutzel in Saturday’s $150,000 finale of the 59th Annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. Thursday’s Fraternal Order of Eagles Night #2 saw a lot of twists and turns!
Quick qualifier Shane Stewart endured a scary crash in turn three of his heat race, but walked away. Unfortunately, he was done and will compete in Friday’s FVP “Hard Knox” Night.
The 25-lap feature saw Brock Zearfoss take off from the pole position to lead early over Brad Sweet, Gravel, Cory Eliason and Matt Juhl. Gravel used the high side to pass a low riding Sweet fo rsecond seven laps in. He then set his sights on the leader, and got by Zearfoss on lap eight. As the leader entered lapped traffic, however, Zearfoss used a lapper to get back by Gravel to lead lap nine.
At that point, Sye Lynch blew a right rear tire. Zearfoss led Gravel and Sweet back to green, but soon lost power with an electrical issue. Gravel assumed the lead for the restart. Joey Saldana moved into fourth at that point, and Carson Macedo followed him into fifth.
Tyler Courtney lost a driveline 11 laps in, bringing the final caution of the event. Gravel led Sweet and Eliason back to green. Eliason grabbed second, while Macedo moved into fourth.
The leaders were back in lapped traffic on lap sixteen. Eliason ran high, while battling a low riding Sweet. Sweet would shoot under Eliason for second with eight laps remaining. With five laps to go, Sweet began to reel Gravel in, but the leader was masterful in traffic in holding onto his fifth career win here.
At the checkers, it was Gravel ahead of Sweet, Macedo, Eliason and a late charging Rico Abreu. Saldana, B main winner and hard-charger Tim Shaffer, Parker Price-Miller, Juhl and Daryn Pittman rounded out the top ten. Jason Sides, Harli White, Zearfoss, Lynch and Sweet won heat races. Bill Balog won the C main. TJ Stutts turned over in the B main, but was uninjured.
“This is the car we ran in the Capitani, and it ran just as good,” said Gravel in Victory Lane. “I really feel good about where we’re at. I was nervous drawing a 71 out of 75 (for qualifying), but we’ve been able to qualify well all year, and were able to capitalize on that. It’s an awesome night. It can’t get any better than this. I felt like my last five laps were terrible. I don’t know if Brad got close to me or what. I could hit three and four like I wanted to, but struggled at the end. We’re happy to win, and happy to have a good points night.”
“We didn’t time that great,” said Sweet, who clocked in 15th quick. “We just didn’t do a good job at the beginning of the race. I was kind of searching around trying to find a spot that my car liked…just a little bit off. I think we learned some stuff tonight. David did a good job in lapped traffic. I thought we were going to have a run at him late. We got close, but he covered his lines. I honestly missed my marks a few times. It’s all about Saturday night. I think we’re locked in now with a decent starting spot.”
“I knew there was going to be a long way to come,” said Macedo. “My car was really good. Late in these races, to be good like that, and be able to come up through the field and finish on the podium is a testament to my mechanic (Joe Gaerte). We didn’t qualify the best, but hopefully, we can do well on Saturday.”
The 59th Annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores continues Friday night with FVP Hard Knox Night! For tickets and other information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
Fraternal Order of Eagles Night #2 of the 59th Annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 5, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (4), 15.679; 2. 49X, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (7), 15.685; 3. 71P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (2), 15.706; 4. 83, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (16), 15.717; 5. 12N, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (27), 15.740; 6. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (41), 15.759; 7. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (3), 15.760; 8. 28, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (1), 15.763; 9. 41, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (54), 15.872; 10. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (14), 15.916; 11. 69K, Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, PA (24), 15.946; 12. 4, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (46), 15.987; 13. 17B, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (31), 16.018; 14. 91, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (8), 16.022; 15. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (42), 16.037; 16. 26, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (45), 16.041; 17. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (13), 16.048; 18. 70, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (9), 16.049; 19. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (18), 16.061; 20. 17BX, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (26), 16.107; 21. 35P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (19), 16.111; 22. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (43), 16.117; 23. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (29), 16.127; 24. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (21), 16.139; 25. 18S, Jason Solwold, Mount Vernon, WA (20), 16.150; 26. 14M, Marcus Dumesny, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (15), 16.157; 27. 2, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (35), 16.172; 28. 3C, Cale Conley, Vienna, WV (37), 16.194; 29. 92, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (38), 16.218; 30. 11T, TJ Stutts, Liverpool, PA (23), 16.242; 31. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (25), 16.249; 32. 71BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (36), 16.264; 33. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (12), 16.270; 34. 2AU, Andrew Scheuerle, Toowoomba, QLD, Aust. (6), 16.277; 35. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (44), 16.289; 36. 7JS, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (50), 16.290; 37. 17WX, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (56), 16.325; 38. 9JR, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (11), 16.327; 39. 33M, Mason Daniel, Springville, CA (28), 16.353; 40. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (30), 16.380; 41. 29, Willie Croft, Roseville, CA (32), 16.425; 42. K4, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (47), 16.438; 43. 18M, Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (52), 16.484; 44. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (34), 16.487; 45. 53, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (48), 16.497; 46. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (10), 16.498; 47. 28P, Brian Paulus, Mooresville, IN (5), 16.504; 48. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (51), 16.531; 49. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (55), 16.546; 50. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (49), 16.560 / 51. 84, Tom Harris, Banbury, OXFD, UK (39), 16.631; 52. 21P, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can. (33), 16.640; 53. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (22), 17.036; 54. 10, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (40), NT; 55. 83C, Adam Cruea, Troy, OH (17), NT; 56. 17XL, Caleb Helms, Findlay, OH (53), NT.
Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:50.0: 1. Jason Sides (1); 2. Lance Dewease (6); 3. Kraig Kinser (2); 4. Cory Eliason (5) / 5. Brian Brown (7); 6. Skylar Prochaska (4); 7. Josh Schneiderman (10); 8. Marcus Dumesny (3) / 9. Willie Croft (9); 10. Shane Stewart (8)
Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 2:51.2: 1. Harli White (1); 2. Rico Abreu (4); 3. Tyler Courtney (2); 4. Carson Macedo (3) / 5. Tim Shaffer (8); 6. Terry McCarl (6); 7. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5); 8. Jacob Allen (7) / 9. Brian Paulus (10); 10. Chad Kemenah (9)
Heat three (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Brock Zearfoss (5); 2. Thomas Kennedy (2); 3. Brooke Tatnell (4); 4. Parker Price-Miller (8) / 5. Scott Bogucki (7); 6. Cale Conley (3); 7. Josh Baughman (6); 8. Lance Moss (9) / 9. Bobby Mincer (10); 10. Derek Hagar (1)
Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:51.7: 1. Sye Lynch (3); 2. David Gravel (7); 3. Mason Daniel (1); 4. Clint Garner (5) / 5. Daryn Pittman (8); 6. Anthony Macri (4); 7. Cale Thomas (6); 8. Shane Golobic (10) / 9. Greg Wilson (9); 10. Andrew Scheuerle (2)
Heat five (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Brad Sweet (6); 2. Joey Saldana (8); 3. Jason Solwold (4); 4. Matt Juhl (7) / 5. Jack Dover (9); 6. TJ Stutts (3); 7. Chris Martin (10); 8. Craig Dollansky (2) / 9. Bill Balog (5); 10. Sawyer Phillips (1)
C main (started), 10 Laps, 2:54.9: 1. Bill Balog (1); 2. Greg Wilson (5); 3. Willie Croft (3); 4. Chad Kemenah (4); 5. Robbie Price (8); 6. Andrew Scheuerle (2); 7. Bobby Mincer (6); 8. Tom Harris (7); 9. Kevin Ingle (9) DNS – 10. Shane Stewart; 11. Derek Hagar; 12. Sawyer Phillips; 13. Brian Paulus; 14. RJ Johnson; 15. Adam Cruea; 16. Caleb Helms
B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Tim Shaffer (1); 2. Daryn Pittman (2); 3. Scott Bogucki (5); 4. Jacob Allen (4) / 5. Terry McCarl (6); 6. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (9); 7. Josh Baughman (7); 8. Shane Golobic (17); 9. Brian Brown (3); 10. Anthony Macri (11); 11. Cale Thomas (8); 12. Cale Conley (13); 13. Bill Balog (19); 14. Marcus Dumesny (12); 15. Chad Kemenah (22); 16. Greg Wilson (20); 17. Skylar Prochaska (10); 18. Willie Croft (21); 19. Chris Martin (18); 20. Lance Moss (16); 21. TJ Stutts (14); 22. Jack Dover (15) DNS – 23. Craig Dollansky; 24. Josh Schneiderman
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. David Gravel (6); 2. Brad Sweet (3); 3. Carson Macedo (13); 4. Cory Eliason (2); 5. Rico Abreu (10); 6. Joey Saldana (7); 7. Tim Shaffer (21); 8. Parker Price-Miller (8); 9. Matt Juhl (5); 10. Daryn Pittman (22); 11. Jason Solwold (12); 12. Jason Sides (18); 13. Thomas Kennedy (17); 14. Lance Dewease (4); 15. Mason Daniel (20); 16. Kraig Kinser (15); 17. Scott Bogucki (23); 18. Brooke Tatnell (11); 19. Brock Zearfoss (1); 20. Clint Garner (9); 21. Jacob Allen (24); 22. Sye Lynch (14); 23. Harli White (19); 24. Tyler Courtney (16). Lap Leaders: Zearfoss 1-7, Gravel 8, Zearfoss 9, Gravel 10-25. $350 K1 Race Gear Hard-charger: Shaffer.
59th Annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s General Stores Point Totals
Saturday A main
Pos Car Driver Points
1 87 Aaron Reutzel 487
2 41 David Gravel 481
3 12N Joey Saldana 479
4 49X Tim Shaffer 474
5 71P Parker Price-Miller 473
6 49 Brad Sweet 470
7 7S Tim Kaeding 466
8 13X Paul McMahan 465
9 19 Brent Marks 464
10 83 Daryn Pittman 464
11 44S Trey Starks 463
12 09 Matt Juhl 457
13 26 Cory Eliason 455
14 18 Ian Madsen 455
15 17 Sheldon Haudenschild 453
16 69K Lance Dewease 451
B main
17 9 James McFadden 450
18 71 Gio Scelzi 449
19 24 Rico Abreu 447
20 15 Donny Schatz 447
21 13 Mark Dobmeier 444
22 28 Scott Bogucki 442
23 88 Tanner Thorson 440
24 2 Carson Macedo 435
25 70 Brock Zearfoss 430
26 1A Jacob Allen 427
Remaining Drivers
27 18S Jason Solwold 426
28 3H Jac Haudenschild 424
29 19P Paige Polyak 423
30 48 Danny Dietrich 421
31 40 Clint Garner 417
32 55 Brooke Tatnell 416
33 99 Brady Bacon 416
34 21 Brian Brown 412
35 7TAZ Tasker Phillips 410
36 2C Wayne Johnson 410
37 70X Justin Peck 410
38 5J Jamie Ball 410
39 21K Thomas Kennedy 409
40 7JS Jason Sides 408
41 57 Kyle Larson 406
42 4 Terry McCarl 405
43 11K Kraig Kinser 404
44 92 Sye Lynch 402
45 83J Lynton Jeffrey 401
46 2KS Austin McCarl 399
47 27 Carson McCarl 397
48 17B Josh Baughman 396
49 2M Kerry Madsen 396
50 33M Mason Daniel 390
51 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr. 390
52 7X Justin Henderson 390
53 71BC Tyler Courtney 386
54 91 Cale Thomas 386
55 5H Spencer Bayston 385
56 17WX Harli White 384
57 41S Dominic Scelzi 384
58 1S Logan Schuchart 384
59 99X Skylar Gee 380
60 7SW Jeff Swindell 377
61 64 Scotty Thiel 377
62 39M Anthony Macri 371
63 17BX Bill Balog 364
64 68 Chase Johnson 364
65 35P Skylar Prochaska 363
66 3C Cale Conley 359
67 39 Sammy Swindell 359
68 1 Travis Rilat 356
69 5 Shane Stewart 355
70 14M Marcus Dumesny 353
71 20 AJ Moeller 341
72 18R Ryan Roberts 337
73 11T TJ Stutts 337
74 11C Roger Crockett 329
75 11 Hunter Schuerenberg 329
76 19T Kevin Thomas Jr. 322
77 17W Shane Golobic 319
78 7 Craig Dollansky 317
79 K4 Chad Kemenah 313
80 29 Willie Croft 312
81 W20 Greg Wilson 310
82 85 Chase Wanner 309
83 53 Jack Dover 308
84 18M Lance Moss 307
85 45 Rusty Hickman 305
86 51 Freddie Rahmer 302
87 44 Chris Martin 298
88 2AU Andrew Scheuerle 297
89 49J Josh Schneiderman 296
90 9X Jake Bubak 294
91 1X Don Droud Jr. 294
92 9JR Derek Hagar 279
93 74 Brodie Tulloch 277
94 3P Sawyer Phillips 273
95 56 Joe Simbro 270
96 15M Bobby Mincer 270
97 J4 John Garvin 269
98 73AF Joey Moughan 267
99 28P Brian Paulus 260
100 56N Davey Heskin 258
101 2MM Matt Moro 256
102 21P Robbie Price 237
103 84 Tom Harris 236
104 35 Zach Hampton 227
105 75 Glen Saville 226
106 2K Kevin Ingle 224
107 10 RJ Johnson 209
108 83C Adam Cruea 202
109 17XL Caleb Helms 195