by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, June 3, 2011 – Gary Wright kicked off his special weekend with a resounding win in the 19th Annual Masters Classic at the Knoxville Raceway on Friday night. The Hooks, Texas driver will be enshrined on Saturday in the Naitonal Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum.
Wright’s 22-lap $2,000 win was registered in a track record time of 6:50.3, shattering the old mark set by Rick Ferkel in 1995 by over sixty-four seconds. The win came aboard the BDS Motorsports #38 Maxim, usually piloted by Wayne Johnson.
1984 track champion Mackie Heimbaugh held the advantage from his starting spot outside of row one for the first six laps. Mike Peters and Wright moved into third and fourth behind Terry Alexander by lap three, and two laps later they were in pursuit of the leader.
Peters was the first to strike, gaining the point on lap seven. It was short-lived as four laps later, Wright could take over for good and extend his lead in the non-stop affair. “I have to thank Bryan (Sumby) and Wayne (Johnson) for getting this extra car together,” said Wright in Victory Lane. “It was a lot of work. The racecar was great. It would roll around wherever I wanted to go. I’ve been racing Mike Peters since the 1980’s, so I knew he would be hard to catch, but I just found a good line.”
Concerning his induction into the Hall of Fame, Wright stated, “It’s pretty special. When I started doing this back in 1981, I never thought I would be in a place like that. I’m tickled to death. I do appreciate it so much. It’s going to be great!”
Wright was followed by Peters, Heimbaugh, Alexander and Steve Wares. Roland Johnson, TJ Giddings, Kenny Williams, Jimmy Davies and Bill Smith rounded out the top ten. Giddings set quick time, while Heimbaugh and Wright were heat winners.
A star-studded 41-car field showed for the 360 Knoxville Championship Cup Series side of the card. In the end, Brian Brown notched his tenth career 360 win at Knoxville, leading all fifteen circuits.
Brown shot out early, while Dennis Moore Jr. followed him into second. Defending track champion, Clint Garner, was up to second by the third lap and in pursuit of Brown. At the halfway point, Brown led Garner, Moore Jr., Jack Dover and Jon Agan. Wayne Johnson was up to seventh from his 16th starting spot.
Johnson continued his surge and was into the top five when the only caution of the event was shown for a spun Nate Van Haaften, who had been running eighth, with two laps to go. The green, white, checker, finish saw Brown leading Garner, Moore Jr., Dover and Johnson back to green.
Brown maintained his advantage in the Brian Brown Racing #21 with clean air ahead to register the victory. Garner held on for a solid second. Dover advanced to third, while Johnson used a last corner pass to grab fourth and hard-charger honors. Moore Jr. rounded out the top five, while Chad Humston, Davey Heskin, Agan, quick timer Bronson Maeschen and Matt Moro rounded out the top ten finishers.
“I dedicate this win to my Uncle Danny (Lasoski) who is going into the Hall of Fame tomorrow,” said Brown from Victory Lane. “If it wasn’t for he and my Grandpa George, there wouldn’t be a Brian Brown racing here tonight. He’s over in the Hall of Fame watching. He’s taught me everything I know. Hopefully, he teaches me everything he knows someday. The Dunkin family gets a bad rap when the track isn’t right, but they get it right nine times out of ten, and tonight was perfect.”
Dover, Tasker Phillips, Heskin and Brown were heat winners. C main leader, Ryan Roberts suffered heavy damage when tangling with the spun lapped machine of Justin Giddings. He was uninjured. Dustin Selvage, who suffered problems during qualifying took the C main, hile Maeschen won the B.
Saturday night, June 4, is Koopman Roofing & Insulation Night at Knoxville. All three Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup Series sprint car classes will be in action, so don’t miss it!
Masters Classic Results
Masters Time Trials (Qualifying Order, 2 laps): 1. 98, TJ Giddings, San Antonio, TX (4) 16.411; 2. 38, Gary Wright, Hooks, TX (6) 16.668; 3. 2, Randy Smith, Mt. Ayr, IA (8) 16.795; 4. 10, Steve Wares, Knoxville, IA (13) 16.798; 5. 7K, Roland Johnson, Tampa, FL (3) 16.859; 6. 51, Mike Peters, Wichita, KS (14) 16.899; 7. 04, Mackie Heimbaugh, Des Moines, IA (9) 16.982; 8. 77, Terry Alexander, Knoxville, IA (12) 17.025; 9. 48, David Brown, Marshall, MO (1) 17.152; 10. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (10) 17.411; 11. 9mx, Dale McCarty, Eldorado Springs, MO (7) 17.451; 12. 33K, Kenny Williams, Knoxville, IA (11) 17.627; 13. 33, Bill Smith, Rushmore, MN (2) 18.087; 14. 61, Earnest Jennings, Norman, OK (5) 18.801.
Heat one (started), 6 laps, 1:46.7: 1. Mackie Heimbaugh (1) 2. Roland Johnson (2) 3. Randy Smith (3) 4. TJ Giddings (4) 5. Dale McCarty (6) 6. David Brown (5) 7. Bill Smith (7)
Heat two (started), 6 laps, 1:46.6: 1. Gary Wright (4) 2. Mike Peters (2) 3. Terry Alexander (1) 4. Steve Wares (3) 5. Jimmy Davies (5) 6. Kenny Williams (6) 7. Earnest Jennings (7)
Masters Classic (started), 22 laps, 6:50.3 (NTR): 1. Gary Wright (7) 2. Mike Peters (3) 3. Mackie Heimbaugh (2) 4. Terry Alexander (1) 5. Steve Wares (5) 6. Roland Johnson (4) 7. TJ Giddings (8) 8. Kenny Williams (12) 9. Jimmy Davies (10) 10. Bill Smith (13) 11. Earnest Jennings (14) 12. Dale McCarty (11) 13. David Brown (9) 14. Randy Smith (6). Lap Leaders: Heimbaugh 1-6, Peters 7-10, Wright 11-22.
360 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 1, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA, 15.901; 2. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 15.974; 3. 1m, Chad Humston, Giltner, NE, 16.007; 4. 5J, Larry Ball Jr., Knoxville, IA, 16.167; 5. 10, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA, 16.189; 6. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA, 16.199; 7. 54, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 16.208; 8. 56JC, Johnn Cressman, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.221; 9. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.225; 10. 5JR, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 16.287; 11. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA, 16.299; 12. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA, 16.327; 13. D12, Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell, IA, 16.337; 14. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA, 16.349; 15. 11x, Gregg Bakker, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.351; 16. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 16.355; 17. 53x, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE, 16.384; 18. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 16.391; 19. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN, 16.403; 20. 2, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA, 16.406; 21. 7K, Robby Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.410; 22. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA, 16.412; 23. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA, 16.468; 24. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 16.470; 25. 38, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA, 16.522; 26. 04, Chad Heimbaugh, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.546; 27. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND, 16.546; 28. 51x, Mike Peters, Wichita, KS, 16.555; 29. 22, Billy Alley, Bennett, NE, 16.561; 30. 2L, Logan Forler, Lake Havasu City, AZ, 16.569; 31. 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO, 16.585; 32. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE, 16.647; 33. 98, JD Johnson, Wichita, KS, 16.682; 34. 9, Cody Baker, Lone Jack, MO, 16.769; 35. 5, Dave Glennon, Casselton, ND, 16.822; 36. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 16.904; 37. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL, 17.119; 38. 12, Rod Richards, Van Meter, IA, 17.232; 39. 23, Justin Giddings, Kansas City, KS, 17.417; 40. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA, 17.747; 41. 21A, Dustin Beenken, Sheldon, IA, 17.961.
Heat one (started), 7 laps, 1:59.5: 1. Jack Dover (2) 2. Robby Wolfgang (1) 3. Dennis Moore Jr. (3) 4. Wayne Johnson (7) / 5. Bronson Maeschen (6) 6. Russ Hall (4) 7. Tyler Groenendyk (5) 8. JD Johnson (9) 9. Jimmy Davies (10) 10. Dustin Beenken (11) 11. Billy Alley (8)
Heat two (started), 7 laps, 1:58.2: 1. Tasker Phillips (2) 2. David Hall (1) 3. Nate Van Haaften (3) 4. Clint Garner (6) / 5. Matt Moro (5) 6. Jamie Ball (4) 7. Logan Forler (8) 8. Chad Heimbaugh (7) 9. Cody Baker (9) 10. Rod Richards (10)
Heat three (started), 7 laps, NT: 1. Davey Heskin (2) 2. Jon Agan (4) 3. Tom Lenz (1) 4. Chad Humston (6) / 5. Gregg Bakker (3) 6. Casey Friedrichsen (5) 7. Lee Grosz (7) 8. Ricky Montgomery (8) 9. Dave Glennon (9) 10. Justin Giddings (10)
Heat four (started), 7 laps, 1:58.9: 1. Brian Brown (3) 2. Josh Higday (2) 3. Jarrod Schneiderman (1) 4. Joe Beaver (4) / 5. Dustin Selvage (10) 6. Larry Ball Jr. (6) 7. Mike Peters (7) 8. Ryan Roberts (8) 9. Johnn Cressman (5) 10. Alan Zoutte (9)
C main (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Dustin Selvage (9) 2. JD Johnson (2) / 3. Cody Baker (3) 4. Alan Zoutte (5) 5. Dave Glennon (4) 6. Rod Richards (7) 7. Jimmy Davies (6) 8. Ryan Roberts (1) 9. Justin Giddings (8) 10. Dustin Beenken (10)
B main (started), 10 laps, 2:54.3: 1. Bronson Maeschen (1) 2. Matt Moro (4) 3. Larry Ball Jr. (2) 4. Russ Hall (7) / 5. Casey Friedrichsen (5) 6. Johnn Cressman (6) 7. Tyler Groenendyk (3) 8. Gregg Bakker (9) 9. Dustin Selvage (14) 10. Logan Forler (12) 11. JD Johnson (16) 12. Ricky Montgomery (15) 13. Jamie Ball (8) 14. Lee Grosz (11) 15. Chad Heimbaugh (10) 16. Billy Alley (13) DNS – Mike Peters
A main (started), 15 laps, NT: 1. Brian Brown (2) 2. Clint Garner (8) 3. Jack Dover (1) 4. Wayne Johnson (16) 5. Dennis Moore Jr. (4) 6. Chad Humston (7) 7. Davey Heskin (10) 8. Jon Agan (6) 9. Bronson Maeschen (17) 10. Matt Moro (18) 11. Josh Higday (11) 12. Russ Hall (20) 13. Joe Beaver (5) 14. Tasker Phillips (9) 15. Robby Wolfgang (12) 16. David Hall (13) 17. Jarrod Schneiderman (15) 18. Tom Lenz (14) 19. Larry Ball Jr. (19) 20. Nate Van Haaften (3). Lap Leader: Brown 1-15. Hard-charger: W. Johnson.