by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, July 9, 2011 – The crowd was on the edge of their seat on Wells Fargo Twin Features Night Saturday at the Knoxville Raceway. Three features saw three exciting endings, including a family duel, a come-from-behind win, and some redemption in the 360 class.
Terry McCarl wrestled the lead from his son, Austin, to take the first of two feature events in the 410 class. Kevin Swindell would lead from the pole early in the 20-lap event, but fellow front row starter, Lynton Jeffrey, dueled him to take the point on lap two. By lap five, Jeffrey led Swindell, Austin McCarl, Dusty Zomer and Terry McCarl.
All heck broke loose for the leaders on lap eight when Swindell stopped in turn two after battling with Austin McCarl for second. Jeffrey stopped in turn four with throttle linkage issues. Austin McCarl inherited the lead at that point ahead of Zomer, Terry McCarl, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Mark Dobmeier.
The elder McCarl worked into second at the halfway point, but could do little to reel in his son. Hafertepe was able to move into third, before Zomer blew a left rear tire on lap sixteen, setting up a four-lap dash to the finish.
Austin McCarl shot out, but Terry was right there on his nerf bar. He would make his winning pass with two laps to go. It was the veteran’s 51st career win at the famed oval (fourth all-time), and it came aboard the VerMeer Motorsports #55 Eagle Chassis powered by Don Ott.
“I’ve got mixed emotions,” said Terry. “I feel bad for Austin. Tony (VerMeer) pays us to win races. Austin had us covered before the caution. There was no way I would have beaten him without that. The guys told me Hafertepe was coming, so I couldn’t mess around. Austin wouldn’t have wanted me to let him win. We have struggled, and I want to thank our sponsors for hanging with us.”
Austin would hold onto second, ahead of Hafertepe, Dobmeier, and Danny Lasoski. Rager Phillips, Don Droud Jr., Josh Higday, Josh Schneiderman and Robby Wolfgang rounded out the top ten.
In the second feature for the 410’s, Kevin Swindell chalked up his first career victory at Knoxville despite two close calls that had fans thinking he may be headed upside down.
Bob Weuve led the first lap of the second feature from the pole. Swindell, who started in row two, took the point on the next go-around. When Mike Moore stopped and brought a caution with four laps in the books, Swindell led Weuve, Dustin Selvage, Schneiderman and Paul Jeffrey back to green.
Lasoski moved from sixth to grab third from Schneiderman on lap six. He would pass Selvage for second two laps later. Terry McCarl had moved up into the top five at the halfway point, but the race was for the lead.
Lasoski was gaining on Swindell. On lap 13, Swindell got sideway in turn four and jumped the infield berm. He did a great job of saving it and got on it again in the infield to hold onto second behind Lasoski. Lasoski appeared well on his way to another win, when Paul Jeffrey slowed with five laps to go.
The five lap dash to the checkers saw Lasoski starting ahead of Swindell, Selvage, Schneiderman and Terry McCarl. The lead pair left the rest behind. While Lasoski ran the bottom, Swindell rode the cushion and with his momentum, gained the lead on the 19th lap. In turn four, coming for the checkers, the car started sideways again, but this time he was able to keep the lead and get the win aboard the Big Game Treestands #1s.
“I got in the wrong predicament and the car jumped out,” said Swindell of his near miss in turn four. “I got the left front on the berm and it wouldn’t come back. I got lucky getting the yellow there at the end. I was just Superman after that. The car was great.”
Lasoski was second, ahead of Selvage, Terry McCarl and Schneiderman. Zomer, Phillips, Dobmeier, Hafertepe and hard-charger and quick timer, Bronson Maeschen. Phillips, Lasoski and Schneiderman won the heat races.
In the 360 class, it was Randy Martin finding Victory Lane for the first time in several years. It was his 18th career win at Knoxville tying him for third all-time on the 360 list with Dean Chadd.
Larry Ball Jr. tangled with Martin for the entire distance. Ball Jr. led laps one and two, and laps four through eight. As Martin ran the low side of the speedway, utilizing his Roush-Yates Ford power, Ball Jr. worked the cushion to perfection.
A lap eight red flag was the only stoppage of the event, and it was the opportunity Martin needed to get back up front. Chad Heimbaugh slowed in turn one while running seventh. Unfortunately, the incident collected Chad Humston and Casey Friedrichsen. No one was hurt, but all were done.
Ball Jr. led the restart with seven to go ahead of Martin, Dennis Moore Jr., Matt Moro and Nate Van Haaften. While Martin took the lead for good when the green flag fell, Moore Jr. challenged Ball for second. Moro would enter the fray and after a struggle moved into third in the last corner in exciting fashion.
“It’s been awhile,” said Martin of his win. “We’ve been struggling. We came up here without expectations. I have to thank my crew and Davey Whitworth, who helped us out tonight. We’re getting the Ford better. They’re building us a new one that’s going to be different, and hopefully, we’ll have it before the Nationals.”
Ball Jr. held down second ahead of Moro. Moore Jr. was fourth and Clint Garner fifth. Van Haaften, Russ Hall, Ryan Roberts, Jamie Ball and Jon Agan rounded out the top ten. Rod Richards, Clint Garner and Ball Jr. won heats, while Roberts took the B.
Next week is the Annual Marion County Fair Hy-Vee Night on July 16. Visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com for more details concerning the Marion County Fair.
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 1 lap: 1. 1, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (1) 15.083; 2. 1s, Kevin Swindell, Charlotte, NC (22) 15.367; 3. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (5) 15.446; 4. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (9) 15.446; 5. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (3) 15.449; 6. 55, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (15) 15.449; 7. 10, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (8) 15.581; 8. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (16) 15.602; 9. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (14) 15.622; 10. 2, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (11) 15.623; 11. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (19) 15.668; 12. 7K, Robby Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, SD (12) 15.678; 13. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (18) 15.774; 14. 33, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (6) 15.818; 15. 1w, Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls, SD (1) 15.822; 16. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (2) 15.854; 17. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (4) 15.966; 18. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (20) 15.978; 19. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (10) 15.981; 20. 4K, Paul Jeffrey, Kellyville, NSW, Aust. (7) 16.011; 21. 68, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (13) 16.026; 22. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (17) 16.195; 23. 21x, Kyle Cummins, Brownsburg, IN (21) 16.852;
Heat one (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Rager Phillips (4) 2. Don Droud Jr. (2) 3. Dusty Zomer (5) 4. Josh Higday (3) 5. Bob Weuve (8) 6. Ryan Bunton (1) 7. Mike Moore (7) 8. Bronson Maeschen (6)
Heat two (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Danny Lasoski (2) 2. Austin McCarl (4) 3. Mark Dobmeier (3) 4. Kevin Swindell (6) 5. Kyle Cummins (8) 6. AJ Moeller (1) 7. Dustin Selvage (5) 8. DQ – (no scales), Paul Jeffrey (7, finished 5th)
Heat three (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Josh Schneiderman (1) 2. Robby Wolfgang (3) 3. Lynton Jeffrey (6) 4. Terry McCarl (5) 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4) 6. Mike Houseman Jr. (7) 7. Chad Meyer (2)
A main #1 (started), 20 laps, NT: 1. Terry McCarl (4) 2. Austin McCarl (6) 3. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (7) 4. Mark Dobmeier (9) 5. Danny Lasoski (12) 6. Rager Phillips (5) 7. Don Droud Jr. (11) 8. Josh Higday (8) 9. Josh Schneiderman (13) 10. Robby Wolfgang (10) 11. Ryan Bunton (16) 12. Dustin Selvage (17) 13. Kevin Swindell (1) 14. Mike Houseman Jr. (20) 15. Bob Weuve (14) 16. Paul Jeffrey (21) 17. Kyle Cummins (15) 18. Mike Moore (18) 19. Dusty Zomer (3) 20. Lynton Jeffrey (2) 21. AJ Moeller (19) DNS – Bronson Maeschen. Lap Leaders: K. Swindell 1, L. Jeffrey 2-8, A. McCarl 9-17, T. McCarl 18-20. Hard-charger: Lasoski.
A main #2 (started), 20 laps, NT: 1. Kevin Swindell (3) 2. Danny Lasoski (11) 3. Dustin Selvage (6) 4. Terry McCarl (15) 5. Josh Schneiderman (7) 6. Dusty Zomer (17) 7. Rager Phillips (12) 8. Mark Dobmeier (14) 9. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (13) 10. Bronson Maeschen (22) 11. Robby Wolfgang (8) 12. Don Droud Jr. (9) 13. Lynton Jeffrey (20) 14. Josh Higday (10) 15. Austin McCarl (16) 16. Bob Weuve (1) 17. Mike Houseman Jr. (4) 18. Ryan Bunton (5) 19. Paul Jeffrey (2) 20. Kyle Cummins (21) 21. Mike Moore (18) 22. AJ Moeller (19). Lap Leaders: Weuve 1, K. Swindell 2-12, Lasoski 13-18, K. Swindell 19-20. Hard-charger: Maeschen.
360 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE, 16.369; 2. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.386; 3. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA, 16.419; 4. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.522; 5. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA, 16.522; 6. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA, 16.577; 7. 98, JD Johnson, Wichita, KS, 16.582; 8. D12, Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell, IA, 16.604; 9. 54, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 16.651; 10. 04, Chad Heimbaugh, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.654; 11. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA, 16.663; 12. 5J, Larry Ball Jr., Knoxville, IA, 16.686; 13. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO, 16.757; 14. 5JR, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 16.778; 15. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA, 16.779; 16. 12, Rod Richards, Van Meter, IA, 16.862; 17. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 16.875; 18. 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO, 16.892; 19. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 16.932; 20. 47T, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA, 16.943; 21. 7H, John Hall, Marion, IA, 16.970; 22. 4x, Jordan Boston, Crete, NE, 16.975; 23. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 16.980; 24. 165, Haley Arnold, Sedalia, MO, 17.016; 25. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL, 17.042; 26. 5m, Miranda Arnold, Sedalia, MO, 17.048; 27. 10, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA, 17.122; 28. 97, Blake Nimee, Oswego, IL, 17.747; 29. 14J, Josh Riggins, Lincoln, NE, NT; 30. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA, NT; DQ (Light at Scales) – 1m, Chad Humston, Giltner, NE.
Heat one (started), 7 laps, 2:00.2: 1. Rod Richards (1) 2. Randy Martin (2) 3. Chad Heimbaugh (3) 4. JD Johnson (4) 5. Russ Hall (5) / 6. Ryan Roberts (6) 7. Jordan Boston (8) 8. Jarrod Schneiderman (7) 9. Jimmy Davies (9) 10. Blake Nimee (10)
Heat two (started), 7 laps, 1:59.6: 1. Clint Garner (6) 2. Tasker Phillips (1) 3. Jamie Ball (2) 4. Dennis Moore Jr. (4) 5. Nate Van Haaften (3) / 6. Tony Shilling (7) 7. David Hall (5) 8. Miranda Arnold (9) 9. Alan Zoutte (8) DNS – Josh Riggins
Heat three (started), 7 laps, NT: 1. Larry Ball Jr. (3) 2. Casey Friedrichsen (4) 3. Matt Moro (5) 4. Chad Humston (10) 5. Ricky Montgomery (1) / 6. Jon Agan (6) 7. Tyler Groenendyk (9) 8. John Hall (7) 9. Haley Arnold (8) 10. Joe Beaver (2)
B main (started), 10 laps, NT: 1. Ryan Roberts (1) 2. Jon Agan (2) 3. Haley Arnold (8) 4. David Hall (3) 5. Tony Shilling (4) / 6. Jordan Boston (6) 7. Jarrod Schneiderman (5) 8. Tyler Groenendyk (13) 9. Tom Lenz (14) 10. Miranda Arnold (10) 11. Jimmy Davies (11) 12. Blake Nimee (12) 13. John Hall (7) 14. Alan Zoutte (9) DNS – Joe Beaver
A main (started), 15 laps, NT: 1. Randy Martin (1) 2. Larry Ball Jr. (2) 3. Matt Moro (8) 4. Dennis Moore Jr. (6) 5. Clint Garner (10) 6. Nate Van Haaften (3) 7. Russ Hall (9) 8. Ryan Roberts (16) 9. Jamie Ball (11) 10. Jon Agan (17) 11. Ricky Montgomery (14) 12. David Hall (19) 13. Tasker Phillips (13) 14. Rod Richards (12) 15. Tony Shilling (20) 16. Haley Arnold (18) 17. Chad Heimbaugh (4) 18. Chad Humston (15) 19. Casey Friedrichsen (5) 20. JD Johnson (7). Lap Leaders: Ball Jr. 1-2, Martin 3, Ball Jr. 4-8, Martin 9-15. Hard-charger: Roberts.