by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, May 19, 2012 – Using a last lap pass, Brian Brown scored his 20th career 410 feature victory at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night. Brown and Ian Madsen dueled to the checkers after leader Davey Heskin exited with rear-end problems with two laps to go. In the 360 feature, Jon Agan, shot away from a field that included Jason Johnson to emerge with a win of his own.
After an incident retired Rager Phillips at the beginning of the 410 feature, pole-sitter, Ryan Bunton took the early lead in the 20-lapper. Lynton Jeffrey took the point on the next go-around and by the time five laps were in the books, he led Bunton, Madsen, Heskin and Brown. Shortly after, Madsen and Heskin moved into second and third in their pursuit of the leader.
Heskin, who won here last week, was able to shoot under Madsen, and it was his turn to take the lead on lap nine. Brown moved into second, ahead of Madsen, Jeffrey and Bunton at the halfway point. Jeffrey’s strong run would end when a motor problem brought out the race’s first caution on lap 11.
Madsen would work by Brown for second on lap thirteen and tried to run down a strong Heskin. Glen Saville spun on lap 18, collecting Jarrod Schneiderman, and bringing out the races final slowdown. The leader pulled pitside with rear-end problems, and the lead was Madsen’s.
The green, white, checker finish was a classic, with Madsen and Brown exchanging the point. Coming into the final two corners, Brown slid in front of Madsen to take the win in the Brian Brown Racing #21 Maxim.
“We shouldn’t have won this thing,” said Brown in Victory Lane. “Davey Heskin had the fastest car. We’ve been in that situation on the other end ourselves. Ian was doing a good job of making his car wide, and I wasn’t sure where he was going to run. I knew if I could hit the bottom, I would be o.k. We hit it at the end, and we went ahead and slid him.”
Behind Brown and Madsen, Mark Dobmeier made a late charge to third, ahead of Wayne Johnson and Terry McCarl. Bunton, Dusty Zomer, Dustin Selvage, Robby Wolfgang and Hard Charger, Josh Schneiderman, rounded out the top ten. Zomer, McCarl and AJ Moeller won heat events, while Bronson Maeschen set quick time.
The 18-lap 360 feature went non-stop, and pole-sitter, Jon Agan set a blistering pace in leading every lap. By lap five, quick timer, Jason Johnson was into second, trying to pursue leader. Russ Hall was on the move in a battle with Randy Martin and Nate Van Haaften. He would move by Martin into the top five by lap seven.
Johnson closed in on Agan with around five laps to go, as the leader dealt with heavy lapped traffic with perfection. Things got crazy in traffic with three laps to go, but Agan was able to slide through and increase his advantage on Johnson. At the checkers, Agan had lapped up to ninth place. He also lapped point leader, Clint Garner, who had to start at the rear after ignition problems.
“We were really strong last weekend and had a torsion bar break,” said Agan in Victory Lane. “You’ve got your hands full when you do that. We were really nice, and we felt like we let this one get away. My guys busted their buns for me, and I can’t thank them enough. You never know who’s behind you or where they are at. Jason is always super-tough and super-fast.”
Behind Agan and Johnson were Joe Beaver, David Hall and Russ Hall. Van Haaften, Tyler Groenendyk, Martin, Chad Heimbaugh and Tony Shilling rounded out the top ten. Johnson set quick time, while also taking a heat race win. Other heat winners were Jamie Ball and Josh Riggins.
Next week, all three divisions of sprint cars will be in action at Marion County Cattlemen, Corn and Soybean Growers Night! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA, 15.580; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 15.630; 3. 77x, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA, 15.634; 4. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN, 15.824; 5. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE, 15.895; 6. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA, 15.927; 7. 55, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust., 15.946; 8. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona IA, 15.981; 9. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL, 16.000; 10. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 16.004; 11. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND, 16.010; 12. 7K, Robby Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.043; 13. 10, Blake Feese, Saybrook, IL, 16.062; 14. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA, 16.128; 15. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA, 16.186; 16. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.207; 17. 18, Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS, 16.254; 18. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA, 16.460; 19. 2x, Dustin Morgan, Tulsa, OK, 16.475; 20. 9, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 16.477; 21. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust., 16.479; 22. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 16.817; 23. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 16.894; 24. 71R, Ryan Anderson, Deloit, IA, NT; 25. 12P, TJ Peterson, Des Moines, IA, NT.
Heat one (started), 8 laps, 2:12.2: 1. Dusty Zomer (1) 2. Davey Heskin (3) 3. Blake Feese (2) 4. Bronson Maeschen (6) 5. Ian Madsen (4) 6. Dustin Morgan (5) 7. Jarrod Schneiderman (7) DNS – Tasker Phillips, TJ Peterson
Heat two (started), 8 laps, 2:13.5: 1. Terry McCarl (4) 2. Mark Dobmeier (1) 3. Brian Brown (6) 4. Dustin Selvage (2) 5. Don Droud Jr. (3) 6. Rager Phillips (5) 7. Josh Schneiderman (7) DNS – Tony Bruce Jr.
Heat three (started), 8 laps, 2:14.6: 1. AJ Moeller (2) 2. Robby Wolfgang (3) 3. Rob Kubli (1) 4. Wayne Johnson (6) 5. Ryan Bunton (4) 6. Lynton Jeffrey (5) 7. Glen Saville (7) DNS – Ryan Anderson
A main (started), 20 laps, NT: 1. Brian Brown (7) 2. Ian Madsen (2) 3. Mark Dobmeier (9) 4. Wayne Johnson (6) 5. Terry McCarl (13) 6. Ryan Bunton (1) 7. Dusty Zomer (15) 8. Dustin Selvage (12) 9. Robby Wolfgang (10) 10. Josh Schneiderman (21) 11. Dustin Morgan (17) 12. Blake Feese (11) 13. Tasker Phillips (22) 14. Tony Bruce Jr. (23) 15. AJ Moeller (14) 16. Rob Kubli (16) 17. Jarrod Schneiderman (20) 18. Don Droud Jr. (4) 19. Davey Heskin (5) 20. Bronson Maeschen (8) 21. Glen Saville (19) 22. Lynton Jeffrey (3) 23. TJ Peterson (24) 24. Rager Phillips (18). Lap Leaders: Bunton 1, Jeffrey 2-8, Heskin 9-18, Madsen 19, Brown 20. Hard Charger: Josh Schneiderman.
360 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA, 15.895; 2. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA, 16.061; 3. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.123; 4. 97, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 16.130; 5. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA, 16.143; 6. 71, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL, 16.150; 7. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA, 16.174; 8. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA, 16.206; 9. 10, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA, 16.257; 10. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO, 16.268; 11. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA, 16.285; 12. 54, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 16.303; 13. 24, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA, 16.308; 14. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.341; 15. 14J, Josh Riggins, Newton, IA, 16.436; 16. 47T, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA, 16.457; 17. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 16.572; 18. 04, Chad Heimbaugh, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.580; 19. 22N, Nate Mosher, Prairie City, IA, 16.583; 20. 7H, John Hall, Marion, IA, 16.643; 21. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 16.837; 22. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA, 17.008; 23. 93A, Alan Ambers, Knoxville, IA, 17.033.
Heat one (started), 7 laps, 1:59.3: 1. Jason Johnson (6) 2. Tony Shilling (1) 3. Randy Martin (3) 4. David Hall (4) 5. Tom Lenz (8) 6. Josh Higday (2) 7. Carson McCarl (5) 8. Nate Mosher (7)
Heat two (started), 7 laps, 1:58.0: 1. Jamie Ball (1) 2. Russ Hall (2) 3. Nate Van Haaften (3) 4. Jon Agan (4) 5. Joe Beaver (5) 6. John Hall (7) 7. Alan Ambers (8) 8. Matt Moro (6)
Heat three (started), 7 laps, 2:00.0: 1. Josh Riggins (2) 2. Clint Garner (6) 3. Chad Heimbaugh (1) 4. Casey Friedrichsen (3) 5. RJ Johnson (5) 6. Tyler Groenendyk (4) 7. Alan Zoutte (7)
A main (started), 18 laps, 5:24.9: 1. Jon Agan (1) 2. Jason Johnson (6) 3. Joe Beaver (4) 4. David Hall (2) 5. Russ Hall (12) 6. Nate Van Haaften (7) 7. Tyler Groenendyk (5) 8. Randy Martin (8) 9. Chad Heimbaugh (16) 10. Tony Shilling (14) 11. Clint Garner (23) 12. Carson McCarl (20) 13. Jamie Ball (13) 14. Matt Moro (17) 15. Josh Higday (9) 16. Casey Friedrichsen (10) 17. Nate Mosher (19) 18. Tom Lenz (18) 19. Josh Riggins (11) 20. John Hall (15) 21. Alan Ambers (21) 22. RJ Johnson (3) 23. Alan Zoutte (22). Lap Leader: Agan 1-18. Hard Charger: Garner.