From Lonnie Wheatley
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 5, 2011) – After Mother Nature intervened on Thursday night, a total of 97 Sprint Car teams with drivers representing 24 different states as well as Australia filled the Knoxville Raceway pit area for Friday night’s 21st Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals preliminary action.
And, at the end of the night, a new face and a familiar one were in victory lane as Lee Grosz and Sammy Swindell won their respective 20-lap feature events.
Grosz, the 23-year-old from Harwood, ND, wired the field in the first event for his not only first career Lucas Oil ASCS presented by K&N Filters National win but his first Knoxville triumph as well, while the legendary Swindell took the lead away from Wayne Johnson on the 12th round en route to his first ASCS triumph atop Knoxville clay.
With Hall of Fame car owner Doug Howells spinning the wrenches, Grosz gunned into the lead from the pole position of the feature postponed by rain from Thursday night and led all the way in front of Davey Heskin to post the win.
Heskin closed in on the two-time ASCS Regional champion on several occasions, but Grosz was up to the task and kept the Wesmar-powered Bergstrom Electric/Hi-Lo Sports Center No. 4j J&J ahead of the pack throughout.
Grosz weathered a pair of red flags in the early going, including one for Dave Hall’s turn one flip on the original start and then Matt Covington’s turn two tumble after six laps, and then survived a late caution for Zach Chappell’s turn two stoppage. A wild three-car melee on the ensuing restart including R.J. Johnson, Jon Agan and Kolt Walker set the stage for the final three-lap dash to the stripe.
Grosz kept Heskin’s No. 56 at bay, while defending Lucas Oil Sprint Car champion Jason Johnson settled for third in the Don Ott-powered Haynes No. 41 Maxim. Johnson held off Jeff Swindell’s No. 28, who settled for fourth, with two-time ASCS Knoxville Nationals champion Billy Alley charging from 23rd to round out the top five.
Derek Hagar was sixth, with Dustin Selvage, 21st-starter Sam Hafertepe, Jr., Eric Baldaccini and Roger Crockett completing the top ten.
With Sammy Swindell gridding the second feature outside the second row, it was pole starter Wayne Johnson gunning into the lead at the outset with fellow front row starter Ryan Anderson chasing in second.
Swindell battled past Anderson soon after the race’s only interruption just two laps in and then chased down Johnson as traffic came into play just past the midway point. Swindell looked in turns one and two and then powered by for the lead in turns three and four on the 12th circuit.
Swindell went on to his sixth career ASCS National win aboard the Big Game Tree Stands No. 1s, while Johnson settled for runner-up honors in Bryan Sundby’s Parker-powered No. 38 Maxim.
Defending ASCS Knoxville Nationals champion and current Lucas Oil Sprint Car points leader Shane Stewart battled past Anderson on the 18th round for third after starting seventh and held Hannagan off to the line for the show position in Paul Silva’s Wesmar-powered Rockstar Energy Drink No. 57 A.R.T., accumulating enough points in the process to earn the pole starting position for Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win championship main event.
Hannagan was fourth, with Anderson rounding out the top five. Justin Carver was sixth, with David Gravel, Tim Shaffer, 17th-starter Daryn Pittman and Josh Higday completing the top ten.
In the Thursday portion of the card, Zach Chappell set the quickest overall time of the night at 15.944 seconds and then won his heat to get two-thirds of the way to a perfect score before suffering a DNF in the feature event.
After Chappell won the first heat, other Thursday portion heat winners were Calvin Landis, Agan, Tasker Phillips and Kolt Walker. Brandt O’Banion won the 5-lap “C” Main, setting a new 5-lap track record of 1:22.484 in the process. Sam Hafertepe, Jr., won the 12-lap “B” Main.
Brian Brown lost an engine in hot laps and then was involved in a wild double flip with Alan Zoutte on the opening lap of the third heat race.
In the Friday portion, Danny Lasoski set the qualifying standard 16.069 seconds before blowing an engine in heat race action and scratching for the night.
Friday portion heat races were won by Pittman, Brooke Tatnell, Tony Shilling, Jake Peters and Danny Wood. Chad Meyer won the 7-lap “C” Main, with Larry Ball, Jr., winning the 12-lap “B” Main.
Lucas Oil Sprint Cars presented by K&N Filters
21st Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Preliminary Results
Thursday Qualifiers (Postponed from August 4)
Qualifying:
1. 0-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK) 15.944, 2. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL) 15.965, 3. 22-Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE) 15.976, 4. 1m-Chad Humston (Giltner, NE) 16.042, 5. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX) 16.045, 6. 94-Derek Hagar (Marion, AR) 16.057, 7. 4bx-Jordan Boston (Lincoln, NE) 16.103, 8. 28-Jeff Swindell (Bartlett, TN) 16.125, 9. 55-Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) 16.132, 10. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA) 16.145, 11. 5m-Justyn Cox (Clarksburg, CA) 16.170, 12. 56-Davey Heskin (St. Michael, MN) 16.192, 13. 29-Bud Kaeding (Campbell, CA) 16.205, 14. 4j-Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND) 16.209, 15. 4b-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 16.213, 16. 7x-Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA) 16.221, 17. 47-Brandt O’Banion (Norfolk, NE) 16.275, 18. 2mx-Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI) 16.296, 19. 29T-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX) 16.296, 20. 45c-Russ Hall (Pleasant Hill, IA) 16.308, 21. 25-Dylan Peterson (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.312, 22. 79-Calvin Landis (Knoxville, IA) 16.324, 23. 2m-Matt Moro (Des Moines, IA) 16.335, 24. 11c-Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK) 16.344, 25. 45k-Kolt Walker (Graham, TX) 16.373, 26. 51-Dave Hall (Des Moines, IA) 16.388, 27. 11-Roger Crockett (Medford, OR) 16.405, 28. 4-Jon Agan (Knoxville, IA) 16.411, 29. 7T-Tasker Phillips (Pleasantville, IA) 16.419, 30. 8-John Carney II (El Paso, TX) 16.446, 31. 54-Casey Friedrichsen (Arthur, IA) 16.451, 32. 28c-Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO) 16.456, 33. 10-Tyler Groenendyk (Oskaloosa, IA) 16.456, 34. 98-J.D. Johnson (Wichita, KS) 16.492, 35. 99-Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 16.526, 36. 53-Joe Beaver (Knoxville, IA) 16.532, 37. 14-Randy Martin (California, MO) 16.536, 38. 33-Alan Zoutte (Knoxville, IA) 16.546, 39. 5jr-Jamie Ball (Knoxville, IA) 16.586, 40. 00-Brad Foster (Drovin West, VIC AUS) 16.589, 41. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr. (Liberal, KS) 16.665, 42. 9m-Ricky Montgomery (Lakewood, CO) 16.765, 43. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO) 16.776, 44. 04-Chad Heimbaugh (Des Moines, IA) 16.863, 45. 87-Aaron Reutzel (Clute, TX) 16.931, 46. 92c-Cody Ambers (Knoxville, IA) 16.985, 47. 33a-Austin Alumbaugh (Higginsville, MO) 17.023, 48. 11cx-Dakota Carroll (La Monte, MO) 17.128, 49. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD) 17.206.
Heat Races (Top 4 Advance to “A” Main; Positions 5-8 to “B” Main; 9-10 to “C” Main):
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 0-Zach Chappell, 2. 51-Dave Hall, 3. 7x-Dustin Selvage, 4. 94-Derek Hagar, 5. 53-Joe Beaver, 6. 54-Casey Friedrichsen, 7. 5m-Justyn Cox, 8. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 9. 25-Dylan Peterson, 10. 92c-Cody Ambers.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 79-Calvin Landis, 2. 56-Davey Heskin, 3. 11-Roger Crockett, 4. 71-R.J. Johnson, 5. 28c-Jonathan Cornell, 6. 14-Randy Martin, 7. 4bx-Jordan Boston, 8. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 9. 47-Brandt O’Banion, 10. 33a-Austin Alumbaugh.
Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 4-Jon Agan, 2. 2m-Matt Moro, 3. 28-Jeff Swindell, 4. 2mx-Dustin Daggett, 5. 29-Bud Kaeding, 6. 22-Billy Alley, 7. 10-Tyler Groenendyk, 8. 11cx-Dakota Carroll, 9. 33-Alan Zoutte, 10. 21-Brian Brown.
Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 7t-Tasker Phillips, 2. 11c-Matt Covington, 3. 4j-Lee Grosz, 4. 1m-Chad Humston, 5. 29T-Travis Rilat, 6. 55-Terry McCarl, 7. 04-Chad Heimbaugh, 8. 98-J.D. Johnson, 9. 2k-Kevin Ingle, 10. 5jr-Jamie Ball.
Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 45k-Kolt Walker, 2. 4b-Eric Baldaccini, 3. 8-John Carney II, 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 5. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 6. 45c-Russ Hall, 7. 99-Brady Bacon, 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 9. 00-Brad Foster.
“C” Main – Top 2 Advance to “B” Main:
“C” Feature (5 Laps): 1. 47-Brandt O’Banion, 2. 25-Dylan Peterson, 3. 00-Brad Foster, 4. 33a-Austin Alumbaugh, 5. 2k-Kevin Ingle. DNS: 33-Alan Zoutte, 5jr-Jamie Ball, 21-Brian Brown, 92c-Cody Ambers.
“B” Main – Top 4 Advance to “A” Main:
“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 2. 55-Terry McCarl, 3. 22-Billy Alley, 4. 4bx-Jordan Boston, 5. 45c-Russ Hall, 6. 29T-Travis Rilat, 7. 5x-Justyn Cox, 8. 29-Bud Kaeding, 9. 53-Joe Beaver, 10. 99-Brady Bacon, 11. 54-Casey Friedrichsen, 12. 9m-Ricky Montgomery, 13. 10-Tyler Groenendyk, 14. 25-Dylan Peterson, 15. 18-Tony Bruce, Jr., 16. 98-J.D. Johnson, 17. 04-Chad Heimbaugh, 18. 28c-Jonathan Cornell, 19. 11cx-Dakota Carroll, 20. 14-Randy Martin. DNS: 87-Aaron Reutzel, 47-Brandt O’Banion.
21st Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Thursday Preliminary Feature Event:
“A” Feature (20 Laps): 1. 4j-Lee Grosz, 2. 56-Davey Heskin, 3. 41-Jason Johnson, 4. 28-Jeff Swindell, 5. 22-Billy Alley, 6. 94-Derek Hagar, 7. 7x-Dustin Selvage, 8. 15h-Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 9. 4b-Eric Baldaccini, 10. 11-Roger Crockett, 11. 2mx-Dustin Daggett, 12. 55-Terry McCarl, 13. 4bx-Jordan Boston, 14. 7T-Tasker Phillips, 15. 1m-Chad Humston, 16. 8-John Carney II, 17. 79-Calvin Landis, 18. 71-R.J. Johnson, 19. 4-Jon Agan, 20. 45k-Kolt Walker, 21. 2m-Matt Moro, 22. 0-Zach Chappell, 23. 11c-Matt Covington, 24. 51-Dave Hall.
Lap Leaders: Lee Grosz 1-20.
Friday Qualifiers
Qualifying:
1. 33L-Danny Lasoski (Dover, MO) 16.069, 2. 22h-Randy Hannagan (San Jose, CA) 16.173, 3. 57-Shane Stewart (Bixby, OK) 16.272, 4. 11x-Gregg Bakker (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.283, 5. 83-Tim Shaffer (Aliquippa, PA) 16.287, 6. 23-Seth Bergman (Snohomish, WA) 16.292, 7. 5j-Larry Ball, Jr. (Knoxville, IA) 16.320, 8. 40-Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.336, 9. 53d-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE) 16.340, 10. D12-Dennis Moore, Jr. (Grinnell, IA) 16.341, 11. 1s-Sammy Swindell (Bartlett, TN) 16.341, 12. 35-Ronnie Blair (Troy, OH) 16.376, 13. 87j-Justin Carver (Drummonds, TN) 16.380, 14. 71r-Ryan Anderson (Deloit, IA) 16.397, 15. 38-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK) 16.401, 16. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR) 16.444, 17. 2-Josh Higday (Des Moines, IA) 16.469, 18. 18r-Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE) 16.470, 19. 89g-David Gravel (Watertown, CT) 16.478, 20. 04x-Cap Henry (Bellevue, OH) 16.543, 21. 3-Nate Van Haaften (Otley, IA) 16.546, 22. 2d-Bryan Dobesh (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.547, 23. 47T-Tony Shilling (Knoxville, IA) 16.548, 24. 57x-Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD) 16.575, 25. 9-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX) 16.580, 26. 27-Daryn Pittman (Owasso, OK) 16.596, 27. 14T-Brooke Tatnell (San Souci, NSW AUS) 16.605, 28. 91-Henry Van Dam (Enumclaw, WA) 16.606, 29. 09-Matt Juhl (Estherville, IA) 16.609, 30. 81-Danny Wood (Norman, OK) 16.611, 31. 7-Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) 16.703, 32. 1w-Chad Meyer (Harrisburg, SD) 16.718, 33. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN) 16.723, 34. 41w-Joshua Williams (Glendale, AZ) 16.739, 35. 1x-Garry Lee Maier (Dodge City, KS) 16.754, 36. 7m-Kevin Ramey (Ft. Worth, TX) 16.836, 37. 19s-Steven Cross (Clinton, MO) 16.898, 38. 51h-Mike Hess (Springfield, IL) 16.773, 39. 87b-Jason Barney (Bremerton, NY) 16.841, 40. 9mx-Cody Baker (Lone Jack, MO) 16.892, 41. 21a-Dustin Beenken (Sheldon, IA) 16.921, 42. 45x-Johnny Herrera (Albuquerque, NM) 16.925, 43. 8L-Tom Lenz (Marion, IA) 16.969, 44. 83p-Ned Powers (Belle Foursche, SD) 16.972, 45. 93a-Alan Ambers (Knoxville, IA) 17.027, 46. 2h-Jason Eckard (Milford, IA) 17.035, 47. 3*-Kaley Gharst (Decatur, IL) 17.064, 48. 22k-Koby Barksdale (Norman, OK) 17.124.
Heat Races (Top 4 Advance to “A” Main; Positions 5-8 to “B” Main; 9-10 to “C” Main):
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 27-Daryn Pittman, 2. 1s-Sammy Swindell, 3. 88-Tim Crawley, 4. 3-Nate Van Haaften, 5. 23-Seth Bergman, 6. 7-Gary Taylor, 7. 51h-Mike Hess, 8. 2h-Jason Eckard, 9. 33L-Danny Lasoski, 10. 21a-Dustin Beenken.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 14T-Brooke Tatnell, 2. 2d-Bryan Dobesh, 3. 22h-Randy Hannagan, 4. 2-Josh Higday, 5. 35-Ronnie Blair, 6. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 7. 5j-Larry Ball, Jr., 8. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 9. 1w-Chad Meyer, 10. 3*-Kaley Gharst (DNS).
Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 47T-Tony Shilling, 2. 57-Shane Stewart, 3. 91-Henry Van Dam, 4. 87j-Justin Carver, 5. 18r-Ryan Roberts, 6. 40-Clint Garner, 7. 23w-Scott Winters, 8. 22k-Koby Barksdale, 9. 8L-Tom Lenz, 10. 87b-Jason Barney.
Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 57x-Jake Peters, 2. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 3. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 4. 89g-David Gravel, 5. 53d-Jack Dover, 6. 09-Matt Juhl, 7. 9mx-Cody Baker, 8. 83p-Ned Powers, 9. 41w-Joshua Williams.
Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 81-Danny Wood, 2. 38-Wayne Johnson, 3. 9-Gary Wright, 4. 83-Tim Shaffer, 5. 04x-Cap Henry, 6. D12-Dennis Moore, Jr., 7. 1x-Garry Lee Maier, 8. 93a-Alan Ambers, 9. 19s-Steven Cross.
“C” Main – Top 2 Advance to “B” Main:
“C” Feature (7 Laps): 1. 1w-Chad Meyer, 2. 41w-Joshua Williams, 3. 87b-Jason Barney, 4. 3*-Kaley Gharst, 5. 21b-Dustin Beenken, 6. 19s-Steven Cross, 7. 8L-Tom Lenz. DNS: 33L-Danny Lasoski.
“B” Main – Top 4 Advance to “A” Main:
“B” Feature (12 Laps): 1. 5j-Larry Ball, Jr., 2. 40-Clint Garner, 3. 23-Seth Bergman, 4. 53d-Jack Dover, 5. 04x-Cap Henry, 6. D12-Dennis Moore, Jr., 7. 45x-Johnny Herrera, 8. 35-Ronnie Blair, 9. 7-Gary Taylor, 10. 23w-Scott Winters, 11. 18r-Ryan Roberts, 12. 1x-Garry Lee Maier, 13. 09-Matt Juhl, 14. 7m-Kevin Ramey, 15. 1w-Chad Meyer, 16. 22k-Koby Barksdale, 17. 2h-Jason Eckard, 18. 51h-Mike Hess, 19. 9mx-Cody Baker, 20. 83p-Ned Powers, 21. 93a-Alan Ambers, 22. 41w-Joshua Williams.
21st Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Friday Preliminary Feature Event:
“A” Feature (20 Laps): 1. 1s-Sammy Swindell, 2. 38-Wayne Johnson, 3. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 4. 57-Shane Stewart, 5. 71r-Ryan Anderson, 6. 87j-Justin Carver, 7. 89g-David Gravel, 8. 83-Tim Shaffer, 9. 27-Daryn Pittman, 10. 2-Josh Higday, 11. 14T-Brooke Tatnell, 12. 11x-Gregg Bakker, 13. 88-Tim Crawley, 14. 81-Danny Wood, 15. 40-Clint Garner, 16. 3-Nate Van Haaften, 17. 23-Seth Bergman, 18. 47T-Tony Shilling, 19. 57x-Jake Peters, 20. 91-Henry Van Dam, 21. 2d-Bryan Dobesh, 22. 9-Gary Wright, 23. 5j-Larry Ball, Jr., 24. 53d-Jack Dover (DNS).
Lap Leaders: Wayne Johnson 1-11, Sammy Swindell 12-20.