by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, April 28, 2012 – Sammy Swindell emerged victorious on a cool, but action-packed Mediacom Shootout Saturday at the Knoxville Raceway! The Bartlett, Tennessee driver shot by Brian Brown on lap 15 in the 25-lap event to claim his 48th career win at the historic oval. It was Swindell’s fifth career Knoxville season opening win, but his first since 1986.
Brown led from the pole at the outset after a lap one tangle saw Rager Phillips, Don Droud Jr. and Kraig Kinser get upside down. Only Kinser would continue. On lap two, Joey Saldana cruised by Craig Dollansky to take the runner-up spot, before Ian Madsen spun and tipped over in turn two. Though he continued, he repeated the maneuver on the restart.
Swindell began to assert himself at that point, taking third from Dollansky on the restart, and second from Saldana on lap five. Brown continued a steady pace into traffic. Dollansky claimed third from Saldana on lap 13.
Brown was in heavy traffic on lap 15, and Swindell found a middle to low groove coming off of turn four to claim the lead for good. One stoppage occurred on lap 19, when sixth running, Kerry Madsen tangled with the lapped machine of Robby Wolfgang. He would recover for twelfth.
Both Dollansky and Saldana moved by Brown after the restart with six laps to go, while Swindell cruised to victory. Following Dollansky, Saldana and Brown in fifth was Danny Lasoski, who grabbed the spot from Donny Schatz in the last corner. Dusty Zomer (from 21st) was seventh, followed by hard-charger, Jason Sides (from 23rd), Brad Sweet and Terry McCarl.
“The whole Big Game Treestands team worked hard all night,” said Swindell in Victory Lane. “We were off some. We just kept working on it, and we were really close. It’s a good base for us to come back next time and win another one. I can win every time I’m here if things go right. We’re capable of doing that. My good luck charm, Zoe, is helping me behind the scenes.”
It was a thrilling finish with a surprise result in the 360 class. Nate Van Haaften was awarded his second career feature win after a race-long battle with Josh Higday. After Higday made a last lap pass for the lead, he was disqualified for using an illegal tire. The win was then awarded to Van Haaften.
Lee Grosz crashed hard at the initial try at a green flag. He was uninjured. Tom Lenz led early in the 18-lapper from his front row starting spot. On lap three, Higday surged to the point, but Lenz came back to lead lap four. On lap six, Van Haaften entered the fray, passing the lead pair to take the point for the next eight circuits.
Higday worked by Lenz for second on lap 11 before Joe Beaver had his front-end knocked out on lap 13. The caution period saw Van Haaften leading Higday, Lenz, Clint Garner and David Hall back to green flag racing.
Higday again worked into the lead on lap 14, but Van Haaften denied him again with a pass a lap later. The exciting finish saw Higday get around Van Haaften on the final circuit, only to be DQed.
“We settled into the bottom and really made it work,” said Van Haaften in Victory Lane. “We got into traffic, and I really thought it cost us the win on the last lap. This was a lucky deal. Josh is a great competitor, and it’s an honor to run that close with him.”
Next week marks Knoxville Championship Cup Series action at the Knoxville Raceway and it will feature all three sprint divisions on Saturday night! The 1st Annual Knoxville IMCA Shootout will be Sunday, featuring four divisions of racing. For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 9, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (7) 14.881; 2. 29, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (3) 14.929; 3. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (1) 14.953; 4. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (17) 15.004; 5. 33, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (20) 15.061; 6. 11, Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN (28) 15.091; 7. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (13) 15.103; 8. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (36) 15.137; 9. 55T, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (38) 15.140; 10. 55, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (2) 15.164; 11. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (25) 15.189; 12. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (34) 15.194; 13. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (14) 15.210; 14. 17B, Bill Balog, Eau Claire, WI (16) 15.222; 15. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (33) 15.224; 16. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (11) 15.286; 17. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (39) 15.313; 18. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (8) 15.321; 19. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (18) 15.323; 20. 9P, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (30) 15.329; 21. 81, Austin Johnson, Shakopee, MN (35) 15.356; 22. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (22) 15.403; 23. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (19) 15.435; 24. 4, Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA (30) 15.437; 25. 7s, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (40) 15.532; 26. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (12) 15.534; 27. 44w, Austen Wheatley, Lake Stevens, WA (29) 15.557; 28. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (11) 15.563; 29. 10, Randy Anderson, Clarion, IA (5) 15.620; 30. 7K, Robby Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, SD (37) 15.637; 31. 5w, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (21) 15.640; 32. 2, Bryan Dobesh, Sioux Falls, SD (4) 15.811; 33. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (42) 15.910; 34. 7D, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (6) 15.928; 35. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (31) 15.942; 36. 45, Mark Johnson, Des Moines, IA (26) 15.943; 37. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (23) 16.149; 38. 14AJ, Wayne Modjeski, Oak Creek, WI (27) 16.442; 39. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (41) 16.466; 40. 63, Chad Kemenah, Findlay, OH (8) NT; 41. 12P, TJ Peterson, Des Moines, IA (10) NT; 42. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (24) NT.
Heat one (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Trey Starks (2) 2. Joey Saldana (4) 3. Donny Schatz (1) 4. Danny Lasoski (3) 5. Ryan Bunton (5) / 6. Jason Sides (7) 7. Austin Johnson (6) 8. Randy Anderson (10) 9. Tasker Phillips (9) 10. Bill Rose (8) DNS – TJ Peterson
Heat two (started), 8 laps, 2:09.6: 1. Ian Madsen (2) 2. Kerry Madsen (4) 3. Steve Kinser (3) 4. Bill Balog (1) 5. Mark Dobmeier (6) / 6. Don Droud Jr. (5) 7. Robby Wolfgang (8) 8. Dustin Selvage (9) 9. Rob Kubli (7) 10. Wayne Modjeski (10) DNS – Bronson Maeschen
Heat three (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Terry McCarl (1) 2. Kraig Kinser (2) 3. Dusty Zomer (6) 4. Davey Heskin (3) 5. Craig Dollansky (4) / 6. Lucas Wolfe (8) 7. Josh Schneiderman (9) 8. Austen Wheatley (7) 9. Glen Saville (10) 10. AJ Moeller (5)
Heat four (started), 8 laps, 2:11.2: 1. Sammy Swindell (1) 2. Brian Brown (3) 3. Lynton Jeffrey (2) 4. Brad Sweet (4) 5. Rager Phillips (5) / 6. Cody Darrah (6) 7. Chad Kemenah (10) 8. Bryan Dobesh (8) 9. Mark Johnson (9) 10. Jarrod Schneiderman (7)
Dash (started), 6 laps, 1:36.3: 1. Brian Brown (2) 2. Craig Dollansky (4) 3. Trey Starks (1) 4. Joey Saldana (6) 5. Kraig Kinser (8) 6. Brad Sweet (3) 7. Sammy Swindell (10) 8. Kerry Madsen (5) 9. Ian Madsen (7) 10. Terry McCarl (9)
B main (started), 12 laps, 3:28.2: 1. Don Droud Jr. (1) 2. Jason Sides (5) 3. Cody Darrah (2) 4. Robby Wolfgang (8) / 5. Rob Kubli (4) 6. Dustin Selvage (12) 7. Lucas Wolfe (11) 8. Tasker Phillips (13) 9. Austen Wheatley (7) 10. Austin Johnson (3) 11. Jarrod Schneiderman (6) 12. Josh Schneiderman (15) 13. Randy Anderson (9) 14. Bill Rose (17) 15. Bryan Dobesh (10) 16. Glen Saville (18) 17. Wayne Modjeski (14) 18. Chad Kemenah (16) DNS – AJ Moeller, Mark Johnson, Tyler Peterson, Bronson Maeschen
A main (started), 25 laps, NT: 1. Sammy Swindell (7) 2. Craig Dollansky (2) 3. Joey Saldana (4) 4. Brian Brown (1) 5. Danny Lasoski (11) 6. Donny Schatz (15) 7. Dusty Zomer (21) 8. Jason Sides (23) 9. Brad Sweet (6) 10. Terry McCarl (10) 11. Steve Kinser (12) 12. Davey Heskin (13) 13. Kerry Madsen (8) 14. Lynton Jeffrey (14) 15. Bill Balog (16) 16. Trey Starks (3) 17. Mark Dobmeier (20) 18. Kraig Kinser (5) 19. Cody Darrah (22) 20. Lucas Wolfe (26, prov.) 21. Ryan Bunton (17) 22. Robby Wolfgang (24) 23. Ian Madsen (9) 24. Chad Kemenah (25, prov.) 25. Don Droud Jr. (18) 26. Rager Phillips (19). Lap Leaders: Brown 1-14, Swindell 15-25. Hard-charger: Sides.
360 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order): 1. 54, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 16.162; 2. 97, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 16.268; 3. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA, 16.288; 4. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.371; 5. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA, 16.416; 6. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.435; 7. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND, 16.629; 8. 47T, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA, 16.635; 9. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA, 16.661; 10. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA, 16.734; 11. 24, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA, 16.735; 12. 04, Chad Heimbaugh, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.753; 13. 7H, John Hall, Marion, IA, 16.772; 14. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA, 16.828; 15. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA, 16.905; 16. 22N, Nate Mosher, Prairie City, IA, 16.913; 17. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO, 17.004; 18. 93A, Alan Ambers, Knoxville, IA, 17.008; 19. 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO, 17.021; 20. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL, 17.090; 21. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 17.208; 22. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 17.223; 23. 68, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA, 17.270; 24. 25, Dylan Peterson, Sioux Falls, SD, NT; 25. 71, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL, NT; 26. DQ (tire) – 10, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA.
Heat one (started), 7 laps, 1:59.9: 1. Nate Mosher (1) 2. Lee Grosz (4) 3. Clint Garner (5) 4. Casey Friedrichsen (6) 5. John Hall (2) 6. Joe Beaver (3) 7. Jamie Ball (8) 8. Ricky Montgomery (7) DNS – RJ Johnson
Heat two (started), 7 laps, 1:59.0: 1. Randy Martin (1) 2. Carson McCarl (4) 3. Tom Lenz (2) 4. Jon Agan (5) 5. Josh Higday (3) 6. Tyler Groenendyk (8) 7. Tony Shilling (6) 8. Jimmy Davies (7) DNS – Mike Houseman Jr.
Heat three (started), 7 laps, 1:59.6: 1. Nate Van Haaften (4) 2. David Hall (2) 3. Russ Hall (5) 4. Alan Ambers (1) 5. Alan Zoutte (7) 6. Chad Heimbaugh (3) 7. Matt Moro (6) DNS – Dylan Peterson
A main (started), 18 laps, NT: 1. Nate Van Haaften (6) 2. Clint Garner (10) 3. Tom Lenz (2) 4. Carson McCarl (11) 5. Russ Hall (8) 6. David Hall (1) 7. Randy Martin (14) 8. Casey Friedrichsen (12) 9. Tony Shilling (18) 10. Jon Agan (9) 11. Nate Mosher (13) 12. John Hall (3) 13. Tyler Groenendyk (17) 14. Jamie Ball (19) 15. Alan Zoutte (16) 16. Alan Ambers (15) 17. Joe Beaver (5) 18. Dylan Peterson (22) 19. Chad Heimbaugh (21) 20. Ricky Montgomery (20) 21. Lee Grosz (7) DQ (tire, crossed 1st) Josh Higday (4) DNS – Matt Moro, Jimmy Davies, RJ Johnson, Mike Houseman Jr. Lap Leaders: Lenz 1-2, Higday 3, Lenz 4-5, Van Haaften 6-13, Higday 14, Van Haaften 15-17, Higday 18. Hard-charger: Shilling.