by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, June 30, 2012 – Bronson Maeschen has paid his dues in the tough 410 class for seven years at the Knoxville Raceway, and Saturday night it paid off! The Pleasantville, Iowa driver, who has wins in the 360 and 305 classes, fought back to take a lead he had early and pulled away for a popular $3,000 win. The race was held in conjunction with the Marion County Fair, and Maeschen also received a half beef. Kaley Gharst took advantage of his first 360 start of the year at Knoxville to win, and Mike Van Haaften won for the third straight outing in the 305 class.
Maeschen shot out to an early lead from outside row one with pole-sitter and point leader, Davey Heskin in tow. With a cushion a little over halfway up the track, Dusty Zomer put four wheels above on the start and advanced quickly from his starting spot outside of row five to third.
The lead trio had Terry McCarl and Mark Dobmeier behind them when seventh running and quick timer, Ian Madsen, spun with seven laps in the books. On the restart, Heskin used the low line to pass Maeschen for the lead. Zomer also tried working by Maeschen to no avail.
Rob Kubli blew a right rear tire and hit the turn one wall, tipping over with twelve laps down. He was o.k. On the restart, Heskin protected low, while Maeschen blasted around him on the high side and pulled away.
A crash filled night had another one when Austin Johnson and Tasker Phillips got together on the back stretch and suffered extensive damage to their racecars. Both drivers were uninjured.
Maeschen pulled away on the restart, while Zomer worked by Heskin for the runner-up position at the checkers. Dobmeier and McCarl followed. Dustin Selvage, Don Droud Jr., Lynton Jeffrey, Madsen and Robby Wolfgang rounded out the top ten. Josh Schneiderman, Droud and Rager Phillips won heat races.
“We’ve been so close so many times,” said Maeschen of his win afterwards. “Everybody has a lot of confidence. We planned on winning the first year, and we’ve been down here several years. Second, third, fourth…we had the car to win several nights and didn’t get it done. We had a terrible restart, and to get back in first…I’m just wound!”
Kaley Gharst, just coming off an ASCS regional win in Cameron, Missouri the night prior, took the Scadden Construction #6 from outside row one to lead every lap of the 360 feature for his third career win in the class at Knoxville. Three-time and defending track champion, Clint Garner moved into second by lap three, but could do nothing with Gharst, who pulled away on a pair of restarts.
Larry Ball Jr. was running third in Steve Wares #10 when he flipped on lap five. The other red flag came out when Casey Friedrichsen blew a right rear tire and slammed into the frontstretch wall, flipping wildly. Both were uninjured.
Gharst and Garner were followed at the checkers by Matt Moro, Jon Agan and Dennis Moore Jr. Josh Higday, Ryan Roberts, Jamie Veal, Ryan Anderson and hard-charger and B main winner, Nate Van Haaften, rounded out the top ten.
“He’s been strong here the last few years,” said Gharst of Garner in Victory Lane. “He’s been strong on the top and bottom. I started getting loose off the bottom of turn four, so I didn’t know if he was catching me or not. The second to last lap I went up top in case he was there. It was great to beat him, since he is one of the best 360’s around.”
Mike Van Haaften won for the third straight outing in the 305 class by leading every lap. He was able to stave off several attempts by Matthew Stelzer in the caution plagued event. Before a lap could be completed pole-sitter, Mike Philben and Mitchell Alexander contacted, eliminating both from the race.
On the fifth lap, third running Alan Ambers and fourth running J Kinder made contact. Only Kinder would return. A number of other cautions precipitated the move to cut a pair of laps and make it a 13-lap contest.
Van Haaften and Stelzer were followed at the stripe by Dakota Hendrickson, Kinder back from the tail, and Bart Friedrichsen. Corey Timmerman, Ben Woods, Mike Mayberry, Chris Horton and Andrew Shelton rounded out the top ten.
“I couldn’t be happier to be here,” said Van Haaften in Victory Lane. “We lost one of our crew members last Sunday. It’s great to be here in Victory Lane. We had a heavy heart, but the crew members picked up the slack.”
Thursday, July 19 will be the Harris Clash for Modifieds. NASCAR star Kenny Schrader will be competing. On Saturday, July 21, the three divisions of sprint will be back in attendance for the popular 3M Night! Come early and get a bag of 3M supplies! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order, 1 lap): 1. 55, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust . (14) 14.892; 2. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (12) 15.069; 3. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (6) 15.073; 4. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (18) 15.078; 5. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (20) 15.085; 6. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (1) 15.118; 7. 7K, Robby Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, SD (9) 15.211; 8. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (8) 15.218; 9. 81, Austin Johnson, Shakopee, MN (5) 15.255; 10. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (19) 15.257; 11. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (4) 15.357; 12. 9, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (13) 15.448; 13. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (17) 15.484; 14. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (21) 15.494; 15. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (16) 15.507; 16. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (22) 15.523; 17. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11) 15.533; 18. 10, Randy Anderson, Clarion, IA (7) 15.599; 19. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust . (3) 15.640; 20. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (15) 15.661; 21. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (23) 15.782; 22. 71, Robert Bell, Colfax, IA (10) 16.104; 23. 7x, Critter Malone, Speedway, IN (2) 16.319.
Heat one (started), 8 laps, 2:11.6: 1. Josh Schneiderman (1) 2. Dusty Zomer (3) 3. Mark Dobmeier (5) 4. Ian Madsen (6) 5. Robby Wolfgang (4) 6. Glen Saville (7) 7. Robert Bell (8) 8. Mike Moore (2)
Heat two (started), 8 laps, 2:09.7: 1. Don Droud Jr. (2) 2. Tasker Phillips (1) 3. Ryan Bunton (3) 4. Dustin Selvage (4) 5. Bronson Maeschen (5) 6. Terry McCarl (6) 7. Jarrod Schneiderman (7) 8. Critter Malone (8)
Heat three (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Rager Phillips (1) 2. Davey Heskin (3) 3. Lynton Jeffrey (6) 4. AJ Moeller (5) 5. Austin Johnson (4) 6. Rob Kubli (2) DNS – Randy Anderson
A main (started), 20 laps, NT: 1. Bronson Maeschen (2) 2. Dusty Zomer (10) 3. Davey Heskin (1) 4. Mark Dobmeier (3) 5. Terry McCarl (5) 6. Dustin Selvage (8) 7. Don Droud Jr. (13) 8. Lynton Jeffrey (4) 9. Ian Madsen (6) 10. Robby Wolfgang (7) 11. Glen Saville (16) 12. Rager Phillips (12) 13. Jarrod Schneiderman (21) 14. Ryan Bunton (11) 15. AJ Moeller (17) 16. Critter Malone (23) 17. Robert Bell (22) 18. Austin Johnson (9) 19. Tasker Phillips (15) 20. Rob Kubli (18) 21. Josh Schneiderman (14) 22. Randy Anderson (20) 23. Mike Moore (19). Lap Leaders: Maeschen 1-7, Heskin 8-12, Maeschen 13-20. Hard-charger: Zomer.
360 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA, 15.943; 2. 5J, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA, 16.008; 3. 71, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL, 16.066; 4. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA, 16.102; 5. 97, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 16.127; 6. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA, 16.174; 7. 86, Kyle Bellm, Nixa, MO, 16.180; 8. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.188; 9. 6, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL, 16.201; 10. 10, Larry Ball Jr., Knoxville, IA, 16.233; 11. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE, 16.241; 12. 7H, John Hall, Marion, IA, 16.325; 13. 35AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust., 16.334; 14. 10I, Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell, IA, 16.378; 15. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA, 16.392; 16. 14J, Josh Riggins, Newton, IA, 16.403; 17. 71R, Ryan Anderson, Deloit, IA, 16.419; 18. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA, 16.420; 19. 47T, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA, 16.435; 20. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.440; 21. 3m, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA, 16.487; 22. 4B, Jordan Boston, Crete, NE, 16.501; 23. 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO, 16.573; 24. 54, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 16.579; 25. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA, 16.610; 26. 31P, Travis Porter, Rock Island, IL, 17.380; (DQ – Tire) 7, Tanner Edwards, Van Meter, IA.
Heat one (started), 7 laps, 1:54.4: 1. Larry Ball Jr. (3) 2. Matt Moro (6) 3. Jamie Veal (2) 4. Jon Agan (5) 5. Kyle Bellm (4) 6. Jordan Boston (8) / 7. Josh Riggins (1) 8. Tony Shilling (7) 9. Tom Lenz (9)
Heat two (started), 7 laps, 1:55.8: 1. Ryan Anderson (1) 2. Dennis Moore Jr. (2) 3. Clint Garner (4) 4. Ryan Roberts (3) 5. Josh Higday (6) 6. Russ Hall (7) / 7. Carson McCarl (5) 8. Ricky Montgomery (8) 9. Travis Porter (9)
Heat three (started), 7 laps, 1:57.8: 1. David Hall (2) 2. Joe Beaver (1) 3. Kaley Gharst (4) 4. RJ Johnson (6) 5. Casey Friedrichsen (8) 6. John Hall (3) / 7. Bobby Mincer (7) 8. Tanner Edwards (9) 9. Nate Van Haaften (5)
B main (started), 8 laps, 2:13.0: 1. Nate Van Haaften (2) 2. Carson McCarl (1) 3. Tony Shilling (4) 4. Bobby Mincer (5) 5. Tom Lenz (7) 6. Travis Porter (8) / 7. Josh Riggins (3) 8. Tanner Edwards (9) 9. Ricky Montgomery (6)
A main (started), 18 laps, NT: 1. Kaley Gharst (2) 2. Clint Garner (3) 3. Matt Moro (8) 4. Jon Agan (5) 5. Dennis Moore Jr. (12) 6. Josh Higday (7) 7. Ryan Roberts (9) 8. Jamie Veal (11) 9. Ryan Anderson (14) 10. Nate Van Haaften (19) 11. RJ Johnson (6) 12. Russ Hall (16) 13. Kyle Bellm (4) 14. Carson McCarl (20) 15. David Hall (13) 16. Bobby Mincer (22) 17. Jordan Boston (17) 18. Travis Porter (24) 19. Joe Beaver (15) 20. Casey Friedrichsen (18) 21. Tony Shilling (21) 22. John Hall (10) 23. Tom Lenz (23) 24. Larry Ball Jr. (1). Lap Leader: Gharst 1-18. Hard-charger: Van Haaften.
305 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Omaha, NE, 17.480; 2. 6, Mitchell Alexander, Knoxville, IA, 17.701; 3. 88, J Kinder, Holt’s Summit, MO, 17.729; 4. 93A, Alan Ambers, Knoxville, IA, 17.791; 5. 5J, Larry Ball Jr., Knoxville, IA, 17.802; 6. 4, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE, 17.899; 7. 29, Bart Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 17.921; 8. 33, Mike Van Haaften, Pella, IA, 17.939; 9. 59KB, Mike Philben, Grimes, IA, 18.110; 10. 55, Matt Stephenson, Altoona, IA, 18.134; 11. 20T, Corey Timmerman, Carmen, IL, 18.345; 12. 9H, Ben Woods, Newton, IA, 18.408; 13. 92c, Cody Ambers, Knoxville, IA, 18.449; 14. 292, Chad Jarrett, Savannah, MO, 19.529; 15. 71c, Andrew Shelton, Lacona, IA, 19.826; 16. 4c, Chris Horton, Indianola, IA, 20.764; 17. 82, Lee Patterson, Des Moines, IA, 25.058; 18. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA, NT.
Heat one (started), 6 laps, NT: 1. Bart Friedrichsen (1) 2. Matthew Stelzer (4) 3. J Kinder (3) 4. Corey Timmerman (6) 5. Mike Philben (5) 6. Andrew Shelton (8) 7. Lee Patterson (7) 8. Larry Ball Jr. (2) DNS – Cody Ambers
Heat two (started), 6 laps, 1:40.9 (NTR): 1. Mike Van Haaften (1) 2. Mitchell Alexander (4) 3. Alan Ambers (3) 4. Dakota Hendrickson (2) 5. Matt Stephenson (5) 6. Chad Jarrett (7) 7. Mike Mayberry (9) 8. Ben Woods (6) 9. Chris Horton (8)
A main (started), 13 laps, NT: 1. Mike Van Haaften (2) 2. Matthew Stelzer (8) 3. Dakota Hendrickson (4) 4. J Kinder (6) 5. Bart Friedrichsen (3) 6. Corey Timmerman (10) 7. Ben Woods (11) 8. Mike Mayberry (16) 9. Chris Horton (17) 10. Andrew Shelton (14) 11. Lee Patterson (15) 12. Alan Ambers (5) 13. Matt Stephenson (9) 14. Mike Philben (1) 15. Mitchell Alexander (7) 16. Chad Jarrett (12) 17. Larry Ball Jr. (13) DNS – Cody Ambers. Lap Leader: Van Haaften 1-13. Hard-charger: Mayberry.