Dollansky Holds Off Heskin in Exciting Finish at Knoxville!

Craig Dollansky won the 410 feature at Knoxville Raceway (Serena Dalhamer photo)
Craig Dollansky won the 410 feature at Knoxville Raceway (Serena Dalhamer photo)
Craig Dollansky won the 410 feature at Knoxville Raceway (Serena Dalhamer photo)

From Bill Wright

 

Knoxville, IA — (May 24, 2014) — In a race that saw four lead changes, Craig Dollansky held off Davey Heskin to claim his second feature win of the season at the Knoxville Raceway on Saturday night.  The Elk River, Minnesota was paid $3,000 for his 14th career 410 win at the half-mile.  In 360 action, Jason Johnson took his fifth career feature win, while Kevin Hetrick scored for the first time in his Knoxville career in the 305 class.

 

Heskin got the jump on Dollansky to start the 20-lap 410 main event ahead of Lynton Jeffrey.  Dusty Zomer shot into the top three on lap four.  A battle ensued the next several laps as Terry McCarl and quick-timer Justin Henderson moved up to challenge Zomer for a podium position.  At the halfway point, McCarl and Henderson moved by Zomer, a lap before Henderson would get by McCarl for third.

 

After the pair crossed the start/finish line, and with the top five bunched up in lapped traffic, the caution came out for Brooke Tatnell, who got into the turn three wall.  The restart saw Heskin lead the field back to green, ahead of Dollansky, Henderson, McCarl and Zomer.

 

Dollansky slid in front of Heskin on the restart, but the latter was back in the lead a lap later in a torrid battled for the point.  Dollansky came back on lap fourteen to take the lead and Henderson followed him by Heskin.  Heskin was not to be denied, however, and surged back into second in the closing laps.  Noticeably gaining on the leader, he nosed under Dollansky heading into turn one on the last lap, only to be denied by the leader, who took his line and cut his momentum.

 

Dollansky was victorious over Heskin, Henderson, Danny Lasoski and McCarl.  Brian Brown, Ian Madsen, Zomer, Mark Dobmeier and B main winner Brad Loyet rounded out the top ten.  Cole Wood, Larry Ball Jr. and Bronson Maeschen won the heats.  Bob Weuve and Skylar Prochaska got upside down in the B main on separate incidents.  Neither was injured.

 

“I tell you what, (Heskin) was good,” said Dollansky in Victory Lane.  “This Knoxville racetrack…they don’t come any better.  Kris Dunkin and his crew do such a fabulous job with it every week.  There’s a lot of places where they don’t know what to do with the racetrack.  This is the best track in the world.  I’m just happy for this race team.  We’ve been working hard this week.  We still aren’t there yet, but we’ll keep working hard.”

 

An incident marred the start of the 15-lap 360 feature.  After contact from another car, Jonathan Cornell slid sideways, collecting Mike Van Haaften and Kris Miller, who tipped over.  Cornell and Miller were uninjured, but finished for the night.  Russ Hall led the first green flag lap, before Mike Houseman Jr. came to a stop.

 

While Hall went high on the restart, Jason Johnson made the bottom stick and took the point before the caution came out again a lap later, for a spun Sawyer Phillips.  The restart saw Eunice, Louisiana native leading Hall, Jon Agan, Jamie Ball and Justin Henderson back to the green.  Ball passed Again for third on the restart.

 

Three more laps were in the books when Phillips spun again, ending his night.  Ball again had a good start and got by Hall for second.  While Johnson checked out, Ball and Hall battled for the runner-up position.  On lap ten, Hall took it for good after a lengthy battle.  Johnson won the event by half a straightaway over Hall, Agan, who gained third from Ball on the last lap, and Henderson.  Joe Beaver, Dylan Peterson. Matt Moro, Jarrod Schneiderman and Matt Juhl rounded out the top ten.  Henderson also set quick time in the 360 class, while Nate Van Haaften, Agan and Hall won heat races.

 

“On the start, I went to the top of one and two and (Hall) actually drove by me on the bottom,” said Johnson in Victory Lane.  “I was actually surprised he opened the bottom back up on the restart.  There was actually quite a bit of moisture there.  After that, I just wanted to hit my marks and get a rhythm as fast as I could.  This is our third week in a row here, and we’ve been struggling.  I can’t say enough about this race team.”

 

Kevin Hetrick of Gladstone, Illinois shot around the front row of Mike Philben and McKenna Haase on lap one and led the distance using the low groove in the 12-lap 305 main event.  The race was slowed only once by a caution at the halfway point for debris from the machine of Corey Kautz.

 

Haase stayed close in second, ahead of Mitchell Alexander.  Matthew Stelzer and J Kinder ran a strong fourth and fifth.  Hard-charger, Stacey Alexander, Philben, Steve Breazeale, Keoni Texeira and Jeff Wilke rounded out the top ten.  Chris Walraven registered quick time, while Dustin Clark, Stelzer and Kade Higday won the heats.

 

“It was a tough race,” said Hetrick of his first career Knoxville win.  “At times, I wanted lapped traffic and at times, I wanted clean air.  I thought I had a good rhythm going.  I have to thank my Dad and Brian Anderson.  We’ve been struggling the last couple years here.  Tonight, we had a perfect car.  I’d like to dedicate this to all the people who help me.”

 

Join us next Saturday night, May 31 for Pella Corp and JDRF are Racing to a Cure for Diabetes Night here at the Knoxville Raceway!  For more information, log on to www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

 

410 Results

 

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (16), 15.426; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (21), 15.568; 3. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (23), 15.608; 4. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (15), 15.653; 5. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (14), 15.742; 6. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust (7), 15.773; 7. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (25), 15.775; 8. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (13), 15.808; 9. 1M, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (29), 15.816; 10. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (18), 15.836; 11. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (6), 15.844; 12. o5, Brad Loyet, Sunset Hills, MO (9), 15.860; 13. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (20), 15.902; 14. 5J, Larry Ball Jr., Knoxville, IA (31), 15.958; 15. 82, Roger Crockett, Medford, OR (19), 15.967; 16. 17W, Cole Wood, Auburn, CA (10), 16.033; 17. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (28), 16.033; 18. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (17), 16.058; 19. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (11), 16.088; 20. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (3), 16.110; 21. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (26), 16.183; 22. 7K, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (12), 16.197; 23. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (30), 16.230; 24. 4, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (4), 16.373; 25. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (8), 16.373; 26. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (24), 16.394; 27. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (1), 16.396; 28. 10, Garrett Dollansky, Elk River, MN (2), 16.433; 29. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust (5), 16.536; 30. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (27), 16.628; 31. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (22), 16.783.

 

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:15.8: 1. Cole Wood (1); 2. Terry McCarl (5); 3. Clint Garner (2); 4. Justin Henderson (6); 5. Craig Dollansky (4); 6. Dustin Selvage (8) / 7. Chris Martin (11); 8. Don Droud Jr. (7); 9. Skylar Prochaska (9); 10. Garrett Dollansky (10); 11. Ryan Bunton (3)

 

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:17.4: 1. Larry Ball Jr. (2); 2. Brooke Tatnell (3); 3. Davey Heskin (5); 4. Brian Brown (6); 5. Dusty Zomer (4); 6. Mark Dobmeier (7) / 7. Tasker Phillips (8); 8. RJ Johnson (1); 9. Bob Weuve (9); 10. Glen Saville (10)

 

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:14.4: 1. Bronson Maeschen (1); 2. Roger Crockett (2); 3. Danny Lasoski (4); 4. Ian Madsen (5); 5. Lynton Jeffrey (6); 6. Jason Johnson (7) / 7. Brad Loyet (3); 8. Mike Moore (10); 9. Josh Schneiderman (9); 10. Dakota Hendrickson (8)

 

B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Brad Loyet (2); 2. Ryan Bunton (1); 3. RJ Johnson (3); 4. Don Droud Jr. (4); 5. Dakota Hendrickson (6); 6. Josh Schneiderman (9) / 7. Tasker Phillips (5); 8. Garrett Dollansky (10); 9. Chris Martin (13); 10. Glen Saville (11); 11. Mike Moore (12); 12. Skylar Prochaska (7); 13. Bob Weuve (8)

 

A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. Craig Dollansky (1); 2. Davey Heskin (2); 3. Justin Henderson (6); 4. Danny Lasoski (9); 5. Terry McCarl (7); 6. Brian Brown (8); 7. Ian Madsen (4); 8. Dusty Zomer (5); 9. Mark Dobmeier (16); 10. Brad Loyet (19); 11. Dustin Selvage (18); 12. Don Droud Jr. (22); 13. Jason Johnson (17); 14. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 15. Bronson Maeschen (15); 16. Roger Crockett (13); 17. Ryan Bunton (20); 18. Clint Garner (11); 19. Dakota Hendrickson (23); 20. Cole Wood (14); 21. Larry Ball Jr. (12); 22. RJ Johnson (21); 23. Josh Schneiderman (24); 24. Brooke Tatnell (10). Lap Leaders: Heskin 1-11, C. Dollansky 12, Heskin 13, Dollansky 14-20. Hard-charger: Droud.

 

360 Results

 

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (8), 16.358; 2. 25, Dylan Peterson, Hartford, SD (13), 16.442; 3. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (7), 16.531; 4. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (10), 16.575; 5. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (9), 16.645; 6. 29, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA (18), 16.679; 7. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (25), 16.781; 8. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO (6), 16.790; 9. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (23), 16.913; 10. 28, Jonathan Cornell, Sedalia, MO (21), 16.948; 11. 10V, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (2), 16.977; 12. 14S, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (3), 16.996; 13. 09, Matt Juhl, Estherville, IA (1), 17.050; 14. 22, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA (4), 17.054; 15. 68, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (19), 17.092; 16. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (26), 17.107; 17. 81A, Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS (17), 17.195; 18. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (11), 17.260; 19. 14J, Jeff Heffner, Denver, CO (12), 17.302; 20. 80X, CJ Houseman, Des Moines, IA (5), 17.318; 21. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (14), 17.353; 22. 20T, Corey Timmerman, Carmen, IL (22), 17.556; 23. 92, Jordan Weaver, Woodward, OK (24), 17.656; 24. 33M, Kris Miller, Woodward, OK (15), 17.721; 25. 2, Tyler Brooks, Knoxville, IA (16), 19.393; 26. 33V, Mike Van Haaften, Otley, IA (20), NT.

 

Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.3: 1. Nate Van Haaften (1); 2. Matt Juhl (2); 3. Justin Henderson (6); 4. Jason Johnson (4); 5. Jonathan Cornell (3); 6. Jamie Ball (5); 7. Corey Timmerman (8); 8. Jeff Heffner (7); 9. Tyler Brooks (9)

 

Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 2:04.6: 1. Jon Agan (5); 2. Tony Shilling (2); 3. Randy Martin (4); 4. Calvin Landis (3); 5. CJ Houseman (7); 6. Dylan Peterson (6); 7. Jordan Weaver (8); 8. Mike Van Haaften (9); 9. Chris Morgan (1)

 

Heat three (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Russ Hall (5); 2. Jarrod Schneiderman (3); 3. Mike Houseman Jr. (2); 4. Joe Beaver (6); 5. Matt Moro (4); 6. Sawyer Phillips (7); 7. Kris Miller (8); 8. Tom Lenz (1)

 

A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Jason Johnson (2); 2. Russ Hall (3); 3. Jon Agan (4); 4. Jamie Ball (5); 5. Justin Henderson (8); 6. Joe Beaver (6); 7. Dylan Peterson (7); 8. Matt Moro (9); 9. Jarrod Schneiderman (12); 10. Matt Juhl (13); 11. Nate Van Haaften (16); 12. Calvin Landis (11); 13. Tony Shilling (14); 14. CJ Houseman (17); 15. Chris Morgan (24); 16. Tom Lenz (23); 17. Randy Martin (1); 18. Jordan Weaver (21); 19. Corey Timmerman (20); 20. Mike Van Haaften (26); 21. Tyler Brooks (25); 22. Sawyer Phillips (18); 23. Jeff Heffner (19); 24. Mike Houseman Jr. (15); 25. Jonathan Cornell (10); 26. Kris Miller (22). Lap Leaders: R. Hall 1, J. Johnson 2-15. Hard-charger: Morgan.

 

305 Results

 

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 28, Chris Walraven, Knoxville, IA (8), 17.129; 2. 88, J Kinder, Holts Summit, MO (2), 17.466; 3. 57, Steve Breazeale, Trenton, MO (18), 17.642; 4. 6, Mitchell Alexander, Knoxville, IA (1), 17.644; 5. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Omaha, NE (7), 17.695; 6. 35, Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL (12), 17.696; 7. 50, Keoni Texeira, Honolulu, HI (14), 17.773; 8. 55M, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (13), 17.910; 9. 59KB, Mike Philben, Grimes, IA (22), 17.957; 10. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (4), 18.036; 11. 7, Tanner Edwards, Van Meter, IA (10), 18.153; 12. 24, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (19), 18.191; 13. 16, Dustin Clark, Agency, IA (16), 18.343; 14. 29, Steve Palmer, Des Moines, IA (21), 18.404; 15. 50K, Kevin Hiemstra, Knoxville, IA (3), 18.412; 16. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (20), 18.443; 17. 55KC, Bob Hildreth, Iowa Falls, IA (5), 18.524; 18. 51, Corey Kautz, Urbandale, IA (11), 18.557; 19. 71C, Stacey Alexander, Lacona, IA (17), 18.721; 20. 1K, Andee Beierle, Bismarck, ND (15), 18.748; 21. 82, Lee Patterson, Des Moines, IA (9), 18.750; 22. 85, Chase Wanner, Agency, IA (6), 18.957.

 

Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:52.9: 1. Dustin Clark (2); 2. Mike Mayberry (3); 3. Mitchell Alexander (5); 4. Keoni Texeira (4); 5. Chris Walraven (6); 6. Jeff Wilke (1); 7. Chase Wanner (8); 8. Stacey Alexander (7)

 

Heat two (started), 6 Laps, NT: 1. Matthew Stelzer (5); 2. Tanner Edwards (3); 3. J Kinder (4); 4. McKenna Haase (2); 5. Andee Beierle (6); 6. Bob Hildreth (1) DNS – Steve Palmer

 

Heat three (started), 6 Laps, 1:54.7: 1. Kade Higday (3); 2. Steve Breazeale (6); 3. Corey Kautz (1); 4. Kevin Hetrick (5); 5. Mike Philben (4); 6. Lee Patterson (7); 7. Kevin Hiemstra (2)

 

A main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Kevin Hetrick (4); 2. McKenna Haase (2); 3. Mitchell Alexander (6); 4. Matthew Stelzer (5); 5. J Kinder (9); 6. Stacey Alexander (19); 7. Mike Philben (1); 8. Steve Breazeale (7); 9. Keoni Texeira (3); 10. Jeff Wilke (14); 11. Mike Mayberry (10); 12. Chris Walraven (8); 13. Dustin Clark (13); 14. Tanner Edwards (11); 15. Kade Higday (12); 16. Andee Beierle (17); 17. Bob Hildreth (15); 18. Chase Wanner (21); 19. Corey Kautz (16); 20. Lee Patterson (18); 21. Kevin Hiemstra (20) DNS – Steve Palmer. Lap Leader: Hetrick 1-12. Hard-charger: S. Alexander.