By Bill Wright
Knoxville, IA, May 28, 2016 – Kerry Madsen was the class of the field at Saturday’s Brownell’s Salute to the Troops Night at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night. The St. Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia native earned $5,000 for his National Sprint League win. The 2005 track champ notched win #18 aboard the Keneric Racing #29. Clint Garner kept his momentum going in the 360 class, grabbing his third feature win of the season, and the 24th in his career, second all-time with the 360’s at this historic oval. Chase Wanner led every lap of the 305 feature, but was disqualified at post-race inspection. That win was awarded to Christian Bowman.
The NSL point system saw an invert of six for the 25-lap feature. That put Kerry Madsen on the pole. He shot out to an early lead, but only one lap was recorded when an eighth running Dustin Selvage turned over in turn one. The crash collected Bill Balog, who also tipped over. Both were uninjured.
Another caution would fly three laps in, when a ninth place running AJ Moeller spun to the inside of turn four. Paige Polyak came to a stop with four laps in to bring the final slowdown. On the restart, Madsen led Craig Dollansky, Bronson Maeschen, Dusty Zomer and Danny Lasoski back to green. Zomer, Lasoski and Brian Brown moved into the third through fifth spots shortly after the green fell.
Madsen extended his margin using the low side of a heavy racetrack that saw plenty of rain during the week. Meanwhile, Zomer had advanced from his starting spot outside row four to challenge Dollansky for second. He would slide in front of the veteran on lap ten.
Madsen executed well in lapped traffic, winning over Zomer by almost two and a half seconds. Dollansky maintained third ahead of a dueling Lasoski and Brown. Ian Madsen, Maeschen, Terry McCarl, Davey Heskin and Justin Henderson rounded out the top ten. Heskin set quick time over the field. Moeller, Terry McCarl and Austin McCarl won heat races, while Henderson claimed the B main.
“I ran it as hard as I could wide open,” said Kerry in Victory Lane. “I found the bottom down there, and I was comfortable with that. It was a really quick pace for a 25-lap race. The car was fantastic; I just can’t thank the guys enough. I pushed hard with the cars I had behind me. This is such a tremendous place. I can’t say enough about what it does for sprint car racing. It’s fantastic! I want to thank Brownell’s for stepping up tonight, and it’s great what they do with the vets.”
For the second week in a row, Nate Van Haaften led the 360 field early in their main event. This time, it didn’t take Clint Garner as long to get to the front. He worked by the leader on lap three and pulled away. The race saw two cautions. Matt Moro spun while running seventh with eight laps down, and Rob Weuve spun with eleven laps in the books.
Joe Beaver challenged Van Haaften for the runner-up spot, shooting by on the high side on lap 11. Their battle continued, and Van Haaften stuck the low groove to reclaim the spot with three to go. Following Garner, Van Haaften and Beaver across the stripe were Tony Shilling and Seth Bergman. Ryan Giles, Calvin Landis, Sawyer Phillips, Chris Martin and Moro rounded out the top ten. Garner set quick time in the class, while Giles and Shilling won heats.
“Just think that’s a borrowed engine (Nate Van Haaften’s),” said Garner. “He said he’s getting a new one soon. When I saw he was on the front row, I thought I need to pass him again tonight. I hope that is his good engine and he’s just baffling me. Two weeks in a row prior to this, he’s had the fastest lap on the track. If he can do that on a borrowed engine, I don’t know what he’s going to do with a good one. I can’t thank my motor builder, Al Parker, enough. We’re champions for a reason, and it’s him.”
Chase Wanner led the 15-lap 305 feature from the outset. Chris Walraven and Christian Bowman fought for second in the early going, while Devin Kline and McKenna Haase moved into fourth and fifth in the first five circuits.
When Dan Henning stopped due to a vibration on the sixth lap, Wanner led Walraven, Bowman, Kline and Haase back to green. Bowman surged into second on the restart, while Kline followed him into third with five laps to go. One final slowdown came when Trevor Smith’s mount went up in smoke.
Wanner kept his advantage to the checkers, but his first win was denied when he failed the post-race inspection of his muffler. Bowman was awarded his second career feature win, ahead of Kline, Walraven, Haase and Stacey Alexander. Joe Simbro, Brad Comegys, Mike Mayberry, Mitchell Alexander and Matthew Stelzer rounded out the top ten. Bowman notched another quick time, while Kline and Mitchell Alexander won the heat races.
Join us next week as the National Sprint League returns for Logan Contractors Night! Drivers will again be shooting for a $5,000 win! For more information on Knoxville Raceway, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (2), 15.139; 2. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (5), 15.166; 3. 2, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (24), 15.169; 4. 29, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (15), 15.170; 5. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (3), 15.205; 6. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (7), 15.257; 7. 2KS, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (12), 15.294; 8. 1s, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (14), 15.302; 9. 17B, Bill Balog, Brookfield, WI (10), 15.310; 10. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (25), 15.335; 11. 82, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (11), 15.372; 12. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (22), 15.442; 13. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (1), 15.475; 14. 1, Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (23), 15.507; 15. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (26), 15.524; 16. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (16), 15.532; 17. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (9), 15.551; 18. 1B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (6), 15.606; 19. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (27), 15.615; 20. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (17), 15.620; 21. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (13), 15.744; 22. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (21), 15.763; 23. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (20), 15.764; 24. 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (8), 15.815; 25. 10, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (19), 15.951; 26. 35, Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL (4), 16.014; 27. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (18), 16.756.
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:05.9: 1. AJ Moeller (2); 2. Dustin Selvage (3); 3. Craig Dollansky (4); 4. Paige Polyak (1); 5. Kerry Madsen (5); 6. Davey Heskin (6); 7. Tasker Phillips (7); 8. Jon Agan (8); 9. Dakota Hendrickson (9)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:05.1: 1. Terry McCarl (1); 2. Dusty Zomer (3); 3. Brian Brown (5); 4. Sammy Swindell (4); 5. Justin Henderson (2); 6. Bronson Maeschen (6); 7. RJ Johnson (8); 8. Josh Schneiderman (7); 9. Kevin Hetrick (9)
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:07.0: 1. Austin McCarl (2); 2. Ian Madsen (3); 3. Danny Lasoski (6); 4. Jake Bubak (1); 5. Brooke Tatnell (5); 6. Scott Bogucki (8); 7. Bill Balog (4); 8. Chris Martin (7); 9. Bob Weuve (9)
B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:14.8: 1. Justin Henderson (1); 2. Scott Bogucki (4); 3. Tasker Phillips (3); 4. Josh Schneiderman (6) / 5. Jake Bubak (2); 6. RJ Johnson (5); 7. Chris Martin (7); 8. Bob Weuve (11); 9. Kevin Hetrick (10); 10. Dakota Hendrickson (9); 11. Jon Agan (8)
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Kerry Madsen (1); 2. Dusty Zomer (8); 3. Craig Dollansky (3); 4. Danny Lasoski (6); 5. Brian Brown (5); 6. Ian Madsen (12); 7. Bronson Maeschen (2); 8. Terry McCarl (14); 9. Davey Heskin (4); 10. Justin Henderson (17); 11. Brooke Tatnell (10); 12. Sammy Swindell (11); 13. Austin McCarl (13); 14. Scott Bogucki (18); 15. Tasker Phillips (19); 16. Josh Schneiderman (20); 17. AJ Moeller (9); 18. Paige Polyak (15); 19. Dustin Selvage (7); 20. Bill Balog (16). Lap Leader: K. Madsen 1-25. Hard-charger: Henderson.
360 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (6), 15.776; 2. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (12), 15.946; 3. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (8), 16.099; 4. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (16), 16.164; 5. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (5), 16.177; 6. 22, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA (2), 16.200; 7. 9, Ryan Giles, West Des Moines, IA (11), 16.201; 8. 5J, Seth Bergman, Snohomish, WA (3), 16.277; 9. 10, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (9), 16.383; 10. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO (15), 16.414; 11. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (1), 16.544; 12. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (10), 16.545; 13. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (13), 16.589; 14. 33V, Mike Van Haaften, Otley, IA (7), 16.708; 15. 19, Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres, IA (14), 17.251; 16. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (4), 17.545.
Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 1:55.7: 1. Ryan Giles (3); 2. Clint Garner (6); 3. Calvin Landis (2); 4. Matt Moro (4); 5. Chris Martin (1); 6. Nate Van Haaften (5); 7. Tom Lenz (7); 8. Rob Weuve (8)
Heat two (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Tony Shilling (4); 2. Randy Martin (2); 3. Seth Bergman (3); 4. Alan Zoutte (1); 5. Joe Beaver (6); 6. Sawyer Phillips (5); 7. Mike Van Haaften (7); 8. John Anderson (8)
A main (started), 18 Laps, NT: 1. Clint Garner (4); 2. Nate Van Haaften (2); 3. Joe Beaver (3); 4. Tony Shilling (6); 5. Seth Bergman (8); 6. Ryan Giles (7); 7. Calvin Landis (9); 8. Sawyer Phillips (1); 9. Chris Martin (11); 10. Matt Moro (5); 11. Mike Van Haaften (14); 12. Alan Zoutte (12); 13. Tom Lenz (13); 14. John Anderson (16); 15. Rob Weuve (15); 16. Randy Martin (10). Lap Leaders: N. Van Haaften 1-2, Garner 3-18. Hard-charger: Garner.
305 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (2), 17.158; 2. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA (11), 17.185; 3. O, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (9), 17.211; 4. 56W, Chris Walraven, Knoxville, IA (7), 17.240; 5. 85, Chase Wanner, Agency, IA (10), 17.325; 6. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (12), 17.350; 7. 5J, Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA (5), 17.462; 8. 6, Mitchell Alexander, Knoxville, IA (6), 17.540; 9. 71C, Stacey Alexander, Lacona, IA (4), 17.563; 10. 51, Corey Kautz, Urbandale, IA (1), 17.642; 11. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (3), 17.653; 12. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Omaha, NE (13), 17.710; 13. 33, Trevor Smith, Sanborn, IA (8), 17.781; 14. 71, Cliff Jones, Pleasant Hill, IA (15), 17.943; 15. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (14), 18.301.
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:41.0: 1. Devin Kline (3); 2. Stacey Alexander (2); 3. Joe Simbro (1); 4. Trevor Smith (7); 5. Chase Wanner (4); 6. Christian Bowman (6); 7. Mike Mayberry (5); 8. Dan Henning (8)
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:46.7: 1. Mitchell Alexander (3); 2. Matthew Stelzer (1); 3. Corey Kautz (2); 4. McKenna Haase (4); 5. Chris Walraven (5); 6. Brad Comegys (6); 7. Cliff Jones (7)
A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Christian Bowman (4); 2. Devin Kline (6); 3. Chris Walraven (2); 4. McKenna Haase (5); 5. Stacey Alexander (8); 6. Joe Simbro (10); 7. Brad Comegys (3); 8. Mike Mayberry (13); 9. Mitchell Alexander (7); 10. Matthew Stelzer (11); 11. Cliff Jones (14); 12. Trevor Smith (12); 13. Dan Henning (15); 14. Corey Kautz (9); 15. Chase Wanner (1). Lap Leader: Wanner 1-15. Hard-charger: Mayberry.