Jason Johnson Doubles Up on Friday at Knoxville

Jason Johnson. (T.J. Buffenbarger photo)

Jason Johnson. (T.J. Buffenbarger photo)
By T.J. Buffenbarger

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 11, 2017) – Jason Johnson bounced back from a disappointing performance on his preliminary night to sweep the FVP Qualifying Night feature and Speed Sport World Challenge on Friday night during the 57th Annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores.

Johnson took the lead from Jacob Allen and motored away for FVP Qualifying night victory on “Hard Knox” night at the Nationals. Johnson followed that victory up by winning the Speed Sport World Challenge invitational for drivers that ran select international sprint car races over the past calendar year.

“After last night, all we could do is come back tonight with as momentum as we could,” said Johnson. “The thing was about last night we had a really fast Maxim car. My guys were confident all night long that we had good speed. It was just about hitting my marks, doing my job, and really credit to the race team that is working on this 41 car.”

FVP Qualifying Night Feature

Jacob Allen and Jason Johnson started on the front row for the 25-lap feature event. After the initial start was called back Allen took the lead with Johnson hounding him in second. By the second lap Johnson built up enough momentum to drive around the top of Allen through turns one and two. Behind the leaders Joey Saldana moved past Arron Reutzel for third going into turn three.

On lap four Lynton Jeffrey got sideways and turned over between turns three and four to bring out the red flag. Jeffrey was uninjured and has his car pushed back to the work area to make repairs. Jeffrey’s team completed repairs in time join the field for the restart.

Johnson and Allen pulled away from the rest of the field after the restart. Behind the lead duo Joey Saldana and Aaron Reutzel diced back and forth for the third position. Reutzel threw a slide job on Saldana in turns three and four on lap seven and secured the third spot.

Further back in the field Logan Schuchart was moving up through the field from his 11th starting spot. By lap nine Schuchart cracked the top five and closed in quickly on the transfer cars. By lap nine Schuchart drove by Saldana off turn four to take the fourth and final transfer spot. One lap later Cory Eliason also passed Saldana to move into fifth. Two laps later Schuchart continued his march through the field to third on lap 11 when Reutzel jumped the cushion in turn three.

The race complexion changed with seven laps to go when Allen hopped the berm on the inside of turn three and dropped back through the field. This moved Eliason up to a transfer position.

Over the final five laps Chad Kemenah started to close in on Eliason, but could not make up enough ground to take over the transfer spot.

Up front though it was all Johnson taking the victory. Schuchart, Reutzel, and Eliason also locked themselves into Saturday’s A-Main.

Speed Sport World Challenge

James McFadden and Thomas Kennedy started on the front row for the 20-Lap World Challenge with McFadden taking the lead on the opening lap. Five laps into the race Kennedy slowed in turn one to bring out he first caution flag.

The restart found McFadden under pressure from Johnson for the lead. After swapping lines Johnson used his momentum off of turn two to drive away with the lead. From there Johnson continued to pull away until the late stages of the event when McFadden closed in on the final lap. Johnson used lapped traffic to his advantage to open up some distance between himself and McFadden for the win. McFadden held on for second with Brad Sweet, Dominic Scelzi, and Brian Brown rounded out the top five.

57th Annual 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores
FVP Preliminary Night
Knoxville Raceway
Knoxville, IA
Friday August 11, 2017

Qualifying Flight #1: 1. 1A – Jacob Allen, 15.691; 2. 87 – Aaron Reutzel, 16.002; 3. 51 – Joey Saldana, 16.002; 4. 12 – Lynton Jeffrey, 16.012; 5. 17B – Bill Balog, 16.059; 6. 39 – Spencer Bayston, 16.074; 7. 93 – Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.083; 8. 1S – Logan Schuchart, 16.126; 9. 1 – Thomas Kennedy, 16.157; 10. 00 – Dane Lorenc, 16.159; 11. 55 – Brooke Tatnell, 16.181; 12. 99 – Brady Bacon, 16.221; 13. 99G – Skylar Gee, 16.233; 14. 81 – Lee Jacobs, 16.245; 15. 22 – Rager Phillips, 16.259; 16. 4X – Dakota Hendrickson, 16.264; 17. 3G – Carson Macedo, 16.272; 18. 84 – Scott Bogucki, 16.277; 19. 21AU – Jordyn Brazier, 16.312; 20. W20 – Greg Wilson, 16.335; 21. 53 – Jack Dover, 16.341; 22. 71A – R.J. Johnson, 16.361; 23. 35V – Jamie Veal, 16.374; 24. 70 – Clint Garner, 16.380; 25. 1B – Dustin Selvage, 16.387; 26. 3P – Sawyer Phillips, 16.430; 27. 85 – Chase Wanner, 16.530; 28. 5J – Jeremy Schultz, 16.532; 29. 9X – Jake Bubak, 16.541; 30. 26 – Tayler Malsam, 16.578; 31. 13 – Clyde Knipp, 16.595; 32. 8H – Jason Kendrick, 16.597; 33. 9Z – Jared Goerges, 16.807; 34. 13V – Seth Brahmer, 16.907; 35. 9C – Roger Campbell, 17.044; 36. 1P – Curtis Evans, 17.102.

Qualifying Flight #2: 1. 41 – Jason Johnson, 15.872; 2. 17 – Jac Haudenschild, 16.002; 3. 10H – Chad Kemenah, 16.085; 4. 71 – Kevin Thomas Jr. , 16.156; 5. 2MM – Matt Moro, 16.170; 6. 5H – Cory Eliason, 16.196; 7. 12N – Cole Duncan, 16.206; 8. 94 – Jeff Swindell, 16.232; 9. 19 – Brent Marks, 16.250; 10. 3K – Tim Kaeding, 16.271; 11. 3S – Sammy Swindell, 16.274; 12. 11K – Kraig Kinser, 16.298; 13. 1Z – Dale Blaney, 16.305; 14. 17W – Harli White, 16.306; 15. 3 – James McFadden, 16.317; 16. 17X – Josh Baughman, 16.324; 17. 15H – Sam Hafertepe, 16.393; 18. 1X – Don Droud Jr. , 16.400; 19. 67X – Parker Price-Miller, 16.425; 20. 9N – Wade Nygaard, 16.458; 21. 49J – Josh Schneiderman, 16.487; 22. 68 – Chase Johnson, 16.491; 23. 1M – Danny Lasoski, 16.566; 24. 44 – Chris Martin, 16.579; 25. 17M – Max McGhee, 16.580; 26. 56N – Davey Heskin, 16.627; 27. 7W – Tasker Phillips, 16.701; 28. 15M – Bobby Mincer, 16.827; 29. 19L – Todd King, 16.862; 30. X1 – Mason Moore, 16.931; 31. 12W – Josh Walter, 16.938; 32. 19P – Paige Polyak, 16.974; 33. 95 – Matt Covington, 17.317; 34. 23W – Scott Winters, 17.388; 35. 10V – Kyle Reinhardt, 17.600; 36. 83C – Adam Cruea, 17.667.

Heat Race #1 (8 Laps): 1. 93 – Sheldon Haudenschid, 2. 00 – Dane Lorenc, 3. 1A – Jacob Allen, 4. 12 – Lynton Jeffrey, 5. 21AU – Jordyn Brazier, 6. 99G – Skylar Gee, 7. 5J – Jeremy Schultz, 8. 12V – Seth Brahmer, 9. 1B – Dustin Selvage, 10. 71A – RJ Johnson, 11. 13 – Clyde Knipp, 12. 4X – Dakota Hendrickson. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)

Heat Race #2 (8 Laps): 1. 55 – Brooke Tatnell, 2. 1S – Logan Schuchart, 3. 87 – Aaron Reutzel, 4. 35V – Jamie Veal, 5. 17B – Bill Balog, 6. W20 – Greg Wilson, 7. 3G – Carson Macedo, 8. 3P – Sawyer Phillips, 9. 81 – Lee Jacobs, 10. 8H – Jason Kendrick, 11. 9C – Roger Campbell, 12. 9X – Jake Bubak. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)

Heat Race #3 (8 Laps): 1. 51 – Joey Saldana, 2. 99 – Brady Bacon, 3. 1 – Thomas Kennedy, 4. 84 – Scott Bogucki, 5. 22 – Rager Phillips, 6. 53 – Jack Dover, 7. 70 – Clint Garner, 8. 26 – Tayler Malsam, 9. 9Z – Jared Goerges, 10. 1P – Curtis Evans. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)

Heat Race #4 (8 Laps): 1. 41 – Jason Johnson, 2. 3 – Tim Kaeding, 3. 12N – Cole Duncan, 4. 71 – Kevin Thomas Jr, 5. 17X – Josh Baughman, 6. 1Z – Dale Blaney, 7. 15M – Bobby mincer, 8. 68 – Chase Johnson, 9. 23W – Scott Winters, 10. 17M – Max McGhee, 11. 12W – Josh Walter, 12. 67X – Parker, Price-Miller. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)

Heat Race #5 (8 Laps): 1. 3S – Sammy Swindell, 2 94 – Jeff Swindell, 3. 15H – Sam Hafertepe, 4. 17 – Jac Haudenschild, 5. 9N – Wade Nygaard, 6. 56N – Davey Heskin, 7. 1M – Danny Lasoski, 8. 17W – Harli White, 9. 19L – Todd King, 10. 10V – Kyle Reinhardt, 11. 19P – Paige Polyak, 12. 2MM – Matt Moro. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)

Heat Race #6 (8 Laps): 1. 11K – Kraig Kinser, 2. 19 – Brent Marks, 3. 5H – Cory Eliason, 4. 10H – Chad Kemenah, 5. 3 – James McFadden, 6. 49J – Josh Schneiderman, 7. 1X – Don Droud Jr, 8. 7W – Tasker Phillips, 9. 44 – Chris Martin, 10. 95 – Matt Covington, 11. 83C – Adam Cruea, 12. 1X – Mason Moore. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)

C-Main (10 Laps): 1. 8H – Jason Kendrick, 2. 19P – Paige Polyak, 3. 95 – Matt Covington, 4. 23W – Scott Winters, 5. 10V – Kyle Reinhardt, 6. 13V – Seth Brahmer, 7. 9Z – Jared Goerges, 8. 12W – Josh Walter, 9. 83C – Adam Cruea, 10. 13 – Clyde Knipp, 11. 1P – Curtis Evans. DNS: 9C – Roger Campbell, 9X – Jake Bubak, 2MM – Matt Moro. (First four finishers transferred to the B-Mains)

B-Main #1 (12 Laps): 1. 12 – Lynton Jeffrey, 2. 17B – Bill Balog, 3. 84 – Scott Bogucki, 4. 3G – Carson Macedo, 5. 1 – Thomas Kennedy, 6. 53 – Jack Dover, 7. W20 – Greg Wilson, 8. 21AU – Jordyn Brazier, 9. 81 – Lee Jacobs, 10. 35V – Jamie Veal, 11. 3P – Sawyer Phillilps, 12. 95 – Matt Covington, 13. 99G – Skylar Gee, 14. 70 – Clint Garner, 15. 5J – Jeremy Schultz, 16. 85 – Chase Wanner, 17. 8H – Jason Kendrick, 18. 26 – Taler Malsam, 19. 1B – Dustin Selvage, 20. 71A – R.J. Johnson, 21. 22 – Rager Phillips, 22. 4X – Dakota Hendrickson. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)

B-Main #2 (12 Laps): 1. 10H – Chad Kemenah, 2. 17 – Jac Haudenschild, 3. 3 – James McFadden, 4. 1Z – Dale Blaney, 5. 71 – Kevin Thomas Jr, 6. 1X – Don Droud Jr, 7. 17X – Josh Baughman, 8. 49J – Josh Schneiderman, 9. 68 – Chase Johnson, 10. 1M – Danny Lasoski, 11. 7W – Tasker Phillips, 12. 56N – Davey Heskin, 13. 17W – Harli White, 14. 44 – Chris Martin, 15. 15M – Bobby Mincer, 16. 23W – Scott Winters, 17. 19P – Paige Polyak, 18. 9N – Wade Nygaard, 19. 19L – Todd King, 20. 17M – Max McGhee, 21. 67X – Parker Price-Miller, 22. X1 – Mason Moore. (First three finishers transferred to the A-Main)

A-Main (25 Laps): 1. 41 – Jason Johnson, 2. 1S – Logan Schuchart, 3. 87 – Aaron Reutzel, 4. 5H – Cory Eliason, 5. 10H – Chad Kemenah, 6. 39 – Spencer Bayston, 7. 93 – Sheldon Haudenschild, 8. 55 – Brooke Tatnell, 9. 3K – Tim Kaeding, 10. 3S – Sammy Swindell, 11. 11K – Kraig Kinser, 12. 1A – Jacob Allen, 13. 51 – Joey Saldana, 14. 19 – Brent Marks, 15. 17B – Bill Balog, 16. 99 – Brady bacon, 17. 12N – Cole Duncan, 18. 3 – James McFadden, 19. 94 – Jeff Swindell, 20. 17 – Jac Haudenschild, 21. 84 – Scott Bogucki, 22. 15H – Sam Hafertepe, 23. 00 – Dane Lorenc, 24. 12 – Lynton Jeffrey.

Feature (20 Laps): 1. 41 – Jason Johnson, 2. 3 – James McFadden, 3. 49 – Brad Sweet, 4. 41S – Dominic Scelzi, 5. 21 – Brian Brown, 6. 12 – Lynton Jeffrey, 7. 18 – Ian Madsen, 8. 27 – Greg Hodnett, 9. 1S – Logan Schuchart, 10. 2 – Shane Stewart, 11. 2M – Kerry Madsen, 12. 35V – Jamie Veal, 13. 3G – Carson Macedo, 14. 24 – Terry McCarl, 15. 24W – Lucas Wolfe, 16. 99G – Skylar Gee, 17. 17W – Harli White, 18. 8H – Jason Kendrick, 19. 55 – Brooke Tatnell, 20. 21AU – Jordyn Brazier, 21. 1 – Thomas Kennedy, 22. 84 – Scott Bogucki, 23. 5H – Cory Elaison.