By T.J. Buffenbarger
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (April 20, 2019) — Brian Brown capped off an emotional two weeks for his family by winning the opening event for the 2019 season at Knoxville Raceway on Saturday. Two weeks ago, Brown’s grandmother, Barbra Lasoski, passed away last Thursday with the funeral taking place this week. Brown, from Grain Valley, Missouri, dedicated the win to his late Grandmother and other members of his family.
“This was for my Grandmother, my Grandpa, my Mom, Danny, my whole family,” said Brown in victory lane. “I sat up there in section G row 19 and 20 for a lot of years with her and she was big part of my life and a bit part of my career. “
Brown ran down early leader Justin Henderson for the lead. While Brown closed quickly on Henderson making the pass for the lead proved to be more difficult. Brown continued to work on Henderson for four laps before taking the top position o lap 11 driving off the bottom in turn four.
“I got to Justin there, but couldn’t figure out how I was going to get by him. I was a little better than him through three and four, but when I got to one and two I’d be in his dirty air and I would lose everything I gained. I just knew I would have to attack.”
From that point forward Brown was never seriously challenged. Aaron Reutzel moved up from 12th starting position to take the runner up spot with Kerry Madsen, Terry McCarl, and Henderson rounding out the top five.
A a long West Coast swing along depth of the talent in the field due to a significant number of cancelled races around the country due to inclement weather Saturday’s win was a big confidence boost to Brown and his Casey’s General Stores/FVP sponsored team.
“This is probably single toughest field we are going to race against here other than Outlaws are here or the Capitani Classic. There are guys here that are multi time champions. There are running their race, and you must sneak through them and pass them as easy as you can. Its fun. We’ve been on the west coast and traveling for the past month and a half and we got our teeth kicked in. To come back here, where I consider this my home track and my home crowd and to get a win like this for my Grandma and all of the Lasoski family is pretty cool.”
In the 360 sprint car division Ryan Giles dominated the main event leading every lap in route to the victory over Jon Agan, Lee Groze, Cory Eliason, and Jamie Ball. Stelzer won the season opening main event in Pro Sprint Car class.
Knoxville Raceway
Knoxville, IA
Saturday April 20, 2019
Winged 410 Sprint Cars
Qualifying: 1. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (14), 16.112; 2. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (2), 16.188; 3. 71P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (24), 16.192; 4. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust (29), 16.199; 5. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (10), 16.203; 6. 7X, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (30), 16.225; 7. 83, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (3), 16.239; 8. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust (32), 16.255; 9. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (7), 16.257; 10. 71, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (33), 16.261; 11. 39, Christopher Bell, Norman, OK (13), 16.319; 12. 11, Dale Blaney, Hartford, OH (15), 16.329; 13. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (18), 16.427; 14. 4, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (6), 16.459; 15. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (19), 16.483; 16. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aus (23), 16.483; 17. 26, Cory Eliason, Selma, CA (12), 16.508; 18. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (9), 16.526; 19. 33M, Mason Daniel, Springville, CA (25), 16.592; 20. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (11), 16.729; 21. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (1), 16.742; 22. 99, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (5), 16.756; 23. 70X, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (21), 16.758; 24. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (8), 16.769; 25. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (16), 16.83; 26. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (17), 16.888; 27. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (28), 17.121; 28. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (20), 17.137; 29. 85, Chase Wanner, Batavia, IA (4), 17.149; 30. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (22), 17.162; 31. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (26), 17.667; 32. 7S, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (31), No Time; 33. 10, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (27), No Time;
Heat Race #1: 8 Laps, No Time: 1. Cory Eliason (2); 2. Brian Brown (6); 3. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5); 4. Mark Dobmeier (7); 5. Aaron Reutzel (4); 6. Tasker Phillips (1); 7. Craig Dollansky (3); 8. Chase Wanner (8);
Heat Race #2: 8 Laps, No Time: 1. Terry McCarl (3); 2. Gio Scelzi (4); 3. Justin Henderson (5); 4. Skylar Gee (1); 5. Trey Starks (2); 6. Austin McCarl (6); 7. Josh Schneiderman (7); 8. Sawyer Phillips (8);
Heat Race #3: 8 Laps, No Time: 1. Mason Daniel (2); 2. Matt Juhl (3); 3. Spencer Bayston (1); 4. Christopher Bell (4); 5. Parker Price-Miller (6); 6. Lynton Jeffrey (5); 7. Chris Martin (7); 8. Joe Simbro (8);
Heat Race #4: 8 Laps, No Time: 1. Brooke Tatnell (3); 2. Ian Madsen (5); 3. Kerry Madsen (6); 4. Dale Blaney (4); 5. Davey Heskin (2); 6. AJ Moeller (1); 7. Bobby Mincer (7); 8. Tyler Groenendyk (8);
B-Main: 12 Laps, No Time: 1. Davey Heskin (1); 2. Tasker Phillips (2); 3. Mark Dobmeier (5); 4. Josh Schneiderman (6); 5. Skylar Gee (3); 6. Chris Martin (7); 7. Chase Wanner (9); 8. Tyler Groenendyk (12); 9. Sawyer Phillips (10); 10. Joe Simbro (11); 11. AJ Moeller (4); 12. Bobby Mincer (8);
A-Main: 20 Laps, No Time: 1. Brian Brown (6); 2. Aaron Reutzel (12); 3. Kerry Madsen (5); 4. Terry McCarl (9); 5. Justin Henderson (2); 6. Austin McCarl (1); 7. Ian Madsen (7); 8. Parker Price-Miller (3); 9. Gio Scelzi (8); 10. Christopher Bell (14); 11. Dale Blaney (17); 12. Brooke Tatnell (11); 13. Davey Heskin (21); 14. Cory Eliason (13); 15. Lynton Jeffrey (10); 16. Matt Juhl (15); 17. Mark Dobmeier (23); 18. Mason Daniel (16); 19. Tasker Phillips (22); 20. Spencer Bayston (18); 21. Trey Starks (19); 22. Josh Schneiderman (24); 23. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4); 24. Craig Dollansky (20);
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Qualifying: 1. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (25), 17.023; 2. 26, Cory Eliason, Selma, CA (3), 17.036; 3. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (2), 17.147; 4. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (13), 17.161; 5. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (8), 17.177; 6. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (7), 17.305; 7. 17, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (21), 17.338; 8. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND (11), 17.351; 9. 53D, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (33), 17.377; 10. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (14), 17.386; 11. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (9), 17.39; 12. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (12), 17.425; 13. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (6), 17.427; 14. 40C, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (17), 17.564; 15. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (24), 17.598; 16. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (4), 17.607; 17. 17B, Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD (27), 17.61; 18. 21, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can (26), 17.618; 19. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (22), 17.75; 20. 83, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (5), 17.754; 21. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA (16), 17.768; 22. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (10), 17.83; 23. 2D, Dusty Ballenger, Harrisburg, SD (23), 17.837; 24. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (31), 17.96; 25. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (19), 18.031; 26. 33J, Jayce Jenkins, Colfax, IA (1), 18.208; 27. 19, Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres, IA (15), 18.366; 28. 64C, Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA (18), 18.482; 29. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (29), 19.116; 30. 11B, Ben Woods, Newton, IA (28), 20.508; 31. 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Ca (20), 18.552; 32. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (32), 19.383; 33. 68, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (30), 19.456; 34. 28, Rich Cerveny, Omaha, NE (34), No Time;
Heat Race #1: 7 Laps, No Time: 1. Clint Garner (3); 2. Ryan Bickett (2); 3. Jamie Ball (6); 4. Jack Dover (4); 5. Carson McCarl (5); 6. Brad Comegys (1); 7. Frank Rodgers III (9); 8. Tom Lenz (7); 9. Jon Hughes (8);
Heat Race #2: 7 Laps, No Time: 1. Jon Agan (4); 2. Cory Eliason (6); 3. Robbie Price (2); 4. Cody Wehrle (3); 5. McKenna Haase (5); 6. Jayce Jenkins (7); 7. Alan Zoutte (1); 8. Ben Woods (8); 9. Rich Cerveny (9);
Heat Race #3: 7 Laps, No Time: 1. Ryan Giles (4); 2. Ryan Leavitt (2); 3. Kelby Watt (3); 4. Dusty Ballenger (1); 5. Joe Beaver (6); 6. Zeb Wise (5); 7. Rob Weuve (7); 8. Alex Hill (8);
Heat Race #4: 7 Laps, No Time: 1. Calvin Landis (4); 2. Lee Grosz (5); 3. Christian Bowman (3); 4. Matt Moro (6); 5. Josh Higday (1); 6. Casey Greubel (7); 7. Nathan Mills (8); 8. Rob Kubli (2);
B-Main: 10 Laps, No Time: 1. Josh Higday (4); 2. Brad Comegys (2); 3. Rob Kubli (1); 4. Tom Lenz (5); 5. Nathan Mills (12); 6. Casey Greubel (8); 7. Alex Hill (11); 8. Alan Zoutte (3); 9. Jon Hughes (9); 10. Frank Rodgers III (13); 11. Rich Cerveny (14); 12. Rob Weuve (7); 13. Ben Woods (10); 14. Jayce Jenkins (6);
A-Main: 18 Laps, No Time: 1. Ryan Giles (1); 2. Jon Agan (3); 3. Lee Grosz (4); 4. Cory Eliason (8); 5. Jamie Ball (7); 6. Clint Garner (11); 7. Matt Moro (6); 8. Carson McCarl (2); 9. Calvin Landis (10); 10. Jack Dover (12); 11. Joe Beaver (5); 12. McKenna Haase (9); 13. Ryan Leavitt (17); 14. Zeb Wise (13); 15. Josh Higday (21); 16. Dusty Ballenger (20); 17. Kelby Watt (15); 18. Rob Kubli (23); 19. Robbie Price (19); 20. Brad Comegys (22); 21. Christian Bowman (16); 22. Tom Lenz (24); 23. Cody Wehrle (18); 24. Ryan Bickett (14);
Pro Sprint Cars
Qualifying: 1. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (3), 17.833; 2. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (11), 18.109; 3. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (5), 18.248; 4. 50, Mike Ayers, Waukee, IA (8), 18.303; 5. 21X, Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA (4), 18.397; 6. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (6), 18.659; 7. 56, Chris Walraven, Knoxville, IA (9), 18.764; 8. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (7), 18.978; 9. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (2), 18.981; 10. 2, Matt Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (1), 19.052; 11. 11, Tyler Barrick, Slater, IA (10), 21.467;
Heat Race #1: 6 Laps, No Time: 1. Jeff Wilke (3); 2. Brandon Worthington (7); 3. Mike Johnston (1); 4. Mike Ayers (2); 5. Chase Young (5); 6. Matthew Stelzer (4); 7. Devin Wignall (9); 8. Mike Mayberry (8); 9. Chris Walraven (6); 10. Tyler Barrick (10);
A-Main: 12 Laps, No Time: 1. Matthew Stelzer (4); 2. Devin Wignall (2); 3. Mike Johnston (5); 4. Mike Ayers (6); 5. Chase Young (7); 6. Jeff Wilke (8); 7. Chris Walraven (1); 8. Mike Mayberry (9); 9. Brandon Worthington (3); 10. Tyler Barrick (10);