By T.J. Buffenbarger
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 4, 2019) – Brian Brown, Joe Beaver, and Matthew Stelzer were victorious on Saturday at Knoxville Raceway. Brown took the lead from Josh Schneiderman and pulled away from the field during a pair of restarts for his second win at Knoxville this season and 46th of his career. Beaver held off Jon Agan in a thrilling 360 main event while Stezler picked up his second win of the year in the Pro Sprint division.
For Brown the win was special with his Grandfather George Lasoski being in his pit area.
“My Grandpa George is back tonight, and he hasn’t been back here in probably three years to see me win. It’s awesome to have him back. It’s just a calming feeling when he’s in my pit area that I get no other time. I just feel everything is going to be alright when he’s here. Hopefully he’s not busy that week in August (of the Knoxville Nationals).”
After the first start was called back in the 410 main event Schnneiderman took the lead under pressure from Matt Juhl in the early going. Kerry Madsen eventually dropped Juhl back to second on lap six with Brown following him as well to shuffle Juhl back to second. On lap eight Brown and Madsen swapped the second spot back and forth before Brown took the position and set out after Schneiderman for the lead.
Schneiderman was successful holding off Brown through slower traffic until the red flag appeared on lap 13 for Justin Henderson between turns one and two. Henderson exited the car under his own power.
The restart was the end of Scheiderman’s reign at the top as Brown slid by him in turns one and two for the lead with Madsen dropping him back to second. After a red flag for Mark Dobmeier in turn one Madsen was able to stay on Brown’s back bumper for about two laps before Brown pulled away.
“It was a hell of a battle there in traffic, I really enjoyed that,” said Brown. “Kerry (Madsen) is always fun to race with and obviously Josh (Schneiderman) was tough, but this Casey’s/FVP sponsored car was really good. We were one quick time away from having a clean sweep for the night.”
During the later stages of the race being on seven cylinders couldn’t slow down Brown on his way to victory. Madsen held on for second with Juhl, Brooke Tatnell from 11th starting position, and Parker Price-Miller rounded out the top five.
“My engine builder is not going to be happy with me. That thing was blown up with about eight laps to go. I didn’t know what to do, but luckily, he builds such great engines that they will last on seven cylinders.
The 360 feature was highlighted by a thrilling race between Beaver and Agan for the victory. Beaver led the opening lap with Agan driving by Lee Grosz and Nathan Mills in one corner to the second position. On lap five the epic race for the lead began with Agan challenging Beaver, taking the lead off turn two. Lap seven Beaver took the lead back with a daring dive to the bottom of the turns one and two only to have Agan pass Beaver again around the top of turns three and four.
Just as Agan appeared to have some breathing room using the top of the race track Beaver stormed back to drive by Again using the top of turns one and two on lap 11. One lap later Agan countered with a slide job to retake the lead.
Slower traffic added a degree of difficulty for Agan and Beaver. Another challenge by Beaver on lap 13 was thwarted by Agan. Beaver took away the lead driving around Agan and a slower car three wide off the second corner on lap 16. From there Beaver rode the ragged edge, nearly going over the cushion into the wall on the final lap, to score his first win at Knoxville Raceway since 2016. Clint Garner and Lee Grosz eventually got by Again for second and third with Carson McCarl rounding out the top five.
Aftewards Beaver was emotional in victory lane.
“It’s been a long time,” said Beaver about his absence from Knoxville Raceway’s victory lane. “What can I say about this (car)? It was ripping around there. What an awesome deal! I’m pumped, that was a hell of a race.”
Stelzer had a pair of challenges early on by Brandon Worthington on his way to his second win of the season in the Pro Sprint division. Worthington held on for second with Chase Young rounding out the podium.
Aftward Stelzer seemed as focused in victory lane as he would be in the race car.
“I’m on a mission his year,” said Stelzer. “We have a lot of goals we want to accomplish and we’re starting to knock them off. I don’t know how much time I have left in this car, so I want to make the most of it.”
Knoxville Raceway
Knoxville, IA
Saturday April 5, 2019
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA
May 4, 2019
Winged 410 Sprint Cars
Time Trials, 1. 91, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (12), 16.068; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (17), 16.076; 3. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (2), 16.215; 4. 71P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (7), 16.246; 5. 33M, Mason Daniel, Springville, CA (6), 16.319; 6. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust (5), 16.378; 7. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (31), 16.402; 8. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (22), 16.438; 9. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (13), 16.44; 10. 7X, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (19), 16.45; 11. 4, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (26), 16.515; 12. 41S, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (1), 16.542; 13. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), 16.603; 14. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (9), 16.633; 15. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (16), 16.682; 16. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aus (24), 16.688; 17. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (20), 16.699; 18. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (15), 16.702; 19. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (3), 16.775; 20. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (25), 16.794; 21. 10, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (30), 16.801; 22. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (10), 16.899; 23. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (28), 16.944; 24. 45, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (29), 16.962; 25. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (8), 16.984; 26. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (14), 17.024; 27. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust (4), 17.243; 28. 21M, Brinton Marvel, Pittsboro, IN (18), 17.358; 29. 7S, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (27), 17.411; 30. 85, Chase Wanner, Batavia, IA (21), 17.553; 31. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (23), 17.558;
Heat 1, 8 Laps, No Time: 1. Brooke Tatnell (1); 2. Justin Henderson (3); 3. Tasker Phillips (2); 4. Parker Price-Miller (5); 5. Trey Starks (4); 6. Cale Thomas (6); 7. AJ Moeller (9); 8. Joe Simbro (11); 9. Cody Ledger (8); 10. Brinton Marvel (10);
Heat 2, 8 Laps, No Time: 1. Brian Brown (6); 2. Sheldon Haudenschild (2); 3. Matt Juhl (4); 4. Chris Martin (1); 5. Terry McCarl (3); 6. Sawyer Phillips (7); 7. Mason Daniel (5); 8. Bobby Mincer (8); 9. Skylar Prochaska (9); 10. Tyler Groenendyk (10);
Heat 3, 8 Laps, No Time: 1. Davey Heskin (2); 2. Mark Dobmeier (1); 3. Kerry Madsen (5); 4. Gio Scelzi (3); 5. Austin McCarl (4); 6. Josh Schneiderman (6); 7. Chad Kemenah (8); 8. RJ Johnson (7); 9. Chase Wanner (10); 10. Glen Saville (9);
B main, 12 Laps, No Time: 1. Chad Kemenah (3); 2. AJ Moeller (4); 3. Bobby Mincer (2); 4. Skylar Prochaska (5); 5. Tyler Groenendyk (8); 6. Joe Simbro (10); 7. Brinton Marvel (7); 8. Chase Wanner (9);
A main, 20 Laps, No Time: 1. Brian Brown (6); 2. Kerry Madsen (3); 3. Matt Juhl (1); 4. Brooke Tatnell (11); 5. Parker Price-Miller (4); 6. Josh Schneiderman (2); 7. Sheldon Haudenschild (13); 8. Davey Heskin (10); 9. Trey Starks (8); 10. Austin McCarl (12); 11. Gio Scelzi (15); 12. Chris Martin (18); 13. Tasker Phillips (14); 14. Terry McCarl (16); 15. Mason Daniel (9); 16. Cale Thomas (5); 17. Sawyer Phillips (19); 18. Chad Kemenah (21); 19. Skylar Prochaska (24); 20. Bobby Mincer (23); 21. AJ Moeller (22); 22. Mark Dobmeier (17); 23. RJ Johnson (20); 24. Justin Henderson (7);
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Time Trials, 1. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (22), 16.291; 2. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (28), 16.77; 3. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND (3), 16.826; 4. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (31), 16.9; 5. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (14), 17.051; 6. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (21), 17.131; 7. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (12), 17.191; 8. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (29), 17.254; 9. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (18), 17.269; 10. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (8), 17.285; 11. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA (9), 17.315; 12. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (13), 17.32; 13. 17, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (17), 17.358; 14. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (26), 17.386; 15. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (10), 17.386; 16. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (4), 17.439; 17. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (23), 17.492; 18. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (16), 17.505; 19. 17B, Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD (19), 17.687; 20. 83, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (20), 17.696; 21. 40C, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (27), 17.7; 22. 9X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (25), 17.728; 23. 33J, Jayce Jenkins, Colfax, IA (5), 17.76; 24. 19, Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres, IA (15), 17.914; 25. 64C, Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA (1), 17.947; 26. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (7), 18.005; 27. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (30), 18.051; 28. 11B, Ben Woods, Newton, IA (24), 18.128; 29. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (11), 18.654; 30. 6, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (6), 18.85; 31. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (2), No Time;
Heat 1, 7 Laps, No Time: 1. Zeb Wise (2); 2. Carson McCarl (5); 3. Ryan Giles (6); 4. Ryan Leavitt (1); 5. Calvin Landis (4); 6. McKenna Haase (3); 7. Ryan Bickett (7); 8. Jake Bubak (8); 9. Ben Woods (10); 10. John Anderson (11);
Heat 2, 7 Laps, No Time: 1. Jon Agan (5); 2. Josh Higday (2); 3. Matt Moro (6); 4. Nathan Mills (4); 5. Tom Lenz (1); 6. Brad Comegys (3); 7. Rob Kubli (7); 8. Jayce Jenkins (8); 9. Alan Zoutte (9); 10. Jon Hughes (10);
Heat 3, 7 Laps, No Time: 1. Clint Garner (4); 2. Tasker Phillips (2); 3. Lee Grosz (6); 4. Joe Beaver (5); 5. Christian Bowman (1); 6. Eric Bridger (9); 7. Kelby Watt (3); 8. Rob Weuve (8); 9. Cody Wehrle (7); 10. Frank Rodgers III (10);
B main, 10 Laps, No Time: 1. Jake Bubak (2); 2. Cody Wehrle (1); 3. Rob Weuve (4); 4. Eric Bridger (7); 5. Casey Greubel (5); 6. Jayce Jenkins (3); 7. Jon Hughes (9); 8. Ben Woods (8); 9. Frank Rodgers III (10); 10. John Anderson (11); 11. Alan Zoutte (6);
A main, 18 Laps, No Time: 1. Joe Beaver (2); 2. Clint Garner (3); 3. Lee Grosz (4); 4. Jon Agan (6); 5. Carson McCarl (5); 6. Ryan Giles (8); 7. Zeb Wise (10); 8. Matt Moro (7); 9. Calvin Landis (9); 10. Kelby Watt (16); 11. McKenna Haase (13); 12. Ryan Leavitt (15); 13. Rob Kubli (20); 14. Jake Bubak (21); 15. Nathan Mills (1); 16. Josh Higday (11); 17. Ryan Bickett (19); 18. Eric Bridger (24); 19. Cody Wehrle (22); 20. Brad Comegys (14); 21. Rob Weuve (23); 22. Christian Bowman (18); 23. Tom Lenz (17); 24. Tasker Phillips (12);
Pro Series
Time Trials, 1. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (9), 17.647; 2. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (6), 17.878; 3. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (11), 17.947; 4. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (2), 18.138; 5. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (10), 18.158; 6. 21X, Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA (12), 18.325; 7. 56, Chris Walraven, Knoxville, IA (5), 18.327; 8. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (7), 18.406; 9. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (8), 18.512; 10. 11, Tyler Barrick, Slater, IA (4), 19.966; 11. 2, Matt Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (1), 20.132; 12. 50, Mike Ayers, Waukee, IA (3), No Time;
Heat 1, 6 Laps, No Time: 1. Chris Walraven (3); 2. Evan Epperson (2); 3. Chase Young (6); 4. Jeff Wilke (5); 5. Mike Mayberry (4); 6. Matt Johnson (1);
Heat 2, 6 Laps, No Time: 1. Brandon Worthington (2); 2. Mike Johnston (4); 3. Devin Wignall (3); 4. Matthew Stelzer (5); 5. Mike Ayers (6); 6. Tyler Barrick (1);
A main, 12 Laps, No Time: 1. Matthew Stelzer (4); 2. Brandon Worthington (1); 3. Chase Young (6); 4. Evan Epperson (8); 5. Mike Ayers (11); 6. Chris Walraven (3); 7. Mike Johnston (5); 8. Jeff Wilke (2); 9. Mike Mayberry (9); 10. Tyler Barrick (10); 11. Matt Johnson (12);