By Bryan Hulbert
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 1, 2019) The My Place Hotels ASCS 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank got underway Thursday with Iowa’s Ryan Giles leading start to finish to win Dingus Lounge Qualifying Night.
Giles ninth career victory at the famed Knoxville Raceway, the win is his first SawBlade.com A-Feature win against the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network. Overall, Giles is the 12th Iowan and the 149th different winner with the National Tour.
“I have to give a big shout out to my wife. She’s six months pregnant with our baby girl, and she was in the hospital this morning. I felt like I abandoned her and had to work all day. She told me to go have fun, so…this one’s for her. I definitely have to thank Gary Isom. This is all his deal.”
Getting the jump on Rob Kubli on the start, Giles stuck his Midwest Basement Systems No. 9 to the hub of the Knoxville Raceway as Thomas Kennedy moved up one spot to pursue. Putting several car lengths on the No. 21k, the race through the top five saw Aaron Reutzel taking the fifth spot on Lap 7 with the caution following the next lap for Lee Grosz. As the caution flew, Dominic Scelzi shredded a right rear tire. Both drivers were able to continue.
Caution on the restart, Rob Kubli, and Aaron Reutzel came together racing for fifth through the fourth turn as Reutzel drove up and Kubli came down. Meeting in the middle, Kubli made hard contact with Aaron’s right rear; sending the No. 83 into the wall. Unharmed, the damage as too much to continue.
Caution again on the restart for Calvin Landis, the field finally went back to green with Giles easy on the throttle to pull away from the race for second with Wayne Johnson working to the runner-up spot. Falling to fourth on Lap 14, Aaron Reutzel worked to the show position. Into traffic with three laps to go, Reutzel fought to second with time running out for a shot at the lead, but just as Giles was cruising easily to victory, the caution flew in place of the checkered flag.
Into the green, white, checkered finish, Reutzel peeked wide on the No. 9, but would not take away Giles’ victory. Aaron Reutzel in second was trailed by Wayne Johnson to complete the podium. California’s Cory Eliason made up five positions to cross fourth with Thomas Kennedy slipping back to fifth.
Making up six spots, Justin Henderson was sixth. Racing into the top five at one-point, Dusty Zomer ended up seventh with Carson McCarl eighth. The night’s Hard Charger, after coming out of the B-Feature, Parker Price-Miller dug from 21st to ninth. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. made up the top ten.
A field of 42 drivers was on hand for Thursday’s Dingus Lounge Qualifying Night with five SCE Gaskets Heat Races going to Devon Dobie, Thomas Kennedy, Mason Daniel, Jack Dover, and Justin Henderson. The BMRS B-Feature was won by Parker Price-Miller.
The My Place Hotels ASCS 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank continues Friday with the Iowa Corn Growers Qualifying Night with 59 drivers set to hit the Knoxville Raceway clay. Hot Laps get underway at 6:45 P.M. with Qualifying at 7:15 P.M. (CT). More information and night’s roster can be found online at http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the nine Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2019, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS presented by MAVTV
Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa)
29th ASCS Knoxville Nationals – Night 1
Thursday, August 1, 2019
Car Count: 42
Time Trials [Qualifying Order]: Single Car, 2 Laps each:
1. 5, Dusty Zomer, Brandon, SD [9], 16.267; 2. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND [1], 16.336; 3. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA [7], 16.338; 4. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX [23], 16.338; 5. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA [4], 16.449; 6. 71P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN [6], 16.541; 7. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX [28], 16.585; 8. 11X, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN [36], 16.593; 9. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA [29], 16.601; 10. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK [25], 16.685; 11. J2, John Carney II, El Paso, TX [21], 16.722; 12. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. [38], 16.725; 13. 83, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA [18], 16.729; 14. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA [41], 16.748; 15. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE [14], 16.748; 16. 26, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA [22], 16.779; 17. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA [26], 16.790; 18. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA [35], 16.800; 19. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA [5], 16.813; 20. 83H, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD [42], 16.814; 21. 23D, Devon Dobie, Wapakoneta, OH [20], 16.815; 22. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA [15], 16.859; 23. 33M, Mason Daniel, Springfield, CA [17], 16.875; 24. 1, Travis Rilat, Heath, TX [27], 16.886; 25. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE [8], 16.909; 26. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA [24], 16.913; 27. 94, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN [32], 16.913; 28. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK [33], 16.916; 29. 53D, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE [40], 16.965; 30. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA [13], 16.971; 31. 66, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO [39], 16.989; 32. 45, Rusty Hickman, Tullamarine, VIC, Aust. [3], 17.037; 33. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA [11], 17.058; 34. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA [34], 17.062; 35. 3B, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN [2], 17.076; 36. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA [10], 17.080; 37. 1CB, Chelsea Blevins, Janesville, CA [19], 17.234; 38. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA [37], 17.379; 39. 64C, Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA [31], 17.409; 40. 2D, Dusty Ballenger, Harrisburg, SD [16], 17.443; 41. 37H, Nicholas Howard, Lawrence, KS [30], 17.513; 42. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD [12], 18.153
SCE Gaskets Heat Races (Top 4 to the A)
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 23D-Devon Dobie, [2]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason, [3]; 3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, [1]; 4. 5-Dusty Zomer, [6]; 5. J2-John Carney II, [4]; 6. 66-Ricky Montgomery, [7]; 7. 71P-Parker Price-Miller, [5]; 8. 37H-Nicholas Howard, [9]; 9. 22-Ryan Leavitt, [8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [4]; 2. 27-Carson McCarl, [3]; 3. 94-Jeff Swindell, [1]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [5]; 5. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, [2]; 6. 4J-Lee Grosz, [6]; 7. 45-Rusty Hickman, [7]; 8. 1CB-Chelsea Blevins, [8]; 9. 2K-Kevin Ingle, [9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 33M-Mason Daniel, [2]; 2. 99-Brady Bacon, [1]; 3. 83-Rob Kubli, [4]; 4. 44-Chris Martin, [3]; 5. 70-Calvin Landis, [6]; 6. 11X-Sammy Swindell, [5]; 7. 33-Alan Zoutte, [7]; (DNS) 53-Joe Beaver,
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 53D-Jack Dover, [1]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [6]; 3. 9-Ryan Giles, [4]; 4. 1-Travis Rilat, [2]; 5. 5J-Jamie Ball, [5]; 6. 64C-Casey Greubel, [8]; 7. 81E-Eric Bridger, [7]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 83H-Justin Henderson, [3]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [5]; 3. 76-Brad Comegys, [1]; 4. 44S-Trey Starks, [6]; 5. 35L-Cody Ledger, [2]; 6. 18-Ryan Roberts, [4]; 7. 3B-Spencer Bayston, [7]; 8. 2D-Dusty Ballenger, [8]
BMRS B-Feature (Top 4 advance to the A-Feature)
B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 71P-Parker Price-Miller, [3]; 2. 4J-Lee Grosz, [1]; 3. 70-Calvin Landis, [2]; 4. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, [9]; 5. 3B-Spencer Bayston, [15]; 6. 1K-Kelby Watt, [8]; 7. 18-Ryan Roberts, [7]; 8. 35L-Cody Ledger, [10]; 9. J2-John Carney II, [6]; 10. 45-Rusty Hickman, [12]; 11. 66-Ricky Montgomery, [11]; 12. 81E-Eric Bridger, [14]; 13. 2D-Dusty Ballenger, [19]; 14. 11X-Sammy Swindell, [4]; 15. 33-Alan Zoutte, [17]; 16. 37H-Nicholas Howard, [20]; 17. 2K-Kevin Ingle, [22]; 18. (DNF) 64C-Casey Greubel, [18]; 19. (DNF) 1CB-Chelsea Blevins, [16]; 20. (DNF) 5J-Jamie Ball, [5]; 21. (DNF) 53-Joe Beaver, [13]; 22. (DNF) 22-Ryan Leavitt, [21]
Sawblade.com A-Feature
A Feature (20 Laps): 1. 9-Ryan Giles, [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [5]; 3. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [4]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason, [9]; 5. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [3]; 6. 83H-Justin Henderson, [12]; 7. 5-Dusty Zomer, [8]; 8. 27-Carson McCarl, [10]; 9. 71P-Parker Price-Miller, [21]; 10. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [7]; 11. 94-Jeff Swindell, [17]; 12. 99-Brady Bacon, [18]; 13. 33M-Mason Daniel, [14]; 14. 1-Travis Rilat, [15]; 15. 44-Chris Martin, [11]; 16. 53D-Jack Dover, [19]; 17. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, [24]; 18. 4J-Lee Grosz, [22]; 19. 23D-Devon Dobie, [13]; 20. 76-Brad Comegys, [20]; 21. 70-Calvin Landis, [23]; 22. (DNF) 44S-Trey Starks, [6]; 23. (DNF) 41S-Dominic Scelzi, [16]; 24. (DNF) 83-Rob Kubli, [2]
Lap Leader(s): Ryan Giles 1-20
Hard Charger: Parker Price-Miller +12
High Point Driver: N/A
Provisional(s): N/A
Event Points as of August 1, 2019
5-Dusty Zomer-479
87-Aaron Reutzel-477
2C-Wayne Johnson-475
15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.-473
21K-Thomas Kennedy-470
9-Ryan Giles-468
26-Cory Eliason-461
71P-Parker Price-Miller-456
83H-Justin Henderson-452
27-Carson McCarl-451
4J-Lee Grosz-449
70-Calvin Landis-444
44S-Trey Starks-441
33M-Mason Daniel-432
44-Chris Martin-429
23D-Devon Dobie-424
83-Rob Kubli-424
94-Jeff Swindell-422
99-Brady Bacon-421
1-Travis Rilat-419
53D-Jack Dover-414
3P-Sawyer Phillips-414
J2-John Carney II-402
41S-Dominic Scelzi-400
76-Brad Comegys-398
18-Ryan Roberts-395
11X-Sammy Swindell-395
1K-Kelby Watt-389
5J-Jamie Ball-384
35L-Cody Ledger-376
3B-Spencer Bayston-356
66-Ricky Montgomery-355
45-Rusty Hickman-352
81E-Eric Bridger-341
33-Alan Zoutte-330
2D-Dusty Ballenger-327
53-Joe Beaver-325
64C-Casey Greubel-322
1CB-Chelsea Blevins-321
37H-Nicholas Howard-319
22-Ryan Leavitt-314
2K-Kevin Ingle-312