From Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 18, 2021) – A thrilling quartet of races greeted Knoxville Raceway fans Friday night as four different drivers celebrated victory! Jamie Ball won is ninth career feature in the 360 class after starting tenth, and executing a late race pass. In a make-up feature from May 15, Carson McCarl made an electrifying last lap pass to gain his fifth career win. In the Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance class, Devin Kline notched career win number 15, while Eric Bridger won his tenth career main event in the make-up feature.
Pole-sitter Calvin Landis shot out to the early lead in the first 18-lap 360 main event ahead of Sawyer Phillips and Austin McCarl. Christian Bowman would slow to a stop after contact with Cody Ledger. Bowman would exit with damage to the left front of the car. At the same time, Chris Martin suffered motor ills while running seventh and retired.
Landis led Phillips, Austin McCarl, Riley Goodno and Carson McCarl back to green. Clint Garner quickly entered the top five and then took fourth from Goodno on lap three.
Up front, Phillips was gaining on the leader and took the point with a pass of Landis on the high side of turn four on lap five. Meanwhile, Jamie Ball had advanced from his starting spot outside row five into the top five. Ball would go by Garner on the high side on lap six for fourth.
On lap ten, Phillips was caught behind a lapper and Landis pounced to retake the lead. Two laps later, Phillips would pull to the infield with mechanical issues. Ball worked his way by Austin McCarl and set his sights on the leader as the laps dwindled down. With three to go, he made his winning pass on the high side of turn four. Austin McCarl claimed the second spot coming for the white flag.
Ball’s ninth career win came ahead of Austin McCarl, Landis, hard-charger Roger Crockett and Garner. Carson McCarl, Ryan Giles, Goodno, AJ Moeller and Kaleb Johnson rounded out the top ten. Garner set quick time over the 31-car field, while Austin McCarl, Giles and Josh Higday were heat race winners. Ryan Leavitt claimed the B main.
“We struggled a little bit in the heat race and the boys went to work,” said Ball in Victory Lane. “We changed things two or three different times depending on how the track looked. We worked through adversity tonight, and tenth to first…that was awesome!”
The 18-lap make-up feature for the 360’s got off to a rough start when Rob Kubli contacted the turn two wall, and was done. From there though, the race went clean and green.
Ryan Giles came from row two to lead early over Ricky Montgomery, Carson McCarl, Johnson and Garner. On lap four, McCarl and Johnson found their way by Montgomery for second and third, while Garner would follow them into fourth a lap later.
The leaders were into lapped traffic by the eighth circuit, and Ball had entered the top five after starting in row six on lap nine. McCarl slowly reeled in Giles as traffic developed and briefly took the lead on the 17th lap. Giles would reclaim it by the start/finish line.
Heading into the final lap, McCarl shot low into turn one and slid in front of Giles to take the lead for good and claim his fifth career 360 feature win. Johnson, Garner and Ball followed Giles to the line. Leavitt, Matt Moro, Montgomery, Landis and Goodno completed the top ten.
“I just let one get away from me last week,” said McCarl in Victory Lane. “I felt really good up on the top, and the few times I went to the bottom, I felt good as well. I knew I was catching (Giles) on the top and I had a big run off of four. I didn’t want to show my nose too soon. My car felt so good, but I don’t know if we were as good as he was. To get a win at Knoxville is awesome, especially in a fashion like that.”
The first feature for the Pro Sprints saw JJ Beaver get into the turn one wall right after the green. He was done for the night. Devin Kline took off from his pole spot once the green replaced the yellow as Joe Beaver moved from the third row to second, ahead of Devin Wignall.
Jaclyn Jones spun with six laps down, setting up a restart that saw Kline ahead of Beaver, Wignall, Tyler Groenendyk and Matt Allen. Matthew Stelzer, who led the point race heading into the night, came to a stop one lap later. Wignall used that restart to gain second in a quest to catch the leader.
One final caution flew for a slowing Jeff Wilke with two to go. Kline was able to maintain his advantage and match Stelzer’s 15-win mark that sits on the top of the class’s all-time victory list. Groenendyk shot by Beaver and Wignall to grab second, followed by Wignall, Beaver and Mike Mayberry. Allen, Chase Young, Eric Bridger, Brandon Worthington and Cam Martin rounded out the top ten. Young and Wignall won heat races.
“I was getting worried on all the restarts,” said Kline in Victory Lane. “On the second one, I saw Joe Beaver get beside me. It was a lot of fun getting to race with him. The (second to last) restart, I saw Wignall was up there on the top and I got worried. Nonetheless, this car has been on rails the last two weeks in a row. I’m having a blast!”
Bridger shot out to the early lead in the 18-lap make-up feature, ahead of Alex Vande Voort and Wignall. Groenendyk made a move from sixth to fourth, but it was negated when Stelzer came to stop a lap in. He would take fifth on the restart, and then move into fourth on lap four.
On lap six, Wignall rode the high side to second ahead of Vande Voort. Wignall reeled in Bridger, who was using the low side of the track and passed him high in turn four on lap ten. Meanwhile, Groenendyk took third from Vande Voort.
Wignall was cruising, but a caution for a spun Wilke set up a two lap dash for the checkers. Bridger took advantage, getting a great restart on the bottom to move by Wignall and take his tenth career win at Knoxville. Wignall, Groenendyk, Vande Voort and Mayberry followed. Worthington, Young, Allen and Martin completed the top ten.
“It’s been a couple years since we’ve been up front, but I’ll take it,” said Bridger in Victory Lane. “I saw (Wignall) closing down on me on the video board. So I tried to get higher and that screwed me up. With the caution, I thought I needed five more laps, but it actually worked out. I was able to pull the wing back and drive off.”
Join us Saturday for the Camping World Superstar Racing Experience (SRX) presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom! The 410 sprint car class will also be in action! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or check Knoxville Raceway’s Facebook and Twitter.
Knoxville Raceway
Knoxville, Iowa
Saturday, June 19, 2021
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (4), 16.371; 2. 22X, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (3), 16.478; 3. 9M, Ricky Montgomery, Denver, CO (2), 16.481; 4. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (15), 16.484; 5. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (6), 16.576; 6. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (12), 16.598; 7. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (11), 16.668; 8. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (7), 16.668; 9. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (14), 16.682; 10. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (22), 16.708; 11. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (8), 16.740; 12. 83, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (10), 16.781; 13. 11, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK (23), 16.788; 14. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (29), 16.913; 15. 99, Tony Rost, Utica, NE (1), 16.925; 16. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (31), 16.929; 17. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (20), 16.981; 18. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (18), 16.992; 19. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (25), 17.011; 20. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (27), 17.019; 21. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (5), 17.083; 22. 21, Gunner Ramey, Sedalia, MO (13), 17.120; 23. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (26), 17.135; 24. 35X, Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL (17), 17.207; 25. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (9), 17.249; 26. 11A, Austin O’Neal, Kearney, MO (24), 17.277; 27. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (28), 17.329; 28. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (30), 17.343; 29. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (19), 17.492; 30. 8M, Kade Morton, Coweta, OK (16), 17.546; 31. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (21), NT.
Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.4: 1. Austin McCarl (3); 2. Cody Ledger (1); 3. Roger Crockett (2); 4. Clint Garner (6); 5. Jamie Ball (4); 6. Gunner Ramey (8); 7. AJ Moeller (5); 8. Rob Kubli (7); 9. Nathan Mills (11); 10. Tom Lenz (9); 11. Alan Zoutte (10)
Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 2:03.0: 1. Ryan Giles (1); 2. Christian Bowman (2); 3. Calvin Landis (4); 4. Matt Moro (3); 5. Sawyer Phillips (5); 6. Kaleb Johnson (7); 7. Riley Goodno (6); 8. Ryan Leavitt (8); 9. John Anderson (9) DNS – Austin O’Neal
Heat three (started), 7 Laps, 2:03.7: 1. Josh Higday (1); 2. Chris Martin (4); 3. Carson McCarl (5); 4. Ricky Montgomery (6); 5. Austin Miller (3); 6. Christopher Thram (9); 7. Kade Morton (10); 8. Kevin Hetrick (8); 9. Mike Johnston (7); 10. Tony Rost (2)
B main (started), 10 Laps, 3:09.6: 1. Ryan Leavitt (3); 2. Tony Rost (1); 3. Nathan Mills (10); 4. Christopher Thram (6); 5. Kevin Hetrick (4); 6. Kade Morton (9); 7. Alan Zoutte (7); 8. John Anderson (8); 9. Mike Johnston (2); 10. Tom Lenz (5)
A main, 18 Laps, NT: 1. Jamie Ball (10); 2. Austin McCarl (5); 3. Calvin Landis (1); 4. Roger Crockett (15); 5. Clint Garner (8); 6. Carson McCarl (6); 7. Ryan Giles (12); 8. Riley Goodno (3); 9. AJ Moeller (9); 10. Kaleb Johnson (18); 11. Ricky Montgomery (7); 12. Josh Higday (14); 13. Matt Moro (13); 14. Ryan Leavitt (21); 15. Nathan Mills (23); 16. Rob Kubli (20); 17. Cody Ledger (16); 18. Gunner Ramey (19); 19. Tony Rost (22); 20. Christopher Thram (24); 21. Austin Miller (17); 22. Sawyer Phillips (2); 23. Chris Martin (4); 24. Christian Bowman (11). Lap Leaders: Landis 1-4, S. Phillips 5-9, Landis 10-14, Ball 15-18. Hard-charger: Crockett.
Make-up A main from 5/15 (started), 18 Laps, 5:52.0: 1. Carson McCarl (2); 2. Ryan Giles (3); 3. Kaleb Johnson (4); 4. Clint Garner (6); 5. Jamie Ball (11); 6. Ryan Leavitt (10); 7. Matt Moro (5); 8. Ricky Montgomery (1); 9. Calvin Landis (7); 10. Riley Goodno (16); 11. Josh Higday (9); 12. Nathan Mills (19); 13. Gunner Ramey (12); 14. Christopher Thram (14); 15. Tom Lenz (15); 16. John Anderson (18); 17. Tony Rost (13); 18. Mike Johnston (17); 19. Joe Beaver (20); 20. Rob Kubli (8) DNS – Christian Bowman. Lap Leaders: Giles 1-17, C. McCarl 18. Hard-charger: Mills.
Pro Sprints
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:50.2: 1. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (1); 2. 41, Jeff Wilke, Knoxville, IA (2); 3. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Omaha, NE (8); 4. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (7); 5. 44, Scotty Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (3); 6. 17, Matt Allen, Adel, IA (5); 7. 11, Tyler Barrick, Slater, IA (4); 8. 5A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (9); 9. 20, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (6)
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:50.2: 1. 21x, Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA (2); 2. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (1); 3. 7c, Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA (5); 4. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (3); 5. 17x, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (6); 6. B29, JJ Beaver, Knoxville, IA (7); 7. 3TJ, Joel Thorpe, Urbandale, IA (4); 8. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (9); 9. 43J, Jaslyn Jones, Monroe, IA (8)
A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Devin Kline (1); 2. Tyler Groenendyk (9); 3. Devin Wignall (3); 4. Joe Beaver (5); 5. Mike Mayberry (8); 6. Matt Allen (12); 7. Chase Young (2); 8. Eric Bridger (7); 9. Brandon Worthington (18); 10. Cam Martin (14); 11. Tyler Barrick (15); 12. Scotty Johnson (11); 13. Joel Thorpe (16); 14. Jaslyn Jones (17); 15. Alex Vande Voort (13); 16. Jeff Wilke (6); 17. Matthew Stelzer (4); 18. JJ Beaver (10). Lap Leader: Kline 1-15. Hard-charger: Worthington.
Make-up A main from 5/15 (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Eric Bridger (1); 2. Devin Wignall (4); 3. Tyler Groenendyk (7); 4. Alex Vande Voort (2); 5. Mike Mayberry (3); 6. Devin Kline (9); 7. Brandon Worthington (10); 8. Chase Young (6); 9. Matt Allen (13); 10. Cam Martin (16); 11. Scotty Johnson (11); 12. Tyler Barrick (15); 13. Joel Thorpe (12); 14. Jaslyn Jones (17); 15. Jeff Wilke (5); 16. Matthew Stelzer (8); 17. Ryan Navratil (14) DNS – JJ Beaver. Lap Leaders: Bridger 1-9, Wignall 10-13, Bridger 14-15. Hard-charger: Martin.