By Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 27, 2023) – Kerry Madsen made a veteran move to capture his 26th career feature at Knoxville Raceway Saturday on Vermeer Night. The St. Mary’s, New South Wales native became the winningest Aussie at Knoxville, passing two-time track champion Skip Jackson for that honor. The win was worth $5,000 and came aboard the Guy Forbrook #5. Aaron Reutzel followed up his 360 win at Jackson Motorplex on Friday night to capture the $3,000 bonus by winning Saturday’s main event at Knoxville. The win paid him $3,000 and with his Jackson earnings totaled $9,000 for his 360 efforts. Mike Mayberry spoiled J Kinder’s bid for a win by making a last lap pass and capturing the Pro Sprints main event.
Lynton Jeffrey led the first of 20 laps in the 410 feature, before Chase Randall, in his second week in the Beaver Drill & Tool #12x cruised by him on the high side of turn four to lead lap two. Jeffrey slid across the track in turn two, jumped the cushion and took a wild ride to halt things. He was uninjured.
Randall led Austin McCarl, Kerry Madsen, Davey Heskin and Aaron Reutzel back to green. Madsen jetted to second on the restart, while Reutzel took fourth and Brown moved into the top five. Furious action saw Reutzel get by McCarl for third and set his sights on Madsen. He passed Kerry for second on lap five.
Rubber was developing through the middle of the track and Madsen seemed to have the best grasp on it, shooting back by Reutzel for second on lap nine. Randall was cruising on the cushion, unknowing of the development of rubber through the middle of the track.
Madsen used the middle of turns three and four at the halfway point to move by Randall and take the lead from the teenager. Randall would follow him home for second, trailed by Reutzel, Brown and Tasker Phillips. Austin McCarl, Heskin, hard-charger Ian Madsen, Carson McCarl and AJ Moeller rounded out the top ten. Reutzel set quick time over the 30-car field, while Jeffrey, Sawyer Phillips and Lachlan McHugh were heat winners. Dusty Zomer claimed the B.
“I had a really good racecar to get to the front,” said Madsen in Victory Lane. “I wanted to get in there and really attach the lapped cars. I tried it once and we got up the track. We just tried to drive a smart race from there. The car was really good before the rubber came down, and we could go anywhere. Aaron drove around me in the rubber there, but my car was really good on the exits. The car’s been quick, but I hadn’t been able to put it all together for the guys. I didn’t make a mistake tonight, so that’s a bonus!”
Tyler Groenendyk had a strong lead early in the 20-lap 360 feature over Garet Williamson, Jamie Ball, Dustin Selvage and Kaleb Johnson. Johnson moved up to fourth on lap two, but Aaron Reutzel was on the move from his starting spot outside row three. He took fourth from Johnson by lap five.
Up front, Groenendyk was entering lapped traffic by the seventh circuit. A lap later, Reutzel diamonded turns three and four to dive under Ball for the third spot. He quickly took Williamson’s spot and set his sights on Groenendyk as the trio were in close quarters in traffic.
On lap eleven, Reutzel made his winning move in traffic. The next time around, he shot around the lapped car of Alex Hill. Groenendyk tried the inside and made contact with his right front, sending him careening into the infield fence in turn three. Despite the scary crash, he walked away.
Reutzel shot back out to a lead over Williamson, Ball and Johnson. Chase Randall was soon fourth, however, and picked off Ball for third with seven to go. Reutzel appeared to be cruising on the white flag lap, when Ryan Giles slowed to set up a green, white, checker finish.
Reutzel cruised to victory in the Ridge & Sons Racing #8 ahead of Williamson, Randall, Johnson and Ball. Selvage, John Carney II, Brooke Tatnell, Clint Garner and hard-charger Kelby Watt completed the top ten. Ryan Leavitt was involved in a red flag on the backstretch that saw a safety worker taken in for observation after the red flag. He had been running tenth. Ball and Johnson both set quick times in their respective groups in the 42-car field. Sammy Swindell, Garner, Tatnell and Randall won the heats. Watt and Hill won the B mains.
“I knew the bottom was going to be the place to be,” said Reutzel in Victory Lane, celebrating his seventh career 360 win here. “I ran the top to where I thought I could clean it off. We started making a little speed up there and they got to traffic and started getting their momentum broke by the lapped cars. It was just enough to get the lead. It definitely wasn’t the fastest line, but it all played out good. We have been getting good starts and passing three cars or so there, but that definitely wasn’t the case tonight. It was cool to get the (Jackson/Knoxville) bonus this year. Last year, we won the first night, we just didn’t get it done on the second night. Thanks to (Greg Parent) for putting that money up.”
J Kinder led the 15-lap Pro Sprints feature in dominating fashion for much of the way. Mike Mayberry was in pursuit. Kade Higday gained third from Matthew Stelzer early on before Josh Jones tipped over in turn four with seven laps in the books. He was o.k.
After a Matt Allen spin in turn four, Stelzer shot from fifth to third on that restart. The caution had been a penalty for Kinder, who had built a margin of several seconds.
Mayberry stayed close after the restart and went through the middle of turns one and two, gaining on the leader. He made the same move in turns three and four and shot by to win in exciting fashion. Kinder, Stelzer, Chase Young and Higday followed him to the line. Hard-charger Casey Friedrichsen, Jeff Wilke, Ryan Navratil, Mike Johnston and Allen rounded out the top ten. Young set quick time, and Wilke and AJ Johnson won the heats.
“Higday probably won that race for me,” said Mayberry afterwards. “I was running the bottom there, and he kind of went around me on the top. I got lucky that there was a caution, and he had shown me that line up there.”
Join us next Friday and Saturday, June 2 and 3 for the Avanti Windows and Doors Corn Belt Clash featuring the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars and USAC Midwest Wingless Series. The Knoxville 360 class will be in action Friday, and the 410’s on Saturday! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (20), 16.602 ($100 from OpenWheel101.com); 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (23), 16.632; 3. 5, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (18), 16.672; 4. 6, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (12), 16.675; 5. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (29), 16.768; 6. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (17), 16.774; 7. 12X, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (28), 16.853; 8. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (22), 16.856; 9. 19, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (19), 16.884; 10. 2KS, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (26), 16.897; 11. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (13), 16.905; 12. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (24), 16.930; 13. 2, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (9), 16.955; 14. 24W, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (7), 16.963; 15. 25, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (16), 17.146; 16. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (5), 17.152; 17. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (10), 17.178; 18. 7W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (1), 17.194; 19. 7, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (27), 17.215; 20. 5T, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK (14), 17.254; 21. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (4), 17.289; 22. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (6), 17.377; 23. 6B, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (21), 17.397; 24. 9T, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (8), 17.553; 25. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (11), 18.275; 26. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (30), 18.421; 27. 6X, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (2), 18.766; 28. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (25), 19.398; 29. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (15), 19.635; 30. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (3), 19.816
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:25.6: 1. Lynton Jeffrey (2); 2. Aaron Reutzel (6); 3. Chase Randall (4); 4. Carson McCarl (5); 5. Riley Goodno (1); 6. Ian Madsen (3); 7. Brooke Tatnell (7); 8. Christopher Thram (8); 9. Joe Simbro (9); 10. Landon Hansen (10)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:22.2: 1. Sawyer Phillips (1); 2. Brian Brown (6); 3. Garet Williamson (2); 4. Austin McCarl (5); 5. Justin Henderson (3); 6. AJ Moeller (4); 7. Ryan Timms (7); 8. McKenna Haase (9); 9. Gage Pulkrabek (8) DNS – Clint Garner
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:23.0: 1. Lachlan McHugh (2); 2. Tasker Phillips (3); 3. Kerry Madsen (6); 4. Dustin Selvage (1); 5. Davey Heskin (5); 6. Ayrton Gennetten (4); 7. Dusty Zomer (7); 8. Kasey Kahne (8); 9. Frank Rodgers III (9); 10. Cole Mincer (10)
B main (started), 10 Laps, 3:04.4: 1. Dusty Zomer (1); 2. Christopher Thram (2); 3. Kasey Kahne (4); 4. McKenna Haase (6); 5. Joe Simbro (3) / 6. Landon Hansen (8); 7. Frank Rodgers III (5); 8. Gage Pulkrabek (7); 9. Cole Mincer (9) DNS – Clint Garner
A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. Kerry Madsen (6); 2. Chase Randall (3); 3. Aaron Reutzel (8); 4. Brian Brown (7); 5. Tasker Phillips (9); 6. Austin McCarl (4); 7. Davey Heskin (2); 8. Ian Madsen (16); 9. Carson McCarl (5); 10. AJ Moeller (12); 11. Brooke Tatnell (19); 12. Garet Williamson (14); 13. Lachlan McHugh (10); 14. Dustin Selvage (17); 15. Kasey Kahne (21); 16. Sawyer Phillips (11); 17. Ayrton Gennetten (13); 18. Justin Henderson (15); 19. Riley Goodno (18); 20. McKenna Haase (23); 21. Christopher Thram (22); 22. Ryan Timms (20); 23. Joe Simbro (24, alt.); 24. Lynton Jeffrey (1) DNS – Clint Garner. Lap Leaders: Jeffrey 1, Randall 2-9, K. Madsen 10-20. Hard-charger: I. Madsen.
360 Results
Time Trials Group A (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (4), 16.824; 2. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (19), 16.960; 3. 24W, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (12), 17.069; 4. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (7), 17.077; 5. 4J, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (11), 17.085; 6. 7A, Jack Anderson, Newton, IA (6), 17.093; 7. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (10), 17.16; 8. 9G, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (8), 17.162; 9. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (13), 17.197; 10. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (18), 17.221; 11. 01, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (15), 17.286; 12. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (20), 17.288; 13. 83JR, Sam Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (5), 17.302; 14. 6A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (17), 17.358; 15. 5M, Collin Moyle, Knoxville, IA (16), 17.465; 16. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (9), 17.662; 17. 15K, Creed Kemenah, Alvada, OH (3), 17.740; 18. 5, Javen Ostermann, Courtland, MN (1), 18.637; 19. 4C, Tuesday Calderwood, Goodyear, AZ (21), 18.826; 20. 5D, Grae Anderson, Des Moines, IA (2), 22.211; 21. 7B, Ben Brown, Marshall, MO (14), NT.
Time Trials Group B (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (5), 17.127; 2. 6, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (16), 17.310; 3. 41, Colton Hardy, Phoenix, AZ (9), 17.325; 4. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (11), 17.345; 5. 8H, Jacob Hughes, Hartford, SD (15), 17.380; 6. 17, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (18), 17.383; 7. 1E, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (13), 17.396; 8. 9, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (10), 17.431; 9. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (6), 17.478; 10. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (7), 17.552; 11. 99, Tony Rost, Omaha, NE (12), 17.561; 12. 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can. (4), 17.566; 13. 83, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (14), 17.571; 14. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (17), 17.683; 15. 86, Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO (19), 17.745; 16. 11, Austin O’Neal, Kearney, MO (3), 18.310; 17. B29, JJ Beaver, Knoxville, IA (8), 18.313; 18. 4T, Tyler Blank, California, MO (21), 18.319; 19. 14, Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (2), 18.791; 20. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (1), 19.488; 21. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (20), NT
Heat one (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Sammy Swindell (1); 2. Garet Williamson (5); 3. Jamie Ball (6); 4. John Carney II (4); 5. Ryan Leavitt (3); 6. Sam Henderson (7); 7. Collin Moyle (8); 8. Creed Kemenah (9); 9. Ben Brown (11); 10. Tuesday Calderwood (10); 11. Kelby Watt (2)
Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 2:08.5: 1. Clint Garner (1); 2. Aaron Reutzel (6); 3. Jack Anderson (4); 4. Chris Martin (2); 5. Ryan Giles (3); 6. Calvin Landis (5); 7. Alex Vande Voort (7); 8. Javen Ostermann (9); 9. Alan Zoutte (8); 10. Grae Anderson (10)
Heat three (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Brooke Tatnell (2); 2. Josh Higday (3); 3. Tony Rost (1); 4. Kaleb Johnson (6); 5. Colton Hardy (5); 6. Jacob Hughes (4); 7. Timothy Smith (8); 8. JJ Beaver (9); 9. Austin Miller (7); 10. Aidan Zoutte (10); 11. John Anderson (11)
Heat four (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Chase Randall (3); 2. Tyler Groenendyk (4); 3. Alex Hill (1); 4. Dustin Selvage (6); 5. Cam Martin (5); 6. Austin O’Neal (8); 7. Dan Henning (9); 8. Tyler Blank (7); 9. Joe Beaver (2) DNS – Tasker Phillips
B main #1 (started), 8 Laps, 2:30.4: 1. Kelby Watt (1); 2. Chris Martin (2) / 3. Sam Henderson (3); 4. Alex Vande Voort (4); 5. Collin Moyle (5); 6. Creed Kemenah (7); 7. Tuesday Calderwood (9); 8. Javen Ostermann (8); 9. Ben Brown (11); 10. Alan Zoutte (6); 11. Grae Anderson (10)
B main #2 (started), 8 Laps, 2:33.7: 1. Alex Hill (2); 2. Joe Beaver (1) / 3. Austin Miller (3); 4. Timothy Smith (4); 5. Dan Henning (9); 6. JJ Beaver (6); 7. Aidan Zoutte (8); 8. Austin O’Neal (5) DNS – John Anderson, Tasker Phillips
A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. Aaron Reutzel (6); 2. Garet Williamson (2); 3. Chase Randall (8); 4. Kaleb Johnson (5); 5. Jamie Ball (4); 6. Dustin Selvage (3); 7. John Carney II (9); 8. Brooke Tatnell (14); 9. Clint Garner (15); 10. Kelby Watt (21); 11. Sammy Swindell (11); 12. Jack Anderson (7); 13. Ryan Giles (19); 14. Calvin Landis (13); 15. Colton Hardy (12); 16. Cam Martin (16); 17. Josh Higday (10); 18. Chris Martin (23); 19. Tony Rost (20); 20. Ryan Leavitt (17); 21. Joe Beaver (24); 22. Alex Hill (22); 23. Jacob Hughes (18); 24. Tyler Groenendyk (1). Lap Leaders: Groenendyk 1-10, Reutzel 11-20. Hard-charger: Watt.
Pro Series Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (4), 18.902; 2. 24, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (3), 18.936; 3. 17, Matt Allen, Norwalk, IA (16), 19.046; 4. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (2), 19.365; 5. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (6), 19.369; 6. 12P, Ryan Navratil, Des Moines, IA (5), 19.418; 7. 88, J Kinder, Iberia, MO (10), 19.505; 8. 02S, Josh Jones, Knoxville, IA (1), 19.518; 9. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (12), 19.553; 10. 8J, AJ Johnson, Oskaloosa, IA (8), 19.555; 11. 41, Jeff Wilke, Knoxville, IA (7), 20.035; 12. 3TJ, Joel Thorpe, Urbandale, IA (9), 20.071; 13. 2, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA (13), 20.080; 14. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (15), 20.234; 15. 55, Toby Mosher, Osceola, IA (14), 20.31; 16. 8, William Kline, Knoxville, IA (11), 24.914
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:56.9: 1. Jeff Wilke (1); 2. Matthew Stelzer (4); 3. J Kinder (3); 4. Chase Young (6); 5. Casey Friedrichsen (7); 6. Brandon Worthington (2); 7. Matt Allen (5); 8. Toby Mosher (8)
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:56.6: 1. AJ Johnson (2); 2. Ryan Navratil (4); 3. Joel Thorpe (1); 4. Kade Higday (6); 5. Mike Mayberry (5); 6. Josh Jones (3); 7. Mike Johnston (7); 8. William Kline (8)
A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Mike Mayberry (2); 2. J Kinder (1); 3. Matthew Stelzer (4); 4. Chase Young (6); 5. Kade Higday (5); 6. Casey Friedrichsen (13); 7. Jeff Wilke (8); 8. Ryan Navratil (3); 9. Mike Johnston (12); 10. Matt Allen (9); 11. Toby Mosher (15); 12. AJ Johnson (7); 13. Joel Thorpe (10); 14. William Kline (14); 15. Josh Jones (11) DNS – Brandon Worthington. Lap Leaders: Kinder 1-14, Mayberry 15. Hard-charger: Friedrichsen.