by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (April 26, 2025) – An action packed CraigFord.com Season Opener at Knoxville Raceway Saturday was headlined by a Rico Abreu triumph for the second week in a row after topping the World of Outlaws here on April 19. The St. Helena, California native led wire to wire to earn a $6,000 payday in the Rico Abreu Racing #24. A late charge by Aaron Reutzel fell short, but the Texas native added another Randall Roofing 360 win to his credit here in that class. After taking a year off from racing, Matthew Stelzer outdueled Devin Kline in the Pro Sprints feature. Stelzer is atop the all-time win list in the class with 17 wins.
The 20-lap 410 feature went non-stop after Scott Bogucki got sideways on the initial lap, collecting Chase Randall, who went off on the hook with front end damage. Once green, Abreu led from the pole, ahead of Kerry Madsen, Reutzel, Brian Brown and defending track champion, Austin McCarl. McCarl used the low side of the track to gain fourth from Brown on lap three.
Abreu was in lapped traffic on lap seven and his pace slowed a bit. Madsen reeled him in and briefly passed him for the lead on lap eight, but Abreu regained his footing by the flag stand. Reutzel was gaining momentum on the cushion and passed Madsen for second on lap 12, with McCarl following him into third on the following circuit.
At the time, Abreu had three lapped cars between himself and Reutzel, but Reutzel gained significant ground late, falling just a half-second behind Abreu at the checkers. Austin McCarl was third, ahead of Madsen and Brown. Brent Marks, Justin Peck, Chris Martin, Carson McCarl and Spencer Bayston rounded out the top ten. Bogucki and Brown set quick time over their respective flights in the 39-car field. Reutzel, Abreu, Cory Eliason and JJ Hickle were heat winners. Sawyer Phillips took the B main.
“I really have to dissect that one,” said Abreu in Victory Lane. “I felt like in traffic, our pace really slowed down. We’re really pumped to come back to Knoxville after a weekend like we had last weekend, and just really enjoy running laps here. This track crew, this safety crew, just the whole facility is a special place. I think these local shows and Outlaw shows are some of the most important races for race teams. For us to be able to work on things…it was a lot different pace than last week, a lot slower. We were able to do some different things to our racecar. The top was definitely more difficult to run.”
JJ Hickle led the non-stop 18-lap Randall Roofing 360 feature early over Jamie Ball, Tasker Phillips, Reutzel and Clint Garner. Phillips was fast early, picking off Ball for second on lap two. Reutzel followed him into third, and Garner used the high side of the track to take fourth on lap three.
Phillips slid by Hickle for the lead and then came down the track in turn three, stealing the leader’s momentum on lap four. The result was Phillips at the point, and Reutzel following him into second. The two battled fiercely for the lead, with Reutzel taking it for good on lap six. He was soon into lapped traffic on the eighth circuit and pulling away. Chase Randall entered the top five and then took fourth from Garner in heavy lapped traffic with six to go.
Reutzel would expand his margin to three seconds at the checkers, ahead of Phillips, Hickle, Randall and Garner. Ball, Dustin Selvage, Riley Goodno, Cam Martin and Kade Higday completed the top ten. Reutzel set quick time over the 30-car field. Reutzel, Garner and Tyler Groenendyk were heat winners and Timothy Smith claimed the B.
“This was a great start to the 360’s,” said Reutzel in Victory Lane beside the Ridge & Sons Racing #87. “We tried a different car here, and a different combination of stuff. I’m really happy with it. Happy Birthday to Don Long. We’re glad to get a win on his Birthday. We definitely wouldn’t be winning these 360 races like this without him.”
The two drivers who sit atop the career wins list in the Pro Sprints class started on the front row on Saturday. The 15-lapper saw pole-sitter Devin Kline with the early advantage over front row mate, Stelzer, Matt Allen, Jeff Wilke and Tyler Thompson. Devin Wignall came to a rest inside turn one with a lap in the books. Thompson claimed fourth from Wilke on that restart, but J Kinder was moving up from the third row and moved into the top four on lap three. He then gained third from Allen on lap four, with Thompson in tow.
Up front, Kline was into traffic on lap seven before Rob Kubli came to a stop in turn four. With eight laps to go, Kline led Stelzer, Kinder, Thompson and Allen back to green. Stelzer was able to sneak by Kline for the lead on the restart, while sixteenth starting Josh Jones was gaining attention on the high side, moving into the top three. Kinder battled back by him as Jones began to smoke and fade in the closing stages.
The leaders were entering lapped traffic again when Thompson’s good run came to a stop at the white flag lap, setting up a green, white, checker finish that made the race 16 laps. Kline made a last ditch effort and coming for the white flag, was side by side with Stelzer for the lead.
Stelzer would pull away to the victory, with Kline, Kinder, young Luke Lane and Toby Mosher, who had to start at the tail in tow. Koddy Hildreth, Brody Johnson, Evan Jones, Josh Jones and Chase Young completed the top ten in a wild and wooly finish. Mosher set quick time over the field, while Kevin Hetrick and Young won heats.
“I have the most respect for Devin,” said Stelzer after the race beside the Stelzer Racing #99. “He’s a top talent driver in this class, and races clean. That’s what I expect top talent to do. He’s going to be up here this year too. He’s a talented driver. This is dedicated to Wayne Timm, Stan Cisar and Ricky Edwards. Without those guys, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Join us on Saturday, May 3 for Knoxville Championship Series Week #2 featuring the 410 Class, the Randall Roofing 360 Class and the Pro Sprints! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
CraigFord.com Season Opener Results
410 Sprints
410 Time Trials Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 78-Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust., 00:15.463[9] ($100 from OpenWheel101.com); 2. 24-Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA, 00:15.469[15]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX, 00:15.667[12]; 4. 44-Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA, 00:15.756[14]; 5. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 00:15.761[11]; 6. 12X-Kameron Key, Warrensburg, MO, 00:15.952[10]; 7. 19-Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA, 00:16.008[7]; 8. 14-Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN, 00:16.042[1]; 9. 6-Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN, 00:16.068[4]; 10. 1K-Kelby Watt, Adel, IA, 00:16.139[6]; 11. 21T-Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR, 00:16.164[19]; 12. G5-Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN, 00:16.296[16]; 13. 80P-Jacob Peterson, Hartford, SD, 00:16.301[2]; 14. 10V-Kade Higday, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.421[3]; 15. 22-Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.431[20]; 16. 95-Tyler Drueke, Eagle, NE, 00:16.499[5]; 17. 09-Matt Juhl, Tea, SD, 00:16.634[17]; 18. 121-RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL, 00:16.815[18]; 19. 45X-Landon Crawley, Benton, AR, 00:16.918[8]; 20. 17A-Jack Anderson, Newton, IA, 00:17.222[13]
410 Time Trials Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 21-Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 00:15.639[8]; 2. 88-Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:15.778[2]; 3. 55-Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 00:15.801[19]; 4. 10-Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK, 00:15.852[12]; 5. 39-Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust., 00:15.863[4]; 6. 26-Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN, 00:15.893[13]; 7. 27-Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:15.950[15]; 8. 9-Chase Randall, Waco, TX, 00:16.115[6]; 9. 2KS-Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA, 00:16.322[16]; 10. 1-Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 00:16.332[7]; 11. 6K-Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD, 00:16.366[14]; 12. 2M-JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA, 00:16.421[18]; 13. 15JR-Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA, 00:16.447[3]; 14. 23L-Jimmy Light, Pittsboro, IN, 00:16.590[11]; 15. 7B-Ben Brown, Marshall, MO, 00:16.660[9]; 16. 8H-Jacob Hughes, Hartford, SD, 00:6.894[17]; 17. 31-Kyle Bellm, Nixa, MO, 00:16.991[10]; 18. 44X-Scotty Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA, 00:17.002[1]; 19. 71-Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA, 00:17.069[5]
410 Heat one (started, *qualified for feature), 8 Laps, NT: 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel[5*]; 2. 21T-Tanner Holmes[1*]; 3. 19-Brent Marks[3*]; 4. 78-Scott Bogucki[6*]; 5. 6-Brandon Wimmer[2*]; 6. 22-Riley Goodno[8]; 7. 45X-Landon Crawley[10]; 8. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[4]; 9. 09-Matt Juhl[9]; 10. 80P-Jacob Peterson[7]
410 Heat two (started, *qualified for feature), 8 Laps, 2:17.8: 1. 24R-Rico Abreu[6*]; 2. 14-Spencer Bayston[3*]; 3. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[1*]; 4. 44-Chris Martin[5*]; 5. 1K-Kelby Watt[2]; 6. 12X-Kameron Key[4*]; 7. 95-Tyler Drueke[8]; 8. 10V-Kade Higday[7]; 9. 17A-Jack Anderson[10]; 10. 121-RJ Johnson[9]
410 Heat three (started, *qualified for feature), 8 Laps, 2:20.0: 1. 2KS-Cory Eliason[2*]; 2. 6K-Kaleb Johnson[1*]; 3. 55-Kerry Madsen[5*]; 4. 27-Carson McCarl[3*]; 5. 21-Brian Brown[6*]; 6. 39-Lynton Jeffrey[4*]; 7. 7B-Ben Brown[8]; 8. 15JR-Cole Mincer[7]; 9. 31-Kyle Bellm[9]; 10. 71-Brandon Worthington[10]
410 Heat four (started, *qualified for feature), 8 Laps, 2:19.1: 1. 2M-JJ Hickle[1*]; 2. 26-Justin Peck[4*]; 3. 9-Chase Randall[3*]; 4. 88-Austin McCarl[6*]; 5. 1-Tasker Phillips[2]; 6. 23-Jimmy Light[7]; 7. 8H-Jacob Hughes[8]; 8. 44X-Scotty Johnson[9]; 9. 10-Ryan Timms[5]
B Feature one (started), 12 Laps, 3:40.3: 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[1]; 2. 1K-Kelby Watt[3]; 3. 1-Tasker Phillips[2]; 4. 22-Riley Goodno[5] / 5. 15JR-Cole Mincer[8]; 6. 7B-Ben Brown[6]; 7. 09-Matt Juhl[15]; 8. 45X-Landon Crawley[11]; 9. 17A-Jack Anderson[17]; 10. 95-Tyler Drueke[7]; 11. 23-Jimmy Light[4]; 12. 8H-Jacob Hughes[10]; 13. 44X-Scotty Johnson[12]; 14. 31-Kyle Bellm[14]; 15. 80P-Jacob Peterson[13]; 16. 71-Brandon Worthington[16]; 17. 10V-Kade Higday[9]; 18. 121-RJ Johnson[19]; DNS – 10-Ryan Timms
A main (started), 20 Laps, 6:27.7: 1. 24-Rico Abreu[1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]; 3. 88-Austin McCarl[4]; 4. 55-Kerry Madsen[2]; 5. 21-Brian Brown[6]; 6. 19-Brent Marks[11]; 7. 26-Justin Peck[8]; 8. 44-Chris Martin[7]; 9. 27-Carson McCarl[14]; 10. 14-Spencer Bayston[9]; 11. 1K-Kelby Watt[20]; 12. 2M-JJ Hickle[16]; 13. 2KS-Cory Eliason[10]; 14. 39-Lynton Jeffrey[24]; 15. 21T-Tanner Holmes[13]; 16. 6K-Kaleb Johnson[18]; 17. 22-Riley Goodno[22]; 18. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[21]; 19. 6-Brandon Wimmer[17]; 20. 78-Scott Bogucki[5]; 21. G5-Gage Pulkrabek[19]; 22. 12X-Kameron Key[15]; 23. 1-Tasker Phillips[23]; 24. 9-Chase Randall[12]. Lap Leader: Abreu 1-20. Hard-charger: Jeffrey.
Randall Roofing 360 Sprints
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 3 laps: 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX, 00:16.645[18]; 2. 4W-Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.896[17]; 3. 1TAZ-Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 00:16.903[20]; 4. 63-JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA, 00:16.923[5]; 5. 24H-Kade Higday, Knoxville, IA, 00:17.022[29]; 6. 6-Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA, 00:17.036[21]; 7. 4-Cameron Martin, Ankeny, IA, 00:17.168[23]; 8. 36-Jason Martin, Lincoln, NE, 00:17.187[22]; 9. 9-Chase Randall, Waco, TX, 00:17.220[9]; 10. 99-Tony Rost, Utica, NE, 00:17.232[12]; 11. 40-Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 00:17.267[7]; 12. 77X-Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can., 00:17.300[8]; 13. 22X-Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA, 00:17.339[14]; 14. 24-Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:17.340[3]; 15. 17-Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA, 00:17.354[24]; 16. 74N-Luke Nellis, Forest Lake, MN, 00:17.372[4]; 17. 29-Emilio Hoover, Broken Arrow, OK, 00:17.497[25]; 18. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 00:17.503[6]; 19. 01-Thomas Meseraull, San Jose, CA, 00:17.508[19]; 20. 17B-Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD, 00:17.522[30]; 21. 22-Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA, 00:17.633[16]; 22. 2M-Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA, 00:17.661[13]; 23. 86-Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO, 00:17.707[10]; 24. 7C-Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS, 00:17.723[1]; 25. 33-Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 00:18.024[28]; 26. 13G-Gaige Weldon, Hinton, IA, 00:18.117[26]; 27. 1A-John Anderson, Des Moines, IA, 00:18.241[27]; 28. 83-Kurt Mueller, Reynolds, IL, 00:18.532[15]; 29. 14-Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 00:18.577[11]; 30. 31-McCain Richards, Burlington, IA, 00:18.796[2]
Heat one (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:02.7: 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel[6*]; 2. 22X-Riley Goodno[2*]; 3. 4-Cameron Martin[4*]; 4. 2M-Ryan Giles[8*]; 5. 63-JJ Hickle[5*]; 6. 99-Tony Rost[3*]; 7. 74N-Luke Nellis[1*]; 8. 01-Thomas Meseraull[7*]; 9. 33-Alan Zoutte[9]; 10. 83-Kurt Mueller[10]
Heat two (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:05.5: 1. 40-Clint Garner[3*]; 2. 29-Emilio Hoover[1*]; 3. 4W-Jamie Ball[6*]; 4. 36-Jason Martin[4*]; 5. 24-Terry McCarl[2*]; 6. 24H-Kade Higday[5*]; 7. 86-Timothy Smith[8]; 8. 17B-Ryan Bickett[7]; 9. 13G-Gaige Weldon[9]; 10. 14-Aidan Zoutte[10]
Heat three (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:03.5: 1. 17-Tyler Groenendyk[2*]; 2. 9-Chase Randall[4*]; 3. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[1*]; 4. 1TAZ-Tasker Phillips[6*]; 5. 6-Dustin Selvage[5*]; 6. 77X-Alex Hill[3*]; 7. 7CW-Chris Morgan[8]; 8. 22-Ryan Leavitt[7]; 9. 31-McCain Richards[10]; 10. 1A-John Anderson[9]
B main (started), 10 Laps, 3:03.4: 1. 86-Timothy Smith[2]; 2. 17B-Ryan Bickett[1]; 3. 22-Ryan Leavitt[3]; 4. 7C-Chris Morgan[4] / 5. 13G-Gaige Weldon[6]; 6. 14-Aidan Zoutte[9]; 7. 83-Kurt Mueller[7]; 8. 31-McCain Richards[8]; 9. 33-Alan Zoutte[5]; DNS – 1A-John Anderson
A main (started), 18 Laps, 5:45.2: 1. 87-Aaron Reutzel[4]; 2. 1TZ-Tasker Phillips[2]; 3. 63-JJ Hickle[1]; 4. 9-Chase Randall[6]; 5. 40-Clint Garner[7]; 6. 4W-Jamie Ball[3]; 7. 6-Dustin Selvage[8]; 8. 22X-Riley Goodno[12]; 9. 4-Cameron Martin[5]; 10. 24H-Kade Higday[9]; 11. 17-Tyler Groenendyk[11]; 12. 36-Jason Martin[10]; 13. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[15]; 14. 2M-Ryan Giles[18]; 15. 24-Terry McCarl[17]; 16. 99-Tony Rost[14]; 17. 29-Emilio Hoover[13]; 18. 22-Ryan Leavitt[23]; 19. 01-Thomas Meseraull[20]; 20. 77X-Alex Hill[16]; 21. 17B-Ryan Bickett[22]; 22. 7CW-Chris Morgan[24]; 23. 74N-Luke Nellis[19]; 24. 86-Timothy Smith[21]. Lap Leaders: Hickle 1-3, T. Phillips 4-5, Reutzel 6-18. Hard-charger: Leavitt.
Pro Sprints
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 3 laps: 1. 55-Toby Mosher, Osceola, IA, 00:17.505[4]; 2. 41-Jeff Wilke, Knoxville, IA, 00:17.600[18]; 3. 88-J Kinder, Iberia, MO, 00:17.608[13]; 4. 17-Matt Allen, Norwalk, IA, 00:17.639[20]; 5. 7C-Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA, 00:17.681[3]; 6. 26-Chase Young, Des Moines, IA, 00:17.755[16]; 7. 99-Matthew Stelzer, Omaha, NE, 00:17.790[9]; 8. 30C-Carter Hansen, Johnston, IA, 00:17.896[19]; 9. 35-Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL, 00:18.021[14]; 10. 44-Brody Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA, 00:18.119[7]; 11. 9-Luke Lane, Milo, IA, 00:18.128[8]; 12. 48-Tyler Thompson, Des Moines, IA, 00:18.163[15]; 13. 55KC-Bob Hildreth, Iowa Falls, IA, 00:18.459[6]; 14. 12K-Koddy Hildreth, Iowa Falls, IA, 00:18.494[5]; 15. 0-Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA, 00:18.621[2]; 16. 7-Rob Kubli, Milo, IA, 00:18.752[11]; 17. 02S-Josh Jones, Knoxville, IA, 00:19.038[1]; 18. 65-Logan Brown, Clear Lake, IA, 00:19.870[17]; 19. 57A-Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA, [10] NT; DQ (Light at Scales) 42J-Evan Jones,[12]
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:54.2: 1. 35-Kevin Hetrick[2]; 2. 9-Luke Lane[1]; 3. 99-Matthew Stelzer[3]; 4. 88-J Kinder[5]; 5. 7C-Devin Kline[4]; 6. 55-Toby Mosher[6]; 7. 0-Mike Mayberry[8]; 8. 42J-Evan Jones[10]; 9. 02S-Josh Jones[9]; 10. 55KC-Bob Hildreth[7]
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, NT: 1. 26-Chase Young[4]; 2. 7-Rob Kubli[8]; 3. 48-Tyler Thompson[1]; 4. 17-Matt Allen[5]; 5. 41-Jeff Wilke[6]; 6. 12K-Koddy Hildreth[7]; 7. 65-Logan Brown[9]; 8. 44-Brody Johnson[2]; 9. 30C-Carter Hansen[3]; 10. 57A-Devin Wignall[10]
A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. 99-Matthew Stelzer[2]; 2. 7C-Devin Kline[1]; 3. 88-J Kinder[7]; 4. 9-Luke Lane[9]; 5. 55-Toby Mosher[5]; 6. 12K-Koddy Hildreth[12]; 7. 44-Brody Johnson[13]; 8. 42J-Evan Jones[18]; 9. 02S-Josh Jones[16]; 10. 26-Chase Young[8]; 11. 41-Jeff Wilke[6]; 12. 65-Logan Brown[14]; 13. 17-Matt Allen[4]; 14. 55KC-Bob Hildreth[15]; 15. 48-Tyler Thompson[10]; 16. 7-Rob Kubli[11]; 17. 35-Kevin Hetrick[3]; 18. 57A-Devin Wignall[17]; DNS – 30C-Carter Hansen 20. 0-Mike Mayberry. Lap Leaders: Kline 1-7, Stelzer 8-15. Hard-charger: E. Jones.