Brad Sweet Earned the Capitani Classic win at Knoxville Sunday (Paul Arch Photo)
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 5, 2018) – Brad Sweet was simply dominant in winning the 7th Annual Weld Racing Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank Sunday night at the Knoxville Raceway. The Grass Valley, California native went through an amazing gauntlet of seven match races to earn the pole of the main event and proceeded to lead all 25 laps aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing #49s, earning $5,000.
Sweet’s amazing run through the series of two-lap Pole Shootout match races came over Greg Hodnett, Shane Stewart, Terry McCarl, Brian Brown, Paul McMahan, Carson Macedo and finally, Josh Baughman. That earned him the pole position for the feature, and he led early over Baughman, McMahan, Macedo and McCarl.
Macedo, who has been strong all week, used the high side of three and four to shoot from foruth to second on lap two. While Sweet ran away from the field, McMahan garnered third with a pass of Baughman on lap seven. The leader was in lapped traffic by lap nine.
Eleven laps in, the ninth place car of Matt Juhl tumbled in turn two. He was o.k. The only slowdown of the event saw Sweet leading Macedo, McMahan, Brown and Baughman back to green. McMahan would jet to second, while there was plenty of movement back in the pack as well. Shane Stewart emerged from tenth to climb into the top five, and second B main winner, Kerry Madsen, who started 20th was soon in seventh.
Madsen would gain sixth with ten to go, while Macedo got back by McMahan for second. Brown would hustle into third on lap 17, as he too put McMahan behind him. Sweet built his lead until entering lapped traffic with five to go. It was no deterrent, as he would win by 2.3 seconds over Macedo, Brown, McMahan and Stewart. Hard-charger Madsen, Hodnett, McCarl, Chad Kemenah (from 16th) and Tim Shaffer rounded out the top ten. Lynton Jeffrey and Aaron Reutzel led their respective qualifying flights with quick time in the 67-car field. Shaffer, Brock Zearfoss, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Kemenah, Davey Heksin and Parker Price-Miller won heats. Jeffrey and Madsen claimed the B mains. Kyle Reinhardt was a flip victim in hot laps, and Rager Phillips tipped over in the first B main. Both were uninjured.
“I wish it was Saturday night,” joked Sweet in Victory Lane in reference to the upcoming Knoxville Nationals. “That’s what we came here to do, was to try a few things. We were really good in the A. There’s still room for improvement, but we did what we needed to do and got some notes. I think we’ll be in the hunt for sure. You just never know how close the second place car is, so you want to cover all your lines as best you can. I didn’t get through them as well as I wanted to. The racetrack was in great shape all night.”
“I can’t say enough about this (Jason Johnson Racing) #41 team,” said Macedo. “They’re giving me an awesome racecar, night in and night out. This whole family has been great to be around. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to drive this racecar. Brad was exceptionally good tonight. I really wanted to get a good restart there, but we stumbled a bit and Paul got around me. We had to work hard to get back by him.”
“It was a tough race really,” said Brown. “Track position was pretty key. It was pretty tough to pass at times. To come from fifth to third with the quality of cars…we’ll just take these podiums, add them up, and see where we end up next week. I’m proud of everyone on the team. They did a great job. I don’t know what we could have done to be any better. Brad was good all night long. Carson’s been strong too. We were fortunate to get by Terry, Paul and some good cars.”
The 58th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores begins Wednesday, August 8, and continues through Saturday, August 11. There are still tickets available for the biggest event in sprint car racing! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
Results From the 7th Annual Weld Racing Capitani Classic Presented by Great Southern Bank
Time Trials Group One (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (2), 15.412; 2. 17X, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (10), 15.417; 3. 13X, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (20), 15.511; 4. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (3), 15.547; 5. 27, Greg Hodnett, Spring Grove, PA (21), 15.647; 6. 59, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (4), 15.655; 7. 49X, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (16), 15.667; 8. 99G, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (34), 15.702; 9. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (5), 15.713; 10. 70, Dave Blaney, High Point, NC (29), 15.736; 11. 4, Brock Zearfoss, Jonesville, PA (1), 15.742; 12. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (7), 15.75; 13. 3H, James McFadden, Ormeau, QLD, Aust. (13), 15.832; 14. 48, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (33), 15.852; 15. 9K, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (14), 15.852; 16. 5H, Sammy Walsh, Orangeville, NSW, Aust. (8), 15.883; 17. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (22), 15.889; 18. 83, Cory Eliason, Selma, CA (6), 15.893; 19. 44, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (30), 15.905; 20. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (9), 15.907; 21. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (27), 15.924; 22. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (23), 15.932; 23. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK (19), 15.942; 24. 7, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (18), 15.948; 25. 12N, Cole Duncan, Lockbourne, OH (12), 16.028; 26. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (31), 16.045; 27. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (25), 16.057; 28. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (17), 16.074; 29. 28AU, Allan Woods, Brisbane, QLD, Aust. (15), 16.126; 30. 9, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (28), 16.153; 31. 44M, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (24), 16.323; 32. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (26), 16.439; 33. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (32), 16.449; 34. 85, Chase Wanner, Batavia, IA (11), 16.451.
Time Trials Group Two (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (32), 15.587; 2. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (8), 15.599; 3. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (31), 15.599; 4. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (16), 15.618; 5. 2, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (4), 15.672; 6. 49S, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (11), 15.686; 7. 4K, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (13), 15.786; 8. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (20), 15.795; 9. 71, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (10), 15.828; 10. 10H, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (12), 15.836; 11. 29, Willie Croft, Roseville, CA (14), 15.844; 12. 71P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (33), 15.870; 13. 70S, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (1), 15.897; 14. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (3), 15.917; 15. 97G, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (15), 15.928; 16. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (22), 15.935; 17. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (5), 15.940; 18. 81, Lee Jacobs, Dalton, OH (9), 15.948; 19. 14, Tony Stewart, Columbus, IN (28), 15.963; 20. 26, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (30), 15.975; 21. 35V, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (17), 16.059; 22. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (7), 16.133; 23. 17WX, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (27), 16.140; 24. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (18), 16.145; 25. 11, Roger Crockett, Medford, OR (21), 16.169; 26. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (19), 16.175; 27. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (25), 16.209; 28. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (2), 16.270; 29. 17W, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (24), 16.296; 30. 68, Chase Johnson, Penngrove, CA (29), 16.429; 31. 7S, Skylar Hunter, Afton, IA (6), 16.604; 32. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (26), 17.165; 33. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (23), NT.
Group One, Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:10.5: 1. Tim Shaffer (2); 2. Dave Blaney (1); 3. Terry McCarl (3) / 4. Lynton Jeffrey (4); 5. Sawyer Phillips (8); 6. Cole Duncan (9); 7. Trey Starks (7); 8. Chris Martin (11); 9. Chase Wanner (10); 10. Sammy Walsh (6); 11. James McFadden (5) DNS – Glen Saville
Group One, Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.3: 1. Brock Zearfoss (1); 2. Josh Baughman (4); 3. Greg Hodnett (3) / 4. Skylar Gee (2); 5. Danny Dietrich (5); 6. Dominic Scelzi (6); 7. Bill Balog (7); 8. Allan Woods (8); 9. Paige Polyak (9); 10. Bob Weuve (10) DNS – Wayne Johnson
Group One, Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:11.2: 1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1); 2. Matt Juhl (2); 3. Paul McMahan (4) / 4. Sammy Swindell (3); 5. Cory Eliason (6); 6. Daryn Pittman (5); 7. Austin McCarl (7); 8. Rager Phillips (10); 9. Carson McCarl (8); 10. Bobby Mincer (9) DNS – Tim Kaeding
Group Two, Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.3: 1. Chad Kemenah (1); 2. Brian Brown (3); 3. Kasey Kahne (2) / 4. Aaron Reutzel (4); 5. Jeff Swindell (5); 6. Brooke Tatnell (6); 7. Josh Schneiderman (8); 8. Tony Stewart (7); 9. Tasker Phillips (10); 10. Roger Crockett (9); 11. Skylar Hunter (11)
Group Two, Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.8: 1. Davey Heskin (2); 2. Shane Stewart (3); 3. Carson Macedo (4) / 4. Willie Croft (1); 5. Clint Garner (6); 6. Joey Saldana (7); 7. Mark Dobmeier (9); 8. Thomas Kennedy (5); 9. Shane Golobic (8); 10. Harli White (10); 11. Kevin Ingle (11)
Group Two, Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:10.8: 1. Parker Price-Miller (1); 2. Brad Sweet (3); 3. Gio Scelzi (2) / 4. Kerry Madsen (4); 5. Jamie Veal (7); 6. Hunter Schuerenberg (5); 7. Matt Covington (6) DNS – Lee Jacobs, RJ Johnson, Chase Johnson, Kyle Reinhardt
Pole Shootout One (started), 2 Laps: 1. Brad Sweet (2); 2. Greg Hodnett (1)
Pole Shootout Two (started), 2 Laps, :32.0 (fastest of the Shootouts): 1. Brad Sweet (2); 2. Shane Stewart (1)
Pole Shootout Three (started), 2 Laps: 1. Brad Sweet (1); 2. Terry McCarl (2)
Pole Shootout Four (started), 2 Laps: 1. Brad Sweet (1); 2. Brian Brown (2)
Pole Shootout Five (started), 2 Laps: 1. Brad Sweet (2); 2. Paul McMahan (1)
Pole Shootout Six (started), 2 Laps: 1. Brad Sweet (2); 2. Carson Macedo (1)
Pole Shootout Seven (started), 2 Laps: 1. Brad Sweet (2); 2. Josh Baughman (1)
B main One (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Lynton Jeffrey (1); 2. Sammy Swindell (2); 3. James McFadden (4) / 4. Dominic Scelzi (8); 5. Daryn Pittman (6); 6. Sammy Walsh (7); 7. Tim Kaeding (20); 8. Cory Eliason (9); 9. Danny Dietrich (5); 10. Skylar Gee (3); 11. Austin McCarl (12); 12. Cole Duncan (15); 13. Bill Balog (11); 14. Trey Starks (10); 15. Chris Martin (19); 16. Bobby Mincer (21); 17. Bob Weuve (16); 18. Sawyer Phillips (13); 19. Allan Woods (17); 20. Chase Wanner (18); 21. Rager Phillips (14) DNS – Carson McCarl, Paige Polyak, Wayne Johnson, Glen Saville
B main Two (started), 12 Laps, 3:25.3: 1. Kerry Madsen (2); 2. Aaron Reutzel (1); 3. Clint Garner (8) / 4. Jeff Swindell (4); 5. Joey Saldana (10); 6. Willie Croft (3); 7. Hunter Schuerenberg (6); 8. Jamie Veal (11); 9. Tony Stewart (9); 10. Mark Dobmeier (15); 11. Josh Schneiderman (12); 12. Tasker Phillips (17); 13. Harli White (18); 14. Shane Golobic (13); 15. Skylar Hunter (19); 16. Kevin Ingle (20); 17. Roger Crockett (14); 18. Matt Covington (16); 19. Brooke Tatnell (7); 20. Thomas Kennedy (5) DNS – Kyle Reinhardt, Lee Jacobs, RJ Johnson, Chase Johnson
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Brad Sweet (1); 2. Carson Macedo (3); 3. Brian Brown (5); 4. Paul McMahan (4); 5. Shane Stewart (7); 6. Kerry Madsen (20); 7. Greg Hodnett (8); 8. Terry McCarl (6); 9. Chad Kemenah (16); 10. Tim Shaffer (9); 11. Gio Scelzi (14); 12. Kasey Kahne (10); 13. James McFadden (23); 14. Brock Zearfoss (15); 15. Parker Price-Miller (18); 16. Sammy Swindell (21); 17. Josh Baughman (2); 18. Lynton Jeffrey (19); 19. Davey Heskin (12); 20. Aaron Reutzel (22); 21. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (17); 22. Matt Juhl (11); 23. Clint Garner (24); 24. Dave Blaney (13). Lap Leader: Sweet 1-25. Hard-charger: Madsen.