Greg Hodnett topped Tim Shaffer and Kyle Larson on Night #1 of the Knoxville Nationals (Paul Arch Photo)
Kyle Larson and Donny Schatz First and Second in Points
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 5, 2018) – Greg Hodnett won his first 410 feature at the Knoxville Raceway since 1994, on Brandt Professional Agriculture Night #1 of the 58th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores. The Spring Grove, Pennsylvania native led all 25 laps of the main event, holding off Tim Shaffer at the line, and garnering $12,000. Kyle Larson, who finished third, was high point driver of the night, followed by Donny Schatz, who drove from 21st to fifth, and had to make his way to the main event through the B main.
Hodnett led early over Brock Zearfoss, Shaffer, Lucas Wolfe and Gio Scelzi. Scelzi moved into fourth on lap two, while Larson entered the top five. Hodnett was getting into lapped traffic, when Jamie Ball could not avoid Clyde Knipp in turn four and turned over. He was uninjured.
Shaffer snuck under Zearfoss to take over second on the restart, and Scelzi and Larson followed him into third and fourth shortly thereafter. Austin McCarl slowed with motor issues with 14 laps in the books, bringing out the yellow flag. Larson used the restart to get by Scelzi for third. With six laps to go, Dominic Scelzi’s top ten run ended when he stopped on the frontstretch.
Hodnett took the field back to green ahead of Shaffer, Larson, Scelzi and Wolfe. Donny Schatz and Ian Madsen, who had to advance through the B main came from the back of the field, used restarts to surge through the field and salvage good point nights.
In the end, Shaffer would make a late charge, but Hodnett was too strong in the Mike Heffner #27. Shaffer finished second, ahead of Larson, Gio Scelzi and Schatz. Ian Madsen (from 22nd), Lucas Wolfe, Aaron Reutzel, Kerry Madsen and Zearfoss rounded out the top ten. Logan Schuchart set quick time on the night, but failed to go to the scales after winning the B. Brady Bacon, Ball, Dominic Scelzi, Clyde Knipp and Zearfoss won heats.
Larson (475) led the top ten in points, ahead of Schatz (474), Reutzel (473), Kerry Madsen (473), Shaffer (471), Gio Scelzi (468), Ian Madsen (467), Hodnett (462), Wolfe (453) and Daryn Pittman (452). (Complete Points Below)
“I knew we were probably sitting ducks,” said Hodnett of his restarts up front. “We only come out here once a year, and I don’t know where to go. I’d never really been in a position leading a race here. (Danny) Lasoski was texting (the crew) and giving them a few pointers. I want to thank him for that. This is huge for us after a poor qualifying effort and mediocre heat race.”
“How about this car?” said Shaffer, who won the 50th edition of the Knoxville Nationals. “My guys are making my job a lot easier. We needed to get every point we could get, and every position meant so much. We’re in pretty decent shape.”
“I kind of ran a little bit of a sloppy race there,” said the third place Larson. “Our car was really tight on exit, so it made it hard to be smooth and consistent anywhere I ran. All in all, it was a good night. We came and did what we had to do. Last year, I was a little nervous after Wednesday, having to talk to Chip (Ganassi), but we’re good to come back Saturday this year.”
The 58th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores continues Thursday, August 9, 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!
Brandt Professional Agriculture Night #1 of the 58th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (3), 14.933; 2. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (5), 15.133; 3. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (24), 15.139; 4. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (1), 15.208; 5. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (18), 15.282; 6. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (2), 15.296; 7. 0, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (35), 15.305; 8. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (4), 15.346; 9. 4K, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (12), 15.350; 10. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (45), 15.368; 11. 71, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (17), 15.406; 12. 13X, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (10), 15.422; 13. 49X, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (40), 15.424; 14. 24W, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (28), 15.438; 15. 3H, James McFadden, Ormeau, QLD, Aust. (20), 15.439; 16. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (15), 15.485; 17. 27, Greg Hodnett, Spring Grove, PA (23), 15.531; 18. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (6), 15.577; 19. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (37), 15.588; 20. 4, Brock Zearfoss, Jonesville, PA (21), 15.614; 21. 11, Roger Crockett, Medford, OR (25), 15.647; 22. 5H, Sammy Walsh, Orangeville, NSW, Aust. (31), 15.649; 23. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (41), 15.656; 24. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (30), 15.664; 25. 12N, Cole Duncan, Lockbourne, OH (26), 15.731; 26. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (39), 15.769; 27. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), 15.811; 28. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (38), 15.824; 29. 97G, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (34), 15.827; 30. 29, Willie Croft, Roseville, CA (7), 15.854; 31. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (33), 15.858; 32. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (14), 15.923; 33. 71X, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (19), 15.926; 34. 10, Clyde Knipp, California, MO (13), 15.948; 35. 85, Chase Wanner, Batavia, IA (27), 15.964; 36. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (22), 15.976; 37. 17WX, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (36), 16.012; 38. 28P, Brian Paulus, Mooresville, IN (32), 16.021; 39. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (8), 16.127; 40. 9X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (29), 16.144; 41. 68, Chase Johnson, Penngrove, CA (42), 16.224; 42. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (43), 16.380; 43. 70S, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (9), NT; 44. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (16), NT; 45. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (44), NT.
Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:39.9: 1. Brady Bacon (1); 2. Clint Garner (2); 3. Gio Scelzi (6); 4. Roger Crockett (4) / 5. Logan Schuchart (8); 6. Brent Marks (3); 7. Daryn Pittman (7); 8. Davey Heskin (5); 9. Chase Johnson (9)
Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 2:41.3: 1. Jamie Ball (2); 2. Sammy Walsh (4); 3. Greg Hodnett (5); 4. Kerry Madsen (8) / 5. Shane Golobic (1); 6. Paul McMahan (6); 7. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 8. Sawyer Phillips (3); 9. Kevin Ingle (9)
Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:40.2: 1. Dominic Scelzi (4); 2. Tim Shaffer (6); 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2); 4. Aaron Reutzel (8) / 5. Bill Balog (3); 6. Austin McCarl (7); 7. Jason Sides (5); 8. Brian Paulus (1); DNS - 9. Jeff Swindell
Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:42.3: 1. Clyde Knipp (2); 2. Matt Juhl (4); 3. Bobby Mincer (1); 4. Lucas Wolfe (6) / 5. Donny Schatz (8); 6. Hunter Schuerenberg (3); 7. Sheldon Haudenschild (5); 8. Kasey Kahne (7) DNS - 9. AJ Moeller
Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 2:39.7: 1. Brock Zearfoss (5); 2. Kyle Larson (7); 3. Chase Wanner (2); 4. Willie Croft (3) / 5. James McFadden (6); 6. Ian Madsen (8); 7. Jake Bubak (1); 8. Cole Duncan (4) DNS - 9. Tasker Phillips
B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:15.7: 1. Donny Schatz (2); 2. Ian Madsen (3); 3. Daryn Pittman (4); 4. Austin McCarl (6) / 5. Paul McMahan (8); 6. James McFadden (9); 7. Kasey Kahne (7); 8. Sheldon Haudenschild (12); 9. Lynton Jeffrey (5); 10. Brent Marks (14); 11. Cole Duncan (13); 12. Bill Balog (16); 13. Shane Golobic (18); 14. Sawyer Phillips (15); 15. Davey Heskin (10); 16. Jason Sides (11); 17. Hunter Schuerenberg (17); 18. Chase Johnson (21); 19. Brian Paulus (19); DQ (Scales) - Logan Schuchart (1) DNS - 21. Jake Bubak; 22. Kevin Ingle; 23. Jeff Swindell; 24. AJ Moeller
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Greg Hodnett (2); 2. Tim Shaffer (4); 3. Kyle Larson (6); 4. Gio Scelzi (5); 5. Donny Schatz (21); 6. Ian Madsen (22); 7. Lucas Wolfe (3); 8. Aaron Reutzel (7); 9. Kerry Madsen (8); 10. Brock Zearfoss (1); 11. Daryn Pittman (23); 12. Willie Croft (13); 13. Sammy Walsh (10); 14. Brady Bacon (19); 15. Matt Juhl (12); 16. Roger Crockett (9); 17. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16); 18. Clint Garner (14); 19. Bobby Mincer (20); 20. Chase Wanner (18); 21. Dominic Scelzi (11); 22. Austin McCarl (24); 23. Clyde Knipp (17); 24. Jamie Ball (15). Lap Leader: Hodnett 1-25. Hard-charger: Schatz.
Wednesday Point Totals
1 57 Kyle Larson 475
2 15 Donny Schatz 474
3 87 Aaron Reutzel 473
4 2M Kerry Madsen 473
5 49X Tim Shaffer 471
6 71 Gio Scelzi 468
7 18 Ian Madsen 467
8 27 Greg Hodnett 462
9 24W Lucas Wolfe 453
10 9 Daryn Pittman 452
11 4 Brock Zearfoss 444
12 5H Sammy Walsh 431
13 2KS Austin McCarl 429
14 09 Matt Juhl 423
15 11 Roger Crockett 421
16 41S Dominic Scelzi 416
17 29 Willie Croft 411
18 13X Paul McMahan 405
19 99 Brady Bacon 404
20 0 Lynton Jeffrey 404
21 40 Clint Garner 403
22 4K Kasey Kahne 401
23 3H James McFadden 400
24 1S Logan Schuchart 400
25 71X Kevin Thomas Jr. 398
26 5J Jamie Ball 392
27 10 Clyde Knipp 390
28 85 Chase Wanner 388
29 15M Bobby Mincer 382
30 17 Sheldon Haudenschild 382
31 56N Davey Heskin 371
32 7S Jason Sides 368
33 19 Brent Marks 367
34 17B Bill Balog 362
35 12N Cole Duncan 361
36 3P Sawyer Phillips 351
37 97G Hunter Schuerenberg 347
38 17WX Shane Golobic 342
39 28P Brian Paulus 319
40 9X Jake Bubak 314
41 68 Chase Johnson 312
42 2K Kevin Ingle 302
43 70S Jeff Swindell 298
44 20 AJ Moeller 294
45 7W Tasker Phillips 280