Brian Brown won on Budweiser Night at Knoxville Saturday (Knoxville Raceway Photo)
Joe Beaver Wins 360 Slugfest, Matthew Stelzer Repeats in Pro Sprints
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 4, 2019) – Brian Brown is two for two this year at Knoxville Raceway. The Grain Valley, Missouri driver passed Josh Schneiderman just past the halfway point, and held on for his 46th career win here. It was worth $4,000 aboard the Casey’s General Stores/FVP #21 on Budweiser Night. Joe Beaver duked it out with fellow Knoxville native Jon Agan to win a 360 feature that saw five lead changes to win his first main event here since 2016. Matthew Stelzer was dominant, leading wire to wire in the Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance feature.
Schneiderman shot out to an early lead ahead of Matt Juhl and Kerry Madsen in the 20-lap 410 main event. Madsen moved into second by lap four, while Brown slid into fourth. By lap six, Brown had gotten by Juhl for third, and he eked by Madsen on lap eight for second.
Up front, Schneiderman was strong on the cushion, but entered lapped traffic on lap nine. Brown shot by for the point, but the pass was negated when seventh running Justin Henderson flipped in turn two. He walked away. Schneiderman led Brown, Madsen, Juhl and Parker Price-Miller back to green.
Brown and Madsen were all over the tail tank of the leader. Brown threw a slider to take the point from Schneiderman on lap 11, with Madsen moving into second. Mark Dobmeier was running twelfth on lap twelve when he got the wrong end of a three-wide battle, and flipped in turn one. He walked away.
Brown led Madsen, Schneiderman, Juhl and Price-Miller back to green. Brown pulled away with some furious action behind him. Madsen crossed the stipe second, ahead of Juhl, a late charging Brooke Tatnell and Price-Miller. Schneiderman, Sheldon Haudenschild, Davey Heskin, Trey Starks and Austin McCarl completed the top ten. Cale Thomas registered quick time over the 31-car field, while Tatnell, Brown and Heskin won heats. Chad Kemenah won the B main.
“(Schneiderman) is a really good race driver,” said Brown in Victory Lane. “He’s just had some tough luck over the years here. That’s a family I really admire. They’ve been here a long time. I want him to win a race, just when I’m not here. My engine (lost a cylinder) with about eight laps to go. I’m proud of all of our guys. My grandpa George (Lasoski) is here, and he hasn’t been here in about three years to see me win. It’s awesome to have him back. It’s just a calming feeling to have him back in my pit.”
The 18-lap 360 feature may have been the race of the year to date. Joe Beaver led early from outside row one. Jon Agan was in second by lap two, working the low side of the big half-mile. He shot by Beaver on lap four to take the lead. Behind him, Clint Garner was taking third from Lee Grosz.
Beaver would not go away, and passed Agan briefly for the lead on lap six, but Agan kept his spot until heading into traffic on lap eight. Beaver hit the cushion to shoot around Agan, who was pinned behind a lapper. Agan freed himself and performed a big slide job on Beaver in turns one and two to take the lead back on the ninth circuit.
The pair dueled on. Beaver maintained his momentum on the top, and on lap 14, drove between Agan and the turn two wall to shoot back into the point. He would get through traffic from there to win his ninth feature here, and his first since his championship season of 2016. Garner took second with two to go, and Grosz claimed third on the last lap, ahead of Agan and Carson McCarl. Ryan Giles, Zeb Wise, Matt Moro, Calvin Landis and Kelby Watt rounded out the top ten. Giles set quick time over the 31-car field, while Wise, Agan and Garner won heats. Jake Bubak won the B main.
“He did the same thing on me,” said Beaver of his winning move on Agan. “He squeezed one through, and I thought, ‘The hell with this, we’re doing it too.’ I’m getting a little choked up here. What can I say about this thing? It was ripping around there. We spent a lot of time in the shop this week that we normally don’t. We found some things. It was fun! It was like going to Slideways (Karting Center) at two in the morning and giving it hell!”
Matthew Stelzer dominated the 12-lap Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance main event for the second straight time. It was his ninth career win here. Stelzer took the lead immediately from his starting spot outside row two. Brandon Worthington gave chase, ahead of Jeff Wilke and Chase Young.
A restart with four laps down, gave Young a chance to jump up to second place, while Evan Epperson also entered the top four. Worthington dueled with Young, using the bottom to regain second with five laps to go. A final caution came out for a spun Mayberry, but nothing was stopping Stelzer.
Stelzer’s victory came ahead of Worthington, Young, Epperson and Mike Ayers. Chris Walraven, Mike Johnston, Wilke, Mayberry and Tyler Barrick completed the top ten. Young set quick time for the second straight time, and Walraven and Worthington won heats.
“I’m on a mission this this year,” said a determined Stelzer in Victory Lane. “We’ve got a lot of goals to accomplish this year, and we’re starting to knock them off. I don’t know how much time I have left in this car, and I have to make time with what I have.”
Join us for Vermeer Night featuring the Interstate Racing Association 410 sprints, next Saturday night, May 11. The 360 and Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance will also be in action! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 91, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (12), 16.068; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (17), 16.076; 3. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (2), 16.215; 4. 71P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (7), 16.246; 5. 33M, Mason Daniel, Springville, CA (6), 16.319; 6. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (5), 16.378; 7. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (31), 16.402; 8. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (22), 16.438; 9. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (13), 16.440; 10. 7X, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (19), 16.450; 11. 4, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (26), 16.515; 12. 41S, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (1), 16.542; 13. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), 16.603; 14. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (9), 16.633; 15. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (16), 16.682; 16. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (24), 16.688; 17. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (20), 16.699; 18. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (15), 16.702; 19. 7, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (3), 16.775; 20. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (25), 16.794; 21. 10, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (30), 16.801; 22. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (10), 16.899; 23. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (28), 16.944; 24. 45, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (29), 16.962; 25. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (8), 16.984; 26. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (14), 17.024; 27. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (4), 17.243; 28. 21M, Brinton Marvel, Pittsboro, IN (18), 17.358; 29. 7S, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (27), 17.411; 30. 85, Chase Wanner, Batavia, IA (21), 17.553; 31. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (23), 17.558
Heat one (started, *qualified for feature), 8 Laps, 2:16.0: 1. Brooke Tatnell (1*); 2. Justin Henderson (3*); 3. Tasker Phillips (2*); 4. Parker Price-Miller (5*); 5. Trey Starks (4*); 6. Cale Thomas (6*); 7. AJ Moeller (7); 8. Joe Simbro (9); 9. Cody Ledger (8); 10. Brinton Marvel (10) DNS – Craig Dollansky
Heat two (started, *qualified for feature), 8 Laps, 2:14.8: 1. Brian Brown (6*); 2. Sheldon Haudenschild (2*); 3. Matt Juhl (4*); 4. Chris Martin (1*); 5. Terry McCarl (3*); 6. Sawyer Phillips (7*); 7. Mason Daniel (5*); 8. Bobby Mincer (8); 9. Skylar Prochaska (9); 10. Tyler Groenendyk (10)
Heat three (started, *qualified for feature), 8 Laps, 2:16.2: 1. Davey Heskin (2*); 2. Mark Dobmeier (1*); 3. Kerry Madsen (5*); 4. Gio Scelzi (3*); 5. Austin McCarl (4*); 6. Josh Schneiderman (6*); 7. Chad Kemenah (8); 8. RJ Johnson (7*); 9. Chase Wanner (10); 10. Glen Saville (9)
B main (started), 10 Laps, 2:59.2: 1. Chad Kemenah (3); 2. AJ Moeller (4); 3. Bobby Mincer (2); 4. Skylar Prochaska (5); 5. Tyler Groenendyk (8); 6. Joe Simbro (10); 7. Brinton Marvel (7); 8. Chase Wanner (9) DNS – Cody Ledger, Glen Saville, Craig Dollansky
A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. Brian Brown (6); 2. Kerry Madsen (3); 3. Matt Juhl (1); 4. Brooke Tatnell (11); 5. Parker Price-Miller (4); 6. Josh Schneiderman (2); 7. Sheldon Haudenschild (13); 8. Davey Heskin (10); 9. Trey Starks (8); 10. Austin McCarl (12); 11. Gio Scelzi (15); 12. Chris Martin (18); 13. Tasker Phillips (14); 14. Terry McCarl (16); 15. Mason Daniel (9); 16. Cale Thomas (5); 17. Sawyer Phillips (19); 18. Chad Kemenah (21); 19. Skylar Prochaska (24); 20. Bobby Mincer (23); 21. AJ Moeller (22); 22. Mark Dobmeier (17); 23. RJ Johnson (20); 24. Justin Henderson (7). Lap Leaders: Schneiderman 1-10, Brown 11-20. Hard-charger: Tatnell.
360 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (22), 16.291; 2. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (28), 16.770; 3. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND (3), 16.826; 4. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (31), 16.900; 5. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (14), 17.051; 6. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (21), 17.131; 7. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (12), 17.191; 8. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (29), 17.254; 9. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (18), 17.269; 10. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (8), 17.285; 11. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA (9), 17.315; 12. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (13), 17.320; 13. 17, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (17), 17.358; 14. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (26), 17.386; 15. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (10), 17.386; 16. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (4), 17.439; 17. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (23), 17.492; 18. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (16), 17.505; 19. 17B, Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD (19), 17.687; 20. 83, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (20), 17.696; 21. 40C, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (27), 17.700; 22. 9X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (25), 17.728; 23. 33J, Jayce Jenkins, Colfax, IA (5), 17.760; 24. 19, Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres, IA (15), 17.914; 25. 64C, Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA (1), 17.947; 26. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (7), 18.005; 27. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (30), 18.051; 28. 11B, Ben Woods, Newton, IA (24), 18.128; 29. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (11), 18.654; 30. 6, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (6), 18.850; 31. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (2), NT.
Heat one (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:04.0: 1. Zeb Wise (2*); 2. Carson McCarl (5*); 3. Ryan Giles (6*); 4. Ryan Leavitt (1*); 5. Calvin Landis (4*); 6. McKenna Haase (3*); 7. Ryan Bickett (7*); 8. Jake Bubak (8); 9. Ben Woods (10); 10. John Anderson (11) DNS – Casey Greubel
Heat two (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:03.3: 1. Jon Agan (5*); 2. Josh Higday (2*); 3. Matt Moro (6*); 4. Nathan Mills (4*); 5. Tom Lenz (1*); 6. Brad Comegys (3*); 7. Rob Kubli (7*); 8. Jayce Jenkins (8); 9. Alan Zoutte (9); 10. Jon Hughes (10)
Heat three (started, *qualified for feature), 7 Laps, 2:05.3: 1. Clint Garner (4*); 2. Tasker Phillips (2*); 3. Lee Grosz (6*); 4. Joe Beaver (5*); 5. Christian Bowman (1*); 6. Eric Bridger (9); 7. Kelby Watt (3*); 8. Rob Weuve (8); 9. Cody Wehrle (7); 10. Frank Rodgers III (10)
B main (started), 10 Laps, 3:06.0: 1. Jake Bubak (2); 2. Cody Wehrle (1); 3. Rob Weuve (4); 4. Eric Bridger (7); 5. Casey Greubel (5); 6. Jayce Jenkins (3); 7. Jon Hughes (11); 8. Ben Woods (8); 9. Frank Rodgers III (10); 10. John Anderson (9); 11. Alan Zoutte (6)
A main (started), 18 Laps, 5:40.8: 1. Joe Beaver (2); 2. Clint Garner (3); 3. Lee Grosz (4); 4. Jon Agan (6); 5. Carson McCarl (5); 6. Ryan Giles (8); 7. Zeb Wise (10); 8. Matt Moro (7); 9. Calvin Landis (9); 10. Kelby Watt (16); 11. McKenna Haase (13); 12. Ryan Leavitt (15); 13. Rob Kubli (20); 14. Jake Bubak (21); 15. Nathan Mills (1); 16. Josh Higday (11); 17. Ryan Bickett (19); 18. Eric Bridger (24); 19. Cody Wehrle (22); 20. Brad Comegys (14); 21. Rob Weuve (23); 22. Christian Bowman (18); 23. Tom Lenz (17); 24. Tasker Phillips (12). Lap Leaders: Beaver 1-3, Agan 4-7, Beaver 8, Agan 9-13, Beaver 14-18. Hard-charger: Kubli.
Pro Series Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (9), 17.647; 2. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (6), 17.878; 3. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (11), 17.947; 4. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (2), 18.138; 5. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (10), 18.158; 6. 21X, Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA (12), 18.325; 7. 56, Chris Walraven, Knoxville, IA (5), 18.327; 8. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (7), 18.406; 9. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (8), 18.512; 10. 11, Tyler Barrick, Slater, IA (4), 19.966; 11. 2, Matt Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (1), 20.132; 12. 50, Mike Ayers, Waukee, IA (3), NT.
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:53.7: 1. Chris Walraven (3); 2. Evan Epperson (2); 3. Chase Young (6); 4. Jeff Wilke (5); 5. Mike Mayberry (4); 6. Matt Johnson (1)
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:53.3: 1. Brandon Worthington (2); 2. Mike Johnston (4); 3. Devin Wignall (3); 4. Matthew Stelzer (5); 5. Mike Ayers (6); 6. Tyler Barrick (1);
A main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Matthew Stelzer (4); 2. Brandon Worthington (1); 3. Chase Young (6); 4. Evan Epperson (8); 5. Mike Ayers (9); 6. Chris Walraven (3); 7. Mike Johnston (5); 8. Jeff Wilke (2); 9. Mike Mayberry (7); 10. Tyler Barrick (10); 11. Matt Johnson (11) DNS – Devin Wignall. Lap Leader: Stelzer 1-12. Hard-charger: Epperson.