5/1/04
Knoxville Raceway
WoO
65 410s
44 360s
410s
Chad Kemenah (15th car out to time) set the standard in qualifications at 15.832 seconds. Jeremy Campbell (1st car out) was second quick, followed by Tim Kaeding (11th), Joey Saldana (2nd), Craig Dollansky (17th), Mark Kinser (23rd), Jeff Mitrisin (14th), Calvin Landis (8th), Jason Johnson (37th) and John VanDenBerg (10th). It was advantageous to get out early on Knoxville's new surface. Those who suffered with the new surface were Danny Lasoski who timed in 17th quick, Steve Kinser who was 31st quick, and track champ Terry McCarl who scraped into the heats at 48th quick. With the high car count, only the top 48 qualifiers were eligible for the heats. The rest went straight to the D main. With the tough field, those who headed to the D included Kraig Kinser, Daryn Pittman and Shane Stewart. Eddie Leavitt Jr. lost a driveline during time trials and scratched for the night. Clint Garner registered the slowest time because of a motor issue. Kevin Frey also suffered from motor woes. Brian Carlson failed to get a time in and scratched.
Heat one (started): 1. Danny Lasoski 20 (2) 2. Tyler Walker 5 (3) 3. Brian Paulus 28 (1) 4. Jason Johnson 50D (4) 5. Kemenah 15K (6) / 6. Kerry Madsen 55 (12) 7. Jonathan Allard 35 (8) 8. Landis 70 (5) 9. Tim St. Arnold 8s (11) 10. Jesse Giannetto D1 (10) 11. Jaymie Moyle 1s (9) 12. Chad Meyer 1w (7)
Lasoski broke out to the early lead before a lap two caution came out for a stopped Meyer, who exited. The restart would see the same top five that passed by the checkered flag at the heat's completion. Madsen made a late bid for the final transfer from dead last. After barely qualifying for the heats, he would race again in the C.
Heat two (started): 1. Randy Hannagan 1x (1) 2. Matt Moro 47 (2) 3. Billy Alley 22 (3) 4. Tim Shaffer 83 (9) 5. Campbell 10c (6) / 6. Jason Sides 7s (12) 7. Mike Moore 69 (7) 8. Ricky Logan 17G (11) 9. VanDenBerg v10 (4) 10. Bobby Mincer 15m (8) 11. Mark Toews 5T (10) 12. Mitrisin 5J (5)
The initial start saw Mitrisin flip hard into the turn two wall. He was talking to emergency personnel before being taken to the hospital. Hannagan led the duration. Shaffer gave a taste of what was to come in moving up five spots from where he started.
Heat three (started): 1. Wayne Johnson 14AJ (2) 2. Steve Kinser 11 (8) 3. Donny Schatz 15 (9) 4. Kaeding 83JR (6) 5. M. Kinser 5m (3) / 6. Travis Cram 92 (5) 7. Skip Jackson 2x (4) 8. Jason Solwold 18 (11) 9. Chris Walraven 56 (7) 10. Erin Crocker 16 (1) 11. Brooke Tatnell 66 (10) DNS - Eddie Leavitt Jr. 1A
Jackson spun on the first attempt at green. Once underway, W. Johnson jumped out to the early advantage over Crocker before M. Kinser spun on the second circuit. Crocker was running a strong third on lap four, when something broke in the front end, sending her abruptly into the turn two wall. Despite the impact, she was uninjured. Tatnell called it an evening at that point. The restart saw W. Johnson leading S. Kinser (up from 8th), Kaeding, Schatz (from 9th) and Cram. M. Kinser managed to surge back through the field to take the final transfer from Cram who made a valiant attempt on the last lap. Schatz moved by Kaeding after a duel with two to go.
Heat four (started): 1. Paul McMahan 11H (2) 2. Randy Anderson R19 (1) 3. Jason Meyers 14 (3) 4. Dollansky 7 (5) 5. Terry McCarl 24 (12) / 6. Mike Reinke 02 (10) 7. Colin Northway 60 (11) 8. Jesse Hockett 75 (7) 9. Saldana 2 (6) 10. Brian Brown 6 (4) 11. Brent Antill 1 (8) 12. Josh Higday 83x (9)
Saldana suffered a flat right front before a lap could be spun. He restarted at the rear. McMahan dominated in leading start to finish. Behind him, Randy Anderson and Meyers were having a great battle for second. McCarl surged up through the pack and managed to get by a strong Reinke for the last transfer. The track had developed two cushions, one a heavy ledge halfway up the track, and another halfway between that ledge and the wall.
D main (started): 1. Kraig Kinser 11K (2) 2. Daryn Pittman 21 (1) 3. Shane Stewart 4m (3) 4. Jeff Johnson 11J (4) 5. Larry Ball Jr. 7x (5) / 6. Randy Martin 14m (8) 7. Clint Garner 40 (9) 8. Jerrel Slinkard 15x (6) 9. Robert Bell 71 (10) 10. Tyler Houseman 50 (7) DNS - John Lambertz 12, Kevin Frey 2K, Lynton Jeffrey 10, Mark Hurd 44m, Ryan Anderson 71R, Greg Jones 35x, Brian Carlson 18
K. Kinser led the distance in a non-stop affair.
C main (started): 1. Reinke (6) 2. Higday (2) 3. Logan (8) 4. Stewart (11) 5. Sides (7) / 6. K. Kinser (14) 7. Solwold (12) 8. Madsen (10) 9. Ball (13) 10. Walraven (1) 11. Toews (4) 12. Jeff Johnson (15) 13. Northway (5) 14. Pittman (9) 15. St. Arnold (3) DNS - Giannetto, Tatnell
Reinke was impressive. The fast way around was with all four wheels were above the ledge halfway up the track. Stewart moved up nicely to qualify for the B. The only caution came out on lap five for a Jeff Johnson spin.
Dash one (started): 1. M. Kinser (2) 2. Meyers (1) 3. Kaeding (3) 4. Kemenah (4) 5. McMahan (7) 6. Moro (6) 7. Walker (5) 8. Hannagan (8)
M. Kinser led flag to flag. Kaeding and Kemenah put on the best racing with Kemenah trying to pass on the low side several times to no avail.
Dash two (started): 1. Jason Johnson (2) 2. Dollansky (3) 3. Alley (1) 4. Lasoski (5) 5. Campbell (4) 6. W. Johnson (6) 7. Paulus (8) 8. Randy Anderson (7)
Johnson rode the high line to record a steady win.
B main (started): 1. Saldana (1) 2. Sides (15) 3. Brown (4) 4. Landis (3) / 5. Jackson (5) 6. VanDenBerg (2) 7. Allard (11) 8. Hockett (8) 9. Reinke (13) 10. Stewart (17) 11. Meyer (7) 12. Higday (14) 13. Moore (6) 14. Moyle (12) 15. Mincer (10) 16. Cram (9) 17. Logan (16) DNS - Antill, Mitrisin, Leavitt, Crocker
This one went green to checker with Saldana in front, and no interruptions. Cram performed a 360 spin on lap five, but kept it running. He did pull in the pits. Sides put on a passing display after coming through the C. He passed 13 cars on his way to 2nd.
A main (started): 1. M. Kinser (1) 2. Kemenah (7) 3. Lasoski (8) 4. Shaffer (21) 5. Kaeding (5) 6. Dollansky (4) 7. Schatz (22) 8. Meyers (3) 9. S. Kinser (20) 10. Sides (23) 11. W. Johnson (12) 12. Hannagan (15) 13. Jason Johnson (2) 14. Pittman (27) 15. Madsen (26) 16. Brown (19) 17. Campbell (10) 18. McMahan (9) 19. Randy Anderson (16) 20. K. Kinser (25) 21. Landis (18) 22. Alley (6) 23. Saldana (17) 24. Walker (13) 25. Paulus (14) 26. McCarl (24) 27. Moro (11) 28. Logan (28)
Four provisionals were used, two for the WoO (K. Kinser and Pittman), and two for Knoxville (Madsen and Logan). After a trip to the work area, Sides restarted at the tail. M. Kinser had jumped into the lead before Logan flipped hard in turn one. He climbed out under his own power. Before a lap could be complete, Moro turned his mount over in turn four. K. Kinser headed to the work area. The restart saw M. Kinser leading Jason Johnson, Meyers, Dollansky and Lasoski. M. Kinser built a solid lead while the four behind him battled. He had built a nice lead by lap 11, when Paulus came to a stop on the backstretch. The restart saw him leading Meyers, Jason Johnson, Lasoski and Dollansky. Kemenah was ready to make a move. Using his customary low line, Kemenah quickly moved from sixth into second. With the leaders in heavy lapped traffic, Saldana flipped on the frontstretch on lap 20. He avoided certain disaster when Pittman merely clipped his top wing off (it could have been worse). Pittman restarted. M. Kinser led Kemenah, Lasoski, Dollansky and Meyers back to green. Kemenah could not close the gap with an open track. The Beefpackers team put on a show the final five laps, with Shaffer getting the better of Kaeding after side by side action. Dollansky was running fourth on the last circuit, but ran out of fuel handing the spot to Shaffer who had moved up to fourth from row eleven. An emotional M. Kinser thanked the staff at the Knoxville hospital who helped the family with Karl's illness last August. Many charges were put on by several drivers in an entertaining night of racing on the new clay. Sides passed 28 cars in the C, B and A mains (more if you count he went to the tail at the start of the A).
360s
Heat one (started, *qualified for feature): 1. John Kearney 83 (5*) 2. Eric Vanderploeg 24 (4*) 3. Ryan Jamison 51J (1*) 4. Tom Lenz 8L (6*) 5. Brad Barickman 10 (2) 6. John Schultz 2s (3) 7. Mike Trent 14c (10) 8. Johnny Anderson 7a (9) 9. Troy Meyer 11m (8) 10. Rob Edwards (7) 11. Nate Van Haaften 3 (11)
Lenz spun in staging, relegating him to the tail. He made the most of the situation, using the track above a ledge that formed halfway up the track to roar back to fourth and qualify for the A. Kearney stomped the competition by taking the lead from row three on the backstretch in the first go-around. Vanderploeg will be driving Josh Higday's 24 on a few occasions this year.
Heat two (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Stevie Walsh 20 (3*) 2. Ryan York 5R (6*) 3. Joe Beaver 53 (8*) 4. Curtis Boyer 72 (10*) 5. Brett Golik (11*) 6. Mike Waddell 2 (2) 7. Chris Morgan 7c (5) 8. Dave Hall 51 (1) 9. Michael Jones 12 (9) 10. Alan Zoutte 33 (7) 11. Rod Richards 5 (4)
Richards and Hall elected to start at the tail. Boyer did not elect to start at the tail, but was sent there by Justin Clark after he jumped the start. He recovered nicely for fourth. Walsh looked strong in the KIDD car and led flag to flag.
Heat three (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Dave Hesmer 1 (3*) 2. Doran Doty 99x (9*) 3. JD Johnson 98 (1*) 4. Eric Mason B29 (8*) 5. DJ Heskin 56 (5) 6. Brian Hetrick 35 (7) 7. Mitchell Alexander 6 (10) 8. Jerry Crabb 12x (4) 9. Pete Crall 11 (11) 10. Curtis Thorson 91 (6) 11. Frankie Heimbaugh 04 (2)
JD Johnson set the early pace before a lap three M. Alexander spin. Thorson followed Heimbaugh pitside. The restart saw JD Johnson leading Hesmer, Hetrick, Mason and Crabb back to green. Hesmer took the point immediately and had built a half a lap lead by lap six, when Hetrick and Doty made contact battling for third. Hetrick got the worst end and had to restart at the tail. Doty (fresh off of retirement) dusted JD Johnson on the last lap for second and valuable passing points.
Heat four (started, *qualified for feature): 1. Jake Peters 57x (8*) 2. Raeger Phillips 9 (2*) 3. Doug Wilson 86 (10*) 4. Eric Jobe 23 (4) 5. Dusty Zomer 1z (7) 6. Brett Mather 54 (3) 7. Bronson Maeschen 96 (1) 8. Dave Heskin 84 (5) 9. Mike Houseman Jr. Y5 (11) 10. Stacey Alexander 126 (9) DNS - Terry Alexander 77 (6)
Peters wasted little time getting to the front and checked out. Phillips was impressive in his first competitive race of any kind. S. Alexander exited with throttle problems on lap three. Houseman spun on lap six bringing yellow. By that time, Wilson, who was caught behind a slower Jobe for awhile, finally got by in a nice run.
C main (started): 1. Jones (4) 2. Crabb (1) 3. S. Alexander (8) / 4. T. Meyer (5) 5. Edwards (7) 6. Dave Heskin (3) 7. Zoutte (6) 8. Houseman (2) 9. Van Haaften (9) DNS - Crall, Thorson, Richards, Heimbaugh, T. Alexander
Houseman elected to start at the rear. Jones took an early lead which he never relinquished in the non-stop event. S. Alexander moved up from the rear nicely using the high side of the raceway.
B main (started): 1. Zomer (2) 2. Jobe (1) 3. Trent (10) 4. J. Anderson (14) / 5. Mather (9) 6. M. Alexander (6) 7. Hall (11) 8. Morgan (12) 9. Barickman (3) 10. Jones (15) 11. Waddell (8) 12. Maeschen (13) 13. Schultz (7) 14. Hetrick (5) 15. DJ Heskin (4) DNS - Crabb, S. Alexander
DJ Heskin was running fourth when he hit the wall on lap three. He was done for the night. Hetrick also went pitside. The restart saw Zomer, who led throughout, ahead of Jobe, Trent (up from 10th), M. Alexander and Schultz. Two laps later, debris from Schultz's machine brought another caution. Maeschen brought out the last caution on lap eight. Zomer still led Jobe and Trent, but now Mather had snuck into the final transfer. J. Anderson set Mather up and passed him on the last lap to grab the final transfer and move forward ten spots.
A main (started): 1. Hesmer (3) 2. Beaver (10) 3. Kearney (4) 4. Peters (5) 5. Vanderploeg (1) 6. Lenz (7) 7. Wilson (2) 8. Jamison (14) 9. Mason (12) 10. Jobe (18) 11. Trent (19) 12. J. Anderson (20) 13. Golik (15) 14. JD Johnson (16) 15. Phillips (13) 16. Walsh (8) 17. Zomer (17) 18. York (9) 19. Doty (6) 20. Boyer (11)
An opening lap incident saw Doty spin in turn three and collect Boyer. Both were done. Walsh also spun to avoid, and had to restart at the tail. Vanderploeg took a nice lead and held it over Hesmer and Kearney going into traffic. On lap eleven, Hesmer pounced when Vanderploeg hesitated behind a lapped machine. Beaver was now on the move and had gotten by Kearney when Phillips spun, bringing out the yellow flag with two to go. The restart saw Hesmer leading Vanderploeg, Beaver, Kearney and Peters. Hesmer held on for win #60, by far the most in the 360 class at Knoxville.