Brian Brown dominated the WoO feature at Knoxville Friday night (Ken Berry Racing Pix) (Highlight Video from Dirtvision.com)
Mike Mayberry Wins with the Pro Sprints Presented by Pace Performance
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 14, 2019) – Brian Brown has dominated things at Knoxville Raceway this season, winning all three times he has competed heading into Friday night’s opener at the Brownell’s Big Guns Bash featuring the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series. The Grain Valley, Missouri driver made it “four for four” in dominating fashion, leading every step of the way in the 25-lap feature event. The win was worth $10,000 for the pilot of the Casey’s General Stores/FVP Brian Brown Racing #21. Brown became the fifteenth different winner of the season for the World of Outlaws.
Brown came from his starting spot inside row two to blow by front row starters Daryn Pittman and Shane Stewart. As he pulled away in clean air, seventh running Sammy Swindell slowed to bring out a caution two laps in. The restart saw Brown leading Pittman, Stewart, Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet.
Brown chose the inside line and pulled away again, building on his lead. The leaders entered lapped traffic on the tenth circuit. Brown continued to build his lead with Pittman maintaining second over Stewart and Schatz. Sweet pressured Schatz for the fourth spot as the two took turns battling past each other. Eventually Schatz would maintain his advantage.
Brown weaved masterfully through traffic, and was four seconds ahead of the second place car of Pittman at the checkers. Stewart followed, ahead of Schatz and Sweet. Carson Macedo, Logan Schuchart, Kraig Kinser, David Gravel and Sheldon Haudenschild rounded out the top ten. Schuchart and Macedo set quick time in their respective groups, while both were joined by Brown and Schatz as heat winners. Pittman won the Dash, and Dominic Scelzi claimed the B.
“This one’s for you Knoxville fans!” exclaimed Brown in Victory Lane. “You guys support us every Saturday night. It’s important for us to run well in front of you guys when the Outlaws are in town. I’m proud of everyone on the team. I got a really good start, and I haven’t been running the top much. I knew I was running my tires off a little bit. You don’t know how far you’re ahead. Lapped traffic got intense a couple of times. I kept my composure and here we are. We treated this like a normal week. I always thought I’d like to win my first Outlaw show at Knoxville. We’ve won them in Charlotte, Arizona and Kansas, but this one’s special. Four seconds (his lead at the checkers) felt like four-tenths of a second to us!”
“That just means he did a better job than I did,” said Pittman of Brown working well through lapped traffic. “I don’t know that they slowed me down any more than him. He just was probably a little more aggressive. He’s good here. I was unsure how far you could be behind a guy to pull the trigger on him. I know not completing the pass would kill our speed. I was maybe a little hesitant to do that. I’ve got to thank my guys. They worked their tails off. We got an engine changed before the Dash, and I went out there and the car was really good. I have to thank Dennis and Teresa (Roth). We’ve got a super race team. I’m super-excited about the direction we’re headed.”
“There’s no spots easy here with these guys,” said Stewart, who drove the CJB Motorsports #5. “We were able to get back by Donny there on the last lap, but this race was over at the green flag. Brian and those guys did a great job. We’ve been proving that every time we make the Dash, we’re in contention to win. We just have to keep making the Dashes. These are little test sessions for August. We’ll go back to the drawing board tomorrow. My guys work really hard. I wouldn’t want to be on any other team. I’m happy to be where I’m at.”
The 15-lap Pro Sprints Presented by Pace Performance feature saw a familiar early leader. Matthew Stelzer was trying to make it five in a row as he led from his pole position over Brandon Worthington and Mike Mayberry early on. Chase Young flipped in turn one with a lap in the books. He walked away.
After the restart, Worthington used the high side to drive around Stelzer, leading lap four. Five laps in, fourth running, Mike Ayers, spun in turn four. Worthington led Stelzer, Mayberry, Chris Walraven and Jeff Wilke back to green. Stelzer shot under the leader to take the point again. Worthington wasn’t going anywhere, however.
Mayberry was coming on strong, as was Evan Epperson, and along with Stelzer and Worthington, it created a mad scramble for the lead on lap nine. Mayberry shot to the bottom of turn one, sliding both Worthington and Stelzer to take the lead. He would ride the cushion and pull away from the field, leaving no doubt over the last six laps.
Mayberry’s second career win came ahead of Epperson, who grabbed second with three to go, and Worthington, who snagged third with two to go. Stelzer, Walraven, Devin Wignall, Matt Johnson, Wilke and Tanner Barrick completed the top ten. Russ Hall set quick time, while Young and Mayberry were heat winners.
“I’ve got to thank everyone on my team for sticking with me,” said Mayberry in Victory Lane. “Last week we were the last running car. We just kept working, and these guys worked their tails off. We’re glad to get a win. We threw the kitchen sink at it this week.”
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to the Knoxville Raceway Saturday night as part of the finale of the Brownell’s Big Guns Bash! The 360 sprint cars . For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials Group #1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1s, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (5), 14.735; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (15), 14.906; 3. 83, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (9), 15.037; 4. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (14), 15.130; 5. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (6), 15.143; 6. 4, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (3), 15.197; 7. 33M, Mason Daniel, Springville, CA (2), 15.231; 8. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (18), 15.238; 9. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (17), 15.281; 10. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (19), 15.281; 11. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (10), 15.302; 12. 9, James McFadden, Ormeau, QLD, Aust. (7), 15.302; 13. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (8), 15.323; 14. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (4), 15.365; 15. 69K, Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, PA (12), 15.376; 16. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (13), 15.381; 17. 7X, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (11), 15.457; 18. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (21), 15.463; 19. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (20), 15.503; 20. 68, Chase Johnson, Penngrove, CA (1), 15.547; 21. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (16), 15.609.
Time Trials Group #2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 2, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (2), 14.902; 2. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (4), 15.059; 3. 41, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (18), 15.099; 4. 5, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (17), 15.123; 5. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (5), 15.163; 6. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (6), 15.200; 7. 83R, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (3), 15.210; 8. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (21), 15.348; 9. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (14), 15.386; 10. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (13), 15.534; 11. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (19), 15.539; 12. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (16), 15.554; 13. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (9), 15.588; 14. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (15), 15.730; 15. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (8), 15.766; 16. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (20), 15.902; 17. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (11), 15.966; 18. 7SX, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (12), 16.012; 19. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (7), 16.113; 20. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (10), 17.819; 21. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (1), NT.
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:06.0: 1. Logan Schuchart (1); 2. Daryn Pittman (2); 3. Mason Daniel (4); 4. Sawyer Phillips (6); 5. Davey Heskin (7) / 6. Thomas Kennedy (11); 7. Jason Sides (10); 8. Justin Henderson (9); 9. Lance Dewease (8); 10. Dominic Scelzi (3); 11. Dustin Selvage (5)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:05.7: 1. Brian Brown (1); 2. Sammy Swindell (2); 3. Terry McCarl (3); 4. Kerry Madsen (5); 5. James McFadden (6) / 6. Trey Starks (7); 7. Chase Johnson (9); 8. Tasker Phillips (8); 9. Ian Madsen (4) DNS – AJ Moeller
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:06.6: 1. Carson Macedo (1); 2. Brad Sweet (3); 3. David Gravel (2); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (5); 5. Lynton Jeffrey (4) / 6. Matt Juhl (6); 7. Austin McCarl (7); 8. Mark Dobmeier (8); 9. Jamie Ball (9); 10. Joe Simbro (10); DNS - Skylar Prochaska
Heat four (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Donny Schatz (1); 2. Shane Stewart (2); 3. Kraig Kinser (5); 4. Brent Marks (7); 5. Jacob Allen (3) / 6. Josh Schneiderman (4); 7. Chris Martin (8); 8. RJ Johnson (9); 9. Bobby Mincer (10); 10. Brooke Tatnell (6)
Dash (started), 6 Laps, 1:37.2: 1. Daryn Pittman (2); 2. Shane Stewart (1); 3. Brian Brown (5); 4. Carson Macedo (6); 5. Donny Schatz (7); 6. Brad Sweet (3); 7. Sammy Swindell (8); 8. Logan Schuchart (4)
B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:20.3: 1. Dominic Scelzi (1); 2. Josh Schneiderman (2); 3. Matt Juhl (4); 4. Ian Madsen (3) / 5. Trey Starks (5); 6. Justin Henderson (11); 7. Austin McCarl (8); 8. Chase Johnson (15); 9. Lance Dewease (7); 10. Thomas Kennedy (17); 11. Tasker Phillips (9); 12. Mark Dobmeier (10); 13. RJ Johnson (16); 14. Jason Sides (13); 15. Chris Martin (12); 16. Joe Simbro (18); 17. Brooke Tatnell (6); 18. Jamie Ball (14); 19. Bobby Mincer (19) DNS - Dustin Selvage, AJ Moeller, Skylar Prochaska.
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Brian Brown (3); 2. Daryn Pittman (1); 3. Shane Stewart (2); 4. Donny Schatz (5); 5. Brad Sweet (6); 6. Carson Macedo (4); 7. Logan Schuchart (8); 8. Kraig Kinser (12); 9. David Gravel (10); 10. Sheldon Haudenschild (14); 11. Dominic Scelzi (21); 12. Terry McCarl (11); 13. Kerry Madsen (15); 14. Brent Marks (16); 15. Ian Madsen (24); 16. James McFadden (19); 17. Lynton Jeffrey (18); 18. Matt Juhl (23); 19. Sammy Swindell (7); 20. Davey Heskin (17); 21. Mason Daniel (9); 22. Sawyer Phillips (13); 23. Josh Schneiderman (22); 24. Jacob Allen (20). Lap Leader: Brown 1-25. Hard-charger: D. Scelzi.
Pro Series Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 29, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA (14), 17.233; 2. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (4), 17.306; 3. 56, Chris Walraven, Knoxville, IA (2), 17.519; 4. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (7), 17.651; 5. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (1), 17.696; 6. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (12), 17.755; 7. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (3), 17.819; 8. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (6), 17.831; 9. 50, Mike Ayers, Waukee, IA (9), 17.933; 10. 21X, Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA (8), 17.981; 11. 2, Matt Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (5), 18.040; 12. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (10), 18.275; 13. 11, Tyler Barrick, Slater, IA (11), 18.382; 14. 3TJ, Joel Thorpe, Urbandale, IA (15), 19.480; 15. B29, TJ Massick, Knoxville, IA (13), 19.833.
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, NT: 1. Chase Young (3); 2. Mike Ayers (2); 3. Chris Walraven (5); 4. Matt Johnson (1); 5. Matthew Stelzer (4); 6. Tyler Barrick (7); 7. Russ Hall (6); 8. TJ Massick (8)
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:52.2: 1. Mike Mayberry (3); 2. Mike Johnston (1); 3. Brandon Worthington (4); 4. Devin Wignall (2); 5. Jeff Wilke (6); 6. Evan Epperson (5); 7. Joel Thorpe (7)
A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Mike Mayberry (5); 2. Evan Epperson (9); 3. Brandon Worthington (4); 4. Matthew Stelzer (1); 5. Chris Walraven (8); 6. Devin Wignall (11); 7. Matt Johnson (12); 8. Jeff Wilke (6); 9. Mike Ayers (2); 10. Tyler Barrick (13); 11. Mike Johnston (10); 12. Joel Thorpe (14); 13. Chase Young (7) DNS – Russ Hall, TJ Massick. Lap Leaders: Stelzer 1-3, Worthington 4-5, Stelzer 6-8, Mayberry 9-15. Hard-charger: Epperson.