Saturday winners at Knoxville were Matthew Stelzer (Pro), Lynton Jeffrey (410) and Clint Garner (360) (Ken Berry Photo) (Video Highlights from Dirtvision.com)
Clint Garner Grabs Career Win #41 in 360’s; Matthew Stelzer Wins Again in Pro Sprints
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 1, 2021) – Lynton Jeffrey scored a popular win on Jersey Freeze/Dennison Racing Tees Night Saturday at the Knoxville Raceway. The Australian now making his home in Prairie City, Iowa took home $4,000 for his win aboard the Ridge and Sons Racing #83. Clint Garner led wire to wire to record career 360 win #41, and Matthew Stelzer won for the second week in a row in the Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance. He now sits atop the all-time win list in that class with fourteen.
Sawyer Phillips led the 20-lap 410 feature early on ahead of Jeffrey, Davey Heskin, Don Droud Jr. and Terry McCarl. AJ Moeller slowed with suspension problems two laps in while running sixth. Jeffrey slid under Phillips in turn four on the restart, taking the lead. On lap four, Justin Henderson moved by Terry McCarl to enter the top five.
Austin Miller slowed with a flat left rear tire eight laps in, bringing out another yellow. Jeffrey led the field back to green, ahead of Phillips, Heskin, Droud and Henderson. Henderson shot from fifth to third before Carson McCarl tagged the turn one fence. After changing a tire in the work area, he rejoined the field.
Henderson capped another good restart by taking second from Phillips, while McCarl moved up into the top four. Jeffrey opened up a 2.3 second lead through traffic, only to have it erased when seventh running Tasker Phillips stopped in turn four. Eighth running Don Droud Jr. also stopped with mechanical ills.
Jeffrey was able to stretch out for his fifth career 410 win, and first since the World Challenge in 2015. Henderson nailed down second, followed by Sawyer Phillips, Heskin and McCarl. Matt Juhl, hard-charger Riley Goodno, Chris Martin, Josh Schneiderman and Cody Ledger rounded out the top ten. Heskin set quick time over the field, while Jeffrey, Carson McCarl and Goodno won heat races.
It was a difficult night for the McCarl brothers. After April 24 winner Austin had to change motors after hot laps, Carson lost one in his own car before getting a time trial lap in. The motor that was being put in Austin’s car remained, but Carson took over the wheel of the #17A. The number was changed to #27, and since neither car had timed in, Carson was scored in that entry for the night.
“You’re always nervous for a yellow when you’re leading,” said Jeffrey of the late caution. “The track started taking a little rubber and got slicked off there on the bottom. I didn’t know that. I was up on the curb. I was getting a little reckless up there, and nervous. The laps were ticking down…I’m sure they were coming on me. I’m just really happy for these guys and all the effort they put in.”
Clint Garner shot out immediately in the 18-lap 360 feature and was never challenged in the non-stop event. Kelby Watt settled into second early on, ahead of Nate Mills, Ryan Giles and Christopher Thram. Garner was already in lapped traffic on the fifth lap, while Calvin Landis and Josh Higday battled for the fifth spot. Great racing from third through fifth ensued.
Garner had built almost a three second advantage by the halfway point, when Giles took second from Watt. Joe Beaver entered the battle for fifth in the late stages as well. In his best career finish, Mills aced third from Watt with three laps to go.
Garner’s final advantage over Giles eclipsed four seconds. Mills’s career best third place finish came ahead of Watt and Higday. Beaver, hard-charger Jamie Ball, Rob Kubli, Landis and Gunner Ramey completed the top ten. Watt shook his bad luck of the first two weeks by setting quick time, and Kaleb Johnson, Matt Moro and Garner were heat race winners.
“The guys that weren’t having any fun were definitely off the pace,” said Garner of his path through lapped traffic. “The car was great. Qualifying was off a little bit again tonight. Hopefully, we can get back up in the top five qualifying, because I want to win the points bad, and in order to do that, I need to qualify well. (These young guns) have the talent…it’s just going to take some time to get the experience. The track was perfect tonight for a guy like myself whose been here a hundred times. Hat’s off to the Dunkins. This was my kind of track.”
Matt Stelzer shot out from the pole in the 15-lap Pro Sprints feature ahead of Brandon Worthington and Chase Young. Ryan Navratil and Tyler Barrick came together to bring the yellow flag four laps in. Devin Kline took over third on the restart.
Worthington was good on the cushion and reeled in the leader, taking the point on lap seven. A great battle for fourth emerged at that time, with Tyler Groenendyk taking that spot from Young with five to go.
A final caution for a stopped JJ Beaver set up a Dash for the checkers. Stelzer capitalized on a Worthington mistake to take the lead back and claim his second win in a row. Worthington was second, ahead of Groenendyk, who passed Kline with three to go. Young, Devin Wignall, Jeff Wilke, Evan Epperson, Matt Allen and Alex Vande Voort rounded out the top ten. Barrick and Joel Thorpe won heat races.
“Brandon did a good job as a driver, and he deserved to be up here,” said Stelzer in Victory Lane. “That was his race. He just made one little mistake there that cost him. That’s where my experience comes into play there. I didn’t know if the bottom was working. When you start up in the front row like that, you just don’t know where the track is. Brandon showed it to me, and I knew if I could just get by Brandon on that restart, I could take his line on the bottom.”
Next Saturday, May 8, is Busch Light Night! All three sprint car divisions will be in action again! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or check Knoxville Raceway’s Facebook and Twitter.
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (2), 15.647; 2. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (13), 15.781; 3. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (10), 15.785; 4. 7, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (14), 15.826; 5. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (7), 15.88; 6. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (4), 15.883; 7. 2KS, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (12), 15.913; 8. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (8), 15.989; 9. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (20), 15.995; 10. 83, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (19), 16.026; 11. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (9), 16.061; 12. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (17), 16.121; 13. 5, Presley Truedson, Kennedy, MN (3), 16.175; 14. 83A, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (6), 16.208; 15. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (5), 16.226; 16. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (21), 16.467; 17. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (15), 16.474; 18. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (1), 16.548; 19. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (16), 16.627; 20. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (18), 16.655; 21. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (11), NT.
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.4: 1. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 2. Justin Henderson (5); 3. Cody Ledger (1); 4. Matt Juhl (4); 5. Davey Heskin (6); 6. Presley Truedson (2); 7. Joe Simbro (7)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:16.8: 1. Carson McCarl (1); 2. Chris Martin (3); 3. Tasker Phillips (4); 4. AJ Moeller (6); 5. Terry McCarl (5); 6. Austin Miller (2); 7. Bob Weuve (7)
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:20.5: 1. Riley Goodno (1); 2. Sawyer Phillips (4); 3. Don Droud Jr. (6); 4. Bobby Mincer (2); 5. Skylar Prochaska (3); 6. Josh Schneiderman (5) DNS – Austin McCarl
A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. Lynton Jeffrey (2); 2. Justin Henderson (6); 3. Sawyer Phillips (1); 4. Davey Heskin (3); 5. Terry McCarl (7); 6. Matt Juhl (9); 7. Riley Goodno (13); 8. Chris Martin (10); 9. Josh Schneiderman (11); 10. Cody Ledger (14); 11. Carson McCarl (12); 12. Skylar Prochaska (15); 13. Bobby Mincer (16); 14. Presley Truedson (17); 15. Austin Miller (18); 16. Bob Weuve (20); 17. Joe Simbro (19); 18. Don Droud Jr. (5); 19. Tasker Phillips (8); 20. AJ Moeller (4) DNS – Austin McCarl. Lap Leaders: S. Phillips 1-2, Jeffrey 3-20. Hard-charger: Goodno.
360 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (2), 16.411; 2. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanburn, MN (18), 16.418; 3. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (20), 16.432; 4. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (15), 16.433; 5. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (7), 16.434; 6. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (11), 16.449; 7. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (3), 16.494; 8. 21, Gunner Ramey, Sedalia, MO (8), 16.533; 9. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (14), 16.557; 10. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (16), 16.563; 11. 9M, Ricky Montgomery, Denver, CO (21), 16.604; 12. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (23), 16.651; 13. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (22), 16.654; 14. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (24), 16.684; 15. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (9), 16.695; 16. 5M, Collin Moyle, Knoxville, IA (12), 16.759; 17. 53D, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (6), 16.769; 18. 22X, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (10), 16.862; 19. 99, Tony Rost, Utica, NE (5), 16.875; 20. 82, Jason Martin, Liberal, KS (19), 16.975; 21. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (13), 17.287; 22. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (1), 17.393; 23. 57B, Boyd Peterson, Ithaca, NE (17), 17.681; DQ (Tire) 11B, Ben Woods, Newton, IA (4).
Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 2:02.6: 1. Kaleb Johnson (2); 2. Josh Higday (3); 3. Calvin Landis (4); 4. Kelby Watt (6); 5. Nathan Mills (5); 6. Tony Rost (7); 7. Collin Moyle (1); 8. John Anderson (8)
Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 2:03.9: 1. Matt Moro (2); 2. Jack Dover (1); 3. Gunner Ramey (4); 4. Ricky Montgomery (3); 5. Jason Martin (7); 6. Joe Beaver (5); 7. Christopher Thram (6); 8. Boyd Peterson (8)
Heat three (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Clint Garner (4); 2. Ryan Giles (6); 3. Riley Goodno (1); 4. Jamie Ball (3); 5. Rob Kubli (5); 6. Mike Johnston (7); 7. Ben Woods (8); 8. Ryan Leavitt (2)
A main (started), 18 Laps, 5:44.9: 1. Clint Garner (2); 2. Ryan Giles (4); 3. Nathan Mills (1); 4. Kelby Watt (3); 5. Josh Higday (8); 6. Joe Beaver (10); 7. Jamie Ball (14); 8. Kaleb Johnson (11); 9. Calvin Landis (5); 10. Gunner Ramey (7); 11. Matt Moro (12); 12. Jack Dover (15); 13. Ricky Montgomery (13); 14. Christopher Thram (6); 15. Jason Martin (17); 16. Riley Goodno (16); 17. Rob Kubli (9); 18. Tony Rost (19); 19. Collin Moyle (18); 20. Mike Johnston (21); 21. Ben Woods (22); 22. John Anderson (23); 23. Boyd Peterson (24) DNS – Ryan Leavitt. Lap Leader: Garner 1-18. Hard-charger: Ball.
Pro Series Results
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:51.9: 1. 11, Tyler Barrick, Slater, IA (1); 2. 17x, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (3); 3. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (4); 4. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (6); 5. 21x, Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA (5); 6. 17, Matt Allen, Adel, IA (8); 7. 43J, Jaslyn Jones, Monroe, IA (7); 8. 12P, Ryan Navratil, Des Moines, IA (2) DNS – 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:52.5: 1. 3TJ, Joel Thorpe, Urbandale, IA (1); 2. 20, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (3); 3. 5A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (2); 4. 7c, Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA (8); 5. 41, Jeff Wilke, Knoxville, IA (6); 6. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (7); 7. B29, JJ Beaver, Knoxville, IA (4); 8. 44, Scotty Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (5)
A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Matthew Stelzer (1); 2. Brandon Worthington (4); 3. Tyler Groenendyk (5); 4. Devin Kline (6); 5. Chase Young (3); 6. Devin Wignall (10); 7. Jeff Wilke (9); 8. Evan Epperson (12); 9. Matt Allen (11); 10. Alex Vande Voort (2); 11. Ryan Navratil (15); 12. Joel Thorpe (7); 13. Jaslyn Jones (13); 14. Scotty Johnson (16); 15. JJ Beaver (14); 16. Tyler Barrick (8) DNS – Mike Mayberry. Lap Leaders: Stelzer 1-6, Worthington 7-10, Stelzer 11-15. Hard-charger: Wignall.