Donny Schatz won the WoO stop at Knoxville Friday (Dave Biro-DB3 Imaging Photo)
No One Can Turn Down Kelby Watt in 305’s
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 29, 2018) – Donny Schatz kicked off the Brownells Big Guns Bash weekend with a dominating win Friday night at Knoxville Raceway. Though there was little doubt up front, fantastic racing behind the leader kept the large crowd gathered on their feet. The win, aboard the Tony Stewart Racing #15, was worth $10,000 to the Fargo, North Dakota driver. Seventeen-year-old Kelby Watt drove a great race late in the going to claim his second career feature win in the 305 class.
Schatz earned the pole with a win in the Dash and led the 25-lap feature early, ahead of Lynton Jeffrey, Brooke Tatnell, Logan Schuchart and Brian Brown. Brown moved by Schuchart for fourth on lap two, but with three laps down, made heavy contact with the turn two wall. Jordyn Brazier slowed at the same time, bringing out the caution.
Brown went to the work area, but the green was dropped with Schatz taking the inside line on Jeffrey on the double-file restart. Contact between the two sent Jeffrey into a wicked series of flips. Fortunately, he emerged unscathed. The lengthy red flag period gave Brown’s crew time to repair his car to restart at the tail.
The next restart was single-file, with Schatz leading Tatnell, Schuchart, Ian Madsen and Kerry Madsen. Schuchart grabbed second from Tatnell on lap eleven, as the leader entered lapped traffic. Behind him, a furious battle for third involving three Aussies was taking place. Ian Madsen emerged with the spot on lap 16, as Kerry followed him by Tatnell into fourth a lap later.
David Gravel was also on the move after starting 11th. He entered the top five with seven laps to go. Ian Madsen continued his charge, passing Schuchart for second with five to go. Gravel would gain two more positions as well, garnering third with three to go.
Schatz’s win would come by 3.8 seconds over Ian Madsen. They were followed by Gravel, Kerry Madsen and Schuchart. Hard-charger Shane Stewart, Tatnell, Austin McCarl, Cory Eliason and Brad Sweet rounded out the top ten. Kerry Madsen and Jeffrey set quick time in their respective flights. The were both joined by Schatz and Ian Madsen as heat winners. Schatz won the Dash and Dominic Scelzi took the B.
An emotional tribute to the late Jason Johnson was played during opening ceremonies and there was a forty-one second moment of silence. In addition, the missing man formation was displayed before the feature.
“These guys (Schatz’s crew) are incredible at what they do,” said Schatz in Victory Lane. “I’m just lucky to drive it. Tonight, was probably one of the first nights I’ve ever asked myself…when I put the suit on…’Why?’ Once I fired the car, everything made sense. This is what I love to do and what everyone out here loves to do. Thank you to all the fans, racetrack, everybody. It was a very shocking week, but I’m glad to be standing here now. Words can’t describe it.”
“(The crew) gave me a great racecar tonight,” said Ian Madsen. “It took me a little while to get going, but once we kind of got rolling and could go wide open on the top, we really came alive. It’s an awesome strong run to come home to Knoxville and get a second place. I couldn’t be prouder of my team.”
“We missed it a little bit qualifying,” said the third place Gravel. “We finished third in the heat and that put us eleventh in the A main. I felt we had a really good car in the heat race, but it was a little big too fast. We had a really good car again. I was confident that we were good. I was able to pick off a couple of guys in the last laps. We’re happy with where we ran tonight. We’ll take the podium tonight and move on to tomorrow.”
The 305 15-lap main event had a rough start when Casey Greubel turned over in turn three. He was o.k. Devin Kline shot out to the lead over Joe Simbro, Mike Mayberry, Matthew Stelzer and Eric Bridger. Mayberry would shoot into second on lap two, before the leader Kline tumbled in turn two. He was also uninjured.
Now, with two laps down, Mayberry led Simbro, Stelzer, Bridger and Kelby Watt back to green. A blanket could have been thrown over the top five for several laps. Finally Watt was able to use the high side to move by Bridger into fourth. Stelzer would take second from Simbro on lap five with Watt in tow.
A spin by a seventh running Ryan Leavitt slowed things with ten to go. Mayberry led Stelzer, Watt, Simbro and Bridger back to green. Bridger would move into fourth on the restart, but little else changed in the top five as they continued to race in tight formation. Watt was making the high side work and slowly reeled in Stelzer. With three to go, he was able to get by him as the two made slight contact. Two laps later, he would ride the high side to take the lead from Mayberry.
Watt pulled away for his second career win ahead of Stelzer, who nabbed second on the last lap, Mayberry, Bridger and Simbro. Evan Epperson, Leavitt, Mike Ayers, Chase Young and Brandon Worthington completed the top ten. Young set quick time on the night, while Stelzer and Mayberry were heat winners.
“I found the top and I was running that thing full throttle,” said Watt in Victory Lane. “I was bouncing off the wall, and I kept it going. Sorry to bounce into Stelzer there, but I was coming up the track and it’s been a few months. This car could literally go anywhere that I wanted to go, thanks to my Dad and grandpa. That thing was so fast.”
Join us tomorrow night for the Brownells Big Guns Bash finale featuring the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Cars! The 360 sprints will also be in action Saturday! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials Group One (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 2M, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (10), 15.147; 2. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (19), 15.203; 3. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (8), 15.260; 4. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (13), 15.287; 5. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (7), 15.306; 6. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (1), 15.375; 7. 71, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (5), 15.383; 8. 5, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (3), 15.391; 9. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (17), 15.480; 10. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (15), 15.504; 11. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (9), 15.507; 12. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (20), 15.536; 13. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (12), 15.611; 14. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (16), 15.646; 15. 97G, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (11), 15.654; 16. 7, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (2), 15.702; 17. 9P, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (14), 15.706; 18. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (4), 16.034; 19. 85, Chase Wanner, Agency, IA (18), 16.037; 20. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (6), 16.178
Time Trials Group Two (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (20), 15.243; 2. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (18), 15.358; 3. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (6), 15.403; 4. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (2), 15.408; 5. 83, Cory Eliason, Selma, CA (16), 15.420; 6. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (7), 15.437; 7. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (1), 15.441; 8. 83H, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (8), 15.533; 9. 21AU, Jordyn Brazier, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (12), 15.55; 10. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (15), 15.554; 11. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (17), 15.582; 12. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (13), 15.584; 13. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (10), 15.590; 14. 2, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (5), 15.654; 15. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (4), 15.668; 16. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (9), 15.695; 17. 7S50, Keoni Texeira, Honolulu, HI (3), 15.749; 18. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (19), 15.876; 19. 19W, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (11), 16.494; 20. 3, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (14), 16.666
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:07.0: 1. Kerry Madsen (1); 2. Terry McCarl (3); 3. Gio Scelzi (4); 4. Jacob Allen (2); 5. Matt Juhl (5) / 6. Sheldon Haudenschild (6); 7. Rager Phillips (9); 8. Greg Wilson (7); 9. Hunter Schuerenberg (8); 10. Chase Wanner (10)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:06.9: 1. Donny Schatz (1); 2. Logan Schuchart (2); 3. David Gravel (4); 4. Brad Sweet (5); 5. Davey Heskin (6) / 6. Dominic Scelzi (3); 7. Kraig Kinser (7); 8. Carson McCarl (8); 9. Bobby Mincer (9) DNS – Glen Saville
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:07.7: 1. Ian Madsen (1); 2. Brian Brown (2); 3. Cory Eliason (3); 4. Jason Sides (6); 5. Daryn Pittman (4) / 6. Sawyer Phillips (7); 7. Jordyn Brazier (5); 8. AJ Moeller (8); 9. Keoni Texeira (9); 10. Bob Weuve (10)
Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:08.3: 1. Lynton Jeffrey (1); 2. Brooke Tatnell (2); 3. Austin McCarl (3); 4. Josh Schneiderman (5); 5. Shane Stewart (7); 6. Justin Henderson (4); 7. Brent Marks (6); 8. Tasker Phillips (8) DNS – RJ Johnson, Sammy Swindell
Dash (started), 6 Laps, 1:35.7: 1. Donny Schatz (2); 2. Lynton Jeffrey (1); 3. Brooke Tatnell (3); 4. Logan Schuchart (5); 5. Ian Madsen (6); 6. Brian Brown (7); 7. Kerry Madsen (8); 8. Terry McCarl (4)
B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:21.0: 1. Dominic Scelzi (1); 2. Sheldon Haudenschild (3); 3. Justin Henderson (2); 4. Jordyn Brazier (4); 5. Brent Marks (6); 6. Kraig Kinser (7); 7. Greg Wilson (5); 8. Sawyer Phillips (8); 9. Rager Phillips (13); 10. Hunter Schuerenberg (9); 11. Tasker Phillips (12); 12. Carson McCarl (11); 13. RJ Johnson (16); 14. Keoni Texeira (14); 15. Chase Wanner (17); 16. Glen Saville (19); 17. AJ Moeller (10); 18. Bob Weuve (18); 19. Bobby Mincer (15) DNS – Sammy Swindell
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Donny Schatz (1); 2. Ian Madsen (5); 3. David Gravel (11); 4. Kerry Madsen (7); 5. Logan Schuchart (4); 6. Shane Stewart (20); 7. Brooke Tatnell (3); 8. Austin McCarl (12); 9. Cory Eliason (10); 10. Brad Sweet (15); 11. Justin Henderson (23); 12. Terry McCarl (8); 13. Gio Scelzi (9); 14. Davey Heskin (19); 15. Brian Brown (6); 16. Sheldon Haudenschild (22); 17. Jacob Allen (13); 18. Matt Juhl (17); 19. Daryn Pittman (18); 20. Jason Sides (14); 21. Dominic Scelzi (21); 22. Jordyn Brazier (24); 23. Greg Wilson (25, prov.); 24. Josh Schneiderman (16); 25. Lynton Jeffrey (2). Lap Leader: Schatz 1-25. Hard-charger: Stewart.
305 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (15), 17.478; 2. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (17), 17.609; 3. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (10), 17.712; 4. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (8), 17.883; 5. 4, Chris Horton, Indianola, IA (12), 17.894; 6. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (6), 17.904; 7. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (7), 17.908; 8. 5C, Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA (1), 17.987; 9. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (5), 17.997; 10. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (13), 18.053; 11. 50, Mike Ayers, Waukee, IA (11), 18.137; 12. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (16), 18.145; 13. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (9), 18.181; 14. 33, Jayce Jenkins, Colfax, IA (14), 18.245; 15. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (3), 18.277; 16. 64C, Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA (4), 18.375; 17. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (2), 18.838
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:47.4: 1. Matthew Stelzer (2); 2. Mike Ayers (1); 3. Chris Horton (4); 4. Chase Young (6); 5. Kelby Watt (5); 6. Evan Epperson (3); 7. Dan Henning (8); 8. Brandon Worthington (7); 9. Jon Hughes (9)
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:48.8: 1. Mike Mayberry (2); 2. Jeff Wilke (1); 3. Devin Kline (3); 4. Eric Bridger (6); 5. Joe Simbro (4); 6. Jayce Jenkins (7); 7. Ryan Leavitt (5); 8. Casey Greubel (8)
A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Kelby Watt (5); 2. Matthew Stelzer (4); 3. Mike Mayberry (3); 4. Eric Bridger (7); 5. Joe Simbro (1); 6. Evan Epperson (12); 7. Ryan Leavitt (10); 8. Mike Ayers (9); 9. Chase Young (8); 10. Brandon Worthington (15); 11. Jeff Wilke (11); 12. Jon Hughes (17); 13. Dan Henning (14); 14. Jayce Jenkins (13); 15. Chris Horton (6); 16. Devin Kline (2); 17. Casey Greubel (16). Lap Leaders: Kline 1-2, Mayberry 3-13, Watt 14-15. Hard-charger: Epperson.