Jason Johnson wins Thursday night Nationals qualifier
By Stacy Ervin

KNOXVILLE, IA. (Aug. 10, 2006) - Louisiana's "Cajun Sensation" Jason Johnson took the $12,000 win on the second qualifying night of the 46th annual Knoxville Nationals, presented by Super Clean, Midwest Ford Dealers and Weld Racing. The race was contested on Thursday, August 10.

Starting fourth on the grid for the 25-lap main event, Johnson followed polesitter Brian Paulus through the first several laps before he ran away and hid from the competition.

This race had trouble getting started as Robert Ballou jumped the cushion on the fight for space in turn one of the first lap and flipped. Also at that time, Dusty Zomer pulled to the work area with brake-caliper problems.

When the race was going to restart from that, Chris Walraven's machine slowed on the pace laps in turn three. Brian Ellenberger also pulled to the work area with brake problems. Walraven's machine would not refire, and that short delay was a good thing for Zomer, who had enough time to get repairs made to his machine and restart.

When the race attempted to go green again, Kerry Madsen spun in turn one to bring out another yellow flag.

After that, the race went green and Paulus jumped out to lead. By lap five, he and Johnson began a torrid battle for the lead, racing side-by-side for much of the next three laps.

On the eighth lap, Johnson finally wrestled the lead away from Paulus just as the two were headed for lapped traffic.

From there, Johnson set sail. On the 13th lap, Tim Kaeding got around Paulus for second place and began to set his sights on Johnson.

On the 16th lap, the yellow flag came back when Jesse Hockett's machine went up in smoke in turn one.

On the restart, Johnson again cruised around the hallowed half-mile, never looking back en route to victory. Kaeding was second, Jason Meyers third and Kaley Gharst fourth. Paulus slipped back to fifth. Wayne Johnson was sixth. Joey Saldana came from the tail of the field after transferring from the B-Main and ended up seventh. Madsen also charged back to finish eighth. Paul McMahan was ninth and Terry McCarl 10th.

In victory lane following the win, Jason Johnson noted he did not have as good a time trial as he would have liked, but winning the qualifying-night feature "is what's it's about."

Don Droud Jr. set the bar in time trials, turning the only sub-15-second lap of this year's Nationals. The former Knoxville Raceway track record holder turned a 14.927. The last-chance race was won by Brian Carlson. Heat races were won by Jason Johnson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Travis Whitney, McCarl and Walraven.

The C-Main was won by Ricky Logan. The other transfer to the B-Main was Dion Hindi, who took the spot by a mere six one-thousandths of a second over third-
place Brock Mayes.

The B-Main was won by Droud. Other transfers to the A were Saldana, Zomer and Brian Brown.

There were several mishaps and misfortunes on this night. Starting off in time trials, Troy Little suffered a broken rear end on his machine going into turn one. Likewise, Jesse Giannetto suffered a broken driveline on his machine. Those two drivers, along with Robert Bell and Mallory Armfield, did not take time trials in this Nationals.

In the first heat race, Jeff Mitrisin, who was to start third, was late getting to the staging area and was relegated to start at the tail. He could not make the transfer to the A from there. On the start of that heat, Wayne Johnson tried a bold move, tagged another car and spun in turn two. On the next attempt at a start, Tyler Walker tried a bold move, got into Jessica Zemken and hit the turn-one fence. Walker did not return to start the C-Main on this night.

In the second heat race, Saldana and Gharst got together at the start and that sent Saldana spinning. He suffered a broken front end on his machine, but his award-winning pit crew was able to get him back out for the race. Ironically, it was Gharst who would later keep Saldana from transferring to the feature through his heat race. As the heat was winding down, Saldana put a slide job on Gharst, but the youngster kept up and the pair raced side-by-side. In turn one of the last lap, Saldana tried to squeeze Gharst down to the low side of the speedway and got a wheel from Gharst to push Saldana up out of his groove.

Gharst went on to take the fourth and final transfer away.

Also in that second heat, the yellow came out on lap four when Josh Higday's machine began to smoke in turn one. As he slowed a bit, Logan was caught in between Higday and the fence in turn two. The contact broke the front axle on Logan's car and he was not able to get it fixed in time to restart.

In the B-Main, the red flag came out on the first lap when Higday jumped the cushion and flipped in turn three. The red returned on lap two when a melee ensued involving Jason Martin, Dean Jacobs and Danny Smith. The result saw Smith's machine standing straight up on its tail and Martin's machine mangled into the turn-four fence.

KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA
August 10, 2006


410 RESULTS

Time Trials, 1 lap, 1. Don Droud Jr., Lincoln NE, 14.927; 2. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN, 15.125; 3. Dusty Zomer, (R) Brandon SD, 15.126; 4. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN, 15.134; 5. Todd Shaffer, Millerstown PA, 15.178; 6. Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City OK, 15.229; 7. Ricky Logan, Little Rock AR, 15.253; 8. Rager Phillips, (R) Pleasantville IA, 15.264; 9. Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS, 15.283; 10. Brian Brown, Grain Valley MO, 15.324; 11. Jason Meyers, Clovis CA, 15.348; 12. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL, 15.383; 13. Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge OH, 15.385; 14. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH, 15.387; 15. Jason Martin, Liberal KS, 15.414; 16. Jason Johnson, Eunice LA, 15.424; 17. Josh Higday, Des Moines IA, 15.434; 18. Paul McMahan, Nashville TN, 15.459; 19. Tim Kaeding, San Jose CA, 15.463; 20. Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg PA, 15.467; 21. Kraig Kinser, Bloomington IN, 15.476; 22. Kelly Kinser, Bloomington IN, 15.484; 23. Neil Shepherd, Warsaw IN, 15.504; 24. Dion Hindi, Albuquerque NM, 15.546; 25. Dean Jacobs, Wooster OH, 15.547; 26. Tyler Walker, Los Angeles CA, 15.567; 27. Kevin Swindell, Germantown TN, 15.57; 28. Jeff Shepard, Upperco MD, 15.585; 29. Brock Mayes, Bucyrus OH, 15.593; 30. Rich Bubak, Golden Co, 15.595; 31. Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls SD, 15.641; 32. Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell IA, 15.705; 33. Nick Smith, Broken Arrow OK, 15.725; 34. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA, 15.744; 35. Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow OK, 15.753; 36. Jeff Mitrisin, Oskaloosa IA, 15.769; 37. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch MS, 15.791; 38. Brian Ellenberger, Butler PA, 15.814; 39. Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Aust. , 15.825; 40. Dale Howard, Byhalia MS, 15.828; 41. Jesse Hockett, Warsaw MO, 15.847; 42. Kerry Madsen, Sydney, NSW, Aust. , 15.879; 43. Danny Smith, Danville IN, 15.9; 44. Brent Antill, Ankeny IA, 15.901; 45. Chris Walraven, Knoxville IA, 15.965; 46. Jessica Zemken, Sprakers NY, 15.993; 47. Larry Pinegar II, Des Moines IA, 16.027; 48. Travis Whitney, Champlin MN, 16.078; 49. Tim Hunter, Millersburg OH, 16.093; 50. Robert Ballou, Rocklin CA, 16.117; 51. Greg Jones, Earlham IA, 16.118; 52. Brian Carlson, Linden IN, 16.183; 53. Kim Mock, Pleasant Prairie WI, 16.344; 54. Kyle Hirst, Elk Grove CA, 16.39; 55. Seth Brahmer, Wisner NE, 16.44; 56. Jerrel Slinkard, Melcher-Dallas IA, 16.449; 57. Cameron McGahan, Kenai AK, 16.507; 58. Shawn Sander, El Paso TX, 16.608; 59. Dave Enders, Kiel WI, 16.845; 60. Jamie McDonald, Birkenhead Point, NI, NZ , 16.975; 61. Jesse Baker, Grants NM, 17.17; 62. Michael Strader, Rock Island IL, 17.952; 63. Troy Little, Sydney, NSW, Aust. , No Time; 64. Robert Bell, Colfax IA, No Time; 65. Mallory Armfield, St. Joseph MO, No Time; 66. Jesse Giannetto, Palo IA, No Time;
Last Chance Heat, 8 laps, 2:18.7: 1. Brian Carlson, Linden IN; 2. Kim Mock, Pleasant Prairie WI; 3. Greg Jones, Earlham IA; 4. Kyle Hirst, Elk Grove CA; 5. Jamie McDonald, Birkenhead Point, NI, NZ ; 6. Seth Brahmer, Wisner NE; 7. Dave Enders, Kiel WI; 8. Shawn Sander, El Paso TX; 9. Cameron McGahan, Kenai AK; 10. Jesse Baker, Grants NM; 11. Michael Strader, Rock Island IL; 12. Jerrel Slinkard, Melcher-Dallas IA; 13. Robert Bell, Colfax IA;


Heat 1, 10 laps, No Time: 1. Jason Johnson, Eunice LA; 2. Jason Meyers, Clovis CA; 3. Jesse Hockett, Warsaw MO; 4. Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City OK; 5. Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls SD; 6. Don Droud Jr., Lincoln NE; 7. Kraig Kinser, Bloomington IN; 8. Jeff Mitrisin, Oskaloosa IA; 9. Jessica Zemken, Sprakers NY; 10. Tyler Walker, Los Angeles CA;


Heat 2, 10 laps, No Time: 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch MS; 2. Kerry Madsen, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 3. Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell IA; 4. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL; 5. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN; 6. Josh Higday, Des Moines IA; 7. Kelly Kinser, Bloomington IN; 8. Larry Pinegar II, Des Moines IA; 9. Kevin Swindell, Germantown TN; 10. Ricky Logan, Little Rock AR;


Heat 3, 10 laps, 2;46.6: 1. Travis Whitney, Champlin MN; 2. Jeff Shepard, Upperco MD; 3. Paul McMahan, Nashville TN; 4. Brian Ellenberger, Butler PA; 5. Danny Smith, Danville IN; 6. Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge OH; 7. Dusty Zomer, (R) Brandon SD; 8. Rager Phillips, (R) Pleasantville IA; 9. Neil Shepherd, Warsaw IN; 10. Nick Smith, Broken Arrow OK;


Heat 4, 10 laps, 2;49.2: 1. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA; 2. Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Aust. ; 3. Tim Kaeding, San Jose CA; 4. Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS; 5. Brent Antill, Ankeny IA; 6. Tim Hunter, Millersburg OH; 7. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN; 8. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH; 9. Brock Mayes, Bucyrus OH; 10. Dion Hindi, Albuquerque NM;


Heat 5, 10 laps, 2:50.0: 1. Chris Walraven, Knoxville IA; 2. Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow OK; 3. Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg PA; 4. Robert Ballou, Rocklin CA; 5. Brian Brown, Grain Valley MO; 6. Jason Martin, Liberal KS; 7. Todd Shaffer, Millerstown PA; 8. Dean Jacobs, Wooster OH; 9. Rich Bubak, Golden Co; 10. Dale Howard, Byhalia MS;


C- Feature , 10 laps, 2:57.1: 1. Ricky Logan, Little Rock AR; 2. Dion Hindi, Albuquerque NM; 3. Brock Mayes, Bucyrus OH; 4. Kevin Swindell, Germantown TN; 5. Nick Smith, Broken Arrow OK; 6. Kim Mock, Pleasant Prairie WI; 7. Neil Shepherd, Warsaw IN; 8. Kyle Hirst, Elk Grove CA; 9. Greg Jones, Earlham IA; 10. Dale Howard, Byhalia MS; 11. Rich Bubak, Golden Co; 12. Seth Brahmer, Wisner NE; 13. Dave Enders, Kiel WI; 14. Jessica Zemken, Sprakers NY; 15. Jamie McDonald, Birkenhead Point, NI, NZ ; 16. Shawn Sander, El Paso TX; 17. Brian Carlson, Linden IN; 18. Jesse Baker, Grants NM; 19. Cameron McGahan, Kenai AK; 20. Tyler Walker, Los Angeles CA;


B Feature , 12 laps, No Time: 1. Don Droud Jr., Lincoln NE; 2. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN; 3. Dusty Zomer, (R) Brandon SD; 4. Brian Brown, Grain Valley MO; 5. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN; 6. Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge OH; 7. Ricky Logan, Little Rock AR; 8. Jeff Mitrisin, Oskaloosa IA; 9. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH; 10. Kraig Kinser, Bloomington IN; 11. Rager Phillips, (R) Pleasantville IA; 12. Todd Shaffer, Millerstown PA; 13. Kelly Kinser, Bloomington IN; 14. Tim Hunter, Millersburg OH; 15. Danny Smith, Danville IN; 16. Dion Hindi, Albuquerque NM; 17. Brent Antill, Ankeny IA; 18. Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls SD; 19. Larry Pinegar II, Des Moines IA; 20. Dean Jacobs, Wooster OH; 21. Jason Martin, Liberal KS; 22. Josh Higday, Des Moines IA;


A Feature , 25 laps, No Time: 1. Jason Johnson, Eunice LA; 2. Tim Kaeding, San Jose CA; 3. Jason Meyers, Clovis CA; 4. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL; 5. Brian Paulus, Mechanicsburg PA; 6. Wayne Johnson, Oklahoma City OK; 7. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg IN; 8. Kerry Madsen, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 9. Paul McMahan, Nashville TN; 10. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA; 11. Jeff Shepard, Upperco MD; 12. Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow OK; 13. Brooke Tatnell, San Souci, NSW, Aust. ; 14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch MS; 15. Don Droud Jr., Lincoln NE; 16. Brian Brown, Grain Valley MO; 17. Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS; 18. Dusty Zomer, (R) Brandon SD; 19. Travis Whitney, Champlin MN; 20. Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell IA; 21. Jesse Hockett, Warsaw MO; 22. Brian Ellenberger, Butler PA; 23. Chris Walraven, Knoxville IA; 24. Robert Ballou, Rocklin CA. Lap Leaders: Paulus 1-7; Johnson 8-25