David Gravel is Perfect on Toyota Night #2 at the 57th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores!

| August 11, 2017

 

by Bill Wright and Bryan Hulbert                                                             

 

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 10, 2017) – David Gravel swept Toyota Night #2 at the 57th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway.  After setting quick time, the Watertown, Connecticut native won his heat and the feature after starting eighth in both events aboard the CJB Motorsports #5.  It was the first time for a perfect 500-point score since Steve Kinser did it in 1992.  The win was Gravel’s second in his career at Knoxville, paid him $12,000 and set him up on the pole of Saturday’s night’s $150,000 to win championship event.

 

Disaster befell Knoxville Nationals defending champion, Jason Johnson before a circuit could be completed in the 25-lap main event.  After getting sideways, he collected the machine of Dominic Scelzi.  Scelzi would restart at the tail after repairs, but Johnson would not be as lucky.

 

Once the green fell again, pole-sitter, Mark Dobmeier, showed the way, ahead of Brooke Tatnell and Wayne Johnson.  Gravel entered the top four on the second lap, and claimed third from Wayne Johnson on lap four.  Brian Brown would drive from sixth to fourth on laps six and seven.

 

Gravel used the low side to shoot by Tatnell for second on lap eight, as Dobmeier entered lapped traffic.  Tatnell’s great third place run would derail on lap ten with a blown right rear.  The caution negated a Gravel pass of Dobmeier for the lead in turn two.

 

Dobmeier would pull away in clean air on the restart, while Brown challenged Gravel for the second spot, taking it briefly.  The leaders entered lapped traffic again on lap 18, and Gravel slid under Dobmeier in heavy lapped traffic on lap 19 to take the lead for good.

 

Gravel pulled away to victory, while Brown took second with two laps to go.  Dobmeier, Ian Madsen and Daryn Pittman followed.  Wayne Johnson, Terry McCarl, Danny Dietrich, Spencer Bayston and hard-charger, Rico Abreu completed the top ten.  Joining Gravel as heat winners, were Chris Martin, Thomas Kennedy, Dale Blaney and Josh Baughman.  Abreu won the B main, while Lee Jacobs took the C.

 

Gravel will start Saturday night’s main event alongside Donny Schatz.  They will be joined in order by Brad Sweet, Kerry Madsen, Brian Brown, Terry McCarl, Daryn Pittman, Greg Hodnett, Kyle Larson, Shane Stewart, Austin McCarl, Paul McMahan, Mark Dobmeier, Rico Abreu, Ian Madsen and Wayne Johnson.

 

Tradition dictates that the ten drivers locking into Saturday’s B main will stay put instead of taking the option of starting over with the remaining field on Friday.  That was the case again this year.  Those drivers included Justin Henderson, who will be on the pole, Trey Starks, Jason Sides, Dusty Zomer, Lucas Wolfe, Christopher Bell, Danny Dietrich, Tim Shaffer, Matt Juhl and Dominic Scelzi.

 

“I did get the lead (on lap 10), but the yellow came out,” said Gravel in Victory Lane.  “I knew Mark would be good in open track.  I was just going to run behind him until we hit traffic and run the bottom.  I was lucky I got back by Brian.  I made the mistake of running down the track, but the top was the fastest way around.  I’m in a zone right now.  Little holes look big.  Like Kyle Larson said, I’ve never driven a sprint car this good.  Hopefully, Saturday, we can duke it out.  I’m happy to be in the books.  Hopefully, we have something for them Saturday.”

 

“I’m just proud to be standing here,” said Brown.  “I could have named you five or six times throughout this night I should be on the hook.  From the C main last year to here we are now…we’ve just wanted an opportunity to win the Knoxville Nationals and we’ve put ourselves in position.  Congratulations to David and his team.  I never thought we’d see a perfect score again in my lifetime.  The exciting part is we have the World Challenge tomorrow to work on things.”

 

“He showed speed all night long,” said Dobmeier of Gravel.  “He had it from the word go.  The lapped cars held me up a bit.  In the end, I think I was a little too patient with them.  I needed to try the bottom in one and two.  That’s where I lost the race.  Tonight it bit me.  We’ve only hit two weekly shows here, and we’ve definitely stepped our big track program up.”

 

Join us tomorrow night for FVP Night at the 57th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores!  For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

Knoxville Raceway – Sprint Car Capital of the World!

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(Lineups, Points and Speed Sport World Challenge Starting Grid Below)

 

410 Results

 

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 5, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (8), 15.072; 2. 83, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (2), 15.185; 3. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (6), 15.291; 4. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (13), 15.377; 5. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (1), 15.493; 6. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (18), 15.500; 7. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (23), 15.520; 8. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (12), 15.543; 9. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (37), 15.566; 10. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (19), 15.575; 11. 81, Lee Jacobs, Dalton, OH (3), 15.589; 12. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (7), 15.606; 13. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (20), 15.626; 14. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (24), 15.638; 15. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (30), 15.640; 16. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (29), 15.649; 17. 3S, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (40), 15.667; 18. 10H, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (39), 15.721; 19. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (21), 15.722; 20. 3, James McFadden, Ormeau, QLD, Aust. (36), 15.759; 21. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (14), 15.781; 22. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (35), 15.785; 23. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (32), 15.790; 24. 1X, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (4), 15.791; 25. 29, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (22), 15.795; 26. 39, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (33), 15.808; 27. 10V, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (10), 15.811; 28. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (42), 15.832; 29. 12N, Cole Duncan, Lockbourne, OH (43), 15.850; 30. 9Z, Jared Goerges, Brainerd, MN (9), 15.894; 31. 53, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (11), 15.906; 32. 17M, Max McGhee, Camby, IN (5), 15.947; 33. 1, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (31), 16.019; 34. 1Z, Dale Blaney, Hartford, OH (41), 16.022; 35. X1, Mason Moore, Chico, CA (16), 16.047; 36. 00, Dane Lorenc, Lancaster, NY (28), 16.057; 37. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (26), 16.067; 38. 3K, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (50), 16.112; 39. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (46), 16.117; 40. 17X, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (15), 16.133; 41. 99G, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (25), 16.215; 42. 13V, Seth Brahmer, Norfolk, NE (44), 16.280; 43. 9N, Wade Nygaard, Grand Forks, ND (34), 16.284; 44. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (17), 16.288; 45. 5J, Jeremy Schultz, Beaver Dam, WI (49), 16.325; 46. 23W, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (38), 16.424; 47. 13, Clyde Knipp, California, MO (48), 16.470; 48. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (51), 16.496; 49. 19L, Todd King, Sheboygan Falls, WI (47), 16.709; 50. 94, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (53), 17.190; 51. 9C, Roger Campbell, Clyde, OH (52), 17.346; DQ (Nose Wing) 52. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (27), 15.809; 53. 35V, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (45), NT.

 

Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:42.3: 1. David Gravel (8); 2. Jack Dover (2); 3. Ian Madsen (5); 4. Spencer Bayston (3); / 5. Jacob Allen (4); 6. Dane Lorenc (1); 7. Trey Starks (7); 8. Skylar Gee (9); / 9. Lee Jacobs (6); 10. Scott Winters (10);

 

Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 2:46.7: 1. Chris Martin (1); 2. Dominic Scelzi (4); 3. Daryn Pittman (7); 4. Kyle Reinhardt (3); / 5. Sammy Swindell (5); 6. Justin Henderson (8); 7. Tasker Phillips (6); 8. Seth Brahmer (9); / 9. Max McGhee (2); 10. Clyde Knipp (10);

 

Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:49.7: 1. Thomas Kennedy (2); 2. Tim Kaeding (1); 3. Terry McCarl (8); 4. Wayne Johnson (6); / 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4); 6. Jason Sides (7); 7. Chad Kemenah (5); 8. Josh Schneiderman (3); / 9. Greg Wilson (10); 10. Wade Nygaard (9);

 

Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:43.9: 1. Dale Blaney (2); 2. Kraig Kinser (1); 3. Brian Brown (8); 4. Jason Johnson (7); / 5. Don Droud Jr. (4); 6. Cole Duncan (3); 7. Bobby Mincer (9); 8. RJ Johnson (5); / 9. Paige Polyak (6); 10. Todd King (10);

 

Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 2:45.0: 1. Josh Baughman (1); 2. Danny Dietrich (4); 3. Mark Dobmeier (6); 4. Brooke Tatnell (7); / 5. Rico Abreu (8); 6. Mason Moore (2); 7. James McFadden (5); 8. Jeremy Schultz (9); / 9. Jared Goerges (3); DNS 10. Jeff Swindell (10);

 

C main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Lee Jacobs (1); 2. Paige Polyak (2); 3. Greg Wilson (6); 4. Wade Nygaard (5); / 5. Todd King (8); 6. Clyde Knipp (7); 7. Jared Goerges (3); 8. Roger Campbell (9); 9. Max McGhee (4); DNS 10. Scott Winters (10); 11. Jeff Swindell (11); 12. Brent Marks (12); 13. Jamie Veal (13);

 

B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Rico Abreu (2); 2. Justin Henderson (1); 3. Trey Starks (3); 4. Jason Sides (4); / 5. James McFadden (9); 6. Chad Kemenah (7); 7. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (11); 8. Tasker Phillips (5); 9. Don Droud Jr. (12); 10. Josh Schneiderman (13); 11. Cole Duncan (14); 12. Skylar Gee (17); 13. Paige Polyak (22); 14. RJ Johnson (8); 15. Jeremy Schultz (20); 16. Lee Jacobs (21); 17. Mason Moore (15); 18. Greg Wilson (23); 19. Bobby Mincer (19); 20. Wade Nygaard (24); 21. Jacob Allen (10); 22. Seth Brahmer (18); 23. Dane Lorenc (16); 24. Sammy Swindell (6);

 

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. David Gravel (8); 2. Brian Brown (6); 3. Mark Dobmeier (1); 4. Ian Madsen (9); 5. Daryn Pittman (5); 6. Wayne Johnson (2); 7. Terry McCarl (7); 8. Danny Dietrich (11); 9. Spencer Bayston (12); 10. Rico Abreu (21); 11. Tim Kaeding (18); 12. Josh Baughman (20); 13. Trey Starks (23); 14. Dominic Scelzi (10); 15. Jason Sides (24); 16. Justin Henderson (22); 17. Jack Dover (14); 18. Kyle Reinhardt (13); 19. Thomas Kennedy (15); 20. Kraig Kinser (19); 21. Chris Martin (17); 22. Dale Blaney (16); 23. Brooke Tatnell (3); 24. Jason Johnson (4); Lap Leaders: Dobmeier 1-18, Gravel 19-25; Hard Charger: Abreu

Combined Event Points for the 57th annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store

 

A-Main Lock-ins:

 

  1. 5, David Gravel, 500
  2. 15, Donny Schatz, 492
  3. 49, Brad Sweet, 489
  4. 2M, Kerry Madsen, 487
  5. 21, Brian Brown, 486
  6. 24, Terry McCarl, 478
  7. 9, Daryn Pittman, 474
  8. 27, Greg Hodnett, 472
  9. 57, Kyle Larson, 469
  10. 2, Shane Stewart, 469
  11. 2KS, Austin McCarl, 466
  12. 4, Paul McMahan, 463
  13. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, 462
  14. 24R, Rico Abreu, 462
  15. 18, Ian Madsen, 458
  16. 2C, Wayne Johnson, 457

 

B-Main Lock-ins:

 

  1. 83, Justin Henderson, 453
  2. 44S, Trey Starks, 448
  3. 7X, Jason Sides, 443
  4. 82, Dusty Zomer, 438
  5. 24W, Lucas Wolfe, 438
  6. 14B, Christopher Bell, 437
  7. 29, Danny Dietrich, 435
  8. 49X, Tim Shaffer, 435
  9. 09, Matt Juhl, 429
  10. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, 429

 

Remainder of combined point standings:

 

  1. 55, Brooke Tatnell, 429
  2. 41, Jason Johnson, 429
  3. 68, Chase Johnson, 427
  4. 39, Spencer Bayston, 425
  5. 1M, Danny Lasoski, 424
  6. 2MM, Matt Moro, 416
  7. 17B, Bill Balog, 414
  8. 71, Kevin Thomas, Jr., 414
  9. 67X, Parker Price-Miller, 413
  10. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, 407
  11. 53, Jack Dover, 405
  12. 10V, Kyle Reinhardt, 405
  13. 3K, Tim Kaeding, 403
  14. 17X, Josh Baughman, 400
  15. 1, Thomas Kennedy, 400
  16. 17, Jac Haudenschild, 400
  17. 93, Sheldon Haudenschild, 400
  18. 7W, Tasker Phillips, 396
  19. 1B, Dustin Selvage, 395
  20. 1Z, Dale Blaney, 392
  21. 44, Chris Martin, 388
  22. 10H, Chad Kemenah, 388
  23. 21AU, Jordyn Brazier, 388
  24. 22, Rager Phillips, 388
  25. 3G, Carson Macedo, 387
  26. 9X, Jake Bubak, 386
  27. 3, James McFadden, 386
  28. 56N, Davey Heskin, 386
  29. 20, AJ Moeller, 385
  30. 11K, Kraig Kinser, 383
  31. 15H, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 382
  32. 17W, Harli White, 380
  33. 51, Joey Saldana, 380
  34. 1X, Don Droud, Jr., 376
  35. 19P, Paige Polyak, 376
  36. 81, Lee Jacobs, 376
  37. 5H, Cory Eliason, 369
  38. 71A, R.J. Johnson, 367
  39. 70, Clint Garner, 363
  40. 99, Brady Bacon, 363
  41. 3S, Sammy Swindell, 360
  42. 12N, Cole Duncan, 359
  43. 1A, Jacob Allen, 358
  44. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, 357
  45. 26, Tayler Malsam, 338
  46. 8H, Jason Kendrick, 335
  47. X1, Mason Moore, 335
  48. 95, Matt Covington, 332
  49. 4X, Dakota Hendrickson, 330
  50. 87, Aaron Reutzel, 328
  51. 99G, Skylar Gee, 327
  52. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, 326
  53. 00, Dane Lorenc, 321
  54. 5J, Jeremy Schultz, 313
  55. 15M, Bobby Mincer, 310
  56. 12W, Josh Walter, 309
  57. 84, Scott Bogucki, 309
  58. 1P, Curtis Evans, 306
  59. 9Z, Jared Goerges, 306
  60. 13V, Seth Brahmer, 305
  61. 83C, Adam Cruea, 302
  62. 9N, Wade Nygaard, 301
  63. W20, Greg Wilson, 298
  64. 17M, Max McGhee, 298
  65. 85, Chase Wanner, 291
  66. 13, Clyde Knipp, 271
  67. 19L, Todd King, 269
  68. 1S, Logan Schuchart, 269
  69. 10, Tyler Bear, 265
  70. 23W, Scott Winters, 265
  71. 94, Jeff Swindell, 255
  72. 9C, Roger Campbell, 236
  73. 19, Brent Marks, 223
  74. 35V, Jamie Veal, 216

 

SPEED SPORT World Challenge Lineup:

 

Carson Macedo 387 – Thomas Kennedy 400

Lynton Jeffrey 407 – Brooke Tatnell 429

Jason Johnson 429 – Dominic Scelzi 429

Lucas Wolfe 438 – Ian Madsen 458

Shane Stewart 469 – Greg Hodnett 472

Terry McCarl 478 – Brian Brown 486

Kerry Madsen 487 – Brad Sweet 500

James McFadden 386 – Harli White 380

Corey Eliason 369 – Jason Kendrick 335

Skylar Gee 327 – Scott Bogucki 309

Logan Schuchart 269 – Jamie Veal 216

 

Category: Iowa

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