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Swindell Takes Opening Night Victory at Goodyear Knoxville Nationals
1983 Nationals champ tops points chart after late-race pass of runner-up Heskin
KNOXVILLE, Iowa. – Aug. 10, 2011 – Sammy Swindell used a bit of patience and the high groove at Knoxville Raceway on Wednesday night to blast past Davey Heskin and claim the opening night feature event at the 51st Goodyear Knoxville Nationals.
Heskin led from the initial green flag and fought off challenges from pole-sitter Joey Moughan and Kasey Kahne Racing’s Brad Sweet. However, with five laps to go, Swindell worked his way to the front and held on through a late race caution to wind up in victory lane on the first of four nights of racing that culminates with the $150,000-to-win finale on Saturday.“We got another win in the qualifying night which sets us up pretty good for the feature on Saturday night,” said Swindell, of Germantown, Tenn. “The car worked well all over the racetrack but was pretty good up high. We’ve got a brand new car here and Alan Parker built us a brand new motor so we’re pretty excited. We just need to hold on and get through Saturday night and hopefully we’ll be back up here when it’s all said and done.”
The first of two qualifying nights featured some big stars as Swindell, last year’s Knoxville Nationals champion Tim Shaffer, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser, four-time World of Outlaws champion Donny Schatz and 41 other racers tackled the famed half-mile track. Sweet, of Grass Valley, Calif., kicked off the night by setting quick time, which is critical with the Knoxville Nationals format that awards points Saturday’s starting position every time a driver is on the track.
The A-main capped off an exciting night and featured plenty of drama as Shaffer and Schatz both experienced engine woes.
Schatz, who also is a four-time Goodyear Knoxville Nationals champion, wasn’t the only World of Outlaws regular to experience trouble. Jason Sides never quite got the setup on his machine right and Bill Rose also struggled. Lucas Wolfe and Chad Kemenah both were moving up in their respective heats until accidents took both drivers which caused them to miss the night’s B-main.
The Outlaws are back in action tomorrow night for the second qualifying night of the 51st Goodyear Knoxville Nationals before the Granddaddy of them all on Saturday night, the $150,000 to win main event.
WE’RE ONLINE – Make sure to check out the special Goodyear Knoxville Nationals edition of WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com.
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway; Aug. 10, 2011
A-main (25 laps): 1. Sammy Swindell (6); 2. Davey Heskin (2); 3. Brad Sweet (8); 4. Shane Stewart (24); 5. Steve Kinser (5); 6. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (21); 7. Austin McCarl (3); 8. Fred Rahmer (22); 9. Rager Phillips (11); 10. Lynton Jeffrey (13); 11. Danny Smith (15); 12. Dustin Selvage (10); 13. Johnny Herrera (12); 14. Brian Ellenberger (20); 15. Ryan Anderson (18); 16. Joey Moughan (1); 17. Tony Bruce Jr. (14); 18. Ryan Bunton (16); 19. Mike Houseman Jr. (19); 20. Tim Shaffer (23); 21. Bryan Dobesh (17); 22. David Gravel (9); 23. Brady Bacon (4); 24. Donny Schatz (7). Lap Leaders: Heskin 1-20, S. Swindell 21-25.
Time Trials (Qualifying Order, 2 laps): 1. 9, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (4) 14.842; 2. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (3) 14.868; 3. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (10) 14.941; 4. 51, Fred Rahmer, Salfordville, PA (7) 15.001; 5. 63, Chad Kemenah, Findlay, OH (5) 15.022; 6. 83x, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (13) 15.077; 7. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (32) 15.141; 8. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (1) 15.174; 9. 11, Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN (31) 15.181; 10. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (14) 15.214; 11. 1J, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (28) 15.229; 12. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (38) 15.348; 13. 1w, Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls, SD (16) 15.380; 14. 29, Bud Kaeding, Campbell, CA (15) 15.383; 15. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (34) 15.390; 16. 5w, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (23) 15.400; 17. 57, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (36) 15.424; 18. 19K, Todd King, Sheboygan Falls, WI (6) 15.493; 19. 0, Jonathan Allard, Chico, CA (35) 15.497; 20. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (8) 15.499; 21. 4x, Toni Lutar, White Rock, BC, Can. (9) 15.513; 22. 14x, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL (2) 15.517; 23. 7s, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (20) 15.517; 24. 02, Mike Reinke, Howards Grove, WI (12) 15.537; 25. 89G, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (27) 15.559; 26. 7x, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (33) 15.559; 27. 17, Tyler Walker, Los Angeles, CA (43) 15.561; 28. 10, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (17) 15.613; 29. 45x, Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque, NM (42) 15.642; 30. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (25) 15.688; 31. 18, Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS (44) 15.778; 32. 4, Danny Smith, Danville, IN (22) 15.797; 33. 6RX, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (29) 15.806; 34. 2D, Bryan Dobesh, Sioux Falls, SD (37) 15.860; 35. 44w, Austen Wheatley, Lake Stevens, WA (18) 15.880; 36. 71R, Ryan Anderson, Deloit, IA (41) 15.882; 37. 9N, Wade Nygaard, Grand Forks, ND (30) 15.947; 38. 68, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (24) 15.991; 39. 20E, Brian Ellenberger, Butler, PA (45) 16.082; 40. 6R, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (40) 16.100; 41. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (39) 16.297; 42. 96AU, Bruce White, Merrylands West, NSW, Aust. (19) 16.514; 43. 20PK, Ron Krysl, Atkinson, NE (26) 17.542; 44. 2x, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (11) NT; 45. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (21) NT.
Heat 1 (10 laps): 1. Ryan Anderson (1); 2. Tony Bruce Jr. (2); 3. Dustin Selvage (3); 4. Brad Sweet (8); / 5. Tim Shaffer (7); 6. Toni Lutar (4); 7. Bronson Maeschen (6); 8. Kevin Ingle (9); 9. Lucas Wolfe (5);
Heat 2 (10 laps): 1. Donny Schatz (8); 2. Joey Moughan (4); 3. Danny Smith (2); 4. Austin McCarl (6); / 5. Tyler Walker (3); 6. Shane Stewart (5); 7. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (7); 8. Wade Nygaard (1); 9. Bruce White (9);
Heat 3 (10 laps): 1. Ryan Bunton (2); 2. Rager Phillips (3); 3. Sammy Swindell (8); 4. Mike Houseman Jr. (1); / 5. Don Droud Jr. (7); 6. Jason Sides (4); 7. Chad Meyer (6); 8. Todd King (5); 9. Ron Krysl (9);
Heat 4 (10 laps): 1. Bryan Dobesh (2); 2. Johnny Herrera (3); 3. Steve Kinser (7); 4. Brian Ellenberger (1); / 5. Mike Reinke (4); 6. Fred Rahmer (8); 7. Jonathan Allard (5); 8. Bud Kaeding (6); DNS – Josh Higday
Heat 5 (10 laps) : 1. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 2. David Gravel (4); 3. Davey Heskin (6); 4. Brady Bacon (7); / 5. Bill Rose (1); 6. Mike Moore (5); 7. Chad Kemenah (8); 8. Austen Wheatley (2); DNS – AJ Moeller
B-main (12 laps): 1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2); 2. Fred Rahmer (1); 3. Tim Shaffer (3); 4. Shane Stewart (9); / 5. Bronson Maeschen (4); 6. Bud Kaeding (6); 7. Don Droud Jr. (5); 8. Jonathan Allard (11); 9. Chad Meyer (7); 10. Tyler Walker (14); 11. Jason Sides (12); 12. Mike Moore (10); 13. Mike Reinke (15); 14. Toni Lutar (13); 15. Kevin Ingle (18); 16. Todd King (8); 17. Wade Nygaard (16); 18. Bill Rose (17); 19. Ron Krysl (19); 20. Bruce White (20); DNS – Chad Kemenah, Austen Wheatley, Lucas Wolfe, Josh Higday, AJ Moeller
51st Goodyear Knoxville Nationals Point Standings, through Wednesday night
1. 1 Swindell, Sammy 490
2. 9 Sweet, Brad 487
3. 11 Kinser, Steve 470
4. 51 Rahmer, Fred 465
5. 56 Heskin, Davey 464
6. 15H Hafertepe, Jr., Sam 460
7. 17A McCarl, Austin 457
8. 15 Schatz, Donny 452
9. 57 Stewart, Shane 447
10. 83X Shaffer, Tim 440
11. 99 Bacon, Brady 429
12. 10 Phillips, Rager 427
13. 14X Moughan, Joey 425
14. 12 Jeffrey, Lynton 424
15. 7X Selvage, Dustin 422
16. 45X Herrera, Johnny 417
17. 47 Droud, Jr., Don 412
18. 4 Smith, Danny 412
19. 89G Gravel, David 407
20. 18 Bruce, Jr., Tony 405
21. 1J Maeschen, Bronson 404
22. 6RX Bunton, Ryan 402
23. 71R Anderson, Ryan 402
24. 2D Dobesh, Bryan 394
25. 29 Kaeding, Bud 393
26. 1W Meyer, Chad 392
27. 20E Ellenberger, Brian 389
28. 63 Kemenah, Chad 384
29. 0 Allard, Jonathan 382
30. 68 Houseman, Jr., Mike 381
31. 69 Moore, Mike 375
32. 7S Sides, Jason 371
33. 4X Lutar, Toni 369
34. 02 Reinke, Mike 368
35. 17 Walker, Tyler 368
36. 19K King, Todd 365
37. 5W Wolfe, Lucas 342
38. 6R Rose, Bill 326
39. 9N Nygaard, Wade 325
40. 2K Ingle, Kevin 321
41. 44W Wheatley, Austen 319
42. 96AU White, Bruce 306
43. 20PK Krysl, Ron 306
44. 2X Higday, Josh 284
45. 20 Moeller, A.J. 280
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products);, STP (Official Fuel Treatment);, Goodyear Tires (Official Tire);, Chizmark & Larson Insurance , Factory Motor Parts, VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel);, Vicci (Official Apparel);; in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake’s Custom Golf Carts, RacingJunk.com KSE Race Products, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and R2C Performance; Engine Builder’s Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder’s Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.
