It is no secret that Aaron Reutzel has been what the kids call bad fast at the Knoxville Raceway this season. Reutzel has won four times in the 410 division during weekly shows and Saturday night he added quite possibly his biggest win of his career by taking the 360 Nationals Championship as heard live on KNIA. Reutzel led all 30 laps, which doubled his winner’s share of $15,000 to $30,000 and made him one of the early favorites to contend for the Knoxville Nationals next week. Reutzel may have led for all 30 laps, but runner-up Sam Hafertepe Jr. was gaining on him and made a Hail Mary move with two laps to go but could not make it stick. Reutzel said he was glad the race had no stoppages so he could get his rhythm going.
Reutzel: “That’s how I wanted it to play out I just wanted to go green to checkered so I can run in lapped traffic and try to hide a little bit.”
Hafertepe, while disappointed about the 2nd place finish, was already looking to next week and feeling confident about his 410 effort.
Hats off to my guys and Myles Hill and the whole Hills Racing Team and hopefully this will work itself over the 410 Nationals, because if it does, we’ll be looking really good.”
Clint Garner was looking to get a second 360 Nationals win but was unable to catch the top two and had to settle for 3rd. He was happy to be on the podium knowing several drivers in the field race much more than he does.
Garner: “Car was fast and I did my best to do what I did. Still kind of feel like an underdog with the type of drivers up here during the line ups, and can’t thank my crew and family enough to put me in a great car and allow me to do what I love to do.”
Chase Randall was awarded Rookie of the Nationals for his 9th place finish and Cody Hansen was awarded the best appearing car. Tonight is the 11th Annual Capitani Classic where 65-70 410 cars are expected to race, plus the Pro Sprints will have a weekly show. Live coverage can be found on KNIA starting with Live Track Side at 5:00 and Race Nights Live at 7:00.
32nd Annual 360 Knoxville Nationals Presented by Great Southern Bank Championship Results
E main (started), 8 Laps, No Time: 1. 6J, Jett Carney, El Paso, TX (2); 2. 1cc, Clayton Christensen, Spencer, IA (1); 3. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (4); 4. 5T, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK (6); 5. 19, Wes Wofford, Alamogordo, NM (5); 6. 83JR, Sam Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (10); 7. 6c, Logan Calderwood, Goodyear, AZ (3); 8. 199, Ryan Bowers, Nowthen, MN (8); 9. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (7) / 10. 4D, Charles Davis Jr., Buckeye, AZ (9); 11. 3M, Michael Pinnel, Rapid City, SD (13); 12. 4s, Adam Speckman, Sioux Falls, SD (12); 13. 4H Cody Hansen, Nunda, SD (11) DNS – 8H, Jacob Hughes, Hartford, SD; 17B, Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD; 24N, Nate Mills, Bondurant, IA; 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA; 2, Alex Pettas, Tempe, AZ; 17, Matt Allen, Adel, IA; 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Denver, CO; 10, Landon Britt, Memphis, TN; 41, Chase Moran, Fultonville, NY
D main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. 16A, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (1); 2. 26H, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (8); 3. 5m, Collin Moyle, Knoxville, IA (4); 4. 21G, Gunner Ramey, Sedalia, MO (2); 5. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (14); 6. 50z, Zach Chappell, Talala, OK (12); 7. 55B, Brandon Anderson, Glenpool, OK (10); 8. Sye Lynch (18); 9. 28, Luke Verardi, Taylorville, IL (13) / 10. Ryan Timms (19); 11. John Anderson (24); 12. Logan Calderwood (22); 13. 22w, Aaron Werner, Colman, SD (15); 14. Jett Carney (16); 15. Wes Wofford (20); 16. 45, Rusty Hickman, Bendigo, VIC, Aust. (3); 17. 2JR, Kelly Miller, Coaldale, ALB, Can. (5); 18. 99, Tony Rost, Omaha, NE (6); 19. 7B, Ben Brown, Marshall, MO (9); 20. Clayton Christensen (17); 21. Sam Henderson (21); 22. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (11); 23. 13v, Seth Brahmer, Wisner, NE (7); 24. Ryan Bowers (23) DNS – 1x, Tim Crawley, Benton, AR; 9G, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA; 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA; 27H, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK; 9MB, JJ Beaver, Knoxville, IA
C main (started), 12 Laps, 3:33.3: 1. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (1); 2. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (2); 3. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (4); 4. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (3) / 5. 27B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (8); 6. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (10); 7. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (15); 8. Colby Copeland (16); 9. 7M, Chance Morton, Coweta, OK (13); 10. Scott Bogucki (17); 11. 94, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (6); 12. Joe Beaver (20); 13. 45x, Kyler Johnson, Quinter, KS (9); 14. Zach Chappell (21); 15. 10P, Dylan Postier, Stillwater, OK (14); 16. Sye Lynch (23); 17. Brandon Anderson (22); 18. 23, Devon Dobie, Wapakoneta, OH (12); 19. Gunner Ramey (19); 20. Luke Verardi (24); 21. Collin Moyle (18); 22. 5A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (7); 23. 83, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (5); 24. 8M, Kade Morton, Coweta, OK (11) DNS – 53D, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE; 7c, Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA; 4w, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA; 17w, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA; 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA
B main (started), 18 Laps, 5:22.8: 1. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (1); 2. 11M, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (8); 3. 5, Brady Forbrook, Morgan, MN (2); 4. 49x, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (5) / 5. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (3); 6. 20, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (13); 7. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (4); 8. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (6); 9. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (10); 10. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (7); 11. 39, Justin Sanders, Aromas, CA (9); 12. 64, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (16); 13. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (14); 14. 21H, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (15); 15. 2m, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (19); 16. 36, Jason Martin, Lincoln, NE (11); 17. Kaleb Johnson (21); 18. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (20); 19. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (17); 20. Cam Martin (22); 21. Kyle Reinhardt (23); 22. 75AU, Tyler Blank, California, MO (18); 23. 22x, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (12); 24. McKenna Haase (24)
A main, 30 Laps, 9:03.9 (NTR): 1. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (2); 2. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (7); 3. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (3); 4. 2K, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (1); 5. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (4); 6. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (5); 7. 71, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (12); 8. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (6); 9. 9, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (18); 10. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (8); 11. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (16); 12. 83H, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (14); 13. Parker Price-Miller (22); 14. 24w, Garet Williamson, Kingdom City, MO (13); 15. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (19); 16. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (11); 17. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (15); 18. Cale Thomas (24); 19. Brady Forbrook (23); 20. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (17); 21. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (9); 22. 6, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (20); 23. 2c, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK (10); 24. Tyler Courtney (21). Lap Leader: Reutzel 1-30. Hard-charger: Randall. $500 Jetco Rookie of the Year: Randall. $500 DGRD Best Appearing Car: Hansen.
Photo from Ryan Northcote