Rico Abreu knew he had a do over on Friday night. He made the most of it by winning the Hard Knox Night at the 61st Running of the Nos Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals live on KNIA. Abreu, who had a poor preliminary night earlier in the week, led all 25 laps and was never seriously challenged for the win. However behind him was a battle to see who would join Abreu in transferring to the finals. Kerry Madsen, Sheldon Haudenschild and Brian Brown all finished the top four and they will line up 21st-24th in the championship race. Abreu told KNIA/KRLS Sports his night started better than his preliminary night which made for a good ending.
Abreu: “These races are difficult to win. Track position is so key and it all comes down to qualifying the two most important laps of the night and we just put ourselves in position.”
There are five races remaining in the Knoxville Nationals as tonight is championship night with the 50 lap A-Main being where everyone wants to be. The pole sitter will be Austin McCarl, who is a weekly driver in the 410 division at the Knoxville Raceway. McCarl tells KNIA/KRLS Sports the finale is like running two weekly A-Mains.
McCarl: “I think we’re capable to doing it and I’m not going to say win, but we have to make the right directions, and it’s going to be warmer than any day here, so we’ll see what the Dunkins give us, and it’s the KNoxville Nationals and we’re starting on the front row.”
Live coverage is on KNIA starting with Live Track Side at 5:00 and Race Nights Live at 7:00.
61st NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s “Hard Knox” Night Results
Time Trial Group #1 (started), 2 laps: 1. 6B, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (1), 15.832; 2. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (6), 15.856; 3. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (13), 15.880; 4. 1AU, Marcus Dumesny, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (19), 15.923; 5. 73, Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan, WI (2), 15.966; 6. 71, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (11), 15.970; 7. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (20), 15.987; 8. 55, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (32), 16.007; 9. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (18), 16.014; 10. 5C, Dylan Cisney, Port Royal, PA (28), 16.018; 11. 1, Logan Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (25), 16.028; 12. 49X, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (27), 16.036; 13. 7S, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can. (23), 16.064; 14. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (10), 16.071; 15. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (4), 16.073; 16. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (14), 16.084; 17. 17S, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (12), 16.104; 18. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (36), 16.203; 19. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (9), 16.204; 20. 16A, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (26), 16.246; 21. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (21), 16.261; 22. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (31), 16.262; 23. 101, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aus (16), 16.284; 24. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (17), 16.301; 25. 17C, Carson Short, Marion, IL (15), 16.329; 26. 11T, TJ Stutts, Liverpool, PA (5), 16.358; 27. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (29), 16.398; 28. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (30), 16.431; 29. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (22), 16.456; 30. 1X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (33), 16.496; 31. 12, Tyler Drueke, Eagle, NE (7), 16.549; 32. 11, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK (35), 16.586; 33. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (3), 16.639; 34. 97, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (8), 16.652; 35. 2KK, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (24), 16.896; 36. 14H, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (34), NT
Time Trial Group #2 (started), 2 laps: 1. 7, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (17), 16.286; 2. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (21), 16.297; 3. 83JR, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (5), 16.309; 4. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (2), 16.318; 5. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (10), 16.328; 6. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (33), 16.332; 7. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (15), 16.347; 8. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (26), 16.383; 9. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (1), 16.398; 10. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (28), 16.413; 11. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (36), 16.489; 12. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (4), 16.503; 13. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (18), 16.525; 14. 55W, Mike Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (3), 16.549; 15. 16, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (35), 16.555; 16. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (6), 16.567; 17. 21H, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (27), 16.569; 18. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (8), 16.588; 19. 47X, Dylan Westbrook, Scotland, ONT, Can. (9), 16.637; 20. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (22), 16.639; 21. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (25), 16.664; 22. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (30), 16.669; 23. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (13), 16.691; 24. 19W, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (34), 16.694; 25. 35K, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (20), 16.705; 26. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (31), 16.751; 27. 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (19), 16.759; 28. 99, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (12), 16.802; 29. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (14), 16.991; 30. 45, Rusty Hickman, Bendigo, VIC, Aust. (11), 17.009; 31. 9JR, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (32), 17.074; 32. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (16), 17.101; 33. 10, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (29), 17.188; 34. 4W, Matt Wasmund, Jackson, MN (23), 17.366; 35. 7W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (7), 17.458; 36. 97G, Alan Gilbertson, Kasson, MN (24), 17.538
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:17.8: 1. Dylan Cisney (1); 2. Terry McCarl (2); 3. Marcus Dumesny (3) / 4. Brandon Wimmer (4); 5. Robbie Price (5); 6. Carson Short (9); 7. McKenna Haase (6); 8. Zach Hampton (8); 9. Thomas Kennedy (7); 10. Ryan Roberts (10); 11. Greg Wilson (12); 12. Tyler Drueke (11)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:18.6: 1. Logan Wagner (1); 2. Hunter Schuerenberg (2); 3. Corey Day (4) / 4. Sammy Swindell (6); 5. Scotty Thiel (3); 6. Colby Copeland (7); 7. Lachlan McHugh (8); 8. Roger Crockett (11); 9. Bill Balog (5); 10. Bobby Mincer (10); 11. TJ Stutts (9); 12. Kevin Ingle (12)
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:16.4: 1. Ayrton Gennetten (4); 2. Cale Thomas (1); 3. Sawyer Phillips (2) / 4. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (6); 5. Clint Garner (8); 6. Carson McCarl (9); 7. Matt Juhl (5); 8. Jake Bubak (10); 9. Mark Dobmeier (7); 10. Bill Rose (11); DQ (crossed 3rd, muffler) Cory Eliason (3) DNS – Josh Higday
Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:16.5: 1. Anthony Macri (1); 2. Brock Zearfoss (2); 3. Spencer Bayston (3) / 4. Justin Henderson (4); 5. Kyle Reinhardt (5); 6. Blake Hahn (8); 7. Dylan Westbrook (7); 8. Skylar Gee (10); 9. Chad Kemenah (9); 10. Derek Hagar (11); 11. Kraig Kinser (6); 12. Matt Wasmund (12)
Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:16.6: 1. Brian Brown (2); 2. Rico Abreu (4); 3. Brady Bacon (6) / 4. Noah Gass (1); 5. Sye Lynch (3); 6. Josh Schneiderman (8); 7. Mike Wagner (5); 8. Shane Golobic (7); 9. Jordan Goldesberry (11); 10. Dustin Selvage (12); 11. Harli White (10); 12. Tanner Carrick (9)
Heat six (started), 8 Laps, 2:20.5: 1. Sheldon Haudenschild (3); 2. Brooke Tatnell (5); 3. Kerry Madsen (4) / 4. Chris Martin (1); 5. Riley Goodno (2); 6. Chris Windom (8); 7. Don Droud Jr. (6); 8. Rusty Hickman (10); 9. Scott Bogucki (9); 10. Skylar Prochaska (11); 11. Alan Gilbertson (12); 12. Davey Heskin (7)
C main (started), 10 Laps, 2:59.8: 1. Jake Bubak (1); 2. Rusty Hickman (2); 3. Roger Crockett (5); 4. Tyler Drueke (3); 5. Derek Hagar (4); 6. Jordan Goldesberry (6); 7. Matt Wasmund (10); 8. Greg Wilson (9); 9. Skylar Prochaska (8); 10. Kevin Ingle (11); 11. Bill Rose (7); 12. Alan Gilbertson (13); DQ (crossed 6th, No Scale) Dustin Selvage (12)
B main one (started), 12 Laps, 3:40.6: 1. Cory Eliason (3); 2. Brandon Wimmer (1); 3. McKenna Haase (7) / 4. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (9); 5. Scotty Thiel (2); 6. Bill Balog (5); 7. Matt Juhl (6); 8. Mark Dobmeier (12); 9. Lachlan McHugh (14); 10. Sammy Swindell (8); 11. Thomas Kennedy (10); 12. Zach Hampton (13); 13. Clint Garner (15); 14. Ryan Roberts (19); 15. Carson McCarl (18); 16. Robbie Price (4); 17. Colby Copeland (11); 18. Roger Crockett (22); 19. Bobby Mincer (20); 20. Derek Hagar (23); 21. Jake Bubak (21); 22. Matt Wasmund (24); 23. Carson Short (16); 24. TJ Stutts (17)
B main two (started), 12 Laps, 3:44.1: 1. Kyle Reinhardt (6); 2. Sye Lynch (2); 3. Justin Henderson (1) / 4. Riley Goodno (3); 5. Shane Golobic (11); 6. Don Droud Jr. (9); 7. Noah Gass (4); 8. Mike Wagner (7); 9. Davey Heskin (12); 10. Blake Hahn (13); 11. Scott Bogucki (18); 12. Chris Martin (5); 13. Chad Kemenah (16); 14. Rusty Hickman (19); 15. Kraig Kinser (8); 16. Tanner Carrick (15); 17. Josh Schneiderman (14); 18. Skylar Gee (17); 19. Dylan Westbrook (10); 20. Greg Wilson (23); 21. Harli White (20); 22. Jordan Goldesberry (21); 23. Tyler Drueke (22) DNS – Chris Windom
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Rico Abreu (2); 2. Kerry Madsen (4); 3. Sheldon Haudenschild (8); 4. Brian Brown (12) / 5. Anthony Macri (14); 6. Spencer Bayston (6); 7. Corey Day (1); 8. Justin Henderson (24); 9. Brady Bacon (18); 10. Dylan Cisney (13); 11. Brooke Tatnell (16); 12. Sawyer Phillips (11); 13. Terry McCarl (7); 14. Brock Zearfoss (10); 15. Kyle Reinhardt (20); 16. McKenna Haase (23); 17. Sye Lynch (22); 18. Logan Wagner (15); 19. Cale Thomas (17); 20. Cory Eliason (19); 21. Marcus Dumesny (5); 22. Brandon Wimmer (21); 23. Hunter Schuerenberg (9); 24. Ayrton Gennetten (3). Lap Leader: Abreu 1-25. Hard-charger: Henderson.
Saturday’s Lineups
A MAIN
1. 88 Austin McCarl (477) 7BC Tyler Courtney (473)
2. 15 Donny Schatz (469) 2 David Gravel (469)
3. 41 Carson Macedo (467) 57 Kyle Larson (462)
4. 19 Brent Marks (462) 27H Daryn Pittman (459)
5. 49 Brad Sweet (458) 25 JJ Hickle (458)
6. 1A Jacob Allen (457) 11M Parker Price-Miller (457)
7. 39 Justin Sanders (456) 11X Buddy Kofoid (453)
8. 7TAZ Tasker Phillips (451) 8 Aaron Reutzel (447)
9. B Transfer #1 B Transfer #2
10. B Transfer #3 B Transfer #4
11. 24R Rico Abreu (St. Helena, CA) 83JR Kerry Madsen (St. Marys, NSW, Aust)
12. 17 Sheldon Haudenschild (Wooster, OH) 21 Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO)
** Subject to Change **
B MAIN
1. 18 Gio Scelzi (445) 1S Logan Schuchart (444)
2. 2K Lynton Jeffrey (443) 26 Zeb Wise (442)
3. 83 James McFadden (441) 13 Justin Peck (441)
4. 14J Cole Macedo (435) 2KS Ian Madsen (434)
5. 9 Kasey Kahne (431) 3TK Tim Kaeding (431)
6. 39M Anthony Macri (Dillsburg, PA) 5 Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, IN)
7. 14 Corey Day (Clovis, CA) 7 Justin Henderson (Tea, SD)
8. 21H Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 5C Dylan Cisney (Port Royal, PA)
9. 16 Brooke Tatnell (Sans Souci, NSW, Aust) 3P Sawyer Phillips (Pleasantville, IA)
10. 24 Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) 3Z Brock Zearfoss (Jonestown, PA)
** Subject to Change **
C MAIN
1. 91 Kyle Reinhardt (Neptune City, NJ) 55T McKenna Haase (Des Moines, IA)
2. 42 Sye Lynch (Apollo, PA) 1 Logan Wagner (Harrisonville, PA)
3. 49X Cale Thomas (Fairland, IN) 71 Cory Eliason (Visalia, CA)
4. 1AU Marcus Dumesny (Sydney, NSW, Aust) 6B Brandon Wimmer (Fairmount, IN)
5. 55 Hunter Schuerenberg (Sikeston, MO) 3 Ayrton Gennetten (Gravois Mills, MO)
6. 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX) 22 Riley Goodno (Knoxville, IA)
7. 73 Scotty Thiel (Sheboygan, WI) 17W Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA)
8. 17B Bill Balog (Hartland, WI) 1M Don Droud Jr. (Lincoln, NE)
9. 09 Matt Juhl (Tea, SD) 20G Noah Gass (Mounds, OK)
10. 13JT Mark Dobmeier (Grand Forks, ND) 55W Mike Wagner (Harrisonville, PA)
** Subject to Change **
D MAIN
1. 101 Lachlan McHugh (Gold Coast, QLD, Aust) 2M Davey Heskin (St. Michael, MN)
2. 17S Sammy Swindell (Lakeland, TN) 52 Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
3. 21K Thomas Kennedy (Winnipeg, MB, Can) 84 Scott Bogucki (McLaren Vale, SA, Aust)
4. 35 Zach Hampton (Plainfield, IN) 44 Chris Martin (Ankeny, IA)
5. 40 Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD) 35K Chad Kemenah (Alvada, OH)
6. 18R Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE) 45 Rusty Hickman (Bendigo, VIC, Aust)
7. 27 Carson McCarl (Altoona, IA) 11K Kraig Kinser (Bloomington, IN)
8. 7S Robbie Price (Cobble Hill, BC, Can) 83T Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, CA)
9. 16A Colby Copeland (Roseville, CA) 49J Josh Schneiderman (West Burlington, IA)
10. 11 Roger Crockett (Broken Arrow, OK) 99 Skylar Gee (Leduc, ALB, Can)
** Subject to Change **
E MAIN
1. 15M Bobby Mincer (Burlington, IA) 47X Dylan Westbrook (Scotland, ONT, Can)
2. 9JR Derek Hagar (Marion, AR) 97 Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH)
3. 1X Jake Bubak (Arvada, CO) 11N Harli White (Lindsay, OK)
4. 4W Matt Wasmund (Jackson, MN) 65 Jordan Goldesberry (Springfield, IL)
5. 17C Carson Short (Marion, IL) 12 Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE)
6. 11T TJ Stutts (Liverpool, PA) 19W Chris Windom (Canton, IL)
7. 10 Skylar Prochaska (Lakefield, MN) 2KK Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD)
8. 6 Bill Rose (Plainfield, IN) 97G Alan Gilbertson (Kasson, MN)
9. 7W Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA) 14H Josh Higday (Des Moines, IA)
** Subject to Change **
Photo from Ryan Northcote