Eleven 410 Rookies are vying for this year’s Jetco Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year Award honors. Representing eleven different states, these drivers gave it their all to get as far into the show as possible during Saturday night’s finale. Three rookies qualified for Wednesday night’s show, while the other eight rookies went out on Thursday. Seventy-nine cars competed in the Friday night Hard Knox show, trying to improve their prelim night performances, and all eleven rookie contenders were present. Emerson Axsom locked into the last row of the A Main with his 4th-place finish in Friday night’s show.
A rundown of the 2024 Rookies follows:
Kasey Jedrezek
Driving the 11n out of LaGrange, Ohio, Kasey normally competes with the Great Lakes Super Sprints. His goal entering the Nationals was to make the A Main on Saturday night. His Wednesday night prelim appearance did not go as he had hoped, with a DNS in both the heat and main. He finished 16th in the Hard Knox C Main. Follow Kasey on social media by searching Kasey Jedrezek Racing.
Joel Myers Jr.
Out of Sebastopol, California, Joel drives the 19h. He runs a true outlaw schedule and says, “We just run whatever makes sense for the week.” Goals for the Nationals included making the A Main. Joel stated, “I just have to get a good prelim night and set us up well for Saturday.” His Wednesday prelim finish was 23rd in the B Main. His Hard Knox finish was 7th in the C Main, which transferred him to the B Main, where he finished 20th in B1. Joel’s social media is under @joelmeyersjr.
Danny Sams III
The 24D from North Port, Florida, ran his prelim night on Thursday with a finish of 17th in the A Feature. Returning on Friday, his Hard Knox finish was 12th in the B1. Danny’s goals for the Nationals included making the show, “but taking it one step at a time and getting a good qualifying lap. We need to run up through our heat to make the feature, and that’s a huge goal. It’s our first time here, so watching the Wednesday night show helped us learn a lot.” He ultimately wanted to qualify in the top 20 and make the invert.
Emerson Axsom
Driving the 27A out of Franklin, Indiana, Emerson entered the Nationals with a lot of momentum from his 360 Nationals success. His goals entering the 410 Nationals were to make the feature, have a good showing, and have good speed and luck. “With these races, it takes a little bit of luck; stuff has to go your way, or at least make it so that if stuff doesn’t go your way, it’s not too hard to dig out of a hole.” He said he didn’t set any expectations for his rookie Nationals because he wasn’t sure what a realistic expectation for his first Nationals should be. It’s safe to say Emerson has hit his mark for his rookie Nationals with his A Main Saturday night start. His Thursday night finish was 12th in the B Main, and returning for Friday, his Hard Knox finish of 4th place landed him in the last spot of the big show on Saturday.
Weston Olson
From Warren, Minnesota, Weston drives the 27w where he races with the Northern Outlaw Sprint Car Association (NOSA). Weston’s goals for the Nationals were to “learn as much as possible, make forward progress each night he’s on the track, and enjoy every minute of this incredible opportunity and amazing facility.” Follow Weston on Facebook at Olson Racing or Weston Olson, and on Instagram at @olson_weston. Weston’s prelim Thursday finish was 23rd in the B Main, where he had issues and was unable to finish the race. His return on Friday for the Hard Knox finish was 16th in the C Main.
Jace Park
The 45x of Overland Park, Kansas, has been running the Johnny Herrera-owned car all season and has wins in both the 410 and 360. Jace has previously made all 4 main events on Saturday night at the Tulsa Shootout with Chad Boat. Jace’s goals for the Nationals are “really shooting towards making the main event and having a successful debut at this year’s Knoxville Nationals!” Jace’s finish on Wednesday was 18th in the B Main and 12th in the B2 for the Hard Knox event.
Xavier Doney
Out of Odessa, Missouri, Xavier drives the #74 where he runs mainly POWRi Bandit Sprints and POWRi WAR. Xavier’s goals include Rookie of the Nationals, qualifying well, and making the A-Features. Find Xavier’s social media at Doney Lawson Racing on Facebook. His Thursday prelim finish was 18th in the B Main and 13th in the Hard Knox B2.
Jake Neuman
New Berlin, Illinois’s 3N, driven by Jake Neuman, ran his prelim night on Thursday with a finish of 9th in the C Main. Returning to the track for Friday’s Hard Knox program, Jake’s finish was 4th in the C Main, transferring him to the B Main, where he finished 21st in B2. Jake’s Nationals goals included running mid-pack in the B Main during his prelim night and, realistically, making the C Main in Saturday’s show.
Joe Perry
Car #28 is from Billings, Montana. He normally runs the ACSC Frontier Region and some of the Northern Plains races. When asked about Joe’s goals for the Nationals, he said, “I’m just excited to have the opportunity to come and race. We’re a pretty small team, just my dad and I, and usually my wife and two young kids come along too. This will be my first time at Knoxville and my first time in a 410, so safe to say our expectations are relatively low: get some laps and not crash.” Thursday’s preliminary finish was 10th in the C Main. His Friday Hard Knox finish was 18th in the C Main.
Daison Pursley
In car #25 out of Locust Grove, Oklahoma, Daison qualified Thursday night. Goals for this year’s 410 Nationals are to make some good laps, have a strong qualifying, and put it in the show for his prelim night. “I think qualifying strong is good in any of the winged racing events, as we saw Wednesday night. I think if I can lay down a good qualifying lap, that will be a huge benefit for my Nationals.” Daison finished 24th in the A Main on his prelim night and, unfortunately, crashed in the Hard Knox B2 after starting 7th.
Landon Crawley
Car 7s is out of Benton, Arkansas. Landon’s goals for this year’s Nationals are not lofty. He would love to make the A Main and have a respectable showing. “I don’t really have any expectations; take it one night at a time.” Landon’s Thursday prelim finish was 20th in the A Main. Returning Friday to run the Hard Knox program, Landon finished 10th in B1.
- Eric Arnold on Aug 10, 2024
- Article Date: 8/10/2024 by Joanne Cram