KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, August 24, 2013 – It was a historic night in more ways than one Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway. Season Championship night came down to three drivers duking it out for a title in the 410 class, and Bronson Maeschen came out on top. In the feature, the man who has more track titles (nine) than any driver won for the 100th time at the historic oval. In the 360 class, Clint Garner became the first driver to win five championships in a row, while Jon Agan won the main event. All-time 305 feature winner, Larry Ball Jr., won the championship in that class, while defending champion, Matthew Stelzer took the non-stop feature.
Lasoski’s win was hard-earned. Josh Schneiderman led early as he and Mark Dobmeier swapped the lead the first couple of laps. Dobmeier jumped to the point by lap five, and the first caution came out with ten laps in the books for a stopped RJ Johnson.
Dobmeier led Schneiderman, Davey Heskin, Bronson Maeschen and Danny Lasoski back to green flag racing. Heskin moved into second on the restart, and Lasoski followed him into third by the time a pair of cautions came out for Wayne Johnson and Mike Moore.
On lap 15, Lasoski worked under Heskin for second before fifth running Dusty Zomer suffered a flat left rear tire, bringing the yellow flag again. Lasoski made his winning move on lap 18, and survived an open red flag period on lap 23. Bob Weuve and Rager Phillips were upside down on the backstretch, while Garrett Dollansky was also involved. All drivers were o.k. Terry McCarl, who entered the feature second in points, was noticeably short on power the length of the feature, but his hopes faded when his fuel cap came off before the restart, and he had to restart at the tail.
Lasoski pulled away for his 100th 410 win at Knoxville, tops all-time, and worth $3,500. Heskin passed Dobmeier in the last corner for second, followed by Dobmeier, track champion Maeschen and Kevin Swindell. Hard-charger Brian Brown, who flipped in his heat, Ian Madsen, Don Droud Jr., Schneiderman and Lynton Jeffrey rounded out the top ten.
Justin Henderson, who set quick time, suffered a wild flip in his heat race and was done for the night. He would transport himself to the hospital later in the night. Wayne Johnson, Zomer and RJ Johnson won heats, while Brown won the B.
Lasoski was visibly emotional in Victory Lane. “I’m not a driver that gets choked up, but I’m telling you, this is pretty special to me. A hundred wins. Wow! Brian Brown was here for most of them, my father was here for most of them…I wish my wife was here. We’re going to have a party here tonight, I can guarantee that! When you start eighth with this competition it’s tough, but when you have Mark Burch working on the car and Kistler power, the odds are in my favor.”
“The whole night was a roller coaster,” said Maeschen on winning the Knoxville Championship Cup. “I don’t feel like it’s over. I feel like puking now more than I did earlier! There are a lot of people who have helped us, and it’s great to have them here. We’re going to wait until the sun come up here, and we might just go straight to church!”
Jon Agan led from the start in the 20-lap 360 feature. Champion, Clint Garner, got off to a rough start and came to a stop after a lap was completed. He restarted at the tail. Early on, Justyn Cox and Randy Martin tailed Agan, trading the runner-up spot twice.
At the halfway mark, it was Agan leading Martin, Cox, Joe Beaver and Scott Winters. Winters moved into fourth on lap 12, and into 3rd after a caution for Josh Higday with sixteen laps in the books. Higday came to a stop, and the leader narrowly avoided rear-ending him.
Agan pulled away for his ninth career 360 win ahead of Martin, Winters, Cox and Beaver. Jamie Ball, hard-charger Ryan Roberts, Matt Moro, Nate Van Haaften and Garner rounded out the top ten. Winters set quick time, while Roberts, Agan and Van Haaften won heats.
“We got a little tight in traffic,” said Agan in Victory Lane. “It’s the little things too. I put my steering wheel in the wrong spot, and I had a brace right in my way. If you are in clean air and you’re tight, it’s fine. You get rolled up behind traffic though. I got up behind Higday there, and I was just trying to turn, turn, turn the car.”
Garner talked about his championship. “We had a really great year, and that’s what I’d like to look back at tonight. The race I had tonight was definitely nothing to brag about. Honestly, I think we’re planning to build a 410 deal. We want Knoxville Raceway to be successful. We want the 360 class to be here forever. I’ll be here for sure. If our 410 deal doesn’t work out, I’ll come with a 360. The plan is to come in a 410 and keep up with Bronson!”
The 15-lap 305 feature went non-stop, and pole-sitter, Matthew Stelzer led every lap for his second career win. J Kinder tracked him throughout the event and closed in the late stages, but the Omaha driver was able to hold on for the $600 victory. Stelzer missed several weeks after blowing an engine.
Larry Ball Jr. was into the top five by lap ten, and moved up to fourth and then third the next two laps to round out the podium. He was followed by Tanner Edwards and Chris Walraven. Steve Breazeale, Matt Stephenson, RJ Johnson, Sawyer Phillips and Stacey Alexander rounded out the top ten. Steve Breazeale set quick time, while Stelzer and Kinder won the heats.
“I didn’t know if I was going to have the right setup for how tacky it was,” said Stelzer in Victory Lane. “This Maxim chassis was the one we won the championship with last year, and it’s a bullet. My biggest fear was not being in the car for two months and not having the stamina to drive.”
“The chase is on to get our 410 done,” said Ball Jr. about next year. “We’ve got a brand new Ostrich ordered. I heard Clint say he was thinking about going to the 410. I guess we’re looking forward to that. Clint and I have had a lot of good racing in the past, and I look forward to that. Maybe I can put a couple of good years in, and when Jamie’s fully ready to kick me out of the seat, I’ll be done.”
The season is far from over in Knoxville. Saturday night, September 7, Knoxville Raceway plays host to the Enduro! For more information on upcoming events, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (11), 15.328; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (1), 15.349; 3. 1m, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (29), 15.362; 4. 71s, Kevin Swindell, Bartlett, TN (17), 15.377; 5. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (3), 15.379; 6. 82, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (31), 15.455; 7. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (5), 15.461; 8. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (26), 15.467; 9. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (21), 15.472; 10. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (9), 15.565; 11. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (12), 15.607; 12. 9, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (25), 15.617; 13. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (24), 15.636; 14. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (16), 15.659; 15. 71J, R.J. Johnson, Tampa, FL (18), 15.690; 16. 77x, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (14), 15.718; 17. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (8), 15.737; 18. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (2), 15.739; 19. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (19), 15.784; 20. 4, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (32), 15.792; 21. 2, Garrett Dollansky, Elk River, MN (23), 15.855; 22. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (30), 15.896; 23. 7, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (7), 15.898; 24. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (27), 15.899; 25. 7K, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (22), 16.134; 26. 10V, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust (28), 16.357; 27. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (10), 16.444; 28. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (20), NT; 29. 71, Tim St. Arnold, Des Moines, IA (4), NT; 30. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (6), NT; 31. 12P, TJ Peterson, Des Moines, IA (13), NT; DQ (Tire) - 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (15).
Heat one (started), 8 laps, NT: 1. Wayne Johnson (1); 2. Mark Dobmeier (4); 3. Lynton Jeffrey (2); 4. Josh Schneiderman (3); 5. Dustin Selvage (9); 6. Kevin Swindell (5) / 7. AJ Moeller (8); 8. Bob Weuve (7); 9. Justin Henderson (6) DNS – Chris Martin, TJ Peterson
Heat two (started), 8 laps, 2:07.2: 1. Dusty Zomer (2); 2. Don Droud Jr. (1); 3. Terry McCarl (5); 4. Ian Madsen (3); 5. Davey Heskin (4); 6. Austin McCarl (11) / 7. Dakota Hendrickson (7); 8. Glen Saville (9); 9. Brian Brown (6); 10. Kaley Gharst (8) DNS – Tim St. Arnold
Heat three (started), 8 laps, 2:07.0: 1. R.J. Johnson (2); 2. Danny Lasoski (6); 3. Rager Phillips (3); 4. Ryan Bunton (1); 5. Bronson Maeschen (4); 6. Scott Winters (5) / 7. Tasker Phillips (8); 8. Mike Moore (9); 9. Garrett Dollansky (7); 10. Brooke Tatnell (10)
B main (started), 8 laps, 2:09.7: 1. Brian Brown (2); 2. AJ Moeller (6); 3. Garrett Dollansky (5); 4. Tasker Phillips (8); 5. Bob Weuve (3); 6. Glen Saville (9) 7. Mike Moore (10) / DNS – Justin Henderson, Dakota Hendrickson, Kaley Gharst, Chris Martin, Tim St. Arnold, Brooke Tatnell, TJ Peterson
A main (started), 25 laps, NT: 1. Danny Lasoski (8); 2. Davey Heskin (3); 3. Mark Dobmeier (4); 4. Bronson Maeschen (2); 5. Kevin Swindell (7); 6. Brian Brown (19); 7. Ian Madsen (9); 8. Don Droud Jr. (15); 9. Josh Schneiderman (1); 10. Lynton Jeffrey (11); 11. Scott Winters (5); 12. Dusty Zomer (12); 13. Austin McCarl (18); 14. Dustin Selvage (17); 15. Terry McCarl (6); 16. Tasker Phillips (20); 17. Garrett Dollansky (21); 18. Glen Saville (22); 19. Rager Phillips (10); 20. Bob Weuve (23); 21. Wayne Johnson (14); 22. Mike Moore (24) 23. Ryan Bunton (16); 24. R.J. Johnson (13) DNS – AJ Moeller. Lap Leaders: Schneiderman 1-4, Dobmeier 5-17, Lasoski 18-25. Hard-charger: Brown.
360 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 82, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (14), 16.279; 2. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (11), 16.281; 3. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (16), 16.306; 4. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (8), 16.335; 5. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO (21), 16.393; 6. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (2), 16.394; 7. 5H, Justyn Cox, Clarksburg, CA (4), 16.422; 8. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (1), 16.450; 9. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (3), 16.468; 10. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (7), 16.536; 11. 14s, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (15), 16.588; 12. 2J, Zach Blurton, Great Bend, KS (9), 16.595; 13. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (12), 16.637; 14. 2N, Rod Richards, Van Meter, IA (5), 16.642; 15. 24, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (18), 16.644; 16. 8, Laney Feight, Indianola, IA (19), 16.679; 17. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA (13), 16.724; 18. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (20), 16.798; 19. 7H, John Hall, Marion, IA (22), 16.799; 20. 39x, Alan Ambers, Knoxville, IA (6), 17.350; 21. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (17), 18.037; 22. 68, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (10), NT.
Heat one (started), 7 laps, 1:57.0: 1. Ryan Roberts (2); 2. Justyn Cox (4); 3. Scott Winters (6); 4. Tom Lenz (3); 5. Clint Garner (5); 6. Laney Feight (1); 7. John Hall (7); 8. Mike Houseman Jr. (8)
Heat two (started), 7 laps, 1:55.3: 1. Jon Agan (4); 2. Jamie Ball (6); 3. Randy Martin (5); 4. David Hall (1); 5. Jarrod Schneiderman (3); 6. Rod Richards (2); 7. Alan Ambers (7)
Heat three (started), 7 laps, NT: 1. Nate Van Haaften (2); 2. Joe Beaver (4); 3. Matt Moro (5); 4. Zach Blurton (3); 5. Chris Martin (1) DNS – Josh Higday, Alan Zoutte
A main (started), 20 laps, NT: 1. Jon Agan (1); 2. Randy Martin (4); 3. Scott Winters (8); 4. Justyn Cox (2); 5. Joe Beaver (6); 6. Jamie Ball (7); 7. Ryan Roberts (13); 8. Matt Moro (3); 9. Nate Van Haaften (9); 10. Clint Garner (5); 11. Jarrod Schneiderman (11); 12. Mike Houseman Jr. (18); 13. David Hall (14); 14. Tom Lenz (10); 15. Chris Martin (17); 16. Zach Blurton (12); 17. Laney Feight (15); 18. Josh Higday (20); 19. John Hall (16); 20. Alan Ambers (19) DNS – Rod Richards, Alan Zoutte. Lap Leader: Agan 1-20. Hard-charger: Roberts.
305 Results
Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 57, Steve Breazeale, Trenton, MO (11), 17.392; 2. 5J, Larry Ball Jr., Knoxville, IA (3), 17.411; 3. 28, Chris Walraven, Knoxville, IA (10), 17.605; 4. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (1), 17.665; 5. 55KC, Bob Hildreth, Iowa Falls, IA (12), 17.866; 6. 88, J Kinder, Holts Summit, MO (17), 17.868; 7. 55, Matt Stephenson, Altoona, IA (8), 17.898; 8. 7, Tanner Edwards, Van Meter, IA (15), 17.987; 9. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Omaha, NE (14), 18.041; 10. 29, Steve Palmer, Des Moines, IA (4), 18.079; 11. 3, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (16), 18.079; 12. 6, Mitchell Alexander, Knoxville, IA (2), 18.477; 13. 41, Jeff Wilke, Genoa, IL (5), 18.509; 14. 126, Stacey Alexander, Lacona, IA (9), 18.756; 15. 1K, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (7), 18.909; 16. 19K, Sarena Paul, Monroe, IA (6), 20.763; 17. 82, Lee Patterson, Des Moines, IA (13), 21.458.
Heat one (started), 6 laps, 1:45.9: 1. Matthew Stelzer (2); 2. Matt Stephenson (3); 3. Sawyer Phillips (1); 4. RJ Johnson (8); 5. Chris Walraven (5); 6. Steve Breazeale (6); 7. Bob Hildreth (4); 8. Jeff Wilke (7); 9. Lee Patterson (9)
Heat two (started), 6 laps, 1:47.2: 1. J Kinder (4); 2. Larry Ball Jr. (6); 3. Steve Palmer (2); 4. Tanner Edwards (1); 5. Mike Mayberry (3); 6. Sarena Paul (5) DNS – Stacey Alexander, Mitchell Alexander
A main (started), 15 laps, 4:32.4: 1. Matthew Stelzer (1); 2. J Kinder (4); 3. Larry Ball Jr. (7); 4. Tanner Edwards (2); 5. Chris Walraven (6); 6. Steve Breazeale (8); 7. Matt Stephenson (3); 8. RJ Johnson (11); 9. Sawyer Phillips (10); 10. Stacey Alexander (14); 11. Bob Hildreth (13); 12. Mike Mayberry (5); 13. Steve Palmer (9); 14. Lee Patterson (16); 15. Jeff Wilke (15); 16. Sarena Paul (12) DNS – Mitchell Alexander. Lap Leader: Stelzer 1-15. Hard-charger: Ball Jr.
- Admin Account on Aug 26, 2013
- Article Date: 8/26/2013 by Bill Wright