Knoxville Season Championship & Stats

Knoxville Raceway Season Championship

Car Count: 81 sprint cars were in the pits. (28-410, 27-360, 26-305).
For the sixth time we reached over 80 cars in the 12 “regular shows” this season. 28 cars in the 410 class was a season low, while the 360 and 305 classes were above the season average.

Weather:  84 degrees, 79% humidity, Winds East 8mph, Dew Point 77 degrees.
84 degrees ties for the hottest day of the year, and humidity and dew point were at a season high. After nearly 2” of rain overnight and in the morning, the track and infield were in great shape!

All three point championships were still up for grabs heading into the night.  In the 410 class the top six drivers were mathematically alive. That speaks to the level of competition at Knoxville Raceway this season. Ultimately all three point leaders would hold on to their leads and win. 

Can Brian Brown Win?

Brian Brown is the grandson of George Lasoski, nephew of four-time Knoxville Nationals champion Danny Lasoski, and he has been the runner-up the past two years at Knoxville the second Saturday night of August.  But this year is it Brown’s year to get it done?  Can he win the big one?  After a rough start to the season in 2014 he is certainly on a roll as of late and peaking at the right time winning the 24^th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals and the 19^th annual Front Row Challenge. One more race to go in Southern Iowa Speed Week. Can he make it a clean sweep? It’s time to find out as his journey begins on Thursday night at the 54^th annual FVP Knoxville Nationals, presented by Casey’s General Store.

Justin Henderson Having a Strong 2014!

Justin Henderson finished third at the Knoxville Nationals a year ago and although it was a career high moment for the 35 year old Sioux Falls native, he and the Bryan Sundby team are looking to move up the order on the podium. After racing in both the 360 and 410 classes this entire year at Knoxville Raceway they have more laps on the track than anyone else and should be a strong at the Nationals once again in 2014. With running both classes Justin is only eligible to win one of the Lucas Oil Knoxville Championship Cup Series track championships as a driver, but owner Bryan Sundby is chasing owner’s points in both classes. They have won one feature in each class and have been leading the 360 points all season, while they sit second in 410 points. It’s been a grueling task to race two cars but they have been successful. Justin is a product of a racing family with his father Rod Henderson being a successful driver in the Midwest. Justin also comes from the rich sprint car heritage of the Sioux Falls area where everyone is chasing the shadow of hometown hero Doug Wolfgang. Henderson should have a legitimate shot to win the Nationals this year! 

Capitani Classic and Stats

The Capitani Classic was the best race all year up to this point at Knoxville Raceway.  Ian Madsen led every lap of the A-Main, but there was plenty of racing behind him.  Congrats to the KCP team on picking up win number three this season and grabbing the 410 points lead.

Ian drew 23rd in the qualifying order and timed 23rd overall which put him to in the second row of heat five and he would finish second to advance to the A-Main, where he would end up on the pole of with enough cars ahead of him in qualifying not being able to transfer out of their heat races with a stacked field of 71 cars.

BHG 410 Power Rankings

Each year the BHG assembles their power rankings and below is the cumulative rankings of the members scores.  If you're looking to handicap your Nationals Fantasy league, this is a good place to start.  Good luck to all of the competitors!

2014 Bus House Gang Knoxville Nationals Power Rankings
1. Schatz, 2. Madsen, 3. Brown, 4. Stewart, 5. Pittman, 6. Saldana, 7. McMahan, 8. K.Swindell, 9. Gravel, 10. McCarl, 11. Sweet, 12. Henderson, 13. Dollansky, 14. S.Swindell, 15. S.Smith, 16. Darrah, 17. Blaney, 18. Lasoski, 19. S.Kinser, 20. I.Madsen, 21. Hodnett, 22. Heskin, 23. K.Kinser, 24. Kemenah.

Just missing the top 24: Abreu, T.Kaeding, Maeschen, Dobmeier, McFadden, C.Bell, Jeffrey.

 

 

Just missed the cut:
Brad Loyet, Jac Haudenschild, Mark Dobmeier, Russ Hall,
Bill Balog, Sheldon Haudenschild, Jamie Ball.

360 Knoxville Nationals Report

The 360 Knoxville Nationals was another good show this year. Thursday was a fast narrow track, Friday was a better track and a better race, and Brian Brown drove away from everyone on Saturday night. There were some scary crashes and some disappointing showings by a few drivers that surprised me. 103 cars total entered this year.

Thursday
Joe Beaver set quick time 15.906. 47 cars entered.
Heat Winners: Kevin Swindell, Randi Miller, Jason Johnson, Cole Wood, Ryan Roberts.

Heskin led every lap, but had some close calls in lapped traffic with Jason Johnson right on his bumper on the last lap.  With some rain showers delaying the show on a couple of occasions it made for a fast tacky track all night.  It was a big night for Joe Beaver who would be the top point man and start on the front row for Saturday night.