Auto racing: Bring on Saturday Night!

KNOXVILLE — If the first eight nights of Sprintweeks have been any indication, get your popcorn ready for Saturday night.

It could be a race to remember when the 62nd Knoxville Nationals championship is officially decided.

For the second time in less than a week, a driver had to rebound after having a potential run to the checkered flag wiped away by a late wreck bringing out the red flag seconds before the A-Main feature race came to an end. Five nights after Aaron Reutzel lost his chance at a second straight 360 Nationals title on a thrilling green-white-checker finish with Brian Brown, Carson Macedo held on to his late lead holding off hard-charging Kyle Larson to claim victory on the second preliminary night of racing to help set up the 50-lap A-Main feature run on Saturday for the 410 Nationals crown.

"I wasn't happy to see any caution flag fly late in the race," Macedo joked. "Kyle is one of the best in the sport. I was actually able to get ahead of (Anthony) Macri earlier off a restart. He missed that little bit of a grip strip out of turn four and I was just able to squeeze inside him before sliding him in (turns) one and two.

"I kind of got tight off another restart and kind of stacked the whole field up again. I knew if I won the race through one and two, it would be tough to get by me. I could see on the big screen I was getting a little bit of a gap just running the top of the track. Once you get out in clean air on these tracks where the top is dominant, it's really hard for a guy in second to get a run unless he starts plugging the bottom. I didn't put it past anyone. I was very thankful to see the checkered flag come out."

For Macedo, those checkered flags meant a little more than just a Knoxville Nationals preliminary night win. Sure, it also meant Macedo locked himself into the fifth starting spot for Saturday night's A-Main feature.

The night itself was significant for Macedo as it was his first time racing at the 'Sprint Car Capital of the World' since suffering a scary crash during the World of Outlaws finale back on June 10 as his car careened into the fence and caught fire. Macedo left the track that night in an ambulance.

On Thursday, Macedo returned to the track with the same car that had not only been repaired by repainted with flames on the side.

"It felt really good to be out there running laps again," Macedo said. "It was just a little bit of an eerie feeling coming back. For the most part, it just feels like normal. I think Knoxville Raceway is incredible. I'm lucky that my crash did happen here. I think the fire and safety crews here are incredible. That's why we brought this car for this weekend to kind of make light of a bad situation. It was kind of a tribute to the fire and safety crews.

"It feels good to feel good again. It sucked for a few weeks there even trying to race. I feel a lot better now."

While Macedo picked up the final checkered flag of the night, Larson picked up the prize of the pole position going into Saturday's finale holding off another A-main charge by Rico Abreu who raced his way into the top five of an A-Main after having to qualify for the 24-car field through the B-Main for the second time in five nights. Abreu went from 24th to a third-place finish in the 360 Nationals on Saturday before going from 21st to fifth in Thursday's A-Main, at one point catching Larson with 480 points apiece.

Larson, however, was able to get past Marci and Spencer Bayston in the closing laps to secure two more points clinching the pole position. Donny Schatz, the defending Knoxville Nationals champion and Wednesday's top point producer, will start in row two along with Logan Schuchart who also made a run at the pole racking up 479 points on Thursday.

"Those last couple cautions worked out for me. I was able to get by Macri on one and thought I could get a good launch on Spencer on another restart," Larson said. "I was going to settle for finishing third. I figured that would clinch a spot on the front row for us, but my car stuck super good on the bottom.

"I heard them mention over the loud speakers how close the points where. At one point, it sounded like Logan and Donny were on the front row. I figured I was locked into the second row, then at one point I heard them say Rico and I were tied. I just didn't want to screw up being on the front row. It's an honor to earn the high-point guy in a field this stout, but that doesn't pay anything. You want to be the guy that wins the race on Saturday."

As does Schatz, who won the opening night feature race to put himself in position to make history on Saturday. Should he race to victory for the second straight year, Schatz would tie Steve Kinser with 12 Knoxville Nationals championships, the most by any sprint car driver in the history of the race.

"I wish I could describe it to you. It's pretty gut-wrenching trying to balance everything when you're trying to win the Knoxville Nationals," Schatz said. "I tell people all the time a couple days before that, I'm not mad at anyone, but I also don't want to talk to anyone. You get into that mental zone, you think about all the scenarios. You think about what you want to do and where you want to be coming out of the first turn. You can't really second-guess it, but you have to play those scenarios in your mind and do it when it happens.

"That's why these heat races are so big. If you don't get through the heat races, it makes for a tough and long week."

AUTO RACING

62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s

Iowa Lottery Qualifying Night #2 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (2), 15.703; 2. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (9), 15.795; 3. 83JR, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (21), 15.819; 4. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA 6(25), 15.841; 5. 4, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (26), 15.911; 6. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (14), 15.920; 7. 5X, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (17), 15.942; 8. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (41), 15.974; 9. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (40), 15.984; 10. 4CW, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (15), 15.985; 11. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (20), 15.993; 12. 71, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (3), 16.003; 13. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (50), 16.081; 14. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (52), 16.084; 15. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), 16.094; 16. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (36), 16.105; 17. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (44), 16.106; 18. 6G, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (5), 16.106; 19. 7BC, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (51), 16.113; 20. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (18), 16.124; 21. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (48), 16.127; 22. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (31), 16.132; 23. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (29), 16.134; 24. 5T, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK (8), 16.136; 25. 11, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (38), 16.149; 26. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (23), 16.174; 27. 17AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (7), 16.176; 28. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (49), 16.191; 29. 16A, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (4), 16.263; 30. 12X, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (53), 16.272; 31. 25, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (35), 16.326; 32. 4J, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (6), 16.335; 33. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (16), 16.399; 34. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (1), 16.426; 35. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (13), 16.575; 36. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (42), 16.589; 37. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (10), 16.607; 38. 101, Kalib Henry, Sacramento, CA (34), 16.653; 39. 44P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (43), 16.797; 40. 45, Rusty Hickman, Bendigo, VIC, Aust. (24), 16.826; 41. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (22), 16.834; 42. 4K2W, Matt Wasmund, Jackson, MN (19), 16.925; 43. 6B, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (12), 16.940; 44. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (47), 17.045; 45. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (27), 17.207; 46. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (54), 17.237; 47. 5C, Dylan Cisney, Port Royal, PA (39), 17.253; 48. 6X, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (46), 17.310; 49. 121, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (32), 17.314; 50. 35B, Austin Bishop, Elverson, PA (37), 17.360; 51. W19, Trent Pigdon, Cardup, WA, Aust. (45), 17.465; 52. 105, Cody Ihlen, Pipestone, MN (33), 17.515; 53. 78, Bill Wagner, Reeder, ND (28), 18.144; 54. 10V, Cap Henry, Bellevue, OH (30), NT

Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:56.7: 1. Zach Hampton (1); 2. Brock Zearfoss (3); 3. Carson Macedo (6); 4. Lachlan McHugh (2) / 5. Rico Abreu (8); 6. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5); 7. Tim Kaeding (4); 8. Tanner Holmes (7) / 9. Ryan Roberts (9); 10. Joe Simbro (10)

Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 3:05.6: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr. (2); 2. Spencer Bayston (4); 3. Jamie Veal (3); 4. Brad Sweet (8) / 5. Daryn Pittman (7); 6. Shane Stewart (6); 7. Dylan Cisney (10); 8. Harli White (1) / 9. Matt Wasmund (9); 10. Shane Golobic (5)

Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:55.5: 1. Kalib Henry (1); 2. Austin McCarl (4); 3. Garet Williamson (5); 4. Dusty Zomer (6) / 5. Bill Balog (7); 6. Kelby Watt (2); 7. Kaleb Johnson (3); 8. Buddy Kofoid (8) / 9. Clint Garner (9); 10. Frank Rodgers III (10)

Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:59.5: 1. Kyle Larson (7); 2. Logan Schuchart (8); 3. Colby Copeland (3); 4. Anthony Macri (5) / 5. Skylar Prochaska (1); 6. Ryan Timms (4); 7. AJ Moeller (6); 8. Noah Gass (2) / 9. Bill Rose (9); 10. RJ Johnson (10)

Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 3:11.8: 1. Ayrton Gennetten (1); 2. Brian Brown (3); 3. Cory Eliason (4); 4. Ian Madsen (8) / 5. Chris Windom (5); 6. Sawyer Phillips (6); 7. Jordan Goldesberry (2); 8. Austin Bishop (9) / 9. Gage Pulkrabek (7) DNS - 10. Rusty Hickman

C main (started), 10 Laps, 3:11.9: 1. Shane Golobic (1); 2. Ryan Roberts (3); 3. Clint Garner (5); 4. Bill Rose (4); 5. Matt Wasmund (2); 6. Joe Simbro (6); 7. RJ Johnson (8); 8. Trent Pigdon (11); 9. Frank Rodgers III (9); 10. Gage Pulkrabek (7); 11. Bill Wagner (12); 12. Cody Ihlen (10) DNS - 13. Rusty Hickman 14. Cap Henry

B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:43.6: 1. Rico Abreu (1); 2. Buddy Kofoid (2); 3. Shane Stewart (7); 4. Daryn Pittman (4) / 5. Tanner Holmes (3); 6. Bill Balog (5); 7. Chris Windom (6); 8. Tim Kaeding (11); 9. Sawyer Phillips (9); 10. Harli White (17); 11. Kaleb Johnson (13); 12. Ryan Timms (10); 13. Shane Golobic (21); 14. Kelby Watt (12); 15. Noah Gass (15); 16. Skylar Prochaska (16); 17. Clint Garner (22); 18. Dylan Cisney (19); 19. Jordan Goldesberry (14); 20. Bill Rose (20); 21. Austin Bishop (18); 22. AJ Moeller (8) DNS - 23. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 24. Ryan Roberts

A main (started), 26 Laps, NT: 1. Carson Macedo (4); 2. Kyle Larson (5); 3. Spencer Bayston (10); 4. Anthony Macri (1); 5. Rico Abreu (21); 6. Austin McCarl (11); 7. Logan Schuchart (7); 8. Dusty Zomer (3); 9. Buddy Kofoid (22); 10. Brock Zearfoss (13); 11. Brian Brown (9); 12. Garet Williamson (2); 13. Shane Stewart (23); 14. Colby Copeland (15); 15. Ian Madsen (6); 16. Lachlan McHugh (17); 17. Ayrton Gennetten (16); 18. Kalib Henry (20); 19. Zach Hampton (19); 20. Jamie Veal (14); 21. Brad Sweet (8); 22. Cory Eliason (12); 23. Daryn Pittman (24); 24. Kevin Thomas Jr. (18).

Lap Leaders: Macri 1-15, Ca. Macedo 16-25.

Hard-charger: Abreu.

BRANDT Professional Agriculture Qualifying Night #1 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 2, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (34), 15.468; 2. 13, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (19), 15.488; 3. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (7), 15.537; 4. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (15), 15.601; 5. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (2), 15.636; 6. 83, James McFadden, Alice Springs, NT, A (35), 15.638; 7. 10L, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (27), 15.675; 8. 2K, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (26), 15.687; 9. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (5), 15.722; 10. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (3), 15.729; 11. 39, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (18), 15.754; 12. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (1), 15.759; 13. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (9), 15.760; 14. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (23), 15.771; 15. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (52), 15.801; 16. 39M, Justin Sanders, Aromas, CA (33), 15.837; 17. 50YR, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (8), 15.841; 18. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (43), 15.872; 19. 9P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (48), 15.879; 20. 49X, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (13), 15.885; 21. 2KS, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (30), 15.889; 22. 7W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (17), 15.894; 23. 16, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (6), 15.949; 24. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (31), 15.961; 25. 1C, Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, TX (22), 15.967; 26. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (20), 15.979; 27. 1A, Chase Dietz, York, PA (16), 16.012; 28. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (44), 16.023; 29. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (37), 16.032; 30. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (12), 16.058; 31. 1X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (4), 16.068; 32. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (47), 16.078; 33. 21T, Cole Macedo, Lemoore, CA (49), 16.099; 34. 7TW, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (28), 16.130; 35. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (14), 16.134; 36. 21H, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (40), 16.145; 37. 7S, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can (25), 16.161; 38. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (50), 16.181; 39. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (36), 16.183; 40. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (24), 16.217; 41. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (38), 16.282; 42. 70, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (29), 16.294; 43. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (41), 16.319; 44. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (42), 16.362; 45. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (39), 16.446; 46. 17X, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (10), 16.535; 47. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (51), 16.552; 48. 24H, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (46), 16.597; 49. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (11), 16.689; 50. 2KK, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (45), 16.804; 51. 37, Ayden Gatewood, Caruthersville, MO (21), 16.866; 52. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (32), 16.882

Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:56.0: 1. Brady Bacon (1); 2. Jake Bubak (2); 3. Hunter Schuerenberg (6); 4. Chase Randall (4) / 5. Justin Sanders (5); 6. James McFadden (7); 7. Terry McCarl (10); 8. Kyle Reinhardt (9) / 9. McKenna Haase (3); 10. David Gravel (8)

Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 3:08.6: 1. Sheldon Haudenschild (2); 2. Justin Peck (8); 3. Robbie Price (1); 4. Dustin Selvage (4) / 5. Scott Bogucki (7); 6. JJ Hickle (5); 7. Chase Dietz (3); 8. Kraig Kinser (9) / 9. Chris Martin (10); 10. Aaron Reutzel (6)

Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 3:04.4: 1. Justin Henderson (1); 2. Cole Macedo (2); 3. Kasey Kahne (6); 4. Blake Hahn (3) / 5. Corey Day (8); 6. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 7. Brooke Tatnell (4); 8. Zeb Wise (5) / 9. Kade Higday (10); 10. Davey Heskin (9)

Heat four (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Sye Lynch (3); 2. Brandon Wimmer (2); 3. Don Droud Jr. (1); 4. Kerry Madsen (6) / 5. Brent Marks (7); 6. Parker Price-Miller (5); 7. Gio Scelzi (8); 8. Matt Covington (9) / 9. Christopher Thram (4); 10. Cole Mincer (10)

Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 2:57.4: 1. Carson McCarl (1); 2. Donny Schatz (7); 3. Tanner Carrick (2); 4. Riley Goodno (3) / 5. Brenham Crouch (4); 6. Tasker Phillips (6); 7. Jamie Ball (8); 8. Tim Shaffer (5) / 9. Mark Dobmeier (9); 10. Kevin Ingle (10)

C main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. David Gravel (1); 2. Christopher Thram (3); 3. Kade Higday (6); 4. McKenna Haase (2) / 5. Kevin Ingle (8); 6. Landon Hansen (9); 7. Ayden Gatewood (7); 8. Chris Martin (5); 9. Mark Dobmeier (6) DNS - 10. Aaron Reutzel 11. Davey Heskin 12. Cole Mincer

B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Gio Scelzi (2); 2. Corey Day (1); 3. James McFadden (4); 4. Tasker Phillips (8) / 5. Jamie Ball (3); 6. Brent Marks (7); 7. Scott Bogucki (5); 8. Zeb Wise (11); 9. Justin Sanders (9); 10. Brooke Tatnell (14); 11. David Gravel (21); 12. Kyle Reinhardt (17); 13. JJ Hickle (10); 14. Parker Price-Miller (12); 15. Matt Covington (19); 16. Christopher Thram (22); 17. Kraig Kinser (18); 18. Tim Shaffer (13); 19. McKenna Haase (24); 20. Kade Higday (23); 21. Chase Dietz (16); 22. Terry McCarl (20); 23. Lynton Jeffrey (6); 24. Brenham Crouch (15)

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Donny Schatz (7); 2. Chase Randall (3); 3. Sheldon Haudenschild (12); 4. Kerry Madsen (4); 5. Blake Hahn (1); 6. Sye Lynch (9); 7. Hunter Schuerenberg (6); 8. Dustin Selvage (2); 9. Brandon Wimmer (14); 10. Gio Scelzi (21); 11. Tasker Phillips (24); 12. Brady Bacon (16); 13. Kasey Kahne (5); 14. Corey Day (22); 15. James McFadden (23); 16. Cole Macedo (13); 17. Justin Henderson (18); 18. Riley Goodno (10); 19. Jake Bubak (11); 20. Don Droud Jr. (19); 21. Robbie Price (17); 22. Carson McCarl (20); 23. Tanner Carrick (15); 24. Justin Peck (8).

Lap Leaders: Hahn 1-17, Randall 18-21, Schatz 22-25.

Hard-charger: T. Phillips.