Austin McCarl triumphs on 360 Knoxville Nationals opening night
KNOXVILLE, Ia.—Austin McCarl sits atop the 410 point standings at Knoxville Raceway, but Saturday night, he won a three-way battle to take the win on Night #1 of the Xtream Powered by Mediacom Knoxville 360 Nationals Presented by Great Southern Bank. The win earned the Altoona, Iowa driver $3,000 and gave him enough points to rank sixth overall on the night in the Country Builders Construction #88. Kyle Larson, who finished second in the feature, was the top point man, followed by Justin Peck, Chris Martin, Justin Sanders and third place James McFadden (full points below). The other half of the event field will qualify Friday night.
Chase Randall led the 20-lap non-stop main event early, followed by McCarl, McFadden, JJ Hickle and Peck. Larson entered the top five by lap two, took fourth from Hickle on lap four, and claimed third from McFadden by lap seven.
Randall entered traffic at the halfway mark, as McCarl and Larson drew closer. On lap 14, McCarl slipped by Randall in heavy lapped traffic, with Larson a close third. Randall worked back by McCarl on the following circuit to retake the lead. On lap 16, surrounded by heavy lapped traffic, both McCarl and Larson moved by Randall into first and second.
With two to go, Randall worked back by Larson for the runner-up spot, but McFadden was charging as well. Coming fo the white flag, Larson and McFadden moved by Randall into second and third.
McCarl held them off for his third career 360 win here, ahead of Larson, McFadden, Peck and Randall. Hickle, Martin, Kerry Madsen, Sanders and Ryan Leavitt rounded out the top ten. Sam Hafertepe Jr. set quick time over the 42-car field, but ran out of fuel on the white flag lap, while leading the B main. Tanner Holmes, who was the hard-charger in the feature, grabbed the B main win. Dustin Selvage, Jamie Ball, Matt Juhl, Tony Rost and Matt Covington won the heats.
“I think I saw Kyle at least two or three times underneath me,” said a happy McCarl in Victory Lane. “Traffic got amazing! I had to make the right decisions in traffic there. Things went my way, and didn’t go my way at times. I just had to be smart and kind of really watch ahead. I thought of my Dad (Terry). You’ve got to be good in traffic, especially on a racetrack like that. I haven’t felt real comfortable tonight, but these guys kept working on it. That was a fun race, a fun non-stop deal.”
“It was a lot of fun,” said Larson. “I got to third maybe a little bit quicker than I thought I could. I felt like I could bide my time a little bit, and traffic just got busier than I thought. I made some bad decisions and had some holes plug up at the wrong time, but Austin did a great job through traffic. That was a lot of fun with him and Chase and James at the end. My car felt really good. I feel like we gained a fair amount of points. Hopefully, we’ll line up well for Saturday.”
“I was just trying to search and find something different,” said McFadden. “It was a really busy race, and the track kind of moved around a lot. I kind of tried to be where everyone else wasn’t and keep the momentum up. It’s a lot different driving a 360. You can bog them down easily. That’s what I was doing at the start of the race. It was a solid night for us. We should be pretty good. My lack of seat time on the half-miles probably hurt me, but all in all it was a good night.”
Join us tomorrow night, Friday, August 1, as the 35th Annual Xtream Powered by Mediacom Knoxville 360 Nationals Presented by Great Southern Bank continues with Night #2. For tickets or more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
35th Annual Xtream Powered by Mediacom Knoxville 360 Nationals Presented by Great Southern Bank Night #1 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, Sunnyvale, TX, 00:16.002 (1) ($500 from Cedar Rapids Winpump); 2. 87-Justin Sanders, Aromas, CA, 00:16.132 (7); 3. 13-Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, OK, 00:16.230 (13); 4. 44-Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA, 00:16.281 (17); 5. 26-Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN, 00:16.348 (19); 6. 18T-Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR, 00:16.415 (9); 7. 86-Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO, 00:16.446 (16); 8. 57-Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA, 00:16.471 (38); 9. 24H-Kade Higday, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.487 (10); 10. 21T-James McFadden, Alice Springs, NT, Aust., 00:16.542 (39); 11. 88-Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 00:16.548 (15); 12. 63-JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA, 00:16.608 (24); 13. 9R-Chase Randall, Waco, TX, 00:16.634 (8); 14. 40-Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.660 (41); 15. 11X-Hank Davis, Sand Springs, OK, 00:16.661 (33); 16. 2M-Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA, 00:16.682 (28); 17. 45X-Kyler Johnson, Quinter, KS, 00:16.724 (2); 18. 17A-Jack Anderson, Newton, IA, 00:16.764 (6); 19. 99-Tony Rost, Utica, NE, 00:16.783 (12); 20. 55-Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 00:16.786 (37); 21. 6-Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA, 00:16.816 (23); 22. 4W-Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 00:16.860 (34); 23. 09-Matt Juhl, Tea, SD, 00:16.886 (29); 24. 3F-Derek Hagar, Marion, AR, 00:16.902 (11); 25. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek, Lagrange, OH, 00:16.996 (21); 26. 13M-Brett Moffitt, Mooresville, NC, 00:17.020 (4); 27. 55B-Chase Brown, Utica, NE, 00:17.054 (32); 28. 35-Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN, 00:17.068 (26); 29. 88R-Ryder Laplante, Calera, OK, 00:17.131 (20); 30. 95-Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK, 00:17.210 (40); 31. 5A-Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA, 00:17.265 (36); 32. 39JR-Brayden Mount, Rapid City, SD, 00:17.375 (18); 33. 38-Logan Alexander, Lacona, IA, 00:17.390 (31); 34. 1A-John Anderson, Des Moines, IA, 00:17.397 (5); 35. 33-Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 00:17.455 (14); 36. 83-Kurt Mueller, Reynolds, IL, 00:17.484 (22); 37. 7B-Ben Brown, Marshall, MO, 00:17.500 (30); 38. 2J-Zach Blurton, Quinter, KS, 00:17.531 (35); 39. T4-Tyler Graves, Chariton, IA, 00:17.680 (27); 40. 7C-Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS, 00:18.087 (42); 41. 2N-Shad Petersen, Casper, WY, NT; 42. DQ (Light at the Scales) 11B-Kaylee Bryson, Muskogee, OK (3)
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:17.2: 1. 6-Dustin Selvage (2); 2. 2M-Ryan Giles (3); 3. 13M-Brett Moffitt (1); 4. 88-Austin McCarl (4) / 5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr (6); 6. 18T-Tanner Holmes (5); 7. 5A-Alex Vande Voort (7); 8. 83-Kurt Mueller (8); 9. (DNS) 2N-Shad Petersen
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:40.2: 1. 4W-Jamie Ball (2); 2. 63-JJ Hickle (4); 3. 55B-Chase Brown (1); 4. 87-Justin Sanders (6) / 5. 45X-Kyler Johnson (3); 6. 86-Timothy Smith (5); 7. 7B-Ben Brown (8); 8. 39JR-Brayden Mount (7); 9. 11B-Kaylee Bryson (9)
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:29.0: 1. 09-Matt Juhl (2); 2. 9R-Chase Randall (4); 3. 57-Kyle Larson (5); 4. 35-Skylar Prochaska (1) / 5. 17A-Jack Anderson (3); 6. 13-Daison Pursley (6); 7. 38-Logan Alexander (7); 8. 2J-Zach Blurton (8)
Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:35.9: 1. 99-Tony Rost (3); 2. 40-Ryan Leavitt (4); 3. 44-Chris Martin (6); 4. 3F-Derek Hagar (2) / 5. 24H-Kade Higday (5); 6. 88R-Ryder Laplante (1); 7. 1A-John Anderson (7); 8. T4-Tyler Graves (8)
Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:54.7: 1. 95-Matt Covington (1); 2. 55-Kerry Madsen (3); 3. 21T-James McFadden (5); 4. 26-Justin Peck (6) / 5. 11X-Hank Davis (4); 6. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek (2); 7. 7C-Chris Morgan (8); 8. 33-Alan Zoutte (7)
B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. 18T-Tanner Holmes (3); 2. 13-Daison Pursley (2); 3. 24H-Kade Higday (5); 4. 5A-Alex Vande Voort (11) / 5. 17A-Jack Anderson (8); 6. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek (9); 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr (1); 8. 86-Timothy Smith (4); 9. 7B-Ben Brown (17); 10. 45X-Kyler Johnson (7); 11. 2J-Zach Blurton (18); 12. 38-Logan Alexander (13); 13. 83-Kurt Mueller (16); 14. 33-Alan Zoutte (15); 15. 11B-Kaylee Bryson (21); 16. 39JR-Brayden Mount (12); 17. 7C-Chris Morgan (20); 18. 88R-Ryder Laplante (10); 19. 1A-John Anderson (14); 20. T4-Tyler Graves (19); 21. 11X-Hank Davis (6); DNS - 22. 2N-Shad Petersen
A main (started), 20 Laps, 6:13.6: 1. 88-Austin McCarl (3); 2. 57-Kyle Larson (5); 3. 21T-James McFadden (4); 4. 26-Justin Peck (6); 5. 9R-Chase Randall (1); 6. 63-JJ Hickle (2); 7. 44-Chris Martin (7); 8. 55-Kerry Madsen (12); 9. 87-Justin Sanders (8); 10. 40-Ryan Leavitt (9); 11. 6-Dustin Selvage (13); 12. 2M-Ryan Giles (10); 13. 18T-Tanner Holmes (21); 14. 09-Matt Juhl (15); 15. 35-Skylar Prochaska (19); 16. 99-Tony Rost (11); 17. 13-Daison Pursley (22); 18. 3F-Derek Hagar (16); 19. 95-Matt Covington (20); 20. 24H-Kade Higday (23); 21. 5A-Alex Vande Voort (24); 22. 4W-Jamie Ball (14); 23. 55B-Chase Brown (18); 24. 13M-Brett Moffitt (17). Lap Leaders: Randall 1-13, A. McCarl 14, Randall 15, A. McCarl 16-20. Hard-charger: Holmes.
Thursday Points
1. 57 Kyle Larson - 478
2. 26 Justin Peck - 477
3. 44 Chris Martin - 476
4. 87 Justin Sanders - 473
5. 21T James McFadden - 472
6. 88 Austin McCarl - 471
7. 9R Chase Randall - 465
8. 63 J.J. Hickle - 465
9. 40 Ryan Leavitt - 453
10. 18T Tanner Holmes - 451
11. 13 Daison Pursley - 449
12. 55 Kerry Madsen - 445
13. 2M Ryan Giles - 445
14. 6 Dustin Selvage - 440
15. 24H Kade Higday - 434
16. 99 Tony Rost - 434
17. 09 Matt Juhl - 430
18. 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr - 426
19. 4W Jamie Ball - 416
20. 3F Derek Hagar - 411
21. 35 Skylar Prochaska - 409
22. 86 Timothy Smith - 409
23. 95 Matt Covington - 406
24. 55B Chase Brown - 398
25. 13M Brett Moffitt - 398
26. 17A Jack Anderson - 396
27. 45X Kyler Johnson - 388
28. 5A Alex Vande Voort - 382
29. 11N Kasey Jedrzejek - 377
30. 11X Hank Davis - 370
31. 38 Logan Alexander - 346
32. 88R Ryder Laplante - 345
33. 7B Ben Brown - 344
34. 39JR Brayden Mount - 337
35. 33 Alan Zoutte - 335
36. 2J Zach Blurton - 335
37. 83 Kurt Mueller - 335
38. 1A John Anderson - 330
39. 7C Chris Morgan - 322
40. 11B Kaylee Bryson - 316
41. T4 Tyler Graves - 315
42. 2N Shad Petersen - 304
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