David Gravel is Perfect on Toyota Night #2 at the 57th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores!

by Bill Wright and Bryan Hulbert

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 10, 2017) – David Gravel swept Toyota Night #2 at the 57th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway. After setting quick time, the Watertown, Connecticut native won his heat and the feature after starting eighth in both events aboard the CJB Motorsports #5. It was the first time for a perfect 500-point score since Steve Kinser did it in 1992. The win was Gravel’s second in his career at Knoxville, paid him $12,000 and set him up on the pole of Saturday’s night’s $150,000 to win championship event.

Disaster befell Knoxville Nationals defending champion, Jason Johnson before a circuit could be completed in the 25-lap main event. After getting sideways, he collected the machine of Dominic Scelzi. Scelzi would restart at the tail after repairs, but Johnson would not be as lucky.

Once the green fell again, pole-sitter, Mark Dobmeier, showed the way, ahead of Brooke Tatnell and Wayne Johnson. Gravel entered the top four on the second lap, and claimed third from Wayne Johnson on lap four. Brian Brown would drive from sixth to fourth on laps six and seven.

Gravel used the low side to shoot by Tatnell for second on lap eight, as Dobmeier entered lapped traffic. Tatnell’s great third place run would derail on lap ten with a blown right rear. The caution negated a Gravel pass of Dobmeier for the lead in turn two.

Dobmeier would pull away in clean air on the restart, while Brown challenged Gravel for the second spot, taking it briefly. The leaders entered lapped traffic again on lap 18, and Gravel slid under Dobmeier in heavy lapped traffic on lap 19 to take the lead for good.

Gravel pulled away to victory, while Brown took second with two laps to go. Dobmeier, Ian Madsen and Daryn Pittman followed. Wayne Johnson, Terry McCarl, Danny Dietrich, Spencer Bayston and hard-charger, Rico Abreu completed the top ten. Joining Gravel as heat winners, were Chris Martin, Thomas Kennedy, Dale Blaney and Josh Baughman. Abreu won the B main, while Lee Jacobs took the C.

Gravel will start Saturday night’s main event alongside Donny Schatz. They will be joined in order by Brad Sweet, Kerry Madsen, Brian Brown, Terry McCarl, Daryn Pittman, Greg Hodnett, Kyle Larson, Shane Stewart, Austin McCarl, Paul McMahan, Mark Dobmeier, Rico Abreu, Ian Madsen and Wayne Johnson.

Tradition dictates that the ten drivers locking into Saturday’s B main will stay put instead of taking the option of starting over with the remaining field on Friday. That was the case again this year. Those drivers included Justin Henderson, who will be on the pole, Trey Starks, Jason Sides, Dusty Zomer, Lucas Wolfe, Christopher Bell, Danny Dietrich, Tim Shaffer, Matt Juhl and Dominic Scelzi.

“I did get the lead (on lap 10), but the yellow came out,” said Gravel in Victory Lane. “I knew Mark would be good in open track. I was just going to run behind him until we hit traffic and run the bottom. I was lucky I got back by Brian. I made the mistake of running down the track, but the top was the fastest way around. I’m in a zone right now. Little holes look big. Like Kyle Larson said, I’ve never driven a sprint car this good. Hopefully, Saturday, we can duke it out. I’m happy to be in the books. Hopefully, we have something for them Saturday.”

“I’m just proud to be standing here,” said Brown. “I could have named you five or six times throughout this night I should be on the hook. From the C main last year to here we are now…we’ve just wanted an opportunity to win the Knoxville Nationals and we’ve put ourselves in position. Congratulations to David and his team. I never thought we’d see a perfect score again in my lifetime. The exciting part is we have the World Challenge tomorrow to work on things.”

“He showed speed all night long,” said Dobmeier of Gravel. “He had it from the word go. The lapped cars held me up a bit. In the end, I think I was a little too patient with them. I needed to try the bottom in one and two. That’s where I lost the race. Tonight it bit me. We’ve only hit two weekly shows here, and we’ve definitely stepped our big track program up.”

Join us tomorrow night for FVP Night at the 57th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
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(Lineups, Points and Speed Sport World Challenge Starting Grid Below)

410 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 5, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (8), 15.072; 2. 83, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (2), 15.185; 3. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (6), 15.291; 4. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (13), 15.377; 5. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (1), 15.493; 6. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (18), 15.500; 7. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (23), 15.520; 8. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (12), 15.543; 9. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (37), 15.566; 10. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (19), 15.575; 11. 81, Lee Jacobs, Dalton, OH (3), 15.589; 12. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (7), 15.606; 13. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (20), 15.626; 14. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (24), 15.638; 15. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (30), 15.640; 16. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (29), 15.649; 17. 3S, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (40), 15.667; 18. 10H, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (39), 15.721; 19. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (21), 15.722; 20. 3, James McFadden, Ormeau, QLD, Aust. (36), 15.759; 21. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (14), 15.781; 22. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA (35), 15.785; 23. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (32), 15.790; 24. 1X, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (4), 15.791; 25. 29, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (22), 15.795; 26. 39, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (33), 15.808; 27. 10V, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (10), 15.811; 28. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (42), 15.832; 29. 12N, Cole Duncan, Lockbourne, OH (43), 15.850; 30. 9Z, Jared Goerges, Brainerd, MN (9), 15.894; 31. 53, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (11), 15.906; 32. 17M, Max McGhee, Camby, IN (5), 15.947; 33. 1, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (31), 16.019; 34. 1Z, Dale Blaney, Hartford, OH (41), 16.022; 35. X1, Mason Moore, Chico, CA (16), 16.047; 36. 00, Dane Lorenc, Lancaster, NY (28), 16.057; 37. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (26), 16.067; 38. 3K, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (50), 16.112; 39. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (46), 16.117; 40. 17X, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (15), 16.133; 41. 99G, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (25), 16.215; 42. 13V, Seth Brahmer, Norfolk, NE (44), 16.280; 43. 9N, Wade Nygaard, Grand Forks, ND (34), 16.284; 44. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (17), 16.288; 45. 5J, Jeremy Schultz, Beaver Dam, WI (49), 16.325; 46. 23W, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (38), 16.424; 47. 13, Clyde Knipp, California, MO (48), 16.470; 48. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (51), 16.496; 49. 19L, Todd King, Sheboygan Falls, WI (47), 16.709; 50. 94, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (53), 17.190; 51. 9C, Roger Campbell, Clyde, OH (52), 17.346; DQ (Nose Wing) 52. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (27), 15.809; 53. 35V, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (45), NT.

Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:42.3: 1. David Gravel (8); 2. Jack Dover (2); 3. Ian Madsen (5); 4. Spencer Bayston (3); / 5. Jacob Allen (4); 6. Dane Lorenc (1); 7. Trey Starks (7); 8. Skylar Gee (9); / 9. Lee Jacobs (6); 10. Scott Winters (10);

Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 2:46.7: 1. Chris Martin (1); 2. Dominic Scelzi (4); 3. Daryn Pittman (7); 4. Kyle Reinhardt (3); / 5. Sammy Swindell (5); 6. Justin Henderson (8); 7. Tasker Phillips (6); 8. Seth Brahmer (9); / 9. Max McGhee (2); 10. Clyde Knipp (10);

Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:49.7: 1. Thomas Kennedy (2); 2. Tim Kaeding (1); 3. Terry McCarl (8); 4. Wayne Johnson (6); / 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4); 6. Jason Sides (7); 7. Chad Kemenah (5); 8. Josh Schneiderman (3); / 9. Greg Wilson (10); 10. Wade Nygaard (9);

Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:43.9: 1. Dale Blaney (2); 2. Kraig Kinser (1); 3. Brian Brown (8); 4. Jason Johnson (7); / 5. Don Droud Jr. (4); 6. Cole Duncan (3); 7. Bobby Mincer (9); 8. RJ Johnson (5); / 9. Paige Polyak (6); 10. Todd King (10);

Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 2:45.0: 1. Josh Baughman (1); 2. Danny Dietrich (4); 3. Mark Dobmeier (6); 4. Brooke Tatnell (7); / 5. Rico Abreu (8); 6. Mason Moore (2); 7. James McFadden (5); 8. Jeremy Schultz (9); / 9. Jared Goerges (3); DNS 10. Jeff Swindell (10);

C main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Lee Jacobs (1); 2. Paige Polyak (2); 3. Greg Wilson (6); 4. Wade Nygaard (5); / 5. Todd King (8); 6. Clyde Knipp (7); 7. Jared Goerges (3); 8. Roger Campbell (9); 9. Max McGhee (4); DNS 10. Scott Winters (10); 11. Jeff Swindell (11); 12. Brent Marks (12); 13. Jamie Veal (13);

B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Rico Abreu (2); 2. Justin Henderson (1); 3. Trey Starks (3); 4. Jason Sides (4); / 5. James McFadden (9); 6. Chad Kemenah (7); 7. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (11); 8. Tasker Phillips (5); 9. Don Droud Jr. (12); 10. Josh Schneiderman (13); 11. Cole Duncan (14); 12. Skylar Gee (17); 13. Paige Polyak (22); 14. RJ Johnson (8); 15. Jeremy Schultz (20); 16. Lee Jacobs (21); 17. Mason Moore (15); 18. Greg Wilson (23); 19. Bobby Mincer (19); 20. Wade Nygaard (24); 21. Jacob Allen (10); 22. Seth Brahmer (18); 23. Dane Lorenc (16); 24. Sammy Swindell (6);

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. David Gravel (8); 2. Brian Brown (6); 3. Mark Dobmeier (1); 4. Ian Madsen (9); 5. Daryn Pittman (5); 6. Wayne Johnson (2); 7. Terry McCarl (7); 8. Danny Dietrich (11); 9. Spencer Bayston (12); 10. Rico Abreu (21); 11. Tim Kaeding (18); 12. Josh Baughman (20); 13. Trey Starks (23); 14. Dominic Scelzi (10); 15. Jason Sides (24); 16. Justin Henderson (22); 17. Jack Dover (14); 18. Kyle Reinhardt (13); 19. Thomas Kennedy (15); 20. Kraig Kinser (19); 21. Chris Martin (17); 22. Dale Blaney (16); 23. Brooke Tatnell (3); 24. Jason Johnson (4); Lap Leaders: Dobmeier 1-18, Gravel 19-25; Hard Charger: Abreu

Combined Event Points for the 57th annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store

A-Main Lock-ins:

1. 5, David Gravel, 500

2. 15, Donny Schatz, 492

3. 49, Brad Sweet, 489

4. 2M, Kerry Madsen, 487

5. 21, Brian Brown, 486

6. 24, Terry McCarl, 478

7. 9, Daryn Pittman, 474

8. 27, Greg Hodnett, 472

9. 57, Kyle Larson, 469

10. 2, Shane Stewart, 469

11. 2KS, Austin McCarl, 466

12. 4, Paul McMahan, 463

13. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, 462

14. 24R, Rico Abreu, 462

15. 18, Ian Madsen, 458

16. 2C, Wayne Johnson, 457

B-Main Lock-ins:

17. 83, Justin Henderson, 453

18. 44S, Trey Starks, 448

19. 7X, Jason Sides, 443

20. 82, Dusty Zomer, 438

21. 24W, Lucas Wolfe, 438

22. 14B, Christopher Bell, 437

23. 29, Danny Dietrich, 435

24. 49X, Tim Shaffer, 435

25. 09, Matt Juhl, 429

26. 41S, Dominic Scelzi, 429

Remainder of combined point standings:

27. 55, Brooke Tatnell, 429

28. 41, Jason Johnson, 429

29. 68, Chase Johnson, 427

30. 39, Spencer Bayston, 425

31. 1M, Danny Lasoski, 424

32. 2MM, Matt Moro, 416

33. 17B, Bill Balog, 414

34. 71, Kevin Thomas, Jr., 414

35. 67X, Parker Price-Miller, 413

36. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, 407

37. 53, Jack Dover, 405

38. 10V, Kyle Reinhardt, 405

39. 3K, Tim Kaeding, 403

40. 17X, Josh Baughman, 400

41. 1, Thomas Kennedy, 400

42. 17, Jac Haudenschild, 400

43. 93, Sheldon Haudenschild, 400

44. 7W, Tasker Phillips, 396

45. 1B, Dustin Selvage, 395

46. 1Z, Dale Blaney, 392

47. 44, Chris Martin, 388

48. 10H, Chad Kemenah, 388

49. 21AU, Jordyn Brazier, 388

50. 22, Rager Phillips, 388

51. 3G, Carson Macedo, 387

52. 9X, Jake Bubak, 386

53. 3, James McFadden, 386

54. 56N, Davey Heskin, 386

55. 20, AJ Moeller, 385

56. 11K, Kraig Kinser, 383

57. 15H, Sam Hafertepe, Jr., 382

58. 17W, Harli White, 380

59. 51, Joey Saldana, 380

60. 1X, Don Droud, Jr., 376

61. 19P, Paige Polyak, 376

62. 81, Lee Jacobs, 376

63. 5H, Cory Eliason, 369

64. 71A, R.J. Johnson, 367

65. 70, Clint Garner, 363

66. 99, Brady Bacon, 363

67. 3S, Sammy Swindell, 360

68. 12N, Cole Duncan, 359

69. 1A, Jacob Allen, 358

70. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, 357

71. 26, Tayler Malsam, 338

72. 8H, Jason Kendrick, 335

73. X1, Mason Moore, 335

74. 95, Matt Covington, 332

75. 4X, Dakota Hendrickson, 330

76. 87, Aaron Reutzel, 328

77. 99G, Skylar Gee, 327

78. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, 326

79. 00, Dane Lorenc, 321

80. 5J, Jeremy Schultz, 313

81. 15M, Bobby Mincer, 310

82. 12W, Josh Walter, 309

83. 84, Scott Bogucki, 309

84. 1P, Curtis Evans, 306

85. 9Z, Jared Goerges, 306

86. 13V, Seth Brahmer, 305

87. 83C, Adam Cruea, 302

88. 9N, Wade Nygaard, 301

89. W20, Greg Wilson, 298

90. 17M, Max McGhee, 298

91. 85, Chase Wanner, 291

92. 13, Clyde Knipp, 271

93. 19L, Todd King, 269

94. 1S, Logan Schuchart, 269

95. 10, Tyler Bear, 265

96. 23W, Scott Winters, 265

97. 94, Jeff Swindell, 255

98. 9C, Roger Campbell, 236

99. 19, Brent Marks, 223

100. 35V, Jamie Veal, 216

SPEED SPORT World Challenge Lineup:

Carson Macedo 387 – Thomas Kennedy 400

Lynton Jeffrey 407 – Brooke Tatnell 429

Jason Johnson 429 – Dominic Scelzi 429

Lucas Wolfe 438 – Ian Madsen 458

Shane Stewart 469 – Greg Hodnett 472

Terry McCarl 478 – Brian Brown 486

Kerry Madsen 487 – Brad Sweet 500

James McFadden 386 – Harli White 380

Corey Eliason 369 – Jason Kendrick 335

Skylar Gee 327 – Scott Bogucki 309

Logan Schuchart 269 – Jamie Veal 216