World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Kyle Larson (Trent Gower Photo)

KNOXVILLE, IA – Aug. 15, 2020 – Kyle Larson was forced to leave Knoxville Raceway with a broken heart last year after failing to qualify for the Knoxville Nationals. A year later, it was healed with the Elk Grove, CA driver winning the biggest Sprint Car race of his career at the historic half-mile with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series.

Larson was a missile among bullets Saturday night, leading from the green to checkers in the 30-lap Feature to claim the Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank win and the big $50,000 check.

“It means a lot,” Larson said about winning the Capitani. “We wish it was the (Knoxville) Nationals but hats off to the Outlaws and Knoxville and everyone who helps present this race and award this purse.”

He and the Silva Motorsports team have been the class of the field about every time they hit the black Zook clay. Aside from a 10th-place run with the Series in May, Larson has won five out of his last six starts at the track in the #57 car, owned and worked on by Paul Silva. On Thursday, Larson won the opening night of “The One and Only” – which replaced the postponed Nationals – and was forced to settle with a second-place finish Friday night.

His performance during the two opening nights of the event helped lock him into the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash for Saturday’s Capitani Classic. With the fortune of starting on the outside pole for the Dash, Larson darted past polesitter Aaron Reutzel on the start and ran away with the win.

It was teaser of what would come in the 30-lap Feature.

Reutzel tried to make it interesting when the green flag flew, crowding Larson on the entrance to Turn 1. However, Larson was strong no matter where he had to put his car. While ridding the inside berm, Larson was able to nose ahead of Reutzel off Turn 2 and pulled further ahead down the backstretch. He cleared Reutzel on the entrance to Turn 3 and again pulled away.

A lap later, Larson no longer had to worry about a battle from the Folkens Bros Trucking #87 as Reutzel suffered a rear end issue that took him out of the race. That lined up points leader Logan Schuchart alongside Larson for the restart.

When the green flag waved again, Larson had no intentions of allowing another challenge for the lead. He timed his throttle acceleration perfect and rocketed ahead of the field. He became untouchable, pulling away to about a four second lead. Even while having to navigate traffic.

His race almost came to an end toward the halfway point when he nearly collided with Shane Golobic while trying to lap him. The incident forced him up the inside berm and got his car out of shape. He lost little time to Schuchart, though, who had been working on keeping 2019 Knoxville Nationals winner David Gravel behind him.

Gravel’s car came to life in the closing laps, passing Schuchart for second with five laps to go. His next target, Larson, was too far gone to catch. Time wasn't on his side. Until it was given to him.

James McFadden rolled over in Turn 4 with two laps to go, bringing out the red flag and giving Gravel one attempt at dethroning Larson. It was a rematch from Friday night’s race, where Gravel held of Larson in the closing laps of the race. Knowing Gravel was behind him made Larson a little worried, too.

“I wasn’t quite sure what to do because Gravel gets around the bottom so well,” Larson said. “I had been running the top both ends really good. But I didn’t want to leave the door open on the restart. I kind of debated with myself the whole way down the front stretch of what to do.”

When they were allowed to mash their throttles again, Larson made the decision to dive to the bottom and block the head of steam Gravel had going into the turn. His decision helped win him the race, as Gravel was unable to work the bottom to his advance and get by Larson.

“If he ran the top there, I was going to send it in on him,” Gravel said. “It just didn’t happen. It was a good race. We wouldn’t have had a shot if that red didn’t come out. He was gone. Started fifth and couldn’t get going there early in the race. Had to battle Logan (Schuchart) there quite a bit. I think we had the second-best car.”

With his performance this weekend of finishing, fifth, first and second, Gravel has helped propel Jason Johnson Racing to second in the team points – now only four-points back from the leader.

Logan Schuchart had a similar feat by reclaiming the points lead the first night of “The One and Only” when reigning Series champion Brad Sweet and 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz DNF’d. He held the lead throughout the weekend and with a third-place finish during the Capitani Classic, he leaves Knoxville with an 18-point lead over Sweet.

“I just got beat by better experienced drivers and better teams tonight,” Schuchart said. “We’ve gotten better since we’ve come to Knoxville. Really hit it right last year. I just pulled my wing back a little too much at the start of the race and got tight on the cushion and started trying different things that wasn’t really working.”

Along with Larson’s impressive run, Schatz had one of his own. He lost a motor during his Drydene Qualifier race and his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team had to scramble to get the car out of the track, to their trailer and then replace the motor in time to be back for the C-Main.

Schatz went from 17th to the win in the 12-lap C-Main, which transferred him to the rear of the Last Chance Showdown. He then went from 18th to fourth in the LCS to earn the final spot in the Feature. By the time the checkered flag was shown, Schatz had made his way from 24th to 12th in the Feature, earning the KSE Racing Hard Charger award for the second night in a row.

Larson’s win is his seventh win of the season with the Series – 15th career win overall – and the most historic one of his Sprint Car career, so far.

We’re only a year away from heartbreak or triumph at the 2021 Knoxville Nationals.

UP NEXT

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to North Dakota for a doubleheader weekend. On Fri., Aug. 21 the Series returns to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, ND. Get tickets by clicking here. And on Sat., Aug. 22 the Series returns to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, ND. Get tickets by clicking here. https://slspromotions.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=191

Race Results: 8/15/20 – Knoxville Raceway – Capitani Classic

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [1][$50,000]; 2. 41-David Gravel [5][$25,000]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3][$12,500]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [6][$8,000]; 5. 71-Spencer Bayston [8][$7,000]; 6. 49-Brad Sweet [4][$6,000]; 7. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [9][$5,750]; 8. 17A-Austin McCarl [19][$5,500]; 9. 24-Rico Abreu [7][$5,250]; 10. 83-Daryn Pittman [12][$5,000]; 11. 26-Cory Eliason [14][$4,500]; 12. 15-Donny Schatz [24][$4,250]; 13. 18-Gio Scelzi [16][$4,000]; 14. 12N-Joey Saldana [10][$3,750]; 15. 48-Danny Dietrich [22][$3,500]; 16. 21-Brian Brown [21][$3,250]; 17. O9-Matt Juhl [23][$3,000]; 18. 19-Shane Stewart [15][$3,000]; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [20][$3,000]; 20. 1A-Jacob Allen [11][$3,000]; 21. 9-James McFadden [13][$3,000]; 22. 17W-Shane Golobic [17][$3,000]; 23. 4-Terry McCarl [18][$3,000]; 24. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2][$3,000]; Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson 1-30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz[+12]

DRYDENE Qualifier #1 (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 3. 9-James McFadden [3]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic [6]; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 6. 49X-Tim Shaffer [11]; 7. 17X-Josh Baughman [8]; 8. 33M-Mason Daniel [10]; 9. 5C-Colby Copeland [9]; 10. 42-Sye Lynch [14]; 11. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [12]; 12. 44-Chris Martin [13]; 13. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 14. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 15. 56-Joe Simbro [15]

DRYDENE Qualifier #2 (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 24-Rico Abreu [1]; 2. 12N-Joey Saldana [4]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 4. 4-Terry McCarl [5]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8]; 7. O9-Matt Juhl [3]; 8. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [10]; 9. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [9]; 10. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [11]; 11. 56N-Davey Heskin [12]; 12. 9W-Ryan Giles [13]; 13. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [7]; 14. 6-Bill Rose [14]

DRYDENE Qualifier #3 (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 2-Carson Macedo [1]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [2]; 3. 19-Shane Stewart [3]; 4. 17A-Austin McCarl [7]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [9]; 6. 13-Paul McMahan [6]; 7. 39-Sammy Swindell [5]; 8. 44S-Trey Starks [10]; 9. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [4]; 10. 5-Ian Madsen [8]; 11. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [12]; 12. 70-Cale Thomas [13]; 13. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [11]; 14. 14K-Tori Knutson [14]

DRYDENE Qualifier #4 (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 71-Spencer Bayston [1]; 2. 83-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 18-Gio Scelzi [3]; 4. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 5. 14-Parker Price-Miller [7]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [5]; 7. 7-Tim Kaeding [6]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9]; 9. 2C-Wayne Johnson [10]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [11]; 11. 88-Kyle Offill [12]; 12. 39M-Anthony Macri [8]; 13. 2K-Kevin Ingle [14]; 14. 35-Zach Hampton [13]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [4]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 5. 41-David Gravel [3]; 6. 2-Carson Macedo [7]; 7. 24-Rico Abreu [8]; 8. 71-Spencer Bayston [5]

C-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [17][]; 2. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [6][]; 3. 5-Ian Madsen [7][]; 4. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [11][]; 5. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [3][$450]; 6. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [2][$400]; 7. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [9][$350]; 8. 42-Sye Lynch [5][$300]; 9. 88-Kyle Offill [12][$300]; 10. 14K-Tori Knutson [19][$300]; 11. 56N-Davey Heskin [10][$300]; 12. 2C-Wayne Johnson [4][$300]; 13. 5C-Colby Copeland [1][$300]; 14. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [16][$300]; 15. 44-Chris Martin [13][$300]; 16. 99-Skylar Gee [8][$300]; 17. 70-Cale Thomas [14][$300]; 18. 39M-Anthony Macri [15][$300]; 19. 56-Joe Simbro [22][$300]; 20. 2K-Kevin Ingle [21][$300]; 21. 6-Bill Rose [18][$300]; 22. 35-Zach Hampton [20][$300]; 23. 9W-Ryan Giles [23][$300]; 24. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [24][$300]

Last Chance Showdown (15 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 21-Brian Brown [1][]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [3][]; 3. O9-Matt Juhl [2][]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [18][]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5][$2,400]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8][$2,200]; 7. 7-Tim Kaeding [13][$2,000]; 8. 7S-Jason Sides [4][$1,800]; 9. 13-Paul McMahan [9][$1,600]; 10. 14-Parker Price-Miller [6][$1,400]; 11. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [10][$1,200]; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser [17][$1,100]; 13. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [15][$1,000]; 14. 49X-Tim Shaffer [7][$900]; 15. 5-Ian Madsen [20][$800]; 16. 44S-Trey Starks [16][$700]; 17. 33M-Mason Daniel [14][$600]; 18. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [21][$500]; 19. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [19][$500]; 20. 17X-Josh Baughman [11][$500]; 21. 39-Sammy Swindell [12][$500]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner David Gravel (Trent Gower Photo)

KNOXVILLE, IA – Aug. 14, 2020 – A thousand pounds of weight fell from David Gravel’s body when he exited his Jason Johnson Racing #41 car Friday night.

His sweat drenched face showed. His tired body language showed it. And his smile showed it as he waved the checkered flag in Victory Lane for the second time this season at Knoxville Raceway.

Gravel led from green to checkers in the 25-lap Feature during the second night of “The One and Only” but had to survive challenging conditions and a late race charge for Kyle Larson to claim his fourth World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win of the season.

“It was very very daring there in (turns) three and four,” said Gravel, of Watertown, CT. “Dirty air makes it worse. One and two was fairly easy to run the bottom. But it made you step up your game and stay up on the wheel. I know guys would be charging pretty hard. I was able to get by some (lap) guys and didn’t get held up too bad. Definitely got to clean up a few corners to make sure we win these longer races.”

A fifth-place run Thursday night at the historic half-mile was suitable but not sufficient enough for Gravel and the JJR team. They stepped up their game on Friday, returning to the winning caliber level that brought them a Nationals victory about a year ago.

Gravel qualified third Friday night and then rocketed from eighth to third in his Drydene Heat Race. That resulted in him being the top points earner for the night and the first to draw for the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. With the support of Lady Luck, Gravel drew the #1 pile for the Dash and went on to dominate the six-lap event.

At the drop of the green flag for the Feature, Gravel mastered the relationship between torque and acceleration to launch ahead of the 25-car field. By the time he reached the flag stand to compete the first lap, his Mesilla Valley Transportation #41 car was already half a straightaway ahead of second-place Rico Abreu.

As Gravel pulled away, Abreu became his best friend. The California driver made life hell for Larson, who moved into third on the first lap and was forced to work overtime to get by Abreu. The two Californians waged war for second place in the first eight laps, testing who could throw a better slide job each corner. And while they did, Gravel continued his escape.

With 16 laps to go, Larson was able to get a run underneath Abreu down the front stretch and dart ahead of him into Turn 1. Abreu attempted to dive underneath Larson entering the corner but was left minimal room to do so and had to abort his move. That allowed Larson to drive away and reigning Series champion Brad Sweet to make the pass on him for third, as well.

By the time Larson finally secured the runner up spot, Gravel already had about a two second lead. With challenging track conditions for Gravel and heavy lap traffic ahead of him, a late race charge from Larson looked inevitable.

Gravel was able to put distance between himself and Larson through Turns 1 and 2 but struggled to find grip through Turns 3 and 4 and off the corner. The added obstacles of slower cars allowed Larson closed in every lap.

With five laps to go, Larson was within striking distance. Gravel switched to the bottom line through Turns 3 and 4 for a couple of laps to try and find traction, but instead he allowed Larson to rip the top and charge to his bumper.

With the white flag in the air, Larson was in prime position to upset Gravel’s night. He dove underneath the red JJR car down the front stretch and had his finger on the trigger to pull the winning slide job. However, when he got to the isle, the lane was closed. Gravel entered Turn 1 through the middle, just above the slower car of Daryn Pittman, and used him as a pick to kill Larson’s attempt at a pass.

The move ultimately secured Gravel the win as he was able to find enough grip through Turns 3 and 4 to hold off Larson by 0.203 seconds at the finish line.

“All I have to say is Paul Silva and Kyle Larson are really good, but when (JJR crew chief) Philip Dietz and David Gravel are on, we can compete with the best,” Gravel said. “Tonight, it showed. Kyle is a good friend. He’s made us step up our game. This year has been a struggle to find a balance. Tonight, we felt really really good. Had the motor running right tonight. It was definitely intense there. Those lap cars, who knew where they were going?”

Gravel’s win ended Larson’s streak of four wins in a row at the Sprint Car Capital of the World and two wins in a row with the World of Outlaws.

“Our race car was really good,” Larson said. “Especially when I get to traffic, I feel really good. David did just a little bit better of a job than me at some points. In the early points we got into traffic and then, (turns) one and two is so good you can kind of go anywhere. I couldn’t make it good enough around to stay close to him off (turn) two. We’ll take a second. A good points night.”

Sweet rounded out the podium, which is a solid rebound from his disastrous Thursday night run. The Grass Valley, CA driver had suffered his fourth DNF of the year due to being involved in an early wreck.

“It feels like a win for us,” Sweet said. “We needed a good rebound after last night. This team has been through a lot with the NAPA Auto Parts car. But we never give up.”

His run also helped him gain some points on championship points leader Logan Schuchart, who finished ninth. He’s now 12 points back from the lead. Ten-time Series champion Donny Schatz, who also suffered a DNF Thursday night, rebounded to finish 11th, but it was still not the night he and his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team were looking for. He had to use a rare provisional to start 25th in the Feature.

Gravel’s win has locked him into the Feature and DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash for Saturday’s $50,000-to-win Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank. Larson, Schuchart and Aaron Reutzel are also locked in. The rest of the start-studded field will need to race their way in through four Qualifier races or the D-Main, C-Main and Last Chance Showdown.

With a red and black paint scheme that resembles Jason Johnson’s 2016 Knoxville Nationals winning car, the thousand pounds of weight will be back on his shoulders Saturday night. However, having to win under pressure at Knoxville is nothing new for the 2019 Capitani Classic winner and Knoxville Nationals champion.

His sweat drenched face has shown it. His tired body has shown it. And his victorious smile.

UP NEXT

The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series will conclude “The One and Only” three-day event with the $50,000-to-win Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank on Sat., Aug. 15 in front of a sold-out crowd.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can still watch all of the action live on DIRTVision.

Race Results: 8/14/20 – Knoxville Raceway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1][$10,000]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [4][$7,500]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [10][$5,000]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [2][$4,500]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [5][$4,000]; 6. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [14][$3,500]; 7. 26-Cory Eliason [6][$3,250]; 8. 19-Shane Stewart [7][$3,000]; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart [21][$2,800]; 10. 87-Aaron Reutzel [15][$2,600]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz [25][$1,400]; 12. 9-James McFadden [13][$2,200]; 13. 2-Carson Macedo [24][$2,000]; 14. O9-Matt Juhl [22][$1,800]; 15. 39M-Anthony Macri [9][$1,600]; 16. 21-Brian Brown [3][$1,500]; 17. 39-Sammy Swindell [19][$1,400]; 18. 83-Daryn Pittman [12][$1,300]; 19. 1A-Jacob Allen [11][$1,200]; 20. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [23][$1,100]; 21. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [16][$1,000]; 22. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [20][$1,000]; 23. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [18][$1,000]; 24. 5C-Colby Copeland [17][$1,000]; 25. 71-Spencer Bayston [8][$1,000]; Lap Leaders: David Gravel 1-25; KSE Hard Charger Award: 15-Donny Schatz[+14]

Qualifying – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.718; 2. 21-Brian Brown, 15.723; 3. 41-David Gravel, 15.811; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, 15.825; 5. 19-Shane Stewart, 15.833; 6. 71-Spencer Bayston, 15.834; 7. O9-Matt Juhl, 15.854; 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15.883; 9. 17W-Shane Golobic, 15.886; 10. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.891; 11. 83-Daryn Pittman, 15.893; 12. 15-Donny Schatz, 15.909; 13. 33M-Mason Daniel, 15.916; 14. 39M-Anthony Macri, 15.942; 15. 12N-Joey Saldana, 15.952; 16. 24-Rico Abreu, 15.979; 17. 18-Gio Scelzi, 15.987; 18. 26-Cory Eliason, 16.005; 19. 17X-Josh Baughman, 16.007; 20. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.009; 21. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 16.013; 22. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey, 16.015; 23. 57-Kyle Larson, 16.021; 24. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 16.024; 25. 14-Parker Price-Miller, 16.054; 26. 9-James McFadden, 16.055; 27. 49J-Josh Schneiderman, 16.065; 28. 13-Paul McMahan, 16.082; 29. 3-Ayrton Gennetten, 16.086; 30. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 16.091; 31. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.091; 32. 2-Carson Macedo, 16.112; 33. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 16.124; 34. 7-Tim Kaeding, 16.146; 35. 4-Terry McCarl, 16.152; 36. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 16.167; 37. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 16.169; 38. 5C-Colby Copeland, 16.172; 39. 88-Kyle Offill, 16.183; 40. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell, 16.212; 41. 42-Sye Lynch, 16.231; 42. 44S-Trey Starks, 16.242; 43. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.259; 44. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg, 16.265; 45. 39-Sammy Swindell, 16.266; 46. 5-Ian Madsen, 16.293; 47. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 16.311; 48. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 16.35; 49. 17A-Austin McCarl, 16.364; 50. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, 16.394; 51. 70-Cale Thomas, 16.408; 52. 99-Skylar Gee, 16.436; 53. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.439; 54. 56N-Davey Heskin, 16.469; 55. 9W-Ryan Giles, 16.489; 56. 35-Zach Hampton, 16.5; 57. 6-Bill Rose, 16.505; 58. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips, 16.507; 59. 44-Chris Martin, 16.553; 60. 14K-Tori Knutson, 16.88; 61. 56-Joe Simbro, 17.085; 62. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 17.303; 63. 94-Jeff Swindell, NT

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 3. 14-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 5. 17X-Josh Baughman [5]; 6. 17A-Austin McCarl [9]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [8]; 8. O9-Matt Juhl [7]; 9. 33M-Mason Daniel [6]; 10. 9W-Ryan Giles [10]; 11. 56-Joe Simbro [11]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 5C-Colby Copeland [2]; 2. 9-James McFadden [4]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri [6]; 5. 21-Brian Brown [8]; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel [7]; 7. 48-Danny Dietrich [5]; 8. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [1]; 9. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [9]; 10. 35-Zach Hampton [10]; 11. 2K-Kevin Ingle [11]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 39-Sammy Swindell [1]; 2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 3. 41-David Gravel [8]; 4. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [7]; 6. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [4]; 7. 12N-Joey Saldana [6]; 8. 70-Cale Thomas [9]; 9. 88-Kyle Offill [2]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [10]; 11. 94-Jeff Swindell [11]

DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [2]; 2. 7-Tim Kaeding [3]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 6. 5-Ian Madsen [1]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [8]; 8. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [5]; 9. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [10]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [9]

DRYDENE Heat #5 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [5]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson [1]; 3. 4-Terry McCarl [3]; 4. 19-Shane Stewart [8]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [7]; 6. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [4]; 7. 18-Gio Scelzi [6]; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9]; 9. 44-Chris Martin [10]; 10. 42-Sye Lynch [2]

DRYDENE Heat #6 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [1]; 2. 44S-Trey Starks [2]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [6]; 4. 71-Spencer Bayston [8]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 7. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 8. 56N-Davey Heskin [9]; 9. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [4]; 10. 14K-Tori Knutson [10]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 41-David Gravel [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 3. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [8]; 5. 17W-Shane Golobic [3]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 7. 19-Shane Stewart [7]; 8. 71-Spencer Bayston [6]

D-main (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 99-Skylar Gee [2][]; 2. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [1][]; 3. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [3][]; 4. 44-Chris Martin [4][]; 5. 35-Zach Hampton [6][$125]; 6. 9W-Ryan Giles [5][$125]; 7. 14K-Tori Knutson [8][$125]; 8. 6-Bill Rose [7][$125]; 9. 56-Joe Simbro [9][$125]; 10. 2K-Kevin Ingle [10][$125]; 11. 94-Jeff Swindell [11][$125]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [1][]; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2][]; 3. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [7][]; 4. 2C-Wayne Johnson [3][]; 5. 49X-Tim Shaffer [6][$350]; 6. 33M-Mason Daniel [4][$350]; 7. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8][$300]; 8. 17A-Austin McCarl [10][$250]; 9. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [5][$200]; 10. 5-Ian Madsen [9][$150]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [15][$150]; 12. 56N-Davey Heskin [16][$150]; 13. 70-Cale Thomas [14][$150]; 14. 99-Skylar Gee [17][$150]; 15. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [19][$150]; 16. 44-Chris Martin [20][$150]; 17. 42-Sye Lynch [13][$150]; 18. 88-Kyle Offill [11][$150]; 19. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [18][$150]; 20. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [12][$150]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3][]; 2. O9-Matt Juhl [1][]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [4][]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [8][]; 5. 14-Parker Price-Miller [2][$800]; 6. 18-Gio Scelzi [12][$750]; 7. 7-Tim Kaeding [6][$725]; 8. 13-Paul McMahan [9][$700]; 9. 12N-Joey Saldana [10][$675]; 10. 15-Donny Schatz [7][$650]; 11. 48-Danny Dietrich [16][$625]; 12. 44S-Trey Starks [13][$600]; 13. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [19][$575]; 14. 17X-Josh Baughman [5][$550]; 15. 4-Terry McCarl [11][$525]; 16. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [17][$500]; 17. 2M-Kerry Madsen [15][$400]; 18. 7S-Jason Sides [14][$400]; 19. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [18][$400]; 20. 2C-Wayne Johnson [20][$400]

World of Outlaws

Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com

Please click here for the original World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series article

Winner Kyle Larson (Paul Arch Photo)

KNOXVILLE, IA – Aug. 14, 2020 – Kyle Larson’s historic run has carried over to the biggest Sprint Car event of the year at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.”

The Elk Grove, CA driver piloted his Silva Motorsports #57 like a fighter jet through traffic to charge from 10th to the lead in 18 laps and win the opening night of “The One and Only” at Knoxville Raceway Thursday night.

The win is his second World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory in row – after claiming his first Ironman title last week – his third Series win at Knoxville in a row, his sixth Series win this year and 14th Series win overall.

“It’s cool to get another win,” Larson said. “Thanks to all of the fans for coming out and watching (on DIRTVision) at home… Thanks to the Outlaws for putting this event on. Just an awesome race there.”

Before he claimed his perch at the top of the mountain in the 25-lap Feature, drama plagued the night for reigning World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet and 10-time Series champion Donny Schatz. Nine laps into the Feature, Cory Eliason spun in front of Sweet entering Turn 1, causing Sweet to run into him. Then, Schatz piled into them and as their cars slid up toward the wall, Sweet’s teammate James McFadden ran into all of them.

The accident ended the night for all four drivers, giving Sweet his fourth DNF of the season and Schatz his second. The duo held the top two spots in the Series championship points entering the night. Now, with Sweet finishing 24th and Schatz finishing 22nd, they both fell a spot in points as Logan Schuchart propelled himself to the championship lead with a second-place finish.

“It’s a good points night overall,” said Schuchart, of Hanover, PA. “Good for the weekend. We qualified good. We’re good every time we hit the racetrack.”

Schuchart started on the pole for the Feature after being one of the top eight drivers in accumulated points throughout the night and winning the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.

After pulling a wheelie to the green flag, Schuchart held off second-place Aaron Reutzel in the first two corners to pull away with the lead. Reutzel kept pace with Schuchart but was never close enough to the Drydene #1S to make a move.

Three early cautions hindered Schuchart’s attempt to run away from the field with Daryn Pittman spinning on his own on Lap 9 and then the incident with Sweet and Schatz a restart later.

When the race resumed, defending Knoxville Raceway track champion Brian Brown rocketed around the top of Turn 1 to go from fourth to second in a corner. Reutzel was then left to fend off last year’s Knoxville Nationals champion David Gravel and Larson, who looked to have 10 more horsepower than everyone else.

Already up to fifth in nine laps, Larson powered his way around the outside of Gravel and Reutzel in one lap. Then, about four laps later he tried to make quick work of Brown by throwing a slide job underneath him but realized the end result would be a collision with Brown and about spun himself out trying to avoid the FVP #21.

It took only four laps for Larson to find a rhythm again and dart by Brown for second. Shortly after, Reutzel also made his way back by Brown for third – where he would end the night.

Larson drove like a man with something to lose. He threw his car into every corner and played a game of chicken with about every car he passed, sliding in front of them with inches to spare, seeing who would lift first. It wasn’t him.

He caught Schuchart with eight laps to go. While the Shark Racing driver ran the top line, Larson ran a lane below him to his advantage. He pulled ahead of Schuchart through Turn 3 and then chopped his nose on the next of Turn 4, making contact with Schuchart’s car and damaging his front nose wing.

Schuchart held on to finish second while Larson pulled away to the $10,000 win.

“As the race went on, I felt like I wasn’t hitting my marks as good,” Schuchart said. “I would have liked to of had a little bit better of a race with Kyle there. I wish his slide job was a little better there, but he’s got a reputation to live up to. That’s where you let other people make the rules and maybe we’ll get him next time.”

Larson knew when he caught Schuchart he had to make his move quick if he wanted to ensure another victory.

“I was able to get by [Brown] and track Logan down and hit the bottom really well in (turns) one and two and got a run on him,” Larson said. “It felt like I needed to take advantage of that before we got to heavier traffic and slid him and felt some contact. So, glad to see him not in the wall or anything like that. Just, hard work there. Heartbeat is up again.”

With a fifth-place qualifying effort, a third-place run in his Drydene Heat Race, a second-place run in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash and a third-place finish in the Feature, Reutzel ended the opening night of “The One and Only” with the points lead for the three-day event – Schuchart and Larson are tied for second, nine points back.

He still wasn’t satisfied, though.

“I feel like we keep getting better and better every time we come here,” Reutzel said. “Tonight, if I don’t screw up that restart, I may take the lead before Kyle gets to us and run away, I don’t know. I definitely made some really bad mistakes as a driver and put myself in a bad situation where I couldn’t contend for the win.”

UP NEXT

The star-studded field of drivers that raced Thursday night at Knoxville Raceway will return Friday night – for round two of “The One and Only” – to compete for another $10,000 and look to earn more points toward Saturday’s Brownells Capitani Classic presented by Great Southern Bank. Get tickets by clicking here. https://mpv.tickets.com/?orgid=52711&agency=WRG_SNG_MPV&pid=8851947#/event/8851947/seatmap/?selectBuyers=false&minPrice=35&maxPrice=35&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision.

Race Results: 8/13/20 – Knoxville Raceway

NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps) – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [10]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [24]; 5. 41-David Gravel [6]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [7]; 7. 71-Spencer Bayston [3]; 8. 18-Gio Scelzi [15]; 9. 12N-Joey Saldana [5]; 10. 5-Ian Madsen [19]; 11. 17A-Austin McCarl [21]; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen [11]; 13. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [16]; 14. 7S-Jason Sides [20]; 15. 24-Rico Abreu [22]; 16. 4-Terry McCarl [13]; 17. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [18]; 18. O9-Matt Juhl [23]; 19. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [25]; 20. 83-Daryn Pittman [9]; 21. 11K-Kraig Kinser [17]; 22. 15-Donny Schatz [8]; 23. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 24. 49-Brad Sweet [12]; 25. 9-James McFadden [14];
Lap Leaders: Logan Schuchart 1-17, Kyle Larson 18-25;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 2-Carson Macedo[+20]

Qualifying – 1. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.57; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.609; 3. 71-Spencer Bayston, 15.61; 4. 21-Brian Brown, 15.632; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15.647; 6. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 15.66; 7. 15-Donny Schatz, 15.687; 8. 19-Shane Stewart, 15.732; 9. 12N-Joey Saldana, 15.735; 10. 83-Daryn Pittman, 15.763; 11. 13-Paul McMahan, 15.795; 12. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.836; 13. 41-David Gravel, 15.852; 14. 9-James McFadden, 15.865; 15. 26-Cory Eliason, 15.872; 16. 17W-Shane Golobic, 15.88; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, 15.891; 18. 39-Sammy Swindell, 15.899; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 15.903; 20. 57-Kyle Larson, 15.912; 21. 14-Parker Price-Miller, 15.915; 22. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 15.923; 23. 17A-Austin McCarl, 15.944; 24. O9-Matt Juhl, 15.957; 25. 18-Gio Scelzi, 15.957; 26. 7-Tim Kaeding, 15.985; 27. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, 15.985; 28. 20-A.J. Moeller, 16.017; 29. 7X-Justin Henderson, 16.019; 30. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.028; 31. 28-Scott Bogucki, 16.029; 32. 5C-Colby Copeland, 16.036; 33. 4-Terry McCarl, 16.044; 34. 49J-Josh Schneiderman, 16.053; 35. 3-Ayrton Gennetten, 16.056; 36. 2-Carson Macedo, 16.06; 37. 24-Rico Abreu, 16.07; 38. 17X-Josh Baughman, 16.086; 39. 44S-Trey Starks, 16.093; 40. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.094; 41. 33M-Mason Daniel, 16.1; 42. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 16.111; 43. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 16.12; 44. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.12; 45. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg, 16.124; 46. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell, 16.15; 47. 5-Ian Madsen, 16.159; 48. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.16; 49. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips, 16.168; 50. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 16.177; 51. 88-Kyle Offill, 16.193; 52. 70-Cale Thomas, 16.197; 53. 99-Skylar Gee, 16.23; 54. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 16.24; 55. 94-Jeff Swindell, 16.242; 56. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey, 16.269; 57. 56N-Davey Heskin, 16.36; 58. 35-Zach Hampton, 16.379; 59. 9W-Ryan Giles, 16.404; 60. 44-Chris Martin, 16.421; 61. 6-Bill Rose, 16.524; 62. 42-Sye Lynch, 16.526; 63. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.574; 64. 14K-Tori Knutson, 16.646; 65. 56-Joe Simbro, 16.754; 66. 2K-Kevin Ingle, 16.791; 67. 64-Scotty Thiel, NT

DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 3. 18-Gio Scelzi [4]; 4. 41-David Gravel [6]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 6. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [8]; 8. 94-Jeff Swindell [10]; 9. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [9]; 10. 6-Bill Rose [11]; 11. 28-Scott Bogucki [3]

DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [1]; 2. 17X-Josh Baughman [2]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson [5]; 4. 7-Tim Kaeding [4]; 5. 9-James McFadden [6]; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart [8]; 7. 49X-Tim Shaffer [9]; 8. 5C-Colby Copeland [3]; 9. 19-Shane Stewart [7]; 10. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [10]; 11. 42-Sye Lynch [11]

DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 4-Terry McCarl [3]; 2. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [1]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [6]; 4. 71-Spencer Bayston [8]; 5. 12N-Joey Saldana [7]; 6. 56N-Davey Heskin [10]; 7. 39M-Anthony Macri [11]; 8. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [4]; 9. 88-Kyle Offill [9]; 10. 14-Parker Price-Miller [5]; 11. 44S-Trey Starks [2]

DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 2KS-Brooke Tatnell [1]; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [2]; 3. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [3]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [8]; 5. 83-Daryn Pittman [7]; 6. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [5]; 7. 20-A.J. Moeller [4]; 8. 35-Zach Hampton [10]; 9. 14K-Tori Knutson [11]; 10. 17W-Shane Golobic [6]; 11. 70-Cale Thomas [9]

DRYDENE Heat #5 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 5-Ian Madsen [1]; 2. 33M-Mason Daniel [2]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [8]; 4. 17A-Austin McCarl [5]; 5. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [3]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [6]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [7]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [9]; 9. 9W-Ryan Giles [10]; 10. 56-Joe Simbro [11]

DRYDENE Heat #6 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 7S-Jason Sides [1]; 2. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 4. O9-Matt Juhl [5]; 5. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9]; 7. 39-Sammy Swindell [6]; 8. 44-Chris Martin [10]; 9. 2K-Kevin Ingle [11]; 10. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 11. 2M-Kerry Madsen [8]

DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (6 Laps) – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 71-Spencer Bayston [3]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 5. 12N-Joey Saldana [6]; 6. 41-David Gravel [5]; 7. 21-Brian Brown [7]; 8. 15-Donny Schatz [8]

D-main (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 39M-Anthony Macri [4]; 2. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [7]; 3. 94-Jeff Swindell [1]; 4. 9W-Ryan Giles [6]; 5. 44-Chris Martin [5]; 6. 35-Zach Hampton [3]; 7. 2K-Kevin Ingle [11]; 8. 88-Kyle Offill [2]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [10]; 10. 14K-Tori Knutson [9]; 11. 56-Joe Simbro [12]; 12. 70-Cale Thomas [8]; 13. 42-Sye Lynch [13]; 14. 7X-Justin Henderson [14]; 15. 64-Scotty Thiel [15]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 39-Sammy Swindell [1]; 2. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [3]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [2]; 4. 14-Parker Price-Miller [7]; 5. 5C-Colby Copeland [8]; 6. 39M-Anthony Macri [17]; 7. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]; 8. 49X-Tim Shaffer [10]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee [14]; 10. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips [16]; 11. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9]; 12. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [18]; 13. 20-A.J. Moeller [4]; 14. 9W-Ryan Giles [20]; 15. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [6]; 16. 44S-Trey Starks [15]; 17. 94-Jeff Swindell [19]; 18. 56N-Davey Heskin [11]; 19. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [13]; 20. 28-Scott Bogucki [12]

Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 17A-Austin McCarl [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [8]; 3. O9-Matt Juhl [2]; 4. 2-Carson Macedo [6]; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 6. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [10]; 8. 19-Shane Stewart [15]; 9. 7-Tim Kaeding [5]; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [12]; 11. 39-Sammy Swindell [17]; 12. 17X-Josh Baughman [9]; 13. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [7]; 14. 14-Parker Price-Miller [20]; 15. 49J-Josh Schneiderman [11]; 16. 2M-Kerry Madsen [16]; 17. 3-Ayrton Gennetten [18]; 18. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [14]; 19. 33M-Mason Daniel [13]; 20. 55-Hunter Schuerenburg [19]