Jacob Allen celebrates his win at Knoxville (Paul Arch Photo) (Video Highlights from DirtVision.com)
Austin McCarl Earns the Pole for Saturday Night
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 11, 2022) – Jacob Allen realized a dream by adding his name to the winner’s list at Knoxville Raceway Thursday on Night #2 of the 61st NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s. The win was worth $12,000 to the Hanover, Pennsylvania resident and came aboard the Shark Racing #1a. Jacob joined his teammate Logan Schuchart, who won Wednesday, and his father Bobby as a Knoxville winner. Austin McCarl emerged as the high point man, and earned $2,000 from SprintCarUnlimited.com as the pole-sitter for Saturday’s $175,000 to win finale.
Allen shot by pole-sitter Zeb Wise to lead early in the 25-lap main event, ahead of Brad Sweet, Lynton Jeffrey and Austin McCarl. McCarl used the low side to get by Jeffrey for fourth on lap three. Kyle Larson, who had to transfer through the B, made quick work of the backside of the feature lineup, and was tenth by lap six.
Sweet passed Wise for second, and started his pursuit of Allen on lap seven. Carson Macedo entered the top five by lap eight. He passed McCarl for fourth on lap 14, and two circuits later, disposed of Wise for the third spot. McCarl would work by Wise himself with seven laps to go and secure fourth.
Sweet reeled in Allen in traffic and passed him briefly on the 21st lap. Allen was back in front at the line, however and continued his pace. Macedo entered the battle late, but Allen was too strong, and raced across the line for his first victory here.
Sweet held down second, ahead of Macedo, high point-getter McCarl and hard-charger Larson. Wise, Tyler Courtney, Kasey Kahne, Jeffrey and JJ Hickle completed the top ten. Tasker Phillips registered quick time over the 50-car field and earned enough points to nail down his first Knoxville Nationals berth. Dylan Cisney, Zach Hampton, Hhickle, Brian Brown and Jack Dover won heat races. Daryn Pittman won the B main and Skylar Gee took the C.
“This is so amazing!” said Allen in Victory Lane. “To get my Dad’s #1a car…looks like it did when he won the Nationals (1990). What else can you really say? I had to hold off Brad Sweet, who’s a champ here. I’m just so blessed and thankful. A Knoxville victory just tops it off! Let’s go! I was telling Logan I could throw up before this feature starts. You put the pressure on me (after winning) Wednesday. What would it be like if Shark Racing swept the wins on the prelim nights. What an amazing night! When Shark Racing first came out on the road, they wouldn’t think that we were capable of doing this. To be able to accomplish this, it just shows you that no matter how hard you work at something…if you believe it and you want it, it can happen. It felt like a game of cat and mouse with the ‘Big Cat.’ Brad’s the man. He was the one I was worried about. He’s a great competitor and one of my friends. If it wasn’t for talking to Brad many times throughout these years, I probably wouldn’t be here either. Brad’s been very good to me.”
“I’m happy for Jake,” said Sweet. “That was cool to see the 1a get back to Victory Lane here at Knoxville. I’ve been friends with Scruffy and those guys. I’m a little disappointed. I thought we had a shot there. I just didn’t make the right moves. When I slid him over there, I wonder what would have happened if I just hit the bottom and stuck it. I think I would have been better off. I never could get the same run. But he did a great job. He weaved his way through all that (traffic), and it’s hard to get a win at Knoxville. We’ll take a second. I think we’re locked in the A. We’ve got our work to do Saturday.”
“I actually got a little bit of a bad start there and had to just reel it back in,” said Macedo. “I felt like I got to the top and was really making momentum and speed, and then got by a few cars. All of a sudden, I could see Brad and Jacob. I looked at the board and saw they were running one and two. I reeled them in fairly fast, but kind of faded at the end. I started getting tight in dirty air. I thought Jacob did a really good job. I think we’re sitting nice in points and locked into Saturday night, so you can’t ask for much more than that.”
The 61st NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s continues Thursday, August 8 with Qualifying Night #2! For more information, visit or check Knoxville Raceway’s website at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or on Facebook and Twitter.
(Points Below Results)
61st NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s Qualifying Night #2 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (3), 15.407; 2. 11X, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (21), 15.419; 3. 27H, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (17), 15.427; 4. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (14), 15.443; 5. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (4), 15.452; 6. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (18), 15.485; 7. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (35), 15.506; 8. 16, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (5), 15.529; 9. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (13), 15.550; 10. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (12), 15.552; 11. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (19), 15.623; 12. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (10), 15.646; 13. 25, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (27), 15.650; 14. 17S, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (29), 15.656; 15. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (6), 15.711; 16. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (30), 15.732; 17. 2K, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (8), 15.736; 18. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (32), 15.753; 19. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (2), 15.756; 20. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (31), 15.769; 21. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (28), 15.785; 22. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (20), 15.815; 23. 19W, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (25), 15.822; 24. 3TK, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (42), 15.830; 25. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (22), 15.837; 26. 49X, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (43), 15.840; 27. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (40), 15.841; 28. 11T, TJ Stutts, Liverpool, PA (11), 15.845; 29. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (7), 15.855; 30. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (37), 15.868; 31. 5C, Dylan Cisney, Port Royal, PA (26), 15.886; 32. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (1), 15.905; 33. 1, Logan Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (24), 15.911; 34. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (46), 15.919; 35. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (16), 15.928; 36. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (23), 15.929; 37. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (44), 16.009; 38. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (33), 16.048; 39. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (39), 16.048; 40. 53, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (41), 16.091; 41. 99, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (15), 16.12; 42. 83JR, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (48), 16.158; 43. 14H, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (45), 16.202; 44. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (36), 16.226; 45. 97, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (38), 16.299; 46. 12, Tyler Drueke, Eagle, NE (34), 16.337; 47. 35K, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (49), 16.404; 48. 4W, Matt Wasmund, Jackson, MN (50), 16.537; 49. 97G, Alan Gilbertson, Kasson, MN (47), 16.677; 50. 6A, Adam Cruea, Troy, OH (9), NT
Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 2:43.3: 1. Dylan Cisney (2); 2. Jacob Allen (4); 3. Cale Thomas (3); 4. Carson Macedo (6) / 5. Tanner Carrick (1); 6. Tasker Phillips (8); 7. Carson McCarl (5); 8. Spencer Bayston (7) / 9. Skylar Gee (9); 10. Tyler Drueke (10)
Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 2:45.0: 1. Zach Hampton (1); 2. Kasey Kahne (3); 3. Zeb Wise (4); 4. Lynton Jeffrey (5) / 5. Matt Juhl (6); 6. Buddy Kofoid (8); 7. Kyle Larson (7); 8. Bobby Mincer (2) / 9. Chad Kemenah (9) DNS - 10. Kerry Madsen
Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:44.0: 1. JJ Hickle (6); 2. Logan Wagner (2); 3. Brad Sweet (5); 4. Chris Windom (4) / 5. Brooke Tatnell (7); 6. Daryn Pittman (8); 7. TJ Stutts (3); 8. Chris Martin (1) / 9. Josh Higday (9); 10. Matt Wasmund (10)
Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:44.7: 1. Brian Brown (1); 2. Tim Kaeding (4); 3. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2); 4. Tyler Courtney (8) / 5. Anthony Macri (7); 6. Kraig Kinser (3); 7. Harli White (5); 8. Sammy Swindell (6) / 9. Bill Rose (9); 10. Alan Gilbertson (10)
Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 2:47.9: 1. Jack Dover (1); 2. Noah Gass (2); 3. Bill Balog (3); 4. Austin McCarl (8) / 5. Rico Abreu (5); 6. Ryan Roberts (4); 7. Sye Lynch (7); 8. Thomas Kennedy (6) / 9. Greg Wilson (9); 10. Adam Cruea (10)
C main (started), 10 Laps, 2:50.3: 1. Skylar Gee (1); 2. Josh Higday (3); 3. Greg Wilson (5); 4. Chad Kemenah (7) / 5. Bill Rose (2); 6. Tyler Drueke (4); 7. Matt Wasmund (6); 8. Alan Gilbertson (8) DNS - 9. Kerry Madsen; 10. Adam Cruea
B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Daryn Pittman (3); 2. Kyle Larson (5); 3. Tasker Phillips (1); 4. Buddy Kofoid (2) / 5. Anthony Macri (7); 6. Sye Lynch (8); 7. Rico Abreu (14); 8. Sammy Swindell (10); 9. Harli White (13); 10. Matt Juhl (9); 11. Carson McCarl (12); 12. Chris Martin (20); 13. Thomas Kennedy (11); 14. Chad Kemenah (24); 15. Skylar Gee (21); 16. Josh Higday (22); 17. Tanner Carrick (19); 18. Ryan Roberts (15); 19. Greg Wilson (23); 20. Kraig Kinser (17); 21. Spencer Bayston (4); 22. TJ Stutts (16); 23. Bobby Mincer (18); 24. Brooke Tatnell (6)
A main (started), 25 Laps, 7:27.6: 1. Jacob Allen (2); 2. Brad Sweet (3); 3. Carson Macedo (6); 4. Austin McCarl (7); 5. Kyle Larson (22); 6. Zeb Wise (1); 7. Tyler Courtney (8); 8. Kasey Kahne (12); 9. Lynton Jeffrey (4); 10. JJ Hickle (5); 11. Tim Kaeding (10); 12. Daryn Pittman (21); 13. Chris Windom (9); 14. Dylan Cisney (14); 15. Brian Brown (19); 16. Buddy Kofoid (24); 17. Noah Gass (17); 18. Tasker Phillips (23); 19. Bill Balog (13); 20. Cale Thomas (11); 21. Zach Hampton (18); 22. Logan Wagner (15); 23. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (16); 24. Jack Dover (20). Lap Leader: Allen 1-25. Hard-charger: Larson.
Combined Point Totals
Drivers Locked into Saturday’s A
1
88
Austin McCarl
477
2
7BC
Tyler Courtney
473
3
15
Donny Schatz
469
4
2
David Gravel
469
5
41
Carson Macedo
467
6
57
Kyle Larson
462
7
19
Brent Marks
462
8
27H
Daryn Pittman
459
9
49
Brad Sweet
458
10
25
JJ Hickle
458
11
1A
Jacob Allen
457
12
11M
Parker Price-Miller
457
13
39
Justin Sanders
456
14
11X
Buddy Kofoid
453
15
7TAZ
Tasker Phillips
451
16
8
Aaron Reutzel
447
17
18
Gio Scelzi
445
18
1S
Logan Schuchart
444
19
2K
Lynton Jeffrey
443
20
26
Zeb Wise
442
21
83
James McFadden
441
22
13
Justin Peck
441
23
14J
Cole Macedo
435
24
2KS
Ian Madsen
434
25
9
Kasey Kahne
431
26
3TK
Tim Kaeding
431
27
19W
Chris Windom
423
28
14
Corey Day
422
29
11
Roger Crockett
417
30
16A
Colby Copeland
416
31
5C
Dylan Cisney
414
32
3
Ayrton Gennetten
414
33
39M
Anthony Macri
414
34
55
Hunter Schuerenberg
410
35
17W
Shane Golobic
407
36
49X
Cale Thomas
406
37
17
Sheldon Haudenschild
405
38
42
Sye Lynch
404
39
49J
Josh Schneiderman
401
40
17B
Bill Balog
400
41
101
Lachlan McHugh
399
42
17C
Carson Short
398
43
09
Matt Juhl
398
44
20G
Noah Gass
397
45
21
Brian Brown
396
46
7
Justin Henderson
396
47
91
Kyle Reinhardt
395
48
21H
Brady Bacon
395
49
55T
McKenna Haase
392
50
1
Logan Wagner
391
51
73
Scotty Thiel
390
52
55W
Mike Wagner
390
53
17S
Sammy Swindell
389
54
35
Zach Hampton
388
55
24R
Rico Abreu
388
56
7S
Robbie Price
386
57
3P
Sawyer Phillips
385
58
15H
Sam Hafertepe Jr.
384
59
2M
Davey Heskin
384
60
13JT
Mark Dobmeier
382
61
27
Carson McCarl
382
62
71
Cory Eliason
381
63
6B
Brandon Wimmer
380
64
11N
Harli White
380
65
5
Spencer Bayston
379
66
16
Brooke Tatnell
378
67
21K
Thomas Kennedy
377
68
53
Jack Dover
376
69
7W
Dustin Selvage
376
70
24
Terry McCarl
373
71
1AU
Marcus Dumesny
360
72
18R
Ryan Roberts
353
73
11K
Kraig Kinser
341
74
83T
Tanner Carrick
336
75
11T
TJ Stutts
336
76
44
Chris Martin
333
77
84
Scott Bogucki
333
78
20
AJ Moeller
332
79
15M
Bobby Mincer
323
80
40
Clint Garner
323
81
99
Skylar Gee
318
82
3Z
Brock Zearfoss
318
83
14H
Josh Higday
312
84
35K
Chad Kemenah
308
85
47X
Dylan Westbrook
306
86
97
Greg Wilson
302
87
65
Jordan Goldesberry
302
88
2KK
Kevin Ingle
301
89
22
Riley Goodno
293
90
6
Bill Rose
282
91
10
Skylar Prochaska
278
92
83JR
Kerry Madsen
275
93
12
Tyler Drueke
273
94
9JR
Derek Hagar
272
95
1X
Jake Bubak
271
96
4W
Matt Wasmund
267
97
1M
Don Droud Jr.
265
98
97G
Alan Gilbertson
263
99
45
Rusty Hickman
257
100
6A
Adam Cruea
257
101
52
Blake Hahn
230