Ryan Roberts (360), Brian Brown (410) and Eric Bridger (305) were victorious and are with flagman Doug Clark on Cinco de Mayo at Knoxville (Knoxville Raceway Photo)
Ryan Roberts Passes Late for Win in 360’s, Eric Bridger Graduates, Then Wins with 305’s
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 5, 2018) – Grain Valley, Missouri’s Brian Brown made the most of his first appearance of the 2018 season Saturday at the Knoxville Raceway by claiming the $4,000 20-lap 410 sprint car feature event. The entertaining headliner was Brown’s 38th career win here on Budweiser “National Beverage Day”. It was preceded by an exciting win for Nebraskan Ryan Roberts in the 360 class. Defending 305 track champion, Eric Bridger, had an exciting day. First, he graduated from Upper Iowa University, and then he led start to finish in the 15-lap 305 feature.
Justin Henderson was the early leader in the 410 event, ahead of Brown and Terry McCarl. Matt Juhl moved into fourth on the second lap, while Davey Heskin came back from a slow start into the top five by lap four. Heskin continued to climb, moving by Juhl for fourth on lap five, and by McCarl on lap seven for third.
Brown reeled in Henderson with traffic in sight and slid across his bow on lap eight to take the point. Three circuits later, Carson McCarl stopped and retired with no brakes bringing the first caution of the night in any class. Brown led Henderson, Heskin, Terry McCarl and Juhl back to green flag racing.
Heskin stuck the low side of one and two on the restart to shoot by Henderson for second. Point leader and eleventh place starter, Brooke Tatnell, was also on the move, going from eighth to fifth. Austin McCarl, who won the first two features at Knoxville this season was in a battle with Spencer Bayston when he climbed the Indiana native’s right rear in turn three and hit the wall hard. Despite significant damage to the car, he walked away. Bayston, and Lynton Jeffrey, who was collected in the fray were also done.
Brown led the field back to green again, protecting the low side over Heskin, Henderson, Terry McCarl and Tatnell. Tatnell was on the move again, and was up to third with five laps to go. A final caution for a slowing Tasker Phillips did not deter Brown, who won over Heskin, Tatnell, Terry McCarl and Juhl. Henderson, Josh Schneiderman, RJ Johnson, Hunter Schuerenberg and Rager Phillips completed the top ten. Terry McCarl set quick time, while Rager Phillips, RJ Johnson and Schneiderman won heats.
“Hats go off to my guys,” said Brown in Victory Lane. “We haven’t had a great start. We’ve had a fast car…just no results all year long. I’ve messed up a couple of times. But there’s no place like home. It’s great to be here. Justin (Henderson) did a great job. I just knew I had to be aggressive, and it worked out. It just feels good to be back here in front of these great fans.”
The 18-lap 360 main event turned into a non-stop thriller. Nate Van Haaften shook off his early season lull and led early over Ryan Roberts and Matt Moro. Ryan Giles used the cushion to get around Moro for third early on, and on lap six, Clint Garner followed him into fourth.
Van Haaften entered lapped traffic on the eighth circuit and slowed a bit. On lap eleven, it appeared he had cleared things as he escaped several lapped cars. Roberts remained persistent, however, and shot around the leader on the top on lap fourteen. Giles would follow him into second with two to go.
The win was Roberts third here, and came ahead of Giles, Van Haaften, Garner and Sawyer Phillips, who grabbed fifth on the last lap. Jake Bubak, Calvin Landis, Christian Bowman, hard-charger Tyler Groenendyk and Joe Beaver rounded out the top ten. Roberts also set quick tim over the field, while Bowman and Sawyer Phillips won the heats.
“Nate (Van Haaften) took off there early and was getting off the bottom good,” said Roberts in Victory Lane. “I saw it blazing off a bit. I’ve raced here a long time, but I almost forgot where to turn. I still love coming here. The crowd, the track guys…the track’s always good, and everyone always welcomes us back like family.”
It was all Eric Bridger in the 305 class. Another non-stop event saw him lead all fifteen laps utilizing the bottom of the racing surface. It was the third career Knoxville win for the college grad. Following him to the stripe were Ryan Leavitt, Mike Mayberry, Evan Epperson and Devin Kline. Rob Kubli, Kevin Hetrick, Matthew Stelzer, Josh Jones and Jayce Jenkins completed the top ten. Bridger also set quick time, while Jenkins and Kubli were heat winners.
“We were pretty good,” said Bridger. “It was a little rough out there. Today has been good. I just graduated college. It was a busy day. I junked a car two weeks ago, and without those who help me, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”
Join us next week, Saturday, May 12, for Iowa vs. Iowa State Night featuring the Interstate Racing Association (IRA) 410, 360 and 305 sprint cars! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
410 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (13), 15.142; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (12), 15.212; 3. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (7), 15.213; 4. 83, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (9), 15.293; 5. 39, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (10), 15.303; 6. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (11), 15.311; 7. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (6), 15.322; 8. 2KS, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (1), 15.340; 9. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (4), 15.448; 10. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (3), 15.520; 11. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (2), 15.549; 12. 20N, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (14), 15.581; 13. 4, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (21), 15.626; 14. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (8), 15.701; 15. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (18), 15.871; 16. 9, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (16), 15.887; 17. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (19), 15.913; 18. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (5), 16.109; 19. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust (20), 16.335; 20. 85, Chase Wanner, Agency, IA (17), 17.148; 21. 7, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (15), NT.
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:08.0: 1. Rager Phillips (1); 2. Dakota Hendrickson (2); 3. Tasker Phillips (3); 4. AJ Moeller (4); 5. Justin Henderson (5); 6. Terry McCarl (6); 7. Glen Saville (7)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:09.4: 1. RJ Johnson (2); 2. Brian Brown (6); 3. Brooke Tatnell (3); 4. Bobby Mincer (1); 5. Austin McCarl (4); 6. Spencer Bayston (5); 7. Chase Wanner (7)
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:08.1: 1. Josh Schneiderman (2); 2. Hunter Schuerenberg (3); 3. Matt Juhl (4); 4. Davey Heskin (6); 5. Bob Weuve (1); 6. Lynton Jeffrey (5); 7. Carson McCarl (7)
A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. Brian Brown (4); 2. Davey Heskin (3); 3. Brooke Tatnell (11); 4. Terry McCarl (2); 5. Matt Juhl (6); 6. Justin Henderson (1); 7. Josh Schneiderman (14); 8. RJ Johnson (9); 9. Hunter Schuerenberg (10); 10. Rager Phillips (16); 11. Dakota Hendrickson (13); 12. Bobby Mincer (15); 13. Tasker Phillips (8); 14. Bob Weuve (18); 15. Austin McCarl (12); 16. Spencer Bayston (5); 17. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 18. Carson McCarl (19); 19. Chase Wanner (20); 20. Glen Saville (17) DNS – AJ Moeller. Lap Leaders: Henderson 1-7, Brown 8-20. Hard-charger: Tatnell.
360 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (10), 16.238; 2. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (4), 16.240; 3. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (18), 16.285; 4. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (9), 16.300; 5. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (5), 16.332; 6. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (15), 16.366; 7. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (2), 16.380; 8. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (1), 16.412; 9. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (17), 16.412; 10. 9X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (14), 16.413; 11. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (16), 16.471; 12. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (8), 16.514; 13. 6, Mitchell Alexander, Knoxville, IA (3), 16.577; 14. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (12), 16.601; 15. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA (6), 16.632; 16. 40C, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (11), 16.716; 17. 25, Dylan Peterson, Hartford, SD (7), 16.929; 18. 17, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (13), NT.
Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 1:57.0: 1. Christian Bowman (2); 2. Matt Moro (4); 3. Tom Lenz (1); 4. Nate Van Haaften (5); 5. Ryan Roberts (6); 6. Joe Beaver (3); 7. Dylan Peterson (9); 8. Mitchell Alexander (7); 9. Brad Comegys (8)
Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 1:56.1: 1. Sawyer Phillips (1); 2. Jake Bubak (2); 3. Calvin Landis (3); 4. Clint Garner (6); 5. Ryan Giles (5); 6. McKenna Haase (4); 7. Nathan Mills (7); 8. Tyler Groenendyk (9); 9. Cody Wehrle (8)
A main (started), 18 Laps, 5:15.8: 1. Ryan Roberts (2); 2. Ryan Giles (6); 3. Nate Van Haaften (1); 4. Clint Garner (4); 5. Sawyer Phillips (9); 6. Jake Bubak (8); 7. Calvin Landis (7); 8. Christian Bowman (5); 9. Tyler Groenendyk (17); 10. Joe Beaver (12); 11. McKenna Haase (10); 12. Cody Wehrle (18); 13. Dylan Peterson (15); 14. Tom Lenz (11); 15. Nathan Mills (13); 16. Brad Comegys (16); 17. Matt Moro (3); 18. Mitchell Alexander (14). Lap Leaders: Van Haaften 1-13, Roberts 14-18. Hard-charger: Groenendyk.
305 Results
Time Trials, 1. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (15), 17.11; 2. 5C, Devin Kline, Knoxville, IA (6), 17.147; 3. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (3), 17.191; 4. 35, Kevin Hetrick, Gladstone, IL (9), 17.198; 5. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (14), 17.265; 6. 21, Evan Epperson, Muscatine, IA (2), 17.294; 7. 33, Jayce Jenkins, Colfax, IA (11), 17.335; 8. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (13), 17.48; 9. 02S, Josh Jones, Knoxville, IA (16), 17.509; 10. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (4), 17.57; 11. 4, Chris Horton, Indianola, IA (8), 17.596; 12. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (1), 17.664; 13. 50, Mike Ayers, St. Charles, IA (7), 17.815; 14. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (10), 18.421; 15. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (12), 18.179; 16. 48D, Dallas Mendenhall, Unionville, MO (5), 22.661.
Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:45.7: 1. Jayce Jenkins (3); 2. Ryan Leavitt (4); 3. Mike Mayberry (5); 4. Eric Bridger (6); 5. Josh Jones (2); 6. Mike Ayers (7); 7. Dan Henning (8) DNS – Chris Horton
Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:46.5: 1. Rob Kubli (2); 2. Chase Young (1); 3. Evan Epperson (4); 4. Matthew Stelzer (3); 5. Kevin Hetrick (5); 6. Devin Kline (6); 7. Dallas Mendenhall (8); 8. Jon Hughes (7)
A main (started), 15 Laps, 4:29.2: 1. Eric Bridger (1); 2. Ryan Leavitt (3); 3. Mike Mayberry (2); 4. Evan Epperson (5); 5. Devin Kline (6); 6. Rob Kubli (8); 7. Kevin Hetrick (7); 8. Matthew Stelzer (9); 9. Josh Jones (11); 10. Jayce Jenkins (4); 11. Chase Young (10); 12. Dallas Mendenhall (14); 13. Mike Ayers (12); 14. Jon Hughes (15); 15. Dan Henning (13) DNS – Chris Horton. Lap Leader: Bridger 1-15. Hard-charger: Kubli.