Aaron Reutzel won the $20,000 Stars & Stripes Salute Saturday at Knoxville (Mark Funderburk Photo) (Video Highlights from DirtVision.com)
Tasker Phillips Roars from Seventh to Win with 360’s
by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (May 23, 2026) – To say Aaron Reutzel has been on a hot streak is putting it mildly. His win at Saturday’s Stars & Stripes $20,000 World of Outlaws main event at the Knoxville Raceway was his sixth in the month of May and has pushed him well into six figures in prize money over that span. The Clute, Texas native led every lap on Saturday. Tasker Phillips was tenacious in coming from the fourth row to win the $2,000 360 main event. It was his second win in a row here aboard the 3-Way Motorsports #1TAZ entry.
Reutzel beat Donny Schatz to turn one of the 25-lap World of Outlaws main event, ahead of Rico Abreu, JJ Hickle and David Gravel. Abreu got by Schatz for second in turn three on lap two in a battle that would go the length of the race. Gravel went around Hickle for fourth in another battle that would go the distance.
Hickle used the low side to regain fourth from Gravel on lap six. Reutzel was lapping traffic by the eighth circuit, as Gravel worked back by Hickle. On lap ten, Schatz slid by Abreu in turn four to regain second, but Rico went back by four laps later. With six to go, Schatz would use the same slide move to regain the runner-up spot for good.
Out front, no one seriously challenged Reutzel, as he vanquished the field in the Ridge & Sons Racing #87 for his twelfth 410 win at Knoxville. Schatz was second ahead of Abreu and Gravel, who held Hickle off at the line. Austin McCarl crossed sixth but was disqualified after losing a muffler. Garet Williamson, Sheldon Haudenschild, Buddy Kofoid, hard-charger Carson Macedo and Tyler Courtney rounded out the top ten. Reutzel and Williamson set quick time in their respective groups. Reutzel, Gravel, Haudenschild and McCarl won the heats. Schatz won the Dash. Tasker Phillips won the Non-Qualifier, Christopher Thram took the C main and Justin Henderson claimed the B. Jack Anderson took a wild ride in the B main, but walked away.
“I was just hoping I could get a full car length on (Schatz) so I could close the bottom,” said Reutzel of lap one in Victory Lane. “It was tough. Traffic was tough. The first few guys, I didn’t have to move around much. My top line in one and two really got curbed up and I kept getting up over it. It got pretty treacherous and I started doing the middle slide across. I thought the track was awesome tonight. It was a lot of fun to drive. I got to come home and race at Knoxville, and to get an Outlaw win was pretty awesome. We don’t run that many anymore, and they’re hard to come by.”
“It was a great night,” said Schatz. “We unloaded fast and got ourselves qualified well. That’s very important here. We changed some things on the car to get it the way I like. Obviously, that paid off all night long. It sucks to be that close and not get the job done, but Aaron did a heck of a job. He drove the wheels off it. I think we were better at the end of the race, and that’s something to build on. We’ll come back in a couple weeks and try it again.”
“I was really aggressive at the beginning of the race knowing I had to get to the front,” said Abreu. “With the moisture in the racetrack, the pace was quick. To race with Don and examine his lines…he’s such a smart, intelligent racer. To get around him, you learn a lot…how he was running his line. There at the end, I just couldn’t put five consecutive laps together. I was overdriving at some points trying to keep up and I was struggling with some lap cars. But racing with the 15, there’s a lot of respect there.”
Carnage awaited the Randall Roofing 360 class at the start of the 20-lap feature. On the first try, AJ Johnson got over the cushion and upside down, collecting Jesse Pate. Both were ok, but done. It was the same for Timothy Smith who flipped wildly after getting in the “dirty air” heading into turn one on the following try.
Once green, pole-sitter, Kade Higday led Alex Vande Voort, Ryan Leavitt, Tasker Phillips and Sawyer Phillips. Clint Garner moved into the top five briefly on lap two, but Sawyer grabbed that spot back on lap three. At the same time, Tasker was gaining third from Leavitt.
Higday was entering lapped traffic when the second place car of Vande Voort spun, bringing out the caution flag, and sending him to the tail. Higday led Tasker, Leavitt, Sawyer and Tyler Courtney back to green.
On lap ten, Tasker completed his run from row four to take the lead, while Courtney snagged fourth from Sawyer. Tasker pulled away and was in lapped traffic with four to go. Courtney moved by Leavitt to complete his third place run after starting eighth.
Tasker’s sixth career win here came ahead of Higday, Courtney, Leavitt and Sawyer. Carson McCarl, Garner, Ryan Giles, Cam Martin and Riley Goodno completed the top ten. Courtney set quick time over the 31-car field, and was joined by Tasker and Garner as heat winners. Evan Semerad won the B main.
“I didn’t think we’d pull it off starting beside ‘Sunshine’,” said Tasker in Victory Lane. “It was an awfully good track. Everyone’s so tough, I didn’t know if it was going to happen. I was cussing the invert. I was cussing the restarts but just kept getting a better and better restart. It worked out. We had a tough starting position, but I think we put a show on tonight again. That’s what we’re all about. We’re just about as fast as we’ve ever been, but more importantly, we’re consistent.”
Join us Friday, May 29 and Saturday, May 30 for the Avanti Windows & Doors Corn Belt Clash featuring the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Cars! The Randall Roofing 360’s will also be in action Friday night, while the Leighton State Bank 410’s will be back at it on Saturday! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!
World of Outlaws Stars and Stripes Results
Time Trials Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 Laps: 1. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Knoxville, IA, 14.805 (8); 2. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND, 14.895 (2); 3. 2M, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA, 14.910 (6); 4. 2, David Gravel, Watertown, CT, 14.983 (25); 5. 27C, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 14.984 (14); 6. 71, Parker Price Miller, Kokomo, IN, 15.015 (22); 7. 28, Jace Park, Overland Park, KS, 15.049 (19); 8. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Sunnyvale, TX, 15.079 (17); 9. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN, 15.124 (13); 10. 2C, Cole Macedo, Lemoore, CA, 15.127 (12); 11. 17, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN, 15.131 (1); 12. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA, 15.189 (11); 13. 28M, Conner Morrell, Bradenton, FL, 15.200 (15); 14. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 15.229 (7); 15. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI, 15.256 (16); 16. 121, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL, 15.265 (5); 17. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN, 15.290 (9); 18. 10, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK, 15.338 (24); 19. 51, Ashton Torgerson, Glendale, AZ, 15.380 (21); 20. 6, Kasey Jedrzejek, Lagrange, OH, 15.444 (23) / 21. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 15.448 (3); 22. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 15.485 (10); 23. 10V, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA, 15.738 (4); 24. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN, 15.752 (20); 25. 26, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN, NT (18) 26. 2K, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust., NT (26).
Time Trials Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 Laps: 1. 23, Garet Williamson, Kingdom City, MO, 15.062 (20); 2. 24A, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA, 15.074 (1); 3. 18, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH, 15.116 (5); 4. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 15.150 (4); 5. 27, Emerson Axsom, Franklin, IN, 15.161 (6); 6. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA, 15.169 (16); 7. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 15.227 (3); 8. 83, Michael Kofoid, Penngrove, CA, 15.259 (17); 9. 11, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD, 15.300 (15); 10. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA, 15.330 (18); 11. 7S, Chris Windom, Canton, IL, 15.374 (24); 12. 80P, Jacob Peterson, Hartford, SD, 15.519 (12); 13. 16C, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can., 15.582 (2); 14. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 15.585 (7); 15. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA, 15.660 (23); 16. 2KS, Jack Anderson, Newton, IA, 15.661 (19); 17. 45X, Rees Moran, Tulsa, OK, 15.670 (14); 18. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 15.697 (11); 19. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 15.703 (8); 20. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA, 15.760 (10) / 21. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA, 15.767 (9); 22. 7B, Ben Brown, Marhsall, MO, 15.873 (25); 23. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA, 16.236 (22); 24. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA, 16.304 (13); 25. 44X, Scotty Johnson, Melcher, Dallas, IA, NT (21)
Non-Qualifier (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips (1); 2. G5, Gage Pulkrabek (6); 3. 26, Justin Peck (8); 4. 7B, Ben Brown (3) / 5. 56, Joe Simbro (5); 6. 3P, Sawyer Phillips (2); 7. 10V, Joe Beaver (4); 8. 15JR, Cole Mincer (7); DNS - 24, Terry McCarl; 44X, Scotty Johnson; 2K, Lynton Jeffrey
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:15.2: 1. 87, Aaron Reutzel (1); 2. 2M, JJ Hickle (2); 3. 28, Jace Park (4); 4. 17, Spencer Bayston (6); 5. 7BC, Tyler Courtney (5) / 6. 27C, Carson McCarl (3); 7. 17B, Bill Balog (8); 8. 51, Ashton Torgerson (10); 9. 28M, Conner Morrell (7); 10. 24T, Christopher Thram (9); 11. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips (11)
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. 2, David Gravel (2); 2. 15, Donny Schatz (1); 3. 71, Parker Price Miller (3); 4. 2C, Cole Macedo (5); 5. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr (4) / 6. 10, Ryan Timms (8); 7. 22, Riley Goodno (6); 8. 6, Kasey Jedrzejek (9); 9. G5, Gage Pulkrabek (10); 10. 4W, Jamie Ball (7); DNS - 121, RJ Johnson
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:20.9: 1. 18, Sheldon Haudenschild (2); 2. 23, Garet Williamson (1); 3. 21, Brian Brown (4); 4. 27, Emerson Axsom (3); 5. 7S, Chris Windom (6) / 6. 11, Justin Henderson (5); 7. 45X, Rees Moran (9); 8. 1K, Kelby Watt (8); 9. 26, Justin Peck (11); 10. 16C, Skylar Gee (7); 11. 40, Clint Garner (10)
Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:19.6: 1. 88, Austin McCarl (2); 2. 24A, Rico Abreu (1); 3. 83, Michael Kofoid (4); 4. 55, Kerry Madsen (7); 5. 1S, Logan Schuchart (3) / 6. 41, Carson Macedo (5); 7. 44, Chris Martin (10); 8. 80P, Jacob Peterson (6); 9. 2KS, Jack Anderson (8); 10. 49, Josh Schneiderman (9); 11. 7B, Ben Brown (11)
C main (started), 8 Laps, 2:39.0: 1. 24T, Christopher Thram (1); 2. 16C, Skylar Gee (2) / 3. 4W, Jamie Ball (3); 4. 40, Clint Garner (5); 5. 49, Josh Schneiderman (4); 6. 7B, Ben Brown (6); 7. 56, Joe Simbro (7); 8. 15JR, Cole Mincer (9); 9. (DNF) 10V, Joe Beaver (8); DNS - 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips; 121, RJ Johnson; 3P, Sawyer Phillips; 24, Terry McCarl; 44X, Scotty Johnson; 2K, Lynton Jeffrey
Dash (started), 6 Laps, 1:44.0: 1. 15-Donny Schatz (1); 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel (2); 3. 23-Garet Williamson (4); 4. 2M-JJ Hickle (3); 5. 2-David Gravel (7); 6. 24A-Rico Abreu (5); 7. 88-Austin McCarl (6); 8. 18-Sheldon Haudenschild (8)
B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. 11, Justin Henderson (2); 2. 41, Carson Macedo (4); 3. 27C, Carson McCarl (1); 4. 10, Ryan Timms (3) / 5. 22, Riley Goodno (7); 6. 17B, Bill Balog (5); 7. 45X, Rees Moran (6); 8. 44, Chris Martin (8); 9. 51, Ashton Torgerson (9); 10. 26, Justin Peck (14); 11. 6, Kasey Jedrzejek (11); 12. 1K, Kelby Watt (10); 13. 24T, Christopher Thram (17); 14. 80P, Jacob Peterson (12); 15. 28M, Conner Morrell (13); 16. 16C, Skylar Gee (18); 17. G5, Gage Pulkrabek (15); 18. 2KS, Jack Anderson (16)
A main (started), 25 Laps, 7:16.6: 1. 87, Aaron Reutzel (2); 2. 15, Donny Schatz (1); 3. 24A, Rico Abreu (6); 4. 2, David Gravel (5); 5. 2M, JJ Hickle (4); 6. 23, Garet Williamson (3); 7. 18, Sheldon Haudenschild (8); 8. 83, Michael Kofoid (12); 9. 41, Carson Macedo (22); 10. 7BC, Tyler Courtney (17); 11. 21, Brian Brown (10); 12. 71, Parker Price Miller (11); 13. 55, Kerry Madsen (16); 14. 11, Justin Henderson (21); 15. 1S, Logan Schuchart (20); 16. 2C, Cole Macedo (15); 17. 10, Ryan Timms (24); 18. 17, Spencer Bayston (13); 19. 28, Jace Park (9); 20. 7S, Chris Windom (18); 21. 27C, Carson McCarl (23); 22. 27, Emerson Axsom (14); 23. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr (19); DQ – (Muffler, crossed 6th) 88, Austin McCarl (7). Lap Leader: Reutzel 1-25. Hard-charger: Ca. Macedo.
Randall Roofing 360 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 3 laps: 1. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN, 16.092 (4); 2. 24H, Kade Higday, Knoxville, IA, 16.360 (8); 3. 1M, Sean McClelland, Tulsa, OK, 16.408 (1); 4. 2M, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA, 16.417 (7); 5. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 16.437 (21); 6. 5A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA, 16.467 (20); 7. 57, Cam Sorrels, Hallsville, MO, 16.490 (26); 8. 7S, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 16.503 (11); 9. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA, 16.514 (16); 10. 01, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 16.535 (18); 11. 4, Cameron Martin, Ankeny, IA, 16.536 (31); 12. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.542 (12); 13. 22X, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA, 16.566 (3); 14. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA, 16.580 (6); 15. 59, Evan Semerad, Malcolm, NE, 16.670 (9); 16. 86, Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO, 16.684 (15); 17. 63, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA, 16.688 (17); 18. 22P, Jesse Pate, Overbrook, KS, 16.738 (13); 19. 83, Kurt Mueller, Reynolds, IL, 16.764 (30); 20. 7G, Jackson Gray, Ankeny, IA, 16.838 (14); 21. 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can., 16.922 (24); 22. 3R, Russell Potter, Boonville, MO, 17.068 (25); 23. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, 17.075 (19); 24. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA, 17.096 (22); 25. 6B, AJ Johnson, Oskaloosa, IA, 17.131 (29); 26. 38, Logan Alexander, Lacona, IA, 17.144 (27); 27. T4, Tyler Graves, Chariton, IA, 17.467 (10); 28. 32, Riley Valentine, Terril, IA, 17.557 (2); 29. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA, 17.687 (5); 30. 20AU, Brayden Cooley, Warnambool, VIC, Aust., 17.835 (23); 31. 14, Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, NT (28)
Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 1:59.7: 1. 7BC, Tyler Courtney (4); 2. 01, Carson McCarl (1); 3. 57, Cam Sorrels (2); 4. 2M, Ryan Giles (3); 5. 22X, Riley Goodno (5); 6. 6B, AJ Johnson (9); 7. 86, Timothy Smith (6); 8. 3R, Russell Potter (8); 9. 83, Kurt Mueller (7); 10. 32, Riley Valentine (10); DNS , 14, Aidan Zoutte
Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 1:57.6: 1. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips (3); 2. 7S, Sawyer Phillips (2); 3. 24H, Kade Higday (4); 4. 4, Cameron Martin (1); 5. 7, Dustin Selvage (5); 6. 63, JJ Hickle (6); 7. 38, Logan Alexander (9); 8. 7G, Jackson Gray (7); 9. 33, Alan Zoutte (8); 10. 1A, John Anderson (10)
Heat three (started), 7 Laps, 1:58.2: 1. 40, Clint Garner (1); 2. 22, Ryan Leavitt (2); 3. 5A, Alex Vande Voort (3); 4. 1M, Sean McClelland (4); 5. 77X, Alex Hill (7); 6. 22P, Jesse Pate (6); 7. 59, Evan Semerad (5); 8. 71, Brandon Worthington (8); 9. T4, Tyler Graves (9); 10. 20AU, Brayden Cooley (10)
B main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. 59, Evan Semerad (1); 2. 86, Timothy Smith (2); 3. 3R, Russell Potter (4); 4. 71, Brandon Worthington (6); 5. 7G, Jackson Gray (5); 6. 83, Kurt Mueller (7); 7. 33, Alan Zoutte (8); 8. 20AU, Brayden Cooley (12); 9. T4, Tyler Graves (9); 10. 1A, John Anderson (11); 11. 38, Logan Alexander (3); 12. 32, Riley Valentine (10); DNS , 14, Aidan Zoutte
A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips (7); 2. 24H, Kade Higday (1); 3. 7BC, Tyler Courtney (8); 4. 22, Ryan Leavitt (3); 5. 7S, Sawyer Phillips (4); 6. 01, Carson McCarl (5); 7. 40, Clint Garner (6); 8. 2M, Ryan Giles (10); 9. 4, Cameron Martin (11); 10. 22X, Riley Goodno (13); 11. 57, Cam Sorrels (9); 12. 63, JJ Hickle (17); 13. 7, Dustin Selvage (14); 14. 77X, Alex Hill (15); 15. 5A, Alex Vande Voort (2); 16. 1M, Sean McClelland (12); 17. 7G, Jackson Gray (23); 18. 3R, Russell Potter (21); 19. 83, Kurt Mueller (24); 20. 59, Evan Semerad (19); 21. 71, Brandon Worthington (22); 22. 86, Timothy Smith (20); 23. 6B, AJ Johnson (16); 24. 22P, Jesse Pate (18). Lap Leaders: Higday 1, 9, T. Phillips 10, 20. Hard, charger: T. Phillips.