Madsen denied as Schatz knocks off his 9th Knoxville National
Donny Schatz wins Knoxville for the ninth time -Knoxville Pic
After 4 gassed up days it all came down to the 50 Lap Final. On the way to the final, some hard luck for Aussie James McFadden when he smoked another engine while contending for a transfer from the B main.
Kevin Swindell is still in hospital after his crash earlier in the week ,Swindell is expected to undergo another operation on Monday after which will be a long road back to full recovery .Takingspeedway.com wishes Kevin all the best for his recovery
But it’s all about the Final and right from the start the question was posed can Donny Schatz taken out his 9th Title in 10 year. From the moment the Knoxville flagman, Doug Green released his grasp on the green flag Schatz was well and truly on the way .Jumping the Aussie Kerry Madsen at the start Schatz started to prepare the foundation for his 9th Knoxville National Title. Madsen chased hard early closing in on the tail of the Bad Boy Buggies #15 but unable to gain the vital pass.
With Schatz wheeling out in front Madsen now had to deal with a fast arriving Lasoski in the Go Muddy.com #2.
The Go Muddy.com no 2 was working the Knoxville cushion over and started to trade second with Madsen. Lap 16 and Jason Johnson’s #41 shredded his left rear tire and the yellow comes out.
The caution offered the chasers their first real opportunity to threaten the reigning Champ but as we have come to expect the Champ from Fargo North Dakota was right up to the challenge leaving Madsen and Lasoski to their personal battle .Lap 25 and the “Dude” made second his as the race reach the half way point and the fuel stop.
Terry McCarl at fuel stop
After the 5 minute fuel stop Schatz took on the high side of the track and started to gap Lasoski as Madsen gained momentum forcing Lasoski to defend his 2nd position. Both Madsen and the forth place Sweet worked high on the cushion with the “Dude” stuck on the bottom. By lap 32, both Madsen and Sweet had passed the GO Muddy.com #2, Madsen around the top and Sweet through on the bottom.
After dealing with Lasoski , Madsen now had the threat of Brad Sweet to take his attention from chasing down Schatz. The gap between Schatz and Madsen had squeezed out to 2.204 second before the red came out to cover Pau McMahan who slipped the cushion on lap 35.
Schatz was back on the pace quickly leaving Madsen and Sweet at it for second .It was a hot battle between the two with them disputing second , their pace kept them within striking distance of the #15.
Madsen had to work hard to keep Sweet behind and both were hoping the coming traffic would offer one final chance to jump the #15. Lap 48 and the final chance was opening up with Schatz appearing to be boxed in the lapped traffic.
Not often does Schatz fall in traffic and this was not going to be one of those day , with the finishing line in sight the might of the Bad Boys Buggies/TSR/Chevrolet Performance #15 would not be denied and the World of Outlaws Champion would become a 9 times Knoxville Champion .Kerry Madsen with all the aggression, determination that fans have come to expect crossed the stripe 1.363 sec behind the #15. Brad Sweet in the Kasey Kahne Racing and the Ollie’s Bargain Barn Outlet #49.
The Knoxville Nationals is the Sprintcar Title they all want, the performance of the Tony Stewart/Donny Schatz partnership continually ticks every box, and every race meeting making the task of their competition almost impossible .The constancy of this team is unmatched in modern motor sport. While they have many critics, most with little knowledge their performance speaks loud and clear.
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Donny Schatz
Donny Schatz and Tony Stewart
: “It’s not the traffic that was bothering me. It was the restarts. It’s my job to get through traffic. If I can’t then I’m probably going to lose my job. The past couple weeks, seem like people get a run on you and can slide you, so you just had to do something different. One time I’d go to the bottom, one time I’d go to the top and keep mixing it up, but it’s hard to do that without mixing yourself up.
“The boss was here tonight. Can’t thank him [Tony Stewart] enough for all the support to allow us to be with Bad Boy Buggies, Chevrolet Performance, and all our marketing partners to do what we love to do.”
Kerry Madsen :
Kerry Madsen 2nd at Knoxville 2015
Knoxville Pic
“I tried as hard as possible to get it done. I got behind him in dirty air and was just was jumping around on the cushion like an idiot, but I wasn’t going to leave anything on the table,” said Madsen. “I thought it was on there. I thought I had a quicker car and I just apologize for not getting the job done but he didn’t make a mistake the last 15 laps. I was ready to pounce, but it didn’t happen.”
Brad Sweet: “I tell you what this is a huge step in the right direction for Kasey Kahne Racing and the Ollie’s Bargain Barn Outlet. The car was really good. We hit on some stuff at the Front Row Challenge and we carried some momentum into here and when the time to hit it right in the A-Main was right, we hit it. I really didn’t want to see those yellows because I really felt like we were more maneuverable than the guys in front of us, but hats off to Donny. He makes it really hard to win this race.”
.A main (started), 50 Laps, NT: 1. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (1); 2. 29, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (2); 3. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (5); 4. 16, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (12); 5. 71m, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (4); 6. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (14); 7. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (15); 8. 2, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (6); 9. 1z, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (13); 10. Greg Hodnett (23); 11. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (8); 12. 17w, Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, IN (16); 13. 7, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (3); 14. 93H, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (10); 15. 29w, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (17); 16. Cody Darrah (22); 17. 19M, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (18); 18. 1B, Dale Blaney, Hartford, OH (11); 19. Sammy Swindell (21); 20. 3A, Billy Alley, Bennet, NE (19); 21. 51, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (7); 22. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (9); 23. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (24); 24. Wayne Johnson (20); 25. 24R, Trevor Canales, Roseville, CA (25). Lap Leader: Schatz 1-50. Hard-charger: Hodnett
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B main (started), 22 Laps, NT: 1. 12x, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (1); 2. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (3); 3. 89, Cody Darrah, Red Lion, PA (2); 4. 27, Greg Hodnett, Spring Grove, PA (9) / 5. 45, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (17); 6. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (5); 7. 1D, Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (4); 8. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (10); 9. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (11); 10. 19s, Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow, OK (7); 11. 2KS, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (15); 12. 35AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (14); 13. 7D, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (19); 14. 10H, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (12); 15. Kraig Kinser (22); 16. 01, Christopher Bell, Norman, OK (16); 17. Aaron Reutzel (23); 18. 55W, Logan Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (20); 19. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (13); 20. 3G, James McFadden, Brisbane, QLD, Aust. (8); 21. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (6); 22. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (24); 23. Bill Balog (21); 24. 82, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (18)
Wayne Johnson B Main winner
C main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. 17B, Bill Balog, Brookfield, WI (5); 2. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (1); 3. 83, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (3); 4. 67H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (4) / 5. 11, Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN (6); 6. 13x, Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (9); 7. 7s, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (12); 8. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (19); 9. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (13); 10. 1a, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (7); 11. 44w, Austen Wheatley, Lake Stevens, WA (11); 12. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (18); 13. Brady Bacon (22); 14. 88N, DJ Netto, Hanford, CA (15); 15. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (20); 16. Josh Baughman (21); 17. 9P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (8); 18. Jon Agan (23); 19. 1x, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (16); 20. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (2); 21. 1s, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (14); 22. 70, Dean Jacobs, Wooster, OH (10); 23. Tony Shilling (24); 24. 96, Bronson Maeschen, Pleasantville, IA (17) No image of BillBlog
D main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. 17, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (2); 2. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (1); 3. 4R, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (3); 4. 22, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA (6) / 5. 47, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (9); 6. 0, Bud Kaeding, Campbell, CA (4); 7. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (7); 8. 11N, Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro, IN (10); 9. 81x, Lee Jacobs, Dalton, OH (14); 10. 31B, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (12); 11. Dylan Peterson (22); 12. 2LX, Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo, PA (17); 13. 7x, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (15); 14. 28, Jonathan Cornell, Sedalia, MO (8); 15. Josh Schneiderman (21); 16. 21AU, Jordyn Brazier, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (11); 17. 71A, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (13); 18. 4, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (16); 19. Jimmy Light (18); 20. Bob Weuve (20); 21. 71x, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (5); 22. Hunter Schuerenberg (19); 23. 2L, Logan Forler, Boise, ID (24); 24. 5v, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (23) DNS – 9K, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL
Jos Baughman D Main winner
E main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. 23, Jimmy Light, West Springfield, PA (1); 2. 20N, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (2); 3. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (4); 4. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (17); 5. 25, Dylan Peterson, Sioux Falls, SD (5) / 6. 15m, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (8); 7. 4s, Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (11); 8. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (12); 9. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (7); 10. 81, Austin Johnson, Pleasant Hill, IA (9); 11. 93, Glenndon Forsythe, York, PA (13); 12. 23M, Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (6); 13. 17M, Todd Mickelson, Minot, ND (15); 14. 29c, Willie Croft, Roseville, CA (3); 15. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (18); 16. 1P, Curtis Evans, Norborne, MO (14); 17. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (10); 18. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (16) DNS – 17J, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL, 55KM, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN, 96AU, Bruce White, Merrylands, NSW, Aust., 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust., 31c, Justyn Cox, Clarksburg, CA, 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA, 7R, Roger Crockett, Medford, OR, 56B, Ryan Bernal, Hollister, CA
Jimmy Light E Main wunner
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