KERRY MADSEN WINS ALL STAR THRILLER AT KNOXVILLE

by Bill Wright 

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (July 31, 2021) – Kerry Madsen is hot at the right time.  The St. Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia native tied fellow countryman Skip Jackson on the all-time win list at Knoxville Raceway with his 25^th victory Saturday on Weiler Night.  The win came in a thrilling All Star Circuit of Champions event amongst a 46-car field, and paid the driver of the Tony Stewart Racing #14 $7,000.  Gio Scelzi had a rocket in the 40-car 360 field and topped the main event for his first win here in that class. 

 Spencer Bayston shot out from the pole to lead Madsen and Gio Scelzi early in the going in the 25-lap All Stars feature.  Justin Henderson shot from sixth to fourth to join the lead quartet early on.  Brian Brown moved by Paul McMahan to complete the top five by lap six. 

 The leaders entered lapped traffic on the seventh circuit, and Madsen closed on Bayston.  On lap ten, Madsen briefly led, but Bayston regained the spot by the flag stand.  Meanwhile, Scelzi was on top of both.  He took second from Madsen on lap 12, and then slid in front of Bayston on lap 13 to take the point. 

Madsen followed Scelzi into the second spot on the same lap, and set his sights on the new leader.  On lap 16, he got a run on the low side of turn two, passing Scelzi and taking the lead.  Shortly, thereafter, Scelzi slipped over the turn three cushion and lost the momentum he was building to battle back. 

Henderson was running fourth on the seventeenth lap, when he slowed to a stop in turn four, bringing the only caution of the event.  Madsen led Scelzi, Bayston, Brown and Austin McCarl back to green.   

Up front, Madsen pulled away the final eight laps, while Bayston and Scelzi battled for the second spot.  Bayston would nab the spot for good in turn two with four to go. 

Following Madsen, Bayston and Scelzi, were Brown and Rico Abreu.  Davey Heskin, Austin McCarl, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Tyler Courtney and hard-charger Parker Price-Miller.  Abreu set quick time over the field, while Scelzi, Lynton Jeffrey, Ayrton Gennetten, Madsen and Brown won heats.  Bayston and Paul McMahan won Dashes.  Tasker Phillips claimed the C main, and Bill Balog took the B.  A scary incident in the third heat race saw Sawyer Phillips and Sye Lynch get together and take a series of flips into turn two.  The incident also collected Kasey Kahne.  All three drivers were done for the night.  Lynch was taken by ambulance for observation. 

“We didn’t really know where the predominant lines were going to be,” said Madsen in Victory Lane.  “It was pretty tricky, and you could gain a spot, and lose a spot.  I decided to calm down and just hit the bottom, and we were able to get back by a couple cars.  From there we just stayed down there.  We probably weren’t the best we’ve been tonight, but it doesn’t matter when you get the victory.” 

 “I felt I was setting a pretty good pace,” said Bayston of the early stages of the race.  “I kept hearing them behind me, and when you get to traffic, you never know what’s going to happen.  If you make one slipup, these guys pounce.  You have to be on your ‘A game,’ but I felt we did everything we needed to do…I just needed to race a little better in the traffic.  When the track started going away, I had to get the wing back and that hurt me a little on the bottom.  I still felt we were a really good car overall.” 

 “My car was really good,” said Scelzi.  “I had to wait for it to come to me.  When I got to the lead…everything was happening so fast, I’m not sure how I got to the lead.  Kerry got back underneath me.  I didn’t feel really great on the bottom or the top.  I just didn’t really know where to go.  Kerry drove a better race with a better car and better driver.  Spencer was good too.” 

 The 18-lap 360 feature was the last preparation for next week’s My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals.  Ian Madsen jumped out from his pole position to lead early over Clint Garner and Scelzi.  Shane Golobic nabbed fourth from Ryan Giles on lap two, but a good battle saw the latter regain the spot in the low groove on lap three.   

 Scelzi also used the low line to pass Garner for second on lap four.  The leaders entered lapped traffic on lap eight.  Scelzi gained quickly on Madsen at that point, and passed him for the lead in heavy traffic on lap nine.  Giles worked by Garner for third, and Golobic came on late to gain fourth with three to go.   

 Up front, Scelzi was hitting on all cylinders and put a straightaway between himself and Madsen by the checkers.  Giles maintained third, ahead of Golobic and Garner.  Jamie Ball, Kaleb Johnson, Skylar Prochaska, Calving Landis and Michael Faccinto completed the top ten.  Sammy Swindell and Giles set quick time in their respective groups, while Golobic, Matt Moro, Johnson and Riley Goodno won heat races.  Chase Porter claimed a B main that saw Collin Moyle collect Kade Morton and Mike Johnston on the backstretch.  Swindell tipped over after the checkers in the feature.  All drivers were uninjured. 

 “My car felt really good,” said Scelzi in Victory Lane.  “I haven’t run a 360 in a long time, and I think that helps you.  It just slows you down and makes you hit your marks better.  It’s cool to get a win for this team.” 

 Join us Thursday, August 5 through Saturday, August 7 for the My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or check Knoxville Raceway’s Facebook and Twitter. 

 410 Results 

 Time Trial Group #1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (3), 15.390; 2. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (1), 15.503; 3. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (6), 15.507; 4. 5, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (5), 15.536; 5. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (7), 15.689; 6. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (10), 15.722; 7. 13, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (2), 15.784; 8. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (8), 15.932; 9. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (9), 16.010; 10. 7W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (4), 16.221 

  Time Trial Group #2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (1), 15.578; 2. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (5), 15.611; 3. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (7), 15.647; 4. 83, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (8), 15.681; 5. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (2), 15.683; 6. 55, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (3), 15.712; 7. 55M, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (6), 15.880; 8. 47N, Marcus Dumesny, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (9), 16.028; 9. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (4), 16.078 

  Time Trial Group #3 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (4), 15.665; 2. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (8), 15.688; 3. 7, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (5), 15.699; 4. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (2), 15.74; 5. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (3), 15.879; 6. 9T, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (6), 15.942; 7. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (7), 15.963; 8. 2KS, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (9), 16.115; 9. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (1), 16.146 

 Time Trial Group #4 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 11, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (2), 15.452; 2. 14, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust (5), 15.640; 3. 24X, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (7), 15.769; 4. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (4), 15.815; 5. 26, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (6), 15.949; 6. 10, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (3), 16.029; 7. 4, Cap Henry, Bellevue, OH (8), 16.125; 8. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (9), 16.146; 9. 7C, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (1), 16.330 

 Time Trial Group #5 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (1), 15.456; 2. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (8), 15.738; 3. 5P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (5), 15.938; 4. O9, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (4), 16.073; 5. 1X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (6), 16.247; 6. 5T, Presley Truedson, Kennedy, MN (2), 16.359; 7. O7, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (7), 16.383; 8. 9JR, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (9), 16.497; 9. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (3), 16.741 

  Heat one (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Gio Scelzi (2); 2. Paul McMahan (1); 3. Rico Abreu (4); 4. Carson McCarl (3) / 5. Justin Peck (7); 6. Josh Schneiderman (5); 7. AJ Moeller (6) / 8. Tasker Phillips (8); 9. Riley Goodno (9); 10. Dustin Selvage (10) 

 Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:21.0: 1. Lynton Jeffrey (1); 2. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2); 3. Austin McCarl (4); 4. Don Droud Jr. (3) / 5. Hunter Schuerenberg (6); 6. Bill Balog (5); 7. McKenna Haase (7) / 8. Marcus Dumesny (8); 9. Noah Gass (9) 

  Heat three (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Ayrton Gennetten (1); 2. Justin Henderson (2); 3. Shane Golobic (5); 4. Chad Kemenah (8) / 5. Kyle Reinhardt (7); 6. Tanner Holmes (9); 7. Sye Lynch (3) / 8. Sawyer Phillips (4); 9. Kasey Kahne (6) 

  Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:17.0: 1. Kerry Madsen (3); 2. Davey Heskin (1); 3. Spencer Bayston (4); 4. Terry McCarl (2) / 5. Cory Eliason (5); 6. Cap Henry (7); 7. Zeb Wise (6) / 8. John Carney II (9); 9. Chris Martin (8) 

 Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:23.0: 1. Brian Brown (4); 2. Matt Juhl (1); 3. Tyler Courtney (3); 4. Parker Price-Miller (2) / 5. Jake Bubak (5); 6. Skylar Gee (7); 7. Derek Hagar (8) / 8. Presley Truedson (6); 9. Joe Simbro (9) 

 C main (started), 8 Laps, 2:26.0: 1. Tasker Phillips (1); 2. John Carney II (3); 3. Riley Goodno (6); 4. Marcus Dumesny (2) / 5. Chris Martin (8); 6. Noah Gass (5); 7. Presley Truedson (4) / 8. Joe Simbro (7) DNS – Kasey Kahne, Dustin Selvage, Sawyer Phillips 

 Dash one (started), 4 Laps, 1:22.0: 1. Spencer Bayston (2); 2. Kerry Madsen (1); 3. Justin Henderson (4); 4. Brian Brown (6); 5. Austin McCarl (3); 6. Tyler Courtney (5) 

 Dash two (started), 4 Laps, 1:10.0: 1. Paul McMahan (1); 2. Gio Scelzi (3); 3. Ayrton Gennetten (2); 4. Rico Abreu (6); 5. Carson McCarl (4); 6. Lynton Jeffrey (5) 

  B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Bill Balog (1); 2. Josh Schneiderman (2); 3. Justin Peck (4); 4. Hunter Schuerenberg (3) / 5. Cap Henry (8); 6. Cory Eliason (5); 7. Tanner Holmes (9); 8. Jake Bubak (7); 9. Skylar Gee (10); 10. Kyle Reinhardt (6); 11. McKenna Haase (12); 12. Derek Hagar (14); 13. John Carney II (15); 14. Zeb Wise (11); 15. Tasker Phillips (13) DNS – AJ Moeller, Sye Lynch 

 A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Kerry Madsen (3); 2. Spencer Bayston (1); 3. Gio Scelzi (4); 4. Brian Brown (7); 5. Rico Abreu (8); 6. Davey Heskin (14); 7. Austin McCarl (9); 8. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (13); 9. Tyler Courtney (11); 10. Parker Price-Miller (19); 11. Paul McMahan (2); 12. Carson McCarl (10); 13. Matt Juhl (15); 14. Don Droud Jr. (17); 15. Terry McCarl (18); 16. Shane Golobic (16); 17. Justin Peck (23); 18. Ayrton Gennetten (6); 19. Cory Eliason (25); 20. Cap Henry (26); 21. Chad Kemenah (20); 22. Bill Balog (21); 23. Lynton Jeffrey (12); 24. Justin Henderson (5); 25. Hunter Schuerenberg (24); 26. Josh Schneiderman (22). Lap Leaders: Bayston 1-12, G. Scelzi 13-15, K. Madsen 16-25. Hard-charger: Price-Miller.  

 360 Results 

 Time Trial Group #1 (started), 2 laps: 1. 01, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (4), 16.178; 2. 7M, Chance Morton, Coweta, OK (11), 16.284; 3. 35P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (5), 16.300; 4. 64, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aus (1), 16.339; 5. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (14), 16.368; 6. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (13), 16.380; 7. 83, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (6), 16.419; 8. 35S, Jason Shultz, Carlisle, PA (10), 16.423; 9. 5H, Michael Faccinto, Hanford, CA (19), 16.432; 10. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (3), 16.442; 11. 24, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (16), 16.552; 12. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (18), 16.591; 13. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (7), 16.710; 14. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (8), 16.722; 15. 18W, Lorne Wofford, Alamogordo, NM (12), 16.806; 16. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (2), 16.999; 17. 19, Wes Wofford, Alamogordo, NM (15), 17.019; 18. 8M, Kade Morton, Coweta, OK (17), 17.106; 19. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (9), NT; DQ (Did not scale) 2C, Whit Gastineau, Moore, OK (20). 

  Time Trial Group #2 (started), 2 laps: 1. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (1), 16.236; 2. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (8), 16.358; 3. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (18), 16.458; 4. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (5), 16.461; 5. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (14), 16.471; 6. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (4), 16.516; 7. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (16), 16.520; 8. 22S, Slater Helt, Harrisonville, MO (19), 16.534; 9. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (2), 16.608; 10. 36, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (13), 16.764; 11. 2, Chase Porter, St. Joseph, MO (11), 16.794; 12. 22X, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (12), 16.796; 13. 5M, Collin Moyle, Knoxville, IA (9), 16.798; 14. 2F, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA (6), 16.830; 15. J2, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (15), 16.887; 16. 9JR, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (7), 16.933; 17. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (10), 17.056; 18. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (17), 17.476; 19. 57B, Boyd Peterson, Ithaca, NE (3), 17.606; 20. 42P, Preston Perlmutter, San Antonio, TX (20), NT. 

  Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 1:58.2: 1. Shane Golobic (4); 2. Michael Faccinto (2); 3. Sammy Swindell (6); 4. Garet Williamson (1); 5. Skylar Prochaska (5); 6. Ryan Leavitt (7); 7. Lorne Wofford (8); 8. Wes Wofford (9); 9. Austin Miller (3); 10. Tasker Phillips (10) 

 Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 1:59.4: 1. Matt Moro (1); 2. Gio Scelzi (4); 3. Josh Higday (2); 4. Ian Madsen (5); 5. Jason Shultz (3); 6. Cody Ledger (7); 7. Chance Morton (6); 8. Kade Morton (9); 9. Whit Gastineau (10); 10. John Anderson (8) 

 Heat three (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.4: 1. Kaleb Johnson (4); 2. Chase Porter (1); 3. Nathan Mills (3); 4. Ryan Giles (6); 5. Clint Garner (5); 6. John Carney II (8); 7. Collin Moyle (7); 8. Mike Johnston (9); 9. Boyd Peterson (10); 10. Rob Kubli (2) 

 Heat four (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.6: 1. Riley Goodno (1); 2. Josh Baughman (2); 3. Jamie Ball (6); 4. Slater Helt (3); 5. Christopher Thram (4); 6. Calvin Landis (5); 7. Derek Hagar (8); 8. Casey Friedrichsen (7); 9. Alan Zoutte (9); 10. Preston Perlmutter (10) 

 B main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Chase Porter (4); 2. Derek Hagar (12); 3. John Carney II (10); 4. Garet Williamson (3) / 5. Ryan Leavitt (5); 6. Cody Ledger (7); 7. Casey Friedrichsen (8); 8. Austin Miller (1); 9. Wes Wofford (13); 10. Boyd Peterson (18); 11. Whit Gastineau (17); 12. John Anderson (11); 13. Mike Johnston (14); 14. Lorne Wofford (9); 15. Alan Zoutte (16); 16. Rob Kubli (2); 17. Collin Moyle (6); 18. Kade Morton (15) DNS – Tasker Phillips, Preston Perlmutter 

  A main (started), 18 Laps, 5:27.1: 1. Gio Scelzi (3); 2. Ian Madsen (1); 3. Ryan Giles (4); 4. Shane Golobic (5); 5. Clint Garner (2); 6. Jamie Ball (8); 7. Kaleb Johnson (6); 8. Skylar Prochaska (9); 9. Calvin Landis (12); 10. Michael Faccinto (11); 11. Nathan Mills (10); 12. Sammy Swindell (7); 13. Chance Morton (13); 14. Derek Hagar (22); 15. Christopher Thram (16); 16. Josh Baughman (14); 17. Matt Moro (15); 18. John Carney II (23); 19. Riley Goodno (18); 20. Chase Porter (21); 21. Jason Shultz (19); 22. Josh Higday (17); 23. Slater Helt (20); 24. Garet Williamson (24). Lap Leaders: I. Madsen 1-8, G. Scelzi 9-18. Hard-charger: Hagar.