BRIAN BROWN THUMPS WORLD OF OUTLAWS AT KNOXVILLE!

By: Bill Wright

Feature photo: Brian Brown celebrates his WoO win Friday at Knoxville with 2nd place Rico Abreu (L) and Brad Sweet (R)

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 9, 2023) – Brian Brown won one for the Knoxville regulars Friday on Premier Chevy Dealers Night featuring the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws.  The win was Brown’s 63^rd career victory at Knoxville, was worth $10,000 and came aboard the Brian Brown Racing #21.  Chase Young won his second career feature here in the Pro Sprints Class.

Austin McCarl earned the pole and led the 25-lap WoO main event early ahead of Brown, James McFadden, Rico Abreu and Brad Sweet.  While McCarl found the low groove to his liking, Brown hit the high side and rocketed into the lead on the high side of turn two on the second circuit.

Brown pulled away from McCarl before entering lapped traffic on lap ten.  Sweet used the low groove to pass Abreu for fourth at the halfway point.  With ten to go, Brown had built nearly a three second lead on McCarl, while the race for second, third and fourth heated up.

Sweet cruised by McFadden on lap 16, and then drove under McCarl into second with six to go.  Abreu’s car was also working well late, and he took fourth from McFadden with five to go, and shot around McCarl for third with two laps remaining.

Up front, Brown had no peer to the checkers.  Abreu shot by Sweet for second in the last corner, and McCarl and Carson Macedo completed the top five.  McFadden, Gio Scelzi, Logan Schuchart, hard-charger Donny Schatz and David Gravel rounded out the top ten.  Macedo and Abreu set quick time over their respective groups and won their heat races.  Gravel and Brown were also heat winners.  Chase Randall took the C main, McCarl won the Dash and Aaron Reutzel claimed the B main.

“I ran as hard the last lap as I did the first lap,” said Brown of his victory.  “I kept watching the board seeing the 49 was in second.  We’re clicking on all cylinders right now.  I was so proud to see Austin on the pole and us starting third.  To have a rivalry (with the WoO) you need to beat these guys.  I feel like we don’t do it enough.  I’ve been known to run the top probably more than I should.  I think I’ve run the bottom just as well as I ever have in the past.  I felt like when I went down there it was pretty good.  I knew Brad runs the bottom as well as anybody in the world, so if anything else I could mess up his timing.  And Rico…you never know.  He’s having a phenomenal year.  I’m proud of this team.  Come back tomorrow and see if we can do it again.”

“The last ten laps I could hit my marks a whole lot better,” said Abreu.  “Outlaw races are tough to come by to get wins.  We’re right there in the hunt, so if we can consistently do this…this is the greatest time I’ve had driving sprint cars.  Once I got some clean air on my nose, I could get through the corners a lot faster.  I got by McCarl and it opened the top up to me to run down Sweet.  I just rifled through there and turned down the hill in four to barely sneak by (Sweet at the finish).

“I felt really good in the middle part of the race,” said Sweet.  “I kept looking up because I thought I was making good time and good laps.  I could see Brian was pretty far ahead.  I just kind of got caught up in lapped cars at the end.  I had a really good rhythm and had the lines working.  I felt when I had to move off that, I wasn’t as good as I needed to be in the lapped cars.  I think we made progress all night long, and there were parts in the A main where I felt I was as good as anyone.”

Chase Young led from the pole from the outset in the 15-lap Pro Sprints feature ahead of Matt Allen and J Kinder.  Matthew Stelzer, who was slated for the front row outside, had trouble making the call, and slowed one lap in, and retired.

On the restart, Kade Higday shot from fourth to second in an attempt to run down Young.  Young approached the lapper of William Kline on lap nine and slowed.  Higday gained on him and the pair split Kline with Young keeping his lead on the low side, and Higday challenging up top.  Kline would slow with two laps to go, setting up a green, white, checker finish.

Young pulled away for his second career win here, ahead of Higday, Mike Mayberry, hard-charger Ryan Navritil and Allen.  Kinder, AJ Johnson, Brandon Worthington, Toby Mosher and Mike Johnston completed the top ten.  Allen set quick time and won his heat.  Josh Jones won the other heat.

“We were able to stick the bottom,” said Young of his winning run.  “That’s pretty much it with our class unless you have to pass.  Hit your marks.  It was pretty slick in one and two, but I could just hammer three and four.  It was a rough night for us a little bit, but we were out in clean air.  We’ve been knocking at the door.  We’ve been really fast all year.  I’m just happy to finally get ‘er done!”

Join us Saturday night for the Premier Chevy Dealers World of Outlaws finale!  The Knoxville 360 class will also be in action!  For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

410 Results

Time Trials Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (2), 15.379; 2. 2, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (25), 15.417; 3. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (1), 15.418; 4. 19, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (9), 15.422; 5. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (5), 15.523; 6. 83, James McFadden, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (7), 15.542; 7. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (18), 15.546; 8. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (12), 15.592; 9. 7S, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can. (13), 15.6; 10. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (3), 15.660; 11. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (16), 15.674; 12. 24W, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (21), 15.689; 13. 25, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (8), 15.728; 14. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (17), 15.738; 15. 2KS, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (6), 15.763; 16. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (11), 15.834; 17. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (24), 15.840; 18. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (15), 15.840; 19. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (4), 15.980; 20. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (19), 15.983; 21. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (22), 16.239; 22. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (20), 16.326; 23. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (14), 16.557; 24. 6X, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (23), 16.901; 25. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (10), NT.

Time Trials Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (3), 15.460; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (8), 15.562; 3. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (4), 15.585; 4. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (11), 15.612; 5. 11, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (1), 15.625; 6. 2J, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (22), 15.636; 7. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (15), 15.656; 8. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (9), 15.671; 9. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (2), 15.678; 10. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (21), 15.700; 11. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (16), 15.748; 12. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (13), 15.818; 13. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (10), 15.868; 14. 11M, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (6), 15.880; 15. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (17), 15.896; 16. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (12), 15.896; 17. 12X, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (23), 15.904; 18. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (5), 15.944; 19. 6B, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (18), 15.983; 20. 5X, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (24), 16.064; 21. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (20), 16.153; 22. 7, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (14), 16.162; 23. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (7), 17.231; 24. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (19), 17.401.

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:11.2: 1. Carson Macedo (1); 2. Austin McCarl (3); 3. Gio Scelzi (2); 4. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4); 5. Dusty Zomer (6) / 6. Robbie Price (5); 7. Lachlan McHugh (7); 8. Bill Balog (9); 9. Kaleb Johnson (8); 10. McKenna Haase (10); 11. Bill Rose (11); 12. Cole Mincer (12) DNS – Justin Henderson

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:09.5: 1. David Gravel (1); 2. James McFadden (3); 3. Logan Schuchart (4); 4. Donny Schatz (9); 5. Ayrton Gennetten (2) / 6. Garet Williamson (6); 7. Jacob Allen (7); 8. Tasker Phillips (5); 9. Kraig Kinser (10); 10. Noah Gass (8); 11. Joe Simbro (11); 12. Frank Rodgers III (12)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:11.0: 1. Rico Abreu (1); 2. Anthony Macri (2); 3. Cory Eliason (3); 4. Corey Day (5); 5. Spencer Bayston (6) / 6. Davey Heskin (4); 7. Kasey Kahne (8); 8. Riley Goodno (11); 9. Brandon Wimmer (10); 10. Chase Randall (9); 11. AJ Moeller (7); 12. Gage Pulkrabek (12)

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.0: 1. Brian Brown (1); 2. Brad Sweet (4); 3. Brock Zearfoss (2); 4. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (5) / 6. Aaron Reutzel (8); 7. Matt Juhl (6); 8. Brooke Tatnell (11); 9. Sawyer Phillips (9); 10. Kerry Madsen (10); 11. Parker Price-Miller (7); 12. Landon Hansen (12)

C main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Chase Randall (2); 2. Parker Price-Miller (6) / 3. Noah Gass (3); 4. AJ Moeller (4); 5. McKenna Haase (1); 6. Joe Simbro (7); 7. Landon Hansen (10); 8. Gage Pulkrabek (8); 9. Frank Rodgers III (11); 10. Cole Mincer (9); 11. Bill Rose (5) DNS – Kerry Madsen, Justin Henderson

Dash (started), 6 Laps, 1:41.3: 1. Austin McCarl (1); 2. James McFadden (2); 3. Brian Brown (4); 4. Rico Abreu (5); 5. Brad Sweet (3); 6. David Gravel (7); 7. Carson Macedo (6); 8. Anthony Macri (8)

B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:29.3: 1. Aaron Reutzel (4); 2. Davey Heskin (2); 3. Jacob Allen (7); 4. Kasey Kahne (6); 5. Robbie Price (1); 6. Garet Williamson (3); 7. Matt Juhl (8); 8. Tasker Phillips (11); 9. Lachlan McHugh (5); 10. Parker Price-Miller (18); 11. Brooke Tatnell (12); 12. Chase Randall (17); 13. Riley Goodno (10); 14. Bill Balog (9); 15. Kaleb Johnson (13); 16. Sawyer Phillips (16); 17. Kraig Kinser (15); 18. Brandon Wimmer (14)

A main (started), 25 Laps, 7:36.4: 1. Brian Brown (3); 2. Rico Abreu (4); 3. Brad Sweet (5); 4. Austin McCarl (1); 5. Carson Macedo (7); 6. James McFadden (2); 7. Gio Scelzi (9); 8. Logan Schuchart (11); 9. Donny Schatz (15); 10. David Gravel (6); 11. Cory Eliason (10); 12. Corey Day (14); 13. Anthony Macri (8); 14. Brock Zearfoss (12); 15. Sheldon Haudenschild (20); 16. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (13); 17. Spencer Bayston (18); 18. Davey Heskin (22); 19. Ayrton Gennetten (19); 20. Jacob Allen (23); 21. Kasey Kahne (24); 22. Dusty Zomer (17); 23. Robbie Price (25); 24. Aaron Reutzel (21); 25. Lynton Jeffrey (16). Lap Leaders: A. McCarl 1, Brown 2-25. Hard-charger: Schatz.

Pro Series Results

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 17, Matt Allen, Norwalk, IA (11), 17.773; 2. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (6), 17.796; 3. 88, J Kinder, Iberia, MO (3), 18.015; 4. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (9), 18.086; 5. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (1), 18.432; 6. 24, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (5), 18.432; 7. 8J, AJ Johnson, Oskaloosa, IA (7), 18.475; 8. 55, Toby Mosher, Osceola, IA (14), 18.514; 9. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (8), 18.525; 10. 02S, Josh Jones, Knoxville, IA (2), 18.536; 11. 41, Jeff Wilke, Knoxville, IA (15), 18.590; 12. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (4), 18.685; 13. 3TJ, Joel Thorpe, Urbandale, IA (13), 19.310; 14. 8, William Kline, Knoxville, IA (12), 21.633; 15. 12P, Ryan Navratil, Des Moines, IA (10), NT.

Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:53.9: 1. Matt Allen (6); 2. Brandon Worthington (2); 3. Jeff Wilke (1); 4. AJ Johnson (3); 5. Ryan Navratil (8); 6. J Kinder (5); 7. Mike Mayberry (4); 8. Joel Thorpe (7)

Heat two (started), 6 Laps, NT: 1. Josh Jones (2); 2. Kade Higday (4); 3. Toby Mosher (3); 4. Chase Young (5); 5. Matthew Stelzer (6); 6. Mike Johnston (1); 7. William Kline (7)

A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. Chase Young (1); 2. Kade Higday (3); 3. Mike Mayberry (8); 4. Ryan Navratil (13); 5. Matt Allen (2); 6. J Kinder (4); 7. AJ Johnson (9); 8. Brandon Worthington (7); 9. Toby Mosher (6); 10. Mike Johnston (10); 11. Josh Jones (5); 12. Joel Thorpe (15); 13. Jeff Wilke (11); 14. William Kline (12); 15. Matthew Stelzer (14). Lap Leaders: Young 1-15. Hard-charger: Navratil.