DAVID HESKIN TOPS EXCITING $10,000 BORDER BATTLE!

Feature photo: Davey Heskin celebrates his win at Knoxville Saturday with grandfather Butch Maxwell

by Bill Wright

 KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 10, 2023) – Davey Heskin won his first feature event at Knoxville Raceway in ten years. 

The St. Michael, Minnesota driver made his victory count, as he was awarded the $10,000 first prize on Slideways Border Battle Night at Knoxville.  Heskin’s last win here came in May of 2013.  Chase Randall won a hair-raising 360 main event.  It was the Waco, Texas driver’s first at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World” and was worth $2,000.  AJ Johnson also won his first career feature.  The Oskaloosa, Iowa pilot was victorious in the Pro Sprints feature.

Aaron Reutzel shot out to the early lead in the 25-lap main event for the 410’s.  Heskin and Chase Randall tussled for the second spot, before Heskin secured it.  Reutzel was into lapped traffic on lap eight, as the top five spread out a bit.  Brian Brown was fourth early, followed by Lachlan McHugh.  McHugh challenged briefly for the spot before succumbing to Kerry Madsen, who took a top five spot.

Up front, Heskin was slowly reeling in Reutzel, using the bottom groove of the track and getting traction exiting both turns two and four.  On the fourteenth lap, Heskin caught the low side of two just right and jetted into the lead.

The non-stop affair saw Heskin gain the popular victory ahead of Reutzel, Randall, Brown and Madsen.  Austin McCarl, McHugh, Lynton Jeffrey, Sawyer Phillips and Justin Henderson rounded out the top ten.  Brown set quick time over the 32-car field, while Sawyer Phillips, Tasker Phillips, Madsen and Heskin were heat winners.  Kaleb Johnson won the B main.

“That’s just pretty cool,” said Heskin in Victory Lane.  “You know we won the championship here a couple years ago without winning one, and it kind of hit home.  I wanted to win one.  That was fun!  I knew it was 25 laps and I kept waiting and hitting my marks.  I’m just so happy!  I was a little jacked up, I was screaming in the car.”

Ryan Giles used his row one starting spot to lead the 18-lap 360 feature early, ahead of Garet Williamson, Terry McCarl, Jamie Ball and Chase Randall.  McCarl and Williamson had a good battle for second, before Williamson took the spot prior to John Carney II bringing out a caution after spinning six laps in. 

Williamson used the restart to shoot by Giles, but Giles would nail the bottom of turn four to lead lap eight.  Williamson hit the cushion again and passed a low riding Giles again on lap nine in a wild tussle for the lead.  Meanwhile, Randall had improved to third and was reeling in the leaders.

Randall rode around Giles for second with seven to go, and two laps later took a shot at Williamson that didn’t take.  Williamson headed into traffic on lap 14, with Randall close behind.  On lap 17, Randall performed a tight slider to barely clear Williamson, and went on to gain his first every win at Knoxville.  Williamson, Giles, Davey Heskin and Ball followed.  McCarl, hard-charger Clint Garner, Sammy Swindell, Kelby Watt and Jack Anderson completed the top ten.  Ball set quick time over the 37-car field, and Heskin, Dustin Selvage, Swindell and Randall won heats.  Josh Higday claimed the B.

“I wanted that one so much,” said Randall of his exciting win.  “I’ve finished second here so many times.  Second this year in the 410 and in the 360 several times.  I just wanted it all year just trying to get better, watch videos and see what I can do.  I think we’ve struck on something.  Knoxville Raceway put on a great race.  I just love racing sprint cars anywhere I can get.  I’m really thankful for all the rides I’ve been given this year, and all the laps kind of lead up to this.  It’s been a heck of a year and I can’t wait to see how it ends.”

AJ Johnson left little doubt that he was the one to beat from the outset of the Pro Sprints feature.  He got out and left the field behind from the outset.  His celebration would have to wait as the race that was scheduled for 15 laps became a 16-lap event when William Kline stopped after the leader took the white flag.

Johnson pulled away on the green, white, checker finish to win over Brandon Worthington.  The restart was advantageous for Kade Higday, who rocketed from seventh to third the last two laps.  Ryan Navratil would cross fourth, but be disqualified for a tire violation afterwards.  Josh Jones inherited fourth over Matt Allen.  Chase Young, Matthew Stelzer, Jeff Wilke, Mike Johnston and Mike Mayberry rounded out the top ten.  Young set quick time, and Jones and Worthington won the heats.

“Last week you heard Chase say it, but just don’t miss your marks down on the bottom,” said Johnson in Victory Lane.  “What an awesome little team here.  I don’t know the last time a rookie won, but we had high hopes coming in here.  We did it!”

Join us Saturday, July 1 for Mid-Season Championship Night and the Nolan Wren Memorial Presented by Higher View Enterprises!  All three sprint car classes will be in action and Veterans and active Military will receive FREE admission!  Fireworks will also be a part of the evening’s festivities.  For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

 410 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (21), 15.957; 2. 2, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (29), 16.171; 3. 2KS, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (10), 16.187; 4. 25, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aus (20), 16.196; 5. 6, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (23), 16.208; 6. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (16), 16.212; 7. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (13), 16.216; 8. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (26), 16.280; 9. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (22), 16.312; 10. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (15), 16.316; 11. 5, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (31), 16.319; 12. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (7), 16.320; 13. 1X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (18), 16.373; 14. 7, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (5), 16.374; 15. 24W, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (8), 16.415; 16. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (12), 16.416; 17. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), 16.426; 18. 7W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (17), 16.440; 19. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (2), 16.484; 20. 77, Geoff Dodge, Colorado Springs, CO (3), 16.509; 21. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (24), 16.520; 22. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (30), 16.558; 23. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (4), 16.679; 24. 11M, Brendan Mullen, Grand Forks, ND (1), 16.719; 25. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (19), 16.771; 26. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (6), 16.945; 27. 6B, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (27), 17.204; 28. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (25), 17.244; 29. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (14), 17.409; 30. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (9), 17.973; 31. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (32), 18.878; 32. 76, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (28), NT

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:17.9: 1. Sawyer Phillips (2); 2. Zach Hampton (1); 3. Brian Brown (6); 4. Justin Henderson (4); 5. Jake Bubak (3); 6. Carson McCarl (5); 7. Riley Goodno (7); 8. Gage Pulkrabek (8)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:21.2: 1. Tasker Phillips (1); 2. Brooke Tatnell (3); 3. Aaron Reutzel (5); 4. Dustin Selvage (2); 5. Lynton Jeffrey (6); 6. AJ Moeller (4); 7. Cole Mincer (7); 8. Landon Hansen (8)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:21.0: 1. Kerry Madsen (4); 2. Dusty Zomer (1); 3. Garet Williamson (3); 4. Kaleb Johnson (2); 5. Chase Randall (6); 6. Matt Juhl (5); 7. Bobby Mincer (7); 8. Kevin Ingle (8)

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Davey Heskin (5); 2. Lachlan McHugh (6); 3. Austin McCarl (4); 4. Mark Dobmeier (3); 5. Geoff Dodge (2); 6. Joe Simbro (7); 7. Brendan Mullen (1) DNS – Nate Mills

B main (started), 10 Laps, 3:02.4: 1. Kaleb Johnson (2); 2. Dustin Selvage (1); 3. Riley Goodno (5); 4. Bobby Mincer (7) / 5. Geoff Dodge (3); 6. Joe Simbro (8); 7. Gage Pulkrabek (9); 8. Cole Mincer (6); 9. Landon Hansen (10); 10. Kevin Ingle (11)

A main (started), 25 Laps, 7:48.8: 1. Davey Heskin (3); 2. Aaron Reutzel (1); 3. Chase Randall (2); 4. Brian Brown (6); 5. Kerry Madsen (7); 6. Austin McCarl (11); 7. Lachlan McHugh (5); 8. Lynton Jeffrey (4); 9. Sawyer Phillips (13); 10. Justin Henderson (9); 11. Garet Williamson (14); 12. Brooke Tatnell (12); 13. Mark Dobmeier (19); 14. Jake Bubak (18); 15. Carson McCarl (8); 16. Kaleb Johnson (21); 17. Dusty Zomer (20); 18. Dustin Selvage (22); 19. Riley Goodno (23); 20. Matt Juhl (10); 21. Tasker Phillips (16); 22. AJ Moeller (15); 23. Bobby Mincer (24); 24. Zach Hampton (17). Lap Leaders: Reutzel 1-13, Heskin 14-25. Hard-charger: Dobmeier.

360 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (13), 16.119; 2. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (3), 16.305; 3. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (31), 16.305; 4. 9, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (34), 16.404; 5. 9G, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (12), 16.409; 6. 24W, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (25), 16.453; 7. 5M, Collin Moyle, Knoxville, IA (20), 16.465; 8. 87J, Jace Park, Overland Park, KS (7), 16.490; 9. 4C, Chase Johnson, Penngrove, CA (6), 16.538; 10. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (10), 16.578; 11. 01, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (18), 16.589; 12. 4J, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (33), 16.597; 13. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (23), 16.598; 14. 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can. (24), 16.632; 15. 17, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (2), 16.655; 16. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (17), 16.699; 17. 8H, Jacob Hughes, Hartford, SD (4), 16.733; 18. 6, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (27), 16.733; 19. 83, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (5), 16.798; 20. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (36), 16.891; 21. 99, Tony Rost, Omaha, NE (29), 16.916; 22. 7A, Jack Anderson, Newton, IA (21), 16.920; 23. 6A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (19), 16.949; 24. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (11), 16.956; 25. 1E, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (22), 16.961; 26. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (32), 17.080; 27. 21G, Gunner Ramey, Sedalia, MO (28), 17.117; 28. 86, Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO (16), 17.170; 29. B29, JJ Beaver, Knoxville, IA (9), 17.356; 30. 14, Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (8), 17.364; 31. 75X, JT Imperial, Mesa, AZ (35), 17.397; 32. 4G, Cole Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (30), 17.411; 33. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (26), 17.533; 34. 5D, Grae Anderson, Des Moines, IA (14), 17.533; 35. 7B, Ben Brown, Marshall, MO (37), 17.572; 36. 17N, Nathan Anderson, Newton, IA (1), 19.588; 37. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (15), NT

Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 2:02.5: 1. Davey Heskin (3); 2. Tony Rost (1); 3. Ryan Giles (5); 4. Jacob Hughes (2); 5. Jamie Ball (6); 6. Josh Higday (7); 7. Chase Johnson (4); 8. Dan Henning (9); 9. JJ Beaver (8) DNS – John Anderson

Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 2:04.7: 1. Dustin Selvage (2); 2. Jack Anderson (1); 3. Garet Williamson (5); 4. Cam Martin (4); 5. Terry McCarl (6); 6. Alex Hill (3); 7. Joe Beaver (7); 8. Grae Anderson (9); 9. Aidan Zoutte (8)

Heat three (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Sammy Swindell (4); 2. Kelby Watt (6); 3. Alex Vande Voort (1); 4. Collin Moyle (5); 5. Gunner Ramey (7); 6. Ben Brown (9); 7. JT Imperial (8); 8. Austin Miller (2); 9. Tyler Groenendyk (3)

Heat four (started), 7 Laps, 2:03.4: 1. Chase Randall (6); 2. Clint Garner (2); 3. John Carney II (4); 4. Jace Park (5); 5. Ryan Leavitt (3); 6. Timothy Smith (7); 7. Alan Zoutte (1); 8. Cole Garner (8); 9. Nathan Anderson (9)

B main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Josh Higday (3); 2. Gunner Ramey (5); 3. Alex Hill (1); 4. Timothy Smith (6); 5. Ben Brown (13) / 6. JT Imperial (9); 7. Alan Zoutte (2); 8. JJ Beaver (7); 9. Dan Henning (11); 10. Aidan Zoutte (8); 11. Cole Garner (10); 12. Joe Beaver (4); 13. Nathan Anderson (14); 14. Grae Anderson (12) DNS – Tyler Groenendyk, Austin Miller

A main (started), 18 Laps, NT: 1. Chase Randall (6); 2. Garet Williamson (1); 3. Ryan Giles (2); 4. Davey Heskin (10); 5. Jamie Ball (4); 6. Terry McCarl (3); 7. Clint Garner (14); 8. Sammy Swindell (7); 9. Kelby Watt (5); 10. Jack Anderson (17); 11. Dustin Selvage (13); 12. Jace Park (8); 13. Ryan Leavitt (20); 14. John Carney II (12); 15. Tony Rost (16); 16. Cam Martin (11); 17. Josh Higday (19); 18. Collin Moyle (9); 19. Jacob Hughes (18); 20. Gunner Ramey (22); 21. Alex Hill (21); 22. Chase Johnson (15); 23. Timothy Smith (24); 24. Ben Brown (23) DNS – Alex Vande Voort. Lap Leaders: Giles 1-6, Williamson 7, Giles 8, Williamson 9-16, Randall 17-18. Hard-charger: Cl. Garner.

Pro Series Results

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (5), 17.576; 2. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (7), 17.650; 3. 99, Matthew Stelzer, Papillion, NE (10), 17.779; 4. 41, Jeff Wilke, Knoxville, IA (4), 17.788; 5. 17, Matt Allen, Norwalk, IA (6), 17.797; 6. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (8), 17.960; 7. 8J, AJ Johnson, Oskaloosa, IA (1), 18.225; 8. 24, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (3), 18.283; 9. 02S, Josh Jones, Knoxville, IA (11), 18.434; 10. 12P, Ryan Navratil, Des Moines, IA (13), 18.468; 11. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (12), 18.578; 12. 3TJ, Joel Thorpe, Urbandale, IA (2), 18.809; 13. 8, William Kline, Knoxville, IA (9), 19.432

Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:52.7: 1. Josh Jones (2); 2. Mike Johnston (1); 3. Chase Young (6); 4. AJ Johnson (3); 5. Matthew Stelzer (5); 6. Matt Allen (4); 7. William Kline (7)

Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:51.3: 1. Brandon Worthington (4); 2. Ryan Navratil (2); 3. Mike Mayberry (6); 4. Joel Thorpe (1); 5. Kade Higday (3); 6. Jeff Wilke (5)

A main (started), 16 Laps, NT: 1. AJ Johnson (2); 2. Brandon Worthington (6); 3. Kade Higday (11); 4. Josh Jones (4); 5. Matt Allen (9); 6. Chase Young (8); 7. Matthew Stelzer (5); 8. Jeff Wilke (3); 9. Mike Johnston (10); 10. Mike Mayberry (7); 11. Joel Thorpe (12); 12. William Kline (13); 13. Ryan Navratil (1). Lap Leader: Johnson 1-15. Hard-charger: Higday.