NIGHT ONE AT KNOXVILLE: DAVID GRAVEL OUTLASTS THEM ALL!

Feature photo: Friday’s Podium: Rico Abreu (3rd), David Gravel (1st), Parker Price-Miller (2nd)

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 15, 2024) – David Gravel battled to his twelfth career win at the Knoxville Raceway Friday night on the opening night of the Premier Chevy Dealers weekend featuring the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws over a field of 64 cars. 

The event saw four lead changes, and the Watertown, Connecticut driver earned $12,000 for his win aboard the Big Game Motorsports #2. In support Pro Sprint Series action, J Kinder won his third main event of the year here with a late pass.

Pole-sitter Parker Price-Miller led early in the 25-lap main event, ahead of Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild, Rico Abreu and Tyler Courtney. A spin by sixth running Aaron Reutzel four laps in slowed things. On the restart, Haudenschild pulled a slider on Gravel in turn two taking over second.  On lap six, Brian Brown stopped with brake issues bringing another yellow.

Price-Miller still led the field, but Kyle Larson was lurking in the top five before a lap eight caution for Brock Zearfoss. On the restart, Gravel retook the runner-up spot, while Larson moved into fourth. On lap ten, Gravel hit the bottom of turn four and pulled past Price-Miller to the point. On lap twelve, the two traded the lead, while Larson took third.

A lap later, Larson was by Price-Miller for second and setting his sights on Gravel. On lap 16, he shot by in turn two to take the lead for himself. It would be short-lived when his engine went up in smoke with six laps to go.

Gravel held the lead through that restart and another with four laps to go for Zearfoss. Price-Miller held onto second, ahead of Abreu, James McFadden and Courtney. Daryn Pittman, Corey Day, Gio Scelzi, hard-charger Logan Schuchart and Donny Schatz, who was a Non-Qualifier in his heat and battled back to round out the top ten. Haudenschild and Abreu set quick times over their respective qualifying groups. Schatz and Tasker Phillips won the Non-Qualifier heats. Haudenschild, Pittman, Abreu and Courtney won the heats. Sawyer Phillips claimed the C, Price-Miller won the Dash, and Schatz took the B main.

“We had a couple lucky restarts there,” said Gravel. “Early on, we were a little tight, and once I found out Rico was really good on the bottom, I kind of committed down there and made some good laps. We broke a left front shock stud there, and it was getting really hard to run the bottom consistently. I felt if I couldn’t run down there, we would have lost more than running the top. When Kyle passed us, we could definitely tell he was better than us. He could run the cushion a lot better. Once we got back to the bottom, we got back to him. I really wish we could have raced that out. This is a new car and it’s great to break it out and win this one.”

“It was kind of one of those races you don’t want to lead at the time,” said Price-Miller. “I felt good on the bottom. I could hear Sheldon and see him on the screen going down the back straightaway. I went to the top, felt good on the top, and then as soon as I left, it must have laid rubber in one and two. David got by me, and we kind of slid each other back and forth for a lap. He schooled me in turn one. He acted like he was going to run the top, and took my air away going to the bottom. It was really a great run for us. We’re excited to be racing right now when our car is this good, but obviously, we’d like to win.”

“I really just focused on hitting my marks,” said Abreu of winning the battle for third. “It was really understanding the race, and the outside lane was very difficult to take on. I was kind of dependent on Sheldon, who was obviously watching the leader go and the leader gets such an advantage on the inside row. I think you just take a lot of notes on a night like this, and you work on bringing that back for the Nationals. Thank you to Knoxville for working the track and giving us something to race on for 25 laps.”

Brandon Worthington led AJ Johnson, Mike Mayberry, J Kinder and Matt Allen through lap on. Johnson used the low side to pass Worthington and take the point on lap two. Mayberry used his signature middle groove to pass Worthington for second on lap three and Johnson for the lead on lap five.

Kinder claimed third from Worthington on lap seven. The caution came out for Bob Hildreth, when he spun on lap eight.  Kinder claimed second from Johnson on that restart, as Worthington moved into fourth and Gravel to fifth.

On lap 12, Kinder shot under Mayberry going into turn one to take the lead for good. He held it through a restart for a spun Toby Mosher with two to go. Mayberry finished second, followed by Johnson, Worthington and Chase Young. Rob Kubli, Casey Friedrichsen, Allen, Josh Jones and Koddy Hildreth rounded out the top ten. Allen set quick time, and Mayberry and Johnson won heats.

“It was pretty tricky tonight,” said Kinder in Victory Lane. “It kind of started taking rubber towards the end. I found it a little quicker than Mike did. We had some discussion on what we were going to do to the car, and I’m glad we stayed back a little bit. The rubber would have been rough. We’re having fun, it’s the third one this year.”

Join us Saturday, June 15 for the finale of the Premier Chevy Dealers weekend featuring the NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws! The 360 class will support the Saturday show. For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Results

Time Trial Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (1), 15.634; 2. 69K, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (12), 15.672; 3. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (11), 15.742; 4. 10, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (18), 15.798; 5. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (15), 15.802; 6. 9P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (3), 15.814; 7. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (20), 15.815; 8. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (19), 15.868; 9. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (8), 15.871; 10. 23, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (9), 15.906; 11. 2KS, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (6), 15.908; 12. 27, Emerson Axsom, Franklin, IN (26), 15.908; 13. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (17), 15.935; 14. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (13), 15.936; 15. 6B, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (2), 15.954; 16. 2K, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (25), 15.979; 17. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (10), 16.048; 18. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (16), 16.061; 19. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (27), 16.090; 20. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (22), 16.110 / 21. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (23), 16.137; 22. 45X, Jace Park, Overland Park, KS (4), 16.146; 23. 19H, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (5), 16.214; 24. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (30), 16.347; 25. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (31), 16.512; 26. 44X, Scotty Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (7), 16.517; 27. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (28), 16.520; 28. 5T, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK (21), 16.551; 29. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (29), 16.942; 30. 7, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (14), No Time; 31. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (24), NT; 32. 25, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (32), NT

Time Trial Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (1), 16.003; 2. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (8), 16.148; 3. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (10), 16.150; 4. 2, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (20), 16.211; 5. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (17), 16.228; 6. 55V, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (24), 16.231; 7. 13, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (16), 16.296; 8. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (4), 16.311; 9. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (15), 16.364; 10. 27B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (21), 16.369; 11. 83, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (12), 16.353; 12. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (23), 16.390; 13. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (18), 16.393; 14. 83SR, James McFadden, Alice Springs, NT, Aust. (9), 16.400; 15. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (2), 16.443; 16. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (30), 16.556; 17. 8, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (19), 16.616; 18. 27X, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (29), 16.670; 19. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (13), 16.688; 20. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (6), 16.696 / 21. 7S, Landon Crawley, Benton, AR (22), 16.822; 22. 1, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (11), 16.835; 23. 70, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (26), 16.870; 24. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (5), 16.987; 25. 95, Tyler Drueke, Eagle, NE (3), 17.011; 26. 12X, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK (7), 17.017; 27. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (27), 17.263; 28. 6W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (31), 17.366; 29. 15J, Jack Potter, Raymore, MO (14), 17.492; 30. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (25), 17.513; 31. 3K, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (28), NT; 32. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (32), NT

Non-Qualifier Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:32.0: 1. Donny Schatz (1); 2. Spencer Bayston (4) / 3. Hunter Schuerenberg (3); 4. Ryan Timms (6); 5. Jace Park (2); 6. Matt Juhl (5); 7. Cole Mincer (7); 8. JJ Hickle (8) DNS – Zach Hampton, Scotty Johnson, Landon Hansen, Justin Henderson

Last Chance Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:19.6: 1. Tasker Phillips (2); 2. Landon Crawley (1) / 3. Kraig Kinser (3); 4. Chris Martin (4); 5. Tyler Drueke (5); 6. Roger Crockett (6); 7. Dustin Selvage (7); 8. Jack Potter (8); 9. Bill Rose (9) DNS – Sye Lynch, Tim Kaeding, Dusty Zomer

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:18.6: 1. Sheldon Haudenschild (1); 2. Anthony Macri (2); 3. Austin McCarl (3); 4. Brian Brown (4); 5. Brandon Wimmer (8) / 6. Donny Schatz (11); 7. Chase Randall (6); 8. Logan Schuchart (10); 9. Kasey Kahne (7); 10. Sawyer Phillips (9); 11. McKenna Haase (5)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:21.0: 1. Daryn Pittman (1); 2. Parker Price-Miller (3); 3. Gio Scelzi (4); 4. Scott Bogucki (2); 5. Brock Zearfoss (7) / 6. Garet Williamson (5); 7. Brent Marks (9); 8. Spencer Bayston (10); 9. Emerson Axsom (6); 10. Bill Balog (8) DNS – Lynton Jeffrey

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:18.7: 1. Rico Abreu (1); 2. Aaron Reutzel (2); 3. Kyle Larson (5); 4. Carson Macedo (3); 5. Justin Peck (4) / 6. Buddy Kofoid (6); 7. Corey Day (7); 8. Tasker Phillips (10); 9. Cory Eliason (9); 10. Ayrton Gennetten (8) DNS – AJ Moeller

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:18.4: 1. Tyler Courtney (1); 2. David Gravel (2); 3. James McFadden (7); 4. Kerry Madsen (3); 5. Brad Sweet (6) / 6. Kelby Watt (10); 7. Jake Bubak (5); 8. Jamie Ball (8); 9. Carson McCarl (9); 10. Landon Crawley (11); 11. Zeb Wise (4)

C main (started), 10 Laps, 3:06.0: 1. Sawyer Phillips (1); 2. Hunter Schuerenberg (4) / 3. Bill Balog (3); 4. Ryan Timms (6); 5. Ayrton Gennetten (2); 6. Kraig Kinser (5); 7. Jace Park (8); 8. Matt Juhl (10); 9. Chris Martin (7); 10. Roger Crockett (11); 11. Tyler Drueke (9); 12. Dustin Selvage (12); 13. Jack Potter (13) DNS – Landon Crawley, Lynton Jeffrey, Bill Rose, Zach Hampton, Scotty Johnson, Sye Lynch, Landon Hansen, Tim Kaeding, Justin Henderson, Dusty Zomer

Dash (started), 6 Laps, 1:49.2: 1. Parker Price-Miller (1); 2. David Gravel (3); 3. Rico Abreu (2); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (5); 5. Aaron Reutzel (7); 6. Tyler Courtney (4); 7. Anthony Macri (8); 8. Daryn Pittman (6)

B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:49.2: 1. Donny Schatz (2); 2. Corey Day (7); 3. Buddy Kofoid (3); 4. Kelby Watt (5) / 5. Brent Marks (8); 6. Logan Schuchart (10); 7. Tasker Phillips (11); 8. Spencer Bayston (12); 9. Jake Bubak (9); 10. Chase Randall (6); 11. Cory Eliason (15); 12. Kasey Kahne (14); 13. Jamie Ball (13); 14. McKenna Haase (1); 15. Emerson Axsom (16); 16. Carson McCarl (17); 17. Sawyer Phillips (18); 18. Garet Williamson (4) DNS – Zeb Wise, Hunter Schuerenberg

A main, 25 Laps, NT: 1. David Gravel (2); 2. Parker Price-Miller (1); 3. Rico Abreu (3); 4. James McFadden (12); 5. Tyler Courtney (6); 6. Daryn Pittman (8); 7. Corey Day (22); 8. Gio Scelzi (11); 9. Logan Schuchart (25, prov.); 10. Donny Schatz (21); 11. Anthony Macri (7); 12. Austin McCarl (9); 13. Buddy Kofoid (23); 14. Kerry Madsen (16); 15. Brad Sweet (20); 16. Aaron Reutzel (5); 17. Justin Peck (18); 18. Kelby Watt (24); 19. Brandon Wimmer (17); 20. Brian Brown (13); 21. Carson Macedo (14); 22. Sheldon Haudenschild (4); 23. Brock Zearfoss (19); 24. Kyle Larson (10); 25. Bill Balog (26, prov.); 26. Scott Bogucki (15). Lap Leaders: Price-Miller 1-9, Gravel 10-15, Larson 16-19, Gravel 20-25. Hard-charger: Schuchart.

Pro Series Results

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 17, Matt Allen, Norwalk, IA (3), 18.288; 2. 12P, Ryan Navratil, Des Moines, IA (5), 18.638; 3. 7, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (6), 18.695; 4. 88, J Kinder, Linn, MO (13), 18.702; 5. 26, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (8), 18.708; 6. 55, Toby Mosher, Osceola, IA (1), 18.711; 7. 2, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA (4), 18.866; 8. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (7), 18.873; 9. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (10), 18.951; 10. 8J, AJ Johnson, Oskaloosa, IA (15), 19.005; 11. 12K, Koddy Hildreth, Zearing, IA (9), 19.207; 12. 8, William Kline, Knoxville, IA (14), 19.461; 13. 41, Jeff Wilke, Knoxville, IA (2), 19.462; 14. 02S, Josh Jones, Knoxville, IA (12), 19.482; 15. 55KC, Bob Hildreth, Iowa Falls, IA (11), 20.418

Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:57.9: 1. Mike Mayberry (2); 2. Koddy Hildreth (1); 3. Chase Young (4); 4. Casey Friedrichsen (3); 5. Rob Kubli (5); 6. Matt Allen (6); 7. Jeff Wilke (7); 8. Bob Hildreth (8)

Heat two (started), 6 Laps, NT: 1. AJ Johnson (2); 2. J Kinder (5); 3. Brandon Worthington (3); 4. Josh Jones (7); 5. Toby Mosher (4); 6. Ryan Navratil (6); 7. William Kline (1)

A main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. J Kinder (8); 2. Mike Mayberry (4); 3. AJ Johnson (2); 4. Brandon Worthington (1); 5. Chase Young (7); 6. Rob Kubli (5); 7. Casey Friedrichsen (9); 8. Matt Allen (6); 9. Josh Jones (12); 10. Koddy Hildreth (11); 11. Jeff Wilke (14); 12. William Kline (13); 13. Toby Mosher (10); 14. Bob Hildreth (15); DQ (Tire) Ryan Navratil (3). Lap Leaders: Worthington 1, Johnson 2-4, Mayberry 5-11, Kinder 12-15. Hard-charger: Kinder.