TASKER PHILLIPS IS FIRST TIME 410 WINNER ON BORDER BATTLE NIGHT AT KNOXVILLE!

Feature photo: Tasker Phillips won his first career 410 feature at Knoxville Saturday, July 27, 2024.

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (July 27, 2024) – Tasker Phillips held off a tough 46-car 988 Lifeline 410 field to earn his first ever win in the class at Knoxville Raceway Saturday on Weiler Night featuring the second leg of the Border Battle. 

Phillips’ 410 Sprintcar win aboard the BDS Motorsports #1 earned him $7,000. Emerson Axsom held off a 62-car 360 field to gain another first win, as he

Emerged victorious in that class aboard the Klaasmeyer/Petry Motorsports #27W entry.

The 988 Lifeline 410 feature saw Phillips start from the pole and take the early lead over Garet Williamson, Rico Abreu, Austin McCarl and Tyler Courtney. Abreu threw a slider on Williamson in turn three to take second on lap two, and McCarl followed him into third on lap three.

Phillips was loyal to the cushion and approached lapped traffic on lap nine. McCarl used the high side of turn four to pass Abreu for the second spot, and began reeling in the leader. Phillips was able to maneuver traffic and kept the lead. He appeared to be good to go, but a Zeb Wise spin with two laps to go brought the only caution of the event.

Abreu used the restart to get by McCarl, while Courtney shot into fourth.  By the time Abreu cleared McCarl, it was too late to make a move on Phillips, who got his first 360 win here earlier this year as well. With his win, Tasker joins Clint Garner, Bronson Maeschen, Randy Smith, Tim St. Arnold, Chris Walraven, Ricky Logan and Carson McCarl as drivers who have won in all three sprint car classes at Knoxville Raceway.

Tasker led Abreu, Austin McCarl, Courtney and Williamson to the finish. Brian Brown, Chase Randall, Aaron Reutzel, Tanner Holmes and Zeb Wise rounded out the top ten. Abreu and Austin McCarl set quick time over their respective flights, and Abreu, Carson McCarl, John Carney II and Holmes were heat winners. Justin Henderson and Tyler Drueke won the B mains. Logan McCandless suffered a hard flip in time trials. He was unhurt, but done for the night.

“I did a pretty good job with about one to go, smashing into the fence,” said Tasker of holding on to his win. “Austin poked his nose (down low) once, and I screwed around and went down there once. There wasn’t nothing there for me, so I just kept beating down the wall. Luckily, we pulled it off! We haven’t had a (good) time all year, and finally we got a decent time. I’ve been telling everyone, if we get a good time and start from the front…I hate winning from the pole, but I’ll take it anyway I can get it tonight. This thing is bad fast…but how treacherous that cushion was, I was (bleeping) razor blades!”

Ryan Giles led early in the 18-lap 360 main event ahead of Sawyer Phillips, Reutzel, Emerson Axsom and Tyler Groenendyk. Axsom was on the move early, shooting from fourth to second on lap two, before AJ Moeller took a scary ride, flipping down the frontstretch. He climbed out under his own power.

Giles led Axsom, Sawyer, Reutzel and Randall back to green. Reutzel quickly gained third, with Randall following him into fourth. Axsom sized up Giles by running the low side and cruised by to lead lap six. Two laps later, Reutzel followed him with a slider into second.

Groenendyk was also on the move, gaining fourth on lap eight, and passing Giles for third on lap nine on thee low side. A final caution came out for a stopped Zeb Wise with eight laps to go.

Axsom stayed steady to the finish, winning over Reutzel, Groenendyk, Tyler Courtney and Randall. Hank Davis, Clint Garner, Giles, Sawyer Phillips and Riley Goodno completed the top ten. Courtney and Randall paced their respective groups in time trials, while Matt Covington, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Kaleb Johnson, Hunter Schuerenberg, Tasker Phillips and Scott Bogucki won the heats. Kaleb Johnson and Tasker Phillips also won the B mains.

“We struggled in the 410 feature, and I knew I needed to get up on the wheel,” said Axsom in Victory Lane. “I didn’t feel like I did well in that race, so I’m super glad we brought this car out, and kind of had a restart on the night. This car is really good. This team is brand new, so to get a win at Knoxville in our first year is pretty impressive. There’s a couple more weeks of 410’s left, so hopefully, we can pick off one of those too. Just because I haven’t always run against the top guys in wing racing, I’ve done it against the best in non-wing racing a lot, and I was just glad to hold them off.”

Join us Thursday, August 1, for the beginning of the 34th Annual Xtream Powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals Presented by Great Southern Bank. The 360 Nationals will be held Thursday through Saturday! For tickets and more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or on Facebook.

988 Lifeline 410 Results

Time Trial Group One (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (1), 16.038; 2. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (22), 16.100; 3. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (23), 16.177; 4. 27W, Emerson Axsom, Franklin, IN (18), 16.181; 5. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (12), 16.202; 6. 23, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (7), 16.216; 7. 5, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (3), 16.225; 8. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (2), 16.248; 9. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (6), 16.286; 10. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (5), 16.332; 11. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (10), 16.344; 12. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (13), 16.356; 13. 83, James McFadden, Alice Springs, NT, A (20), 16.368; 14. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (8), 16.371; 15. 1C, Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, TX (14), 16.564; 16. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (15), 16.581; 17. 19, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (17), 16.646; 18. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (9), 16.734; 19. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (16), 16.858; 20. 6W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (21), 16.934; 21. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (11), 17.006; 22. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (19), 17.285; 23. 17B, Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD (4), 18.078

Time Trial Group Two (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (4), 16.289; 2. 2KS, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (1), 16.590; 3. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (2), 16.633; 4. 1, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (20), 16.742; 5. 2, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (19), 16.842; 6. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (13), 16.852; 7. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (15), 16.904; 8. 22X, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (12), 16.987; 9. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (10), 17.019; 10. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (11), 17.123; 11. J2, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (9), 17.165; 12. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (22), 17.169; 13. 95, Tyler Drueke, Eagle, NE (8), 17.220; 14. 36, Jason Martin, Liberal`, KS (18), 17.244; 15. 6, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (14), 17.253; 16. 45X, Jace Park, Overland Park, KS (7), 17.255; 17. 44X, Scotty Johnson, Melcher-Dallas, IA (23), 17.895; 18. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (17), 18.133; 19. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (6), 18.308; 20. 9D, Dominic Dobesh, Brookings, SD (21), 18.766; 21. 78, Bill Wagner, Reeder, ND (16), 20.241; 22. 29, Logan McCandless, Mercer, PA (3), NT; DQ (Weight) G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (5).

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:18.0: 1. Rico Abreu (6); 2. Matt Juhl (1); 3. Zeb Wise (2); 4. Tyler Courtney (4); 5. James McFadden (7); 6. Brian Brown (5); 7. Justin Henderson (3); 8. Chris Martin (10); 9. Brenham Crouch (8); 10. Hunter Schuerenberg (9); 11. Brooke Tatnell (11) DNS – Ryan Bickett

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Carson McCarl (1); 2. Kerry Madsen (7); 3. Garet Williamson (4); 4. Sawyer Phillips (3); 5. Kasey Kahne (2); 6. Aaron Reutzel (6); 7. Emerson Axsom (5); 8. Mark Dobmeier (8); 9. Tim Kaeding (9); 10. Dustin Selvage (10); 11. Cole Mincer (11)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:22.1: 1. John Carney II (1); 2. Dusty Zomer (3); 3. Austin McCarl (6); 4. Lynton Jeffrey (4); 5. Tyler Drueke (7); 6. AJ Moeller (2); 7. Scotty Johnson (9); 8. Gage Pulkrabek (12); 9. Kevin Ingle (10); 10. Bill Wagner (11); 11. Zach Hampton (5); 12. Brandon Wimmer (8)

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:21.4: 1. Tanner Holmes (1); 2. Riley Goodno (2); 3. JJ Hickle (3); 4. Tasker Phillips (5); 5. Jamie Ball (4); 6. Chase Randall (6); 7. Jason Martin (7); 8. Jace Park (8); 9. Landon Hansen (9); 10. Dominic Dobesh (10) DNS – Logan McCandless

B main one (started), 12 Laps, 3:28.7: 1. Justin Henderson (1); 2. Kerry Madsen (3) / 3. James McFadden (4); 4. Kasey Kahne (2); 5. Brenham Crouch (6); 6. Mark Dobmeier (5); 7. Tim Kaeding (8); 8. Chris Martin (7); 9. Dustin Selvage (10); 10. Brooke Tatnell (9); 11. Cole Mincer (11) DNS – Hunter Schuerenberg, Ryan Bickett

B main two (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Tyler Drueke (1); 2. Jace Park (6) / 3. Jason Martin (4); 4. Landon Hansen (5); 5. Scotty Johnson (3); 6. Dominic Dobesh (8); 7. Bill Wagner (9); 8. Kevin Ingle (7); 9. AJ Moeller (2) DNS – Zach Hampton, Gage Pulkrabek, Brandon Wimmer, Logan McCandless

A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. Tasker Phillips (1); 2. Rico Abreu (4); 3. Austin McCarl (3); 4. Tyler Courtney (7); 5. Garet Williamson (2); 6. Brian Brown (9); 7. Chase Randall (8); 8. Aaron Reutzel (5); 9. Tanner Holmes (20); 10. Zeb Wise (11); 11. Carson McCarl (13); 12. Riley Goodno (16); 13. Lynton Jeffrey (10); 14. JJ Hickle (12); 15. Sawyer Phillips (15); 16. Kerry Madsen (23); 17. Jace Park (24); 18. Emerson Axsom (19); 19. Dusty Zomer (6); 20. Justin Henderson (21); 21. Matt Juhl (17); 22. John Carney II (14); 23. Tyler Drueke (22); 24. Jamie Ball (18). Lap Leader: T. Phillips 1-20. Hard-charger: Holmes.

360 Results

Time Trial Group One (started), 2 laps: 1. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (17), 16.519; 2. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (13), 16.576; 3. 22X, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (7), 16.688; 4. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (15), 16.705; 5. 99, Tony Rost, Omaha, NE (14), 16.731; 6. 27W, Emerson Axsom, Franklin, IN (29), 16.742; 7. 17, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (28), 16.779; 8. 2C, Hank Davis, Sand Springs, OK (2), 16.869; 9. 21, Gunner Ramey, Sedalia, MO (21), 16.880; 10. 24, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (9), 16.896; 11. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (27), 16.898; 12. 41, Colton Hardy, Phoenix, AZ (23), 16.919; 13. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (1), 16.921; 14. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (22), 16.933; 15. 6K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (26), 16.940; 16. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (10), 16.987; 17. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (18), 17.012; 18. 4Z, Dusty Zomer, Brandon, SD (3), 17.016; 19. 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can. (25), 17.048; 20. 98P, Miles Paulus, Marshall, MO (24), 17.049; 21. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (19), 17.098; 22. 01, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (31), 17.109; 23. 5A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (16), 17.217; 24. 7B, Ben Brown, Marshall, MO (5), 17.228; 25. 47, Brant O’Banion, Sioux Falls, SD (12), 17.318; 26. 17B, Ryan Bickett, Ramona, SD (8), 17.348; 27. 6G, Bryan Gossel, Windsor, CO (30), 17.565; 28. 14, Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (20), 17.580; 29. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (6), 17.647; 30. 3R, Russell Potter, Boonville, MO (4), 17.653; 31. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (11), 18.314

Time Trial Group two (started), 2 laps: 1. 2KS, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (17), 16.917; 2. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (19), 16.944; 3. 10, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (16), 16.945; 4. 2M, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (24), 17.059; 5. 6AJ, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (3), 17.062; 6. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (1), 17.076; 7. 86, Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO (18), 17.084; 8. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (31), 17.102; 9. 11M, Brendan Mullen, Grand Forks, ND (2), 17.104; 10. 64, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (8), 17.130; 11. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (7), 17.134; 12. 36, Jason Martin, Liberal, KS (14), 17.136; 13. 4C, Tuesday Calderwood, Goodyear, AZ (22), 17.145; 14. 4G, Cole Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (29), 17.254; 15. 7A, Jack Anderson, Newton, IA (13), 17.265; 16. 23, Seth Bergman, Snohomish, WA (20), 17.311; 17. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (12), 17.343; 18. 7, Tyler Lee, Cedar Rapids, IA (4), 17.353; 19. 71, Brady Baker, Alexander, AR (9), 17.400; 20. 55B, Brandon Anderson, Glenpool, OK (5), 17.430; 21. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (23), 17.464; 22. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (25), 17.503; 23. 16G, Austyn Gossel, Windsor, CO (6), 17.581; 24. 96, Blaine Stegenga, Valley Springs, SD (21), 17.607; 25. 20T, Corey Timmerman, Burlington, IA (11), 17.623; 26. 38, Logan Alexander, Lacona, IA (27), 17.695; 27. 48, Tyler Thompson, Des Moines, IA (15), 17.752; 28. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (30), 18.338; 29. 83, Kurt Mueller, Reynolds, IL (10), 18.569; 30. 17N, Nathan Anderson, Newton, IA (26), 18.735; 31. T4, Tyler Graves, Chariton, IA (28), 19.417

Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 2:04.1: 1. Matt Covington (1); 2. Tyler Groenendyk (4); 3. Tyler Courtney (6); 4. Calvin Landis (2); 5. Jamie Ball (5); 6. Terry McCarl (8); 7. Kade Higday (3); 8. Brant O’Banion (9); 9. Alex Hill (7); 10. Dan Henning (11); 11. Aidan Zoutte (10)

Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 2:03.5: 1. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (1); 2. Clint Garner (3); 3. Aaron Reutzel (6); 4. Hank Davis (4); 5. Tony Rost (5); 6. Miles Paulus (7); 7. Alex Vande Voort (8); 8. Ryan Bickett (9); 9. John Anderson (10); 10. Joe Beaver (2)

Heat three (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.6: 1. Kaleb Johnson (2); 2. Emerson Axsom (5); 3. Dusty Zomer (1); 4. Gunner Ramey (4); 5. Colton Hardy (3); 6. Ryan Leavitt (7); 7. Riley Goodno (6); 8. Ben Brown (8); 9. Russell Potter (10); 10. Bryan Gossel (9)

Heat four (started), 7 Laps, 2:04.4: 1. Hunter Schuerenberg (3); 2. Chase Randall (6); 3. Seth Bergman (1); 4. Tuesday Calderwood (2); 5. Ryan Giles (5); 6. Timothy Smith (4); 7. Brooke Tatnell (8); 8. Corey Timmerman (9); 9. Brady Baker (7); 10. Gage Pulkrabek (10); 11. Tyler Graves (11)

Heat five (started), 7 Laps, 2:02.5: 1. Tasker Phillips (1); 2. Cam Martin (3); 3. Zeb Wise (4); 4. Sawyer Phillips (6); 5. Cole Garner (2); 6. AJ Moeller (5); 7. Brandon Anderson (7); 8. Austyn Gossel (8); 9. Logan Alexander (9); 10. Kurt Mueller (10)

Heat six (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Scott Bogucki (6); 2. Jason Martin (3); 3. Jack Anderson (2); 4. Tyler Lee (1); 5. Brendan Mullen (4); 6. Nathan Mills (5); 7. Tyler Thompson (9); 8. Nathan Anderson (10); 9. Blaine Stegenga (8); 10. Alan Zoutte (7)

B main one (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Kaleb Johnson (3); 2. Kade Higday (1) / 3. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (5); 4. Matt Covington (4); 5. Terry McCarl (10); 6. Dusty Zomer (7); 7. Brant O’Banion (15); 8. Colton Hardy (2); 9. Alex Vande Voort (12); 10. Calvin Landis (6); 11. Ben Brown (14); 12. Alex Hill (13); 13. Miles Paulus (8); 14. Ryan Bickett (16); 15. Russell Potter (19); 16. Bryan Gossel (18); 17. John Anderson (17); 18. Aidan Zoutte (20); 19. Dan Henning (21); 20. Ryan Leavitt (9); 21. Joe Beaver (11)

B main two (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Tasker Phillips (3); 2. Timothy Smith (1) / 3. Seth Bergman (4); 4. Cole Garner (7); 5. Brendan Mullen (2); 6. Brooke Tatnell (8); 7. Tuesday Calderwood (5); 8. Brady Baker (11); 9. Brandon Anderson (9); 10. Tyler Lee (6); 11. Austyn Gossel (10); 12. Tyler Thompson (13); 13. Corey Timmerman (12); 14. Logan Alexander (17); 15. Blaine Stegenga (14); 16. Kurt Mueller (18); 17. Tyler Graves (19); 18. Nathan Anderson (16); 19. Alan Zoutte (15) DNS – Jack Anderson, Gage Pulkrabek

A main (started), 18 Laps, NT: 1. Emerson Axsom (4); 2. Aaron Reutzel (6); 3. Tyler Groenendyk (2); 4. Tyler Courtney (8); 5. Chase Randall (5); 6. Hank Davis (13); 7. Clint Garner (15); 8. Ryan Giles (1); 9. Sawyer Phillips (3); 10. Riley Goodno (11); 11. Jamie Ball (7); 12. Kade Higday (21); 13. Kaleb Johnson (19); 14. Timothy Smith (23); 15. Cam Martin (16); 16. Gunner Ramey (17); 17. Tony Rost (9); 18. Nathan Mills (18); 19. Hunter Schuerenberg (10); 20. Jason Martin (20); 21. Zeb Wise (12); 22. Tasker Phillips (22); 23. AJ Moeller (14) DNS – Scott Bogucki. Lap Leaders: Giles 1-5, Axsom 6-18. Hard-charger: Higday.