KNOXVILLE’S “HARD KNOX NIGHT”: DONNY SCHATZ GETS THE JOB DONE!

Feature photo by: Paul Arch

by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 9, 2024) – Donny Schatz has had a rough week at Knoxville, but a stroke of luck and strong feature drive have him headed to Saturday night’s finale of the 63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s. 

It was the thirtieth win for the Fargo, North Dakota native, who won aboard the Tony Stewart Racing #15. Friday’s “Hard Knox Night” at the Nationals saw the top four qualifying for Saturday’s finale. Other top four finishers, Logan Schuchart, Justin Henderson and Emerson Axsom will join Schatz in Saturday’s finale. (Full lineups below)

Getting to even start up front in the feature took some luck for Schatz. After setting quickest time in his group, he ran fourth in a heat race that only took the top three to the main event. However, when the second place car of Jack Dover failed to go to the scales, he inherited the third and final transfer, putting him on the pole.

Schatz led lap one in the 25-lapper ahead of Schuchart, Austin McCarl, Skylar Gee and Henderson. Schuchart used the low side to get by Schatz and lead lap two, but Donny returned the favor on lap three.  Meanwhile, Henderson took the fourth spot from Gee.

Six laps in Cale Thomas did a 360 spin that brought caution. Schatz led Schuchart, McCarl, Henderson and Lynton Jeffrey back to green. Henderson shot to third on that restart, and on lap 13, Axsom entered the picture, and passed McCarl for the fourth spot. Schatz was entering traffic on lap 14, and a circuit later, McCarl came to a stop on the backstretch.

Schatz paced the last ten laps ahead of Schuchart. Axsom gained third, but Henderson got the spot back on the final lap. Jeffrey finished fifth and will start eleventh in Saturday’s program. Cole Macedo, Spencer Bayston, Kaleb Johnson, Buddy Kofoid and Tanner Holmes rounded out the top ten. Seventy-nine of the 80 cars eligible for Friday’s program competed. Schuchart joined Schatz as a quick timer in his group, and Holmes, McCarl, Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Macedo and Thomas won heats. Ryan Timms won the C main and Chris Windom and Ayrton Gennetten claimed the B mains. McKenna Haase was involved in a scary crash in the heat race. She was taken to the hospital for observation, but returned before the night was over.

“It wasn’t the prettiest,” said Schatz of his 30th win a Knoxville. “But it’s the Knoxville Nationals and sometimes you have to be lucky, too. These Ford motors run so good that sometimes you get to spinning the wheels and that’s what happened to us in the heat. These guys went to work on it and made some changes. We’re going to have to be a little better tomorrow to come through the field, but the first thing you’ve got to do is get in the show. This is our first Friday performance. Sometimes you have to use it to your advantage.”

“The biggest thing is that we’re in the show tomorrow,” said Schuchart. “We started 22nd in this thing before and made a charge, so that’s our goal. We’ll see how many cars we can pass tomorrow. The stress of just qualifying to make this thing is so tough. I would have liked to get a win tonight. I had Donny there in the beginning, and once I went to the top, he got back to the bottom and it was game over then unless we got to traffic. Cautions came out at the right time for him.”

“I feel like I learned a little bit from Emerson there,” said Henderson beside the Guy Forbrook #5x. “I changed my line a bit and was trying to be patient and smart all at the same time. We had a fantastic car here tonight. I’m extremely happy to run this car. I’m super happy to make the A main. This is the Knoxville Nationals and it obviously doesn’t get any better than this. There’s more stress in this race than any other.”

“We made the Knoxville Nationals,” said Axsom. “My stuff is really good. I felt like I was making really good laps there trailing Logan, and I was surprised Justin got back by us. I’m really happy with it, but I guess it hasn’t really sunk in yet. We made a motor change tonight and it paid off. We struggled the last two nights with the 410. I’m really happy with this combination we have going on.”

Join us Saturday, August 10, for the finale of the 63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or on Facebook.

63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s Toyota Qualifying Night #2 Results

Time Trial Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (9), 15.374; 2. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (7), 15.434; 3. 5X, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (28), 15.611; 4. 2X, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (16), 15.632; 5. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (1), 15.657; 6. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (23), 15.678; 7. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (13), 15.703; 8. 1C, Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, TX (2), 15.741; 9. 58, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (31), 15.862; 10. 14J, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (3), 15.874; 11. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (5), 15.894; 12. 22X, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (19), 15.897; 13. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (34), 15.903; 14. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (26), 15.935; 15. 83JR, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (22), 15.943; 16. 55C, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (38), 15.992; 17. 13JT, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (21), 15.996; 18. 24D, Danny Sams III, North Port, FL (8), 16.006; 19. 6B, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (10), 16.039; 20. 6, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can. (15), 16.048; 21. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (27), 16.054; 22. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (40), 16.059; 23. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (30), 16.075; 24. 7S, Landon Crawley, Benton, AR (14), 16.081; 25. 27B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (11), 16.085; 26. 36, Jason Martin, Liberal`, KS (4), 16.108; 27. 23L, Jimmy Light, West Springfield, PA (37), 16.116; 28. 1D, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (39), 16.133; 29. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (36), 16.166; 30. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (17), 16.184; 31. 3N, Jake Neuman, New Berlin, IL (18), 16.206; 32. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (29), 16.209; 33. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (20), 16.224; 34. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (32), 16.263; 35. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (33), 16.295; 36. 11N, Kasey Jedrezek, Lagrange, OH (25), 16.332; 37. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (24), 16.333; 38. 1, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (12), 16.335; 39. 27W, Weston Olson, Warren, MN (6), 16.601; 40. 23M, Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (35), 16.694

Time Trial Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (8), 15.740; 2. 99, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (1), 15.901; 3. 27A, Emerson Axsom, Franklin, IN (36), 15.940; 4. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (6), 15.992; 5. 19S, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (31), 16.017; 6. 48, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (2), 16.028; 7. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (38), 16.055; 8. 21T, Cole Macedo, Lemoore, CA (16), 16.057; 9. 17GP, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN (39), 16.076; 10. 3G, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (10), 16.089; 11. 70, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (7), 16.130; 12. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (12), 16.159; 13. 2M, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (22), 16.165; 14. 9P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (37), 16.168; 15. 49X, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (24), 16.219; 16. 25, Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, OK (4), 16.219; 17. 35, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (14), 16.221; 18. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (27), 16.231; 19. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (23), 16.266; 20. 6W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (3), 16.288; 21. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (33), 16.302; 22. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (29), 16.331; 23. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (30), 16.386; 24. 88T, Tanner Thorson, Minden, NV (28), 16.390; 25. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (34), 16.420; 26. 45X, Jace Park, Overland Park, KS (25), 16.459; 27. 74, Xavier Doney, Odessa, MO (13), 16.461; 28. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (19), 16.486; 29. J2, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (15), 16.490; 30. 19H, Joel Myers Jr., Sebastopol, CA (9), 16.503; 31. 10V, Brian Paulus, Six Mile, SC (26), 16.531; 32. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (35), 16.566; 33. 53, Jessie Attard, Landilo, NSW, Aust. (11), 16.638; 34. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (21), 16.724; 35. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (17), 16.730; 36. 5T, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK (20), 16.735; 37. 95, Tyler Drueke, Eagle, NE (32), 16.889; 38. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (5), 17.016; 39. 28, Joe Perry, Billings, MT (18), 17.595

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:10.9: 1. Tanner Holmes (2); 2. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 3. Donny Schatz (4) / 4. Chris Windom (6); 5. Brandon Wimmer (7); 6. Kyle Reinhardt (10); 7. Jason Martin (9); 8. Kelby Watt (11); 9. Kasey Jedrezek (12); 10. Terry McCarl (5); 11. McKenna Haase (8); DQ (No Report to Scales) 12. Jack Dover (1)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.6: 1. Austin McCarl (4); 2. Brenham Crouch (2); 3. Spencer Bayston (1) / 4. Aaron Reutzel (3); 5. Sye Lynch (5); 6. Mark Dobmeier (6); 7. Landon Crawley (8); 8. Sawyer Phillips (7); 9. Chris Martin (11); 10. Ryan Roberts (12); 11. Jimmy Light (9); 12. Gage Pulkrabek (10)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Kaleb Johnson (2); 2. Justin Henderson (4); 3. Buddy Kofoid (5) / 4. JJ Hickle (1); 5. Jamie Ball (3); 6. Tasker Phillips (9); 7. Jake Bubak (8); 8. Danny Sams III (6); 9. Clint Garner (7); 10. Jake Neuman (10); 11. Cole Mincer (11); 12. Sammy Swindell (12)

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.5: 1. Kasey Kahne (3); 2. Logan Schuchart (4); 3. Blake Hahn (2) / 4. Ayrton Gennetten (1); 5. Tim Kaeding (8); 6. Daison Pursley (6); 7. Don Droud Jr. (10); 8. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (9); 9. Brooke Tatnell (12); 10. Riley Goodno (7); 11. Ryan Giles (5); 12. Brian Paulus (11)

Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.4: 1. Cole Macedo (2); 2. Hunter Schuerenberg (3); 3. Skylar Gee (4) / 4. Parker Price-Miller (5); 5. Kraig Kinser (1); 6. Zach Hampton (6); 7. Carson McCarl (8); 8. Dustin Selvage (7); 9. Jace Park (9); 10. John Carney II (10); 11. Kevin Ingle (11); 12. Jordan Goldesberry (12)

Heat six (started), 8 Laps, 2:13.0: 1. Cale Thomas (2); 2. Christopher Thram (1); 3. Emerson Axsom (4); 4. Danny Dietrich (3); 5. Zeb Wise (6); 6. Tim Shaffer (5); 7. Kerry Madsen (7); 8. Xavier Doney (9); 9. Tanner Thorson (8); 10. Ryan Timms (12); 11. Joel Myers Jr. (10); 12. Jessie Attard (11)

C main (started), 10 Laps, 2:52.0: 1. Ryan Timms (4); 2. Riley Goodno (1); 3. Ryan Roberts (2); 4. Jake Neuman (3); 5. Ryan Giles (6); 6. Jack Dover (9); 7. Joel Myers Jr. (10); 8. Cole Mincer (7); 9. Jimmy Light (5); 10. Brian Paulus (12); 11. Tyler Drueke (17); 12. Jessie Attard (16) / 13. Sammy Swindell (13); 14. Lance Moss (18); 15. Jordan Goldesberry (14); 16. Weston Olson (15); 17. Landon Hansen (19); 18. Joe Perry (20); 19. Kevin Ingle (8); 20. Gage Pulkrabek (11) DNS – Terry McCarl, John Carney II, McKenna Haase, Josh Schneiderman, Robbie Price

B main one (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Chris Windom (1); 2. Sye Lynch (4); 3. JJ Hickle (2); 4. Brandon Wimmer (3); 5. Kyle Reinhardt (6); 6. Jason Martin (9); 7. Jamie Ball (5); 8. Jake Bubak (11); 9. Ryan Timms (18); 10. Landon Crawley (10); 11. Mark Dobmeier (7); 12. Danny Sams III (14); 13. Chris Martin (16); 14. Kelby Watt (12); 15. Ryan Roberts (19); 16. Kasey Jedrezek (15); 17. Ryan Giles (20); 18. Tyler Drueke (23); 19. Sawyer Phillips (13); 20. Joel Myers Jr. (21); 21. Jimmy Light (22); 22. Tasker Phillips (8); 23. Clint Garner (17) DNS – Aaron Reutzel

B main two (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Ayrton Gennetten (1); 2. Parker Price-Miller (2); 3. Danny Dietrich (3); 4. Zeb Wise (6); 5. Tim Kaeding (4); 6. Zach Hampton (8); 7. Kerry Madsen (12); 8. Kraig Kinser (5); 9. Don Droud Jr. (10); 10. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (13); 11. Riley Goodno (19); 12. Jace Park (17); 13. Xavier Doney (15); 14. Dustin Selvage (14); 15. Brooke Tatnell (16); 16. Jessie Attard (24); 17. Jack Dover (21); 18. Carson McCarl (11); 19. Tanner Thorson (18); 20. Cole Mincer (22); 21. Jake Neuman (20); 22. Tim Shaffer (9); 23. Brian Paulus (23); 24. Daison Pursley (7)

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Donny Schatz (1); 2. Logan Schuchart (2); 3. Justin Henderson (5); 4. Emerson Axsom (6); 5. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 6. Cole Macedo (14); 7. Spencer Bayston (15); 8. Kaleb Johnson (13); 9. Buddy Kofoid (17); 10. Tanner Holmes (9); 11. Skylar Gee (4); 12. Parker Price-Miller (22); 13. Hunter Schuerenberg (10); 14. Kasey Kahne (8); 15. Danny Dietrich (24); 16. Brenham Crouch (11); 17. Ayrton Gennetten (20); 18. Chris Windom (19); 19. JJ Hickle (23); 20. Cale Thomas (16); 21. Christopher Thram (18); 22. Sye Lynch (21); 23. Blake Hahn (12); 24. Austin McCarl (3). Lap Leaders: Schatz 1, Schuchart 2, Schatz 3-25. Hard-charger: Price-Miller.

Saturday Lineups

A Main (50 Laps): 1. 57-Kyle Larson; 2. 69K-Daryn Pittman; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney; 4. 41-Carson Macedo; 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi; 6. 24R-Rico Abreu; 7. 21-Brian Brown; 8. 39M-Anthony Macri; 9. 21H-Brady Bacon; 10. 10-Scott Bogucki; 11. 14-Corey Day; 12. 19-Brent Marks; 13. 17B-Bill Balog; 14. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild; 15. 2KS-Chase Randall; 16. 1A-Jacob Allen; 17. B Main Transfer #1 18. B Main Transfer #2 19. B Main Transfer #3 20. B Main Transfer #4 21. Donny Schatz 22. Logan Schuchart 23. Justin Henderson 24. Emerson Axsom

B Main (22 Laps): 1. 49-Brad Sweet; 2. 13-Justin Peck; 3. 83SR-James McFadden; 4. 8-Cory Eliason; 5. 09-Matt Juhl; 6. 2-David Gravel; 7. 23-Garet Williamson; 8. 3J-Dusty Zomer; 9. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss; 10. 33W-Cap Henry; 11. 2X-Lynton Jeffrey; 12. 21T-Cole Macedo; 13. 5-Spencer Bayston; 14. 58-Kaleb Johnson; 15. 83JR-Michael Kofoid; 16. 18T-Tanner Holmes; 17. 99-Skylar Gee; 18. 9P-Parker Price Miller; 19. 19S-Hunter Schuerenberg; 20. 9-Kasey Kahne

C Main (15 Laps): 1. 48-Danny Dietrich; 2. 1C-Brenham Crouch; 3. 3G-Ayrton Gennetten; 4. 55C-Chris Windom; 5. 22X-JJ Hickle; 6. 17GP-Cale Thomas; 7. 24T-Christopher Thram; 8. 42-Sye Lynch; 9. 52-Blake Hahn; 10. 88-Austin McCarl; 11. 6B-Brandon Wimmer; 12. 26-Zeb Wise; 13. 91-Kyle Reinhardt; 14. 3-Tim Kaeding; 15. 36-Jason Martin; 16. 35-Zach Hampton; 17. 4W-Jamie Ball; 18. 55-Kerry Madsen; 19. 27B-Jake Bubak; 20. 70-Kraig Kinser

D Main (12 Laps): 1. 5T-Ryan Timms; 2. 1M-Don Droud Jr; 3. 7S-Landon Crawley; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr; 5. 13JT-Mark Dobmeier; 6. 22-Riley Goodno; 7. 24D-Danny Sams III; 8. 45X-Jace Park; 9. 44-Chris Martin; 10. 74-Xavier Doney; 11. 1K-Kelby Watt; 12. 6W-Dustin Selvage; 13. 18R-Ryan Roberts; 14. 14T-Brooke Tatnell; 15. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek; 16. 53-Jessie Attard; 17. 2M-Ryan Giles; 18. 14J-Jack Dover; 19. 95-Tyler Drueke; 20. 27-Carson McCarl

E Main (10 Laps): 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips; 2. 88T-Tanner Thorson; 3. 19H-Joel Myers; 4. 15JR-Cole Mincer; 5. 23L-Jimmy Light; 6. 3N-Jake Neuman; 7. 1D-Tasker Phillips; 8. 49X-Tim Shaffer; 9. 40-Clint Garner; 10. 10V-Brian Paulus; 11. 87-Aaron Reutzel; 12. 25-Daison Pursley; 13. 1-Sammy Swindell; 14. 23M-Lance Moss; 15. 65-Jordan Goldesberry; 16. 27W-Weston Olson; 17. 9H-Landon Hansen; 18. 28-Joe Perry; 19. 2K-Kevin Ingle; 20. G5-Gage Pulkrabek; 21. 24-Terry McCarl; 22. J2-John Carney II; 23. 55T-McKenna Haase; 24. 6-Robbie Price; 25. 49J-Josh Schneiderman; 26. 101-Kalib Henry