DAVID GRAVEL TOPS WORLD OF OUTLAWS FINALE AT KNOXVILLE!

Feature photo: David Gravel topped the WoO field at Knoxville Saturday (Mark Funderburk Photo)

by Bill Wright :

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 10, 2023) – David Gravel capped off the Premier Chevy Dealers NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws weekend with his eleventh career Knoxville feature win Saturday at Knoxville. 

The Watertown, Connecticut driver earned $10,000 for his victory.  Knoxville regular Garet Williamson had a great night as well, earning a podium finish with the World of Outlaws and winning his first career main event at Knoxville in the 360 class.

Gravel led from the start in the 25-lap WoO feature ahead of Friday night winner, Brian Brown, Williamson, Carson Macedo and Spencer Bayston.  Macedo had the low side working, passing Williamson for third on lap two, and flying by Brown on lap eight for second.  Gravel entered lapped traffic by lap nine.

Macedo looked to be tracking down Gravel when something broke in the Jason Johnson Racing #41, sending him careening into the fence.  The scary incident saw a large fire extinguished by the Knoxville safety crew.  Macedo was helped to the ambulance and at last report was at the Knoxville Hospital for observation.

Gravel chose the inside line on the restart and dominated the final 12 laps.  Brown finished second, ahead of Williamson, Cory Eliason, who drove from sixth to fourth on the restart, and James McFadden.  Brad Sweet, Gio Scelzi, Anthony Macri, Bayston and hard-charger, Logan Schuchart, who used a WoO provisional to start the event, rounded out the top ten.

McFadden and Gravel set quick time in their respective groups and won heats.  Macedo and Brown also won heats.  Dusty Zomer won the C main, Gravel took the Dash and Kerry Madsen claimed the B main.

“It’s pretty funny when we run tenth (on Friday) how everybody thinks that we suck,” said Gravel in Victory Lane.  “I knew as a driver we made a couple mistakes last night and the car wasn’t the best either.  I figured if we both cleaned it up, we’d be just fine.  Hopefully, Carson Macedo is ok.  He’s a friend of mine.  Even though we get into some tussles on the racetrack, he’s still my friend.”

“We’re just worried about Carson,” said Brown, who won Friday and came home second Saturday.  “It doesn’t really matter where we finished.  We’re so very lucky to be at Knoxville with the best fire safety crew in the entire world.  It could have been much worse.  Carson is a fellow competitor and you want to beat him every chance you get, but that’s just a helpless situation.”

“Honestly, on Friday, we sucked,” said Williamson, who finished a career best third with the WoO.  “We went back to the drawing board and where we were at the beginning of the year.  I love Knoxville, I love the atmosphere.  We have great fans here, and to run third to the best right now is pretty surreal.”

Williamson’s work wasn’t done, and he carried his momentum into the 18-lap 360 feature, leading from start to finish after starting outside row one.  Josh Higday ran second in the early stages, followed by Aaron Reutzel, Ryan Giles and Chase Randall.  Randall moved by Giles for fourth three laps in, before Kelby Watt took a wild ride in turn four.  He was uninjured.

Williamson led the field back to green.  Reutzel picked off Higday for second on lap six, but could never reel in Williamson who hit lapped traffic on lap ten.  Randall would challenge for second, but settle for third, ahead of hard-charger Clint Garner and Jamie Ball.  Higday, Terry McCarl, Jake Bubak, Alex Hill and Cam Martin completed the top ten.  Sawyer Phillips and Giles crashed hard on the frontstretch after the checkers were thrown.  Both were o.k.

Phillips set quick time over the 34-car field, while Randall, Williamson, Cam Martin and Alex Vande Voort won heats.  Tyler Groenendyk won the B main.  Joe Beaver also crashed hard in his heat race.  He also walked away.

“This is everything,” said Williamson of his first Knoxville win.  “I came here when I was 16 for my first Nationals, and watched Jason Johnson win this thing.  I saw how much it meant to him, and I told myself I’d come stand in this Victory Lane, no matter what it took.  This place is so special.  This moment will always stick with me.  We’ve been wanting to get this so bad.  It means a lot for us.”

Join us next Saturday, June 17 for Slideways Night!  The 410 class will be competing for a $10,000 top prize as part of the “Border Battle” Series with Jackson Motorplex in Minnesota (Friday) and Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota (Sunday).  The Pro Sprints and 360’s will also be in action!  For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

 410 Results

 Time Trial Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 83, James McFadden, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (5), 15.169; 2. 5, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN (7), 15.315; 3. 11, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (6), 15.338; 4. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (18), 15.339; 5. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (9), 15.342; 6. 11K, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (3), 15.430; 7. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (13), 15.479; 8. 25, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (20), 15.490; 9. 12X, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (11), 15.528; 10. 7S, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can. (4), 15.534; 11. 2KS, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (1), 15.560; 12. 9, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (17), 15.614; 13. 5X, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (22), 15.628; 14. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (8), 15.647; 15. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (23), 15.649; 16. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (12), 15.661; 17. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (15), 15.671; 18. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (14), 15.680; 19. 7, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (2), 15.691; 20. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (21), 15.700; 21. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (16), 15.783; 22. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (19), 15.852; 23. 6, Bill Rose, Plainfield, IN (10), 15.874; 24. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (24), 16.355

Time Trial Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 2, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (10), 15.432; 2. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (20), 15.435; 3. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (2), 15.489; 4. 24W, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (13), 15.607; 5. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (22), 15.629; 6. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (19), 15.632; 7. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (15), 15.656; 8. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (9), 15.683; 9. 19, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (3), 15.689; 10. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (7), 15.704; 11. 6B, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (1), 15.744; 12. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (6), 15.749; 13. 11M, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (18), 15.780; 14. 14, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (14), 15.784; 15. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (24), 15.786; 16. 2J, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (23), 15.810; 17. 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (11), 15.830; 18. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (16), 16.018; 19. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (8), 16.122; 20. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (4), 16.387; 21. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (12), 16.390; 22. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (5), 16.669; 23. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (21), NT;  DQ (Nose Wing), Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (17).

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:09.0: 1. James McFadden (1); 2. Cory Eliason (2); 3. Gio Scelzi (4); 4. Kaleb Johnson (6); 5. Davey Heskin (3) / 6. Kerry Madsen (7); 7. Chase Randall (5); 8. Jacob Allen (8); 9. Brock Zearfoss (11); 10. Riley Goodno (9); 11. Brooke Tatnell (10); 12. Bill Rose (12)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:07.6: 1. Carson Macedo (2); 2. Spencer Bayston (1); 3. Lachlan McHugh (4); 4. Robbie Price (5); 5. Kraig Kinser (3) / 6. Kasey Kahne (6); 7. Aaron Reutzel (10); 8. McKenna Haase (7); 9. Noah Gass (9); 10. Sawyer Phillips (11); 11. Cole Mincer (12); 12. AJ Moeller (8)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:06.3: 1. David Gravel (1); 2. Austin McCarl (2); 3. Rico Abreu (4); 4. Anthony Macri (3); 5. Brandon Wimmer (6) / 6. Parker Price-Miller (7); 7. Logan Schuchart (8); 8. Ayrton Gennetten (5); 9. Justin Henderson (10); 10. Dusty Zomer (9); 11. Gage Pulkrabek (11) DNS – Matt Juhl

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:07.4: 1. Brian Brown (1); 2. Garet Williamson (2); 3. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (4); 4. Brad Sweet (3); 5. Donny Schatz (5) / 6. Sheldon Haudenschild (6); 7. Corey Day (7); 8. Tasker Phillips (9); 9. Lynton Jeffrey (8); 10. Joe Simbro (10); 11. Landon Hansen (11); 12. Frank Rodgers III (12)

C main (started), 10 Laps, 2:43.7: 1. Dusty Zomer (2); 2. Riley Goodno (1) / 3. Brooke Tatnell (5); 4. Sawyer Phillips (3); 5. Gage Pulkrabek (6); 6. Bill Rose (9); 7. Joe Simbro (4); 8. Cole Mincer (7); 9. Frank Rodgers III (10); 10. Landon Hansen (8) DNS – AJ Moeller, Matt Juhl

Dash (started), 6 Laps, 1:36.2: 1. David Gravel (1); 2. Brian Brown (4); 3. Spencer Bayston (2); 4. Garet Williamson (6); 5. Carson Macedo (5); 6. Austin McCarl (3); 7. James McFadden (7); 8. Cory Eliason (8)

B main (started), 12 Laps, 3:16.4: 1. Kerry Madsen (3); 2. Ayrton Gennetten (2); 3. Chase Randall (1); 4. Sheldon Haudenschild (6) / 5. Parker Price-Miller (4); 6. Logan Schuchart (8); 7. Kasey Kahne (5); 8. Corey Day (10); 9. Aaron Reutzel (7); 10. Brock Zearfoss (13); 11. Jacob Allen (9); 12. Justin Henderson (14); 13. «Select Driver» (0); 14. Tasker Phillips (12); 15. Lynton Jeffrey (16); 16. Riley Goodno (18); 17. McKenna Haase (11); 18. Dusty Zomer (17)

A main, 25 Laps, NT: 1. David Gravel (1); 2. Brian Brown (2); 3. Garet Williamson (4); 4. Cory Eliason (8); 5. James McFadden (7); 6. Brad Sweet (16); 7. Gio Scelzi (9); 8. Anthony Macri (14); 9. Spencer Bayston (3); 10. Logan Schuchart (25, prov.); 11. Austin McCarl (6); 12. Donny Schatz (20); 13. Rico Abreu (10); 14. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (12); 15. Davey Heskin (17); 16. Kerry Madsen (21); 17. Lachlan McHugh (11); 18. Kaleb Johnson (13); 19. Robbie Price (15); 20. Kraig Kinser (19); 21. Chase Randall (23); 22. Ayrton Gennetten (22); 23. Brandon Wimmer (18); 24. Carson Macedo (5); 25. Sheldon Haudenschild (24). Lap Leader: Gravel 1-25. Hard-charger: Schuchart.

360 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (15), 16.488; 2. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (3), 16.531; 3. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (17), 16.609; 4. 9G, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (8), 16.651; 5. 8H, Jacob Hughes, Hartford, SD (20), 16.669; 6. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (12), 16.689; 7. 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can. (2), 16.691; 8. 01, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (13), 16.725; 9. 9, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (24), 16.747; 10. 24W, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (6), 16.759; 11. 1E, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (34), 16.772; 12. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (29), 16.806; 13. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (18), 16.828; 14. 27B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (7), 16.856; 15. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (23), 16.864; 16. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (19), 16.937; 17. 7A, Jack Anderson, Newton, IA (9), 16.943; 18. 83, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (5), 16.955; 19. 17, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (33), 16.976; 20. 6A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (30), 16.982; 21. 0, Chase Porter, St. Joseph, MO (16), 16.991; 22. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (14), 17.022; 23. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (32), 17.029; 24. 6, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (10), 17.029; 25. 99, Tony Rost, Omaha, NE (26), 17.067; 26. 5M, Collin Moyle, Knoxville, IA (27), 17.112; 27. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (22), 17.285; 28. 86, Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO (25), 17.323; 29. 7B, Ben Brown, Marshall, MO (31), 17.327; 30. B29, JJ Beaver, Knoxville, IA (11), 17.516; 31. 28, Luke Verardi, Taylorville, IL (21), 17.752; 32. 14, Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (28), 18.012; 33. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (1), 18.030; 34. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (4), 18.185

Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 1:57.2: 1. Chase Randall (4); 2. Jack Anderson (2); 3. Kelby Watt (3); 4. Sawyer Phillips (6); 5. Chase Porter (1); 6. Ben Brown (8); 7. Jacob Hughes (5); 8. Tony Rost (7); 9. John Anderson (9)

Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 1:57.3: 1. Garet Williamson (4); 2. Aaron Reutzel (5); 3. Austin Miller (2); 4. Jake Bubak (3); 5. Jamie Ball (6); 6. Alan Zoutte (1); 7. Collin Moyle (7); 8. JJ Beaver (8) DNS – Dan Henning

Heat three (started), 7 Laps, NT: 1. Cam Martin (1); 2. Josh Higday (4); 3. Terry McCarl (6); 4. Chris Martin (3); 5. Alex Hill (5); 6. Luke Verardi (8); 7. Joe Beaver (7); 8. Tyler Groenendyk (2)

Heat four (started), 7 Laps, 2:00.6: 1. Alex Vande Voort (2); 2. Dustin Selvage (1); 3. Clint Garner (4); 4. Ryan Giles (6); 5. Sammy Swindell (5); 6. Ryan Leavitt (3); 7. Timothy Smith (7); 8. Aidan Zoutte (8)

B main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Tyler Groenendyk (2); 2. Tony Rost (5); 3. Chase Porter (3); 4. Timothy Smith (8) / 5. Collin Moyle (6); 6. Alan Zoutte (4); 7. Luke Verardi (7); 8. JJ Beaver (10); 9. John Anderson (9); 10. Dan Henning (12); 11. Aidan Zoutte (11); 12. Ryan Leavitt (1) DNS – Joe Beaver, Ben Brown

A main (started), 18 Laps, NT: 1. Garet Williamson (2); 2. Aaron Reutzel (6); 3. Chase Randall (3); 4. Clint Garner (12); 5. Jamie Ball (5); 6. Josh Higday (1); 7. Terry McCarl (7); 8. Jake Bubak (16); 9. Alex Hill (9); 10. Cam Martin (17); 11. Chris Martin (18); 12. Dustin Selvage (20); 13. Ryan Giles (4); 14. Sawyer Phillips (8); 15. Sammy Swindell (11); 16. Tony Rost (22); 17. Jack Anderson (14); 18. Jacob Hughes (10); 19. Tyler Groenendyk (21); 20. Alex Vande Voort (15); 21. Timothy Smith (24); 22. Austin Miller (19); 23. Chase Porter (23); 24. Kelby Watt (13). Lap Leader: Williamson 1-18. Hard-charger: Garner.