KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Brian Brown notched another achievement Saturday on Vermeer Night at Knoxville Raceway.
The Grain Valley, Mo., driver drove to his 61st career win, passing Doug Wolfgang on the all-time win list at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.” The driver of the Brian Brown Racing No. 21 was paid $5,000 for his efforts.
Aaron Reutzel repeated his 360 win here of two weeks ago and Kade Higday dominated the Pro Sprints feature in a pair of non-stop events.
Kerry Madsen shot out to an early lead in the 20-lap 410 feature ahead of Lynton Jeffrey, Austin McCarl, Aaron Reutzel and Brown, who started in row four. Reutzel passed McCarl for the second spot on lap two, but Austin regained his momentum on the low side of three and four and passed both Reutzel and Jeffrey to move into second on lap three.
Another car on the move was Tasker Phillips, who used the low side of one and two to pass both Brown and Reutzel to go from sixth to fourth. It came up a bit short when there was contact between Phillips and Reutzel, ending the latter’s night early.
Madsen led McCarl, Jeffrey, Brown and Phillips back to green. Brown quickly took third from Jeffrey. McCarl challenged Madsen for the lead, briefly passing him on lap seven. A stumble allowed Madsen to get back by and showed him the fast low side of the track. Brown used the high side to get by McCarl, but that pass was negated when Ian Madsen stopped with a flat right rear seven laps in.
The restart was the opportunity Brown needed. He hit the high side to pass McCarl for second and then the low side of three and four to outrun Madsen to the line and the lead. A final caution flew for a stopped Gennetten at the halfway point.
While Brown increased his lead, Madsen and McCarl battled tooth and nail for the second spot. McCarl grabbed it low on lap 12, but Madsen returned to the spot with a slider the next time around. McCarl settled onto the cushion and found speed, grabbing the spot for good with two to go.
McCarl gained on Brown the last couple of laps, but fell short. Kerry Madsen held on to third, followed by Davey Heskin and Jeffrey.
Brown set quick time after drawing the last pill in the 34-car field.
“We’re just trying to get these things one by one,” said Brown. “Those things are probably going to be very cool for me as I get older and sit on the porch. Doug Wolfgang is a hero to me. He’s one of the top two or three sprint car drivers of all time. So be able to beat him is cool. I didn’t know. Starting seventh, that lineup had every player in the first couple rows. We got a good start and Aaron (Reutzel) and I raced really hard. He got into it with Tasker and I was lucky to sneak through there. At the end, I wasn’t sure what to do. I knew Austin had been really good. Emerson (Axsom) was kind of in my line in three and four and I couldn’t get off the corner. All in all, we got the win.”
Chase Randall took the lead immediately from the second row in the 18-lap 360 main event, chased by Jamie Ball, Josh Higday, Garet Williamson and Reutzel. Reutzel gained fourth on lap two, and took third from Higday on lap three. He gained second from Ball on lap four and set his sights on Randall.
On lap seven, Reutzel used the low side of turn two to get by Randall and take the lead. The next circuit, he was in lapped traffic and on the move, cruising to his sixth career 360 win here. Randall held onto second, while Ball held off Ryan Grimes for third. Tyler Groenendyk, Williamson, Tasker Phillips, John Carney II, Clint Garner and Higday completed the top ten in the non-stop event.
“We’re just finally getting going,” said Reutzel. “We have a good baseline now and it’s finally all coming together. It’s always fun to come from a little further back than the front row. Chase (Randall) was setting a good pace. I knew the bottom was going to be good, I just wasn’t able to get there on the start with (Ball) down there. Luckily, I was able to get by him and get to the bottom, and get by Chase before he saw the bottom was better. It was smooth sailing after that.”
The 15-lap Pro Sprints feature also went non-stop. Ryan Navritil took the early lead, followed by Jeff Wilke, J Kinder, Kade Higday and Chase Young.
Higday quickly asserted himself, passing Kinder for third on lap two, and sailing around Wilke for second on lap three. With Brandon Worthington also off to a good early start, the pair made a sandwich out of Navratil when both passed him on lap four to move into first and second.
Higday had a three second advantage by the halfway point, and continued to build it as he hit lappers with five to go. By the time he hit the checkers his advantage was eight seconds over the hard-charging Worthington, Matt Allen, Kinder and Young.
The finish:
Feature (20 laps): 1. Brian Brown (7); 2. Austin McCarl (3); 3. Kerry Madsen (1); 4. Davey Heskin (6); 5. Lynton Jeffrey (2); 6. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (9); 7. Tasker Phillips (5); 8. Sawyer Phillips (16); 9. Buddy Kofoid (10); 10. Garet Williamson (12); 11. Chase Randall (22); 12. Justin Henderson (8); 13. Kalib Henry (11); 14. Matt Juhl (15); 15. Dustin Selvage (21); 16. Dusty Zomer (19); 17. Carson McCarl (23); 18. Lachlan McHugh (18); 19. Ian Madsen (20); 20. Christopher Thram (17); 21. Ayrton Gennetten (13); 22. Emerson Axsom (14); 23. Aaron Reutzel (4)