KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Lynton Jeffrey led from start to finish to claim night two of the 30th annual MyPlace Hotels Knoxville 360 Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank Friday night at Knoxville Raceway.
The win was worth $3,000 to the Australian who lives in Prairie City, Iowa.
Jeffrey started from the pole of the 20-lap main event. Scott Bogucki trailed in second, followed by Sawyer Phillips, Carson McCarl and Brian Brown. Brown took the fourth spot from McCarl on lap three. As soon as that happened, the top four separated themselves a bit from the field.
For much of the race’s distance, a blanket could be thrown over those top four spots. Jeffrey stayed out front, but Bogucki was right there challenging much of the way. A big Bogucki bid for the lead came on lap nine and again on lap 10.
Blake Hahn’s race came to an end on lap 12, when he emanated smoke and exited the track. Sawyer Phillips held third much of the way on the low side, while being pressed by Brown on the high side. On lap 14, Brown shot by, but Phillips came back and reclaimed the show position with five to go.
Lap 18 brought the only caution when Kelby Watt smacked the wall, flattening his right rear. Jeffrey sailed away the last two laps, but Phillips and Brown gained second and third from Bogucki on the restart. Brown would sneak by Phillips to take the runner-up spot.
Jeffrey’s second win of the season and his career in the 360 class came ahead of Brown, Phillips, Bogucki and Joey Saldana.
“I didn’t really know,” said Jeffrey of how close Bogucki was. “I was just concentrating out front. I guess he got a couple runs on me. I was just being a little cautious in lapped traffic. I think we had a little bit in the tank there, and I was just leaving it a little bit out there. At the end of the day, I just had to put my foot down and go.”
“Sawyer did a good job,” said Brown. “I’ve known him for a long time. These young guys are getting smarter and smarter. He’s using the right lines and it’s difficult to get by sometimes. He did a phenomenal job. Scott did a good job too; I just got a good run off of two. I feel like I let us down a little qualifying. It was a C-minus for the driver tonight.”
“We had this car rolling,” said Phillips. “It felt good to get some clean laps there. We didn’t have anything for Lynton, but I think we could have stayed ahead of Brown if the right rear didn’t go down under the caution. Hopefully, we’ll be locked in for tomorrow.”
The finish:
Feature (20 laps): 1. Lynton Jeffrey (1); 2. Brian Brown (4); 3. Sawyer Phillips (3); 4. Scott Bogucki (2); 5. Joey Saldana (8); 6. Carson McCarl (6); 7. Dylan Westbrook (10); 8. Brooke Tatnell (5); 9. Brock Zearfoss (7); 10. Trey Starks (18); 11. Clint Garner (9); 12. Davey Heskin (16); 13. Matt Juhl (23); 14. Terry McCarl (22); 15. Skylar Prochaska (13); 16. Josh Baughman (17); 17. Josh Higday (12); 18. Chris Martin (20); 19. Christian Bowman (15); 20. Alex Hill (21); 21. Ryan Roberts (24); 22. Kelby Watt (14); 23. Blake Hahn (19); 24. Jack Dover (11). Lap Leader: Jeffrey 1-20. Hard-charger: Juhl.