KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Another evening of great racing capped off an exciting year at Knoxville Raceway Saturday on McKay Group Season Championship Night.
Ryan Timms has been the class of the field in the Leighton State Bank 410 class, and he proved it again, winning his seventh feature of the year at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World.” It was worth $7,000 and was a perfect end for the Oklahoma City native’s championship season at Knoxville.
Veteran Josh Schneiderman mastered the Randall Roofing 360 feature and took home $3,000 for his first in here. Tasker Phillips entered the night with a 79-point disadvantage on leader Kade Higday, but his third place finish, coupled with an 11th-place standing for Higday, handed him his second title by just seven markers.
It was a bit of redemption for the Pleasantville, Iowa native, who was disqualified post-race a few weeks back for not reporting to the scales. JJ Hickle, who declared 410 driver status, won the owner’s championship in the 360’s.
Matthew Stelzer used a late pass of rookie Matthew Botts to take his 18th career win in the Raceway Tire & Muffler Pro Sprints . His win stopped J Kinder’s quest for a perfect season. In the end, the Iberia, Missouri native picked up his third championship and won seven of the eight races contested this season.
The 25-lap 410 feature saw pole-sitter Brian Brown lead early over Chris Martin, Jace Park, Justin Henderson and Ryan Timms. Timms moved into fourth on lap two, before Hank Davis slowed three laps in. It would prove to be the only caution.
Brown led Martin, Park, Timms and Henderson back to green. Timms quickly took third, while Austin McCarl entered the top five, and then took fourth from Park on lap five.
Brown was into lapped traffic by the ninth circuit. At that point, Timms used the low side of turn two to grab second from Martin. McCarl followed him into third a lap later.
On lap 12, Timms used a slider to get by Brown and take the point. A circuit later, McCarl moved into second, and tried to run down Timms in traffic.
McCarl would pull up a couple of times, but in the end, Timms would race home first in front of McCarl, Brown, Park and Martin.
“Three months before Shane (Liebig) and I hooked up, if you would have told me everything we accomplished, there was no way I would believe you,” said Timms. “I’m very fortunate to have such a fast race car, great team guys and a great owner. It’s just a great combination overall. I’ve just enjoyed running Knoxville so much. I appreciate all the fans that support us every week, all the Knoxville track crew, safety crew, just everyone here. This is our home.”
The 20-lap 360 main event began with Hickle leading Alex Vande Voort, Tony Rost, Tasker Phillips and Ryan Giles. Hickle spun out of the lead a lap in, and was forced to restart at the tail.
On the restart, sixth running Joe Beaver flipped, collecting Cam Martin, who also got upside down. Neither was injured.
Vande Voort assumed the lead, ahead of Rost, Tasker, Giles and Matt Juhl. On the restart, Josh Schneiderman jumped from sixth to fourth before Evan Semerad spun, bringing out the final caution.
Vande Voort led Tasker, Rost, Schneiderman and Juhl back to green. Schneiderman was second by lap eight. Vande Voort got into traffic on the thirteenth circuit, and Schneiderman closed in. With a move on the low side of turn three, he took the point with six to go.
Schneiderman would extend his lead to the checkers, and take his first ever win here. Vande Voort finished a career-best second, ahead of season champion Tasker Phillips, late closer Ryan Leavitt and Juhl.
“I have to thank my brother (Jarrod), Tuck for coming back around, my old man (Bart)…he’s always around,” said a joyful Schneiderman in Victory Lane. “He may not be around every night, but he’s always around. We blew up a motor in June, and we’ve (been bad) ever since. We got a flat tire running third. This one is ours, and I don’t really give a (hoot) anymore!”
The 15-lap Pro Sprints feature got off to a rocky start. Clayton Vanderploeg spun after contact with Tyler Thompson and exited. On the second try, Carter Hansen spun into the turn one wall, and Matt Allen stopped on the third attempt.
Once green, the race went non-stop. Leading rookie contender Matthew Botts led Matthew Stelzer, Luke Lane, Devin Kline and Chase Young early. Kline moved up to third, and Young worked his way into fourth by lap five as he and Lane went back and forth in a good race.
Botts was steady up front, but Stelzer used some veteran moves to close in and then slide by to take the point with four to go. Kline would also get by Botts in the closing stages and take second, while Tyler Thompson closed late to finish fourth, ahead of Lane. Young, champion J Kinder, Mike Mayberry, Jeff Wilke and Allen rounded out the top ten. Lane and Young set quick time in their respective groups and Kinder and Mayberry won the heats.
“I’m a little emotional,” said. “I want to thank John and Connie (McCoy) for all their years of service here at Knoxville. I also want to thank J. I’ve raced with J for over 17 years and he’s one of the best guys in this class and is the G.O.A.T. now. I just appreciate racing with him all these years and just wish him the best with what he does in the future. We’ve been trying to get this win for the last month. We lost my grandma in June, and she and grandpa always brought me to the Nationals every year. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have done this. This win is for her.”
The finish:
Feature (25 Laps): 1. 10, Ryan Timms (5); 2. 88W, Austin McCarl (8); 3. 21, Brian Brown (1); 4. 28, Jace Park (3); 5. 44, Chris Martin (2); 6. 2M, JJ Hickle (9); 7. 27, Carson McCarl (6); 8. 11, Justin Henderson (4); 9. 45X, Ashton Torgerson (11); 10. 24, Terry McCarl (17); 11. 22, Riley Goodno (14); 12. 09, Matt Juhl (7); 13. 17A, Jack Anderson (15); 14. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips (19) 15. 49, Josh Schneiderman (12); 16. 2KS, Hank Davis (16); 17. 3P, Sawyer Phillips (21) 18. 15JR, Cole Mincer (22) 19. 40, Clint Garner (10); 20. 4W, Jamie Ball (13); 21. 121, RJ Johnson (18) 22. 31, Koby Werkmeister (23) 23. 10V, Joe Beaver (20) DNS – 24. 8N, Rees Moran.
