KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Brian Brown could have started deeper in the field on Saturday’s Van Wall/Marion County Fair and Border Battle Night at the Knoxville Raceway and still won.
As it was, he charged from outside row seven, took the lead with seven to go, and cruised to victory against a stout 40-car field to garner $7,000 and a half a beef.
Kaleb Johnson led early in the 20-lap feature, ahead of Carson McCarl, Austin McCarl, JJ Hickle and Chris Martin.
Brown, who was scheduled to start 16th, but gained a row after a scratch by Jamie Ball, was already sixth by the third lap, and then moved by Martin into the top five on lap five. At that point, Jy Corbet slowed to bring a caution.
Johnson led Carson McCarl, Austin McCarl, Hickle and Brown back to green. Carson worked a slide job in turn one to take the lead, while Brown moved into fourth.
On lap seven, Johnson put a slider in turn one to use and retook the point, while Brown took third from Austin McCarl. Ryan Timms entered the top five at the halfway point before heavy contact between Riley Goodno and Jack Anderson resulted in a broken front end for Goodno, and a punctured tail tank and fire for Anderson. No one was hurt, but an open red was called to clear the fire suppression liquids from the track.
Carson McCarl used a similar move to retake the lead from Johnson on the restart, but on lap 12, Johnson worked back by and into the lead. It would be short-lived, however. Brown put a slider on both Carson McCarl and Johnson into the lead on lap 13 in turn two and never looked back.
There was plenty of action behind him, however, with Austin taking third from brother Carson on lap 14. Timms moved into fourth on lap 16 Austin and Johnson exchanged second twice, before McCarl took it for good on the white flag lap.
Brown’s 69th career 410 win here came ahead of Austin McCarl, Johnson, Timms, and Hickle.
“All these guys complain I win from the front row every night, so maybe I can win from the (7th) row tonight,” said Brown. “We really weren’t that great after the heat, and Chad Morgan made a great suggestion on what to do with our car. I’ve won 69 of these races, but never the beef. We’ve never won this one. It’s good that the Marion County Fair does that.
“It was cool to get to third so quick, but that open red opened it up for everyone where they can work on their cars also. Those two guys (Johnson and Carson McCarl) got to racing, and I made a move in the middle and was able to pass them. To start 14th and beat these guys…it’s a tough field of cars, and we need to be proud of what we’re bringing to the Nationals as a Knoxville group.”
Riley Goodno continued a hot streak away from Knoxville to capitalize on his first win in his hometown track and earned $2,000 and a quarter beef for his Randall Roofing 360 win.
Tyler Thompson, a veteran of many years, also earned his first well-earned win in a strong run with the Pro Sprints.
The finish:
Feature (20 laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown (14); 2. 88-Austin McCarl (4); 3. 6K-Kaleb Johnson (1); 4. 10-Ryan Timms (10); 5. 2M-JJ Hickle (6); 6. 55-Kerry Madsen (7); 7. 27-Carson McCarl (2); 8. 24-Terry McCarl (8); 9. 48-Danny Dietrich (13); 10. 3P-Sawyer Phillips (9); 11. 2KS-Ian Madsen (11); 12. 78-Scott Bogucki (15); 13. 53-Jack Dover (21); 14. 44-Chris Martin (3); 15. 39-Lynton Jeffrey (23); 16. 13-Mark Dobmeier (18); 17. 24T-Christopher Thram (19); 18. 1-Thomas Meseraull (20); 19. 40-Clint Garner (16); 20. 22-Riley Goodno (12); 21. G5-Gage Pulkrabek (22); 22. 17A-Jack Anderson (17); 23. 25-Jy Corbet (5); DNS – 24. 4W-Jamie Ball.
