KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Sixty-four years the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s has captivated the motorsports world at Knoxville Raceway. Today, the youngest driver since 1964 will bring the field to the green flag in pursuit of a $195,000 winner’s share.
Eighteen-year-old Ryan Timms, of Oklahoma City, Okla., garnered his first career Knoxville Nationals preliminary Feature victory with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series Wednesday night, earning a total of 487 points out of a possible 500, topping the event points standings and earning the pole for Saturday’s 50-lap main event.
Timms becomes the second-youngest driver ever to lead the field to the green flag. At exactly 18 years, 11 months and 14 days, Timms trails only Kenny Weld as the youngest. The four-time Knoxville Nationals winner still maintains his record, which he set in 1964 at 18 years, nine months and four days old.
In his first two tries, Timms has failed to qualify for Saturday’s main event. Tonight, not only does he get his first spot in the big show, but he’s on the pole. So, how is the first 18-year-old in 61 years feeling about his Row 1 starting spot for the biggest sprint car race in the world?
“I feel like I’m on top of the world right now,” Timms said. “People can say whatever they want, but it doesn’t change my mood or attitude because I know that I’m sitting on the pole of the Knoxville Nationals and, so far, I’m the fastest guy here.
“It gives me a lot of confidence. Obviously, I’m not letting it make me cocky or overconfident, but it makes me feel confident in my car and my ability to go win this thing.”
Car owner Shane Liebig echoes Timms’ confidence with undeniable certainty.
“We’re not satisfied with the pole of the Nationals,” he said. “Yeah, it’s a great accomplishment, but that ain’t what we came here to do.
“We’re going to shock the world. It’s that simple. I’m built for this s**t. I’m ready.”
Timms and Liebig have the attention of the sprint car world, but 10 months ago were in only the first steps of their journey that has led them to the front row in Knoxville.
Liebig, a former sprint car racer from Rapid City, S.D., has put several drivers in the seat of the Hampel Oil No. 10 since he retired from driving in the 2010s. Names like Aaron Reutzel, Matt Juhl, Kalib Henry, and Scott Bogucki have all competed under the Liebig Motorsports banner. Notably, Bogucki wheeled the car to back-to-back Knoxville Nationals main event starts in 2023 and 2024.
But it wasn’t until a phone call to famed car owner Guy Forbrook in the fall of 2024 that Timms’ name was brought up. Liebig said he was looking for advice on improvement with the car, not a new driver, but Forbrook insisted on giving the young Timms a shot.
The two linked for their first race together at I-70 Speedway in October and finished second against a strong field of 410 sprint car competition. It was then Liebig knew he had a new contender in the seat.
“I said by the end of next year, I’ll make him a killer,” Liebig recalls telling Timms’ father. “That’s exactly what I said and that’s exactly what he’s becoming.”
With Timms now on board, the Liebig No. 10 made scattered starts in 410 competition over the next month before announcing a long-term partnership for the 2025 season in December, consisting of over 80 races, and a plan of weekly events at Huset’s Speedway, Jackson Motorplex and Knoxville.
In 12 features in local 410 competition at Knoxville in 2025, Timms has won four — most of any driver — and a fifth in 360 sprint car competition as well. His sixth overall win at the historic facility came Wednesday night, when he charged from eighth on the starting grid to win BRANDT Qualifying Night at the Knoxville Nationals.
“When we went into the night, I said, ‘Let’s check boxes,’” Liebig said, recalling a pre-race conversation with Timms. “’Qualifying, check the box. Get to fourth in the Heat Race, check the box.’ And then, we were walking to Turn 3 before the main and I said, ‘Listen, I’m not trying to stroke you, but you can win from eighth.’ And he said, ‘I know I can.’ And I just knew they didn’t have a chance.
“I just knew, this is like one of them moments you know they’re in trouble. That’s how it was.”
In victory lane, among all the smiles and congratulations, Timms shared a memorable embrace with his stepmother and father — Randy Timms, a former racer of modifieds.
“We all kind of expected to make the main and knew that I was capable of being on the pole, but I wouldn’t say that was anyone’s expectations,” Ryan said. “I think everyone’s kind of in disbelief. But they are really proud of me, and they made sure to tell me that.”
Though it marks the biggest moment of both Timms and Liebig’s careers, their preliminary night victory shows more than their ability to win on the big stages. It’s a symbol of the hard work they’ve put in throughout the 2025 season, which did not get off to the start they were hoping for.
Their first two starts at Knoxville came with the World of Outlaws in April, resulting in finishes of 16th in the feature on Friday before falling short of a transfer spot into Saturday’s feature.
Liebig noticed Timms’ struggles over the weekend and devised a new plan.
“I said we need to come down here, we need to race every week, we need to practice, and what we’re going to do is we’re gonna get as much time in here at Knoxville as we can,” Liebig said. “Because come August, we want to be the best car. I said we’re going to race here and race Huset’s because those are the two biggest races of the year, and we’re gonna make ourselves the best we can be for them two races.”
“I looked terrible when we first started racing here,” Timms said. “But every race, we’d just get smoother and faster. I really do feel like every single time I race at Knoxville, I get better than the last time I raced.”
Liebig soon offered up his own teachings as a former racer at Knoxville to amplify Timms’ progress, and saw a quick response, collecting their first Feature win at the track on May 3.
“I can see if he’s getting — we call it the California twitch — where you turn a little bit too soon and almost pitch yourself to slow yourself down going into the corner, so I ride him above that,” Liebig said. “Staying straight here, not turning the wheel so much.”
“He can relate because I know exactly what he’s feeling. If it’s pushing off the left-rear too much, I know what that feels like. If it’s over on the right-front too much, I know exactly what he needs.”
“Shane — he’s a great driver coach for me,” Timms said. “I did have some driver coaching in previous years, but for whatever reason, the way Shane goes about it just suits me well. It’s a winning car every night, and you can’t get any better than that.”
Now, their attention turns to the task ahead of them at the place they’ve become so familiar with — one that is bigger than any they’ve faced before. But Timms isn’t making a bigger deal of it in his head. With a shot at one of the biggest paydays in sprint car racing history and a chance to become the race’s second-youngest winner, Timms’ confidence in himself and his team shines as bright as his skills behind the wheel.
“It’s got four corners and it’s the same dirt I race on every other weekend,” Timms said. “We’ve got a ton of laps here. I’ve learned a lot, and now it’s just putting it all together to make a smooth 25–50 laps.”
