KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Kyle Larson used a late-race pass of Garet Williamson to emerge victorious on Toyota Qualifying Night Thursday at the 65th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s.
The Elk Grove, California driver came from the fourth row, and emerged as the high point driver heading toward Saturday. His win aboard the Paul Silva No. 57 was his 15th at Knoxville and paid him $12,000.
Larson’s pole starting spot will depend on his NASCAR Cup commitments at Richmond (Va.) Raceway on Saturday, where the race is scheduled for a 7 p.m. ET start.
Williamson led early in the 25-lapper ahead of Austin McCarl, Buddy Kofoid, Brian Brown and Tasker Phillips. A lap in, Kaleb Johnson spun, collecting Carson McCarl and Matt Juhl.
Larson entered the top five on the restart, and then passed Brown on the low side for fourth on lap five. On lap seven, McCarl used a slider in turn one to pass Williamson for the point, but the Missouri driver returned the favor two circuits later.
On lap 10, Phillips, who was running sixth, spun. That negated another pass that McCarl had made for the lead, but when the green fell again, it was Williamson leading McCarl, Kofoid, Larson and Brown.
Larson quickly moved into third, while Parker Price-Miller entered the top five. On lap 12, Larson slid in front of McCarl for second. On lap 15, Price-Miller passed Kofoid for fourth. An accidental yellow fell with seven laps to go.
Kofoid regained his fourth-place spot, while Williamson maintained his lead over Larson. On lap 19, Phillips night ended with a flip in turn two.
Larson used the restart to challenge Williamson and then on lap 21, beat him to turn one to take the lead. Kofoid moved by McCarl for third, and Brent Marks entered the top five after starting in row six.
McCarl passed Kofoid for third in a great battle with four to go, but Marks was on a roll and passed both for third with just three laps left.
Larson went on to the win ahead of Williamson, Marks, Kofoid and McCarl. Price-Miller, Carson Macedo, Aaron Reutzel, hard-charger Logan Schuchart and Spencer Bayston rounded out the top 10.
Tanner Thorson set quick time over the 49-car field.
“It was fun,” said Larson of his battle with Williamson. “I’m glad I got a second shot at it there (the last restart). He did some stuff I wasn’t expecting on the first restart, and I was hoping he would do the same thing again and learn from that first restart. I was able to make it work, and just had enough room there low into one to slide him and get going back on the top. He was doing a really good job.
“He had a great car. That was a fun race, and a fun battle up front before I got there with him and McCarl and Buddy. I was just glad to make the right moves on the last restart and take the lead. I hope I’m back Saturday or Sunday potentially.”
“I feel like I’ve been up front a lot of these races,” said Williamson. “I felt like I was doing my job and knowing where to be in traffic. I feel like the bottom came in and went away and the top was treacherous. I felt like I had a good run on the bottom before those restarts. Going back to those restarts, going into one, you really don’t have the same speed, you’re out of your rhythm. Locking in is really good for us. What are you going to do? Kyle is pretty good at what he does. Any mental mistake, he’s going to be there to capitalize. There’s nothing to hang our head about.”
“Honestly, I felt like we had a really good car all race ling,” said Marks. “I think we got to the mid to late point and got really tight. I just wasn’t able to gain anymore than I was hoping I could. The track really came back to me. On the last restart, I knew I needed to do a little something different than what I was doing. The bottom was just so good down there, so I figured if I was patient enough, and those guys were racing hard trying to slide themselves, I could sneak under them.”
65th NOS Energy Drink World of Outlaws Presented by Casey’s Toyota Qualifying Night #2 Results
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 88T, Tanner Thorson, Minden, NV, 15.299 (7); 2. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN, 15.397 (6); 3. 74, Xavier Doney, Odessa, MO, 15.399 (1); 4. 57, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA, 15.400 (5); 5. 69K, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK, 15.453 (27); 6. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA, 15.486 (18); 7. 9R, Chase Randall, Waco, TX, 15.488 (9); 8. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO, 15.505 (21); 9. 12X, Landon Crawley, Benton, AR, 15.515 (8); 10. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust., 15.555 (23); 11. 71, Parker Price Miller, Kokomo, IN, 15.584 (15); 12. 83, Michael Kofoid, Penngrove, CA, 15.604 (22); 13. 9P, Daison Pursley, Locust Grove, OK, 15.630 (20); 14. 31, Cale Thomas, Fairland, IN, 15.642 (10); 15. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 15.655 (17); 16. 88W, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA, 15.656 (39); 17. 45D, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR, 15.703 (4); 18. 23, Garet Williamson, Kingdom City, MO, 15.707 (44); 19. 15K, Creed Kemenah, Alvada, OH, 15.727 (28); 20. 16C, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can., 15.740 (12); 21. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI, 15.746 (29); 22. 19HM, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD, 15.748 (11); 23. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA, 15.762 (47); 24. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 15.762 (14); 25. 1X, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust., 15.777 (24); 26. 5, Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, TX, 15.788 (30); 27. 17A, Jack Anderson, Newton, IA, 15.794 (31); 28. 23L, Jimmy Light, Pittsboro, IN, 15.857 (2); 29. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX, 15.859 (45); 30. 87X, Ashton Torgerson, Glendale, AZ, 15.870 (25); 31. 17, Spencer Bayston, Lebanon, IN, 15.886 (38); 32. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA, 15.897 (37); 33. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 15.902 (36); 34. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA, 15.907 (34); 35. 28M, Conner Morrell, Bradenton, FL, 15.909 (13); 36. 26R, Levi Hillier, Burlington, WA, 15.977 (40); 37. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 15.985 (33); 38. 33W, Cap Henry, Republic, OH, 16.028 (43); 39. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD, 16.052 (49); 40. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO, 16.053 (26); 41. 4C, Cameron Martin, Ankeny, IA, 16.110 (42); 42. 6DC, Will Armitage, Athens, IL, 16.115 (35); 43. 8, John Carney II, El Paso, TX, 16.132 (19); 44. 2M, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA, 16.140 (3); 45. 16G, Austyn Gossel, Fort Collins, CO, 16.216 (16); 46. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust., 16.289 (48); 47. 27B, Garrett Benson, Concordia, MO, 16.332 (46); 48. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, ND, 16.638 (41); 49. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA, 16.677 (32)
Heat one (started), 10 Laps, 3:13.7: 1. 17, Spencer Bayston (2); 2. 17B, Bill Balog (4); 3. 88W, Austin McCarl (5); 4. 71, Parker Price Miller (6) / 5. 26R, Levi Hillier (1); 6. 1S, Logan Schuchart (7); 7. 5, Brenham Crouch (3); 8. 88T, Tanner Thorson (8) / 9. 4C, Cameron Martin (9); 10. 14T, Brooke Tatnell (10)
Heat two (started), 10 Laps, 3:15.8: 1. 41, Carson Macedo (2); 2. 83, Michael Kofoid (6); 3. 49, Josh Schneiderman (1); 4. 19HM, Kaleb Johnson (4) / 5. 7BC, Tyler Courtney (8); 6. 17A, Jack Anderson (3); 7. 9R, Chase Randall (7); 8. 6DC, Will Armitage (9) / 9. 45D, Derek Hagar (5); 10. 27B, Garrett Benson (10)
Heat three (started), 10 Laps, 2:55.4: 1. 19, Brent Marks (4); 2. 27, Carson McCarl (2); 3. 23, Garet Williamson (5); 4. 21, Brian Brown (7) / 5. 33W, Cap Henry (1); 6. 9P, Daison Pursley (6); 7. 74, Xavier Doney (8); 8. 8, John Carney II (9) / 9. 23L, Jimmy Light (3); 10. G5, Gage Pulkrabek (10)
Heat four (started), 10 Laps, 2:47.9: 1. 44, Chris Martin (2); 2. 87, Aaron Reutzel (3); 3. 09, Matt Juhl (1); 4. 57, Kyle Larson (8) / 5. 40, Clint Garner (4); 6. 31, Cale Thomas (6); 7. 2M, JJ Hickle (9); 8. 15K, Creed Kemenah (5) / 9. 12X, Landon Crawley (7); 10. 56, Joe Simbro (10)
Heat five (started), 10 Laps, 3:15.8: 1. 3, Ayrton Gennetten (1); 2. 1X, Scott Bogucki (4); 3. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips (6); 4. 69K, Daryn Pittman (8) / 5. 55, Kerry Madsen (7); 6. 28M, Conner Morrell (2); 7. 87X, Ashton Torgerson (3); 8. 16C, Skylar Gee (5) / 9. 16G, Austyn Gossel (9)
C main (started), 8 Laps, 2:49.4: 1. 12X, Landon Crawley (1); 2. 4C, Cameron Martin (4); 3. 45D, Derek Hagar (2); 4. 27B, Garrett Benson (6) / 5. 16G, Austyn Gossel (5); 6. G5, Gage Pulkrabek (7); 7. 23L, Jimmy Light (3); 8. 56, Joe Simbro (8); DNS – 9. 14T, Brooke Tatnell
B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. 1S, Logan Schuchart (4); 2. 88T, Tanner Thorson (1); 3. 15K, Creed Kemenah (9); 4. 16C, Skylar Gee (10) / 5. 7BC, Tyler Courtney (2); 6. 9P, Daison Pursley (7); 7. 5, Brenham Crouch (12); 8. 74, Xavier Doney (3); 9. 55, Kerry Madsen (6); 10. 9R, Chase Randall (5); 11. 33W, Cap Henry (17); 12. 40, Clint Garner (11); 13. 26R, Levi Hillier (16); 14. 28M, Conner Morrell (15); 15. 4C, Cameron Martin (22); 16. 87X, Ashton Torgerson (14); 17. 6DC, Will Armitage (18); 18. 17A, Jack Anderson (13); 19. 45D, Derek Hagar (23); 20. 8, John Carney II (19); 21. 12X, Landon Crawley (21); 22. 31, Cale Thomas (8); 23. 2M, JJ Hickle (20); 24. 27B, Garrett Benson (24)
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. 57, Kyle Larson (8); 2. 23, Garet Williamson (1); 3. 19, Brent Marks (11); 4. 83, Michael Kofoid (4); 5. 88W, Austin McCarl (2); 6. 71, Parker Price Miller (5); 7. 41, Carson Macedo (15); 8. 87, Aaron Reutzel (13); 9. 1S, Logan Schuchart (21); 10. 17, Spencer Bayston (14); 11. 21, Brian Brown (6); 12. 69K, Daryn Pittman (7); 13. 44, Chris Martin (17); 14. 17B, Bill Balog (9); 15. 88T, Tanner Thorson (22); 16. 16C, Skylar Gee (24); 17. 49, Josh Schneiderman (18); 18. 1X, Scott Bogucki (12); 19. 15K, Creed Kemenah (23); 20. 3, Ayrton Gennetten (20); 21. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips (3); 22. 19HM, Kaleb Johnson (10); 23. 27, Carson McCarl (16); 24. 09, Matt Juhl (19). Lap Leaders: Williamson 1-6, A. McCarl 7-8, Williamson 9-20, Larson 21-25. Hard-charger: Schuchart
