KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Aaron Reutzel finished fourth in the 2018 edition of the Knoxville Nationals and went on to win the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions title.
He’s been fast all season, already having won seven races and he left night one of the 59th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals as the point leader.
Reutzel was the fast qualifier on Wednesday night and drove to a fifth-place finish in the 25-lap feature. His Baughman Racing team ended the night with 487 points, which put him 21 points ahead of second-place point man Tim Kaeding (466), who drove Jason Sides’ No. 7s to a 10th-place feature finish.
Paul McMahan (465), who finished ninth in the feature, ranks third in points. Brent Marks (464) and race winner Trey Starks (463) round out the top five.
However, outside of Reutzel at the top of the board, with eight of the 10 fast qualifiers failing to transfer through their heats, the point totals are relatively low.
Ian Madsen, Sheldon Haudenschild, James McFadden, Gio Scelzi and 10-time Nationals winner Donny Schatz round out the top 10.
Schatz’s 447 points is unlikely to guarantee him a spot in the main event, pending the results of Thursday night’s program.
While Schatz’s point total should still get him near the front of Saturday’s B main at the worst, several top drivers are looking at having to decide whether or not to compete on Friday night, including Logan Schuchart, who won last year’s Friday night feature, Sammy Swindell and NASCAR driver Kyle Larson, who likely will not be able to return on Friday because of commitments at Michigan Int’l Speedway.
Larson ranked 21st in points after the first night with 406 markers.
The points:
1. Aaron Reutzel, 487; 2. Tim Kaeding, 466; 3. Paul McMahan, 465; 4. Brent Marks, 464; 5. Trey Starks, 463; 6. Ian Madsen, 455; 7. Sheldon Haudenschild, 453; 8. James McFadden, 450; 9. Gio Scelzi, 449; 10. Donny Schatz, 447; 11. Mark Dobmeier, 444; 12. Tanner Thorson, 440; 13. Jac Haudenschild, 424; 14. Paige Polyak, 423; 15. Danny Dietrich, 421; 16. Brady Bacon, 416; 17. Tasker Phillips, 410; 18. Wayne Johnson, 410; 19. Justin Peck, 410; 20. Jamie Ball, 410; 21. Kyle Larson, 406; 22. Lynton Jeffrey, 401; 23. Austin McCarl, 399; 24. Carson McCarl, 397; 25. Kerry Madsen, 396; 26. Justin Henderson, 390; 27. Spencer Bayston, 385; 28. Dominic Scelzi, 384; 29. Logan Schuchart, 384; 30. Skyler Gee, 380; 31. Jeff Swindell, 377; 32. Scotty Thiel, 377; 33. Chase Johnson, 364; 34. Sammy Swindell, 359; 35. Travis Rilat, 356; 36. A.J. Moeller, 341; 37. Ryan Roberts, 337; 38. Roger Crockett, 329; 39. Hunter Schuerenberg, 329; 40. Kevin Thomas Jr., 322; 41. Chase Wanner, 309; 42. Rusty Hickman, 305; 43. Freddie Rahmer, 302; 44. Jake Bubak, 294; 45. Don Droud Jr., 294; 46. Brodie Tulloch, 277; 47. Joe Simbro, 270; 48. John Garvin, 269; 49. Joey Moughan, 267; 50. Davey Heskin, 258; 51. Matt Moro, 256; 52. Zach Hampton, 227; 53. Glen Saville, 226.
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