Bryan Hulbert/Bill Wright – Knoxville, Iowa (August 4, 2012) The first four time champion has been crowned as the Kick It for Cancer/Jeff Gordon Foundation No. 57 of Shane Stewart went uncontested in Saturday night’s 25 lap Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals feature event.
“That car in the A-Main was just flawless” commented Stewart in Victory Lane. “I’m not even worried about the other nationals right now I’m just going to celebrate these nationals.”
Called back on a false start, Stewart was able still able to get the jump into the top spot. Racing to a straight-a-way advantage in the three laps as Roger Crockett gave chase with Kevin Swindell and Brady Bacon moving in to battle for the runner up spot.
With the preferred line quickly moving up the racing surface, lapped traffic would force Stewart to utilize the slide job. Even so, the Bixby native pulled to a 2.435 second advantage by lap fifteen with the battle on the track shaping up for second with the Wrapexperts.com No. 39 of Kevin Swindell moving in for the runner up spot.
Making the pass on the fourteenth round, Swindell nearly gave the position back. Taking a full head of steam on the cushion in turns three and four, Swindell would stand the front end high with Crockett and Bacon within striking distance. Hold the runner up spot Swindell would now be chased by the Fatheadz Eyewear No. 99 as Brady Bacon dropped Crockett to third.
Moving on the high side, the top five would spread out evenly as the field raced by lap sixteen. Outside the top five, several drivers were on the move as Brooke Tatnell made the pass for sixth with Jack Dover holding seventh. Dicing up behind that, Danny Lasoski and Wayne Johnson battled for eighth with the Parker Burch Motorsports No. 1m holding he advantage.
Moving into the final seven laps, Stewart continued to lead but the driver getting the crowd’s attention was Brian Brown. Taking the final transfer spot out of the B-Feature, the FVP No. 21 would crack the top ten with seven to run and more to gain; taking eighth on the next go round.
Lapping past twelfth, the advantage was 4.029 second as Shane Stewart raced under the double checkered flags for the night’s $10,000 payday. Kevin Swindell was second with Brady Bacon making up the podium. Making a late race charge from seventh, Jack Dover would take fourth with Roger Crockett fading to round out the top five.
Dustin Zomer was sixth with Danny Lasoski seventh. Brian Brown would end up eighth with Wayne Johnson and Tim Kaeding rounding out the top ten.
22nd Annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Nationals Championship Results
E main (started), 8 laps, 2:11.4: 1. 55, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (1) 2. 86, Kyle Bellm, Nixa, MO (3) 3. 22, Koby Barksdale, Norman, OK (2) 4. 17R, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (8) 5. 87, Justin Carver, Millington, TN (11) 6. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (6) 7. 93A, Alan Ambers, Knoxville, IA (7) 8. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (16) 9. 17B, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (9) 10. 21T, Ray Allen Kulhanek, Conroe, TX (13) 11. 83J, Geoff Ensign, Sebastopol, CA (5) 12. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (15) 13. 17w, Cole Wood, Woodland Park, CO (14) / 14. 4x, Shawn Peterson, Irving, TX (12) 15. 9, Gary Wright, Hooks, TX (4) DNS – 2, Dustin Morgan, Tulsa, OK, 54, Cap Henry, Bellevue, OH, 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 97, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA, 20K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can., 3A, AG Rains, West Memphis, AR, 11n, Ed Neumeister, Upper Sandusky, OH, 66, Geoff Dodge, Colorado Springs, CO, 4J, Lee Grosz, Fargo, ND, 13JM, Jordan Martens, Harrisburg, SD, 77, Dalten Gabbard, Peoria, AZ, 11w, Chris Ackland, Perth, WA, Aust., 35, Rick Wright Jr., Ponca City, OK
D main (started), 10 laps, 2:48.6: 1. 11c, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (1) 2. 98, JD Johnson, Wichita, KS (3) 3. 0, Jonathan Allard, Chico CA (4) 4. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (5) 4. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (23) 5. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (8) 6. 25, Dylan Peterson, Sioux Falls, SD (6) 7. 27, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (11) 8. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (10) 9. Aaron Reutzel (15) 10. Koby Barksdale (14) 11. 74x, Josh Hodges, Tijeras, NM (9) / 12. Trey Starks (12) 13. 4s, Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (2) 14. Justin Carver (16) 15. Kyle Bellm (13) 16. Joe Beaver (19) 17. Ray Allen Kulhanek (21) 18. Alan Ambers (18) 19. Cole Wood (24) 20. Josh Baughman (20) 21. Kevin Ingle (17) 23. 69, Larry Howery, Hearne, TX (7) 24. Geoff Ensign (22) DNS – 31, Mark Pace, Lincoln, NE, 32, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN, 7K, Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH, 7m, Kevin Ramey, Fort Worth, CA, 7x, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA, 17, Jared Horstman, Cloverdale, OH, 14J, Josh Riggins, Newton, IA, 9JR, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR, 21w, Wes Wofford, Alamogordo, NM
C main (started), 12 laps, NT: 1. 21m, Jason Meyers, Clovis, CA (5) 2. 1, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (1) 3. 0s, Glenn Styres, Ohsweken, ONT, Can. (2) 4. 05, Brad Loyet, Sunset Hills, MO (4) 5. 0w, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (10) / 6. Matt Covington (12) 7. 23, Seth Bergman, Snohomish, WA (9) 8. Nate Van Haaften (17) 9. 45, Tony Norem, Dassel, MN (8) 10. Davey Heskin (14) 11. Dylan Peterson (19) 12. Josh Hodges (20) 13. JD Johnson (15) 14. Aaron Reutzel (18) 15. 7KS, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (7) 16. Koby Barksdale (22) 17. 09, Matt Juhl, Estherville, IA (6) 18. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (11) 19. 71, RJ Johnson, Tampa, FL (3) 20. 81J, Austin Johnson, Shakopee, MN (13) 21. Daryn Pittman (16) 22. Ryan Roberts (21) DNS – 3m, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA, Jonathan Allard, 35AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust., 4B, Jordan Boston, Crete, NE, 6, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Olive Branch, MS, 5J, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA, 21K, Lou Kennedy Jr., Winnipeg, MB, Can., 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO, 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA
B main (started), 15 laps, 4:31.1: 1. 82, Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (2) 2. 13v, Seth Brahmer, Wisner, NE (1) 3. 83, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (3) 4. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (12) / 5. 18, Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal, KS (4) 6. 2mx, Dustin Daggett, Portland, MI (6) 7. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (7) 8. 1K, Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA (5) 9. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO (10) 10. Jason Meyers (20) 11. 5H, Logan Forler, Lake Havasu City, AZ (15) 12. 45x, Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque, NM (13) 13. 47T, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA (9) 14. 1J, Danny Jennings, Norman, OK (16) 15. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (19) 16. 10I, Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell, IA (8) 17. Brad Loyet (21) 18. 48, Jake Martens, Fairview, OK (14) 19. 33v, Henry Van Dam, Enumclaw, WA (18) 20. Jeff Swindell (23) 21. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (17) 22. Glenn Styres (22) 23. 14x, Gary Taylor, Snohomish, WA (11) DNS – 10, Jesse Giannetto, Cedar Rapids, IA
A main (started), 25 laps, 7:48.8: 1. 57, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (2) 2. 39, Kevin Swindell, Charlotte, NC (3) 3. 99, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (4) 4. 53D, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (7) 5. 11, Roger Crockett, Medford, OR (1) 6. 91, Dusty Zomer, Brandon, SD (6) 7. 1m, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (5) 8. Brian Brown (24) 9. 77x, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (11) 10. 83JR, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (14) 11. 41, Jason Johnson, Eunice, LA (20) 12. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (8) 13. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (12) 14. Tim Shaffer (23) 15. Justin Henderson (21) 16. 01, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (9) 17. 49, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (17) 18. 22H, Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro, IN (18) 19. 6x, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (19) 20. 71R, Ryan Anderson, Deloit, IA (15) 21. 9P, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (16) 22. 81, Danny Wood, Norman, OK (10) 23. 13v, Seth Brahmer, Wisner, NE (22) 24. 28, Jonathan Cornell, Sedalia, MO (13)
Photo Credit: Rob Kocak