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Wayne Johnson Wins 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals! by: Lonnie Wheatley KNOXVILLE, IA (August 2) – Oklahoma City native Wayne Johnson left the Marion County Fairgrounds $10,000 wealthier after winning Saturday night's 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals 25-lap championship feature event atop the famed ˝-mile Knoxville Raceway clay oval. Johnson, now residing in Knoxville, IA, took the lead away from Jason Johnson on the seventh circuit and led the rest of the distance aboard Mike and Tim Hammers' Fisher-powered H&H Enterprises No. 94 Maxim to collect his second ASCS Knoxville Nationals championship after posting his first event win in 2000. "I kept watching the board to see who was behind me and if anyone was close," the 2000 O'Reilly American Sprint Cars on Tour National champion explained afterward. "There didn't seem to be anybody right on me so I just kept trying to run my race." Ultimately taking the checkered flag with a healthy 3.772-second advantage, Johnson had little to worry about over the final circuits. Aside from a turn two hole that nearly collected him on at least a couple of occasions, that is. "That hole in turn two about ate me up a couple of times," Johnson relayed. "I got where I was just trying to ride through it, and that actually made it a little worse I think. We survived it though." Johnson gridded the 24-car feature field outside the second row, with current O'Reilly ASCoT points leader Jason Johnson and reigning series champion Gary Wright on the front row. The trio then offered up a high-speed version of the three-wide salute as they charged in formation off of turn two on the opening round in a scramble for the lead. Jason Johnson won the drag race into turn three, but it was Wright sliding in front off the exit of turn four to lead the opening round in front of Jason Johnson. "The Texan" and "The Ragin' Cajun" dueled for the lead over the next several laps, with Wright running the low line and Johnson up top as Billy Alley made his way around Wayne Johnson for third on the second circuit. Jason Johnson finally edged ahead of Wright for the lead on the fifth circuit and took the top side of the track away, with Wayne Johnson taking third back away from Alley by the time the caution flew after six laps for Scott Winters, who encountered turn two trouble. The complexion of the race changed dramatically under the caution period when Wright retired to the pit area with a broken wing mount on the frame, handing the second position over to Wayne Johnson. Wayne wasted little time disposing of the unrelated Jason Johnson for the lead on the restart, motoring into the lead in less than a lap and then gradually checked out on the rest of the field. Not even a lap nine bobble after hitting a hole on the turn two cushion allowed any challengers to close the gap. Johnson rode the rim the rest of the way to take his third ASCS National Tour win of the season and 26th of his career. "It means the world to me to win this race," the elated victor told the crowd from victory lane. Behind the Oklahoma racer, the action was heated throughout with Brian Brown taking his share of the spotlight with a drive from 19th that culminated with a runner-up finish. While Jason Johnson, Billy Alley and Brooke Tatnell diced for position behind Wayne Johnson, Brown was on the move in short order by reaching the seventh position after just eight rounds. The Grain Valley, MO, racer put Tim and Gina Doogs' Wesmar-powered Super Clean No. 21 Maxim in the top five by the midway point and took fourth from Jason Johnson soon after. Brown slid past Tatnell for third on the 22nd lap and then made a last-corner pass of Alley to take runner-up honors. Two-time ASCS Knoxville Nationals champ Alley of Lincoln, NE, settled for the show position, with Australian Brooke Tatnell bringing Bobby Sparks' Wells-powered RESM Transport No. 91 Eagle to the checkered flag in fourth. California's Tyler Walker rounded out the top five, with Texas shoe Travis Rilat in sixth. Missouri's Jesse Hockett was seventh, with Knoxville regulars Bronson Maeschen and Jesse Giannetto next across the stripe. Chico, California's Jonathan Allard completed the top ten. After running among the top five most of the way, Jason Johnson cut a left rear tire on the final lap and fell to 12th in the final run down behind Skip Jackson, who was subbing for Terry McCarl. North Dakota's Natalie Sather opened the evening with a late move around Cody Petersen to win the 8-lap "E" Main, then charged to a fifth-place transfer position in the 10-lap "D" Main won by Oklahoma's Trey Robb. After a great "C" Main start by Sather was wiped out by a caution, she climbed a wheel on the second try and flipped to bring an early end to her alphabet run. Ohio's Lee Jacobs went on to win the "C" Main in front of Florida's Matt Tiffany, who took the second and final transfer. Brian Brown took the lead away from Garry Lee Maier four laps into the 15-lap "B" Main and led the rest of the way, with Maier, Matt Moro and Scott Winters earning the final four starting berths into the 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals championship main event. 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals Saturday Championship Feature Results: "E" Main - Top 12 Advance to "D" Main: E Feature (8 Laps): 1. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND), 2. 16p-Cody Petersen (Hermosa, SD), 3. 2h-Jason Eckard (Okoboji, IA), 4. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL), 5. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD), 6. 15-Jack Potter (Pleasant Hill, MO), 7. 34-Josh Padellford (Pleasantville, IA), 8. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM), 9. 24J-Justin Carver (Memphis, TN), 10. 8k-Butch Hanssen (Sioux Falls, SD), 11. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 12. 2w-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), 13. 4b-Bryn Gohn (Malabar, FL), 14. 33-Alan Zoutte (Knoxville, IA), 15. 9p-Jared Peterson (Stanwood, WA), 16. 1p-Curtis Evans (Norburne, MO), 17. 21b-D.J. Brink (Sturgis, SD), 18. 31p-Travis Porter (Rock Island, IL), 19. 9*-Brian Parker (Midlothian, TX). "D" Main - Top 6 Advance to "C" Main: D Feature (10 Laps): 1. 1s-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK), 2. 98r-Joe Ramaker (Choteau, MT), 3. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS), 4. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN), 5. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND), 6. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 7. 22n-Nate Mosher (Prairie City, IA), 8. k9-Tim Sernett (Burnsville, MN), 9. 15-Jack Potter (Pleasant Hill, MO), 10. 2w-Kenneth Walker (Sapulpa, OK), 11. 9s-Scott Lehman (Hutchinson, KS), 12. 6-Danny Heskin (St. Michael, MN), 13. 5k-Kyle McCutcheon (Alamogordo, NM), 14. 5L-Eric Lutz (Sioux Falls, SD), 15. 71-R.J. Johnson (Tampa, FL), 16. 24J-Justin Carver (Memphis, TN), 17. 2k-Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD), 18. 2h-Jason Eckard (Okoboji, IA), 19. 17-Samantha Taylor (Bonney Lake, WA), 20. 8k-Butch Hanssen (Sioux Falls, SD), 21. 34-Josh Padellford (Pleasantville, IA), 22. 16p-Cody Petersen (Hermosa, SD). "C" Main - Top 2 Advance to "B" Main: C Feature (12 Laps): 1. 86-Lee Jacobs (Dalton, OH), 2. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 3. 5-Justin Henderson (Sioux Falls, SD), 4. 4-Jon Agan (Knoxville, IA), 5. 2mx-Dustin Daggett (Portland, MI), 6. 18-Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE), 7. 95-Matt Covington (Glenpool, OK), 8. 35-Ron Blair (Troy, OH), 9. 00m-Danny Martin, Jr. (Sarasota, FL), 10. 51-Dave Hall (Des Moines, IA), 11. 1s-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK), 12. 1-Pete Crall (Desoto, KS), 13. 4L-Brock Lemley (Bellingham, WA), 14. 03-Joe Wood, Jr. (Oklahoma City, OK), 15. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX), 16. 98r-Joe Ramaker (Choteau, MT), 17. 98-J.D. Johnson (Goddard, KS), 18. 10x-George White (Fort Worth, TX), 19. 75-Don Young (Bartlett, TN), 20. 94s-Natalie Sather (Fargo, ND). DNS: 7m-Chad Meyer (Sioux Falls, SD), 43-A.J. Selenke (Wichita, KS). "B" Main - Top 4 Advance to "A" Main: B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO), 2. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 3. 2m-Matt Moro (Ankeny, IA), 4. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN), 5. 39c-Jason Solwold (Burlington, WA), 6. 29-Russ Hall (Des Moines, IA), 7. 14-Randy Martin (California, MO), 8. 88-Tim Crawley (Benton, AR), 9. 57x-Jake Peters (Sioux Falls, SD), 10. 27-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE), 11. 15s-Nick Smith (Broken Arrow, OK), 12. 12J-Jared Ridge (Snohomish, WA), 13. 53-Joe Beaver (Knoxville, IA), 14. 86-Lee Jacobs (Dalton, OH), 15. 9m-Ricky Montgomery (Lakewood, CO), 16. 4J-Lee Grosz (Harwood, ND), 17. 7a-J.J. Hickle (Quilcene, WA), 18. 7-Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA), 19. 72-Glenn Borden (Raymond, WA), 20. 51s-Lee Sowell (Nesbit, MS), 21. 19T-Matt Tiffany (Daytona Beach, FL), 22. 15b-Brad Bowden (Hernando, MS). 18th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals "A" Main A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 94-Wayne Johnson (Oklahoma City, OK), 2. 21-Brian Brown (Grain Valley, MO), 3. 22-Billy Alley (Lincoln, NE), 4. Brooke Tatnell (Sydney, AUS), 5. 24T-Tyler Walker (Los Angeles, CA), 6. 29T-Travis Rilat (Forney, TX), 7. 75J-Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO), 8. 96-Bronson Maeschen (Knoxville, IA), 9. d1-Jesse Giannetto (Cedar Rapids, IA), 10. 0-Jonathan Allard (Chico, CA), 11. 1m-Skip Jackson (Sydney, AUS), 12. 41-Jason Johnson (Eunice, LA), 13. 50z-Zach Chappell (Talala, OK), 14. 40-Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD), 15. 11xx-Garry Lee Maier (Cimarron, KS), 16. 7n-Roger Crockett (Medford, OR), 17. 2m-Matt Moro (Ankeny, IA), 18. 23w-Scott Winters (Butterfield, MN), 19. 28-Jonathan Cornell (Sedalia, MO), 20. 5*-Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA), 21. 11x-Gregg Bakker (Sioux Falls, SD), 22. 53d-Jack Dover (Springfield, NE), 23. 4a-Kenny Adams (Malabar, FL), 24. 9w-Gary Wright (Hooks, TX). Lap Leaders: Gary Wright 1-4, Jason Johnson 5-6, Wayne Johnson 7-25. O’Reilly ASCoT Points (Top Fifteen): 1. Jason Johnson 3,259, 2. Gary Wright 3,168, 3. Wayne Johnson 3,119, 4. Zach Chappell 3,089, 5. Garry Lee Maier 2,878, 6. Eric Baldaccini 2,685, 7. Nick Smith 2,584, 8. Kenneth Walker 2,373, 9. Travis Rilat 2,275, 10. Gary Taylor 2,152, 11. Kathryne Minter 2,010, 12. Jack Dover 1,798, 13. Matt Covington 1,473, 14. Aaron Berryhill 1,174, 15. Jason Sides 1,130. |