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Schatz makes it four in a row at 49th Annual Knoxville
Nationals
By Stacy Ervin
KNOXVILLE, IA (August 16) - Donny Schatz finished second four times at the
Knoxville Nationals and now he can call himself a four-time champion.
It took an extra day but the Fargo, North Dakota, driver made it four in a
row, winning the 49th Annual Super Clean Knoxville Nationals presented by
Lucas Oil at the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa. The win was worth
$150,000.
The race was originally scheduled for Saturday, August 15, but a heavy rain
pelted the speedway just after Saturday’s C-Main had finished around 10:20
p.m. The B-Main and the A-Main were then postponed to Sunday night, August
16. This was the sixth Sunday Nationals finale in the 49-year history of the
event.
This year’s championship main was historic because it was the first time in
history that 40 laps were run and the race included a fuel stop. Nationals
championships in previous years had been 30 laps.
Schatz started sixth in the race and steadily marched his way toward leader
Joey Saldana. Early in the race, Saldana, who started outside the front row,
battled polesitter Stevie Smith.
Saldana led the first lap, with Smith getting the best of him in turn two
the next time around. However a yellow flag came out when Jason Meyers
slowed on the track in turn two. He came to the work area with a flat right
front tire.
After that, Saldana kept the lead through the majority of the race. He was
just coming to lapped traffic at lap eight when the yellow returned for
Meyers, who had blown out his right rear tire in turn one just in front of
the leaders. Meyers also had top wing damage and a broken shock, so his crew
was not able to complete the work in time for him to restart.
The second driver to fall from the race was Brian Brown, who brought out the
yellow on lap 10 with mechanical troubles. He did not restart. Sam Hafertepe
Jr. also came to the work area to change a tire.
Just before that caution came out, Steve Kinser thrilled the crowd when he
did a major wheelstand in turn two and never got off the throttle. This was
after contact with Tyler Walker.
When the race returned to green, Saldana again led and Smith closed on his
bumper when they came back to lapped traffic at lap 18. Lapped traffic
proved hard on Smith though and Schatz began to close on him.
The historic fuel stop was made on lap 22, at the same time Hafertepe pulled
into the pit area to call it a night.
After refueling, Saldana again ran away with the lead and Smith again closed
on him when he entered lapped traffic at lap 29. On lap 32, Schatz began to
show his muscle, going three wide with Smith and a lapped car. Another lap
later, he was in second place and closing fast on Saldana.
Coming to the line at lap 35, Schatz nearly touched a lapped car in the
fourth turn but came out with the lead. From there, he pulled away from the
second place battle. Saldana held on for second and Smith was third.
In victory lane, Schatz said he gave “120 percent more than my body can
take.” He noted the significance of his J&J race car’s special paint scheme
this week honoring Mario Andretti.
Schatz noted during the first 20-lap segment he just sat back to see what he
could do. During the fuel stop, he continued to contemplate what he could do
as a driver. He noted he needed lapped traffic to force Saldana into a
couple of mistakes and take advantage.
The 22-lap B-Main was won by polesitter Jac Haudenschild of Wooster, Ohio.
He waged a torrid battle on the opening laps with third starter Chad Kemenah.
Haudenschild led the first lap but Kemenah beat him to the flag stand on the
second lap. Just then, the yellow flag came out for a spinning Justin
Henderson in turn four. When the race restarted, Haudenschild, Kemenah and
Jason Johnson went three wide for the lead, with Kemenah keeping it another
lap. From lap four on, it was all Haudenschild. Jason Meyers came from 11th
starting spot to get second and Danny Lasoski came from 17th starting spot
to get third. Jason Johnson, who started outside the front row, held on for
fourth.
The 15-lap C-Main was won by Wayne Johnson, an Oklahoma native now calling
Knoxville home. He started outside the front row and got the jump on
polesitter Billy Alley in a race that went green to checkered. Just after
this race ended, a heavy rain pelted the speedway at about 10:20 p.m. At
10:44 p.m., Race Director Ralph Capitani announced that the B-Main and
A-Main would be postponed to Sunday night.
The 12-lap D-Main was won by Kaley Gharst of Decatur, Illinois, who led the
way from the pole with a smoking machine. This race was halted after the
fifth lap when Ricky Montgomery went for a nasty series of flips in turn two
and took a trip to the local hospital. As rescue crews were working with
him, a moderate rain shower began to fall over the speedway and that set up
an hour and 20 minute rain delay.
The 10-lap E-Main was won by Bill Rose of Plainfield, Indiana. He started
outside the front row and led the distance from green to checkered.
The award for Best Dressed Crew went to Greg Hodnett’s team. Second place
was Lance Dewease’s crew and third place was Mark Dobmeier’s crew.
Daron Clayton of Sikeston, Missouri, was named Rookie of the Nationals.
Terry McCarl was named the Southern Iowa Sprint Week Mr. Sprint Car for
amassing enough points through all the nights of racing in the past two
weeks.
410 RESULTS
E Feature, 10 laps, No Time: 1. Bill Rose, Plainfield IN; 2. Geoff Dodge,
Speedway IN; 3. Mike Moore, Des Moines IA; 4. Bob Weuve, Newton IA; 5. Greg
Hall, Albany, WA, Aust. ; 6. Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield IL; 7. Chris
Schmelzle, Victoria, BC, Can. ; 8. Ty Bartz, Sheboygan Falls WI; 9. Greg
Nikitenko, Minot ND; 10. Kevin Ingle, Huron SD; 11. Matt Wasmund, Jackson
MN; 12. Scott Uttech, New Berlin WI; 13. Marlon Jones, Harrisburg SD; 14.
Robert Bell, Colfax IA; 15. Pete Crall, (R) DeSoto KS;
D Feature, 12 laps, No Time: 1. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL; 2. Toni Lutar,
White Rock, BC, Can. ; 3. Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington IA; 4. John
Lambertz, Sioux Falls SD; 5. Josh Higday, Des Moines IA; 6. Rob Chaney,
Millersburg OH; 7. Kenny Jacobs, Holmesville OH; 8. Bill Balog, Eau Claire
WI; 9. Austin McCarl, (R) Altoona IA; 10. Davey Heskin, St. Michael MN; 11.
Chad Meyer, Sioux Falls SD; 12. Caleb Griffith, Sandusky OH; 13. Bill Rose,
Plainfield IN; 14. Scott Winters, Butterfield MN; 15. Mike Moore, Des Moines
IA; 16. Bob Weuve, Newton IA; 17. Geoff Dodge, Speedway IN; 18. Erin
Crocker, Wilbraham MA; 19. Greg Hall, Albany, WA, Aust. ; 20. Dwight
Snodgrass, Indianola IA; 21. Travis Rilat, Forney TX; 22. Ricky Montgomery,
Lakewood CO;
C Feature, 15 laps, No Time: 1. Wayne Johnson, Knoxville IA; 2. Billy
Alley, Lincoln NE; 3. Ryan Anderson, Charter Oak IA; 4. Garry Brazier,
Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 5. Rager Phillips, Pleasantville IA; 6. Kerry Madsen,
Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 7. Sammy Swindell, Germantown TN; 8. Cale Conley,
Vienna WV; 9. Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount IN; 10. Lee Sowell, Nesbit MS; 11.
Daryn Pittman, Owasso OK; 12. Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro IN; 13. Lance
Dewease, Fayetteville PA; 14. Cody Darrah, Red Lion PA; 15. Don Droud Jr.,
Lincoln NE; 16. Jason Sides, Bartlett TN; 17. Garry Lee Maier, Cimarron KS;
18. Toni Lutar, White Rock, BC, Can. ; 19. Kaley Gharst, Decatur IL; 20.
Tony Bruce Jr., Liberal KS; 21. Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington IA; 22.
Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City IA;
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA
August 15, 2009
B Feature, 22 laps, No Time: 1. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH; 2. Jason
Meyers, Clovis CA; 3. Danny Lasoski, Dover MO; 4. Jason Johnson, Eunice LA;
5. Bronson Maeschen, Knoxville IA; 6. Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque NM; 7.
Chad Kemenah, Findlay OH; 8. Danny Smith, Danville IN; 9. Dean Jacobs,
Wooster OH; 10. Skip Jackson, Sydney, NSW, Aust. ; 11. Jack Dover,
Springfield NE; 12. Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks ND; 13. Daron Clayton,
Sikeston MO; 14. Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls SD; 15. Ed Lynch Jr, Apollo
PA; 16. Calvin Landis, Knoxville IA; 17. Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge OH; 18.
Jesse Giannetto, Cedar Rapids IA; 19. Fred Rahmer, Salfordville PA; 20.
Wayne Johnson, Knoxville IA; 21. Billy Alley, Lincoln NE; 22. Ricky Logan,
Little Rock AR;
A Feature, 40 laps, No Time: 1. Donny Schatz, Fargo ND; 2. Joey Saldana,
Brownsburg IN; 3. Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow OK; 4. Tim Kaeding, San Jose
CA; 5. Shane Stewart, Bixby OK; 6. Kraig Kinser, Bloomington IN; 7. Tim
Shaffer, Aliquippa PA; 8. Dale Blaney, Fowler OH; 9. Craig Dollansky, Elk
River MN; 10. Jac Haudenschild, Wooster OH; 11. Danny Lasoski, Dover MO; 12.
Steve Kinser, Bloomington IN; 13. Dusty Zomer, Brandon SD; 14. Tyler Walker,
Encino CA; 15. Jonathan Allard, Chico CA; 16. Greg Hodnett, Thomasville PA;
17. Terry McCarl, Altoona IA; 18. Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg PA; 19. Jason
Johnson, Eunice LA; 20. Paul McMahan, Nashville TN; 21. Jason Solwold, Mount
Vernon WA; 22. Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale TX; 23. Brian Brown, Grain
Valley MO; 24. Jason Meyers, Clovis CA. Lap Leaders: Saldana 1-34; Schatz
35-40
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