Thursday it was off to night one of the 17th annual Knoxville Lucas Oil Late Model Nationals. This event has grown in stature over the years - particularly with the Lucas Oil sanction - even as car counts have fallen. In the inaugural year of 2004 the Extreme Late Model Nationals drew a field of ninety eight cars. In 2019, (there was no race in 2020 due to the pandemic), fifty five drivers competed on the opening night. While the Saturday night 100 lap winner has collected a cool $40,000 for several seasons, that figure was bumped up to $50,000 for 2021, partially in response, I imagine to the nearly week long competing event at the Texas Dirt Track. Along with the Texas race siphoning off several super late model race teams, a nationwide parts and tire shortage figured to further shrink the entry list this season. Still anticipation was high for this first of two night qualifying events paying $7,000 to the feature winner. The late entry of current national sensation Kyle Larson for the Thursday show was certainly another feather in the cap for Knoxville.
Still forty eight race teams signed in on Thursday, a solid mix of national stars and mid western hot shoes. The weather could not have been more perfect, and as always, the track surface was well manicured and racy. Mooresville, North Carolina driver Kyle Strickler was the first car out for time trials, and his lap of 17.878 seconds held up as the best of the night. With the field split into two qualifying groups, Kyle Larson paced the "B" group with a lap of 18.041 seconds.
Heat race action came next, with six twelve lap events qualifying the top three for the twenty five lap feature. A six car invert based off of time trials set the lineups and created lots of action. Kansas racer Chase Junghans captured heat one from the outside pole over his row one mate Garrett Alberson, while Strickler came from row three to third. New York pilot Tim McCreadie started sixth and picked up the heat two win over his row three mate, Decorah, Iowas Tyler Bruening and fourth starting Mike Marlar. Minnesota's Rickey Weiss came from fifth for the heat three victory ahead of Mt. Vernon Iowa driver Chad Simpson and Brandon Sheppard who lined up side by side in row two.
Texan Tyler Erb kicked off the second set of heats, racing from fourth to the front, topping sixth starting Larson and outside pole sitter Tony Jackson Jr. Hudson Oneal, Martinsville, Indiana, timed poorly, started on the pole, and cruised to the win in heat five ahead of sixth starting Earl Pearson Jr. and row two starter Spencer Hughes, who used a final corner pass to take the spot from Farley, Iowas' Jason Rauen. Finally, it was West Virginia ace Josh Richards driving from second to the victory in heat six over fourth starting Frank Heckenast Jr., while fifth starting Jonathon Davenport grabbed the third spot from Shane Clanton at the line.
Something important to understand about the Knoxville format is that they place a huge importance on time trials, using a points system which is used to determine lineups for the big money dance on Saturday, so while Oneal and Richards had advantageous starting spots in winning their heats, the points gained there may well lag behind other top three finishers who had better qualifying times. Also of note, drivers are able to use their best points night from the Thursday or Friday show for the Saturday lineups.
A pair of fifteen lap B mains would fill out the twenty four car starting grid, with no provisional spots available tonight. Pole sitter Ricky Thornton Jr. paced the first of these, topping Kyle Bronson and Tad Pospisil. It was not until midway in this race that the first yellow flag of the night was shown, for a slowing Daniel Hilsabeck. Shane Clanton advanced from row three to snag B main number two ahead of Logan Martin and Chris Simpson, from Oxford, Iowa.
With barely enough time for everyone to catch their breath, the feature rolled to the grid. The lineup reverted to qualifying times, with the fastest eight inverted. This put Weiss and Erb in row one, and Weiss edged in front to lead the opening circuit. Erb used the high line to take over on lap two, and had soon opened a commanding lead. As the race stayed green, the leader found himself in slower traffic around lap twelve. He was having little issues working his way through when the first caution period came with sixteen laps scored, as Chris Simpson slowed on the track. Erb paced the restart with Davenport, Weiss, McCreadie, and Larson next in the Delaware style lineup. Three more laps were in the books when the yellow waved for Marlar, who smacked the guardrail. The only change in the top five at this point saw Larson slipping around McCreadie. As the green flag flew, Davenport executed a slide job in turn two to briefly take the lead before Erb moved back to the front. Larson had picked his way to third and was closing on Davenport when the red flag came out with just two laps remaining. Oneal appeared to move too close to the rail between turns three and four and was sucked in, turning him sideways. With no chance to react, he was hit hard by Martin, badly damaging both cars. The final restart was single file. There would be no challenge for Erb this time, as he drove to the win and the $7,000 prize. Davenport held off Larson for second, followed by Weiss and Strickler. ( Cars numbers six, seven, and eight in order!) McCreadie was sixth besting Pearson Jr. in his brand new ride with his original #46, Bruening, Chad Simpson in the Moring Motorsports #1, and Sheppard.
The final checkers came before 10:00 P.M. Many thanks to former late model standout Boone McLaughlin and family for their hospitality and the awesome seats! Local festivities will keep me occupied this evening and as I have only missed one of the Knoxville 100 lappers ( a Sunday rain date,) I am still thinking about a return on Saturday. For sure I plan to make my first visit of the season to East Moline Speedway on Sunday for the $2,000 to win Gary Webb Tribute race honoring the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer and all around good guy! There are also multiple options in the area this weekend, the forecast looks great, so get off the couch, and to the track!
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