Story By: BRYAN HULBERT / ASCS – KNOXVILLE, IA – Leading it all Saturday night at the 32nd annual 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank, 2015 Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Champion, Aaron Reutzel took his potential earnings to the max with a $30,000 check going to the driver of the Ridge Development No. 8.
Aaron’s fourth career 360 win at the Knoxville Raceway, the triumph is his second on the season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network and 21st all-time.
“It was early, it wasn’t at the end. We were struggling,” commented Aaron of the car’s speed as the race went on.
“I knew someone was probably coming, but that’s how I wanted the race to play out. I just wanted to go green-to-checkered, so I could run in lapped traffic and try to hide a little bit.”
Jumping to the point through the first and second turns, Aaron quickly put distance on the field. Non-stop as traffic loomed near the race’s mid-point, Aaron was unphased as the race through the top five focused on Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Taking the green seventh, the five-time Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series National Tour Champion worked to third on Lap 14. Throwing the slide on Clint Garner, the pair tapped tires but were able to save and keep rolling.
Moving his line around the Knoxville Raceway, Sam began entering low and driving across the turns to the cushion to reel in Lynton Jeffrey. To second on Lap 16, Sam trailed Reutzel by 2.824-seconds.
Keeping his line the same as Aaron Reutzel worked the top at all points, Hafertepe closed a second over the next six laps. Down to under a second with four laps to run, Aaron had company as the pair raced to the white flag. Giving it a shot through turns one and two, the momentum wasn’t enough to deny Aaron Reutzel his just rewards.
Thanking sponsors and crew, Aaron made a point to thank his car owners, “I have to put all the attention on Brian and Lisa Ridge. This is a huge, huge, win for them and they deserve it giving me the opportunity to stay home and race the schedule that I want to race. It’s been a fun year for sure.”
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. in second, was joined on the podium by Clint Garner, who captured the spot with three laps to run. Lynton Jeffrey ended up fourth with Terry McCarl in fifth.
Brian Brown, in sixth, was chased to the line by 12th, starting Cory Eliason with Ayrton Gennetten in eighth. Picking up nine positions and earning the title of JETCO Rookie of the Year, Waco’s Chase Randall crossed ninth. The top ten rounded out with Giovanni Scelzi.
The 2022 edition of the 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank saw 107 official entrants. The Saturday alphabet included four conciliation races with wins going to Jett Carney (E-Feature), Colby Copeland (D-Feature), Kaleb Johnson (C-Feature), and Tyler Courtney (B-Feature).
The next event for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network is Friday, August 26 ($3,000 to win), and Saturday, August 27 ($4,000 to win) at Dodge City Raceway Park in Dodge City, Kan. Information on the event is online at https://dodgecityracewaypark.com.
The 2022 season will mark the 31st year of competition for the American Sprint Car Series. Spearheaded by the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, the ASCS Nation includes Regional Tours that encompass both wing and non-wing competition.
For fans not able to attend, the series can be seen live on two platforms, with RaceOnTexas.com on FloRacing.com featuring National Tour events in tandem. Both are subscription-based sites. FloRacing.com is $20 per month, billed annually at $150 per year. RaceOnTexas.com All Access is $39.99 per month.
For other news, notes, and information on any of the tours under the ASCS banner, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa)
32nd annual 360 Knoxville Nationals
Saturday, August 6, 2022
Event Count: 107
SCE Gaskets E-Feature (Top 9 advance to the D-Feature)
E Feature (8 Laps): 1. 6J-Jett Carney[2]; 2. 1CC-Clayton Christensen[1]; 3. 42-Sye Lynch[4]; 4. 5T-Ryan Timms[6]; 5. 19-Wes Wofford[5]; 6. 83JR-Sam Henderson[12]; 7. 6C-Logan Calderwood[3]; 8. 199-Ryan Bowers[8]; 9. 1A-John Anderson[7]; 10. 4D-Charles Davis Jr[9]; 11. 3M-Mike Pennel[13]; 12. 4S-Adam Speckman[14]; 13. 4H-Cody Hansen[11]; 14. (DNS) 8H-Jacob Hughes
Hoosier Tire D-Feature (Top 9 advance to the C-Feature)
D Feature (10 Laps): 1. 16A-Colby Copeland[1]; 2. 26H-Scott Bogucki[8]; 3. 5M-Collin Moyle[4]; 4. 21G-Gunner Ramey[2]; 5. 53-Joe Beaver[14]; 6. 50Z-Zach Chappell[12]; 7. 55B-Brandon Anderson[10]; 8. 42-Sye Lynch[18]; 9. 28-Luke Verardi[13]; 10. 5T-Ryan Timms[19]; 11. 1A-John Anderson[24]; 12. 6C-Logan Calderwood[22]; 13. 22W-Aaron Werner[15]; 14. 6J-Jett Carney[16]; 15. (DNF) 19-Wes Wofford[20]; 16. (DNF) 45-Rusty Hickman[3]; 17. (DNF) 2JR-Kelly Miller[5]; 18. (DNF) 99-Tony Rost[6]; 19. (DNF) 7B-Ben Brown[9]; 20. (DNF) 1CC-Clayton Christensen[17]; 21. (DNF) 83JR-Sam Henderson[21]; 22. (DNF) 22-Ryan Leavitt[11]; 23. (DNF) 13V-Seth Brahmer[7]; 24. (DNF) 199-Ryan Bowers[23]
Superior Steering Wheel C-Feature (Top 4 advance to the B-Feature)
C Feature (12 Laps): 1. 22K-Kaleb Johnson[1]; 2. 4-Cameron Martin[2]; 3. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[4]; 4. 55T-McKenna Haase[3]; 5. 27B-Jake Bubak[8]; 6. 14T-Brooke Tatnell[10]; 7. 35-Skylar Prochaska[15]; 8. 16A-Colby Copeland[16]; 9. 7M-Chance Morton[13]; 10. 26H-Scott Bogucki[17]; 11. 94-Jeff Swindell[6]; 12. 53-Joe Beaver[20]; 13. 45X-Kyler Johnson[9]; 14. 50Z-Zach Chappell[21]; 15. 10P-Dylan Postier[14]; 16. 42-Sye Lynch[23]; 17. 55B-Brandon Anderson[22]; 18. 23-Devon Dobie[12]; 19. 21G-Gunner Ramey[19]; 20. 28-Luke Verardi[24]; 21. 5M-Collin Moyle[18]; 22. (DNF) 5A-Alex Vande Voort[7]; 23. (DNF) 83-Austin Miller[5]; 24. (DNF) 8M-Kade Morton[11]
BMRS B-Feature (Top 4 advance to the A-Feature)
B Feature (18 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 2. 11M-Parker Price Miller[8]; 3. 5-Brady Forbrook[2]; 4. 49X-Cale Thomas[5]; 5. 18R-Ryan Roberts[3]; 6. 20-Anthony Macri[13]; 7. 27-Carson McCarl[4]; 8. 88-Austin McCarl[6]; 9. 14-Corey Day[10]; 10. 95-Matt Covington[7]; 11. 39-Justin Sanders[9]; 12. 64-Ian Madsen[16]; 13. 26-Zeb Wise[14]; 14. 21H-Brady Bacon[15]; 15. 2M-Davey Heskin[19]; 16. 36-Jason Martin[11]; 17. 22K-Kaleb Johnson[21]; 18. 44-Chris Martin[20]; 19. 11N-Harli White[17]; 20. 4-Cameron Martin[22]; 21. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[23]; 22. 75AU-Tyler Blank[18]; 23. 22X-Riley Goodno[12]; 24. 55T-McKenna Haase[24]
A-Feature
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 8-Aaron Reutzel[2]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[7]; 3. 40-Clint Garner[3]; 4. 2K-Lynton Jeffrey[1]; 5. 24-Terry McCarl[4]; 6. 21-Brian Brown[5]; 7. 71-Cory Eliason[12]; 8. 3-Ayrton Gennetten[6]; 9. 9-Chase Randall[18]; 10. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[8]; 11. 57-Kyle Larson[16]; 12. 83H-Justin Henderson[14]; 13. 11M-Parker Price Miller[22]; 14. 24W-Garet Williamson[13]; 15. 09-Matt Juhl[19]; 16. 21K-Thomas Kennedy[11]; 17. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips[15]; 18. 49X-Cale Thomas[24]; 19. 5-Brady Forbrook[23]; 20. 52-Blake Hahn[17]; 21. 24T-Christopher Thram[9]; 22. (DNF) 6-Kelby Watt[20]; 23. (DNF) 2C-Wayne Johnson[10]; 24. (DNF) 7BC-Tyler Courtney[21]
Lap Leader(s): Aaron Reutzel 1-30
Hard Charger: Chase Randall +9