More Racing
  • Peg It on GarageMonkey
SPRINT: Four Score In New Knoxville Friday Format
Winner Justin Henderson and eventual runner-up David Gravel put on a great battle for the point, while Dale Blaney and Cody Darrah did the same for the last podium spot.
Jim Chiappelli  |  Posted August 11, 2012  
Justin Henderson. (Photo: Frank Smith/NSSN)
Opportunity came knocking at Knoxville Raceway Friday, where nearly 70 drivers, looking for redemption after dissatisfying results in their Wednesday or Thursday qualifying races, vied for four guaranteed spots in sprint car racing’s biggest event, Saturday’s Knoxville Nationals.

The unique format at The Nationals split the field in two, as drivers competed either Wednesday or Thursday in complete racing programs with time trials, heat races, and C, B and A-main events.

Drivers earned points every time they hit the track, and the top 16 in the standings after Thursday’s program secured spots in the first eight rows for Saturday’s 50-lap, $150,000 to win finale.

Positions 17-20, however, remained up for grabs as race organizers tried a new format. In years past, the best that drivers entered on Friday could expect was advancement to Saturday’s C-Main.

After single-lap time trials, seven heat races, a trio of B-Mains and a 25-lap A-Main Friday, four drivers were unanimous in their support of the change.

Winner Justin Henderson and eventual runner-up David Gravel put on a great battle for the point, while Dale Blaney and Cody Darrah did the same for the last podium spot.

For Blaney, the comeback could not have been more jaw-dropping. Thanks to a blown engine after hot laps on Thursday, the Ohio driver did not take part in time trials and entered Friday night dead-last in points out of 98 drivers. A solid qualifying lap and impressive heat race win put Blaney in scoring position.

Darrah, meanwhile, made the Nationals A-Main for the first time in four tries after enduring a wicked flip on the opening lap of his heat race and an engine change.

Conversely, 12-time Knoxville Nationals winner Steve Kinser, who has started the A-Main at this event for 34 consecutive years, has an uphill climb. A ninth place showing Friday means The King will roll off from Saturday’s 22-lap B-Main from the 15th position with only the top four moving on to the grand finale.

2012 Knoxville Nationals starting lineup:

Row 1: Stevie Smith & Craig Dollansky
Row 2: Jonathan Allard & Brian Brown
Row 3: Donny Schatz & Joey Saldana
Row 4: Jason Meyers & Tim Kaeding
Row 5: Kraig Kinser & Lucas Wolfe
Row 6: Ian Madsen & Kyle Larson
Row 7: Shane Stewart & Daryn Pittman
Row 8: Lance Dewease & Paul McMahan
Row 9: Justin Henderson & David Gravel
Row 10: Dale Blaney & Cody Darrah
Row 11: Saturday B-Main winner & runner-up
Row 12: Saturday B-Main 3rd & 4th finishers

Knoxville Knotes:

• 4-time Knoxville Nationals winner Danny Lasoski, the winningest sprint car driver at Knoxville Raceway, sustained a flat right rear tire in Friday’s A-Main and finished 15th, relegating “The Dude” to pole position in Saturday’s C-Main
• Steve Kinser made an incredible move to win his heat race Friday, powering from third to first by driving between a narrow gap between the two cars ahead of him
• Donny Schatz passed Sammy Swindell to win Friday’s 20-lap Knoxville World Challenge event, which pits drivers from the United States against their counterparts from Australia
• The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum features a “Salute to Champions” exhibit featuring NASCAR star Jeff Gordon, a former short-track open wheel star who finished 23rd in his only Knoxville Nationals A-Main in 1989
• Television coverage of the Knoxville Nationals can be seen Saturday, August 25 at Noon ET on SPEED.

Jim Chiappelli is SPEED’s Coordinating Producer of Studio Programming & News Director, whose family has been involved with sprint car racing for more than 30 years. Twitter: @jim_chiappelli
jim_chiappelli's avatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim Chiappelli

MORE BY THIS AUTHOR
Advertising | Jobs | Feedback | FAQ | Terms of Use | NEW Privacy Policy | Ad Choices | Site Map
Fox Sports | FUEL TV | FX Network | National Geographic | IGN | AskMen
The Motor Sports Authority, SPEED and associated logos are registered trademarks of Speed Channel Inc.
All Rights Reserved © Speed Channel, Inc. 2013

All external links will open in a new browser window. SPEED.com does not endorse external sites.