Knoxville Raceway

PHOTO FINISH: Battenfield Edges Jared, Behning by .024 to Win at Knoxville

by

Several of iRacing’s greatest dirt racers have found their way to DIRTcar eSports Victory Lane since its establishment in 2020. Rocky Battenfield may have just produced one of the most exciting in Street Stock League history Wednesday night, beating points leader Kyle Jared and Brunson Behning to the finish line by .024 seconds to score his first career DIRTcar eSports Feature win.

Battenfield, the iRacing Street Stock veteran racer from Oklahoma, started on the pole and took the early lead, holding off all challengers through the first 20 laps of the 30-lap event. After a few restarts, League points leader Jared had ramped-up momentum and gave Battenfield a serious challenge to his inside, taking the lead briefly on Lap 25 with a strong run through Turns 1-2.

As soon as Battenfield retook the lead out of Turn 4, a caution flag was displayed, pausing the battle briefly. After the ensuing restart, the battle came to a boiling point.

Coming to the white flag, Jared and Behning trailed Battenfield by only a bumper’s length and charged into Turn 1. Behning gave Battenfield a nudge on his left-rear corner out of Turn 2 and got under the #97 going into Turn 3. Jared, who carried momentum on the top out of Turn 2, quickly changed lanes entering Turn 3 and darted his #045 to the very bottom underneath both Behning and Battenfield, making it a three-wide drag race for the win coming to the checkered flag.

Without any big contact, Battenfield barely edged both drivers at the line to take the win and the $100 check.

“Whooo, I tell you what, I am sweating bullets right now,” Battenfield said in the DIRTcar eSports Twitch post-race interview. “That was so much fun.

“I figured if I could just hold the bottom, I would be okay, but even [Jared] was getting a pretty good run on the outside of me. He’d catch me in the right-rear a little bit going into Turn 3, which really tightened me up, but… that finish, how about that?”

Jared held onto second at the line and again increased his points lead, while Behning crossed in third – a career best with DIRTcar eSports.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Feature (30 laps) – 1. 97-Rocky Battenfield [1]; 2. 45-Kyle Jared [9]; 3. 37-Brunson Behning2 [14]; 4. 52-Billy Northcutt [13]; 5. 18-Jaycee Floyd [3]; 6. 1-Kaden Reynolds [4]; 7. 26-Sage Luther [2]; 8. 13-Justin Hopkins2 [10]; 9. 68-Ronald Pyles [6]; 10. 27-Joshua Thomas4 [15]; 11. 5-Ian Goode [24]; 12. 2-Ty Dickenson [8]; 13. 5-Isaac Salas [22]; 14. 43-Grady Ehrman [5]; 15. 77-Kyle Ramsey2 [17]; 16. 33-Brady Thompson2 [7]; 17. 64-Logan Koteles [21]; 18. 42-John Quill [19]; 19. 22-Myles Morse [11]; 20. 109-Shawn Hayes [12]; 21. 71-Daniel Stiffler [16]; 22. 2-Clifford Bellomy [20]; 23. 41-Christopher Hill9 [23]; DQ. 822-Tyler Jackson3 [18]

1/11/23 – Street Stocks at Knoxville Raceway

by

Feature (30 laps) – 1. 97-Rocky Battenfield [1]; 2. 45-Kyle Jared [9]; 3. 37-Brunson Behning2 [14]; 4. 52-Billy Northcutt [13]; 5. 18-Jaycee Floyd [3]; 6. 1-Kaden Reynolds [4]; 7. 26-Sage Luther [2]; 8. 13-Justin Hopkins2 [10]; 9. 68-Ronald Pyles [6]; 10. 27-Joshua Thomas4 [15]; 11. 5-Ian Goode [24]; 12. 2-Ty Dickenson [8]; 13. 5-Isaac Salas [22]; 14. 43-Grady Ehrman [5]; 15. 77-Kyle Ramsey2 [17]; 16. 33-Brady Thompson2 [7]; 17. 64-Logan Koteles [21]; 18. 42-John Quill [19]; 19. 22-Myles Morse [11]; 20. 109-Shawn Hayes [12]; 21. 71-Daniel Stiffler [16]; 22. 2-Clifford Bellomy [20]; 23. 41-Christopher Hill9 [23]; DQ. 822-Tyler Jackson3 [18]

Qualifying (2 laps) – 1. 45-Kyle Jared [22.66]; 2. 71-Daniel Stiffler [22.767]; 3. 157-Drew Hopkins [22.828]; 4. 109-Shawn Hayes [22.83]; 5. 93-Cody Nehring [22.856]; 6. 37-Brunson Behning2 [22.862]; 7. 33-Brady Thompson2 [22.863]; 8. 2-Ty Dickenson [22.865]; 9. 52-Billy Northcutt [22.871]; 10. 13-Justin Hopkins2 [22.897]; 11. 11-Dustin Fryer [22.915]; 12. 84-Bryce Dickenson [22.919]; 13. 97-Rocky Battenfield [22.921]; 14. 2-Clifford Bellomy [22.924]; 15. 22-Myles Morse [22.926]; 16. 1-Kaden Reynolds [22.926]; 17. 27-Joshua Thomas4 [22.928]; 18. 26-Sage Luther [22.933]; 19. 39-Colt Currie [22.951]; 20. 5-Ian Goode [22.952]; 21. 43-Grady Ehrman [22.953]; 22. 68-Ronald Pyles [22.965]; 23. 18-Jaycee Floyd [22.967]; 24. 4-Joey Brewer [22.975]; 25. 77-Kyle Ramsey2 [22.977]; 26. 5-Isaac Salas [22.993]; 27. 64-Logan Koteles [22.993]; 28. 20-Jeremy Akins [22.998]; 29. 25-Blake Bailey [23]; 30. 38-Dylan D Thomas [23.023]; 31. 42-John Quill [23.051]; 32. 10-Ben Harcum [23.054]; 33. 8-Cam Campbell [23.057]; 34. 34-Daniel Northcutt2 [23.083]; 35. 41-Christopher Hill9 [23.096]; 36. 822-Tyler Jackson3 [23.12]; 37. 3-Joshua Ringer [23.175]; 38. 44-Joe Marrant [23.193]; 39. 45-Stephen Barugh [23.198]; 40. 57-William Curl [23.232]; 41. 87-Rusty Bilger [23.242]; 42. 76-Robert Palmer8 [23.278]; 43. 24-Michael Kenton [23.45]

Matjoulis-Seay SpeedShop Heat 1 (8 laps, top-3 transfer) – 1. 97-Rocky Battenfield [3]; 2. 43-Grady Ehrman [1]; 3. 45-Kyle Jared [6]; 4. 27-Joshua Thomas4 [2]; 5. 52-Billy Northcutt [4]; 6. 77-Kyle Ramsey2 [7]; 7. 93-Cody Nehring [5]; 8. 25-Blake Bailey [8]; 9. 87-Rusty Bilger [11]; 10. 8-Cam Campbell [9]; 11. 3-Joshua Ringer [10]

Matjoulis-Seay SpeedShop Heat 2 (8 laps, top-3 transfer) – 1. 26-Sage Luther [2]; 2. 68-Ronald Pyles [1]; 3. 13-Justin Hopkins2 [4]; 4. 2-Clifford Bellomy [3]; 5. 71-Daniel Stiffler [6]; 6. 37-Brunson Behning2 [5]; 7. 5-Isaac Salas [7]; 8. 34-Daniel Northcutt2 [9]; 9. 44-Joe Marrant [10]; 10. 38-Dylan D Thomas [8]; 11. 76-Robert Palmer8 [11]

Heat 3 (8 laps, top-3 transfer) – 1. 18-Jaycee Floyd [1]; 2. 33-Brady Thompson2 [5]; 3. 22-Myles Morse [3]; 4. 64-Logan Koteles [7]; 79. 42-John Quill [8]; 79. 11-Dustin Fryer [4]; 79. 39-Colt Currie [2]; 79. 41-Christopher Hill9 [9]; Dirt Street Stock. 24-Michael Kenton [11]; Dirt Street Stock. 157-Drew Hopkins [6]; Dirt Street Stock. 45-Stephen Barugh [10]

Heat 4 (8 laps, top-3 transfer) – 1. 1-Kaden Reynolds [3]; 2. 2-Ty Dickenson [5]; 3. 109-Shawn Hayes [6]; 4. 4-Joey Brewer [1]; 5. 5-Ian Goode [2]; 6. 822-Tyler Jackson3 [9]; 7. 84-Bryce Dickenson [4]; 8. 20-Jeremy Akins [7]; 9. 10-Ben Harcum [8]; 10. 57-William Curl [10]

B-Main 1 (10 laps, top-6 transfer) – 1. 52-Billy Northcutt [3]; 2. 27-Joshua Thomas4 [1]; 3. 77-Kyle Ramsey2 [5]; 4. 42-John Quill [4]; 5. 64-Logan Koteles [2]; 6. 41-Christopher Hill9 [10]; 7. 25-Blake Bailey [9]; 8. 87-Rusty Bilger [11]; 9. 93-Cody Nehring [7]; 10. 157-Drew Hopkins [14]; 11. 39-Colt Currie [8]; 12. 3-Joshua Ringer [15]; 13. 8-Cam Campbell [13]; 14. 24-Michael Kenton [12]; 15. 11-Dustin Fryer [6]

B-Main 2 (10 laps, top-6 transfer) – 1. 37-Brunson Behning2 [5]; 2. 71-Daniel Stiffler [3]; 3. 822-Tyler Jackson3 [6]; 4. 2-Clifford Bellomy [1]; 5. 5-Isaac Salas [7]; 6. 5-Ian Goode [4]; 7. 34-Daniel Northcutt2 [9]; 8. 84-Bryce Dickenson [8]; 9. 20-Jeremy Akins [10]; 10. 10-Ben Harcum [12]; 11. 44-Joe Marrant [11]; 12. 4-Joey Brewer [2]; 13. 38-Dylan D Thomas [13]; 14. 57-William Curl [14]; 15. 76-Robert Palmer8 [15]; 16. 45-Stephen Barugh [16]

HARD KNOX LIFE: Jared Avoids Havoc, Wins Street Stock Feature at Knoxville

by

Kyle Jared broke through for his first career victory in the Chevy Performance Street Stock League two weeks ago in a brutal, smash-em-up showdown at Bristol Motor Speedway. Last Wednesday night, he avoided the wreckage in another rough-and-tumble Feature at Knoxville, capitalizing on a wreck with the leaders late in the race and holding off a challenge from competitors behind to win his second Feature of DIRTcar eSports Season 4.

ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)

Chevy Performance Feature (20 laps) 1. 045-Kyle Jared [8]; 2. 71-Daniel Stiffler [1]; 3. 57-Jim Reavis [5]; 4. 30-Stevin Goldner [19]; 5. 5-Isaac Salas [6]; 6. 115-Eric Tupper [12]; 7. 60-Kyle Householder [16]; 8. 002-Clifford Bellomy [21]; 9. 098-Andrew Clark [14]; 10. 789-Garrett Marshall [11]; 11. 50-Steven Gaines [24]; 12. 10-Jordan Gage [4]; 13. 3-Carden Cochran [18]; 14. 21-Charles Barnes [2]; 15. 93-Steve Miskolczi [23]; 16. 99-Tim Taylor [15]; 17. 84-Mike Watt [20]; 18. 97-Butch Baker [9]; 19. 79-Noah Blankenship [22]; 20. 17-Brett Rowles [10]; 21. 09-Shawn Hayes [17]; 22. 822-Tyler Jackson [13]; 23. 010-Lon Franks [7] DQ. 69-Fletcher McGee [3]

12/22/21 – Street Stocks at Knoxville Raceway

by

Chevy Performance Feature (20 laps) 1. 045-Kyle Jared [8]; 2. 71-Daniel Stiffler [1]; 3. 57-Jim Reavis [5]; 4. 30-Stevin Goldner [19]; 5. 5-Isaac Salas [6]; 6. 115-Eric Tupper [12]; 7. 60-Kyle Householder [16]; 8. 002-Clifford Bellomy [21]; 9. 098-Andrew Clark [14]; 10. 789-Garrett Marshall [11]; 11. 50-Steven Gaines [24]; 12. 10-Jordan Gage [4]; 13. 3-Carden Cochran [18]; 14. 21-Charles Barnes [2]; 15. 93-Steve Miskolczi [23]; 16. 99-Tim Taylor [15]; 17. 84-Mike Watt [20]; 18. 97-Butch Baker [9]; 19. 79-Noah Blankenship [22]; 20. 17-Brett Rowles [10]; 21. 09-Shawn Hayes [17]; 22. 822-Tyler Jackson [13]; 23. 010-Lon Franks [7] DQ. 69-Fletcher McGee [3]

Qualifying (2 laps) 1. 71-Daniel Stiffler [22.475]; 2. 21-Charles Barnes [22.497]; 3. 69-Fletcher McGee [22.513]; 4. 10-Jordan Gage [22.52]; 5. 17-Brett Rowles [22.528]; 6. 789-Garrett Marshall [22.532]; 7. 010-Lon Franks [22.539]; 8. 045-Kyle Jared [22.541]; 9. 97-Butch Baker [22.542]; 10. 99-Tim Taylor [22.546]; 11. 5-Isaac Salas [22.549]; 12. 79-Noah Blankenship [22.555]; 13. 822-Tyler Jackson [22.566]; 14. 66-Preston Dimsdale [22.574]; 15. 57-Jim Reavis [22.591]; 16. 60-Kyle Householder [22.593]; 17. 09-Shawn Hayes [22.597]; 18. 58-Jason Welsh [22.602]; 19. 098-Andrew Clark [22.603]; 20. 84-Mike Watt [22.612]; 21. 86-Jason Metoxen [22.613]; 22. 25-Donnie Gibson [22.617]; 23. 717-Bobby Rafferty [22.618]; 24. 93-Steve Miskolczi [22.622]; 25. 89-Derek Holochak [22.628]; 26. 20-Zach Dillon [22.64]; 27. 115-Eric Tupper [22.65]; 28. 3-Carden Cochran [22.663]; 29. 30-Stevin Goldner [22.665]; 30. 50-Steven Gaines [22.669]; 31. 002-Clifford Bellomy [22.671]; 32. 83-Brian Taft [22.676]; 33. 77-Holden English [22.677]; 34. 27-Joseph Driscoll [22.681]; 35. 05-Christopher Hill [22.684]; 36. 13-Michael Lockwood [22.705]; 37. 1-Jonathon Howlett [22.708]; 38. 68-Ronald Pyles [22.734]; 39. 35-Drake Hartzell [22.758]; 40. 069-Brian Smith [22.78]; 41. 000-Travis Clark [22.787]; 42. 11-Nick Graziano [22.897]; 43. 50-Alex Bonsignore [23.042]; 44. 00-Kelly Miller [24.562]

Heat 1 (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. 71-Daniel Stiffler [1]; 2. 5-Isaac Salas [3]; 3. 789-Garrett Marshall [2]; 4. 60-Kyle Householder [4]; 5. 002-Clifford Bellomy [7]; 6. 86-Jason Metoxen [5]; 7. 000-Travis Clark [9]; 8. 20-Zach Dillon [6]; 9. 13-Michael Lockwood [8]

Heat 2 (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. 21-Charles Barnes [1]; 2. 010-Lon Franks [2]; 3. 115-Eric Tupper [6]; 4. 09-Shawn Hayes [4]; 5. 79-Noah Blankenship [3]; 6. 25-Donnie Gibson [5]; 7. 1-Jonathon Howlett [8]; 8. 11-Nick Graziano [9]; 9. 83-Brian Taft [7]

Heat 3 (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. 69-Fletcher McGee [1]; 2. 045-Kyle Jared [2]; 3. 822-Tyler Jackson [3]; 4. 3-Carden Cochran [6]; 5. 50-Alex Bonsignore [9]; 6. 68-Ronald Pyles [8]; 7. 58-Jason Welsh [4]; 8. 77-Holden English [7]; 9. 717-Bobby Rafferty [5]

Heat 4 (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. 10-Jordan Gage [1]; 2. 97-Butch Baker [2]; 3. 098-Andrew Clark [4]; 4. 30-Stevin Goldner [6]; 5. 35-Drake Hartzell [8]; 6. 27-Joseph Driscoll [7]; 7. 00-Kelly Miller [9]; 8. 93-Steve Miskolczi [5]; 9. 66-Preston Dimsdale [3]

Heat 5 (8 laps, top-4 transfer) 1. 57-Jim Reavis [3]; 2. 17-Brett Rowles [1]; 3. 99-Tim Taylor [2]; 4. 84-Mike Watt [4]; 5. 05-Christopher Hill [7]; 6. 89-Derek Holochak [5]; 7. 069-Brian Smith [8]; 8. 50-Steven Gaines [6]

B-Main 1 (10 laps, top-2 transfer) 1. 002-Clifford Bellomy [1]; 2. 93-Steve Miskolczi [10]; 3. 25-Donnie Gibson [4]; 4. 11-Nick Graziano [9]; 5. 58-Jason Welsh [7]; 6. 069-Brian Smith [8]; 7. 27-Joseph Driscoll [5]; 8. 50-Alex Bonsignore [2]; 9. 000-Travis Clark [6]; 10. 13-Michael Lockwood [11]; 11. 717-Bobby Rafferty [12]; 12. 05-Christopher Hill [3]

B-Main 2 (10 laps, top-2 transfer) 1. 79-Noah Blankenship [1]; 2. 50-Steven Gaines [10]; 3. 68-Ronald Pyles [4]; 4. 1-Jonathon Howlett [6]; 5. 83-Brian Taft [11]; 6. 20-Zach Dillon [8]; 7. 66-Preston Dimsdale [12]; 8. 35-Drake Hartzell [2]; 9. 86-Jason Metoxen [3]; 10. 89-Derek Holochak [5]; 11. 00-Kelly Miller [7]; 12. 77-Holden English [9]

LOW ‘N SLOW: Gage Scores First Career Street Stock League Win in Season 3 Opener at Knoxville

by

Jackson continues dominance with podium effort; Axner charges 17th-to-5th

One of the most difficult lines to take around a glass-smooth Knoxville Raceway in a DIRTcar Street Stock on iRacing is right around the bottom. Fittingly, it was the very line Jordan Gage took en route to his first career DIRTcar eSports Chevy Performance Street Stock League Feature win Wednesday night on DIRTVision.

“I usually run the slider line here, but it was kind of wearing out faster than I liked,” Gage said. “These [races] are awesome when they come onto the table, especially when you can run them.”

Starting P1, Gage, of Whiting, IA, jumped out to the early lead and began fending off a hungry field of 23 other competitors behind him. Applying the most pressure early on was none other than the winningest driver in League history, Tyler Jackson.

Jackson, from Rockford, IL, started fifth and tried both the high and low lines to make the move on Gage, but was unsuccessful. After a late-race caution that brought a green-white-checkered finish at 22 laps, Thorne Zimmerman, of Sanderson, FL, was continuing his charge up from the seventh starting spot and got a great restart as the field came to two-to-go.

Zimmerman took the low line right behind Gage while Jackson followed suit, fending off a high-flying Carl Kilgore to his outside. The field rounded Turns 1-2, breeding a big run for Zimmerman down the backstretch. He tried the middle of the track in the final turns but came up just one spot short in the end.

“That white flag – I tried going in a little higher, so that maybe I could swing it under him, but I think [Gage] saw it coming and blocked the bottom to me,” Zimmerman said.

Jackson, a three-time winner in Season 2, crossed the line in third, continuing his stretch of success in the League that he began last December.

Joe Grabianowski Photo

“Kinda got locked down there on the bottom at the end, but all-in-all for 12 green-flag laps, I guess we did all we could,” Jackson said.

The Chevy Performance Street Stocks are back in action next Wednesday night, March 31, at Limaland Motorsports Park for Round #2 of 10 in DIRTcar eSports Season 3. Catch all the action live on DIRTVision presented by Drydene!

Chevy Performance Feature (20 Laps) – 1. 0-Jordan Gage [1]; 2. 003-Thorne Zimmerman [7]; 3. 8-Tyler Jackson [5]; 4. 021-Carl Kilgore [11]; 5. 546-Randy Axner [17]; 6. 7-Chris Davis [13]; 7. 17-Brett Rowles [15]; 8. 44-Mason Hammel [8]; 9. 29-Lane Phillips [21]; 10. 71-Daniel Stiffler [9]; 11. 04-Joshua Dennison [14]; 12. 14-Kyle Vaughn [10]; 13. 48-Grant Parr [20]; 14. 93-Steve Miskolczi [24]; 15. 077-Holden English [18]; 16. 225-Nathan Lemons [12]; 17. 6-Mitch Erickson [19]; 18. 53-Aidan Skraha [3]; 19. 717-Bobby Rafferty [6]; 20. 69-Keith Hackney [2]; 21. 21-Jim Reavis [22]; 22. 1-Alex Breuer [4]; 23. 26-Sage Luther [16]; 24. 111-Jaron Valley [23]

3/24/21 – Street Stocks at Knoxville Raceway

by

Chevy Performance Feature (20 Laps) – 1. 0-Jordan Gage [1]; 2. 003-Thorne Zimmerman [7]; 3. 8-Tyler Jackson [5]; 4. 021-Carl Kilgore [11]; 5. 546-Randy Axner [17]; 6. 7-Chris Davis [13]; 7. 17-Brett Rowles [15]; 8. 44-Mason Hammel [8]; 9. 29-Lane Phillips [21]; 10. 71-Daniel Stiffler [9]; 11. 04-Joshua Dennison [14]; 12. 24-Kyle Vaughn [10]; 13. 48-Grant Parr [20]; 14. 93-Steve Miskolczi [24]; 15. 077-Holden English [18]; 16. 225-Nathan Lemons [12]; 17. 6-Mitch Erickson [19]; 18. 53-Aidan Skraha [3]; 19. 717-Bobby Rafferty [6]; 20. 69-Keith Hackney [2]; 21. 21-Jim Reavis [22]; 22. 1-Alex Breuer [4]; 23. 26-Sage Luther [16]; 24. 111-Jaron Valley [23]

Qualifying (2 Laps) – 1. 78-Justin Bishop [23.586]; 2. 717-Bobby Rafferty [23.619]; 3. 53-Aidan Skraha [23.643]; 4. 44-Mason Hammel [23.646]; 5. 00-Bryar Zimmerman [23.685]; 6. 24-Kyle Vaughn [23.690]; 7. 021-Carl Kilgore [23.703]; 8. 055-Mike Effner [23.703]; 9. 8-Tyler Jackson [23.712]; 10. 35-Drake Hartzell [23.714]; 11. 003-Thorne Zimmerman [23.719]; 12. 225-Nathan Lemons [23.721]; 13. 0-Jordan Gage [23.724]; 14. 69-Keith Hackney [23.726]; 15. 17-Brett Rowles [23.737]; 16. 26-Sage Luther [23.746]; 17. 7-Chris Davis [23.760]; 18. 84-Mike Watt [23.769]; 19. 36-Sterling Beard [23.772] 20. 1-Alex Breuer [23.772]; 21. 71-Daniel Stiffler [23.775]; 22. 5-Jason Metoxen [23.780]; 23. 29-Lane Phillips [23.792]; 24. 48-Grant Parr [23.798]; 25. 07-Randolph Freundt Jr. [23.800]; 26. 04-Joshua Dennison [23.804]; 27. 546-Randy Axner [23.809]; 28. 21-Jim Reavis [23.820] 29. 128-Jacob Folds [23.827]; 30. 93-Steve Miskolczi [23.852]; 31. 111-Jaron Valley [23.857] 32. 46-Jonathan Nause [23.858]; 33. 6-Mitch Erickson [23.866]; 34. 077-Holden English [23.873]; 35. 99-Tim Taylor [23.899]; 36. 18-Justin Henson [23.908]; 37. 76-Robert Palmer [23.930]; 38. 002-Clifford Bellomy [23.931]; 39. 55-Jerek Evans [24.102]; 40. 38-Ryan Carlisi [24.251]

Heat Race 1 (8 laps, top 4 transfer) – 1. 0-Jordan Gage [4]; 2. 8-Tyler Jackson [3]; 3. 71-Daniel Stiffler [6]; 4. 7-Chris Davis [5]; 5. 07-Randolph Freundt Jr. [7]; 6. 6-Mitch Erickson [9]; 7. 00-Bryar Zimmerman [2]; 8. 128-Jacob Folds [8]; 9. 78-Justin Bishop [1]; 10. 76-Robert Palmer [10]

Heat Race 2 (8 laps, top 4 transfer) – 1. 69-Keith Hackney [4]; 2. 717-Bobby Rafferty [1]; 3. 24-Kyle Vaughn [2]; 4. 04-Joshua Dennison [7]; 5. 93-Steve Miskolczi [8]; 6. 077-Holden English [9]; 7. 35-Drake Hartzell [3]; 8. 84-Mike Watt [5]; 9. 002-Clifford Bellomy [10]; 10. 5-Jason Metoxen

Heat Race 3 (8 laps, top 4 transfer) – 1. 53-Aidan Skraha [1]; 2. 003-Thorne Zimmerman [3]; 3. 021-Carl Kilgore [2]; 4. 17-Brett Rowles [4]; 5. 29-Lane Phillips [6]; 6. 546-Randy Axner [7]; 7. 36-Sterling Beard [5]; 8. 99-Tim Taylor [9]; 9. 111-Jaron Valley [8]; 10. 55-Jerek Evans [10]

Heat Race 4 (8 laps, top 4 transfer) – 1. 1-Alex Breuer [5]; 2. 44-Mason Hammel [1]; 3. 225-Nathan Lemons [3]; 4. 26-Sage Luther [4]; 5. 21-Jim Reavis [7]; 6. 48-Grant Parr [6]; 7. 055-Mike Effner [2]; 8. 18-Justin Henson [9]; 9. 46-Jonathan Nause [8]; 10. 38-Ryan Carlisi [10]

Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 laps, top 4 transfer) – 1. 546-Randy Axner [4]; 2. 6-Mitch Erickson [3]; 3. 29-Lane Phillips [2]; 4. 111-Jaron Valley [10]; 5. 36-Sterling Beard [6]; 6. 00-Bryar Zimmerman [5]; 7. 99-Tim Taylor [8]; 8. 128-Jacob Folds [7]; 9. 07-Randolph Freundt Jr. [1]; 10. 76-Robert Palmer [11]; 11. 55-Jerek Evans [12]; 12. 78-Justin Bishop [9]

Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 laps, top 4 transfer) – 1. 077-Holden English [3]; 2. 48-Grant Parr [4]; 3. 21-Jim Reavis [2]; 4. 93-Steve Miskolczi [1]; 5. 35-Drake Hartzell [1]; 6. 002-Clifford Bellomy [9]; 7. 18-Justin Henson [8]; 8. 46-Jonathan Nause [10]; 9. 5-Jason Metoxen [11]; 10. 055-Mike Effner [6]; 11. 38-Ryan Carlisi [12]; 12. 84-Mike Watt [7]

HEILEMANIAC: Turn 4 Slide Job Gives Heileman First Career Tour Victory with 360 Sprints at Knoxville

by

Bailey denied back-to-back wins after leading late; Tucker notches fourth-straight podium

White flag. Bryce Bailey was five turns away from capturing his second-straight DIRTcar eSports Tour victory as he rounded the high side of Turn 4.

Slide job. David Heileman had stolen the lead and began to drive away as the field dashed into Turn 1.

Checkered flag. Heileman becomes the fourth different Tour winner in four races with the 360 Sprint Cars presented by NOS Energy Drink at Knoxville Raceway.

Bailey, of Waverly, NY, gave it all he had in the final corners, but just couldn’t make the bottom work well enough to close the gap Heileman had opened up with the big slider in Turn 4.

“I can’t roll the bottom here very well. I knew I had to stick to the top or I was just gonna drop and anchor and go backwards,” Bailey told announcer Rick Eshelman in the DIRTVision post-race interview.

But Heileman, of Milwaukee, WI, used up every inch of the bottom lane throughout Wednesday night’s 30-lap Feature event to pick up the $250 paycheck, making the shortest way around the virtual half-mile the best way around right from the drop of the green.

Starting from the outside pole, Bailey got the early jump and led the race through the halfway point, surviving a few restarts while the major players made their way to the front. Specifically, iRacing’s two-time and defending World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car World Champion, Alex Bergeron, who was forced to come from 16th after an incident in his Heat Race put him in a Last Chance race to get him in the show.

Bergeron, of Drummondville, QC, had made his way up to fourth and, after a restart on Lap 16, gave race leader Bailey a big challenge for the top spot as they sped down the backstretch. Heileman was right on his heels heading into Turn 3 and looked low to retake second, but got a nose full of rear bumper.

Bergeron slipped up after the contact while Heileman moved down even lower, but a wheel hop onto the inside berm sent Heileman back up into Bergeron out of Turn 4, sending him into the outside wall and tangling with other cars on the front stretch. The caution was thrown, and for the second time in one night, Bergeron was headed for pit road.

Heileman (49) and Bailey (2) battling for the lead down the backstretch (Joe Grabianowski Photo)

“We came down from the top, had a little more momentum and knocked [Bergeron] off the line a little bit,” Heileman said of the incident. “I thought about back when he jumped the start in the Heat Race, so I saw an open door and took it. That’s just short track racing.”

With Bergeron again forced to come from the back, this opened the door for Heileman to put his focus back on Bailey. Which, he did, pulling even with him as they raced side-by-side under five laps to go. He out-muscled Bailey on the low side to grab the lead with just three-to-go before Bailey returned the pass with a little shove out of the groove down low next lap as they entered Turn 1.

Then, the big slider from Heileman to force the third lead change of the night. He carried the top spot all the way back around to the checkers for his first career victory with the Tour.

“When you’re racing like that, with three to go, especially on the DIRTVision broadcast… it’s kinda like all bets are off. You don’t care about finishing top-three or anything, it’s like we’re either gonna win-it-or-ding it at that point,” Heileman said.

As for Bailey’s second-straight podium finish in as many starts, he was obviously not as pleased this time as he was in Victory Lane the week prior. However, he’s a great sport and realizes a silver medal is just a result of the stiff competition.

“I just made a couple mistakes there at the end,” Bailey said. “When you’re racing people with this high-caliber field, you can’t really make that big of a mistake.

“I jumped the cushion a couple laps in-a-row and couldn’t really get momentum off of [Turn] 2. I knew I was faster in 3 and 4, I just couldn’t really get through 1 and 2 for the last 10 laps.”

An unsung hero of the race was Mt. Airy, NC’s Kendal Tucker, who had a mostly quiet night aboard his Swindell SpeedLab eSports #00. He’s now amassed four-straight podium finishes in as many starts and will retain his points lead heading into Week 5 of Tour competition next Wednesday night, Dec. 30, with the UMP Modifieds presented by Summit Racing Equipment.

“We were right there at the end. We finally figured out how to run some fast laps there towards the end. I know the two leaders had a little contact that helped us get a little closer there. Who knows, maybe if it was 35 or 40 laps, we would’ve had something for them,” Tucker said.

After all he’d been through, Bergeron still was able to make it back up to fourth when the checkered was thrown, which serves as another solid points night for Team ABR.

NOS Energy Drink Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 49-David Heileman [3]; 2. 02-Bryce Bailey [2]; 3. 00-Kendal Tucker [4]; 4. 12-Alex Bergeron [16]; 5. 24-Shaun Timmerman [5]; 6. 331-Dustin Hall [13]; 7. 025-Tyler Ducharme [6]; 8. 30-Stevin Goldner [7]; 9. 99-Gregory Lamey [11]; 10. 33-Evan Seay [1]; 11. 25-Richie Preston [8]; 12. 64-Dawson Cook [10]; 13. 1-Jesse Enterkin [18]; 14. 28-Jordan Porier [9]; 15. 3-Cody Hillman [21]; 16. 787-Cody Zobrist [23]; 17. 15-Brett Punkari [17]; 18. 42-John Smith III [15]; 19. 69-Matthew Schelk [24]; 20. 72-Broc Lawrence [22]; 21. 77-Anthony Corini [20]; 22. 17-Billy Richardson [19]; 23. Thomas Brandon [14]; 24. 13-Chris Papa [12]

12/23/20 – 360 Sprint Cars at Knoxville Raceway

by

Drydene Feature (30 Laps) – 1. 49-David Heileman [3]; 2. 02-Bryce Bailey [2]; 3. 00-Kendal Tucker [4]; 4. 12-Alex Bergeron [16]; 5. 24-Shaun Timmerman [5]; 6. 331-Dustin Hall [13]; 7. 25-Tyler Ducharme [6]; 8. 30-Stevin Goldner [7]; 9. 99-Gregory Lamey [11]; 10. 33-Evan Seay [1]; 11. 025-Richie Preston [8]; 12. 64-Dawson Cook [10]; 13. 1-Jesse Enterkin [18]; 14. 28-Jordan Poirier [9]; 15. 3-Cody Hillman [21]; 16. 787-Cody Zobrist [23]; 17. 15-Brett Punkari [17]; 18. 42-John Smith III [15]; 19. 69-Matthew Schelk [24]; 20. 72-Broc Lawrence [22]; 21. 77-Anthony Corini [20]; 22. 17-Billy Richardson [19]; 23. 35-Thomas Brandon [14]; 24. 13-Chris Papa [12]

Qualifying (2 Laps) – 1. 33-Evan Seay [16.798]; 2. 02-Bryce Bailey [16.828]; 3. 49-David Heileman [16.852]; 4. 00-Kendal Tucker [16.859]; 5. 24-Shaun Timmerman [16.906]; 6. 12-Alex Bergeron [16.911]; 7. 64-Dawson Cook [16.921]; 8. 99-Gregory Lamey [16.929]; 9. 25-Tyler Ducharme [16.933]; 10. 30-Stevin Goldner [16.937]; 11. 025-Richie Preston [16.954]; 12. 2-Dylan Houser [16.973]; 13. 331-Dustin Hall [17.049]; 14. 35-Thomas Brandon [17.08]; 15. 28-Jordan Poirier [17.09]; 16. 042-Tom Morano [17.131]; 17. 787-Cody Zobrist [17.176]; 18. 84-Mike Watt [17.186]; 19. 1-Jesse Enterkin [17.189]; 20. 77-Anthony Corini [17.191]; 21. 72-Broc Lawrence [17.192]; 22. 15-Brett Punkari [17.229]; 23. 42-John Smith III [17.246]; 24. 19-Seth Smyser [17.247]; 25. 17-Billy Richardson [17.295]; 26. 769-Steven Kreis [17.404]; 27. 3-Cody Hillman [17.465]; 28. 92-Jaxon Steele [17.475]; 29. 46-Jonathan Nause [17.615]; 30. 13-Chris Papa [17.709]; 31. 69-Matthew Schelk [17.936]

Heat 1 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 33-Evan Seay [1]; 2. 00-Kendal Tucker [2]; 3. 30-Stevin Goldner [4]; 4. 64-Dawson Cook [3]; 5. 331-Dustin Hall [5]; 6. 042-Tom Morano [6]; 7. 17-Billy Richardson [9]; 8. 1-Jesse Enterkin [7]; 9. 15-Brett Punkari [8]; 10. 69-Matthew Schelk [11]; 11. 92-Jaxon Steele [10]

Heat 2 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 2-Bryce Bailey [1]; 2. 24-Shaun Timmerman [2]; 3. 025-Richie Preston [4]; 4. 99-Gregory Lamey [3]; 5. 35-Thomas Brandon [5]; 6. 42-John Smith III [8]; 7. 77-Anthony Corini [7]; 8. 769-Steven Kreis [9]; 9. 46-Jonathan Nause [10]; 10. 787-Cody Zobrist [6]

Heat 3 (10 Laps) (Top 4 transfer) – 1. 49-David Heileman [1]; 2. 25-Tyler Ducharme [3]; 3. 28-Jordan Poirier [5]; 4. 13-Chris Papa [10]; 5. 3-Cody Hillman [9]; 6. 72-Broc Lawrence [7]; 7. 84-Mike Watt [6]; 8. 12-Alex Bergeron [2]; 9. 19-Seth Smyser [8]; 2-Dylan Houser [DQ]

B-main 1 (14 Laps) (Top 6 transfer) – 1. 35-Thomas Brandon [1]; 2. 12-Alex Bergeron [6]; 3. 1-Jesse Enterkin [5]; 4. 77-Anthony Corini [4]; 5. 72-Broc Lawrence [3]; 6. 69-Matthew Schelk [8]; 7. 19-Seth Smyser [9]; 8. 92-Jaxon Steele [10]; 9. 46-Jonathan Nause [7]; 10. 042-Tom Morano [2]

B-main 2 (14 Laps) (Top 6 transfer) – 1. 331-Dustin Hall [1]; 2. 42-John Smith III [3]; 3. 15-Brett Punkari [7]; 4. 17-Billy Richardson [4]; 5. 3-Cody Hillman [2]; 6. 787-Cody Zobrist [9]; 7. 84-Mike Watt [5]; 8. 769-Steven Kreis [6]