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Brady Bacon conquers Corn Belt Nationals opener

By Bill Wright (Knoxville, IA) -- An outstanding night of racing greeted a great crowd at Knoxville Raceway in Friday’s Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Nationals opener. Brady Bacon notched his second career win here after six lead changes in the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car/POWRi War feature. He earned $5,000 aboard the Hoffman Racing #69 entry, and became the first repeat victor with USAC in their eleven trips here. Wayne Johnson passed Terry McCarl on the final lap to win a thrilling 360 main event as well.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ken Simon photo

In the non-stop 25-lap Corn Belt Nationals feature, Kevin Thomas Jr. led early over Chris Windom and Matt Westfall. Windom shot around Thomas to lead lap two, while Justin Grant took third from Westfall. It was clear that Bacon had speed early, when he jumped from sixth to fourth on lap four.

Up front, Thomas regained the lead from Windom on lap five, while Bacon took third. Bacon used a middle groove to take second from a cushion riding Windom on lap six, creating a three-way duel for the point. Windom would bounce back to lead lap seven.

Bacon reeled in the leader, and when Windom missed the bottom of turn one on lap 12, took his first lead of the event. A lap later, Bacon made the same mistake, and Windom was back up front. On lap 14, Windom bobbled over the cushion in turn three, and Bacon rode back by for good.

The leaders entered lapped traffic on lap 16. Tyler Courtney, who won here a year ago, battled with Thomas for third behind the leaders. Windom closed in the late stages, but Bacon was able to just maneuver enough in traffic to take his second win here.

Bacon’s win came over Windom, Thomas, Courtney and Grant. Ryan Bernal, Chase Stockon, hard-charger Jason McDougal, CJ Leary and Westfall rounded out the top ten. Leary and Grant set quick time in their respective groups. Leary, Bacon, Wesley Smith, Courtney, Nick Bilbee and Stockon won heats. Kory Schudy won the C main and Carson Short claimed the B. A seven-car melee starting the B main involving Glen Saville, Chris Parkinson, Doug Schenck, Craig Campton, Chris Morgan and Isaac Chapple saw everyone walk away.

“I really love this place,” said Bacon in Victory Lane. “It’s fun to be able to do in this car, what I’d like to be able to in our wing car when we run the Nationals when we see Donny (Schatz) and everyone who runs the bottom and middle so good. I think, just having a lot of laps here…more than the competition helped me a little bit here to know that middle would come in and things like that. I was having to run a little different line, but I was able to catch the marbles in the middle and get some speed to pass a couple guys. It is testing to slow down and run the bottom. Windom almost got back by me, but fortunately we had a car good enough to make up for my mistakes.”

“Lapped cars were in the way, but you’re going to have that at a place like this,” said Windom. “If you miss the top or the bottom, you’re hung out to dry. Those guys seemed to do that in front of me. We had a good side-by-side battle I felt almost the entire race. I think I could have got back by him there if circumstances were different, but he ran a good race and hit his marks. I didn’t think the bottom would stay that good for us. You just had to hit it perfectly to make it work. That’s what Brady did to get by us. I think we’ll put on another good show tomorrow.”

“It was perfect (the battle for the lead),” said Thomas Jr. “That’s the way it should be. For me to run the bottom around this place…it’s real tricky. You have to have a little knack for it. They gave me a great race car. I just made a few mistakes. Everybody did a great job. Congratulations to the #69 and #5. It was a tough race. I saw them switching lines, and I was trying to figure out where to go. It’s a fun joint. I’m just glad to be here. It’s a great facility and track.”

The 18-lap 360 feature started ugly. Austin McCarl and Rob Kubli took wild rides, but walked away. An eight-car pileup saw six cars eliminated. Joining the pair who flipped were the point leader coming in, Ryan Giles, as well as Trey Starks, Thomas Kennedy and Matt Juhl.

Once underway, the race went non-stop. Carson McCarl took the early lead over Matt Moro and Terry McCarl. Clint Garner worked his way from row six into the top five by lap three. Terry McCarl used the low side to gain second from Moro on the same lap. Wayne Johnson used the same move to work into the show position on lap five, with Garner taking fourth two laps later.

Johnson’s car was working well on the bottom and he shot by Terry McCarl for second on lap nine. A three-wide battle for the lead commenced, with Terry getting by his son for point on lap 11. Johnson worked his way into second with six to go as the leaders approached traffic.

Johnson slowly reeled in Terry McCarl and when the leader slipped in turn one, he pounced using the low side. The win was Johnson’s 13th here in a 360, and came ahead of Terry McCarl, Garner, who gained third on the last lap, Carson McCarl and Gio Scelzi. Jon Agan, Matt Moro, Ryan Roberts, Calvin Landis and Kelby Watt completed the top ten. Terry McCarl and Trey Starks set quick time in their respective groups, and Kennedy, Johnson, Austin McCarl and Jason Martin won heats. Jason Martin also won the B main.

“I’m a little bit rejuvenated here at Knoxville,” said Johnson in Victory Lane. “I’ve been away a little bit racing some 360 stuff. I have to thank Todd and Kelly Carlile for letting me go race and do what I want to do. I love this place and this is where I want to race. My guys have been busting their butt. That’s a brand new racecar. Anytime you can beat Terry McCarl here, you’ve done something. You know that. He just made a mistake in traffic, and my car was really good on the bottom.”

The $20,000 to win BRANDT Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Nationals featuring the USAC National Sprint Cars and the POWRi WAR Sprints concludes Saturday night, July 6! The 410 winged sprints will also be in action on Saturday! For tickets and other information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com!

Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Nationals Night #1 Results

Time Trial Group #1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 19AZ, CJ Leary, Greenfield, IN (26), 19.297; 2. 21, Carson Short, Marion, IL (14), 19.313; 3. 6, Mario Clouser, Auburn, IL (2), 19.635; 4. 28, Kory Schudy, Springfield, MO (11), 19.638; 5. 69, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (19), 19.675; 6. 7, Tim Buckwalter, Douglassville, PA (23), 19.724; 7. 33M, Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, OH (10), 19.741; 8. 17B, Ryan Bernal, Hollister, CA (8), 19.766; 9. 12S, Wesley Smith, Nixa, MO (13), 19.777; 10. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (5), 19.780; 11. 56, Mitchell Davis, Auburn, IL (3), 19.793; 12. 75X, Dustin Christie, Washington, IN (24), 19.818; 13. 52, Isaac Chapple, Willow Branch, IN (22), 19.834; 14. 42, Dave Darland, Lincoln, IN (7), 19.957; 15. 24, Landon Simon, Indianapolis, IN (12), 20.121; 16. 0S, Steve Irwin, Fenton, MI (15), 20.185; 17. 77K, Katlynn Leer, Moulton, IA (21), 20.235; 18. 73, Lane Stone, Concordia, MO (4), 20.472; 19. 65, Chris Parkinson, Gladstone, MO (9), 20.503; 20. 44, Dickie Gaines, Mitchell, IN (20), 20.508; 21. 71S, Doug Schenck, Cottage Grove, WI (18), 20.517; 22. 52F, Logan Faucon, Elkhart, IL (25), 20.701; 23. 19, Jori Hughes, Tower, MN (17), 21.162; 24. 20, Steve Thomas, Rantoul, IL (6), 21.307; 25. 13MJ, Brandon Halverson, Jackson, MN (1), 21.714; 26. 4A, Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, MO (16), 22.135

Time Trial Group #2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 4, Justin Grant, Ione, CA (11), 19.297; 2. 71P, Jason McDougal, Broken Arrow, OK (3), 19.535; 3. 32, Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, IN (18), 19.573; 4. 19T, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (23), 19.583; 5. 5G, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (22), 19.642; 6. 90, Riley Kreisel, Warsaw, MO (14), 19.675; 7. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (7), 19.749; 8. 11W, Wyatt Burks, Topeka, KS (2), 19.882; 9. 98E, Chad Boespflug, Hanford, CA (9), 19.980; 10. 74X, Josh Hodges, Tijeras, NM (19), 19.986; 11. 17, Nick Bilbee, Indianapolis, IN (6), 19.988; 12. 24V, Brian VanMeveren, St. Paul, MN (20), 20.128; 13. 22S, Slater Helt, Harrisonville, MO (17), 20.277; 14. 99, Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (12), 20.286; 15. 16, Anthony Nicholson, Bartlett, TN (10), 20.434; 16. 57, TJ Artz, Lincoln, NE (1), 20.442; 17. 9G, Cody Gardner, Milford, OH (21), 20.487; 18. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (25), 20.516; 19. 78, Rob Caho Jr., Wyoming, MN (16), 20.552; 20. 0, Brandon Stevenson, Holstein, IA (24), 20.720; 21. 7S, Craig Campton, Pardeeville, WI (4), 20.771; 22. 7C, Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS (5), 20.775; 23. 18, Terry Richards, Denton, NE (13), 21.572; 24. 12X, Doug Sylvester, Ottumwa, IA (15), 22.092; 25. 6R, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (8), NT

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. CJ Leary (6); 2. Matt Westfall (4); 3. Don Droud Jr. (3) / 4. Steve Irwin (1); 5. Chris Parkinson (7); 6. Logan Faucon (8) / 7. Brandon Halverson (9); 8. Kory Schudy (5); 9. Isaac Chapple (2)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:42.5: 1. Brady Bacon (5); 2. Dave Darland (2); 3. Ryan Bernal (4) / 4. Carson Short (6); 5. Mitchell Davis (3); 6. Katlynn Leer (1) / 7. Dickie Gaines (7); 8. Braydon Cromwell (9); 9. Jori Hughes (8)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Wesley Smith (4); 2. Landon Simon (2); 3. Tim Buckwalter (5) / 4. Dustin Christie (3); 5. Mario Clouser (6); 6. Doug Schenck (7) / 7. Steve Thomas (8); 8. Lane Stone (1)

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:39.3: 1. Tyler Courtney (4); 2. Justin Grant (6); 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5) / 4. Josh Hodges (3); 5. TJ Artz (1); 6. Chris Morgan (8) / 7. Rob Caho Jr. (7); 8. Slater Helt (2); 9. Frank Rodgers III (9)

Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:45.8: 1. Nick Bilbee (3); 2. Wyatt Burks (4); 3. Chris Windom (5) / 4. Jason McDougal (6); 5. Korey Weyant (2); 6. Cody Gardner (1) / 7. Terry Richards (8); 8. Brandon Stevenson (7)

Heat six (started), 8 Laps, 2:46.1: 1. Chase Stockon (6); 2. Chad Boespflug (4); 3. Anthony Nicholson (2); 4. Riley Kreisel (5); 5. Glen Saville (1); 6. Craig Campton (7); 7. Doug Sylvester (8); 8. Brian VanMeveren (3)

C main (started), 10 Laps, 3:39.3: 1. Kory Schudy (1); 2. Isaac Chapple (3); 3. Rob Caho Jr. (2); 4. Dickie Gaines (7); 5. Terry Richards (6); 6. Brandon Stevenson (4) / 7. Lane Stone (5); 8. Jori Hughes (9); 9. Steve Thomas (10); 10. Doug Sylvester (8); 11. Brandon Halverson (11) DNS - 12. Brian VanMeveren; 13. Slater Helt; 14. Frank Rodgers III; 15. Braydon Cromwell

B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Carson Short (1); 2. Jason McDougal (2); 3. Korey Weyant (8); 4. Josh Hodges (6); 5. Mario Clouser (3); 6. Riley Kreisel (4) / 7. Steve Irwin (9); 8. Mitchell Davis (5); 9. Cody Gardner (12); 10. Dustin Christie (7); 11. Dickie Gaines (22); 12. Brandon Stevenson (24); 13. Kory Schudy (19); 14. Rob Caho Jr. (21); 15. Terry Richards (23); 16. Logan Faucon (17); 17. TJ Artz (10); 18. Katlynn Leer (11); 19. Glen Saville (14); 20. Chris Parkinson (13); 21. Doug Schenck (15); 22. Chris Morgan (18); 23. Isaac Chapple (20); 24. Craig Campton (16)

A main (started), 25 Laps, 9:11.9: 1. Brady Bacon (6); 2. Chris Windom (1); 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (3); 4. Tyler Courtney (10); 5. Justin Grant (7); 6. Ryan Bernal (9); 7. Chase Stockon (5); 8. Jason McDougal (20); 9. CJ Leary (8); 10. Matt Westfall (2); 11. Wyatt Burks (12); 12. Wesley Smith (11); 13. Don Droud Jr. (13); 14. Korey Weyant (21); 15. Nick Bilbee (16); 16. Tim Buckwalter (4); 17. Josh Hodges (22); 18. Mario Clouser (23); 19. Carson Short (19); 20. Dave Darland (15); 21. Anthony Nicholson (18); 22. Riley Kreisel (24); 23. Chad Boespflug (14); 24. Landon Simon (17). Lap Leaders: Thomas Jr. 1, Windom 2-4, Thomas Jr. 5-6, Windom 7-11, Bacon 12, Windom 13, Bacon 14-25. Hard-charger: McDougal.

360 Results

Time Trials Group #1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 4X, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (6), 16.340; 2. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK (5), 16.428; 3. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (14), 16.583; 4. 71, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (7), 16.592; 5. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (21), 16.618; 6. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (2), 16.635; 7. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (11), 16.645; 8. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (16), 16.655; 9. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (3), 16.660; 10. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (20), 16.666; 11. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (4), 16.672; 12. 83, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (15), 16.720; 13. 66, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO (1), 16.730; 14. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (9), 16.764; 15. 6, Mitchell Alexander, Knoxville, IA (17), 16.777; 16. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (13), 16.835; 17. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (18), 17.155; 18. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (12), 17.371; 19. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (10), 17.525; 20. 64C, Casey Greubel, Lacona, IA (8), 18.934; DQ (Tire) - 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (19)

Time Trial Group #2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (11), 16.470; 2. 9, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (5), 16.534; 3. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (8), 16.587; 4. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (17), 16.697; 5. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (4), 16.741; 6. 1B, Ryan Bowers, Ham Lake, MN (1), 16.745; 7. 33M, Mason Daniel, Springfield, CA (20), 16.749; 8. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (15), 16.811; 9. 99, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (18), 16.828; 10. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (12), 16.848; 11. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA (10), 16.870; 12. 82, Jason Martin, Liberal, KS (2), 16.916; 13. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (13), 16.925; 14. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (21), 17.036; 15. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (16), 17.084; 16. 19, Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres, IA (3), 17.143; 17. 5M, Troy Manteufel, St. Peter, MN (6), 17.277; 18. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (19), 17.349; 19. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (14), 17.464; 20. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (9), 17.658; 21. 11B, Ben Woods, Newton, IA (7), NT

Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 1:57.6: 1. Thomas Kennedy (1); 2. Clint Garner (2); 3. Terry McCarl (6); 4. Matt Moro (5); 5. Kelby Watt (3); 6. Tasker Phillips (9); 7. Calvin Landis (4); 8. Ricky Montgomery (7); 9. Cody Ledger (10); 10. Mitchell Alexander (8); 11. Chris Martin (11)

Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 1:59.3: 1. Wayne Johnson (6); 2. Joe Beaver (2); 3. Josh Higday (4); 4. Rob Kubli (1); 5. Gio Scelzi (5); 6. Jamie Ball (7); 7. Ryan Leavitt (8); 8. Tom Lenz (3); 9. Jon Hughes (9); 10. Casey Greubel (10)

Heat three (started), 7 Laps, 2:00.5: 1. Austin McCarl (2); 2. Ryan Roberts (4); 3. Trey Starks (6); 4. Mason Daniel (3); 5. Carson McCarl (5); 6. McKenna Haase (7); 7. Brad Comegys (1); 8. Nathan Mills (8); 9. Troy Manteufel (9); 10. John Anderson (10); 11. Ben Woods (11)

Heat four (started), 7 Laps, 2:01.1: 1. Jason Martin (1); 2. Davey Heskin (2); 3. Matt Juhl (3); 4. Ryan Bowers (4); 5. Jon Agan (5); 6. Ryan Giles (6); 7. Eric Bridger (7); 8. Rob Weuve (8); 9. Alan Zoutte (9); 10. AJ Moeller (10)

B main (started), 10 Laps, 3:03.7: 1. Jason Martin (4); 2. Rob Kubli (3); 3. Jamie Ball (7); 4. Tom Lenz (1) / 5. Ricky Montgomery (5); 6. Ryan Leavitt (11); 7. Tasker Phillips (13); 8. McKenna Haase (6); 9. Cody Ledger (17); 10. Mitchell Alexander (9); 11. Nathan Mills (10); 12. Eric Bridger (8); 13. Troy Manteufel (14); 14. Rob Weuve (12); 15. Jon Hughes (15); 16. Casey Greubel (19); 17. Alan Zoutte (16); 18. John Anderson (18); 19. Brad Comegys (2) DNS – Steve Thomas, Chris Martin, Ben Woods

A main (started), 18 Laps, 5:32.8: 1. Wayne Johnson (6); 2. Terry McCarl (4); 3. Clint Garner (11); 4. Carson McCarl (1); 5. Gio Scelzi (9); 6. Jon Agan (12); 7. Matt Moro (2); 8. Ryan Roberts (3); 9. Calvin Landis (19); 10. Kelby Watt (17); 11. Davey Heskin (20); 12. Jamie Ball (23); 13. Mason Daniel (18); 14. Josh Higday (7); 15. Joe Beaver (15); 16. Jason Martin (21); 17. Ryan Bowers (14); 18. Tom Lenz (24); 19. Trey Starks (5); 20. Austin McCarl (8); 21. Ryan Giles (10); 22. Thomas Kennedy (13); 23. Matt Juhl (16); 24. Rob Kubli (22). Lap Leaders: C. McCarl 1-10, T. McCarl 11-17, W. Johnson 18. Hard-charger: Ball.

Corn Belt Nationals Points After Night #1

Pos Car Driver Points

1 69 Brady Bacon 492
2 4 Justin Grant 489
3 5G Chris Windom 484
4 19T Kevin Thomas Jr. 484
5 32 Chase Stockon 484
6 19AZ CJ Leary 484
7 7BC Tyler Courtney 482
8 71P Jason McDougal 475
9 17B Ryan Bernal 470
10 33M Matt Westfall 467
11 11W Wyatt Burks 463
12 12S Wesley Smith 462
13 7 Tim Buckwalter 454
14 21 Carson Short 453
15 1M Don Droud Jr. 452
16 17 Nick Bilbee 452
17 6 Mario Clouser 450
18 74X Josh Hodges 441
19 90 Riley Kreisel 439
20 98E Chad Boespflug 437
21 99 Korey Weyant 436
22 42 Dave Darland 433
23 16 Anthony Nicholson 426
24 24 Landon Simon 423
25 56 Mitchell Davis 404
26 75X Dustin Christie 401
27 0S Steve Irwin 399
28 28 Kory Schudy 399
29 9G Cody Gardner 387
30 57 TJ Artz 376
31 44 Dickie Gaines 374
32 78 Rob Caho Jr. 370
33 0 Brandon Stevenson 369
34 77K Katlynn Leer 369
35 75 Glen Saville 368
36 65 Chris Parkinson 364
37 52F Logan Faucon 363
38 18 Terry Richards 360
39 52 Isaac Chapple 358
40 71S Doug Schenck 355
41 7C Chris Morgan 351
42 7S Craig Campton 349
43 24V Brian VanMeveren 335
44 73 Lane Stone 333
45 22S Slater Helt 331
46 20 Steve Thomas 320
47 19 Jori Hughes 318
48 12X Doug Sylvester 318
49 13MJ Brandon Halverson 314
50 6R Frank Rodgers III 302
51 4A Braydon Cromwell 301

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