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Tyler Courtney Victorious on Night #1 of the Corn Belt Nationals

By Bill Wright (Knocville, IA) -- “Sunshine” Tyler Courtney grabbed an early lead and went on to win his second career feature at the Knoxville Raceway on Friday night’s Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Nationals opener. The Indianapolis native nabbed $5,000 for his victory aboard the Clauson-Marshall-Newman #7BC. He also emerged as the top point getter (points below) heading into Saturday’s finale, that will include another full program. Austin McCarl was dominant in winning his first ever 360 feature in support action.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ken Simon

POWRi/WAR regulars Wyatt Burks and Riley Kreisel started on the front row of the 25-lap main event. Courtney, who started third, shot around the front row to lead lap one and began pulling away ahead of Burks and Kreisel.

Kreisel worked his way to second and the lead pair left the rest behind in the early stages before Dennis Gile, who had climbed from 24th to 15th, slowed and brought a caution out on lap seven. Defending Corn Belt Nationals champion, Brady Bacon, shot into third, and USAC National Sprint Car point leader, Justin Grant moved into the top five.

On lap nine, Bacon disposed of Kreisel for the runner-up spot, as Grant moved into fourth. Grant would nab third from Kreisel on lap 13, and the leaders entered lapped traffic three circuits later.

A final caution flew for Don Droud Jr. with four to go. Though Bacon closed on Courtney, he couldn’t make a pass for the point. Courtney would lead Bacon, Grant, Chris Windom and CJ Leary to the finish line. Ryan Bernal, Carson Short, Jake Swanson, hard-charger Logan Seavey and Wesley Smith rounded out the top ten.

Leary and Short set quick time over their respective groups, and Dustin Clark, Windom, Kreisel and Courtney were heat winners. Dave Darland, who was a flip victim in hot laps, won the C main, and Chase Stockon claimed the B. Doug Sylvester and Jon Hughes flipped in the C main. No one was injured.

“Tim (Clauson) and the guys really gave me a great racecar tonight,” said Courtney in Victory Lane. “I love Knoxville Raceway, in a wing car or a non-wing car. If we could run a midget or Silver Crown car here, it would be sweet. When you think about the drivers who have put their name on the list here, is really cool. We came up a little bit short last year, and we put ourself in a good spot for tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get through qualifying and the qualifier tomorrow and put ourselves in the first couple rows for the feature. This place has a big place in our hearts at Clauson-Marshall Racing. It’s been a tough couple months with the midget and the wing car, but to get a win here our second night out in a non-wing car is good for all of us.”

“We needed a little more racetrack,” said Bacon. “I felt we were the same speed on that one long run once I got to second. I just had to work so hard to get there. The bottom just wasn’t there for us. Sometimes, even the middle will be there, and it just wasn’t there. That happens sometimes. Tyler didn’t make any mistakes. It was a good run. We’ll keep going and try to win it tomorrow. Thanks to Knoxville for having this event with everything going on.”

“This car has been awesome all year,” said Grant. “We’re on the podium again. It was really good. Early on, we were o.k., and we had a section in the middle where we were really good. At the end, we just got tight at the curb and couldn’t attack like we needed to. I tried firing a couple things at Brady, but we just didn’t have what we needed to make it stick. Tyler did a great job. This place is fast. It was another good night, and it should be good points for tomorrow.”

Austin McCarl used a similar plan to Courtney’s as he grabbed a lap one lead from the third starting spot ahead of Joe Beaver and his brother, Carson McCarl in the 18-lap 360 feature. Terry McCarl entered the top four on lap two, and was joined by a fifth running Trey Starks.

While Austin opened up a sizable lead, a blanket could be thrown over the battle for positions two through five. Carson McCarl would get by Beaver for second with a slider in heavy lapped traffic on the tenth circuit.

Austin opened up a half lap lead before a late caution for a slowing Kaleb Johnson, who was running ninth. Austin was never challenged in his first career 360 win here ahead of Carson, Beaver, Terry McCarl and Starks. Jamie Ball, Clint Garner, hard-charger Matt Juhl, Sawyer Phillips and Kelby Watt completed the top ten. Terry McCarl set quick time over the 37-car field, while Garner, Skylar Prochaska, Davey Heskin and Juhl won heat races. Calvin Landis won the B main.

“I think I looked up at the scoreboard going down the backstretch and saw four to go,” said Austin of his big lead. “I was lapping some good guys and felt really good about my pace and my car. I was setting the car up like a 410 in qualifying and the heat, and I learned a lot. I’d like to thank Don Long. Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to compete tonight. It was a good test and tune. It was good to be able to run tonight without having to do double duty.”

Tomorrow night the Second Annual Brandt Professional Agriculture Corn Belt Nationals will crown a $20,000 champion! The 410 sprint cars will also be in action! For more information, visit www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or check out Knoxville Raceway’s Facebook and Twitter.

Corn Belt Nationals Night #1 Results

Time Trial Group One (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 30, CJ Leary, Greenfield, IN (2), 19.386; 2. 36D, Dave Darland, Lincoln, IN (1), 19.557; 3. 4, Justin Grant, Ione, CA (17), 19.766; 4. 69, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (21), 19.833; 5. 11W, Wyatt Burks, Topeka, KS (16), 19.865; 6. 19, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (10), 19.877; 7. 12S, Wesley Smith, Nixa, MO (9), 20.173; 8. 12, Robert Ballou, Rocklin, CA (12), 20.372; 9. 75, Dustin Clark, Washington, IN (4), 20.454; 10. 33M, Matt Westfall, Pleasant Hill, OH (23), 20.505; 11. 19L, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (26), 20.642; 12. 29, Mitch Wissmiller, Saybrook, IL (22), 20.694; 13. 74X, Shane Cottle, Kokomo, IN (14), 20.798; 14. 48, Neal Matuska, Waukee, IA (3), 21.112; 15. 77J, Jack Wagner, Lone Jack, MO (19), 21.170; 16. 0S, Steve Irwin, Fenton, MI (5), 21.171; 17. 18, Terry Richards, Denton, NE (6), 21.180; 18. 8D, Justin Standridge, Athens, IL (7), 21.370; 19. 9W, Justin Zimmerman, Athens, TX (27), 21.746; 20. 87, Paul Dues, Minster, OH (25), 21.839; 21. 5, Chuck Alexander, Chariton, IA (13), 22.069; 22. 2, Jason Billups, Holt, MO (18), 22.108; 23. 66M, Max Grogan, Basehor, KS (24), 22.510; 24. 73, Sam Wagner, Lone Jack, MO (11), 22.605; 25. 71, Robert Bell, Colfax, IA (20), 22.754; 26. 27, Steve Thomas, Rantoul, IL (15), 22.955; 27. 6, Mario Clouser, Auburn, IL (8), NT.

Time Trial Group Two (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 71P, Carson Short, Marion, IL (22), 19.631; 2. 5S, Chase Stockon, Fort Branch, IN (7), 19.685; 3. 17, Nick Bilbee, Indianapolis, IN (10), 19.734; 4. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (26), 19.788; 5. 19A, Tanner Thorson, Minden, NV (15), 19.855; 6. 19AZ, Logan Seavey, Sutter, CA (2), 20.033; 7. 91, Riley Kreisel, Warsaw, MO (9), 20.074; 8. 34AZ, Jake Swanson, Anaheim, CA (14), 20.081; 9. 24, Brian VanMeveren, Woodbury, MN (8), 20.116; 10. 17GP, Ryan Bernal, Hollister, CA (4), 20.131; 11. 28, Brandon Mattox, Terre Haute, IN (12), 20.327; 12. 9K, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (16), 20.570; 13. 77, Dustin Smith, Russiaville, IN (13), 20.674; 14. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (19), 20.682; 15. 13, Dennis Gile, Phoenix, AZ (20), 20.968; 16. 16, Anthony Nicholson, Bartlett, TN (6), 21.159; 17. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (1), 21.306; 18. 90, Clinton Boyles, Greenwood, MO (11), 21.321; 19. ST1, Lane Stone, Concordia, MO (23), 21.343; 20. 0, Brandon Stevenson, Holstein, IA (5), 21.622; 21. 4T, Josh Castro, Peoria, AZ (17), 21.788; 22. 2C, Zach Clark, Olathe, KS (25), 21.964; 23. 4X, Braydon Cromwell, Lone Jack, MO (21), 22.390; 24. 12X, Doug Sylvester, Ottumwa, IA (3), 22.39; 25. 7, Clinton Bruns, Little Rock, IA (24), 22.464; 26. 13MJ, Brandon Halverson, Jackson, MN (18), NT.

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Dustin Clark (2); 2. Justin Grant (5); 3. CJ Leary (6); 4. Wyatt Burks (4) / 5. Wesley Smith (3); 6. Jack Wagner (8); 7. Shane Cottle (7); 8. Glen Saville (1) / 9. Terry Richards (9); 10. Robert Bell (11); 11. Max Grogan (10) DNS - 12. Justin Zimmerman; 13. Robert Bell; 14. Mario Clouser

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Chris Windom (4); 2. Brady Bacon (5); 3. Robert Ballou (3); 4. Matt Westfall (2) / 5. Steve Irwin (6); 6. Mitch Wissmiller (1); 7. Sam Wagner (10); 8. Paul Dues (8) / 9. Justin Standridge (9); 10. Neal Matuska (7); 11. Steve Thomas (12); 12. Jason Billups (11) DNS - 13. Dave Darland

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:51.7: 1. Riley Kreisel (3); 2. Nick Bilbee (5); 3. Carson Short (6); 4. Brian VanMeveren (2) / 5. Tanner Thorson (4); 6. Dennis Gile (8); 7. Brandon Mattox (1); 8. Dustin Smith (7) / 9. Jon Hughes (9); 10. Lane Stone (10); 11. Josh Castro (11); 12. Clinton Bruns (13); 13. Braydon Cromwell (12)

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:47.8: 1. Tyler Courtney (5); 2. Kevin Thomas Jr. (1); 3. Jake Swanson (3); 4. Ryan Bernal (2) / 5. Chase Stockon (6); 6. Logan Seavey (4); 7. Don Droud Jr. (7); 8. Anthony Nicholson (8) / 9. Brandon Stevenson (10); 10. Zach Clark (11); 11. Doug Sylvester (12); 12. Clinton Boyles (9); 13. Brandon Halverson (13)

C main (started), 10 Laps, NT: 1. Dave Darland (1); 2. Brandon Stevenson (8); 3. Clinton Boyles (4); 4. Terry Richards (5); 5. Lane Stone (6); 6. Justin Zimmerman (17) / 7. Justin Standridge (7); 8. Braydon Cromwell (14); 9. Jason Billups (9); 10. Josh Castro (10); 11. Neal Matuska (3); 12. Clinton Bruns (18); 13. Max Grogan (11); 14. Robert Bell (13); 15. Chuck Alexander (19); 16. Steve Thomas (15); 17. Jon Hughes (2); 18. Zach Clark (12); 19. Doug Sylvester (16) DNS - 20. Brandon Halverson; 21. Mario Clouser

B main (started), 12 Laps, 4:26.1: 1. Chase Stockon (2); 2. Tanner Thorson (4); 3. Wesley Smith (1); 4. Logan Seavey (6); 5. Jack Wagner (9); 6. Shane Cottle (7); 7. Don Droud Jr. (12); 8. Dennis Gile (14) / 9. Steve Irwin (11); 10. Glen Saville (3); 11. Clinton Boyles (19); 12. Dustin Smith (10); 13. Anthony Nicholson (16); 14. Mitch Wissmiller (5); 15. Lane Stone (21); 16. Dave Darland (17); 17. Terry Richards (20); 18. Justin Zimmerman (22); 19. Sam Wagner (15); 20. Brandon Stevenson (18); 21. Paul Dues (13); 22. Brandon Mattox (8)

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Tyler Courtney (3); 2. Brady Bacon (4); 3. Justin Grant (6); 4. Chris Windom (9); 5. CJ Leary (8); 6. Ryan Bernal (14); 7. Carson Short (7); 8. Jake Swanson (10); 9. Logan Seavey (20); 10. Wesley Smith (19); 11. Chase Stockon (17); 12. Wyatt Burks (1); 13. Kevin Thomas Jr. (16); 14. Nick Bilbee (5); 15. Tanner Thorson (18); 16. Riley Kreisel (2); 17. Matt Westfall (15); 18. Shane Cottle (22); 19. Don Droud Jr. (23); 20. Jack Wagner (21); 21. Brian VanMeveren (12); 22. Dustin Clark (13); 23. Robert Ballou (11); 24. Dennis Gile (24). Lap Leader: Courtney 1-25. Hard-charger: Seavey.

360 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 4, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (9), 16.515; 2. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (29), 16.530; 3. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (20), 16.564; 4. 44S, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (26), 16.573; 5. 66, Ricky Montgomery, Denver, CO (5), 16.578; 6. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (8), 16.621; 7. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (13), 16.651; 8. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (7), 16.657; 9. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (1), 16.684; 10. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (15), 16.697; 11. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (36), 16.701; 12. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (21), 16.744; 13. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (33), 16.770; 14. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (23), 16.775; 15. 83, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (17), 16.801; 16. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (19), 16.814; 17. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (11), 16.851; 18. 35P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (34), 16.868; 19. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (4), 16.879; 20. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (24), 16.896; 21. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (2), 16.947; 22. 22X, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (6), 16.947; 23. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (27), 16.964; 24. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (10), 16.979; 25. 27T, Tucker Klaasmeyer, Paola, KS (32), 17.013; 26. 7B, Ben Brown, Marshall, MO (3), 17.033; 27. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (28), 17.037; 28. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (18), 17.062; 29. 81A, Chris Morgan, Topeka, KS (14), 17.130; 30. 76, Brad Comegys, Bondurant, IA (30), 17.144; 31. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (35), 17.194; 32. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (22), 17.263; 33. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (12), 17.296; 34. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (16), 17.531; 35. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (31), 17.702; 36. B29, JJ Beaver, Knoxville, IA (37), 18.587; 37. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (25), NT.

Heat one (started), 7 Laps, 2:02.0: 1. Clint Garner (3); 2. Ryan Bunton (1); 3. Josh Higday (2); 4. Kaleb Johnson (4); 5. Terry McCarl (6); 6. Ricky Montgomery (5); 7. Ryan Leavitt (9); 8. Chris Morgan (8); 9. Tucker Klaasmeyer (7); 10. Dan Henning (10)

Heat two (started), 7 Laps, 2:03.4: 1. Skylar Prochaska (2); 2. Carson McCarl (6); 3. Riley Goodno (1); 4. Sawyer Phillips (4); 5. Austin McCarl (5); 6. Calvin Landis (3); 7. Brad Comegys (8); 8. Ben Brown (7); 9. John Anderson (9)

Heat three (started), 7 Laps, 2:03.1: 1. Davey Heskin (1); 2. Jamie Ball (4); 3. Tasker Phillips (2); 4. Kelby Watt (6); 5. Rob Kubli (3); 6. Matt Moro (5); 7. Eric Bridger (8); 8. AJ Moeller (7); 9. Alan Zoutte (9)

Heat four (started), 7 Laps, 2:02.4: 1. Matt Juhl (2); 2. Nathan Mills (1); 3. Chris Martin (4); 4. Joe Beaver (5); 5. Christian Bowman (3); 6. Cody Ledger (8); 7. Trey Starks (6); 8. Tom Lenz (7) DNS – JJ Beaver

B main (started), 10 Laps, 3:10.7: 1. Calvin Landis (1); 2. AJ Moeller (5); 3. Cody Ledger (12); 4. Nathan Mills (4) / 5. Tucker Klaasmeyer (3); 6. Eric Bridger (9); 7. Chris Morgan (7); 8. Ryan Leavitt (11); 9. Tom Lenz (8); 10. Brad Comegys (10); 11. Ben Brown (6); 12. Dan Henning (15); 13. Alan Zoutte (13); 14. John Anderson (14); 15. JJ Beaver (16); 16. Christian Bowman (2) DNS – Riley Goodno

A main (started), 18 Laps, NT: 1. Austin McCarl (3); 2. Carson McCarl (6); 3. Joe Beaver (1); 4. Terry McCarl (5); 5. Trey Starks (8); 6. Jamie Ball (7); 7. Clint Garner (9); 8. Matt Juhl (15); 9. Sawyer Phillips (12); 10. Kelby Watt (4); 11. Kaleb Johnson (10); 12. Davey Heskin (17); 13. Tasker Phillips (19); 14. Ricky Montgomery (2); 15. Chris Martin (13); 16. Cody Ledger (23); 17. Matt Moro (11); 18. Skylar Prochaska (14); 19. Calvin Landis (21); 20. Josh Higday (16); 21. Rob Kubli (20); 22. AJ Moeller (22); 23. Ryan Bunton (18); 24. Nathan Mills (24). Lap Leader: A. McCarl 1-18. Hard-charger: Juhl.

Corn Belt Nationals Points After Night #1

7BC, Tyler Courtney, 494
69, Brady Bacon, 489
4, Justin Grant, 489
30, CJ Leary, 486
19, Chris Windom, 484
71P, Carson Short, 482
17, Nick Bilbee, 467
34AZ Jake Swanson, 466
5s, Chase Stockon, 466
17GP, Ryan Bernal, 463
11w, Wyatt Burks, 461
19AZ, Logan Seavey, 459
12s, Wesley Smith, 458
91, Riley Kreisel, 458
19A, Tanner Thorson, 452
9K, Kevin Thomas, 451
75, Dustin Clark, 442
33M, Matt Westfall, 441
12, Robert Ballou, 436
24, Brian VanMeveren, 435
74x, Shane Cottle, 424
1m, Don Droud Jr., 420
77J, Jack Wagner, 419
13, Dennis Gile, 411
0s, Steve Irwin, 392
19L, Glen Saville, 391
29, Mitch Wissmiller, 387
77, Dustin Smith, 383
36D, Dave Darland, 382
16, Anthony Nicholson, 375
28, Brandon Mattox, 370
90, Clinton Boyles, 363
18, Terry Richards, 362
ST1, Lane Stone, 359
87, Paul Dues, 351
73, Sam Wagner, 350
0, Brandon Stevenson, 350
9w, Justin Zimmerman, 347
8D, Justin Standridge, 330
48, Neal Matuska, 327
4T, Josh Castro, 312
67, Jon Hughes, 312
2, Jason Billups, 309
4x, Braydon Cromwell, 306
66M, Max Grogan, 302
71, Robert Bell, 299
7, Clinton Bruns, 297
2c, Zach Clark, 297
5, Chuck Alexander, 296
27, Steve Thomas, 290
12x, Doug Sylvester, 288
13MJ, Brandon Halverson, 276
6, Mario Clouser, 269

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