Shane Stewart Scores another Knoxville Nationals Night One Win
Daryn Pittman leads the event standings after quicktime
KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Aug. 10, 2016 — Shane Stewart did it again in Wednesday night’s 5-Hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores as he scored on a qualifying night for the third year in a row – his fifth time overall – and second win in a row after capturing the previous night’s Capitani Classic.
Stewart battled past Jeff Swindell and held off Donny Schatz through the opening night of Knoxville Nationals — looking much like a replay from last year’s Nationals. After passing fellow Oklahoma native Wayne Johnson on lap 3, Stewart closed in on leader Swindell, giving him a run for his money on Lap 9, and finally taking him on Lap 10.
“I hope you’re interviewing me one more time this week,” said Stewart from Victory Lane. “I’ve got a great car right now, but I know that we’re going to have to pick it up just a little bit more to beat that No. 15 [Donny Schatz].”
Schatz, who had already worked his way up from six, took Swindell in Lap 11 and fought Stewart for the remaining 15, but just couldn’t seal the deal, despite a brief advantage in Lap 14. A caution for Lynton Jeffrey, who lost a wheel on Lap 12, seemed like the perfect opportunity for Schatz to charge, but it wasn’t until two laps later that Schatz managed to capture his short-lived lead. Much like the previous year, the two drivers have spent much of the 2016 World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series season battling each other.
And like last year, Stewart’s No. 2s is once again sporting a special paint scheme honoring retiring NASCAR star Jeff Gordon and his early sprint car career.
Meanwhile, third into victory lane was Chad Kemenah, who brought his Hunter Racing No. 10h up from fifth. “This is good for Saturday, and takes a little bit of pressure off,” said Kemenah. “Maybe on Saturday, we can be just as consistent or a little bit better.”
Another Outlaw victory went to yet another Oklahoma native, Daryn Pittman, who made quicktime at 14.791 — still shy of the Nationals one-lap record of 14.547 set by Cory Darrah in 2009. Pittman was followed by Sammy Swindell, who came in at 14.794, and Australians Ian Madsen and Jamie Veal, who came in at 14.887 and 14.995 respectively.
Following night one, Pittman leads the Knoxville points standings with 485 points over second place Jamie Veal, who has 477 points. Donny Schatz, Chad Kemenah, and Shane Stewart round out the top five positions.
The 56th 5-Hour Energy Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s General Stores continues tomorrow night with the second qualifying race. To find out more information and to learn how to buy tickets, visit http://www.woosprint.com/knoxville-nationals.
A Main – 1. Shane Stewart (4); 2. Donny Schatz (6); 3. Chad Kemenah (5); 4. Daryn Pittman (8); 5. Jamie Veal (7); 6. Greg Hodnett (20); 7. Jeff Swindell (2); 8. Wayne Johnson (1); 9. Rico Abreu (14); 10. Dusty Zomer (3); 11. Craig Dollansky (24); 12. Danny Dietrich (10); 13. Sammy Swindell (21); 14. Ian Madsen (22); 15. Matt Juhl (11); 16. Logan Schuchart (13); 17. Austin McCarl (12); 18. Daniel Harding (16); 19. Dakota Hendrickson (9); 20. Davey Heskin (15); 21. Colby Copeland (18); 22. Paige Polyak (17); 23. Johnny Herrera (19); 24. Lynton Jeffrey (23). Lap Leaders: J. Swindell 1-9, Stewart 10-25. KSE Hard Charger: Greg Hodnett.
Qualifying – 1. 9, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (20), 14.791; 2. 1, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (30), 14.794; 3. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (6), 14.887; 4. 71, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (21), 14.995; 5. 70, Danny Holtgraver, Pittsburgh, PA (16), 15.013; 6. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (15), 15.048; 7. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (45), 15.061; 8. 2KS, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN (41), 15.085; 9. 15, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (12), 15.090; 10. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (5), 15.137; 11. 10H, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (11), 15.138; 12. 2S, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (42), 15.143; 13. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (26), 15.153; 14. 82, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (10), 15.177; 15. 28, Jonathan Cornell, Sedalia, MO (3), 15.188; 16. 47, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (24), 15.194; 17. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (4), 15.220; 18. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA (1), 15.23; 19. 7, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (31), 15.230; 20. 10, Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE (23), 15.234; 21. 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (22), 15.238; 22. 29, Danny Dietrich, Gettysburg, PA (34), 15.243; 23. 09, Matt Juhl, Sioux Falls, SD (2), 15.248; 24. 55W, Logan Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (19), 15.259; 25. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (18), 15.263; 26. 7W, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (17), 15.267; 27. 93, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (36), 15.287; 28. 26, Willie Croft, Roseville, CA (28), 15.299; 29. 68, Chase Johnson, Penngrove, CA (9), 15.303; 30. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (8), 15.310; 31. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (38), 15.331; 32. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (32), 15.358; 33. 24, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (40), 15.361; 34. 3G, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (7), 15.363; 35. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (29), 15.373; 36. 12H, Daniel Harding, Canning Vale, WA, Aust. (25), 15.415; 37. 19P, Paige Polyak, Tiffin, OH (44), 15.415; 38. 18W, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (27), 15.442; 39. 45X, Johnny Herrera, Albuquerque, NM (13), 15.512; 40. 27, Greg Hodnett, Spring Grove, PA (35), 15.519; 41. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (14), 15.524; 42. 17, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (37), 15.615; 43. 1X, Chad Trout, Dover, PA (33), 15.650; 44. 97, Dean Jacobs, Wooster, OH (39), 15.719; 45. 11N, Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro, IN (47), 15.808; 46. 02, Mike Reinke, Howards Grove, WI (43), 15.837; 47. 4S, Danny Smith, Chillicothe, OH (46), 15.892
Heat 1 – 1. Chad Kemenah (6); 2. Daniel Harding (1); 3. Jeff Swindell (5); 4. Daryn Pittman (8) / 5. Scott Bogucki (4); 6. Lynton Jeffrey (7); 7. Tasker Phillips (3); 8. Glen Saville (9) / 9. Matt Covington (2); 10. Mike Reinke (10)
Heat 2 – 1. Paige Polyak (1); 2. Logan Schuchart (2); 3. Shane Stewart (6); 4. Danny Dietrich (4) / 5. Sheldon Haudenschild (3); 6. Sammy Swindell (8); 7. Jason Sides (5); 8. Brian Brown (7) / 9. Josh Baughman (9); 10. Danny Smith (10);
Heat 3 – 1. Rico Abreu (2); 2. Colby Copeland (1); 3. Matt Juhl (4); 4. Wayne Johnson (5) / 5. Craig Dollansky (7); 6. Willie Croft (3); 7. Josh Schneiderman (6); 8. Ian Madsen (8) / 9. Chad Trout (9);
Heat 4 – 1. Dusty Zomer (6); 2. Johnny Herrera (1); 3. Donny Schatz (7); 4. Jamie Veal (8) / 5. Paul McMahan (5); 6. Brandon Wimmer (2); 7. Chase Johnson (3); 8. Logan Wagner (4) / 9. Dean Jacobs (9);
Heat 5 – 1. Greg Hodnett (1); 2. Davey Heskin (2); 3. Austin McCarl (4); 4. Dakota Hendrickson (5) / 5. Danny Holtgraver (8); 6. Matt Moro (3); 7. Jonathan Cornell (6); 8. AJ Moeller (7) / 9. Randy Hannagan (9);
C main – 1. Josh Baughman (2); 2. Randy Hannagan (3); 3. Chad Trout (1); 4. Danny Smith (5) / 5. Mike Reinke (6); DQ (Scales) Dean Jacobs (4); DNS – 7. Matt Covington
Last Chance Showdown – 1. Sammy Swindell (1); 2. Ian Madsen (2); 3. Lynton Jeffrey (4); 4. Craig Dollansky (6) / 5. Brian Brown (5); 6. Jason Sides (10); 7. Paul McMahan (11); 8. Danny Holtgraver (3); 9. Josh Schneiderman (8); 10. Sheldon Haudenschild (15); 11. Tasker Phillips (14); 12. Scott Bogucki (12); 13. Jonathan Cornell (9); 14. Brandon Wimmer (19); 15. Josh Baughman (21); 16. AJ Moeller (7); 17. Willie Croft (16); 18. Chase Johnson (17); 19. Randy Hannagan (22); 20. Logan Wagner (13); 21. Danny Smith (24); 22. Glen Saville (20); 23. Chad Trout (23); 24. Matt Moro (18)
