Line-Ups, Photos and Predictions for Saturday’s 61st Knoxville Nationals – DTD Exclusive

By MIKE MALLETT

Each year the four night’s of the Knoxville Nationals seem to go quicker and quicker. Maybe it’s me, but the greatest four days of dirt racing comes to an end later this evening with the 61st running of the Knoxville Nationals. With over a million dollars on the line, the richest purse in Sprint Car racing will pay one driver $175,000.

It’s been a week filled with twists and turns. The Shark Racing duo of Logan Schuchart and Jacob Allen won the preliminary night features with Rico Abreu winning his third career Hard Knox feature.

If anything, it’s been a week of the unexpected for the most part. So who will win this year’s edition? We’ll get to predictions, but first, here is a look at the starting line-up for the A-Main courtesy Dirt Track Digest staff photographers Brent Smith and Jeff Ferguson.

A-MAIN

1. 88 Austin McCarl (477)

2. 7BC Tyler Courtney (473)

3. 15 Donny Schatz (469)

4. 2 David Gravel (469)

5. 41 Carson Macedo (467)

6. 57 Kyle Larson (462)

7. 19 Brent Marks (462)

8. 27H Daryn Pittman (459)

9. 49 Brad Sweet (458)

10. 25 JJ Hickle (458)

11. 1A Jacob Allen (457)

12. 11M Parker Price-Miller (457)

13. 39 Justin Sanders (456)

14. 11X Buddy Kofoid (453)

15. 7TAZ Tasker Phillips (451)

16. 8 Aaron Reutzel (447)

17. B Transfer #1
18. B Transfer #2
19. B Transfer #3
20. B Transfer #4

21. 24R Rico Abreu (Hard Knox)

22. 83JR Kerry Madsen (Hard Knox)

23. 17 Sheldon Haudenschild (Hard Knox)

24. 21 Brian Brown (Hard Knox)

PREDICTION: I feel like this year there is a two car race with Kyle Larson and Donny Schatz. Both have looked good this week, both have passed cars. With that said, this has been the most off the wall Knoxville Nationals I’ve been to. There have been so many surprises, twists and turns that it’s hard to feel completely confident about anyone. If it’s not Schatz or Larson finishing out front at the checkered flag I’d be shocked. They’ve looked the strongest. I’d also put David Gravel and Brad Sweet in the hunt at the end. They both have won the Nationals before and know what it takes to run 50 solid laps.

To make it official, let’s stay on the Donny Schatz bandwagon and go with it. He was good in the Capitani, solid in his qualifying night A-Main and he’s got the Donny edge back.  He’s going to make it 11 in 2022.

B MAIN

1. 18 Gio Scelzi (445) 1S Logan Schuchart (444)
2. 2K Lynton Jeffrey (443) 26 Zeb Wise (442)
3. 83 James McFadden (441) 13 Justin Peck (441)
4. 14J Cole Macedo (435) 2KS Ian Madsen (434)
5. 9 Kasey Kahne (431) 3TK Tim Kaeding (431)
6. 39M Anthony Macri (Dillsburg, PA) 5 Spencer Bayston (Lebanon, IN)
7. 14 Corey Day (Clovis, CA) 7 Justin Henderson (Tea, SD)
8. 21H Brady Bacon (Broken Arrow, OK) 5C Dylan Cisney (Port Royal, PA)
9. 16 Brooke Tatnell (Sans Souci, NSW, Aust) 3P Sawyer Phillips (Pleasantville, IA)
10. 24 Terry McCarl (Altoona, IA) 3Z Brock Zearfoss (Jonestown, PA)

** Subject to Change **

TRANSFER PREDICTION: Gio Scelzi, Logan Schuchart, Justin Peck and James McFadden will make the A-Main.  Anthony Macri starts 11th and that means he should make it up to fifth.  He’s had a great week and just missed in every race he’s been in by one spot.

C MAIN

1. 91 Kyle Reinhardt (Neptune City, NJ) 55T McKenna Haase (Des Moines, IA)
2. 42 Sye Lynch (Apollo, PA) 1 Logan Wagner (Harrisonville, PA)
3. 49X Cale Thomas (Fairland, IN) 71 Cory Eliason (Visalia, CA)
4. 1AU Marcus Dumesny (Sydney, NSW, Aust) 6B Brandon Wimmer (Fairmount, IN)
5. 55 Hunter Schuerenberg (Sikeston, MO) 3 Ayrton Gennetten (Gravois Mills, MO)
6. 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr. (Sunnyvale, TX) 22 Riley Goodno (Knoxville, IA)
7. 73 Scotty Thiel (Sheboygan, WI) 17W Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA)
8. 17B Bill Balog (Hartland, WI) 1M Don Droud Jr. (Lincoln, NE)
9. 09 Matt Juhl (Tea, SD) 20G Noah Gass (Mounds, OK)
10. 13JT Mark Dobmeier (Grand Forks, ND) 55W Mike Wagner (Harrisonville, PA)

** Subject to Change **

D MAIN

1. 101 Lachlan McHugh (Gold Coast, QLD, Aust) 2M Davey Heskin (St. Michael, MN)
2. 17S Sammy Swindell (Lakeland, TN) 52 Blake Hahn (Sapulpa, OK)
3. 21K Thomas Kennedy (Winnipeg, MB, Can) 84 Scott Bogucki (McLaren Vale, SA, Aust)
4. 35 Zach Hampton (Plainfield, IN) 44 Chris Martin (Ankeny, IA)
5. 40 Clint Garner (Sioux Falls, SD) 35K Chad Kemenah (Alvada, OH)
6. 18R Ryan Roberts (Aurora, NE) 45 Rusty Hickman (Bendigo, VIC, Aust)
7. 27 Carson McCarl (Altoona, IA) 11K Kraig Kinser (Bloomington, IN)
8. 7S Robbie Price (Cobble Hill, BC, Can) 83T Tanner Carrick (Lincoln, CA)
9. 16A Colby Copeland (Roseville, CA) 49J Josh Schneiderman (West Burlington, IA)
10. 11 Roger Crockett (Broken Arrow, OK) 99 Skylar Gee (Leduc, ALB, Can)

** Subject to Change **

E MAIN

1. 15M Bobby Mincer (Burlington, IA) 47X Dylan Westbrook (Scotland, ONT, Can)
2. 9JR Derek Hagar (Marion, AR) 97 Greg Wilson (Benton Ridge, OH)
3. 1X Jake Bubak (Arvada, CO) 11N Harli White (Lindsay, OK)
4. 4W Matt Wasmund (Jackson, MN) 65 Jordan Goldesberry (Springfield, IL)
5. 17C Carson Short (Marion, IL) 12 Tyler Drueke (Eagle, NE)
6. 11T TJ Stutts (Liverpool, PA) 19W Chris Windom (Canton, IL)
7. 10 Skylar Prochaska (Lakefield, MN) 2KK Kevin Ingle (Huron, SD)
8. 6 Bill Rose (Plainfield, IN) 97G Alan Gilbertson (Kasson, MN)
9. 7W Dustin Selvage (Indianola, IA) 14H Josh Higday (Des Moines, IA)