by Bill Wright
KNOXVILLE RACEWAY, Knoxville, IA, May 7, 2011 – Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s Dusty Zomer recorded career 410 win #6 on Saturday night at the Knoxville Raceway as he triumphed in the IRA Challenge. The win came by a mere .01 of a second as he passed a hapless Danny Lasoski who had broken a driveline coming to the finish. Lasoski had led every lap up to that point.
Lasoski shot out to the early lead from his starting position outside row one on the heavy black gumbo surface. Multi-time IRA champion, Billy Balog, trailed him early, but Zomer was quick to pounce into the runner-up spot on lap six. He was followed by Davey Heskin and Don Droud Jr. into third and fourth, respectively.
Heskin was able to use the low side of the raceway to pass Zomer for second, while Terry McCarl moved into the top five by a caution on lap 13 for a stopped Danny Heskin. Lasoski had three lapped cars between he and Davey Heskin before the caution, which erased his advantage. Davey made a charge on the low side on the restart, but the door was shut in turn three.
McCarl made a move around Droud for fourth on the backstretch when the two cars touched. The collision slowed Droud, who collected Donny Schatz in the Tony Stewart Racing #14. Schatz flipped down the backstretch, but was uninjured. On the restart with six laps to go, Lasoski led Davey Heskin, Zomer, Droud and McCarl back to green flag racing.
On the white flag lap, Zomer made a move by Davey Heskin, who bobbled, for second. It would turn out to be a winning move, as Lasoski slowed noticeably in turn four with the broken driveline. The dash for the finish had the crowd on its feet, as the final result had to be determined by the transponders and not the naked eye!
Trailing Zomer and Lasoski across the line were Davey Heskin, Droud and Terry McCarl. 410 Rookie of the Year candidate, Dustin Selvage, Brian Brown, Jessica Zemken, Mark Dobmeier and Austin McCarl rounded out the top ten.
“We knew it would be tough with Danny up front, and he would have won if something hadn’t have gone wrong,” said the driver of the Derek Ingalls’ #91 J&J. “I have to count my blessings. It’s Knoxville. Anything can happen here, even if it’s the last foot of the racetrack. It had to be close. My hat is off to my team. We’ll come out and try to do it again next week!”
Kevin Swindell topped qualifying and also took the first heat race. Davey Heskin, Lasoski and Schatz won heats, and Dobmeier topped the B main. Rager Phillips and Josh Schneiderman contacted in the first heat, sending Phillips into a series of wicked flips. He was uninjured.
Carnage greeted the 360 feature at the drop of the green flag. When Rod Richards slowed inside row three, it set off a chain reaction that resulted in a six-car pile-up. Jonathan Cornell got into the back of Richards and shot sideways into Jon Agan. Quick-timer Wayne Johnson, Agan, Jamie Ball, Cornell and Tom Lenz got the worst of the incident and were done for the evening. Richards would retire before the race went green. Many crews tended to the cars of Chad Humston and last week’s feature winner, Russ Hall, to get them back on the racetrack.
Once green, the race went in record-breaking time as defending Knoxville Championship Cup Series champion, Clint Garner, led wire to wire, covering the 15-lap distance in 4:13.0. That mark broke the old track record set by Tim Kaeding last August by over four seconds.
Behind Garner, Larry Ball Jr. was in pursuit the entire distance. David Hall came home third after a late run by Nate Van Haaften, who was fourth. Dennis Moore Jr. climbed his way to fifth after transferring through the B main. Matt Moro, Lee Grosz, Humston, Casey Friedrichsen and Josh Higday rounded out the top ten.
“It wasn’t easy,” said Garner whose #40 was powered by a Parker Engine. “This was only the second time I’ve race this year. I still made several mistakes. I just want to thank God for us being here. I have a number of guys helping me right now…Al Parker with the engines, Lynton Jeffrey helped us with our shocks today, Wayne Johnson is like a teammate right now…Sammy Swindell too. I’m just the lucky one who gets to stand up here with the trophy.”
410 Class
Completed Time Trial 1 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 1s Kevin Swindell Charlotte, NC 14.977 45
- 71R Ryan Anderson Deloit, IA 14.985 40
- 1z Jessica Zemken Sprakers, NY 15.060 35
- 14 Donny Schatz Fargo, ND 15.069 30
- 55 Terry McCarl Altoona, IA 15.122 20
- 16 Travis Whitney Coon Rapids, MN 15.233 15
- 17A Austin McCarl Altoona, IA 15.259 15
- 49 Josh Schneiderman West Burlington, IA 15.317 15
- 56 Davey Heskin St. Michael, MN 15.402 15
- 7 Dustin Selvage Indianola, IA 15.463 15
- 47 Don Droud Jr. Lincoln, NE 15.470 15
- 17B Bill Balog Eau Claire, WI 15.507 15
- 91 Dusty Zomer Sioux Falls, SD 15.546 15
- 33 Danny Lasoski Dover, MO 15.556 15
- 13 Mark Dobmeier Grand Forks, ND 15.605 15
- 7K Robby Wolfgang Sioux Falls, SD 15.625 15
- 6 Danny Heskin St. Michael, MN 15.659 15
- 02 Mike Reinke Howards Grove, WI 15.685 15
- 2w Scott Neitzel Beaver Dam, WI 15.690 15
- 2L Logan Forler Lake Havasu City, AZ 15.704 15
- 98 JD Johnson Goddard, KS 15.723 15
- 21 Brian Brown Grain Valley, MO 15.746 15
- 69 Mike Moore Des Moines, IA 15.755 15
- 19 Bob Weuve Newton, IA 15.757 15
- 6R Ryan Bunton Morton, IL 15.759 15
- 56JC Johnn Cressman Sioux Falls, SD 15.807 15
- 23w Scott Winters Butterfield, MN 15.846 15
- 21x Joey Moughan Springfield, IL 15.971 15
- 23K Rob Kubli Milo, IA 16.086 15
- 53w Bill Wirth Cudahy, WI 16.164 15
- 14AJ Wayne Modjeski Oak Creek, WI 16.185 15
- 23 Russel Borland Kewaskum, WI 16.237 15
- 4B Scott Biertzer West Bend, WI 16.252 15
- 10V Matt Vandervere Zion, IL 16.435 15
- 12 Lynton Jeffrey Prairie City, IA 16.447 15
- 95 Bill Warren Beaver Dam, WI 16.459 15
- 41 Kris Spitz Salem, WI 16.613 15
- 20 AJ Moeller Rockwell City, IA 16.976 15
- 94 Brandon Thone Sheboygan, WI 17.222 15
- 1H Butch Koziol Lamberton, MN 18.852 15
- 19K Todd King Sheboygan Falls, WI 26.941 15
- 45 Mark Johnson Des Moines, IA No Time 15
Starting Order: 17A, 23K, 16, 1Z, 7, 55, 53W, 14AJ, 02, 2W, 14, 10, 71R, 69, 41, 20, 23, 1S, 56JC, 10V, 33, 4B, 13, 98, 19, 45, 23W, 21, 19K, 1H, 2L, 91, 6R, 12, 95, 47, 21X, 17B, 49, 94, 56, 7K, 6
Completed Heat 1 8 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 1s Kevin Swindell Charlotte, NC No Time 20
- 2L Logan Forler Lake Havasu City, AZ No Time 18
- 7K Robby Wolfgang Sioux Falls, SD No Time 16
- 17B Bill Balog Eau Claire, WI No Time 14
- 21x Joey Moughan Springfield, IL No Time 12
- 49 Josh Schneiderman West Burlington, IA No Time 10
- 95 Bill Warren Beaver Dam, WI No Time 0
- 23 Russel Borland Kewaskum, WI No Time 0
- 19 Bob Weuve Newton, IA No Time 0
- 1H Butch Koziol Lamberton, MN No Time 0
Starting Order: 2L, 7K, 17B, 49, 10, 1S, 19, 21X, 23, 95, 1H
Rager Phillips is upside down hard…He is out and o.k…Forler leads early ahead of Swindll, Wolfgang, Balog and Moughan…1/2 way home, Swindell out front…
Completed Heat 2 8 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 56 Davey Heskin St. Michael, MN No Time 20
- 91 Dusty Zomer Sioux Falls, SD No Time 18
- 6 Danny Heskin St. Michael, MN No Time 16
- 55 Terry McCarl Altoona, IA No Time 14
- 98 JD Johnson Goddard, KS No Time 12
- 6R Ryan Bunton Morton, IL No Time 10
- 71R Ryan Anderson Deloit, IA No Time 0
- 23K Rob Kubli Milo, IA No Time 0
- 4B Scott Biertzer West Bend, WI No Time 0
- 41 Kris Spitz Salem, WI No Time 0
Starting Order: 98, 6, 91, 56, 55, 71R, 6R, 23K, 4B, 41, 19K
8 laps, 5 to transfer…King will not start…The Heskins are battling for the lead side by side!…Davey takes it ahead of Danny, Zomer, T. McCarl and JD Johnson…
Completed Heat 3 8 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 33 Danny Lasoski Dover, MO No Time 20
- 69 Mike Moore Des Moines, IA No Time 18
- 7 Dustin Selvage Indianola, IA No Time 16
- 1z Jessica Zemken Sprakers, NY No Time 14
- 02 Mike Reinke Howards Grove, WI No Time 12
- 16 Travis Whitney Coon Rapids, MN No Time 10
- 10V Matt Vandervere Zion, IL No Time 0
- 53w Bill Wirth Cudahy, WI No Time 0
- 20 AJ Moeller Rockwell City, IA No Time 0
Starting Order: 69, 02, 33, 7, 16, 1Z, 56JC, 53W, 10V, 20
Cressman pulls in…Moore leads Lasoski, Selvage gets by Reinke for third…Lasoski into lead,
Completed Heat 4 8 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 14 Donny Schatz Fargo, ND No Time 20
- 21 Brian Brown Grain Valley, MO No Time 18
- 47 Don Droud Jr. Lincoln, NE No Time 16
- 17A Austin McCarl Altoona, IA No Time 14
- 2w Scott Neitzel Beaver Dam, WI No Time 12
- 13 Mark Dobmeier Grand Forks, ND No Time 10
- 12 Lynton Jeffrey Prairie City, IA No Time 0
- 23w Scott Winters Butterfield, MN No Time 0
- 14AJ Wayne Modjeski Oak Creek, WI No Time 0
- 94 Brandon Thone Sheboygan, WI No Time 0
Starting Order: 21, 2W, 13, 47, 17A, 14, 23W, 14AJ, 12, 94
Brown out front followed by Droud, Schatz, Neitzel and Dobmeier…Schatz to 2nd..Brown is smoking heavily but continues…
Completed B Feature 12 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 13 Mark Dobmeier Grand Forks, ND No Time 20
- 71R Ryan Anderson Deloit, IA No Time 15
- 49 Josh Schneiderman West Burlington, IA No Time 10
- 23w Scott Winters Butterfield, MN No Time 5
- 16 Travis Whitney Coon Rapids, MN No Time 0
- 12 Lynton Jeffrey Prairie City, IA No Time 0
- 56JC Johnn Cressman Sioux Falls, SD No Time 0
- 19 Bob Weuve Newton, IA No Time 0
- 14AJ Wayne Modjeski Oak Creek, WI No Time 0
- 6R Ryan Bunton Morton, IL No Time 0
- 53w Bill Wirth Cudahy, WI No Time 0
- 23 Russel Borland Kewaskum, WI No Time 0
- 4B Scott Biertzer West Bend, WI No Time 0
- 95 Bill Warren Beaver Dam, WI No Time 0
- 10V Matt Vandervere Zion, IL No Time 0
- 94 Brandon Thone Sheboygan, WI No Time 0
- 41 Kris Spitz Salem, WI No Time 0
- 20 AJ Moeller Rockwell City, IA No Time 0
- 23K Rob Kubli Milo, IA No Time 0
Starting Order: 71R, 16, 49, 13, 19, 6R, 56JC, 23W, 23K, 53W, 14AJ, 23, 4B, 10V, 12, 95, 41, 20, 94, 1H
Completed A Feature 20 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 91 Dusty Zomer Sioux Falls, SD No Time 100
- 33 Danny Lasoski Dover, MO No Time 90
- 56 Davey Heskin St. Michael, MN No Time 80
- 47 Don Droud Jr. Lincoln, NE No Time 70
- 55 Terry McCarl Altoona, IA No Time 60
- 7 Dustin Selvage Indianola, IA No Time 50
- 21 Brian Brown Grain Valley, MO No Time 45
- 1z Jessica Zemken Sprakers, NY No Time 40
- 13 Mark Dobmeier Grand Forks, ND No Time 35
- 17A Austin McCarl Altoona, IA No Time 30
- 17B Bill Balog Eau Claire, WI No Time 25
- 02 Mike Reinke Howards Grove, WI No Time 20
- 71R Ryan Anderson Deloit, IA No Time 15
- 7K Robby Wolfgang Sioux Falls, SD No Time 10
- 23w Scott Winters Butterfield, MN No Time 10
- 2L Logan Forler Lake Havasu City, AZ No Time 10
- 1s Kevin Swindell Charlotte, NC No Time 5
- 98 JD Johnson Goddard, KS No Time 5
- 2w Scott Neitzel Beaver Dam, WI No Time 5
- 49 Josh Schneiderman West Burlington, IA No Time 5
- 14 Donny Schatz Fargo, ND No Time 5
- 21x Joey Moughan Springfield, IL No Time 5
- 6 Danny Heskin St. Michael, MN No Time 5
- 69 Mike Moore Des Moines, IA No Time 5
Starting Order: 7K, 33, 91, 17B, 47, 7, 56, 17A, 55, 14, 1Z, 1S, 6, 02, 2W, 2L, 98, 69, 21, 21X, 13, 71R, 49, 23W
Technical difficulties started right when this main did. Lasoski had a big lead, but a yellow for a stopped Danny Heskin with six to go put Davey Heskin on Lasoski’s tail for the restart. After that restart, Droud ran into McCarl on the backstretch and Schatz had nowhere to go. Schatz took a hard flip down the backstretch. we are under that red right now and about to restart again. AWESOME finish! Coming off of turn four, Lasoski’s car started smoking and Zomer, who had just passed Heskin for second just nipped Lasoski at the line for the win. It may have been the closest margin of victory in the history of Knoxville Raceway and Zomer is one of the most popular winners in history. Lasoski may have broken a drive line. One one-hundredth of a second was the margin of victory.
Go to Top
360 Class
Completed Time Trial Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 38 Wayne Johnson Knoxville, IA 16.127 45
- 54 Casey Friedrichsen Arthur, IA 16.320 40
- 1m Chad Humston Giltner, NE 16.329 35
- 8L Tom Lenz Marion, IA 16.372 30
- 4 Jon Agan Knoxville, IA 16.408 25
- 28 Jonathan Cornell Sedalia, MO 16.431 20
- 2m Matt Moro Polk City, IA 16.432 15
- 5JR Jamie Ball Knoxville, IA 16.444 15
- 12 Rod Richards Van Meter, IA 16.469 15
- 10 Tyler Groenendyk Oskaloosa, IA 16.490 15
- 51 David Hall Des Moines, IA 16.490 15
- 3 Nate Van Haaften Otley, IA 16.538 15
- 40 Clint Garner Sioux Falls, SD 16.564 15
- 5J Larry Ball Jr. Knoxville, IA 16.598 15
- 53 Joe Beaver Knoxville, IA 16.661 15
- 45c Russ Hall Pleasant Hill, IA 16.665 15
- 4J Lee Grosz Harwood, ND 16.680 15
- D12 Dennis Moore Jr. Grinnell, IA 16.701 15
- 5 Dave Glennon Casselton, ND 16.717 15
- 2 Josh Higday Des Moines, IA 16.727 15
- 88 Jarrod Schneiderman West Burlington, IA 16.738 15
- 04 Chad Heimbaugh Pleasant Hill, IA 16.796 15
- 7TAZ Tasker Phillips Pleasantville, IA 16.797 15
- 86 Kyle Bellm Nixa, MO 16.861 15
- 10x Mike Trent Rocheport, MO 16.882 15
- 47T Tony Shilling Knoxville, IA 16.991 15
- 99 Jimmy Davies Oquawka, IL 17.007 15
- 9m Ricky Montgomery Lakewood, CO 17.270 15
- 12x Frank Rogers Lucas, IA 17.488 15
- 33 Alan Zoutte Knoxville, IA No Time 15
- 21c Justyn Cox Clarksburg, CA No Time 15
Starting Order: 40, 4, 5JR, 7TAZ, 4J, 88, 10X, 12X, 3, 28, 12, D12, 8L, 38, 54, 5J, 45C, 9M, 53, 04, 33, 86, 2, 1M, 99, 21C, 10, 51, 2M, 5, 47T
We had a red flag in the last session when Justyn Cox went hard into the turn two fence. Alan Zoutte turned a 17.021 but was DQ’ed for the wrong tire.
Completed Heat 1 7 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 38 Wayne Johnson Knoxville, IA No Time 27.5
- 40 Clint Garner Sioux Falls, SD No Time 18
- 2m Matt Moro Polk City, IA No Time 17.5
- 45c Russ Hall Pleasant Hill, IA No Time 14
- 8L Tom Lenz Marion, IA No Time 12
- 10 Tyler Groenendyk Oskaloosa, IA No Time 10
- 5 Dave Glennon Casselton, ND No Time 0
- 10x Mike Trent Rocheport, MO No Time 1.5
- 04 Chad Heimbaugh Pleasant Hill, IA No Time 0
- 33 Alan Zoutte Knoxville, IA No Time 1.5
- 9m Ricky Montgomery Lakewood, CO No Time 0
Starting Order: 45C, 40, 10, 2M, 8L, 38, 5, 04, 10X, 9M, 33
Garner leads lap one but R. Hall is giving him a fight and now leads. they are side by side in close quarters. Now W. Johnson slides Hall for second. Yellow for nose wing on Groenendyk. Montgomery pulls in under this caution. Garner and Johnson fighting for the lead now after the restart.
Completed Heat 2 7 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 5J Larry Ball Jr. Knoxville, IA No Time 21.5
- 4J Lee Grosz Harwood, ND No Time 18
- 51 David Hall Des Moines, IA No Time 16
- 54 Casey Friedrichsen Arthur, IA No Time 17
- 4 Jon Agan Knoxville, IA No Time 12
- 5JR Jamie Ball Knoxville, IA No Time 10
- 2 Josh Higday Des Moines, IA No Time 0
- 7TAZ Tasker Phillips Pleasantville, IA No Time 0
- 47T Tony Shilling Knoxville, IA No Time 0
- 12x Frank Rogers Lucas, IA No Time 0
Starting Order: 4J, 5J, 51, 5JR, 4, 54, 2, 7TAZ, 47T, 12X
Ball and Grosz racing for the lead. That’s LBJ. He now pulls away a bit.
Completed Heat 3 7 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 3 Nate Van Haaften Otley, IA No Time 20
- 53 Joe Beaver Knoxville, IA No Time 18
- 28 Jonathan Cornell Sedalia, MO No Time 16
- 1m Chad Humston Giltner, NE No Time 17
- 12 Rod Richards Van Meter, IA No Time 12
- 88 Jarrod Schneiderman West Burlington, IA No Time 10
- D12 Dennis Moore Jr. Grinnell, IA No Time 3
- 86 Kyle Bellm Nixa, MO No Time 0
- 99 Jimmy Davies Oquawka, IL No Time 0
- 21c Justyn Cox Clarksburg, CA No Time 0
Starting Order: 3, 53, 28, 12, 88, 1M, 99, 86, D12, 21C
Cox will not start. Moore was sent to the back to start rather than the pole because he was late to the starting gate. NVH leads.
Completed B Feature 10 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 5JR Jamie Ball Knoxville, IA No Time 20
- D12 Dennis Moore Jr. Grinnell, IA No Time 15
- 2 Josh Higday Des Moines, IA No Time 10
- 88 Jarrod Schneiderman West Burlington, IA No Time 5
- 10x Mike Trent Rocheport, MO No Time 0
- 5 Dave Glennon Casselton, ND No Time 0
- 86 Kyle Bellm Nixa, MO No Time 0
- 7TAZ Tasker Phillips Pleasantville, IA No Time 0
- 04 Chad Heimbaugh Pleasant Hill, IA No Time 0
- 99 Jimmy Davies Oquawka, IL No Time 0
- 9m Ricky Montgomery Lakewood, CO No Time 0
- 10 Tyler Groenendyk Oskaloosa, IA No Time 0
- 12x Frank Rogers Lucas, IA No Time 0
- 33 Alan Zoutte Knoxville, IA No Time 0
- 47T Tony Shilling Knoxville, IA No Time 0
- 21c Justyn Cox Clarksburg, CA No Time 0
Starting Order: 5JR, 10, D12, 5, 2, 88, 04, 7TAZ, 86, 10X, 47T, 99, 9M, 12X, 21C, 33
5 transfer. Cox and Shilling are not starting. Groenendyk leads. Yellow is for the leader as Rogers was out of shape at the back of the pack, spun sideways in turn two and Groenendyk had nowhere to go but T-bone into him.
Completed A Feature 15 Laps Completed
Pos. Car Name, Hometown Time Points
- 40 Clint Garner Sioux Falls, SD No Time 100
- 5J Larry Ball Jr. Knoxville, IA No Time 90
- 51 David Hall Des Moines, IA No Time 80
- 3 Nate Van Haaften Otley, IA No Time 70
- D12 Dennis Moore Jr. Grinnell, IA No Time 60
- 2m Matt Moro Polk City, IA No Time 50
- 4J Lee Grosz Harwood, ND No Time 45
- 1m Chad Humston Giltner, NE No Time 40
- 54 Casey Friedrichsen Arthur, IA No Time 35
- 2 Josh Higday Des Moines, IA No Time 30
- 10x Mike Trent Rocheport, MO No Time 25
- 88 Jarrod Schneiderman West Burlington, IA No Time 20
- 45c Russ Hall Pleasant Hill, IA No Time 15
- 53 Joe Beaver Knoxville, IA No Time 10
- 12 Rod Richards Van Meter, IA No Time 10
- 28 Jonathan Cornell Sedalia, MO No Time 10
- 4 Jon Agan Knoxville, IA No Time 5
- 8L Tom Lenz Marion, IA No Time 5
- 38 Wayne Johnson Knoxville, IA No Time 5
- 5JR Jamie Ball Knoxville, IA No Time 5