Auto racing: A 360 photo finish at Knoxville

Aug. 7—KNOXVILLE — Aaron Reutzel had the checkered flag in his sights.

Almost literally on Saturday night. The defending champion of the 360 Knoxville Nationals came to a stop right in front of the flag stand. Instead of seeing the black-and-white checkers, however, Reutzel could do nothing but watch as the red flag came out stopping the A main race dead in its tracks.

Minutes later, Brian Brown executed a pass coming for the checkers at the 33rd Annual Xtream Powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals Presented by Great Southern Bank in one of the most thrilling finishes at the 'Sprint Car Capital of the World.' Brown slid past Reutzel as both drivers dashed down the front stretch at the Knoxville Raceway and won by 0.02 seconds, or roughly half-a-tire, in a dash that left fans applauding the effort even in the post-race press conference as the Marion County Fairgrounds Livestock Pavilion.

"Aaron really had the fastest car. He was just half a straightaway from winning the race," Brown said. "I knew when that caution came out, it would give me an opportunity to get him thinking about what he should do and what he shouldn't do. I saw his crew chief tell him in Victory Lane kind of telling him what he should do. It's kind of what I thought he would do.

"He slid himself and railed the top in (turns) one and two like I thought. I got a good run coming off two. I thought about sliding going into (turn) three, but I didn't want to ruin my opportunity."

That was one the first lap of the green-white-checker finish as Reutzel, who came within a few feet of going wire-to-wire to win the 30-lap A main after earning the pole position through his winning run in Thursday's preliminaries. Ironically, despite his second-place finish in Saturday's final race, Reutzel pocketed more money then Brown earning $25,000 for leading the first 30 laps.

The unscheduled 31st lap, however, coming about after a crash on the backstretch between Garet Williamson and Kaleb Johnson that came as Reutzel was in the middle of final turns of the final scheduled lap of the race. Brown, who fell behind at one point in the 30-lap A main by over 2.6 seconds, would have had to settle for second had the red flag not flown.

Instead, the second chance allowed Brown to make his move. After giving himself an opportunity entering the white flag lap, Brown pulled even with Reutzel along the backstretch as the drivers found themselves in something of a drag race down the stretch on the Knoxville dirt track.

"I was almost got too good a run heading out of the second turn. It got me even with Aaron, but he's the smartest guy I've ever raced against and I knew he was just going to run me off the track," Brown said. "He went across, I turned and got myself in position heading down the hill.

"I actually thought we were going to wreck coming out of that last turn. I was willing to do it. I know he was willing to do it. We just kind of laid it all on the line right there. I don't think we were the fastest car by any stretch of the imagination. It just kind of played out that way at the end."

Reutzel talked about the closest finish in the 360 Nationals history at Knoxville from his perspective, which for the first 26 of the 31 laps was run out in front with no cautions and no challengers to his run at a second straight 360 title.

"I knew Brian didn't have anything to lose. I knew what I was going to knew and I knew what Brian was going to do," Reutzel said. "I was just hoping to get off the corners good and block over the last two laps. I got a little balled off with low air pressure coming off one. I looked at the scoreboard and saw him coming on my outside. I kind of thought it was game over right there. I just slid myself and got down the hill, but I got balled up again. It seemed like ages to get turned back down the hill. By the time I did, Brian was right besides me.

"I tried to crowd him as much as I could. We were banging wheels at the line. It sucks for me, but that's racing. I'm sure it made for a hell of a race for the fans."

Rico Abreu had the best view of the dash between Brown and Reutzel to the finish line. After racing his way into the 30-lap A main by earning the fourth and final transfer spot out of the B main, Abreu passed 21 drivers over 31 laps to reach the podium finishing 0.361 seconds behind the top two drivers.

"If I had another lap, it might have been a three-car battle to the finish," Abreu said. "I just wanted to get into the A main, even if it meant starting from the back of the field. At one point, the seas just kind of parted for me. We made some big swings from Thursday. We got a little bit better every time. We got our tires heated up and got some good steam through the middle. I made my marks in the feature there."

Parker Price-Miller and Ryan Timms finished in the top five to close out the 360 Knoxville Nationals. Zeb Wise, Chase Randall, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Terry McCarl and Kerry Madsen rounded out the top 10.

Tyler Blank won the E main, Calvin Landis claimed the D main and Justin Henderson took the C main. Anthony Macri won the B main.

Wise earned $500 from DGRD for best appearing car. Abreu's hard-charger effort was good for Rookie of the Year and $500 from JETCO.

"We're going to give each other as much room as we can. We're not going to crash each other on the first two or three laps, but you have to be able to run guys hard. No space on this track is free. You have to earn it," Brown said. "You have know when shut down runs when you need to. That's just part of the game. When you can beat guys like Aaron or outlast someone like Rico, you can rest your head on the pillow that night and know you've done something good."

Drivers got an early start to Sunday night's slumber as rain cut short the 12th Annual Avanti Windows and Doors Capitani Classic. All 59 drivers that entered, including Brown and Reutzel, were able to get two laps of qualifying in with James McFadden winning the eight-lap first heat race ahead of Buddy Kofoid and Ruetzel before rain brought the cars in after one lap of the second heat race with Daryn Pittman out in front.

"I know how important laps are at the Knoxville Raceway," Abreu said. "When you're chasing a title, it's a big leap for a lot of racers. I made it a point to be here and race as much as possible here. It might give us that little bit of an edge to be able to run successfully consistently here."

All eyes now turn to the 62nd running of the 410 Knoxville Nationals. Defending champion Donny Schatz will highlight the first night of qualifying on Wednesday.

"The fun thing about sprint car racing is that you have to earn it every single day," Brown said. "It doesn't matter what you did in the previous race. When you walk through that gate, you have to work to earn it again."

AUTO RACING

33rd Annual Xtream Powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals Presented by Great Southern Bank Results

E main (started), 9 Laps, NT: 1. 75AU, Tyler Blank, California, MO (2); 2. 45x, Kyler Johnson, Quinter, KS (4); 3. 11m, Brendan Mullen, Grand Forks, ND (6); 4. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (8); 5. 22w, Aaron Werner, Colman, SD (11); 6. 87x, Shone Evans, Scotland, ONT, Can. (5); 7. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (1); 8. 4H, Cody Hansen, Nunda, SD (15) / 9. 105, Cody Ihlen, Pipestone, MN (9); 10. T4, Tyler Graves, Chariton, IA (13); 11. 4c, Tuesday Calderwood, Goodyear, AZ (7); 12. 17N, Ben Woods, Newton, IA (14); 13. 14, Aidan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (12); 14. 5D, Grae Anderson, Des Moines, IA (16); 15. 83, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (3); 16. B29, JJ Beaver, Knoxville, IA (10) DNS — 938, Bradley Fezard, Bonnerdale, AR; 3, Howard Moore, Memphis, TN; 14M, Jordon Mallett, Greenbrier, AR; 6T, Christopher Townsend, La Porte, TX; 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA; 4CW, Chris Windom, Canton, IL; 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA; 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust.

D main (started), 10 Laps, 2:55.6: 1. 70, Calvin Landis, Knoxville, IA (1); 2. 8H, Jacob Hughes, Hartford, SD (2); 3. 18, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (7); 4. 7M, Chance Morton, Coweta, OK (3); 5. 27B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (6) / 6. 75x, JT Imperial, Mesa, AZ (4); 7. 98P, Miles Paulus, Marshall, MO (5); 8. 7J, Kevin Thomas Jr., Cullman, AL (9); 9. 01, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (10); 10. 87J, Jace Park, Overland Park, KS (8); 11. 35H, Zach Hampton, Plainfield, IN (13); 12. 2JR, Kelly Miller, Lethbridge, ALB, Can. (12); 13. 11x, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (11); 14. Brendan Mullen (19); 15. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (14); 16. 77x, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can. (15); 17. 9M, Liam Martin, Binbrook, ONT, Can. (16); 18. Kyler Johnson (18); 19. Cody Hansen (24); 20. Shone Evans (22); 21. Aaron Werner (21); 22. Gage Pulkrabek (20); 23. Alan Zoutte (23); 24. Tyler Blank (17) DNS — 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK; 3J, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD; 55B, Brandon Anderson, Glenpool, OK; 10, Landon Britt, Atokam, TN

C main, 12 Laps, NT: 1. 83H, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (1); 2. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (2); 3. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (15); 4. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (5); 5. 50YR, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (10) / 6. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (3); 7. 99, Tony Rost, Omaha, NE (8); 8. 1E, Ian Madsen, St. Mary's, NSW, Aust. (14); 9. Ryan Roberts (22); 10. 5M, Collin Moyle, Knoxville, IA (6); 11. Jake Bubak (24); 12. 86, Timothy Smith, Rocheport, MO (11); 13. 24T, Christopher Thram, Sanborn, MN (13); 14. 41, Colton Hardy, Phoenix, AZ (12); 15. 6, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (19); 16. Jacob Hughes (21); 17. Chance Morton (23); 18. Calvin Landis (20); 19. 15, Ryan Turner, Dunnville, ONT, Can. (16); 20. 83JR, Sam Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (17); 21. 6A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (7); 22. 17, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (4); 23. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (9); 24. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (18) DNS — 7A, Jack Anderson, Newton, IA

B main (started), 18 Laps, NT: 1. 7BC, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (2); 2. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (4); 3. 39M, Justin Sanders, Aromas, CA (1); 4. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (7) / 5. 9T, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (12); 6. 21H, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (3); 7. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (6); 8. 20, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (10); 9. 2, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (8); 10. 17w, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (16); 11. 22, Ryan Leavitt, Knoxville, IA (5); 12. 1, Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, TX (11); 13. JJ Hickle (24); 14. Blake Hahn (22); 15. 35, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (17); 16. Justin Henderson (20); 17. 14T, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. (18); 18. Chris Martin (21); 19. 8M, Kade Morton, Coweta, OK (13); 20. Harli White (23); 21. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (15); 22. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (19); 23. 24H, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (9); 24. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (14) DNS — 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD

A main (started), 31 Laps, NT: 1. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (2); 2. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (1); 3. Rico Abreu (24); 4. 9P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (3); 5. 5T, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK (6); 6. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (8); 7. 9, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (17); 8. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (15); 9. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (9); 10. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary's, NSW, Aust. (12); 11. 1K, Kelby Watt, Adel, IA (5); 12. 5, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (19); 13. Anthony Macri (21); 14. 2m, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (18); 15. 4w, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (13); 16. 9G, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (20); 17. 16A, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (16); 18. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (7); 19. 24w, Garet Williamson, Columbia, MO (4); 20. 18T, Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR (10); 21. Justin Sanders (23); 22. 36, Jason Martin, Lincoln, NE (11); 23. Austin McCarl (22); 24. 2c, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK (14). Lap Leaders: Reutzel 1-30, Brown 31. Hard-charger: Abreu.

12th Annual Avanti Windows and Doors Capitani Classic Presented by Great Southern Bank

Time Trial Group 1 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 83JR, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (20), 15.793; 2. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (30), 15.852; 3. 2KS, Chase Randall, Waco, TX (3), 15.856; 4. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (27), 15.878; 5. 5, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (1), 15.921; 6. 55T, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (16), 15.937; 7. 4W, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (7), 15.961; 8. 1C, Brenham Crouch, Lubbock, TX (6), 16.037; 9. 13, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (24), 16.038; 10. 83, James McFadden, Alice Springs, NT, A (26), 16.043; 11. 12X, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (17), 16.049; 12. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (13), 16.053; 13. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (29), 16.058; 14. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (12), 16.084; 15. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (23), 16.087; 16. 5T, Ryan Timms, Oklahoma City, OK (11), 16.120; 17. 35, Austin Bishop, Elverson, PA (9), 16.123; 18. 17AU, Jamie Veal, Warrnambool, VIC, Au (8), 16.132; 19. 71, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (22), 16.212; 20. 4, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (5), 16.216; 21. 50YR, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (2), 16.279; 22. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (28), 16.330; 23. G5, Gage Pulkrabek, East Grand Forks, MN (4), 16.343; 24. 19W, Trent Pigdon, Cardup, WA, Aust. (21), 16.359; 25. 15JR, Cole Mincer, Burlington, IA (14), 16.379; 26. AU45, Rusty Hickman, Bendigo, VIC, Aust. (19), 16.472; 27. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (15), 16.602; 28. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (10), 16.692; 29. 22W, Aaron Werner, Colman, SD (25), 16.990; 30. 67, Jon Hughes, Knoxville, IA (18), NT

Time Trial Group 2 (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (21), 15.719; 2. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (2), 15.773; 3. 39M, Justin Sanders, Aromas, CA (10), 15.786; 4. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (3), 15.854; 5. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (5), 15.905; 6. 25, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (23), 15.938; 7. 1, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (4), 15.947; 8. 2, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (15), 16.024; 9. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (6), 16.086; 10. 11, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (16), 16.104; 11. 10, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (24), 16.133; 12. 21H, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (19), 16.145; 13. 19, Brent Marks, Myerstown, PA (27), 16.198; 14. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (1), 16.201; 15. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (26), 16.247; 16. 9P, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (13), 16.334; 17. 27B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (17), 16.413; 18. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (28), 16.471; 19. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (22), 16.474; 20. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (8), 16.494; 21. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (29), 16.518; 22. 44P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (7), 16.533; 23. 7W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (25), 16.568; 24. 70, Kraig Kinser, Bloomington, IN (12), 16.606; 25. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (14), 16.624; 26. 101, Cody Maroske, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (18), 16.754; 27. 105, Cody Ihlen, Pipestone, MN (11), 16.991; 28. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (20), 17.009; 29. 55, Kerry Madsen, St. Marys, NSW, Aust. (9), NT

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:13.6: 1. James McFadden (1); 2. Buddy Kofoid (4); 3. Aaron Reutzel (3); 4. Jamie Ball (2); 5. Ryan Timms (6); 6. Shane Stewart (7); 7. Zeb Wise (8); 8. Blake Hahn (5); 9. Cole Mincer (9); 10. Joe Simbro (10)

— Scott Jackson can be reached at sjackson@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourierScott.