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Zomer Victorious in IRA Challenge by .01 of a Second As Lasoski Breaks!

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."

In addition to quick time, Wayne Johnson won the first heat. Larry Ball Jr. and Van Haaften took the other heats, while Jamie Ball won the B.

The 410, 360 and 305 sprints will be back in action next week for Slideways Karting Center/Pella Printing Night!

410 Results

Time Trials (Qualifying Order, 1 lap): 1. 1s, Kevin Swindell, Charlotte, NC (18) 14.977; 2. 71R, Ryan Anderson, Deloit, IA (13) 14.985; 3. 1z, Jessica Zemken, Sprakers, NY (4) 15.060; 4. 14, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (11) 15.069; 5. 10, Rager Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (12) 15.109; 6. 55, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (6) 15.122; 7. 16, Travis Whitney, Coon Rapids, MN (3) 15.233; 8. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (1) 15.259; 9. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (39) 15.317; 10. 56, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (41) 15.402; 11. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (5) 15.463; 12. 47, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (36) 15.470; 13. 17B, Bill Balog, Eau Claire, WI (38) 15.507; 14. 91, Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD (32) 15.546; 15. 33, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (21) 15.556; 16. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (23) 15.605; 17. 7K, Robby Wolfgang, Sioux Falls, SD (42) 15.625; 18. 6, Danny Heskin, St. Michael, MN (43) 15.659; 19. 02, Mike Reinke, Howards Grove, WI (9) 15.685; 20. 2w, Scott Neitzel, Beaver Dam, WI (10) 15.690; 21. 2L, Logan Forler, Lake Havasu City, AZ (31) 15.704; 22. 98, JD Johnson, Goddard, KS (24) 15.723; 23. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (28) 15.746; 24. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (14) 15.755; 25. 19, Bob Weuve, Newton, IA (25) 15.757; 26. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (33) 15.759; 27. 56JC, Johnn Cressman, Sioux Falls, SD (19) 15.807; 28. 23w, Scott Winters, Butterfield, MN (27) 15.846; 29. 21x, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL (37) 15.971; 30. 23K, Rob Kubli, Milo, IA (2) 16.086; 31. 53w, Bill Wirth, Cudahy, WI (7) 16.164; 32. 14AJ, Wayne Modjeski, Oak Creek, WI (8) 16.185; 33. 23, Russel Borland, Kewaskum, WI (17) 16.237; 34. 4B, Scott Biertzer, West Bend, WI (22) 16.252; 35. 10V, Matt Vandervere, Zion, IL (20) 16.435; 36. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (34) 16.447; 37. 95, Bill Warren, Beaver Dam, WI (35) 16.459; 38. 41, Kris Spitz, Salem, WI (15) 16.613; 39. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (16) 16.976; 40. 94, Brandon Thone, Sheboygan, WI (40) 17.222; 41. 1H, Butch Koziol, Lamberton, MN (30) 18.852; 42. 19K, Todd King, Sheboygan Falls, WI (29) 26.941; 43. 45, Mark Johnson, Des Moines, IA (26) NT.

Heat one (started), 8 laps, 2:08.1: 1. Kevin Swindell (4) 2. Logan Forler (1) 3. Robby Wolfgang (2) 4. Bill Balog (3) 5. Joey Moughan (6) / 6. Josh Schneiderman (10) 7. Bill Warren (8) 8. Russel Borland (7) 9. Bob Weuve (11) 10. Butch Koziol (9) 11. Rager Phillips (5)

Heat two (started), 8 laps, 2:09.7: 1. Davey Heskin (4) 2. Dusty Zomer (3) 3. Danny Heskin (2) 4. Terry McCarl (5) 5. JD Johnson (1) / 6. Ryan Bunton (7) 7. Ryan Anderson (6) 8. Rob Kubli (8) 9. Scott Biertzer (9) 10. Kris Spitz (10) DNS – Todd King

Heat three (started), 8 laps, 2:11.0: 1. Danny Lasoski (3) 2. Mike Moore (1) 3. Dustin Selvage (4) 4. Jessica Zemken (6) 5. Mike Reinke (2) / 6. Travis Whitney (5) 7. Matt Vandervere (7) 8. Bill Wirth (8) 9. AJ Moeller (9) DNS – Johnn Cressman

Heat four (started), 8 laps, 2:07.7: 1. Donny Schatz (6) 2. Brian Brown (1) 3. Don Droud Jr. (4) 4. Austin McCarl (5) 5. Scott Neitzel (2) / 6. Mark Dobmeier (3) 7. Lynton Jeffrey (9) 8. Scott Winters (7) 9. Wayne Modjeski (8) 10. Brandon Thone (10)

B main (started), 12 laps, NT: 1. Mark Dobmeier (4) 2. Ryan Anderson (1) 3. Josh Schneiderman (3) 4. Scott Winters (8) / 5. Travis Whitney (2) 6. Lynton Jeffrey (15) 7. Johnn Cressman (7) 8. Bob Weuve (5) 9. Wayne Modjeski (11) 10. Ryan Bunton (6) 11. Bill Wirth (10) 12. Russel Borland (12) 13. Scott Biertzer (13) 14. Bill Warren (16) 15. Matt Vandervere (14) 16. Brandon Thone (19) 17. Kris Spitz (17) 18. AJ Moeller (18) 19. Rob Kubli (9) DNS – Butch Koziol, Rager Phillips, Todd King, Mark Johnson

A main (started), 20 laps, NT: 1. Dusty Zomer (3) 2. Danny Lasoski (2) 3. Davey Heskin (7) 4. Don Droud Jr. (5) 5. Terry McCarl (9) 6. Dustin Selvage (6) 7. Brian Brown (19) 8. Jessica Zemken (11) 9. Mark Dobmeier (2) 10. Austin McCarl (8) 11. Bill Balog (4) 12. Mike Reinke (14) 13. Ryan Anderson (22) 14. Robby Wolfgang (1) 15. Scott Winters (24) 16. Logan Forler (16) 17. Kevin Swindell (12) 18. JD Johnson (17) 19. Scott Neitzel (15) 20. Josh Schneiderman (23) 21. Donny Schatz (10) 22. Joey Moughan (20) 23. Danny Heskin (13) 24. Mike Moore (18). Lap Leaders: Lasoski 1-19, Zomer 20.

360 Results

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 38, Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA, 16.127; 2. 54, Casey Friedrichsen, Arthur, IA, 16.320; 3. 1m, Chad Humston, Giltner, NE, 16.329; 4. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA, 16.372; 5. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA, 16.408; 6. 28, Jonathan Cornell, Sedalia, MO, 16.431; 7. 2m, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA, 16.432; 8. 5JR, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA, 16.444; 9. 12, Rod Richards, Van Meter, IA, 16.469; 10. 10, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA, 16.490; 11. 51, David Hall, Des Moines, IA, 16.490; 12. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA, 16.538; 13. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD, 16.564; 14. 5J, Larry Ball Jr., Knoxville, IA, 16.598; 15. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA, 16.661; 16. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.665; 17. 4J, Lee Grosz, Harwood, ND, 16.680; 18. D12, Dennis Moore Jr., Grinnell, IA, 16.701; 19. 5, Dave Glennon, Casselton, ND, 16.717; 20. 2, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA, 16.727; 21. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA, 16.738; 22. 04, Chad Heimbaugh, Pleasant Hill, IA, 16.796; 23. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA, 16.797; 24. 86, Kyle Bellm, Nixa, MO, 16.861; 25. 10x, Mike Trent, Rocheport, MO, 16.882; 26. 47T, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA, 16.991; 27. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL, 17.007; 28. 9m, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO, 17.270; 29. 12x, Frank Rogers, Lucas, IA, 17.488; 30. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA, NT; 31. 21c, Justyn Cox, Clarksburg, CA, NT.

Heat one (started), 7 laps, NT: 1. Wayne Johnson (6) 2. Clint Garner (2) 3. Matt Moro (4) 4. Russ Hall (1) 5. Tom Lenz (5) / 6. Tyler Groenendyk (3) 7. Dave Glennon (7) 8. Mike Trent (9) 9. Chad Heimbaugh (8) 10. Alan Zoutte (11) 11. Ricky Montgomery (10)

Heat two (started), 7 laps, 1:58.1: 1. Larry Ball Jr. (2) 2. Lee Grosz (1) 3. David Hall (3) 4. Casey Friedrichsen (6) 5. Jon Agan (5) / 6. Jamie Ball (4) 7. Josh Higday (7) 8. Tasker Phillips (8) 9. Tony Shilling (9) 10. Frank Rogers (10)

Heat three (started), 7 laps, 1:58.3: 1. Nate Van Haaften (1) 2. Joe Beaver (2) 3. Jonathan Cornell (3) 4. Chad Humston (6) 5. Rod Richards (4) / 6. Jarrod Schneiderman (5) 7. Dennis Moore Jr. (9) 8. Kyle Bellm (8) 9. Jimmy Davies (7) DNS - Justyn Cox

B main (started), 10 laps, NT: 1. Jamie Ball (1) 2. Dennis Moore Jr. (3) 3. Josh Higday (5) 4. Jarrod Schneiderman (6) 5. Mike Trent (10) / 6. Dave Glennon (4) 7. Kyle Bellm (9) 8. Tasker Phillips (8) 9. Chad Heimbaugh (7) 10. Jimmy Davies (12) 11. Ricky Montgomery (11) 12. Tyler Groenendyk (2) 13. Frank Rogers (14) 14. Alan Zoutte (13) DNS - Tony Shilling, Justyn Cox

A main (started), 15 laps, 4:13.0 (NTR): 1. Clint Garner (2) 2. Larry Ball Jr. (1) 3. David Hall (4) 4. Nate Van Haaften (3) 5. Dennis Moore Jr. (17) 6. Matt Moro (6) 7. Lee Grosz (15) 8. Chad Humston (10) 9. Casey Friedrichsen (11) 10. Josh Higday (18) 11. Mike Trent (20) 12. Jarrod Schneiderman (19) 13. Russ Hall (14) 14. Joe Beaver (13) 15. Rod Richards (5) 16. Jonathan Cornell (7) 17. Jon Agan (8) 18. Tom Lenz (9) 19. Wayne Johnson (12) 20. Jamie Ball (16). Lap Leader: Garner 1-15.

If this post isn't results, stories or something c
constructive, it isn't me! 
@BillWMedia
www.OpenWheel101.com

Bill, any word on if Lasoski injuries? And has Skip Jackson retired?

Nice to see Dave Hall leading in points. Went down to get autographs after the race and noticed he doesn't have a sponsor. Easy to root for those kind of guys.

We may have missed it with all the conversation we had going during intermission but...was there a re-draw for 410's last night? If not I must say from a fan standpoint, I am disappoined that Knoxville Raceway would give up on it that quickly. It gives a little added excitement for the fans!

The fans definitely got their money's worth. Looks like it will be worth attending Knoxville's regular Sat nite shows. The names will often change no doubt, but high caliber drivers will always be stopping by, never know who will show.

 Lawlessness and liberalism equals Hell.  NY City, 
Detroit, Seattle, Chicago, Minnepolis, etc. We saw it. 
Burning hundreds of buildings, a thousand assaults and 
dozens of murders. Getting worser and worser.

They did not redraw. We were discussing it ourselves. The only thing we came up with was we were going by IRA rules or because the number of cars and late hour they passed it up. I do understand they were going to do it the whole season. Orrrrrr, maybe they didn't want an uprising on their hands if Lasoski got the pole again. He got outside front row anyway.

My wife told me if I went to one more Sprint Car race 
she would leave me.................I'm sure gonna miss 
that ol' gal. 

Was told they will do the redraw from time to time, not every week.

I've known Dave for a few years now and the guy can definetaly drive. If he could get a sponsor and have a bigger budget he could be up front every night. Hope he keeps up his success.

so what is the point of time trials, and heat races when you set quick time you win you heat but yet you start 16th in the A? makes no sense

LR I agree but I think there is a lot of drivers that fall into that category. There are only a few teams at Knoxville that actually have the dollars it takes to run at Knoxville. It was good racing but the track was a bit overwatered and caused a delay starting. We all knew that would happen after last weeks fiasco. The track guys are good when they want to be it seems like they don't want to be good every week. Lazy i guess.

Wow, Jessica Zemken third fast in qualifying, qualifies in the heat, then runs eighth in the feature.

Why did the 360s time trial. Knoxville does not usually do that for the 360s, do they?

Time trials are worth points. Tough to sandbag anyway, when the invert can be six and the difference is tenths of a second...

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constructive, it isn't me! 
@BillWMedia
www.OpenWheel101.com

The 360's are timed by group in their hot laps. That started at the beginning of last year...

If this post isn't results, stories or something c
constructive, it isn't me! 
@BillWMedia
www.OpenWheel101.com

Thanks for the info, Bill. I never noticed that before.

About a 180 degree turn from last weeks yawner ..... wonder if 'strangewings' made the trip?

Yeah ..... I gotta agree with Bill W .... Lasoski is both lucky and good ... if the driveline let loose 100 yards sooner ..... he runs about 10th.

Like him or not ....Lasoski has many wins from many starting spots over the years .... he is on a roll right now .... I remember like 18 maybe 20 years ??? ago Jeff Tuttle was inverted due to the pill draw to the front row night after night and was winning night after night ... 3 years or so later he was out of racing ...luck is a fleeting thing and no one is lucky forever.

Right now, it is like the old Nationals 'Mystery' Feature (caused by 'drop ins' for the first 2 nights of the year) and it is certainly putting some urgency in wanting to come to Knoxville on regular Saturday nights right now.

S.H.S.