Terry McCarl of Altoona, IA, inked his name into the record books as the first three-time winner of the ASCS Knoxville Nationals by wiring the field in Saturday night’s $10,000-to-win championship finale atop the fabled ½-mile Knoxville Raceway clay oval at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
After topping Friday night’s preliminary feature event, McCarl started Saturday’s finale outside the front row and paced the entire 25-lap distance to put the caps on the 19th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals with his eighth career Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series presented by K&N Filters feature win.
Not even a red flag stoppage five laps from the end could deter McCarl’s victory drive, as he took the checkered flag with a 3.202-second advantage over Oklahoma’s Wayne Johnson, who outdueled Nebraska’s Billy Alley for runner-up honors in the final circuits.
“You never what can happen after a red flag like that, so many things can change, I was really hoping they’d get busy racing each other,” McCarl explained in victory lane. “I just tried to keep my car straight as possible and make good laps.
It worked, as McCarl was untouchable aboard the Big Game Tree Stands, adding to previous ASCS Knoxville Nationals triumphs in 1996 and 2001.
McCarl outgunned pole starter Alley for the lead at the outset, slipping away to leave Alley in a fight for second in the early stages with Shane Stewart and Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Wayne Johnson then entered the fray for second just as the first of the race’s two incidents occurred when Dustin Daggett tagged the turn one retainer and collected “B” Main winner Matt Covington.
McCarl took off again on the restart, reaching lapped traffic by the eleventh round. Alley briefly closed in on a pair of occasions, only to have a nifty McCarl move through traffic erase Alley’s progress as Wayne Johnson had taken command of third by the midway point.
McCarl’s sizable advantage was erased after 20 rounds when fifth-running Stewart jumped the turn three cushion and flipped, bringing out the red flag.
It made little difference however, as McCarl again raced away from his rivals to secure the victory.
In his wake, Alley and Wayne Johnson battled it out for the runner-up slot, with Johnson finally establishing command of the position on the 22nd lap, just as Hafertepe surrendered the fourth position with an early escape to the pit area.
While Alley claimed the show position, current Lucas Oil Sprint Car point leader Jason Johnson of Eunice, LA, crossed the stripe in fourth, with Missouri’s Brian Brown rounding out the top five.
Travis Rilat was sixth, while Jack Dover charged from 18th to seventh. Gregg Bakker was eighth, with 23rd-starter Kaley Gharst and Tony Bruce, Jr., completing the top ten.
Alan Zoutte kicked off the night by winning the 8-lap “E” Main, with Paul McMahan fending off Randy Martin to top the 10-lap “D” Main. Jonathan Cornell wired the field in the 12-lap “C” Main, with Covington bursting from the second row to lead all the way in the 12-lap “B” Main.
Gary Wright’s streak of 200 consecutive Lucas Oil Sprint Car Series feature starts came to an end as he finished a handful of positions shy of a transfer by crossing the stripe ninth in the “B” Main.
A total of 111 different drivers competed in the 19th Annual ASCS Knoxville Nationals.
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