Madsen Goes Back-To-Back With All Stars Win At Knoxville Raceway Saturday

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – KNOXVILLE, IA – Kerry Madsen nearly counted himself out on Saturday night at Knoxville Raceway, forced to start from the inside of seven for the 25-lap main event after finishing third during his respective heat race. Although distraught over his starting position, the veteran proved himself wrong in a hurry, quickly advancing through the feature field to earn his second Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event victory in as many days.

Now a nine-time winner with the All Star Circuit of Champions, the “Madman” sealed his fate on lap 20, making an impressive move around fellow sprint car veteran, Sammy Swindell, to cash-in for a $5,000 payday.

Defending All Star champion, Chad Kemenah, finished third at Knoxville Raceway, followed by “Blackjack” Brian Brown and Brooke Tatnell.

“We’ve been really quick lately, we just haven’t been able to catch any breaks,” Kerry Madsen explained in victory lane, driver of the GoMuddy.com/Big Game Treestands/No. 2M sprint car. “Last night was a great night for us, and tonight having to start 13th, I was like ‘oh man, we are done.’ But I’ll tell you what, Guy Forbrook has been working hard on this car. That thing was a rocketship tonight.”

Tea, South Dakota’s Matt Juhl and seven-time Knoxville Raceway track champion, Terry McCarl, led the feature field to green on Saturday night at the Sprint Car Capital of the World. Juhl earned the early advantage, leading McCarl, Brooke Tatnell, and Lynton Jeffrey by the flagstand for the first time. Juhl led the first three circuits before the main event’s first red flag appeared on lap four. Trey Starks was the driver involved; he walked away unharmed.

Green flag action resumed with Terry McCarl now on the back bumper of Juhl. McCarl chased Juhl for the next eight circuits before making his first, official bid for the top spot on lap 12. Although gaining the top spot with ease, Juhl had some visible programs, ultimately surrendering his position and pulling off into the infield.

After McCarl’s successful overtaking, the driver of the familiar No. 24 led for the next two circuits, instantly opening up to a three-second command. Unfortunately for T-Mac, the turn one cushion got the best of the Altoona, Iowa, native, eventually sending McCarl on a wild ride between turns one and two. As a result, the point position was left open for Sammy Swindell.

Swindell, who started seventh on the feature grid, led the field back to green with Brooke Tatnell and Chad Kemenah in tow. By that point, Kerry Madsen was full of life, already making his presence known well within the top-five, actually powering into the runner-up spot by the completion of lap 16.

Lap by lap, Madsen picked away at Swindell’s lead, shrinking his command from one second on lap 17, to a mere-.2 seconds by the completion of lap 19. By the time the pair raced into turn one on lap 20, Madsen was within striking distance and attempted to slide the Germantown, Tenn., native through corner number two. Although Madsen’s initial slider did not stick, his attempt to overtake the top spot in turns three and four did succeed, ultimately pulling away from Swindell as the pair drag raced off of corner number four.

From that point forward, it was all Madsen at the front of the field, quickly accelerating to an impressive command that stretched to nearly three seconds by lap 25.

“This is a fun team to be a part of,” Madsen explained. “I have really enjoyed the last year and a half. This is a great time of year to get good.”

Moving a little further east, the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will conclude their four-race stretch through the Midwest with a stop on Sunday evening, July 29, at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. Just the third appearance in Series history, Tony Stewart’s All Stars will battle for a $5,000 top prize during their Sunday night stop at the 3/8-mile, semi-banked oval, officially concluding their four-track, three-state sweep through the central time zone.

34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, will open pit gates at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 29. A mandatory All Star Circuit of Champions drivers meeting will take shape at 5:45 p.m., followed by hot laps at 6:30 p.m. Those seeking additional news and notes should visit 34 Raceway live on the Web at www.34raceway.com.

Contingency Awards/Results: Knoxville Raceway – Saturday, July 28, 2018:
Weiler Night
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 56 entrants
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Giovanni Scelzi – 15.419 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Paul McMahan – 15.338 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Matt Juhl
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Lynton Jeffrey
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Carson Macedo
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5: Brian Brown
Computer Man of Fremont D-Main: Tony Stewart
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts C-Main: Rager Phillips
JE Pistons Dash #1: Matt Juhl
Wix Filters Dash #2: Terry McCarl
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Giovanni Scelzi
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Sammy Swindell (2nd)
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Dominic Scelzi (+16)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 15.364; 2. 26-Joey Saldana, 15.399; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 15.489; 4. 4-Parker Price-Miller, 15.553; 5. 9-Rager Phillips, 15.590; 6. 83-Cory Eliason, 15.622; 7. 70s-Jeff Swindell, 15.664; 8. 21au-Jordan Brazier, 15.717; 9. 35-Tyler Esh, 15.836; 10. 98-Carl Bowser, 15.859; 11. 10-Clyde Knipp, 15.907; 12. 28-Allen Woods, 16.113

Group (B)
1. 13-Paul McMahan, 15.338; 2. 59-Sammy Swindell, 15.381; 3. 7W-Tasker Phillips, 15.654; 4. O9-Matt Juhl, 15.697; 5. 71A-RJ Johnson, 15.702; 6. 49-Josh Schneiderman, 15.758; 7. 70-Dave Blaney, 15.820; 8. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer, 16.154; 9. 7-John Carney, 16.339; 10. 7X-Carson McCarl, 16.470; 11. 19-Bobby Wueve, 16.689

Group (C)
1. 24-Terry McCarl, 15.368; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 15.404; 3. 12-Lynton Jeffrey, 15.410; 4. 39-Spencer Bayston, 15.449; 5. 71-Gio Scelzi, 15.479; 6. 7K-Cale Conley, 15.667; 7. 24R-Rico Abreu, 15.748; 8. 35V-Jamie Veal, 15.797; 9. 14-Tony Stewart, 15.832; 10. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 15.958; 11. 15-Bobby Mincer, 16.447

Group (D)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15.440; 2. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 15.599; 3. 3G-Carson Macedo, 15.638; 4. 2KS-Austin McCarl, 15.652; 5. 56N-Davey Heskin, 15.657; 6. 67-Ryan Robinson, 15.663; 7. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg, 15.683; 8. 20-AJ Moeller, 15.726; 9. 11-Ryan Smith, 15.743; 10. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 16.366; 11. 1AJ-Tevor Mell, 17.747

Group (E)
1. 21-Brian Brown, 15.530; 2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 15.545; 3. 44-Trey Starks, 15.607; 4. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 15.685; 5. 29-Willie Croft, 15.805; 6. 3K-Tim Kaeding, 15.877; 7. 75-Glen Saville, 16.016; 8. 19P-Paige Polyak, 16.066; 9. 5H-Sammy Walsh, 16.177; 10. 85-Chase Wanner, 16.517; 11. 84-Brandon Hanks, 99.470

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [2]; 2. 2C-Wayne Johnson [4]; 3. 4-Parker Price-Miller [1]; 4. 83-Cory Eliason [6]; 5. 26-Joey Saldana [3]; 6. 70S-Jeff Swindell [7]; 7. 21AU-Jordan Brazier [8]; 8. 9-Rager Phillips [5]; 9. 35-Tyler Esh [9]; 10. 98-Carl Bowser [10]; 11. 10-Clyde Knipp [11]; 12. 28-Allen Woods [12]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. O9-Matt Juhl [1]; 2. 13-Paul McMahan [4]; 3. 7W-Tasker Phillips [2]; 4. 59-Sammy Swindell [3]; 5. 49-Josh Schneiderman [6]; 6. 71A-RJ Johnson [5]; 7. 70-Dave Blaney [7]; 8. 7-John Carney [9]; 9. 19-Bobby Wueve [11]; 10. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [8]; 11. 7X-Carson McCarl [10]

Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [2]; 2. 39-Spencer Bayston [1]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 4. 24-Terry McCarl [4]; 5. 71-Gio Scelzi [5]; 6. 7K-Cale Conley [6]; 7. 24R-Rico Abreu [7]; 8. 3-Jac Haudenschild [10]; 9. 35V-Jamie Veal [8]; 10. 14-Tony Stewart [9]; 11. 15-Bobby Mincer [11]

Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 3G-Carson Macedo [2]; 2. 10H-Chad Kemenah [3]; 3. 2KS-Austin McCarl [1]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 5. 67-Ryan Robinson [6]; 6. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg [7]; 7. 56N-Davey Heskin [5]; 8. 11-Ryan Smith [9]; 9. 22-Brandon Spithaler [10]; 10. 1AJ-Tevor Mell [11]; 11. 20-AJ Moeller [8]

Heat #5 – Group (E) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 2. 55-Brooke Tatnell [1]; 3. 44-Trey Starks [2]; 4. 3K-Tim Kaeding [6]; 5. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [3]; 6. 19P-Paige Polyak [8]; 7. 29-Willie Croft [5]; 8. 5H-Sammy Walsh [9]; 9. 85-Chase Wanner [10]; 10. 75-Glen Saville [7]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. O9-Matt Juhl [1]; 2. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [3]; 3. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 4. 59-Sammy Swindell [2]; 5. 39-Spencer Bayston [5]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 24-Terry McCarl [1]; 2. 55-Brooke Tatnell [2]; 3. 3G-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah [6]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [5]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson [4]

D-Main (8 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 14-Tony Stewart [1]; 2. 98-Carl Bowser [2]; 3. 15-Bobby Mincer [8]; 4. 10-Clyde Knipp [7]; 5. 7X-Carson McCarl [10]; 6. 1AJ-Tevor Mell [5]; 7. 75-Glen Saville [3]; 8. 27-Tucker Klaasmeyer [4]; 9. 20-AJ Moeller [6]; 10. 28-Allen Woods [9]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 9-Rager Phillips [1]; 2. 11-Ryan Smith [2]; 3. 7-John Carney [5]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [11]; 6. 35V-Jamie Veal [6]; 7. 5H-Sammy Walsh [4]; 8. 35-Tyler Esh [7]; 9. 98-Carl Bowser [12]; 10. 19-Bobby Wueve [10]; 11. 22-Brandon Spithaler [8]; 12. 85-Chase Wanner [9]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 71-Gio Scelzi [2]; 2. 26-Joey Saldana [1]; 3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [3]; 4. 67-Ryan Robinson [4]; 5. 49-Josh Schneiderman [5]; 6. 97G-Hunter Schuerenberg [8]; 7. 70S-Jeff Swindell [6]; 8. 24R-Rico Abreu [13]; 9. 56N-Davey Heskin [11]; 10. 21AU-Jordan Brazier [12]; 11. 7K-Cale Conley [7]; 12. 9-Rager Phillips [16]; 13. 29-Willie Croft [14]; 14. 11-Ryan Smith [17]; 15. 19P-Paige Polyak [10]; 16. 70-Dave Blaney [15]; 17. 71A-RJ Johnson [9]

A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [13]; 2. 59-Sammy Swindell [7]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah [8]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [5]; 5. 55-Brooke Tatnell [4]; 6. 39-Spencer Bayston [9]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [23]; 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel [18]; 9. 83-Cory Eliason [19]; 10. 13-Paul McMahan [10]; 11. 3K-Tim Kaeding [20]; 12. 2KS-Austin McCarl [16]; 13. 26-Joey Saldana [22]; 14. 12-Lynton Jeffrey [3]; 15. 4-Parker Price-Miller [14]; 16. 3G-Carson Macedo [6]; 17. 7W-Tasker Phillips [17]; 18. 2C-Wayne Johnson [12]; 19. 67-Ryan Robinson [26]; 20. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [11]; 21. 24-Terry McCarl [2]; 22. O9-Matt Juhl [1]; 23. 70-Dave Blaney [25]; 24. 3-Jac Haudenschild [24]; 25. 44-Trey Starks [15]; 26. 71-Gio Scelzi [21] Lap Leaders: Matt Juhl (1-11), Terry McCarl (12-14), Sammy Swindell (15-19), Kerry Madsen (20-25)