James McFadden Wins Thriller On Night #2 Of Knoxville 360 Nationals

Story By: BILL WRIGHT / KNOXVILLE RACEWAY – KNOXVILLE, IA – Four-time Australian World Series Sprintcars titlist James McFadden won a barnburner on Iowa Corn Districts 5 and 9 Night #2 of the MyPlace Hotels Knoxville 360 Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank on Saturday night.

McFadden, now residing in Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia, took home $3,000 for his first career win at Knoxville, as well as with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing #9M. He also locked himself into Saturday night’s main event pole position alongside Joey Saldana (complete lineups below).

Blake Hahn brushed the turn one wall after the green flag fell, bringing out the caution. He would restart at the tail. Davey Heskin led the field when the green fell again, ahead of Harli White, Brian Brown, Colby Copeland and Gio Scelzi. Scelzi moved into fourth on the second lap, followed by McFadden.

Brown reeled in White for second, and he and Scelzi shot by for second and third on lap nine. The leaders were in lapped traffic by the tenth circuit, and McFadden used the bottom to gain fourth. The next five laps saw racing for the lead. With five laps to go, a blanket could be thrown over Heskin, Brown and Scelzi. On the 17th lap, Brown moved into the lead, with McFadden shooting under Scelzi on the backstretch.

Scelzi gained momentum again heading into three and hopped the left rear of McFadden’s car, sending him careening into the wall. He walked away. The caution negated Brown’s pass for the lead, so Heskin led Brown, McFadden, Paul McMahan and Saldana back to green.

A three-car battle for the lead commenced on the restart, with McFadden battling to the fore heading into turn three. Brown moved into the runner-up spot, while Saldana advanced to fourth. Saldana gained third from Heskin with two to go.

Austin McCarl, who started 14th, came on strong late in the event, advancing as far as third, but Saldana got back by him at the line. McFadden’s win came ahead of Brown, Saldana, Austin McCarl and Heskin. McMahan, Clint Garner, hard-charger Matt Juhl, Copeland and Terry McCarl rounded out the top ten. Saldana set quick time over the field, while Hahn, Josh Baughman, Garner, Kyle Bellm and Roger Crockett won heat races. Randy Hannagan won the C main, and Scott Bogucki took the B.

“We stuck to the bottom there, and tried to roll it as good as we could,” said McFadden in Victory Lane. “(Heskin) kind of missed the bottom there, and it was enough to get by him. We’ve struggled here at Knoxville the last couple of weeks, so it’s good to get a win. It’s a big confidence booster going into tomorrow night. I came of the bottom and had a big push (when he passed Gio). I about ran into (Heskin), and I felt a nudge. I didn’t know if it was my fault. I apologize to Gio if it was my fault. I didn’t feel like I could see him, so I’m not sure.”

“I just kind of guessed wrong there on the last restart,” said Brown. “I didn’t want to see the yellow, because I had gotten by Davey. I just guessed wrong. I was going to go where Davey didn’t, but he blocked enough of the bottom and kind of shut my line down there. I tried to get around the outside, but James what he needed to do and stuck the bottom like a champion. He’s a heck of wheelman.”

“The driver didn’t show up until the end,” said Saldana. “The car had really good speed. I was just making mistakes. You can’t make mistakes. You have to be perfect. Luckily, we had that restart at the end, and I hit the bottom. I almost gave third away. Hopefully, I can learn from tonight and be a little better tomorrow.”

The $15,000 to win 29th Annual MyPlace Hotels Knoxville 360 Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank concludes Saturday night, August 3! The Pro Sprints presented by Pace Performance will also be in action.

Results from Night #2 of the MyPlace Hotels Knoxville 360 Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank

Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 12N, Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, IN (14), 15.993; 2. 9M, James McFadden, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (4), 16.049; 3. 28, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (26), 16.133; 4. 14, Paul McMahan, Nashville, TN (28), 16.188; 5. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (20), 16.279; 6. 5H, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (2), 16.361; 7. 71, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (36), 16.377; 8. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (17), 16.441; 9. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (10), 16.453; 10. 17W, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (3), 16.503; 11. 17WX, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (8), 16.597; 12. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (31), 16.629; 13. 4X, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (38), 16.646; 14. 47X, Dylan Westbrook, Scotland, ONT, Can. (11), 16.662; 15. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (13), 16.675; 16. 88, Scottie McDonald, Porter, TX (21), 16.759; 17. 5G, Curt Michael, Ocean View, DE (39), 16.782; 18. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (37), 16.782; 19. 77X, Alex Hill, Six Nations, ONT, Can. (22), 16.797; 20. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (7), 16.808; 21. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (32), 16.811; 22. 2KS, Jason Solwold, Mount Vernon, WA (23), 16.812; 23. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (51), 16.857; 24. 22K, Kaleb Johnson, Sioux Falls, SD (46), 16.925; 25. 18R, Lance Moss, Cherryville, NC (33), 16.959; 26. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (25), 16.964; 27. 17, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (53), 17.015; 28. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (48), 17.044; 29. 75AU, Kyle Bellm, Nixa, MO (19), 17.055; 30. 11, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK (35), 17.062; 31. 13V, Seth Brahmer, Wisner, NE (9), 17.068; 32. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (34), 17.095; 33. 23H, Randy Hannagan, Pittsboro, IN (40), 17.124; 34. 1A, John Anderson, Des Moines, IA (1), 17.156; 35. 29, Willie Croft, Roseville, CA (45), 17.164; 36. 19, Rob Weuve, Newton, IA (15), 17.205; 37. 22M, Shawn Murray, Jacksonville, FL (12), 17.247; 38. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (29), 17.289; 39. 14M, Jordon Mallett, Greenbrier, AR (54), 17.296; 40. 74, Brodie Tulloch, Brisbane, QLD, Aust. (27), 17.308; 41. 85, Dustin Daggett, Portland, MI (44), 17.342; 42. 41D, Dan Henning, Columbia, IA (16), 17.368; 43. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (47), 17.418; 44. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (43), 17.442; 45. 87H, Matthew Howard, Lawrence, KS (24), 17.475; 46. 21P, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can (42), 17.498; 47. 22G, Bryan Grimes, Slater, MO (6), 17.597; 48. 2X, Tucker Doughty, Sunnyvale, TX (52), 17.605; 49. W20, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (49), 17.659; 50. 07, Michael Bookout, Tulsa, OK (18), 17.808; 51. 51A, Elliot Amdahl, Flandreau, SD (41), 18.016; 52. 11B, Ben Woods, Newton, IA (50), 18.24; 53. 75, Glen Saville, Razorback, NSW, Aust. (30), 19.075; 54. 40C, Luke Cochran, Springfield, NE (5), 17.507; 55. 6, Frank Rodgers III, Lucas, IA (55), NT.

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:17.4: 1. Blake Hahn (2); 2. Joey Saldana (6); 3. AJ Moeller (1); 4. Colby Copeland (5) / 5. Shane Golobic (4); 6. Scottie McDonald (3); 7. Seth Brahmer (7); 8. Robbie Price (10) / 9. Dustin Daggett (9); 10. Rob Weuve (8)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:18.0: 1. Josh Baughman (1); 2. James McFadden (6); 3. Jason Solwold (2); 4. Gio Scelzi (5) / 5. Curt Michael (3); 6. Matt Juhl (4); 7. Matt Moro (7); 8. Shawn Murray (8) / 9. Bryan Grimes (10); 10. Dan Henning (9)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:18.8: 1. Clint Garner (1); 2. Austin McCarl (2); 3. Terry McCarl (4); 4. Jon Agan (3); 5. Scott Bogucki (6); 6. Ayrton Gennetten (5); 7. Matt Covington (9); 8. Tasker Phillips (8); 9. Randy Hannagan (7); 10. Tucker Doughty (10)

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:20.2: 1. Kyle Bellm (1); 2. Paul McMahan (6); 3. Kaleb Johnson (2); 4. Davey Heskin (5); 5. Alex Hill (3); 6. Dylan Westbrook (4); 7. Greg Wilson (10); 8. Jordon Mallett (8); 9. Nathan Mills (9); 10. John Anderson (7)

Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:22.1: 1. Roger Crockett (1); 2. Brian Brown (6); 3. Harli White (5); 4. Christian Bowman (3); 5. McKenna Haase (4); 6. Willie Croft (7); 7. Brodie Tulloch (8); 8. Lance Moss (2); 9. Matthew Howard (9); 10. Michael Bookout (10)

C main (started), 10 Laps, 3:05.1: 1. Randy Hannagan (1); 2. Dustin Daggett (4); 3. Matthew Howard (7); 4. Rob Weuve (3) / 5. Bryan Grimes (6); 6. Tucker Doughty (9); 7. Ben Woods (8); 8. Elliot Amdahl (11); 9. Dan Henning (5); 10. Luke Cochran (10); 11. John Anderson (2); 12. Glen Saville (12) DNS – 13. Nathan Mills 14. Michael Bookout 15. Frank Rodgers III

B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Scott Bogucki (1); 2. Matt Juhl (4); 3. Ayrton Gennetten (2); 4. Matt Moro (12) / 5. Shane Golobic (3); 6. Dylan Westbrook (5); 7. McKenna Haase (6); 8. Tasker Phillips (15); 9. Matt Covington (18); 10. Willie Croft (13); 11. Scottie McDonald (7); 12. Greg Wilson (20); 13. Seth Brahmer (11); 14. Curt Michael (8); 15. Randy Hannagan (21); 16. Robbie Price (19); 17. Lance Moss (10); 18. Jordon Mallett (16); 19. Alex Hill (9); 20. Dustin Daggett (22); 21. Matthew Howard (23); 22. Shawn Murray (14); 23. Brodie Tulloch (17); 24. Rob Weuve (24)

A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. James McFadden (7); 2. Brian Brown (5); 3. Joey Saldana (8); 4. Austin McCarl (14); 5. Davey Heskin (2); 6. Paul McMahan (6); 7. Clint Garner (18); 8. Matt Juhl (22); 9. Colby Copeland (4); 10. Terry McCarl (9); 11. Harli White (1); 12. Josh Baughman (17); 13. Jon Agan (10); 14. Jason Solwold (13); 15. Blake Hahn (12); 16. Kyle Bellm (19); 17. Roger Crockett (20); 18. Christian Bowman (11); 19. Matt Moro (24); 20. AJ Moeller (16); 21. Scott Bogucki (21); 22. Ayrton Gennetten (23); 23. Gio Scelzi (3); 24. Kaleb Johnson (15). Lap Leaders: Heskin 1-16, McFadden 17-20. Hard-charger: Juhl.

Lineups for Saturday’s MyPlace Hotels Knoxville 360 Nationals Presented by Great Southern Bank

A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9M-James McFadden; 2. 12N-Joey Saldana; 3. 21-Brian Brown; 4. 14-Paul McMahan; 5. 5-Dusty Zomer; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson; 8. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr; 9. 21K-Thomas Kennedy; 10. 9-Ryan Giles; 11. 56N-Davey Heskin; 12. 5H-Colby Copeland; 13. 26-Cory Eliason; 14. 71P-Parker Price-Miller; 15. 17W-Harli White; 16. 83H-Justin Henderson; 17. 4X-Terry McCarl; 18. 27-Carson McCarl; 19. 09-Matt Juhl; 20. 4J-Lee Grosz

B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 17A-Austin McCarl; 2. 70-Calvin Landis; 3. 28-Scott Bogucki; 4. 44S-Trey Starks; 5. 71-Giovanni Scelzi; 6. 40-Clint Garner; 7. 4-Jon Agan; 8. 33M-Mason Daniel; 9. 52-Blake Hahn; 10. 44-Chris Martin; 11. 3-Ayrton Gennetten; 12. 17-Josh Baughman; 13. 2KS-Jason Solwold; 14. 23D-Devon Dobie; 15. 83-Rob Kubli; 16. 94-Jeff Swindell; 17. 99-Brady Bacon; 18. 1-Travis Rilat; 19. 15-Christian Bowman; 20. 75AU-Kyle Bellm

C Feature (12 Laps): 1. 53D-Jack Dover; 2. 3P-Sawyer Phillips; 3. 11-Roger Crockett; 4. 17WX-Shane Golobic; 5. 20-A.J. Moeller; 6. 22K-Kaleb Johnson; 7. J2-John Carney II; 8. 41S-Dominic Scelzi; 9. 47X-Dylan Westbrook; 10. 76-Brad Comegys; 11. 55-McKenna Haase; 12. 18-Ryan Roberts; 13. 11X-Sammy Swindell; 14. 1K-Kelby Watt; 15. 88-Scottie McDonald; 16. 2M-Matt Moro; 17. 5J-Jamie Ball; 18. 5G-Curt Michael; 19. 35L-Cody Ledger; 20. 77X-Alex Hill

D Feature (10 Laps): 1. 3B-Spencer Bayston; 2. 66-Ricky Montgomery; 3. 45-Rusty Hickman; 4. 29-Willie Croft; 5. 18R-Lance Moss; 6. 13V-Seth Brahmer; 7. 7TAZ-Tasker Phillips; 8. 81E-Eric Bridger; 9. 23H-Randy Hannagan; 10. 95-Matt Covington; 11. 33-Alan Zoutte; 12. 2D-Dusty Ballenger; 13. 53-Joe Beaver; 14. 64C-Casey Greubel; 15. 1CB-Chelsea Blevins; 16. 37H-Nicholas Howard; 17. 14M-Jordon Mallett; 18. 22M-Shawn Murray; 19. W20-Greg Wilson; 20. 22-Ryan Leavitt

E Feature (8 Laps): 1. 2K-Kevin Ingle; 2. 74-Brodie Tulloch; 3. 21P-Robbie Price; 4. 85-Dustin Daggett; 5. 19-Rob Weuve; 6. 87H-Matthew Howard; 7. 1A-John Anderson; 8. 22G-Bryan Grimes; 9. 41D-Dan Henning; 10. 2X-Tucker Doughty; 11. 24N-Nathan Mills; 12. 07-Michael Bookout; 13. 51A-Elliot Amdahl; 14. 11B-Ben Woods; 15. 75-Glen Saville; 16. 40C-Luke Cochran; 17. 6-Frank Rogers

Point Totals

1 9M James McFadden 495
2 12N Joey Saldana 493
3 21 Brian Brown 487
4 14 Paul McMahan 481
5 5 Dusty Zomer 479
6 87 Aaron Reutzel 477
7 2C Wayne Johnson 475
8 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr. 473
9 21K Thomas Kennedy 470
10 9 Ryan Giles 468
11 56N Davey Heskin 467
12 5H Colby Copeland 465
13 26 Cory Eliason 461
14 71P Parker Price-Miller 456
15 17W Harli White 456
16 83H Justin Henderson 452
17 4X Terry McCarl 452
18 27 Carson McCarl 451
19 09 Matt Juhl 449
20 4J Lee Grosz 449
21 17A Austin McCarl 447
22 70 Calvin Landis 444
23 28 Scott Bogucki 444
24 44S Trey Starks 441
25 71 Gio Scelzi 435
26 40 Clint Garner 434
27 4 Jon Agan 433
28 33M Mason Daniel 432
29 52 Blake Hahn 432
30 44 Chris Martin 429
31 3 Ayrton Gennetten 429
32 17 Josh Baughman 426
33 2KS Jason Solwold 426
34 23D Devon Dobie 424
35 83 Rob Kubli 424
36 94 Jeff Swindell 422
37 99 Brady Bacon 421
38 1 Travis Rilat 419
39 15 Christian Bowman 419
40 75AU Kyle Bellm 414
41 53D Jack Dover 414
42 3P Sawyer Phillips 414
43 11 Roger Crockett 410
44 17WX Shane Golobic 410
45 20 AJ Moeller 406
46 22K Kaleb Johnson 402
47 J2 John Carney II 402
48 41S Dominic Scelzi 400
49 47X Dylan Westbrook 399
50 76 Brad Comegys 398
51 55 McKenna Haase 398
52 18 Ryan Roberts 395
53 11X Sammy Swindell 395
54 1K Kelby Watt 389
55 88 Scottie McDonald 385
56 2M Matt Moro 384
57 5J Jamie Ball 384
58 5G Curt Michael 380
59 35L Cody Ledger 376
60 77X Alex Hill 366
61 3B Spencer Bayston 356
62 66 Ricky Montgomery 355
63 45 Rusty Hickman 352
64 29 Willie Croft 349
65 18R Lance Moss 349
66 13V Seth Brahmer 348
67 7TAZ Tasker Phillips 341
68 81E Eric Bridger 341
69 23H Randy Hannagan 334
70 95 Matt Covington 332
71 33 Alan Zoutte 330
72 2D Dusty Ballenger 327
73 53 Joe Beaver 325
74 64C Casey Greubel 322
75 1CB Chelsea Blevins 321
76 37H Nicholas Howard 319
77 14M Jordon Mallett 319
78 22M Shawn Murray 315
79 W20 Greg Wilson 314
80 22 Ryan Leavitt 314
81 2K Kevin Ingle 312
82 74 Brodie Tulloch 310
83 21P Robbie Price 309
84 85 Dustin Daggett 308
85 19 Rob Weuve 307
86 87H Matthew Howard 298
87 1A John Anderson 287
88 22G Bryan Grimes 276
89 41D Dan Henning 275
90 2X Tucker Doughty 269
91 24N Nathan Mills 266
92 07 Michael Bookout 249
93 51A Elliot Amdahl 236
94 11B Ben Woods 233
95 75 Glen Saville 218
96 40C Luke Cochran 217
97 6 Frank Rodgers III 202