2005 Was A Year of "Firsts'"!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
by Bill Wright - 2005 proved to be a magical year at Knoxville Raceway, a year of firsts to be sure, with promises of more to come in 2006. Enjoy reading through some “firsts”, and reminisce about another great year at Knoxville:
FIRST-TIME CHAMPION
Terry McCarl’s six-year stranglehold on the 410 championship came to an end when he went on the road. Kerry Madsen came through with a solid season in a year-long battle with Wayne Johnson to take his first title. Madsen took the Summer Classic win in July, took a season-high six wins and led the most laps (71) on his way to his first Knoxville track championship.
FIRST-TIME WINNERS
410
Tim St. Arnold – The veteran driver from Des Moines led the distance in a non-stop 20 lap affair on May 28. He held off a persistent Billy Alley in traffic to bring home the win aboard the Willco Services 7w.
Billy Alley – The 2004 National 410 Rookie of the Year impressed again this season claiming his second 360 Nationals, but he would wait until the last night to record Knoxville 410 win #1 on season championship night, September 3. The win was a dominant one as he blistered the field, leading all 25 laps.
Kraig Kinser – When the Kinser rigs pulled into Knoxville in the World of Outlaws traditional late June stop, few thought the winner would step out of the rig housing the #11K car. They were wrong. The son of the “King”, Steve Kinser, proved he was ready, and the racing world took notice. His dominant win proved to be a prophecy of what was to come at the “Granddaddy of them all” in August.
Fred Rahmer – The Pennsylvanian will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his time comes. He’s won hundreds of sprint car features and track titles back in his home state of Pennsylvania, but despite eleven visits to the Knoxville Nationals, he had never visited victory lane at the famous half-mile. That changed with Rahmer’s preliminary win on August 10. Fortune smiled on him when Tim Kaeding blew a motor and Steve Kinser ended up upside down, but that didn’t quell the celebrations for Rahmer or his retiring car owner, Joe Harz.
360
John Schulz – The West Burlington, IA native finally broke through with his inaugural Knoxville tally for Deuce Motorsports on May 7. The veteran has spent years toiling in southeast Iowa, but won in just his second full year racing the 360 class at Knoxville.
Johnny Anderson – The close calls were over for Johnny Anderson on May 21 in the family owned 7a. Competitive all season long, the Indianola native finished in the top three in points and scored another victory on twin features night in July.
Brett Mather – When the Ames veteran finally punched through to victory lane, he couldn’t stop himself. He scored his first three wins on Knoxville soil in 2005, with his first coming on May 28 in the Burnham Enterprises 54.
Dusty Zomer – The second year Knoxville pilot picked a grand stage for his first win on August 4. The best were in town when the Brandon, SD native took the point after contact with Loren Langerud and cruised to his first triumph here in one of the 360 Nationals prelims.
Bronson Maeschen - In his second year in Knoxville competition, he passed Eric Jobe with a "slider" in dramatic fashion on lap ten to claim his first ever Knoxville win in his #96 on July 16.
FIRST YEAR DRIVERS
410
Kaley Gharst – Little was known of this 16 year old from Decatur, IL before the season started. By the end of the year, he had taken the family 44G to Knoxville Rookie of the Year honors and also topped a talented group of Knoxville Nationals rookies to take the same honor in August.
360
Jarod Smith – A competitive group of rookies entered the season in the 360 class. By the time the dust had cleared, this Runnells, IA native was on top, sitting 13th in the final point standings in his own #48.
Pete Crall – This DeSoto, KS youngster is used to going fast. A state track star in Kansas, Crall proved fast on Knoxville soil as well in the family #11, coming home 23rd in 360 points, despite missing a night or two.
Nate Mosher – Dedicating his first full year to Knoxville, this Prairie City driver saw vast improvement. Mosher qualified for the nationally televised 360 Nationals finals and finished 25th in the points in the family #22N.
Davey Heskin – This third generation driver from St. Peter, MN showed improvement as the year went on, finished 30th in the final points standings in the 56x.
Dustin Selvage – The Indianola grandson of P. Ray and Naomi Grimes highlighted his year in the night before the Brodix Tournament of Champions. He topped the nationally star-studded field with the highest passing point total coming out of the heats in his grandparents #7.
Dan Thornburg – No stranger to Knoxville, the Winterset native finally made it through a full season pulling down 33rd in the points standings in his #57T.
NEW TRACK RECORDS
410
1 lap – With weight rules, no wickerbills and tire restrictions, few thought Don Droud Jr.’s coveted 1998 one-lap track record was in trouble heading into 2005. Fewer thought it would be broken twice. After Brian Paulus went under the mark early in qualifications on April 30, Joey Saldana lowered the bar to 14.908. Terry McCarl proved on a tacky track on August 11 that the mark could be lowered even further and he did so. The new one lap record stands at 14.907.
6 laps – Danny Lasoski topped Skip Jackson’s 10 year old mark with a time of 1:36.7 on April 30 in a dash win.
8 laps – Chris Walraven topped his own four year old mark with a time of 2:03.2 on May 14 in heat race action.
15 laps – One of the oldest records in the books went down on the biggest night of racing in 2005. Clint Garner won the Knoxville Nationals C main and set a new standard at 4:09.7 on August 14. The run broke Mike Pinckney’s 23 year old record by more than 43 seconds.
360
7 laps – John Kearney topped Billy Alley’s two year old record in a heat race on May 14 with a time of 1:53.2.
10 laps – Dusty Zomer won his heat on August 4, breaking a three year old record held by Canadian, Ryan Coniam. The time was 2:46.7, and was a prelude of things to come. Zomer also won his 360 Nationals prelim feature that night.
FIRST-TIME IN THE BIG DANCE
Three drivers saw action in the Knoxville Nationals Championship A Main on August 14 for the first time in their careers.
Jeremy Campbell – After impressing many in winning the “King of the Hill” race and taking the Front Row Challenge at Oskaloosa earlier in the week, he qualified fourth on his preliminary night, transferred from the rear in his heat, and used a top ten in his feature to qualify 11th overall in points for the finale. He would finish 19th in the finale.
Billy Alley – In just his second full year of 410 action and riding high after his second consecutive 360 Nationals championship, he qualified fifth on his preliminary night, found a transfer spot, and ran a steady fourth in his feature. The effort was good enough for second in overall points, but a tough track to pass on Sunday afternoon left him last in the scramble. He would come home a solid 17th in the finale, a sign of things to come for him.
Jason Solwold – After running much of 2004 on a weekly basis at Knoxville, he used his familiarity with the famous half-mile to find a place in the Championship showdown. Qualifying 9th quick in his prelim helped. He had to run the B, finishing third, but came through the field nicely, passing 11 cars and finishing 12th. His point total fell one spot short of the finale, but he was undeterred. On a tough track to pass on Sunday afternoon, he moved up several spots to maintain the B Main pole position on Sunday night. He ran away from the field to claim the 22-lap B, and passed six cars in the finale to finish an impressive 15th.
2005 “BIG EVENT” WINNERS
13th Annual Masters Classic – Roger Rager
Midget “King Doodlebug” – Danny Stratton
4th Annual Midget Nationals – (rained out)
Summer Classic – Kerry Madsen
15th Annual 360 Nationals – Billy Alley
45th Annual Knoxville Nationals – Kraig Kinser
2nd Annual Late Model Nationals – Scott Bloomquist
|