Lasoski and Lindquist Win Mid-Season Knoxville Features
Saturday, June 17, 2006
By Bob Wilson
Knoxville, Iowa - June 17 - The veteran Danny Lasoski and the rookie Dustin Linquist each captured Mid-Season Championship Features at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night during Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame Weekend.
For Lasoski it was career win number eighty-eight at this central Iowa racing facility and he looked good aboard the Roth Beefpackers Eagle in the 25-lap finale.
Wayne Johnson took the lead at the outset in a wild first lap that saw three cars vying for the point position. Johnson bested fellow front row starter Brian Brown and second row starter Billy Alley to take lap one. Alley made a pass of Brown on lap two and Lasoski did likewise one lap later.
Johnson circled the big Knoxville half mile on the top with Alley and Lasoski in tow. Lasoski's car seemed to "hook up" no matter where he placed it on the track as he began to chase down the top two runners.
A caution flew on lap eight when Skip Jackson, who was running fifth, made a rare miscue and spun in turn four backing his sprinter into the fence. He was able to restart on the tail after changing a damaged wheel and tire in the work area.
When the race resumed it was all Lasoski as he passed both Johnson and Alley on the restart lap. Johnson did not give up easily and some precision side by side driving with "The Dude" for the lap displayed the professional skills of each driver.
By lap 10 Lasoski had begun to pull away as he negotiated the bottom of the track on this night. Lap 12 saw him move into traffic but it did not slow his progress as he roared to a full straightaway lead.
Disaster struck for Johnson on lap 17 as he and Matt Moro collided as they headed past the flagstand and into turn one. Johnson received the worst of it as he took a tumble after striking the fence. Neither car was able to resume.
On the restart it was Madsen who made the big move as he cleared three cars and moved into third. Lasoski kept his same line on the bottom and again pulled away from the field. With five laps to go, Madsen passed Alley to take the runner-up spot.
Lasoski entered heavy lap traffic on the 22nd go around but again he was not impeded. With Madsen on a tear everyone was watching to see if he could make some headway in the Lasoski lead but it was not to be as he became bogged down by lap cars.
In the end Lasoski took the $3,500 checkered flags as Madsen began his exit out of turn four with his hands full of Alley. It was close at the stripe but Madsen was able to prevail. Third was Alley, fourth went to Brown and the fifth place finisher was Lynton Jeffrey. Rounding out the top ten of this mid-season race was Calvin Landis, Clint Garner a 17th position starter, Paul McMahan, Trevor Green the B-Main winner and Jesse Giannetto.
The Mid-Season Championship for the 360 division saw a young Dustin Lindquist lead from flag to flag to receive $1,500 for his efforts.
The race went red at the outset as John Kearney and Troy Meyer got together while battling for the lead as they exited turn two. Kearney scooted backwards and Meyer performed an easy tip over. At the same time this was happening Jason Johnson and Jon Corbin became hooked together with nerf bars and stalled near the wreck. Both Kearney and Meyer could not restart. Corbin and Johnson were sent to the tail.
When the race finally went green it was all Lindquist as the youngster placed the Lindquist-Loucks Motorsports Maxim on the bottom and began to put distance between himself and the field. Chuck Swenson was his nearest challenger but he chose to ride the cushion near the tall Knoxville fences.
By lap five Lindquist had built a lead of nearly a straightaway. At lap ten when the yellow flag was displayed for a stopped car on the track, he had driven to a margin of an entire straight and more.
Lindquist had a great restart and was immediately out front of Swenson who still maintained second. Of note was the fact that Jason Johnson had somehow managed to come through the field of twenty cars from his placement on the tail and was now in third. Lap 13 saw Johnson take the runner-up spot, but he would advance no further.
When the checkerds flew on this mid-season race Lindquist had once again built a margin of the entire front chute. Johnson finished a remarkable second, Jake Peters who started fourteenth was third while B-Main winner and seventeenth starter Johnny Anderson finished fourth. David Hall drove a steady race from his front row start to take fifth. Swenson, Randy Martin, Jeff Mitrisin and Eric Mason completed the top ten finishers.
At trackside ceremonies during the night five new members were entered into the Knoxville Raceway Hall of Fame. Those five were Daryl Arend of Algona, Iowa, David Hesmer of Marshalltown, Iowa, Archie Ergenbright of Newton, Iowa, James Bond of Edwardsville, Kansas and Tom Hutchison of Indianola, Iowa. It marked the 28th annual induction event.
For complete results go to the red RESULTS at the top of this page.
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