Brown and Higday are Repeat Winners at Knoxville
Saturday, May 19, 2007
by Bob Wilson - Brian Brown and Josh Higday took feature event wins in their respective divisions at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night. The duo was also winners in the season opener in April.
For Brown the win was nothing short of amazing. His team was behind the eight ball early on when he blew an engine in hot laps. They were able to make a change in time for "Browny" to take one qualifying time trial where he finished 23rd fastest. In his heat he just made the cut to qualify for the A Main in the 7th row. His work was cut out for him.
A series of caution flags may have helped the Higginsville, Missouri driver as first row two starter Dustin Lindquist was sent to the tail for jumping the start. On the next attempt to start Randy Anderson was forced into the turn one/two fence in a violent series of flips. He seemed to be okay and walked away from the mangled wreck. Then at the end of lap one Tony Lutar looped his sprinter in turn one forcing a single-file restart.
Once the race went green again the fans were treated to competitive racing as pole sitter Ricky Logan took the point and led the field. In back of him Calvin Landis and Skip Jackson contested for the runner-up spot. Jackson grabbed it away and then took the lead on lap four with a slide in turns one and two. One lap later Landis passed Logan for second place. Lap six saw yet another yellow flag, this time for debris.
When the race resumed, Jackson made and excellent restart. Also with big marbles in his hand was Brown who had suddenly surged to fourth in his Wise Guy Motorsports Maxim/Kistler. It was at this time that the fans were treated to some tremendous racing as Brown and Billy Alley fought for the third spot. Each turn saw one or the other slid for the position. The eighth go around was a blanket finish between the two. The issue was finally settled at the half-way point when Brown took third for good.
It was also at this point that Landis had narrowed Jackson's lead to a mere 10-car-lengths. On the thirteenth circuit Brown took the runner-up spot away and began his chase of Jackson. The final yellow flew on the next lap for debris. During this slowdown third-running Landis came into the pits with front end mechanical problems. He did not restart and finished 17th.
The final restart Jackson lead Brown around the big Knoxvile half-mile oval on the cushion which was three-quarters of the way up the banking of the corners. Brown was slowly inching closer to the Aussie and on the 18th lap he used yet another slider to advance his position to the top. In the end he could declare a 30 car-length win, a $3,000 pay day and his eighth career feature event victory here. Jackson stayed in second, Alley was third, Gharst took fourth and Logan finished in fifth. Dennis Moore, Jr., Dusty Zomer (from 18th), Ryan Anderson, Mark Dobmeier (from 15th) and Linquist from the tail completed the top ten. 32 cars registered at the pit gate.
Higday repeated his win of one month prior in a race he led from start to finish. He found the top to his liking and placed his Snodgrass Ostrich/Eagle there to begin his trek to victory. His nearest challenger was fellow front row starter Pete Crall. Crall was never able to make a bid as both drivers ran the cushion, Crall waiting for the Higday machine to falter. It never did.
Just at the half-way point Higday could claim a 20-car length advantage. Just prior to this point Johnny
Anderson using the bottom of the track was able to take over third from David Hall. This was a night to start toward the front as most drivers found it tough going to make advancement.
With but a few laps to go, Higday headed into lap traffic. Luck was with the Des Moines driver on this night as it seemed that each turn found the backmarkers right where Higday needed them to make a quick and easy pass.
In the end, Higday picked up his 14th career feature event win here and a check for $1,750. Completing the top five were Crall, Anderson, David Hall, and Bryan Dobesh. Rounding out the top ten were Josh Schneiderman, Jeff Mitrisin, Tyler Thompson, Gregg Bakker and Russ Hall. Thirty-six 360s signed through the pit gate.
For a complete rundown by race event, click on the yellow RESULTS button on the menu bar.
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