Stenhouse is Knoxville Midget Nationals King
Darren Hagen is King Doodlebug
By Bob Wilson - KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 23) Ricky Stenhouse placed his name in the Knoxville Raceway record books as he won the 6th Pepsi/Mountain Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals at this Marion County fairgrounds Saturday night. It was a USAC (United States Auto Club) sanctioned event but included co-sanctioning by five additional bodies (BMARA, SMRS, ARDC, RMMRA & POWR).
Darren Hagen took the crown as "King Doodlebug" in a 20-lap feature event which was rain delayed from Friday night. It was the fifth such event staged here. Brian Brown stole the show in the 410 sprints by winning his third of the year here.
Stenhouse rode out three yellow flags during the 25-lap championship feature, the last one being the most crucial. His start from the pole enabled him to grab a lead which he quickly extended as his rivals battled for position behind him. Teammate Levi Jones stayed close at first but then faded slowly as Stenhouse pulled out to a near chute advantage by lap seven. Two laps later a stopped car on the track brought out a yellow flag and bunched the 28-car field for a single file restart.
It was on that restart that Darren Hagen made a pass of Jones to take the runner-up spot. Hagen was able to stay with Stenhouse but was never able to challenge for the lead. Just past the half-way mark a light drizzle threatened to dampen the event but the constant turning of laps kept the track in fine racing condition. That precipitation would drift out of the sky to the end of the race.
With Hagen behind Stenhouse, the race became a two-car battle with the leader maintaining no more than a five car-length advantage. Too, it must be noted that Kevin Swindell had come from twentieth to record a seventh running position. He seemed to be the only one running the bottom and that allowed him to move forward on the pack.
Lap 18 saw the second caution flag as second running Hagen blew a right-rear tire. He was unable to restart with the field.
With Hagen's demise, that put Jerry Coons, Jr. on the tail of Stenhouse. Once again it turned into a two-car fight for the Nationals title. Both drivers were on the cushion and Coons seemed to be waiting for the Stenhouse mistake that never came.
Just when it looked like the drama was over, the final and most critical yellow flew for a stalled car on the track. That meant a green-white-checkered run to the finish.
Stenhouse was up to the challenge and brought his Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises to the finish stripe by about 10 car lengths over the Coons machine. The win was worth $3,350 to the youngster. Completing the top five were Davey Ray, Jones and Swindell. A look at the remainder of the top ten showed Brady Bacon, Danny Stratton, Mike Hess (from 26th), and Don Droud, Jr. Sixty-two cars competed in the eleven event program.
Darren Hagen became "King Doodlebug the 5th after taking a later race lead in the 20-lap event. From the outset the race belonged to Don Droud, Jr. who survived three reds and two yellows to lead the first 18 laps of the race. Terrifying tumbles were taken by Brad Loyet and Alfred Galedrige, Jr. in separate incidents. Also bringing stoppage to the event were Kevin Swindell and Jerry Coons, Jr. who got together in the same accident.
Through all of this, Droud was able to keep control of the race and by lap five could claim a 10 car-length lead. He had doubled that advantage at the tenth circuit and was trailed by Hagen, Dustin Morgan, Levi Jones and Brady Bacon. Those same cars found the cushion on this tremendously fast track to be the quickest route around the half-mile oval.
As the laps wound down the race seemed to be in Droud's pocket. Then on lap 19 the final caution flew and the restart would be the undoing of Droud. Hagen dove low on that restart as Droud stayed on the cushion. Hagen's momentum propelled him into the lead as he ran into and out of turn two. There was nothing Droud could do except hope for another restart which did not happen.
Hagen claimed the $1,650 prize money and the title by no more than 5 car lengths. Droud settled for second, Morgan was third, Jones took fourth and Stenhouse rounded out the top five.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 23, 2007 - Knoxville, Iowa - Knoxville Raceway - “Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals” - Co-Sanctioned by BMARA, SMRS, ARDC, RMMRA & POWRi
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (#11 Wilke-Pak), 2. Don Droud Jr. (#4 Klatt), 3. Brandon Waelti (#3 Waelti), 4. Danny Stratton (#21a Burkhart), 5. Cody Brewer (#96 Brewer), 6. Brad Kuhn (#43 Quin), 7. Matt Sherrell (#135 Tel-Star), 8. Joe Liguori (#28 Owen), 9. Chase Barber (#90 Barber), 10. Brad Sweet, (#1J Yeley). 2:31.19
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Darren Hagen (#32 RFMS), 2. Brad Mosen (#71 Kunz), 3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (#21 Stewart), 4. Casey Shuman (#67 Kunz), 5. Nathan High (#21az Burkhart), 6. Dave Darland (#9 Nine Racing), 7. Doug Schenck (#19x Imhoff), 8. Tim Noble (#9x Wide Open), 9. Chase Scott (#14 Real Race Cars), 10. Brandon Wagner (#92 Wagner). 2:32.29
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Davey Ray (#91 Nine Racing), 2. Dustin Morgan (#111 Morgan/Walker), 3. Donnie Ray Crawford (#199 Tel-Star), 4. Chris Windom (#17 Windom), 5. Brad Loyet (#05L Loyet), 6. Joe Wipperfurth (#4x Hardy), 7. Tracy Readinger (#2T Readinger), 8. Doug Dewitt (#11D DBR), 9. Dan Mecum (#8 Mecum), 10. Chad McDaniel (#1c McDaniel). 2:33.79
FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Kevin Swindell (#79 Kahne), 2. Russ Harper (#09 Harper), 3. Tony Roney (#1T, Roney), 4. Aaron Fiscus (#7x Wide Open), 5. Buddy Luebke (#43x Bulldog), 6. Scott Hatton (#15 Huston), 7. Kevin Battles (#61a Battles), 8. Trish Dover (#4m Meents), 9. Will Pierce (#10p Pierce), 10. A.J. Fike (#69 RFMS). 2:35.29
FIFTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Steve Sussex (#34 Grau), 2. Ryan Durst (#191 Auto Auctions LTD), 3. Brett Anderson (#11x Anderson), 4. Chuck Gurney Jr. (#51 Gurney), 5. Kenny Biro (#22 Biro), 6. Bradley Galedrige (#29 Galedrige), 7. Matt Smith (#14x Hardy), 8. Chett Gehrke (#6c McMurtrey), 9. Jonathan Beason (#36 Beason). 2:33.39
SIXTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Levi Jones (#20 Stewart), 2. Brady Bacon (#99 Kahne), 3. Alfred Galedrige Jr. (#26 Galedrige), 4. Gary Taylor (#999 Tel-Star), 5. Mike Hess (#44 Hardy), 6. Chad DeSelle (#6x Wide Open), 7. Stephanie Mocker (#6 East), 8. Nick Lundgreen (#41 Jones), 9. Garrett Hood (#11H Two Hoods). 2:35.59
ALSO AT THE TRACK: Jerry Nadeau (#151 Durst), Bryan Clauson (#117 Windom), (#11w Wilke-Pak), (#19, Nine Racing), (#20s Stewart), (#21s Stewart), (#32a RFMS), (#97 Kunz), (#05 Loyet), (#11x Morgan/Walker).
“KING DOODLEBUG CLASSIC” FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Darren Hagen, 2. Don Droud Jr., 3. Dustin Morgan, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 6. Steve Sussex, 7. Davey Ray, 8. Brad Kuhn, 9. Brad Mosen, 10. Gary Taylor, 11. Mike Hess, 12. Chris Windom, 13. Chuck Gurney Jr., 14. Casey Shuman, 15. Brandon Waelti, 16. Ryan Durst, 17. Brett Anderson, 18. Donnie Ray Crawford, 19. Buddy Luebke, 20. Aaron Fiscus, 21. Brady Bacon, 22. Danny Stratton, 23. Russ Harper, 24. Tracy Readinger, 25. Tony Roney, 26. Alfred Galedrige Jr., 27. Jonathan Beason, 28. Kevin Swindell, 29. Jerry Coons Jr., 30. Brad Loyet. NT
SEMI #1: (10 laps) 1. Coons, 2. Bacon, 3. Windom, 4. Cole Carter (#7 Carter), 5. Shuman, 6. Hatton, 7. Brewer, 8. Smith, 9. Gehrke, 10. Biro, 11. Barber, 12. Noble, 13. B.Wagner, 14. Taylor, 15. Battles, 16. Roney. NT
SEMI #2: (10 laps) 1. Mosen, 2. Gurney, 3. Stratton , 4. Kuhn, 5. Swindell, 6. DeSelle, 7. Hess, 8. Schenck, 9. Waelti, 10. Lundgreen, 11. Sherrell, 12. Mecum, 13. Hood, 14. Dewitt, 15. Luebke, 16. Mockler. NT
SEMI #3: (10 laps) 1. Ray, 2. Anderson, 3. Harper, 4. Crawford, 5. Darland, 6. B.Galedrige, 7. Durst, 8. High, 9. Wipperfurth, 10. Fiscus, 11. Readinger, 12. Scott, 13. Dover, 14. Pierce, 15. Sweet, 16. Liguori. 3:54.89
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2. Jerry Coons, Jr., 3. Davey Ray, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Kevin Swindell, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Brad Kuhn, 8. Danny Stratton, 9. Mike Hess, 10. Don Droud Jr., 11. Cole Carter, 12. Chuck Gurney Jr., 13. Scott Hatton, 14. Dustin Morgan, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Chris Windom, 17. Brett Anderson, 18. Casey Shuman, 19. Chad DeSelle, 20. Matt Sherrell, 21. Donnie Ray Crawford, 22. Brad Mosen, 23. Brandon Waelti, 24. Steve Sussex, 25. Darren Hagen, 26. Russ Harper, 27. Bradley Galedrige, 28. Tracy Readinger, 29. Chase Scott. NT
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**Loyet flipped on the first lap of the 20-lap feature. Coons & Swindell flipped on the first-lap restart of the 20-lap feature. A.Galedrige flipped on lap 6 of the 20-lap feature. Mockler & Luebke flipped during the second semi.
“KING DOODLEBUG CLASSIC” FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Droud, Laps 18-20 Hagen.
“KNOXVILLE MIDGET NATIONALS” FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Stenhouse.
NEW NATIONAL MIDGET CAR STANDINGS: 1-Hagen-301; 2-Coons-283; 3-Jones-264; 4-Stenhouse-263; 5-Swindell-246; 6-Kuhn-236; 7-Bobby East-230; 8-Bacon-195; 9-Loyet-174; 10-Ray-174.
NEXT NATIONAL MIDGET RACE: July 6 - Toledo (OH) Speedway
Darren Hagen is King Doodlebug
By Bob Wilson - KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 23) Ricky Stenhouse placed his name in the Knoxville Raceway record books as he won the 6th Pepsi/Mountain Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals at this Marion County fairgrounds Saturday night. It was a USAC (United States Auto Club) sanctioned event but included co-sanctioning by five additional bodies (BMARA, SMRS, ARDC, RMMRA & POWR).
Darren Hagen took the crown as "King Doodlebug" in a 20-lap feature event which was rain delayed from Friday night. It was the fifth such event staged here. Brian Brown stole the show in the 410 sprints by winning his third of the year here.
Stenhouse rode out three yellow flags during the 25-lap championship feature, the last one being the most crucial. His start from the pole enabled him to grab a lead which he quickly extended as his rivals battled for position behind him. Teammate Levi Jones stayed close at first but then faded slowly as Stenhouse pulled out to a near chute advantage by lap seven. Two laps later a stopped car on the track brought out a yellow flag and bunched the 28-car field for a single file restart.
It was on that restart that Darren Hagen made a pass of Jones to take the runner-up spot. Hagen was able to stay with Stenhouse but was never able to challenge for the lead. Just past the half-way mark a light drizzle threatened to dampen the event but the constant turning of laps kept the track in fine racing condition. That precipitation would drift out of the sky to the end of the race.
With Hagen behind Stenhouse, the race became a two-car battle with the leader maintaining no more than a five car-length advantage. Too, it must be noted that Kevin Swindell had come from twentieth to record a seventh running position. He seemed to be the only one running the bottom and that allowed him to move forward on the pack.
Lap 18 saw the second caution flag as second running Hagen blew a right-rear tire. He was unable to restart with the field.
With Hagen's demise, that put Jerry Coons, Jr. on the tail of Stenhouse. Once again it turned into a two-car fight for the Nationals title. Both drivers were on the cushion and Coons seemed to be waiting for the Stenhouse mistake that never came.
Just when it looked like the drama was over, the final and most critical yellow flew for a stalled car on the track. That meant a green-white-checkered run to the finish.
Stenhouse was up to the challenge and brought his Tony Stewart Racing Enterprises to the finish stripe by about 10 car lengths over the Coons machine. The win was worth $3,350 to the youngster. Completing the top five were Davey Ray, Jones and Swindell. A look at the remainder of the top ten showed Brady Bacon, Danny Stratton, Mike Hess (from 26th), and Don Droud, Jr. Sixty-two cars competed in the eleven event program.
Darren Hagen became "King Doodlebug the 5th after taking a later race lead in the 20-lap event. From the outset the race belonged to Don Droud, Jr. who survived three reds and two yellows to lead the first 18 laps of the race. Terrifying tumbles were taken by Brad Loyet and Alfred Galedrige, Jr. in separate incidents. Also bringing stoppage to the event were Kevin Swindell and Jerry Coons, Jr. who got together in the same accident.
Through all of this, Droud was able to keep control of the race and by lap five could claim a 10 car-length lead. He had doubled that advantage at the tenth circuit and was trailed by Hagen, Dustin Morgan, Levi Jones and Brady Bacon. Those same cars found the cushion on this tremendously fast track to be the quickest route around the half-mile oval.
As the laps wound down the race seemed to be in Droud's pocket. Then on lap 19 the final caution flew and the restart would be the undoing of Droud. Hagen dove low on that restart as Droud stayed on the cushion. Hagen's momentum propelled him into the lead as he ran into and out of turn two. There was nothing Droud could do except hope for another restart which did not happen.
Hagen claimed the $1,650 prize money and the title by no more than 5 car lengths. Droud settled for second, Morgan was third, Jones took fourth and Stenhouse rounded out the top five.
USAC NATIONAL MIDGET CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: June 23, 2007 - Knoxville, Iowa - Knoxville Raceway - “Pepsi/Mt. Dew Knoxville Midget Nationals” - Co-Sanctioned by BMARA, SMRS, ARDC, RMMRA & POWRi
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Jerry Coons Jr. (#11 Wilke-Pak), 2. Don Droud Jr. (#4 Klatt), 3. Brandon Waelti (#3 Waelti), 4. Danny Stratton (#21a Burkhart), 5. Cody Brewer (#96 Brewer), 6. Brad Kuhn (#43 Quin), 7. Matt Sherrell (#135 Tel-Star), 8. Joe Liguori (#28 Owen), 9. Chase Barber (#90 Barber), 10. Brad Sweet, (#1J Yeley). 2:31.19
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Darren Hagen (#32 RFMS), 2. Brad Mosen (#71 Kunz), 3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (#21 Stewart), 4. Casey Shuman (#67 Kunz), 5. Nathan High (#21az Burkhart), 6. Dave Darland (#9 Nine Racing), 7. Doug Schenck (#19x Imhoff), 8. Tim Noble (#9x Wide Open), 9. Chase Scott (#14 Real Race Cars), 10. Brandon Wagner (#92 Wagner). 2:32.29
THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Davey Ray (#91 Nine Racing), 2. Dustin Morgan (#111 Morgan/Walker), 3. Donnie Ray Crawford (#199 Tel-Star), 4. Chris Windom (#17 Windom), 5. Brad Loyet (#05L Loyet), 6. Joe Wipperfurth (#4x Hardy), 7. Tracy Readinger (#2T Readinger), 8. Doug Dewitt (#11D DBR), 9. Dan Mecum (#8 Mecum), 10. Chad McDaniel (#1c McDaniel). 2:33.79
FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Kevin Swindell (#79 Kahne), 2. Russ Harper (#09 Harper), 3. Tony Roney (#1T, Roney), 4. Aaron Fiscus (#7x Wide Open), 5. Buddy Luebke (#43x Bulldog), 6. Scott Hatton (#15 Huston), 7. Kevin Battles (#61a Battles), 8. Trish Dover (#4m Meents), 9. Will Pierce (#10p Pierce), 10. A.J. Fike (#69 RFMS). 2:35.29
FIFTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Steve Sussex (#34 Grau), 2. Ryan Durst (#191 Auto Auctions LTD), 3. Brett Anderson (#11x Anderson), 4. Chuck Gurney Jr. (#51 Gurney), 5. Kenny Biro (#22 Biro), 6. Bradley Galedrige (#29 Galedrige), 7. Matt Smith (#14x Hardy), 8. Chett Gehrke (#6c McMurtrey), 9. Jonathan Beason (#36 Beason). 2:33.39
SIXTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Levi Jones (#20 Stewart), 2. Brady Bacon (#99 Kahne), 3. Alfred Galedrige Jr. (#26 Galedrige), 4. Gary Taylor (#999 Tel-Star), 5. Mike Hess (#44 Hardy), 6. Chad DeSelle (#6x Wide Open), 7. Stephanie Mocker (#6 East), 8. Nick Lundgreen (#41 Jones), 9. Garrett Hood (#11H Two Hoods). 2:35.59
ALSO AT THE TRACK: Jerry Nadeau (#151 Durst), Bryan Clauson (#117 Windom), (#11w Wilke-Pak), (#19, Nine Racing), (#20s Stewart), (#21s Stewart), (#32a RFMS), (#97 Kunz), (#05 Loyet), (#11x Morgan/Walker).
“KING DOODLEBUG CLASSIC” FEATURE: (20 laps) 1. Darren Hagen, 2. Don Droud Jr., 3. Dustin Morgan, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 6. Steve Sussex, 7. Davey Ray, 8. Brad Kuhn, 9. Brad Mosen, 10. Gary Taylor, 11. Mike Hess, 12. Chris Windom, 13. Chuck Gurney Jr., 14. Casey Shuman, 15. Brandon Waelti, 16. Ryan Durst, 17. Brett Anderson, 18. Donnie Ray Crawford, 19. Buddy Luebke, 20. Aaron Fiscus, 21. Brady Bacon, 22. Danny Stratton, 23. Russ Harper, 24. Tracy Readinger, 25. Tony Roney, 26. Alfred Galedrige Jr., 27. Jonathan Beason, 28. Kevin Swindell, 29. Jerry Coons Jr., 30. Brad Loyet. NT
SEMI #1: (10 laps) 1. Coons, 2. Bacon, 3. Windom, 4. Cole Carter (#7 Carter), 5. Shuman, 6. Hatton, 7. Brewer, 8. Smith, 9. Gehrke, 10. Biro, 11. Barber, 12. Noble, 13. B.Wagner, 14. Taylor, 15. Battles, 16. Roney. NT
SEMI #2: (10 laps) 1. Mosen, 2. Gurney, 3. Stratton , 4. Kuhn, 5. Swindell, 6. DeSelle, 7. Hess, 8. Schenck, 9. Waelti, 10. Lundgreen, 11. Sherrell, 12. Mecum, 13. Hood, 14. Dewitt, 15. Luebke, 16. Mockler. NT
SEMI #3: (10 laps) 1. Ray, 2. Anderson, 3. Harper, 4. Crawford, 5. Darland, 6. B.Galedrige, 7. Durst, 8. High, 9. Wipperfurth, 10. Fiscus, 11. Readinger, 12. Scott, 13. Dover, 14. Pierce, 15. Sweet, 16. Liguori. 3:54.89
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2. Jerry Coons, Jr., 3. Davey Ray, 4. Levi Jones, 5. Kevin Swindell, 6. Brady Bacon, 7. Brad Kuhn, 8. Danny Stratton, 9. Mike Hess, 10. Don Droud Jr., 11. Cole Carter, 12. Chuck Gurney Jr., 13. Scott Hatton, 14. Dustin Morgan, 15. Dave Darland, 16. Chris Windom, 17. Brett Anderson, 18. Casey Shuman, 19. Chad DeSelle, 20. Matt Sherrell, 21. Donnie Ray Crawford, 22. Brad Mosen, 23. Brandon Waelti, 24. Steve Sussex, 25. Darren Hagen, 26. Russ Harper, 27. Bradley Galedrige, 28. Tracy Readinger, 29. Chase Scott. NT
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**Loyet flipped on the first lap of the 20-lap feature. Coons & Swindell flipped on the first-lap restart of the 20-lap feature. A.Galedrige flipped on lap 6 of the 20-lap feature. Mockler & Luebke flipped during the second semi.
“KING DOODLEBUG CLASSIC” FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Droud, Laps 18-20 Hagen.
“KNOXVILLE MIDGET NATIONALS” FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-25 Stenhouse.
NEW NATIONAL MIDGET CAR STANDINGS: 1-Hagen-301; 2-Coons-283; 3-Jones-264; 4-Stenhouse-263; 5-Swindell-246; 6-Kuhn-236; 7-Bobby East-230; 8-Bacon-195; 9-Loyet-174; 10-Ray-174.
NEXT NATIONAL MIDGET RACE: July 6 - Toledo (OH) Speedway