KNOXVILLE, IA - August 13, 2021 - All it took was a little motivating factor for Brian Brown to return to the stage he loves more than any other.
On Tuesday evening, prior to any event of the 60th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals pres. by Casey's, Brown said "They're already counting us out. They really don't think we can do it. I hear what people say and I read it too. I love it. Keep motivating me."
On Thursday night, which turned into Friday morning, Brown proved the doubters wrong and returned the FVP Parts, Casey's General Stores #21 to victory lane at Knoxville Raceway in a wild and wacky Nationals prelim.
The Grain Valley, MO native scored his 56th career win at the iconic 1/2-mile by leading the final 24 of 25 laps, but it wasn't without challenge from a man Brownie himself declares "The GOAT:" Kyle Larson. Charging from 21st-to-2nd, Larson put pressure on Brown in the closing stages, but there was no stopping "Blackjack" on this night.
Brown ultimately earned his third Knoxville Nationals preliminary win, locking himself into Saturday's A-Main for the 11th time in his career, this time with a ninth-place starting position for the 50-lap, potentially $200,000/Win race.
"These two guys right here are probably the two hardest runners in the country," Brown praised podium finishers Larson and Brent Marks. "I honestly didn't think it was going to be a good race, but the Duncan's made their magic work. I was overthinking myself early in the night, but we got that solved real quick. Once we were in clean air, I felt like we were as good as anyone at all."
Before the checkered flag flew at 1:10am CT, a whole barrage of storylines presented themselves in Thursday's second Knoxville preliminary.
To kick things off, substitute pilot Kasey Kahne drove the Roth Motorsports #83 throwback design of the 1998 Beef Packers machine to Slick Woody's QuickTime honors over Tyler Courtney by two, one-thousandths of a second.
Come A-Main time, it seemed near impossible to get the 25-lap race rolling. After the initial start was called back, the red flag flew when Parker Price-Miller was launched into the turn one fence and went for a scary ride. He climbed out under his own power, though.
From there, it only took one more laps to bring more carnage to the table. Shooting the gap in turn three, Carson Macedo made contact with Paul McMahan battling for fourth and sent both cars beelining to the wall. They hit the fence and flipped over, but more cars came piling in as Kerry Madsen, Sammy Swindell, Marcus Dumesny & Sawyer Phillips.
Once underway, Sam Hafertepe Jr. of Sunnyvale, TX paced the opening circuit. His lead was short-lived, though, as Brown came firing in on all cylinders to slide by for the race lead on Lap 2. He had seized a lead that he would never relinquish.
The middle stages were plagued by more cautions, but finally the last restart resumed on Lap 13 and went the distance. Larson, who started 21st and charged to second, was catching Brown until the #21 found something extra and snuck away to win it 1.130-seconds.
[caption id="attachment_105534" align="alignleft" width="1024"]The end result of Macedo's car in that violent flips. [Trent Gower][/caption]
For Larson, who had hoped for a seventh at best, the wreckage became his friend and allowed him to steal several positions away. Aboard haul Silva's #57, he inched his way forward until he ran out of space once reaching second. He'll start Saturday's A-Main in the third position with his first Knoxville Nationals title on the line.
"I got extremely lucky missing that big wreck," Larson admitted. "That deal took out a lot of good people, so I think I came from like 10th, you know, not the very back. This is my favorite week of the year. I can't wait for Saturday."
Closing out the podium was Brent Marks in his own operation, who has earned the fourth starting spot in Saturday's A-Main.
Rounding out the top ten at Knoxville is Brad Sweet in fourth. Rico Abreu in fifth, Kasey Kahne in sixth, Austin McCarl in seventh, Ian Madsen in eighth., Kraig Kinser in ninth, and Sye Lynch in tenth.
NOS Energy Drink Feature (25 Laps): 1. 21-Brian Brown [4]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [21]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [5]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [7]; 5. 24R-Rico Abreu [13]; 6. 83-Kasey Kahne [23]; 7. 17A-Austin McCarl [18]; 8. 49X-Ian Madsen [24]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9]; 10. 42-Sye Lynch [2]; 11. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [15]; 12. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [1]; 13. 35P-Skylar Prochaska [17]; 14. 97-Greg Wilson [16]; 15. 11T-TJ Stutts [10]; 16. 55W-Mike Wagner [19]; 17. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8]; 18. 70-Sammy Swindell [14]; 19. 5-Paul McMahan [3]; 20. 41-Carson Macedo [6]; 21. N47-Marcus Dumesny [20]; 22. 14-Kerry Madsen [22]; 23. 5X-Parker Price-Miller [12]; 24. 71-Shane Stewart [11]. Lap Leaders: Sam Hafertepe Jr. 1, Brian Brown 2-25. KSE Hard Charger Award: 57-Kyle Larson[+19]
Slick Woody’s Qualifying – 1. 83-Kasey Kahne, 15.142; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 15.144; 3. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.166; 4. 57-Kyle Larson, 15.167; 5. 49X-Ian Madsen, 15.186; 6. 14-Kerry Madsen, 15.187; 7. 41-Carson Macedo, 15.193; 8. 19-Brent Marks, 15.194; 9. 17B-Bill Balog, 15.242; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.247; 11. 21-Brian Brown, 15.264; 12. 101-Cale Thomas, 15.285; 13. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey, 15.303; 14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 15.308; 15. 5-Paul McMahan, 15.335; 16. 39-Daryn Pittman, 15.354; 17. O9-Matt Juhl, 15.36; 18. 22-Jac Haudenschild, 15.362; 19. 1Z-Logan Wagner, 15.367; 20. 17W-Shane Golobic, 15.377; 21. 42-Sye Lynch, 15.404; 22. 73A-Scotty Thiel, 15.409; 23. 15H-Sam Hafertepe, 15.427; 24. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.448; 25. 11T-TJ Stutts, 15.481; 26. 71-Shane Stewart, 15.494; 27. 5X-Parker Price-Miller, 15.496; 28. 20G-Noah Gass, 15.506; 29. 24R-Rico Abreu, 15.527; 30. 44-Chris Martin, 15.561; 31. 70-Sammy Swindell, 15.575; 32. 3P-Sawyer Phillips, 15.626; 33. 97-Greg Wilson, 15.633; 34. 35P-Skylar Prochaska, 15.667; 35. 17A-Austin McCarl, 15.679; 36. 5V-Colby Copeland, 15.683; 37. 10-Jeff Swindell, 15.695; 38. 2DC-Dylan Cisney, 15.709; 39. 55W-Mike Wagner, 15.717; 40. N47-Marcus Dumesny, 15.755; 41. 11N-Harli White, 15.863; 42. 15M-Bobby Mincer, 15.962; 43. 7W-Dustin Selvage, 15.969; 44. 13S-Tyler Esh, 15.974; 45. 53-Jessie Attard, 16.022; 46. 53D-Jack Dover, 16.037; 47. 11TK-Tim Kaeding, 27.854; 48. 2K-Kevin Ingle, NT
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 70-Sammy Swindell [2]; 2. 71-Shane Stewart [3]; 3. 42-Sye Lynch [4]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [6]; 5. 39-Daryn Pittman [5]; 6. 83-Kasey Kahne [8]; 7. 14-Kerry Madsen [7]; 8. 11N-Harli White [9]; 9. 53D-Jack Dover [10]; 10. 5V-Colby Copeland [1]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 3P-Sawyer Phillips [2]; 2. 5X-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [8]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo [7]; 5. O9-Matt Juhl [5]; 6. 73A-Scotty Thiel [4]; 7. 15M-Bobby Mincer [9]; 8. 10-Jeff Swindell [1]; 9. 101-Cale Thomas [6]; 10. 11TK-Tim Kaeding [10]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 97-Greg Wilson [2]; 2. 19-Brent Marks [7]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe [4]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet [8]; 5. 2DC-Dylan Cisney [1]; 6. 22-Jac Haudenschild [5]; 7. 20G-Noah Gass [3]; 8. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [6]; 9. 7W-Dustin Selvage [9]; 10. 2K-Kevin Ingle [10]
DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 35P-Skylar Prochaska [2]; 2. 55W-Mike Wagner [1]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [4]; 4. 24R-Rico Abreu [3]; 5. 57-Kyle Larson [8]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog [7]; 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [6]; 8. 1Z-Logan Wagner [5]; 9. 13S-Tyler Esh [9]
DRYDENE Heat #5 (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. N47-Marcus Dumesny [1]; 2. 17A-Austin McCarl [2]; 3. 5-Paul McMahan [6]; 4. 11T-TJ Stutts [4]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [7]; 6. 49X-Ian Madsen [8]; 7. 17W-Shane Golobic [5]; 8. 44-Chris Martin [3]; 9. 53-Jessie Attard [9]
C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 53D-Jack Dover [6]; 2. 5V-Colby Copeland [2]; 3. 7W-Dustin Selvage [3]; 4. 53-Jessie Attard [5]; 5. 2K-Kevin Ingle [8]; 6. 13S-Tyler Esh [4]; 7. 101-Cale Thomas [1]; 8. 11TK-Tim Kaeding [7]
Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 14-Kerry Madsen [4]; 3. 83-Kasey Kahne [1]; 4. 49X-Ian Madsen [3]; 5. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [8]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog [5]; 7. 83J-Lynton Jeffrey [7]; 8. 17W-Shane Golobic [13]; 9. 39-Daryn Pittman [9]; 10. 44-Chris Martin [16]; 11. 7W-Dustin Selvage [23]; 12. 20G-Noah Gass [15]; 13. 11N-Harli White [19]; 14. 5V-Colby Copeland [22]; 15. 1Z-Logan Wagner [12]; 16. 22-Jac Haudenschild [11]; 17. 53-Jessie Attard [24]; 18. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 19. 15M-Bobby Mincer [20]; 20. 10-Jeff Swindell [17]; 21. 53D-Jack Dover [21]; 22. 2DC-Dylan Cisney [18]; 23. O9-Matt Juhl [10]; 24. 73A-Scotty Thiel [14]
Locked into Saturday’s A main
1 18 Gio Scelzi 487
2 49 Brad Sweet 481
3 57 Kyle Larson 480
4 19 Brent Marks 479
5 15 Donny Schatz 477
6 2 David Gravel 475
7 83 Kasey Kahne 475
8 1S Logan Schuchart 472
9 21 Brian Brown 471
10 49X Ian Madsen 463
11 0 Brooke Tatnell 460
12 7BC Tyler Courtney 460
13 9 James McFadden 459ac
14 7 Justin Henderson 458
15 73 Justin Peck 458
16 48 Danny Dietrich 449
Locked into Saturday’s B main
17 17X Josh Baughman 447
18 41 Carson Macedo 441
19 42 Sye Lynch 436
20 11M Spencer Bayston 435
21 26 Cory Eliason 433
22 11K Kraig Kinser 432
23 5 Paul McMahan 430
24 14 Kerry Madsen 430
25 17 Sheldon Haudenschild 428
26 15H Sam Hafertepe Jr. 428
Qualified for Friday’s “Hard Knox” Program
27 24R Rico Abreu 427
28 1M Don Droud Jr. 426
29 11 Roger Crockett 422
30 3P Sawyer Phillips 418
31 3 Ayrton Gennetten 418
32 17A Austin McCarl 417
33 11T TJ Stutts 415
34 40 Clint Garner 414
35 35P Skylar Prochaska 410
36 97 Greg Wilson 410
37 5XX Zeb Wise 409
38 17B Bill Balog 409
39 49J Josh Schneiderman 408
40 70 Sammy Swindell 406
41 56N Davey Heskin 405
42 5X Parker Price-Miller 401
43 71 Shane Stewart 401
44 91 Kyle Reinhardt 398
45 3Z Brock Zearfoss 398
46 07 Skylar Gee 394
47 2C Wayne Johnson 394
48 7S Jason Sides 393
49 83J Lynton Jeffrey 393
50 39M Anthony Macri 392
51 39 Daryn Pittman 392
52 55W Mike Wagner 391
53 55M McKenna Haase 387
54 1X Jake Bubak 386
55 24 Terry McCarl 386
56 1A Jacob Allen 386
57 N47 Marcus Dumesny 382
58 21W Riley Goodno 382
59 17W Shane Golobic 380
60 28 Tim Shaffer 379
61 5W Lucas Wolfe 379
62 83T Tanner Carrick 374
63 22 Jac Haudenschild 371
64 25 Scott Bogucki 370
65 27 Carson McCarl 365
66 1Z Logan Wagner 365
67 20 AJ Moeller 364
68 09 Matt Juhl 362
69 13 Mark Dobmeier 359
70 2KS Chad Kemenah 359
71 20G Noah Gass 356
72 44 Chris Martin 353
73 73A Scotty Thiel 347
74 101 Cale Thomas 342
75 5V Colby Copeland 327
76 11N Harli White 325
77 83A Austin Miller 323
78 7W Dustin Selvage 322
79 2DC Dylan Cisney 322
80 18R Ryan Roberts 320
81 10 Jeff Swindell 319
82 7TAZ Tasker Phillips 315
83 55K Robbie Kendall 315
84 15M Bobby Mincer 314
85 65 Jordan Goldesberry 310
86 53 Jessie Attard 306
87 9JR Derek Hagar 303
88 7C John Carney II 298
89 53D Jack Dover 296
90 2M Matt Moro 284
91 14K Tori Knutson 281
92 13S Tyler Esh 280
93 2K Kevin Ingle 271
94 9G Ryan Giles 270
95 56 Joe Simbro 267
96 11TK Tim Kaeding 267
97 55 Hunter Schuerenberg 261
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