Jamie Ball Leads It All to Win Night One of the 360 Knoxville Nationals
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 4, 2016) For the third time in his career at the Knoxville Raceway, Jamie Ball wheeled his J.J. Kane Auctioneers No. 5J around the Marion County half-mile perfectly for 20 laps for victory on night one of the 26th annual Arnold Motor Supply ASCS 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank.
Timing in 13th, Ball was able to run to the final transfer in the third Heat Race, setting Jamie on the pole of Thursday’s preliminary A-Feature.
“I’d rather be lucky that good any day,” chuckled Jamie when asked about his night and the way everything shook out. “Our qualifying numbers lacked a little bit because of a bad draw, but these guys are the best here. I’d put them up against anyone. We are so prepared, you know, you win races in the shop and our hours of hard work show it, and I know our wives can attest that we’ve put a lot of work into this.”
Ball’s first Preliminary Night victory in the $15,000 to win Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank, the win is also the Iowa native’s first with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, making Jamie the 134th different winner in National Tour competition.
Outdueling Bryan Clauson twice on the start following a red for Kade Higday, the No. 5J was challenged the first couple before starting to pull away only to see a caution on the third round as Nate Van Haaften slowed off the fourth turn.
With Clauson in tow on the restart, Ball built his advantage quickly as Clauson worked to hold off the No. 17x of Josh Baughman, who eventually worked to the runner-up spot on Lap 5. Stalking Jamie Ball as the pair approached slower traffic, the gap closed very little as the No. 5J weaved through the back-markers.
Shuffling the remainder of the top-five as the race worked past the half-way point, the race on the track brewed for second as Sammy Swindell wheeled the Acme Graphix No. 3s around Baughman on the sixteenth lap.
Closing slightly on Jamie, laps would run out as the No. 5j crossed 1.533 seconds ahead of Sammy Swindell.
Josh Baughman held on for third with Terry McCarl grabbing the fourth spot. Having to advance out of the B-Feature, Danny Lasoski rocketed from 21st to complete the top-five in the Parker Burch Motorsports No. 1m.
Ian Madsen from ninth came to sixth with Tony Shilling seventh. After contending for the lead early, Bryan Clauson slipped to an eighth place run with Justin Henderson and Ryan Giles making up the top-ten.
In terms of points following Thursday’s opener, Justin Henderson sits atop the points with 481. Sammy Swindell and Tony Shilling sit at 480 each with the nod going to Swindell had a better finish in the A main. Josh Baughman in fourth in standings with 479 points followed by Danny Lasoski with 476 to complete the top-five.
The 26th annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Knoxville Nationals presented Great Southern Bank continues on Friday, August 5 with Hot Laps getting underway at 6:45 P.M. (CDT). For continued updates on the 360 Nationals, and every event at the Knoxville Raceway in 2016, log onto http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com. For updates on the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com.
Results for Night #1 of the 26th Annual Arnold Motor Supply 360 Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank
Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. 1, Justin Henderson, Sioux Falls, SD (5), 16.089; 2. 22, Tony Shilling, Knoxville, IA (6), 16.232; 3. 1M, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO (25), 16.241; 4. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (24), 16.252; 5. 94, Jeff Swindell, Bartlett, TN (37), 16.272; 6. 17, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (1), 16.285; 7. 9, Ryan Giles, West Des Moines, IA (36), 16.294; 8. 17X, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX (17), 16.334; 9. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (31), 16.346; 10. 3S, Sammy Swindell, Germantown, TN (34), 16.361; 11. 87, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (32), 16.422; 12. 17WX, Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, IN (28), 16.444; 13. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (29), 16.449; 14. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (16), 16.475; 15. 9JR, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (13), 16.525; 16. 13V, Seth Brahmer, Wisner, NE (4), 16.527; 17. 21T, Ray Allen Kulhanek, Magnolia, TX (40), 16.538; 18. 3, Nate Van Haaften, Otley, IA (41), 16.593; 19. 23D, Devon Dobie, Wapakoneta, OH (30), 16.630; 20. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (39), 16.637; 21. 5H, Cory Eliason, Selma, CA (38), 16.644; 22. 95, Matt Covington, Glenpool, OK (18), 16.649; 23. 84, Brandon Hanks, Burlison, TN (10), 16.658; 24. 24H, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (11), 16.712; 25. 75X, JT Imperial, Mesa, AZ (3), 16.721; 26. 9M, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO (21), 16.765; 27. 12, James Mosher, Albuquerque, NM (7), 16.780; 28. 35L, Cody Ledger, Omaha, NE (27), 16.783; 29. 86, Tony Bruce Jr., Owasso, OK (22), 16.788; 30. 12H, Daniel Harding, Perth, WA, Aust. (2), 16.797; 31. 10H, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (33), 16.864; 32. O7, Michael Bookout, Tulsa, OK (14), 16.881; 33. 71C, Stacey Alexander, Lacona, IA (9), 16.896; 34. 85, Forrest Sutherland, Cherryvale, KS (8), 16.924; 35. 49X, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (35), 16.961; 36. 50Z, Zach Chappell, Talala, OK (15), 17.007; 37. 98, Chris Masters, Napa, CA (12), 17.163; 38. 9Z, Jared Goerges, Brainerd, MN (19), 17.207; 39. 4S, Adam Speckman, Rapid City, SD (23), 17.603; 40. 22B, Jesse Baker, Grants, NM (20), 17.942; 41. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (26), NT.
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:13.1: 1. Cory Eliason (2); 2. Justin Henderson (6); 3. Ricky Montgomery (1); 4. Seth Brahmer (3) /5. Chad Kemenah (7); 6. Tyler Groenendyk (5); 7. Zach Chappell (8); 8. Aaron Reutzel (4); DNS – 9. Kevin Ingle
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:13.7: 1. Bryan Clauson (4); 2. Matt Covington (2); 3. Tony Shilling (6); 4. Ryan Giles (5) / 5. Ray Allen Kulhanek (3); 6. James Mosher (1); 7. Michael Bookout (7); 8. Chris Masters (8)
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:17.4: 1. Brandon Hanks (2); 2. Josh Baughman (3); 3. Cody Ledger (1); 4. Jamie Ball (4) / 5. Danny Lasoski (6); 6. Stacey Alexander (5); 7. Jared Goerges (7); DNS – 8. Nate Van Haaften
Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:15.6: 1. Ian Madsen (4); 2. Kade Higday (2); 3. Terry McCarl (5); 4. Devon Dobie (3) / 5. Ryan Roberts (6); 6. Tony Bruce Jr. (1); 7. Forrest Sutherland (7); 8. Adam Speckman (8)
Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:15.0: 1. Sammy Swindell (5); 2. Daniel Harding (1); 3. JT Imperial (2); 4. Sawyer Phillips (3) / 5. Derek Hagar (4); 6. Tim Shaffer (7); 7. Jeff Swindell (6); 8. Jesse Baker (8);
B main (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Danny Lasoski (1); 2. Ryan Roberts (2); 3. Aaron Reutzel (5); 4. Nate Van Haaften (8) / 5. Derek Hagar (6); 6. Chad Kemenah (11); 7. Ray Allen Kulhanek (7); 8. Tim Shaffer (15); 9. Zach Chappell (16); 10. Tony Bruce Jr. (10); 11. Forrest Sutherland (14); 12. Stacey Alexander (13); 13. James Mosher (9); 14. Jared Goerges (18); 15. Chris Masters (17); 16. Adam Speckman (19); 17. Jeff Swindell (3); 18. Tyler Groenendyk (4); 19. Jesse Baker (20); 20. Michael Bookout (12) DNS – 21. Kevin Ingle
A main (started), 20 Laps, NT: 1. Jamie Ball (1); 2. Sammy Swindell (3); 3. Josh Baughman (5); 4. Terry McCarl (4); 5. Danny Lasoski (21); 6. Ian Madsen (9); 7. Tony Shilling (7); 8. Bryan Clauson (2); 9. Justin Henderson (8); 10. Ryan Giles (6); 11. Cory Eliason (13); 12. Aaron Reutzel (21); 13. Seth Brahmer (10); 14. Matt Covington (14); 15. Sawyer Phillips (12); 16. Ryan Roberts (22); 17. JT Imperial (15); 18. Brandon Hanks (23); 19. Cody Ledger (17); 20. Devon Dobie (11); 21. Daniel Harding (20); 22. Ricky Montgomery (18); 23. Nate Van Haaften (24); 24. Kade Higday (16). Lap Leader: Ball 1-20. Hard-charger: Lasoski.
Thursday Night Point Totals
1 1 Justin Henderson 481
2 3S Sammy Swindell 480
3 22 Tony Shilling 480
4 17X Josh Baughman 479
5 1M Danny Lasoski 476
6 24 Terry McCarl 472
7 5J Jamie Ball 467
8 18 Ian Madsen 464
9 17WX Bryan Clauson 464
10 9 Ryan Giles 461
11 18R Ryan Roberts 452
12 5H Cory Eliason 440
13 87 Aaron Reutzel 437
14 13V Seth Brahmer 437
15 95 Matt Covington 429
16 3P Sawyer Phillips 425
17 84 Brandon Hanks 422
18 23D Devon Dobie 417
19 75X JT Imperial 414
20 24H Kade Higday 405
21 35L Cody Ledger 404
22 9M Ricky Montgomery 402
23 9JR Derek Hagar 402
24 3 Nate Van Haaften 401
25 12H Daniel Harding 399
26 21T Ray Allen Kulhanek 394
27 94 Jeff Swindell 392
28 17 Tyler Groenendyk 391
29 10H Chad Kemenah 368
30 86 Tony Bruce Jr. 361
31 12 James Mosher 359
32 49X Tim Shaffer 353
33 71C Stacey Alexander 349
34 50Z Zach Chappell 346
35 85 Forrest Sutherland 346
36 9Z Jared Goerges 332
37 O7 Michael Bookout 332
38 98 Chris Masters 329
39 4S Adam Speckman 323
40 22B Jesse Baker 315
41 2K Kevin Ingle 306
Sources: Bryan Hulbert and Bill Wright/Knoxville Raceway PR
Photo: Jamie Ball celebrates his win on night #1 of the 360 Nationals (Bing Bang Media Photo)