Rico Abreu Wins; Anthony Macri, Shane Stewart and Brock Zearfoss Also Qualify for Knoxville Nationals Finale
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 13, 2021) – Rico Abreu was the class of the field on FVP “Hard Knox” Night Friday at the 60th NOS Energy Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s. Rico’s third career win at Knoxville Raceway was his second on Friday night of the Nationals. The win gave the St. Helena, California native a starting spot in Saturday night’s championship event. He will be joined by top four finishers Anthony Macri, Shane Stewart (his 20th straight final) and Brock Zearfoss. The top four all also earned $4,000 for their finishes.
Clint Garner’s feature came to a halt before it began with an oil tank issue. Jac Haudenschild was a popular early leader in his last Nationals, while Abreu, Kyle Reinhardt, Macri and Zearfoss chased him. By lap three, Macri was by Reinhardt for third.
Abreu tracked down his teammate and passed him for the lead low in turn four on the sixth lap. Macri followed him into second two laps later. The only caution of the race came eleven laps in, when Ayrton Gennetten stopped with suspension issues while running thirteenth.
Abreu led Macri, Haudenschild, Reinhardt and Zearfoss back to green flag racing. Stewart, who started eleventh shot from sixth to the fourth and final transfer in Saturday’s championship on lap 13, taking that spot from Reinhardt.
Lapped traffic began to factor with six to go, and Stewart continued his climb by taking third from Haudenschild on lap 21. Zearfoss was also on a roll, and passed Jac on the backstretch with just two laps to go to garner the highly important fourth position.
Stewart shot by Macri for second on the white flag lap, but the Dillsburg, Pennsylvania driver gained it back on the final lap. Following Abreu, Macri, Stewart and Zearfoss was Scott Bogucki, who will start 11th in Saturday’s B main. Haudenschild, Shane Golobic, Bill Balog, Reinhardt and Lynton Jeffrey rounded out the top ten. Daryn Pittman and Abreu set quick time in their respective groups atop the 69-car field. Stewart, Balog, Josh Schneiderman, McKenna Haase, Wayne Johnson and Davey Heskin won the heats. Pittman and Sammy Swindell won B mains.
“My guys worked so hard,” said Abreu, who was in Victory Lane for the first time this year. “It’s just a matter of time before things start clicking. As a team owner running two cars with Jac, and seeing all the important memories he’s been creating this year, being on the front row together is pretty special. It’s just great momentum. We’ve been to Knoxville four times this year, and we haven’t been outside the top five.”
“I’m ecstatic!” said Macri of his second place run. “I’m speechless. There before the feature, I could of puked. This is honestly a dream come true. We had to wait until Friday to put it in the show, but we’re in the show. This is unreal.”
“We’re very happy to get this car in the show,” said Stewart. “I was a little worried starting eleventh. I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me, but the car was really good. I gained a few spots on the first lap, which is so crucial with the crowd we’re running with these days. We searched for speed all week. I felt good in my heat race tonight, and we fine-tuned it from there. I felt the yellow came out at the right time for me, and I regained my composure from there.”
“(Starting) last or not, it doesn’t matter,” said Zearfoss. “You’re in the show. The only way to go is forward now. That track was technical. There was a big hole in the middle of three. You just had to drive through it if you were up there, and the bottom was super-thin. I had three tires up on the berm there in the middle of the race just trying to make traction. Shane got by us, and that made my job a little tougher. I don’t know, I just got up in the seat a little more and this is awesome. Two Knoxville Nationals in three attempts is pretty cool.”
The 60th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s continues Saturday, August 13 with championship night! For more information, visit or check Knoxville Raceway’s Facebook and Twitter.
60th NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s FVP “Hard Knox” Night Results
Time Trials Group A (started), 2 laps: 1. 39, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (12), 15.583; 2. 22, Jac Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (3), 15.686; 3. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (25), 15.700; 4. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (29), 15.706; 5. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (31), 15.732; 6. 11, Roger Crockett, Broken Arrow, OK (5), 15.736; 7. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (17), 15.757; 8. 17B, Bill Balog, Hartland, WI (18), 15.765; 9. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (32), 15.767; 10. 71, Shane Stewart, Bixby, OK (8), 15.787; 11. 25, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (19), 15.832; 12. 49J, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (15), 15.869; 13. 55K, Robbie Kendall, Catonsville, MD (16), 15.877; 14. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (7), 15.890; 15. 5V, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (9), 15.899; 16. 1Z, Logan Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (26), 15.920; 17. 73A, Scotty Thiel, Sheboygan, WI (13), 15.927; 18. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (4), 15.946; 19. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (33), 15.970; 20. N47, Marcus Dumesny, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (10), 15.977; 21. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND (27), 15.999; 22. 5W, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (23), 15.999; 23. 07, Skylar Gee, Leduc, ALB, Can. (6), 16.02; 24. 2KS, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (14), 16.022; 25. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (30), 16.022; 26. 2DC, Dylan Cisney, Port Royal, PA (21), 16.030; 27. 1M, Don Droud Jr., Lincoln, NE (34), 16.073; 28. 21W, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (28), 16.201; 29. 9JR, Derek Hagar, Marion, AR (20), 16.252; 30. 7C, John Carney II, El Paso, TX (11), 16.268; 31. 2M, Matt Moro, Polk City, IA (22), 16.278; 32. 97, Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, OH (24), 16.298; 33. 7S, Jason Sides, Bartlett, TN (35), 16.322; 34. 14K, Tori Knutson, Monticello, MN (2), 16.652; 35. 13S, Tyler Esh, Lancaster, PA (1), 16.928
Time Trials Group B (started), 2 laps: 1. 24R, Rico Abreu, St. Helena, CA (16), 15.874; 2. 1A, Jacob Allen, Hanover, PA (14), 15.888; 3. 55W, Mike Wagner, Harrisonville, PA (3), 15.918; 4. 28, Tim Shaffer, Aliquippa, PA (1), 15.937; 5. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (18), 16.031; 6. 83J, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (10), 16.034; 7. 55, Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, MO (17), 16.037; 8. 70, Sammy Swindell, Lakeland, TN (6), 16.046; 9. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (11), 16.073; 10. 55M, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (8), 16.075; 11. 2C, Wayne Johnson, Tuttle, OK (19), 16.088; 12. 56N, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (31), 16.123; 13. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (13), 16.179; 14. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (23), 16.203; 15. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (24), 16.226; 16. 5XX, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (33), 16.343; 17. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (5), 16.357; 18. 53, Jessie Attard, Landilo, NSW, Aust. (20), 16.360; 19. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (22), 16.362; 20. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (2), 16.403; 21. 7W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (9), 16.433; 22. 53D, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE (21), 16.477; 23. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (15), 16.490; 24. 1X, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO (25), 16.491; 25. 2K, Kevin Ingle, Huron, SD (28), 16.494; 26. 11T, TJ Stutts, Liverpool, PA (30), 16.511; 27. 9G, Ryan Giles, Grimes, IA (4), 16.523; 28. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (34), 16.558; 29. 10, Jeff Swindell, Memphis, TN (12), 16.559; 30. 35P, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (26), 16.615; 31. 11TK, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (32), 16.623; 32. 15M, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (27), 16.690; 33. 83A, Austin Miller, Lacona, IA (29), 16.942; 34. 56, Joe Simbro, Pleasantville, IA (7), 16.998
Heat one (started), 8 Laps, NT: 1. Shane Stewart (1); 2. Brock Zearfoss (2); 3. Anthony Macri (3) / 4. Daryn Pittman (4); 5. Robbie Kendall (5); 6. Riley Goodno (10); 7. Lucas Wolfe (8); 8. Tori Knutson (11); 9. Terry McCarl (9); 10. Logan Wagner (6); 11. Austin McCarl (7) DNS – 12. Matt Moro
Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.8: 1. Bill Balog (2); 2. Scott Bogucki (1); 3. Jac Haudenschild (4) / 4. Clint Garner (3); 5. Tasker Phillips (5); 6. Skylar Gee (8); 7. Scotty Thiel (6); 8. Derek Hagar (10); 9. Marcus Dumesny (7); 10. Greg Wilson (11); 11. Dylan Cisney (9); 12. Tyler Esh (12)
Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:11.9: 1. Josh Schneiderman (1); 2. Ayrton Gennetten (2); 3. AJ Moeller (6) / 4. Roger Crockett (3); 5. Matt Juhl (4); 6. Chad Kemenah (8); 7. Colby Copeland (5); 8. Don Droud Jr. (9); 9. Mark Dobmeier (7); 10. John Carney II (10); 11. Jason Sides (11)
Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:12.8: 1. McKenna Haase (1); 2. Hunter Schuerenberg (2); 3. Rico Abreu (4) / 4. Tim Shaffer (3); 5. Jack Dover (8); 6. Tim Kaeding (11); 7. Zeb Wise (6); 8. Tanner Carrick (5); 9. Noah Gass (7); 10. Chris Martin (10); 11. Joe Simbro (12); 12. Kevin Ingle (9)
Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:13.5: 1. Wayne Johnson (1); 2. Kyle Reinhardt (3); 3. Carson McCarl (5) / 4. Jacob Allen (4); 5. Sammy Swindell (2); 6. Harli White (6); 7. Jeff Swindell (10); 8. TJ Stutts (9); 9. Jordan Goldesberry (7); 10. Bobby Mincer (11); 11. Ryan Roberts (8)
Heat six (started), 8 Laps, 2:13.5: 1. Davey Heskin (1); 2. Lynton Jeffrey (3); 3. Shane Golobic (2) / 4. Sawyer Phillips (5); 5. Ryan Giles (9); 6. Jake Bubak (8); 7. Mike Wagner (4); 8. Dustin Selvage (7); 9. Jessie Attard (6); 10. Austin Miller (11); 11. Skylar Prochaska (10)
B main #1 (started), 12 Laps, 3:31.6: 1. Daryn Pittman (1); 2. Clint Garner (3); 3. Roger Crockett (4) / 4. Matt Juhl (2); 5. Colby Copeland (7); 6. Tasker Phillips (6); 7. Terry McCarl (14); 8. Marcus Dumesny (9); 9. Mark Dobmeier (10); 10. Scotty Thiel (8); 11. Chad Kemenah (13); 12. Skylar Gee (12); 13. Lucas Wolfe (11); 14. Robbie Kendall (5); 15. Derek Hagar (18); 16. Greg Wilson (21); 17. Don Droud Jr. (16); 18. Riley Goodno (17); 19. Jason Sides (20); 20. John Carney II (19); 21. Dylan Cisney (15); 22. Tori Knutson (23); 23. Tyler Esh (22) DNS – 24. Logan Wagner; 25. Austin McCarl; 26. Matt Moro
B main #2 (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. Sammy Swindell (4); 2. Harli White (8); 3. Tim Shaffer (3) / 4. Sawyer Phillips (6); 5. Mike Wagner (2); 6. Tim Kaeding (20); 7. Tanner Carrick (5); 8. Zeb Wise (7); 9. Jack Dover (13); 10. Dustin Selvage (12); 11. Jessie Attard (9); 12. Chris Martin (19); 13. Noah Gass (10); 14. Jordan Goldesberry (11); 15. Jake Bubak (15); 16. Ryan Roberts (14); 17. Jeff Swindell (18); 18. TJ Stutts (17); 19. Austin Miller (22); 20. Joe Simbro (23); 21. Jacob Allen (1); 22. Bobby Mincer (21); 23. Kevin Ingle (16) DNS – 24. Ryan Giles 25. Skylar Prochaska
A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Rico Abreu (2); 2. Anthony Macri (3); 3. Shane Stewart (11); 4. Brock Zearfoss (5) / 5. Scott Bogucki (13); 6. Jac Haudenschild (1); 7. Shane Golobic (10); 8. Bill Balog (7); 9. Kyle Reinhardt (4); 10. Lynton Jeffrey (6); 11. Josh Schneiderman (15); 12. Davey Heskin (16); 13. Daryn Pittman (19); 14. Sammy Swindell (20); 15. Wayne Johnson (14); 16. Hunter Schuerenberg (8); 17. Harli White (22); 18. Tim Shaffer (23); 19. Roger Crockett (21); 20. AJ Moeller (17); 21. Carson McCarl (18); 22. McKenna Haase (12); 23. Ayrton Gennetten (9) DNS – 24. Clint Garner. Lap Leaders: J. Haudenschild 1-5, Abreu 6-25. Hard-charger: Stewart.
Sources: Bill Wright
Photo: Top Four to Transfer to Saturday’s Knoxville Nationals Championship were Brock Zearfoss (4th), Shane Stewart (3rd), Rico Abreu (Winner) and Anthony Macri (2nd) (Paul Arch Photo)