Schuchart survives a Capitani Classic thriller

Aug. 9—KNOXVILLE — Logan Schuchart won a late duel with Donny Schatz and escaped disaster with a well-timed caution to conquer the 11th Annual Xtream Powered by Mediacom Capitani Classic Sunday night at Knoxville Raceway.

The win was worth $9,000 for the driver of the Shark Racing No. 1s. Scotty Johnson made a mid-race pass to claim his fifth victory of the season in the Pro Sprints class.

"It's nice to get back in Victory Lane," said Schuchart. "We've been working so hard. Anytime the 15 car goes by you here, you know he's going to be good. It's always tough."

Schuchart started outside row one for the 25-lap main event and led early over pole-sitter Sye Lynch, Aaron Reutzel, Tyler Courtney and Gio Scelzi. Courtney was an early mover, taking third from Reutzel on lap three before a spin by Tasker Phillips slowed things.

Courtney moved into second on the restart, with Reutzel and Scelzi in tow. By lap five, Reutzel had claimed the runner-up spot from Courtney, while Donny Schatz moved into the top five.

Schatz was on a roll, blowing by Scelzi for fourth on lap six, shooting by Courtney for third on lap eight and cruising by Reutzel for second on lap 10 as Schuchart began entering lapped traffic. Schatz gained quickly on Schuchart and took the point in turns three and four with eight to go.

"I felt so good, I thought there's no way someone's going to pass me," Schuchart said. "I saw a car to the inside of me and I knew exactly who it was before I ever even saw the car. He just rolled around there good, and the lapped cars helped me a little in getting back by him, but they about bit me too."

Schatz momentum was affected a lap later in the same spot. Schuchart used the low groove to roar back to the point.

Going down the backstretch on lap 20, Schuchart encountered the slowed car of Brady Bacon, got hard on the brakes and made some contact with the limping sprinter. Somehow, Schuchart kept it going, and though Schatz roared by the pair, the yellow lights came on for Bacon putting Schuchart back at the front of the field.

"That's what we're here for...the excitement," said Schatz. "(Schuchart) was going for it, and we were going for it. He got the better end of it. He's lucky he didn't end up crashed (in the caution incident). We don't want to see anybody tearing stuff up."

The last five laps saw Schatz all over the leader, but was unable to get by. Schuchart's win was the second in his career at Knoxville and the first at the Capitani Classic.

"Everyone's bringing their good stuff and seeing what you got," Schatz said. "I saw it coming. I tried to just get out of the way. I felt we were a little better, we just couldn't find a way around."

James McFadden and Lynton Jeffrey set quick time over their respective groups. Heskin, Buddy Kofoid, Daryn Pittman, Justi Peck, Macri and Scelzi were heat winners.

Schatz finished just .391 of a second behind. Knoxville 360 Nationals champion Reutzel earned the final spot on the podium, beating out Brad Sweet and Parker Price-Miller for third while Courtney, David Gravel, Scelzi, Anthony Macri and Davey Heskin rounded out the top 10.

"It's a great night," said Reutzel. "The field of cars that are in this race...it's hard enough just to make it. To run third...we're really proud of that. We tried some things tonight, because we felt like it would be a good time to test leading into Nationals. I think there's a few things we'll change to make ourselves a little better."

The B-Main races were won by McFadden and Brian Brown. The normal pole shuffle was canceled because of impending weather.

Jeffrey and Brown were both flip victims in their heats, but were uninjured. Brown returned for his B-Main.

The Pro Sprints 15-lap feature got off to a rough start when pole-sitter Mike Johnston was slow to take off, setting a chain reaction that saw Brandon Worthington get upside down. The second try at green saw Scotty Johnson, who was starting outside row one, penalized a row for jumping the start.

Things were all green from there. Johnston shot out and set a good pace in the lead, while Johnson settled into second, ahead of Jeff Wilke and Kade Higday up from row four.

Higday shot by Wilke for third on the second lap. Johnston's run was a good one on the low side, but a minor slip up on the 10th circuit gave Johnson an opportunity.

Johnson roared by into the point with just five laps remaining. Higday continued his good run, snatching second from Johnston on the white flag lap.

Johnson's fifth win of the season came ahead of Higday, Johnston, Tyler Groenendyk and Wilke. Chase Young, Mike Mayberry, Eric Bridger, Ryan Navritil and Josh Jones completed the top 10. Higday set quick time, and Groenendyk and Mayberry were heat winners.

"That was probably one of the best races I ever ran," said Johnson. "(Johnston) and I were at it the whole time. He was right there and I was right there. I was just hoping he'd mess up off the bottom.

"When he did, I was able to take advantage. We had some last minute adjustments. The track changed completely after the rain (a short delay prior to the feature)."

The 61st NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey's opens up Wednesday.

"We just couldn't get it done. It's good to get the week started good," Schatz said. "The guys will go try to make things better, and they've been doing a good job of that. I can't wait for Wednesday.

"We were able to make it through, which felt really good," Schuchart added. "Hopefully, we got some good notes. Capitani winners have a good record on Saturday night (at the Knoxville Nationals) and we want to keep that going."

AUTO RACING

11th Annual Xtream Powered by Mediacom Capitani Classic Presented by Great Southern Bank

Time Trial Group #1 (started), 2 laps: 1. 83, James McFadden, Warrnambool, VIC, Aust. (5), 15.737; 2. 15X, Donny Schatz, Fargo, ND (33), 15.786; 3. 11, Parker Price-Miller, Kokomo, IN (13), 15.846; 4. 7BC, Tyler Courtney, Indianapolis, IN (29), 15.863; 5. 71, Cory Eliason, Visalia, CA (28), 15.869; 6. 21H, Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, OK (4), 15.874; 7. 1S, Logan Schuchart, Hanover, PA (12), 15.874; 8. 2X, David Gravel, Watertown, CT (27), 15.902; 9. 27H, Daryn Pittman, Owasso, OK (9), 15.903; 10. 2M, Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN (1), 15.917; 11. 11M, Buddy Kofoid, Penngrove, CA (10), 15.932; 12. 83JR, Kerry Madsen, St. Mary's, NSW, Aust. (14), 15.951; 13. 39, Justin Sanders, Aromas, CA (3), 16.006; 14. 25, JJ Hickle, Quilcene, WA (15), 16.013; 15. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (2), 16.021; 16. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (21), 16.044; 17. 88, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (30), 16.075; 18. 26, Zeb Wise, Angola, IN (7), 16.089; 19. 2KS, Ian Madsen, St. Mary's, NSW, Aust. (8), 16.136; 20. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD (6), 16.171; 21. 14J, Cole Macedo, Lemoore, CA (23), 16.269; 22. 101, Lachlan McHugh, Gold Coast, QLD, Aust. (35), 16.324; 23. 20, AJ Moeller, Rockwell City, IA (36), 16.357; 24. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (24), 16.370; 25. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (18), 16.385; 26. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (34), 16.416; 27. 47X, Dylan Westbrook, Scotland, ONT, Can. (16), 16.423; 28. 14M, Corey Day, Clovis, CA (31), 16.440; 29. 91, Kyle Reinhardt, Neptune City, NJ (32), 16.494; 30. 7S, Robbie Price, Cobble Hill, BC, Can. (25), 16.499; 31. 21K, Thomas Kennedy, Winnipeg, MB, Can. (11), 16.518; 32. 20G, Noah Gass, Mounds, OK (19), 16.620; 33. 35, Chad Kemenah, Alvada, OH (26), 16.714; 34. 18R, Ryan Roberts, Aurora, NE (17), 16.744; 35. 10, Skylar Prochaska, Lakefield, MN (20), 17.017.

Time Trial Group #2 (started), 2 laps: 1. 2, Lynton Jeffrey, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (28), 16.081; 2. 49S, Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, CA (21), 16.118; 3. 18, Gio Scelzi, Fresno, CA (5), 16.126; 4. 15H, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, TX (4), 16.154; 5. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO (18), 16.201; 6. 8, Aaron Reutzel, Clute, TX (13), 16.209; 7. 42, Sye Lynch, Apollo, PA (2), 16.211; 8. 39M, Anthony Macri, Dillsburg, PA (12), 16.228; 9. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (31), 16.233; 10. 13, Justin Peck, Monrovia, IN (15), 16.235; 11. 9K, Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, WA (24), 16.238; 12. 52, Blake Hahn, Sapulpa, OK (7), 16.323; 13. 41, Carson Macedo, Lemoore, CA (6), 16.342; 14. 17W, Shane Golobic, Fremont, CA (1), 16.342; 15. 6, Brandon Wimmer, Fairmount, IN (3), 16.431; 16. 16A, Colby Copeland, Roseville, CA (10), 16.479; 17. 45, Rusty Hickman, Bendigo, VIC, Aust. (17), 16.485; 18. 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (19), 16.488; 19. 1AU, Marcus Dumesny, Sydney, NSW, Aust. (30), 16.490; 20. 14, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (11), 16.522; 21. 17, Sheldon Haudenschild, Wooster, OH (9), 16.531; 22. 3TK, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA (23), 16.572; 23. 7, Justin Henderson, Tea, SD (33), 16.584; 24. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (25), 16.659; 25. 11N, Harli White, Lindsay, OK (16), 16.681; 26. 11T, TJ Stutts, Liverpool, PA (14), 16.684; 27. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (34), 16.701; 28. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (26), 16.707; 29. 19, Chris Windom, Canton, IL (29), 16.716; 30. 83T, Tanner Carrick, Lincoln, CA (32), 16.758; 31. 40, Clint Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (27), 16.846; 32. 7W, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (20), 16.963; 33. 9H, Landon Hansen, Newton, IA (22), 17.708; 34. 3Z, Brock Zearfoss, Jonestown, PA (8), NT.

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:15.0: 1. Davey Heskin (1); 2. Logan Schuchart (2); 3. Tyler Courtney (3) / 4. James McFadden (4); 5. Justin Sanders (5); 6. Ayrton Gennetten (6); 7. Lachlan McHugh (8); 8. Thomas Kennedy (9); 9. Ian Madsen (7); 10. Corey Day (10); 11. Ryan Roberts (11) DNS- Josh Schneiderman.

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:13.5: 1. Buddy Kofoid (1); 2. David Gravel (2); 3. Donny Schatz (4) / 4. Cory Eliason (3); 5. Austin McCarl (6); 6. JJ Hickle (5); 7. Kyle Reinhardt (10); 8. Matt Juhl (7); 9. Skylar Prochaska (12); 10. Noah Gass (11) DNS — AJ Moeller, Terry McCarl.

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:14.9: 1. Daryn Pittman (2); 2. Kerry Madsen (1); 3. Parker Price-Miller (4) / 4. Zeb Wise (6); 5. Brady Bacon (3); 6. Carson McCarl (5); 7. Cole Macedo (7); 8. Robbie Price (10); 9. Dylan Westbrook (9); 10. Sawyer Phillips (8); 11. Chad Kemenah (11).

Heat four (started), 8 Laps, 2:15.3: 1. Justin Peck (1); 2. Carson Macedo (5); 3. Sye Lynch (2) / 4. Tim Kaeding (8); 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (3); 6. Harli White (9); 7. Marcus Dumesny (7); 8. Clint Garner (10); 9. Lynton Jeffrey (4); 10. Colby Copeland (6) DNS — Bobby Mincer.

Heat five (started), 8 Laps, 2:16.1: 1. Anthony Macri (2); 2. Brad Sweet (4); 3. Kasey Kahne (1) / 4. Shane Golobic (5); 5. Josh Higday (7); 6. Rusty Hickman (6); 7. Chris Windom (8); 8. Dustin Selvage (10); 9. TJ Stutts (9); 10. Brian Brown (3) DNS — Justin Henderson.

Heat six (started), 8 Laps, 2:19.0: 1. Gio Scelzi (4); 2. Tasker Phillips (2); 3. Aaron Reutzel (3) / 4. Blake Hahn (1); 5. Scott Bogucki (6); 6. Sheldon Haudenschild (7); 7. Riley Goodno (9); 8. Brandon Wimmer (5); 9. Tanner Carrick (10); 10. Chris Martin (8); 11. Landon Hansen (11).

B main #1 (started), 12 Laps, NT: 1. James McFadden (1); 2. Brady Bacon (3); 3. JJ Hickle (5) / 4. Ayrton Gennetten (7); 5. Justin Sanders (4); 6. Cole Macedo (12); 7. Carson McCarl (6); 8. Austin McCarl (8); 9. Ian Madsen (10); 10. Zeb Wise (9); 11. Corey Day (16); 12. Thomas Kennedy (17); 13. Kyle Reinhardt (15); 14. Chad Kemenah (19); 15. Dylan Westbrook (13); 16. Robbie Price (18); 17. Noah Gass (20); 18. Lachlan McHugh (11); 19. Sawyer Phillips (14); 20. Skylar Prochaska (21); 21. Ryan Roberts (22); 22. Cory Eliason (2) DNS — Matt Juhl, Josh Schneiderman, AJ Moeller, Terry McCarl.

B main #2 (started), 12 Laps, 3:35.9: 1. Brian Brown (1); 2. Blake Hahn (4); 3. Shane Golobic (3) / 4. Sam Hafertepe Jr. (2); 5. Scott Bogucki (7); 6. Sheldon Haudenschild (12); 7. Marcus Dumesny (10); 8. Harli White (11); 9. Tim Kaeding (9); 10. Riley Goodno (13); 11. Rusty Hickman (8); 12. Clint Garner (19); 13. Brandon Wimmer (6); 14. Tanner Carrick (15); 15. Chris Martin (14); 16. Dustin Selvage (17); 17. TJ Stutts (16); 18. Chris Windom (18); 19. Colby Copeland (5) DNS — Lynton Jeffrey, Josh Higday, Landon Hansen, Bobby Mincer, Justin Henderson.

A main (started), 25 Laps, NT: 1. Logan Schuchart (2); 2. Donny Schatz (8); 3. Aaron Reutzel (3); 4. Brad Sweet (7); 5. Parker Price-Miller (6); 6. Tyler Courtney (4); 7. David Gravel (9); 8. Gio Scelzi (5); 9. Anthony Macri (10); 10. Davey Heskin (13); 11. Carson Macedo (18); 12. Kasey Kahne (16); 13. Kerry Madsen (17); 14. Daryn Pittman (11); 15. Justin Peck (14); 16. James McFadden (19); 17. JJ Hickle (23); 18. Buddy Kofoid (15); 19. Blake Hahn (22); 20. Shane Golobic (24); 21. Tasker Phillips (12); 22. Brady Bacon (21); 23. Sye Lynch (1); 24. Brian Brown (20).

Lap Leaders: Schuchart 1-16, Schatz 17, Schuchart 18-25.

Hard-charger: Ca. Macedo.

Pro Series Results

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 42J, Kade Higday, Pleasant Hill, IA (1), 18.123; 2. 44, Scotty Johnson, Dallas, IA (4), 18.189; 3. 41, Jeff Wilke, Knoxville, IA (6), 18.32; 4. 81E, Eric Bridger, Winterset, IA (2), 18.47; 5. 26M, Chase Young, Des Moines, IA (8), 18.516; 6. 0, Mike Mayberry, Fremont, IA (7), 18.59; 7. 71, Brandon Worthington, Indianola, IA (5), 18.625; 8. 14J, Mike Johnston, Des Moines, IA (3), 18.626; 9. 17X, Tyler Groenendyk, Oskaloosa, IA (11), 18.632; 10. 3TJ, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (12), 18.682; 11. 02S, Josh Jones, Knoxville, IA (10), 18.818; 12. 12P, Ryan Navratil, Des Moines, IA (9), 18.902.

Heat one (started), 6 Laps, 1:50.9: 1. Tyler Groenendyk (2); 2. Chase Young (4); 3. Josh Jones (1); 4. Kade Higday (6); 5. Jeff Wilke (5); 6. Brandon Worthington (3).

Heat two (started), 6 Laps, 1:52.1: 1. Mike Mayberry (4); 2. Nathan Mills (2); 3. Mike Johnston (3); 4. Eric Bridger (5); 5. Ryan Navratil (1); 6. Scotty Johnson (6).

A main (started), 15 Laps, 4:40.6: 1. Scotty Johnson (2); 2. Kade Higday (8); 3. Mike Johnston (1); 4. Tyler Groenendyk (3); 5. Jeff Wilke (4); 6. Chase Young (6); 7. Mike Mayberry (7); 8. Eric Bridger (5); 9. Ryan Navratil (12); 10. Josh Jones (10); 11. Nathan Mills (9); 12. Brandon Worthington (11).

Lap Leaders: Johnston 1-9, Johnson 10-15.

Hard-charger: Higday.