This is arguably the most star-studded Hard Knox Night in the history of the current Knoxville Nationals format.
Thanks to the first two nights of qualifying for The Granddaddy of Them All, we now know who will occupy the first eight rows for the start of the $190,000-to-win A-Feature on Saturday night. There are also some names you typically wouldn’t expect.
There’s no five-time World of Outlaws champion and 2018 race winner Brad Sweet, no 2019 winner and Outlaws points leader David Gravel, no national touring stars Justin Peck, James McFadden, Cory Eliason and Brock Zearfoss.
However, they are also locked into Saturday night’s B-Main with a chance to race their way into the feature by finishing in the top-four of the penultimate race of the night.
It’s looking outside of the 16 already locked into the feature and the 10 already locked into the B main that you see some really powerful Sprint Car names and now they’re all looking to make the show the hard way … er … the Hard Knox Way.
Friday night received this name because these are the drivers who received ‘hard knocks’ during their qualifying nights.
Stacked desperate field
This is arguably the most star-studded Hard Knox Night in the history of the current Knoxville Nationals format.
Thanks to the first two nights of qualifying for The Granddaddy of Them All, we now know who will occupy the first eight rows for the start of the A Feature on Saturday night. There are also some names you typically wouldn’t expect.
There’s no five-time World of Outlaws champion and 2018 race winner Brad Sweet, no 2019 winner and Outlaws points leader David Gravel, no national touring stars Justin Peck, James McFadden, Cory Eliason and Brock Zearfoss.
However, they are also locked into Saturday night’s B-Main with a chance to race their way into the feature by finishing in the top-four of the penultimate race of the night.
It’s looking outside of the 16 already locked into the feature and the 10 already locked into the B main that you see some really powerful Sprint Car names and now they’re all looking to make the show the hard way … er … the Hard Knox Way.
Friday night received this name because these are the drivers who received ‘hard knocks’ during their qualifying nights.
Again, the roster for Hard Knox Friday is tremendously deep this year and only the four top finishers in the 25-lap main event will advance to the Saturday main to earn starting spots 21 through 24.
The night is headlined by Schatz, who was 47th in points after his dreadful Wednesday prelim, but is also joined by three other former winners of the race in Tim Shaffer, Kraig Kinser and Sammy Swindell.
Buddy Kofoid and Logan Schuchart, fifth in sixth in the World of Outlaws standings, are in the field. High Limit series regulars Zeb Wise, Kasey Kahne, Spencer Bayston and Parker Price-Miller will also look to avoid have to race their way into the race on Saturday night.
Knoxville Raceway regular and former All Stars Circuit of Champions titlist Aaron Reutzel was 27th in points and missed locking in by one spot and will also be joined by fellow weekly races Kerry Madsen, Austin McCarl and Mark Dobmeier. Traveling true outlaws like Danny Dietrich, Ryan Timms, Cole Macedo and Emerson Axsom are going to try to make the A the Hard Knox Way too.
The format
The program begins with split group qualifying and includes six heat races, a C main, two B-mains and the 25-lap feature, which transfers four to Saturday’s main event.
The remaining cars and drivers from Friday’s Hard Knox program will complete the B main and fill the C, D and E mains on Saturday night.
The first 16 starting positions have already been filled based on Wednesday and Thursday qualifying groups and the final four spots into the race will be decided based on who advances from the alphabet soup of races on Saturday prior to the 50 lap main event.
The roster
87-Aaron Reutzel
26-Zeb Wise
9-Kasey Kahne
55-Kerry Madsen
18T-Tanner Holmes
27-Carson McCarl
19S-Hunter Schuerenberg
9P-Parker Price-Miller
24D-Danny Sams III
58-Kaleb Johnson
48-Danny Dietrich
14J-Jack Dover
35-Zach Hampton
83JR-Buddy Kofoid
36-Jason Martin
15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr
1K-Kelby Watt
5T-Ryan Timms
22-Riley Goodno
1D-Tasker Phillips
15-Donny Schatz
52-Blake Hahn
7S-Landon Crawley
4W-Jamie Ball
1S-Logan Schuchart
13JT-Mark Dobmeier
5-Spencer Bayston
88-Austin McCarl
2X-Lynton Jeffrey
6B-Brandon Wimmer
3G-Ayrton Gennetten
3P-Sawyer Phillips
1C-Brenham Crouch
J2-John Carney II
5X-Justin Henderson
1M-Don Droud Jr
21T-Cole Macedo
25-Daison Pursley
27A-Emerson Axsom
55C-Chris Windom
42-Sye Lynch
24T-Christopher Thram
74-Xavier Doney
88T-Tanner Thorson
49J-Josh Schneiderman
49X-Tim Shaffer
23L-Jimmy Light
55T-McKenna Haase
40-Clint Garner
70-Kraig Kinser
101-Kalib Henry
6-Robbie Price
27B-Jake Bubak
45X-Jace Park
22X-J.J. Hickle
3-Tim Kaeding
44-Chris Martin
6W-Dustin Selvage
99-Skylar Gee
17GP-Cale Thomas
19H-Joel Myers
27W-Weston Olson
65-Jordan Goldesberry
2M-Ryan Giles
24-Terry McCarl
15JR-Cole Mincer
23M-Lance Moss
10V-Brian Paulus
3N-Jake Neuman
G5-Gage Pulkrabek
91-Kyle Reinhardt
53-Jessie Attard
18R-Ryan Roberts
11N-Kasey Jedrzejek
95-Tyler Drueke
2K-Kevin Ingle
14T-Brooke Tatnell
1-Sammy Swindell
28-Joe Perry
9H-Landon Hansen
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.