KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Much like the Knoxville Nationals, the 360 Knoxville Nationals preliminary night events are mainly about accumulating points.
Aaron Reutzel did that job the best on Thursday night, earning 487 out of a possible 500 points after qualifying fourth in the 52-car field and finishing third in the 20-lap feature.
Reutzel scored eight more points than second-place point earner Ayrton Gennetten (479), who qualified fifth and finished sixth in the main event.
“You almost don’t want to win these prelim nights, because it means you may not have qualified well,” said Reutzel. “We qualified good, got to second in our heat, and started seventh and ran third. That’s a really good points night.”
Feature winner Sam Hafertepe Jr. (478) is third in points after the opening night, while defending 360 Nationals winner Gio Scelzi (478) and Thomas Kennedy (465) rounded out the top five.
The top 20:
- Aaron Reutzel, 487; 2. Ayrton Gennetten, 479; 3. Sam Hafertepe Jr., 478; 4. Gio Scelzi, 478; 5. Thomas Kennedy, 465; 6. Cory Eliason, 464; 7. Garet Williamson, 463; 8. Justin Henderson, 463; 9. Chase Randall, 456; 10. Matt Juhl, 450; 11. Austin McCarl, 440; 12. Matt Covington, 440; 13. Parker Price-Miller, 438; 14. Corey Day, 436; 15. Jason Martin, 436; 16. Riley Goodno, 435; 17. Anthony Macri, 433; 18. Zeb Wise, 429; 19. Tyler Blank, 415; 20. Chris Martin, 413.
