KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Twenty drivers have secured positions in the 24-car field for Saturday night’s 62nd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals main event at Knoxville Raceway.
They are a cross-section of the country’s best sprint car drivers from some of the sport’s most successful racers to veterans and rising stars.
The final four drivers, who will start in positions 17 through 20, will be determined through Saturday’s racing program. The 50-lap feature will pay $185,000 to win.
Four previous winners of the event — Kyle Larson, Donny Schatz, Brad Sweet and David Gravel — have already earned starting spots.
Here’s a look at the drivers already in the field:
Kyle Larson, Starts 1st, No. 57
The 2021 Knoxville Nationals winner, Larson will start from the pole aboard Paul Silva’s black No. 57 sprint car. It will be Larson’s eighth A-main start and he has finished in the top six in his last six Knoxville Nationals appearances. He’s won eight sprint car races this season, including events with the World of Outlaws, High Limit Racing Series and All Star Circuit of Champions.
Rico Abreu, 2nd, No. 24r
Abreu has won eight sprint car races this season, including events with the World of Outlaws, High Limit Racing Series and All Star Circuit of Champions. He won at Knoxville Raceway on July 29 and finished third in last week’s 360 Nationals. It will be his eighth Nationals feature start. His best finish was eighth in 2017.
Donny Schatz, 3rd, No. 15
Schatz can make history on Saturday night. He’s won the Nationals 11 times, including last year. If he takes a 12th checkered flag on Saturday, he’ll tie Steve Kinser for the most victories in the history of the event. The Tony Stewart Racing driver, who won Wednesday’s preliminary night feature, will make his 25th A-main start. He’s finished first or second 18 times. Schatz also won the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway earlier this season.
Logan Schuchart, 4th, No. 1s
Driving the Shark Racing No. 1s, Schuchart won the Eldora Million last month at Eldora Speedway and has won three World of Outlaws features this season. Bobby Allen’s grandson makes his seventh A-main start tonight and has finished third, fifth and second in his last three Nationals.
Carson Macedo, 5th, No. 41
The driver of the Jason Johnson Racing No. 41 prepared by Phil Dietz will make his fourth Knoxville Nationals A-main start. Macedo won Thursday night’s preliminary feature and has picked up five World of Outlaws victories this season.
Hunter Schuerenberg, 6th, No. 39
Veteran sprint car racer Schuerenberg will make his first Knoxville Nationals feature start from the sixth position aboard Kevin Swindell’s No. 39 Swindell Speed Lab entry.
Kerry Madsen, 7th, No. 55
Australian racer Kerry Madsen qualified for his 16th Knoxville Nationals A-main driving the Vermeer Motorsports No. 55. Madsen, whose brother Ian also made the field, finished second in the 2015 Knoxville Nationals.
Buddy Kofoid, 8th, No. 83jr
Driving the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr, Buddy Kofoid qualified for his second consecutive Nationals main event. Kofoid will start his Toyota powered machine from eighth spot. He finished 11th last year and earned rookie-of-the-year honors.
Gio Scelzi, 9th, No. 18
Gio Scelzi makes his fifth A-main start in the KPC Racing No. 18 machine. Scelzi has a World of Outlaws and a High Limit Racing Series triumph this season and was the Nationals polesitter in 2021.
Corey Day, 10th, No. 14
Seventeen-year-old Corey Day, who leads the National Sprint Car Rankings, qualified for his first Knoxville Nationals feature driving the Jason Meyers Racing No. 14 sprint car. Day has won eight features this year.
Ian Madsen, 11th, No. 4
Driving a second car entered by fellow Australian Lynton Jeffrey, Ian Madsen made his eighth Nationals main event. Madsen, who has raced sparingly this season, had a best Nationals finish of ninth in 2016.
Dusty Zomer, 12th, No. 3j
Veteran South Dakota sprint car racer Dusty Zomer qualified for his seventh Nationals feature. Four-time Knoxville Nationals winner Danny Lasoski turns the wrenches on Zomer’s machine. Zomer’s best Nationals finish was ninth in 2008.
Spencer Bayston, 13th, No. 5
Spencer Bayston drove the CJB Motorsports No. 5 into his first Knoxville Nationals main event start following a third-place finish on Thursday night.
Chase Randall, 14th, No. 2ks
Eighteen-year-old Knoxville Raceway regular Chase Randall made his first Nationals main event driving Troy Renfro’s No. 2ks sprint car.
Anthony Macri, 15th, No. 7bc
Pennsylvania racer Anthony Macri, subbing for Tyler Courtney in the Clauson Marshall Racing No. 7bc, will make his second Nationals start.
Brad Sweet, 16th, No. 49
Four-time World of Outlaws champion Brad Sweet, who won the 2018 Knoxville Nationals, makes his 10th main event start. Sweet leads the WoO standings and has won six features this season.
Positions 17-20 (B Main Transfers)
The top four finishers in Saturday’s B main will make up positions 17 through 20 in the field. Ten drivers from qualifying night points locked into the main event, with Justin Peck scheduled to start on the pole. James McFadden shares the front row.
Kasey Kahne, Austin McCarl, Brian Brown, Shane Stewart, Garet Williamson, Tasker Phillips, Dustin Selvage and Sheldon Haudenschild will also start from the from five rows of the 22-lap B main.
Aaron Reutzel, 21st, No. 8
After crashing on Wednesday night, Aaron Reutzel had no choice but to run Friday’s Hard Knox program and he set fast time and led every lap to earn his fifth Knoxville Nationals main event start. Reutzel, who drives the Ridge & Sons No. 8 machine, has finished in the top 10 in three of his four previous Nationals starts with a best finish of fifth in 2019 when he started on the pole.
David Gravel, 22nd, No. 2
The 2019 Knoxville Nationals winner also crashed on his qualifying night and followed Reutzel home in the Hard Knox feature to earn his 11th A-main berth. The Big Game Motorsports driver, who has 10 World of Outlaws victories this season, finished second in last year’s Nationals main event.
Scott Bogucki, 23rd, No. 10
Transferring through the Hard Knox night of racing, Australian racer Scott Bogucki earned his first Nationals main event start.
Davey Heskin, 24th, No. 2m
A Knoxville Raceway regular for nearly two decades, Davey Heskin charged from 10th to fourth in the Hard Knox main event to earn a place in Saturday’s feature. It’s Heskin’s fourth A-main start, but his first since 2012.