KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Kasey Kahne picked up the ride in the Roth Motorsports No. 83 for the Knoxville Nationals when the team needed a driver after Aaron Reutzel’s suspension. He was fast from the start.
After finishing fifth in the Front Row Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway, Kahne set fast time during Thursday’s preliminary night program, driving a car that commemorated Danny Lasoski’s 1998 Knoxville Nationals triumph with the Roth team.
Kahne withdrew his own No. 9t to take the Roth ride.
Kahne finished sixth in his heat and was relegated to the B main. However, he transferred into the main event and drove a steady race to finish fifth and secure his second career Saturday night A-main start.
Kahne’s only other feature appearance came in 2002.
• Sammy Swindell, the 1983 Knoxville Nationals won the first heat race of the night while making his debut in Pete Grove’s No. 50 sprint car. Swindell started on the pole after qualifying 31st. “We have a fast car. I didn’t get the car in the right place on the track during qualifying and that penalized us, but it shows that this car is a rocket,” said Swindell, who has won 50 features at Knoxville Raceway. “This is a tough place to come to with new people and new equipment. That shows the speed of this car.” Swindell, 65, was involved in a multi-car accident on the second lap of the feature and voiced his displeasure. “A bunch of guys driving with their heads up their butts,” he said. “We shouldn’t be wrecking cars on the first (second) lap.)”
• Paul McMahan was a central player in that multi-car crash, scrambling from his CJB Motorsports entry when it became engulfed in fire. McMahan was later transported to the hospital, examined and released. His wife, Jan, posted the following update on Twitter on Friday morning: “Thank you to everyone who has reached out to check on @RealPaulMcMahan. We are back to our camper from the hospital. Everything checked out OK, although Paul’s head is really hurting him and his vision in his left eye seems a little off.”
• Gio Scelzi, who will start on the pole for Saturday’s Knoxville Nationals main event, is also leading the standings for the Beaver Drill & Tool Jesse Hockett Mr. Sprint Car award. He’s 11 points ahead of Thursday night winner Brian Brown.
• Jeff Swindell also made a debut in a new car, driving the familiar No. 10 owned by Mike Vanderecken. It was the first race the car had run this season. Swindell led the first nine laps of the second heat, but lost power on the final circuit and finished eighth.
• Parker Price-Miller endured a violent crash on the opening lap of Thursday’s feature when he rode over the right-rear of T.J. Stutts’ car and was launched into the first turn barrier. Price-Miller, who has endured a series of concussions during his young career in sprint car racing, eventually climbed from the wreckage of Guy Forbrook’s No. 5x and walked away. Price-Miller confirmed on Friday afternoon that his weekend was over.
• Three Australian drivers — Ian Madsen, Brooke Tatnell and James McFadden — are locked into Saturday’s feature. A fourth — Kerry Madsen — starts in Saturday’s B main.
• Cale Thomas had a wild crash when the Jim Muth-owned No. 101 broke a wing slider and slammed the inside wall on the frontstretch during the second heat. He was uninjured.
• Sawyer Phillips defeated Parker-Price Miller by .002 seconds in a photo finish to win the second heat.
• The first two rows of the B main were made up of Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, Ian Madsen and Kerry Madsen.
• Forty-eight cars were on hand for Thursday night’s preliminary program.