(Image Credit: Rob Kocak)
Bryan Hulbert – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 5, 2023) “Shit, I just wanted to win. That’s for you, Jason Johnson,” echoed through the valley Saturday night as Brian Brown stood atop the podium after the closest margin of victory in the history of the Xtreme Powered by Mediacom 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank, Brian Brown.
Edging Aaron Reutzel by 0.020-seconds for the $20,500 payday, the win is Brown’s second 360 Nationals triumph, 19th at the Knoxville Raceway, and 21st against the American Sprint Car Series presented by RacinDirt.com.
“I seen Tyler Swank down here telling him [Aaron Reutzel] kind of what to do and that kind of helped my gameplan a little bit because I did really know what he was going to do. He’s such a smart racecar driver, and I knew he was trying to slide himself down here, so I knew my best chance was to hit the bottom coming to the white, and I hit it pretty good, and I was thinking he was going to the top, then he went to the middle, and I’m like man; Christmas came early. I’m worn out from the cheering, not the racing,” Explained Brown when asked about the restart.
Chasing Aaron Reutzel the entire race, it came down to a green, white, checkered dash to the finish after Garet Williamson and Kaleb Johnson, who were racing for fifth, flipped as the leaders worked into what they thought were going to be the final two turns.
Sliding himself on the restart as Brown glued his right rear to the cushion, Brian peeled to the bottom through the third and fourth turns as the pair raced to the white flag once more.
Brown again hustled the high side as Aaron slid across the cushion in turns one and two.
With a slight bounce off the curb, Aaron turned low, exposing a clear shot off the top, exiting the second turn. Wheel to wheel into turn three, Aaron drifted across the nose of Brown. Turning under Aaron working into the fourth turn, Aaron went down to block on exit, but it was not enough to keep Brian Brown at bay.
On that final run, Brown said, “We came off turn two, and I got such a good run and almost cleared him down the backstretch, and I was like, gosh darn it, I showed him, and I thought I was in trouble when he slid me, but I got it turned, and I was either going to come back on the trailer or holding this trophy.”
Sixth coming to the final dash to the finish, California’s Rico Abreu shot to third to earn the KSE Hard Charger, having advanced 24th to the show position and was trailing the race for the lead by 0.341-seconds at the line. Rico also earned the 2023 Jetco, Inc. 360 Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year title.
Parker Price-Miller crossed fourth, with Ryan Timms fifth. Zeb Wise moved up two spots to sixth, followed by Chase Randall, who advanced 10 positions to seventh. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. went 15th to eighth, with Terry McCarl and Kerry Madsen making up the top ten.
Zeb Wise was awarded the Team DGRD Best Appearing Car Award.
Special thanks to the Knoxville Raceway staff, all the teams who participated in this year’s event, and the fans who help make all this possible. We look forward to the 2024 event.
The next event for the American Sprint Car Series presented by RacinDirt.com is the next round in the ASCS Super Summer Series at Lakeside Speedway on Friday, August 25, paying $5,000 to win, $500 to start, then Saturday, August 26, at Salina Highbanks Speedway at $4,000 to win, $400 to start.
Bryan Hulbert | American Sprint Car Series
