By Bill Wright | Knoxville Raceway | August 8, 2024
KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 8, 2024) – Kyle Larson passed Rico Abreu with two laps to go to capture Toyota Qualifying Night #2 of the 63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s. The Elk Grove, California driver earned $12,000 for his eleventh win at Knoxville Raceway, and put himself on the pole of Saturday’s championship event paying $190,000 to win. Daryn Pittman will join him on the front row, as they led the top sixteen drivers in points locking themselves into the finale.
Bill Balog led at the outset of the 25-lap main event, followed by Abreu, Carson Macedo, Brady Bacon and Larson. On lap four, Larson gained fourth from Bacon. Up front, Balog was hitting traffic by lap seven.
Abreu reeled in Balog in traffic and slid in front of him in turn four to take the point on lap 12. A lap later, Macedo followed him into second. With ten to go, Larson gained third from Balog, while Tyler Courtney moved into the top five.
Larson continued his charge on the cushion and got around Macedo for second with seven laps to go. He slowly reeled in Abreu. On lap 24, Abreu stumbled a bit in turn two behind a lapper, and Larson used the low side to take the lead for good.
Larson’s win aboard Paul Silva’s #57 came ahead of Abreu, Macedo, Courtney and Balog. Pittman, Brad Sweet, Bacon, Zeb Wise and Brian Brown rounded out the top ten. Pittman set quick time over the 54-car field and won his heat. Hunter Schuerenberg, Tasker Phillips, Macedo and Ayrton Gennetten also won heats. Sye Lynch won the C main and Dusty Zomer claimed the B.
“Rico was doing a good job as the leader,” said Larson in Victory Lane. “Carson got rolling there for a minute, and I didn’t think I was going to get by him. I didn’t really know exactly what to do. Rico got to a lapper. He couldn’t follow him and had to go top or middle. That car hit the berm in front of me. That gave me a bunch of clean air and probably messed him up. We were in the right place at the right time, but you always have to execute every lap. The car felt great during the feature. The car felt better and better as that slime got thrown off the bottom.”
“Got to do a little better job managing traffic,” said Abreu. “I felt like I left the bottom open there. The top was just really far around. My right front would get up a little bit where I had to give some up in the center. The team did an awesome job. To finish on the podium with these guys is a good effort for my team.”
“The race was in stages for me,” said Macedo. “I felt like early, I got a back a little too far. I started catching them again when I got to traffic. I felt like I could maneuver well in traffic. I got to Rico, and he kind of got messed up. I thought I could squeeze by him, and paced myself behind him waiting for an opportunity. I saw the 57 beside me and went down in three and missed it. I knew I was in trouble. All in all, hat’s off to my team.”
Join us Friday, August 9, for the FVP “Hard Knox Night” at the 63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s. For tickets and more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or on Facebook.
63rd NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals Presented by Casey’s Toyota Qualifying Night #2 Results
A main, 25 Laps, 7:28.3: 1. Kyle Larson (6); 2. Rico Abreu (2); 3. Carson Macedo (3); 4. Tyler Courtney (7); 5. Bill Balog (1); 6. Daryn Pittman (8); 7. Brad Sweet (9); 8. Brady Bacon (4); 9. Zeb Wise (11); 10. Brian Brown (5); 11. Kaleb Johnson (14); 12. Hunter Schuerenberg (13); 13. James McFadden (23); 14. Cory Eliason (24); 15. Ryan Timms (17); 16. Tasker Phillips (18); 17. Danny Sams III (10); 18. Jason Martin (12); 19. Dusty Zomer (21); 20. Landon Crawley (16); 21. Ayrton Gennetten (20); 22. Mark Dobmeier (15); 23. Cap Henry (22); 24. Daison Pursley (19). Lap Leaders: Balog 1-11, Abreu 12-23, Larson 24-25. Hard-charger: McFadden.
Locked-In Drivers For Championship Saturday:
Bill Wright | Knoxville Raceway | Photos: Knoxville Raceway
