Jason Johnson celebrates in victory lane after scoring the win in Saturday night’s 56th annual Knoxville Nationals. Photo: Knoxville Raceway Media
The 56th running of the Knoxville Nationals culminated Saturday night with the grandstands on their feet, as Jason Johnson took home the win in one of the most exciting runnings of the event at Iowa’s Knoxville Raceway in recent history, depriving Donny Schatz of his tenth Nationals win.
With fireworks ablaze behind him, Johnson stood on the back of his Priority Aviation #41 Maxim, pounding his fists in the air as he celebrated his first-ever Nationals win and claimed the $150,000 prize.
“I gave it my all,” said Johnson. “I wanted to win just as bad as Donny wanted to win, just as bad as Shane wanted to win — and probably everybody that started in A-Main. My guys gave me a great race car and I got very fortunate.”
After his runner-up finish on Night 2, Johnson was the high point driver of the night, earning him the spot beside Daryn Pittman, who started on the pole. Kerry Madsen and Jamie Veal followed, with Schatz in fifth.
By Lap 2, the battle between Schatz and Johnson was on as Schatz came up to third. Meanwhile, Outlaws Shane Stewart and Brad Sweet battled it out for sixth, with Stewart holding his ground.
Pittman hit traffic by Lap 9, and Johnson battled him from the cushion – from where he won the race – for the next couple of laps, taking the lead off the fourth turn in Lap 11. But it was short lived. Lap 12 saw Pittman and Schatz pass Johnson. And in the next two laps Schatz and Johnson charged past Pittman.
By Lap 15, the race looked as expected, with the nine-time champ a half stretch ahead.
A caution for Craig Dollansky allowed Madsen to get past Pittman, and Stewart worked his way to fifth, but Schatz held a strong lead when the mandatory caution was called after Lap 25.
The real battle began on the restart with Johnson on the cushion and Schatz down low. Johnson took the lead with a slide job off Turn 4 and continued to ride the cushion so high he nearly climbed the wall in Lap 34.
Meanwhile, Madsen made a play for second, taking it from Schatz for three laps. Another three laps later, on Lap 44, Schatz took the lead back from Johnson. The battle was on as they worked around the half-mile Knoxville Raceway. The duo battled hard, trading slide jobs along with the lead, but victory was just not in the cards for the reigning champ as Johnson took the win.
“I didn’t think he could race that hard for 50 laps, but he did,” said Schatz, who didn’t think the race could be won from the top either. “He did one hell of a job. I mean to run the last ten laps, or last lap – any lap during this race – it means the world’s toughtest spot in sprint car racing. And he figured out how to make it work and get there first, so hats off to him. Next year I’d like to be the one to win. But he won. He earned it. He did one hell of a job, and he figured out how to do it.”
“I know Donny wasn’t happy with me after the checkers, and that really kind of bothers me because I respect Donny as a driver and I want his respect as well,” said Johnson. “I don’t want to wreck nobody, and I want to race people clean, but like I told him…this is Knoxville Nationals.”
For more information on the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series, visit WoOSprint.com.
Knoxville Raceway – Knoxville, Iowa
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1. Jason Johnson
2. Donny Schatz
3. Shane Stewart
4. Daryn Pittman
5. Kyle Larson
6. Jamie Veal
7. Chad Kemenah
8. Greg Hodnett
9. Ian Madsen
10. David Gravel
11. Brad Sweet
12. Rico Abreu
13. Danny Lasoski
14. Tim Kaeding
15. Kraig Kinser
16. Logan Schuchart
17. Terry McCarl
18. Sammy Swindell
19. Lucas Wolfe
20. Dusty Zomer
21. Jeff Swindell
22. Kerry Madsen
23. Dale Blaney
24. Craig Dollansky
25. James McFadden
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