8/8/2021
ASCS
Last Lap Pass Elevates Giovanni Scelzi To Glory In The 31st My Place Hotels 360 Nationals Presented By Great Southern Bank
(Image Credit: Paul Arch)
Bryan Hulbert – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (August 7, 2021) The last lap is the one that matters, and the final lap of the 31st annual My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank was one for the ages as California’s Giovanni Scelzi worked by Daryn Pittman for the $15,000 payday.
“I was running as hard as I could. My car was unbelievable,” said a nearly breathless Scelzi. “I love Bernie (Stuebgen). I can’t believe it. To win a crown jewel like this is unbelievable. I love this place. Pittman was so good on the bottom; I just never gave up. He’s such a smart racer. He broke my momentum going into one, and luckily I could drive back underneath him.”
Getting past Swindell Speedlab No. 39 for a moment just prior to the race’s only stoppage on Lap 12 for the tipped No. 21 of Brian Brown, the pass didn’t stick to the front straightaway with Pittman bringing the field back to life.
Getting some room over the No. 18, Scelzi worked varying lines around the half-mile oval with the top of one and two a constant. Starting to diamond off the fourth turn as the race drew into the closing lap, the gap between the top two closed rapidly.
Stealing the lead on Lap 23, the battle was tooth and nail, with Pittman retaking the point on Lap 24 by less than four-tenths of a second.
Back to the cushion, Scelzi shot into a wheel-to-wheel battle down the back straightaway. Running up on a slower car in the final two turns, Gio held the No. 39 to the bottom, keeping him from being able to slide and clear through the fourth turn, causing Pittman to bobble off the berm and allow Gio the advantage to the checkered flag by 0.579-seconds.
Holding on for second, the battle for third went the way of Justin Henderson, with Shane Golobic ending up fourth. Rolling up from 12th, Australia’s Brooke Tatnell was fifth.
Sixth went to Sam Hafertepe, Jr. with Clint Garner seventh. From 11th, Scott Bogucki was the second Australian in the top ten with an eighth-place finish. Terry McCarl was ninth, with Tyler Courtney earning Hard Charger honors with a run from 19th to tenth.
Three consolation features were contested before the SawBlade.com A-Feature, with Cory Eliason winning the BMRS B-Feature. The Hoosier Tire C-Feature went to Michael Faccinto, with Matt Covington winning the Smiley’s Racing Products D-Feature. The 2021 Rookie of the year was New Jersey’s, Kyle Reinhardt. The overall field of drivers was 90 for the 2021 event.
The next event for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network is Friday, August 27, as Terry Mattox Promotions presents the tour’s return to WaKeeney Speedway in WaKeeney, Kan.
The 2021 season is the 30th year of competition for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented by the MAVTV Motorsports Network.
For the first time, the series can be seen live on two platforms, with Racinboys.com and FloRacing.com featuring National Tour events in tandem. Both are subscription-based sites. FloRacing.com is $20 per month, billed annually at $150 per year. Racinboys.com is $29.99 per month.
For other news, notes, and information on the American Sprint Car Series, from the National Tour to any of the Regional Tours that make up ASCS Nation in 2021, log onto http://www.ascsracing.com, follow on Facebook, on Instagram, and Twitter (@LucasOilASCS).
Race Results:
Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour
Knoxville Raceway (Knoxville, Iowa)
My Place Hotels 360 Knoxville Nationals
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Event Count: 90
Smiley’s Racing Products D-Feature (Top 6 to the C-Feature)
D Feature (10 Laps): 1. 95-Matt Covington[3]; 2. 24T-Chris Thram[1]; 3. 11N-Harli White[8]; 4. 2F-Casey Friedrichsen[2]; 5. 21G-Gunner Ramey[6]; 6. 18T-Tanner Holmes[11]; 7. 23K-Rob Kubli[9]; 8. 66-Chase Dunham[10]; 9. 8M-Kade Morton[14]; 10. 17B-Ryan Bickett[5]; 11. 19-Wes Wofford[19]; 12. 22S-Slater Helt[12]; 13. 86-Elliot Amdahl[13]; 14. 13MJ-Brandon Halverson[7]; 15. 88-Travis Reber[23]; 16. 55B-Brandon Anderson[20]; 17. 33-Alan Zoutte[15]; 18. 116-Vance Wofford[18]; 19. 14J-Mike Johnston[21]; 20. 1A-John Anderson[16]; 21. 57B-Boyd Peterson[22]; 22. 23-Devon Dobie[17]; 23. 2-Chase Porter[4]; 24. 35S-Jason Shultz[24]
Hoosier Tire C-Feature (Top 4 to the B-Feature)
C Feature (12 Laps): 1. 5H-Michael Faccinto[1]; 2. 5V-Colby Copeland[2]; 3. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[10]; 4. 70-Calvin Landis[7]; 5. 7C-Devin Kline[12]; 6. 53-Joe Beaver[11]; 7. 44-Chris Martin[13]; 8. 18T-Tanner Holmes[24]; 9. 35L-Cody Ledger[17]; 10. 9M-Ricky Montgomery[8]; 11. 22X-Riley Goodno[18]; 12. 7M-Chance Morton[16]; 13. 21G-Gunner Ramey[23]; 14. 83A-Austin Miller[5]; 15. 2F-Casey Friedrichsen[22]; 16. 83T-Tanner Carrick[9]; 17. 22L-Connor Leoffler[4]; 18. 11N-Harli White[21]; 19. 36-Josh Baughman[6]; 20. 18R-Ryan Roberts[14]; 21. 22-Ryan Leavitt[3]; 22. 24N-Nathan Mills[15]; 23. 24T-Chris Thram[20]; 24. 95-Matt Covington[19]
BMRS B-Feature (Top 4 to the A-Feature)
B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 26-Cory Eliason[1]; 2. 01-Sammy Swindell[2]; 3. 17A-Austin McCarl[3]; 4. 21-Brian Brown[9]; 5. 9-Ryan Giles[5]; 6. 22MM-Kaleb Johnson[4]; 7. 47X-Dylan Westbrook[6]; 8. 63-JJ Hickle[11]; 9. 94-Jeff Swindell[16]; 10. 56N-Davey Heskin[13]; 11. 97-Greg Wilson[20]; 12. 70-Calvin Landis[24]; 13. 5H-Michael Faccinto[21]; 14. 5V-Colby Copeland[22]; 15. 27B-Jake Martens[17]; 16. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[23]; 17. 2M-Matt Moro[15]; 18. 11-Roger Crockett[10]; 19. 7-John Carney II[18]; 20. 53D-Jack Dover[12]; 21. 13V-Seth Brahmer[19]; 22. 9X-Jake Bubak[7]; 23. 35-Josh Higday[8]; 24. 9JR-Derek Hagar[14]
Sawblade.com A-Feature
A Feature (25 Laps): 1. 18-Giovanni Scelzi[4]; 2. 39-Daryn Pittman[2]; 3. 83H-Justin Henderson[8]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic[1]; 5. 14-Brooke Tatnell[12]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[3]; 7. 40-Clint Garner[6]; 8. 28-Scott Bogucki[11]; 9. 24-Terry McCarl[5]; 10. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[19]; 11. 83-Lynton Jeffrey[9]; 12. 27-Carson McCarl[7]; 13. 26-Cory Eliason[21]; 14. 09-Matt Juhl[13]; 15. 17A-Austin McCarl[23]; 16. 52-Blake Hahn[14]; 17. 01-Sammy Swindell[22]; 18. 35P-Skylar Prochaska[10]; 19. 69-Brady Bacon[20]; 20. 3P-Sawyer Phillips[15]; 21. 24W-Garet Williamson[16]; 22. 4W-Jamie Ball[17]; 23. 64-Ian Madsen[18]; 24. 21-Brian Brown[24]
Lap Leader(s): Daryn Pittman 1-22, 24; Giovanni Scelzi 23, 25
Hard Charger: Tyler Courtney +9
High Point Driver: N/A
Provisional(s): N/A
ASCS Online:
American Sprint Car Series: http://www.ascsracing.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lucasoilascs
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lucasoilascs [@lucasoilascs]
Instagram: LucasOilASCS
Broadcast: FloRacing.com and Racinboys.com
Live-Scoring [Where Applicable]: MRP Live
2021 Driver Standings [Top 10]: 1. Blake Hahn 3,674; 2. Matt Covington 3,627; 3. JJ Hickle 3,619; 4. Dylan Westbrook 3,460; 5. Colby Thornhill 2,954; 6. Ryan Bickett 2,896; 7. Scott Bogucki 2,536; 8. Travis Reber 2,420; 9. Alex Hill 2,321; 10. Ryan Timms 2,036;
2021 A-Feature Winner[s]: Blake Hahn – 5 [4/17 – Park Jefferson Speedway]; 5/15 – Volunteer Speedway; 6/24 – Skagit Speedway; 7/9 – Gallatin Speedway; 7/30 – Tulsa Speedway]; Ryan Timms – 5 [5/30 – Lake Ozark Speedway; 7/25 – Riverside Int. Speedway; 7/27 – Creek County Speedway; 7/29 – 81-Speedway; 7/31 – Outlaw Motor Speedway]; JJ Hickle – 3 [3/19 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 3/20 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway; 6/20 – Grays Harbor Raceway]; Matt Covington – 3 [5/8 – I-96 Speedway; 7/16 – U.S. 36 Raceway; 7/25 – I-30 Speedway]; Scott Bogucki – 3 [5/21 – Tri-City Speedway; 5-29 – Lake Ozark Speedway; 7/10 – Gallatin Speedway]; Giovanni Scelzi – 2 [August 6 – Knoxville Raceway; August 7 – Knoxville Raceway]; Dominic Scelzi – 2 [June 25 – Skagit Speedway; June 26 – Skagit Speedway]; Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 2 [8/3 – Lakeside Speedway; 8/5 – Knoxville Raceway]; Blane Heimbach – 1 [5/1 – Selinsgrove Speedway]; Cam Smith – 1 [6/19 – Grays Harbor Raceway]; Dale Howard – 1 [7/23 – Batesville Motor Speedway]; Dylan Westbrook – 1 [July 28 – Caney Valley Speedway];
ASCS National Tour Drivers Online:
Seth Bergman [Snohomish, WA.]: http://www.sethbergmanracing.com
Ryan Bickett [Ramona, SD]: https://www.facebook.com/rynotrucking
Scott Bogucki [McLaren Vale, S. Aust.]: https://www.facebook.com/ScottBogucki89
Devon Borden [Raymond, WA]: https://www.facebook.com/DevonBordenRacing
Matt Covington [Glenpool, OK]: http://www.mattcovingtonracing.com
Roger Crockett [Broken Arrow, OK]: http://www.rocketdesignsllc.com
Blake Hahn [Sapulpa, OK]: http://www.blakehahnracing.com
JJ Hickle [Quilcene, WA]: https://www.facebook.com/JJHickleRacing
Alex Hill [Six Nations, Ontario, Can.]: https://twitter.com/alexhill77x
Travis Reber [Rapid City, SD]: https://bit.ly/2P3Ok2r
Colby Thornhill [Enumclaw, WA]: https://www.facebook.com/colby.thornhill.92
Dylan Westbrook [Scotland, Ont. Can.]: https://twitter.com/westbrook47x
Garet Williamson [Columbia, MO.]: https://twitter.com/garetw3
ASCS Sponsors:
Lucas Oil Products is the title sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. More information can be found on Lucas Oil Products at www.lucasoil.com. MAVTV Motorsports Network is the presenting sponsor of the American Sprint Car Series. Log onto http://www.mavtv.com for more information.
Sawblade.com is the official SawBlade of the American Sprint Car Series and title sponsor of every National Tour A-Feature and Victory Lane. For more information, log onto https://www.sawblade.com and follow Social Media at @SawBladecom on Twitter, on Instagram at Sawblade.com_, and Facebook.
Associate sponsors for the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series presented the MAVTV Motorsports Network include Hoosier Racing Tire and Brodix. All Heat Races are brought to you by SCE Gaskets. All B-Features are presented by BMRS.
Team Lucas Sponsors for the American Sprint Car Series consist of Protect the Harvest, Geico, SRI, General Tire, MAVTV Motorsports Network, MAVTV Plus, and General Tire.
Product and Contingency Sponsorship provided by SCE Gaskets, K&N Filters, BMRS, SpeedMart, Engler Machine and Tool, FSR Radiator and Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, MyRacePass.com, Weld Wheels, Maxwell Industries, Simpson, Wesmar Racing Engines, Hinchman Indy Racewear, Rod End Supply, Smiley's Racing Products, and Triple X Race, Co.
Submitted By: Bryan Hulbert