Thursday night will be night two of the 2023 Knoxville Nationals. 55 competitors will try their luck at locking into the A Main on Saturday. Like yesterday, I picked out eight drivers that I believe have the best chance to lock into Saturday’s A Main. Although the points were on the lower side after Wednesday, I am still only picking eight for tonight. I do think we will see 9 or 10 drivers ultimately locking in once tonight is over. Some are arguing that tonight’s field is more stacked than Wednesday’s, but I don’t think that is the case. Thursday’s field is definitely more top heavy, but overall I think both nights are pretty even. If David Gravel, Aaron Reutzel and Justin Peck don’t get caught up in accidents, we could have had a perfect eight and eight split of cars locking in from each night.

Thursday’s Top 8 Lock-Ins

1. Logan Schuchart5. Brian Brown
2. Rico Abreu6. Buddy Kofoid
3. Carson Macedo7. Daryn Pittman
4. Kyle Larson8. Anthony Macri
I didn’t want to go with all of the chalk. Leaving guys like Brad Sweet and Spencer Bayston off of this list was tough, but as we saw last night, anything can happen during the Knoxville Nationals. I think we see Carson Macedo, Buddy Kofoid or Logan Schuchart go quick time in time trials. Kyle Larson doesn’t usually go quick time but he will surely be in the top 15, setting himself up nicely to pass some cars in his heat race. Brian Brown has been more dominant than usual this year at Knoxville and I expect him to time in the top 10.

The two surprises on this list are Daryn Pittman and Anthony Macri. Pittman is technically retired but he always finds a ride for the Crown Jewels. He’s in a fast car with a team that can win at Knoxville. Everyone has written Macri off since he got behind the wheel of the CMR no. 7BC for the injured Tyler Courtney. My logic is this: The 7BC is always fast at Knoxville and the Macri. no 39M is average at Knoxville. Justin Sanders was a mid-pack car last night. If Macri and the team can get a good pill draw, he can absolutely lock himself into Saturday’s A Main.

If 10 cars do end up locking in from Thursday night, then look for guys like Sweet, Bayston, Austin McCarl and Cory Eliason to be high in the points standings. McCarl started on the pole for the 2022 Knoxville Nationals and is one of the fastest track regulars. Sweet is a past winner of the event and ran well during the Eldora Million and Kings Royal. Bayston just won at Pevely and has some momentum going into tonight. Eliason is good on the big tracks and usually times well.

Thursday’s Top 8 “Sleepers”

1. Ryan Timms5. Tanner Holmes
2. Kelby Watt6. Kalib Henry
3. Kaleb Johnson7. Sawyer Phillips
4. Jamie Veal8. Dylan Cisney
A lot young talent listed above. Ryan Timms has the best chance to make the most noise out of all of them. The no. 5T is fast, he just needs some luck to go his way. Kelby Watt, Kaleb Johnson and Tanner Holmes all were impressive during the 360 Nationals. It will be tough for them to mimic those performances, but I could see one or two of them having a great night. Jamie Veal is hardly a sleeper but he is most certainly not being talked about as someone who could lock in. He has had success at Knoxville in the past and has been running better lately during his stint in the States. Sawyer Phillips will try to match what his brother, Tasker, was able to do last year. Tasker also had a good run last night, earning the hard charger in the A Main and finishing 10th in points. Dylan Cisney is good at Port Royal and should have the package to be fast at Knoxville. Kalib Henry will be getting behind the wheel of the Running Boxer Farm no. 101 for the first time. He is a real wild card for Thursday night.

Thursday’s Top 8 of Drivers Not Mentioned Above

1. Shane Golobic5. Sam Hafertepe Jr
2. Brock Zearfoss6. Shane Stewart
3. Tim Kaeding7. Ayrton Gennetten
4. Bill Balog8. Garet Williamson
These are all guys who I think have a small chance of locking into the A Main. You just can’t count out the veterans like Zearfoss, Kaeding, Stewart and Balog. I almost put Shane Golobic on my lock-ins list, but the field is too top heavy. I am very high on Golobic and wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him have a great night. Garet Williamson is getting behind the wheel of a new ride and I have no idea what to actually expect. One of his teammates, Brandon Wimmer, had a great Wednesday night but did not time very well. If he wants to lock in, he will have to time well and have a good heat race to go with it. Sam Hafertepe Jr. is a master at getting around Knoxville in the 360. If he can carry some of that over, he could be one to watch tonight. Ayrton Gennetten has struggled a bit at Knoxville this year, but has the track experience to make some noise.

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Published by Steve Thornton

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