KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Sept. 16) — Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., made history on Saturday night, becoming the first back-to-back winner of Knoxville Raceway’s Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals.

Overtaking long-time race leader Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., on lap 92 of 100, Marlar led the remaining distance to earn a $40,000 payday in his third Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season.

“It’s quite an accomplishment,” Marlar said of his second straight Knoxville Nationals victory. “We all want to do things like that. But there’s a lot that plays in to one of these races, especially a deal crazy like tonight was. A lot of the race, people weren’t at their best. But I had a little bit of strategy and I tried to play that, tried to never get too excited. And then those last 15-20 laps, I really just run in there like I didn’t care about it. It was good when I wanted to drive it really hard, but it wasn’t good enough to just take it easy.”

Pulling ahead of Marlar at the drop of the green flag, outside polesitter Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., shot out to an early lead, with the first yellow slowing the field on lap 17. Using the restart to his advantage, third-starting Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., slipped ahead of Davenport in turns one and two, taking the lead one circuit later.

As Richards cruised over the field, the battle for second continued, with Davenport racing ahead of Marlar on lap 43. When the yellow flag waved for a fuel stop on lap 51, Davenport noticed his right-front tire was flat, forcing him to pit and return at the rear of the field as the race went back green.

Gaining momentum from the restart, fifth-running Don O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., rolled around the high side to take over the second-place spot on the restart, only to slow a few laps later when his No. 5 machine started smoking. Richards continued to lead, with a three-car battle ensuing for the runner-up spot between Marlar, Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., and Sheppard.

With second-running Sheppard falling back on a lap-77 restart, Jared Landers of Batesville, Ark., joined the mix up front, briefly taking the second-place spot from Marlar. But it was Marlar coming alive late-race, slipping under Richards in turns one and two and edging ahead out of turn four to lead lap 92.

Disaster struck on lap 95, with second-running Richards getting into the turn-three wall to draw a caution. Marlar survived the late-race caution, holding off Davenport’s charge to capture his second straight Knoxville Nationals victory.

“I thought that if I didn’t tear anything up or hurt anything I would be good later,” Marlar said. “I was too tight early. As the fuel burnt off and everything else, I was like, ‘Man, if I just don’t kill my tires and other things until my car gets right.’ I wasn’t really good enough to drive it hard. When your car’s really good, you have to drive it hard. I was just a little bit off, but it came around. With about 25 to go, I said, ‘I’m going to give it everything I’ve got here.’"

Rallying from the tail, Davenport finished runner-up, with Landers running third. Improving from the 10th starting spot, Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., finished fourth, with 11th-starting Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn., rounding out the top five.

“Everybody said they already had blistered tires at the fuel stop and mine looked great,” Davenport said of his mid-race pit stop. “After the race there, I still managed my tires and I don’t think they were blistered. Once we got into lapped traffic, I wouldn’t have been any good. If I could have stayed in clean air, maybe so. The racetrack was so fast. I’m sure it was really hard to pass the leader."

Making his debut with the Larry Moring Motorsports team on Thursday night, Landers notched a runner-up finish, closing out the weekend on the podium.

“Obviously (Ronnie) Stuckey has built a car better than he’s had in a long time,” Landers said. “If you jump in a car and it’s as good as it was when I got here when I hadn’t been in a car in a while … I didn’t have to work on it. This is how we came. I kind of got nervous last night. We changed some stuff. I was like, ’Man, I don’t feel good. I felt better the first night. Just go back to like we were and let me drive it.’This is a track you have to drive the car. You don’t want to be too lose. You don’t want to be too tight or you’ll jump the cushion. I was in between."

Notes: Marlar has eight victories on the 2017 season; three on the Lucas Oil Series. He is a four-time winner at Knoxville Raceway, winning a pair of preliminary features along with his two Knoxville Nationals victories. … Marlar joins Brian Birkhofer of Muscatine, Iowa, and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., as the only Knoxville Nationals repeat winners. … Fourth-place finisher Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., is the only driver to qualify for all 14 Knoxville Nationals features. … The race had three different leaders: Jonathan Davenport (1-17), Josh Richards (18-90) and Marlar (92-100). … The 100-lapper was slowed by 12 cautions, including a fuel stop on lap 50.

Knoxville Nationals finish

Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., Rocket, $40,000
2. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., Rocket, $20,000
3. Jared Landers (1777), Batesville, Ark., Black Diamond, $10,000
4. Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., MB Customs, $8,750
5. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., Rocket, $7,500
6. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., Rocket, $7,000
7. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., Club 29, $6,500
8. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Pierce, $6,000
9. Steve Francis (15), Bowling Green, Ky., Capital, $5,500
10. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., Longhorn, $5,000
11. Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, Longhorn, $4,500
12. Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan., Rocket, $4,000
13. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., Sweet-Bloomquist, $3,500
14. Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla., Longhorn, $3,400
15. Dale McDowell (17M), Chickamauga, Ga., Sweet-Bloomquist, $3,300
16. Jesse Stovall (00), Galena, Mo., Black Diamond, $3,900
17. Brent Larson (b1), Lake Elmo, Minn., Longhorn, $3,100
18. Josh Richards (1), Shinnston, W.Va., Rocket, $3,000
19. Kyle Bronson (40b), Brandon, Fla., Rocket, $2,900
20. Rodney Sanders (20), Happy, Texas, MB Customs, $2,800
21. Timothy Culp (c8), Prattsville, Ark., Rocket, $2,700
22. Darrell Lanigan (14), Union, Ky., Club 29, $2,600
23. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., Rocket, $2,500
24. Don O’Neal (5), Martinsville, Ind., Club 29, $2,500
25. Tyler Erb (91), New Waverly, Texas, Rocket, $2,500
26. Chad Simpson (25), Mount Vernon, Iowa, Black Diamond, $2,500
27. Gregg Satterlee (22), Indiana, Pa., Rocket, $2,500
28. Kent Robinson (7R), Bloomington, Ind., Moyer Victory, $2,500
29. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., Black Diamond, $2,500
30. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., Rocket, $2,500
31. Spencer Diercks (29d), Davenport, Iowa, Longhorn, $2,500
32. Boom Briggs (99b), Bear Lake, Pa., Longhorn, $2,500
Entries: 56
Thursday’s preliminary feature winner: Richards
Friday’s preliminary feature winner: Marlar
B-main winner: Stovall
Provisional starters: D. Erb, Briggs
Lap leaders: Davenport (1-17); Richards (18-91); Marlar (92-100)

Preliminary notes and results:

Main event notes

Lap 100: Marlar wins the Knoxville Nationals.

Lap 95: Second-running Richards gets into the turn three wall to draw a caution.

Lap 92: Slipping under Richards in turns one and two, Marlar edges ahead out of turn four to take the lead.

Lap 84: Kyle Bronson slows in turn four to draw a caution. Richards leads Landers, Marlar, McCreadie and Jimmy Owens.

Lap 77: Second-running Sheppard drops back on the restart, slowing to draw a caution and heading to the pit area.

Lap 77: A yellow flag waves when Rodney Sanders gets into the wall in turns one and two. Richards leads Sheppard, Marlar, McCreadie and Landers.

Lap 65: Richards continues to lead, as a three-car battle ensues for the runner-up spot between Marlar, McCreadie and Sheppard.

Lap 58: With his No. 5 machine smoking, second-running O'Neal slows to draw a caution, retiring to the pits. Richards will lead Marlar, Sheppard, Tim McCreadie and Jared Landers back to green.

Lap 54: Rolling around the high side, O'Neal passes Sheppard and Marlar to run second, closing in on Richards.

Lap 51: During the fuel stop, second-running Davenport notices he has a right-front flat. He will have to pit when the race goes back under yellow and restart at the rear of the field.

Lap 51: A yellow flag waves for the fuel stop. Richards leads Davenport, Marlar, Sheppard and O'Neal. After starting 26th, Kyle Bronson has advanced to run ninth.

Lap 46: Tyler Erb slows in turn four to draw a caution. Richards leads Marlar, Davenport, Sheppard and O'Neal.

Lap 43: Using momentum from the restart, Davenport slips ahead of Marlar to run second.

Lap 42: A yellow flag waves when Gregg Satterlee slows in turn three.

Lap 40: Richards continues to lead Marlar, Davenport, O'Neal and Sheppard.

Lap 31: A yellow flag falls when Shannon Babb slows in turn four. Richards continues to lead, with Scott Bloomquist improving from the 12th starting spot to run seventh.

Lap 27: Jimmy Mars spins in turn four to draw a caution on the ensuing restart.

Lap 27: A yellow flag waves when Chris Simpson slows in turn four with a flat tire. Richards leads Marlar, O'Neal, Sheppard and Davenport.

Lap 18: Sliding under Davenport in turns one and two, Richards takes the lead on the restart, with Marlar moving into second. Davenport falls back to sixth.

Lap 17: The first yellow flag waves when Brian Shirley gets into the wall in turns one and two.

Lap 10: The race leaders work through lapped traffic. Davenport leads Josh Richards, Marlar, Don O'Neal and Brandon Sheppard. Boom Briggs and Spencer Diercks have retired.

Lap one: Jonathan Davenport pulls ahead of polesitter Mike Marlar to lead the first lap.

10:29 p.m.: Feature cars roll onto the track for in-car driver introductions, which will be followed by pace laps.

Engines fired

Cars began aligning in the pit area to go out for track-packing at about 9:50 p.m. Officials hope to give the feature’s starting field an opportunity to turn some laps and then return to the pit area to scrape mud and restock drivers’ helmets with tearoffs before starting the 100-lapper.

Weather update

The rain stopped just after 9 p.m. CT and a tractor and packer truck soon took to racetrack to begin the process of reclaiming the surface. No time-table for calling cars back to the speedway to pack it in for racing has yet been mentioned.

Rain delay

With rain falling too steadily to allow the 100-lapper to start, the event officially went under a rain delay at 7:46 p.m. Packer trucks remained on the speedway and radar indicated that the heaviest precipitation might skirt just southeast of Knoxville, raising hopes that the feature will be able to soon hit the half-mile oval.

Feature lineup

Row 1: Mike Marlar, Jonathan Davenport
Row 2: Josh Richards, Brandon Sheppard
Row 3: Don O’Neal, Tim McCreadie
Row 4: Jared Landers, Chris Simpson
Row 5: Darrell Lanigan, Jimmy Mars
Row 6: Jimmy Owens, Scott Bloomquist
Row 7: Chad Simpson, Gregg Satterlee
Row 8: Brian Shirley, Dale McDowell
Row 9: Shannon Babb, Chase Junghans
Row 10: Bobby Pierce, Rodney Sanders
Row 11: Earl Pearson Jr., Hudson O’Neal
Row 12: Timothy Culp, Kent Robinson
Row 13: Jesse Stovall, Kyle Bronson
Row 14: Steve Francis, Tyler Erb
Row 15: Spencer Diercks, Brent Larson
Row 16: Dennis Erb Jr., Boom Briggs

Pre-feature notes

The 10-minute horn to line up the 100-lap was blown by officials at 7:51 p.m., just minutes after the B-main ended. Light rain began to fall during the B-main and continued as the cars were called to the staging area. ... Officials announced that the race's fuel stop will happen on lap 51 so the race will not be stopped before the halfway point at which it becomes official. ...… Former Knoxville Nationals winners in the starting field are Mike Marlar, Don O’Neal, Tim McCreadie, Jared Landers, Darrell Lanigan, Scott Bloomquist, Brian Shirley and Steve Francis. … Noticeably missing from the 100-lapper is 2010 event champion Billy Moyer, who withdrew from further action after his car was damaged in a B-main incident on Friday night. “I threw in the towel,” said Moyer, who was in street clothes helping Moyer Victory Race Car campaigner Jason Feger (a retiree from the B-main with engine trouble). “It was a bad weekend.” … Moyer’s son, Billy Moyer Jr., also opted to scratch from Saturday’s finale after failing to qualify for both preliminary features. … With his team owner Clint Bowyer on hand looking on after flying up from the NASCAR event at Chicagoland Speedway, Darrell Lanigan experienced mechanical trouble during hot laps for the A-main qualifiers. A o-ring blow off the oil filter, leaving a puddle of oil under his machine in the pit area. His crew was hard at work repairing the malfunction for the feature. … Just three drivers are first-time Knoxville Nationals feature starters: Hudson O’Neal, Timothy Culp and Brent Larson.

B-main

Polesitter Jesse Stovall edged ahead of Steve Francis at the green flag to take an early lead. Just three laps in, a battle ensued for the runner-up spot, with Kyle Bronson slipping ahead of Francis. Bronson challenged Stovall for the lead on lap five, with a red flag falling for a turn-two collision between Bob King and Jordan Yaggy. Bronson, Francis and Tyler Erb went three-wide down the backstretch on the restart, with Bronson holding the second-place position. With Stovall holding his lead at the halfway mark, Tyler Bruening began closing in on Jason Feger for the sixth and final transfer spot, with Feger slowing off the pace on lap 14. With the frontrunners working their way through lapped traffic, Bronson began reeling in Stovall late-race. A yellow flag waved on lap 19 Jake O’Neil got into the wall in turns one and two. Stovall held off Bronson to win the heat, with Bronson and Francis rounding out the podium. Erb, Spencer Diercks and Brent Larson transferred to the feature.

Finish (top six transfer): Jesse Stovall, Kyle Bronson, Steve Francis, Tyler Erb, Spencer Diercks, Brent Larson, Tyler Bruening, Matt Furman, Jonathan Bruans, Joey Moriarty, Ryan Gustin, Jeremiah Hurst, Randy Timms, Joel Callahan, Jake O’Neil, Mike Fryer, Dennis Erb Jr., Dave Eckrich, Justin Duty, Jason Feger, Jordan Yaggy, Bob King. Scratched: Jay Johnson, Colton Flinner.

B-main lineup

(20 laps; top 6 transfer)
Row 1: Jesse Stovall, Steve Francis
Row 2: Kyle Bronson, Tyler Erb
Row 3: Jason Feger, Spencer Diercks
Row 4: Tyler Bruening, Boom Briggs
Row 5: Matt Furman, Jeremiah Hurst
Row 6: Dennis Erb Jr., Brent Larson
Row 7: Ryan Gustin, Joey Moriarty
Row 8: Jordan Yaggy, Jake O’Neil
Row 9: Dave Eckrich, John Anderson
Row 10: Jay Johnson, Jonathan Brauns
Row 11: Randy Timms, Joel Callahan
Row 12: Justin Duty, Mike Fryer
Row 13: Colton Flinner, Bob King

Pre-race setup

The 14th annual Lucas Oil Knoxville Late Model Nationals presented by Casey’s General Store concludes Saturday night with a last-chance race and the 100-lap headliner at the famed Knoxville Raceway, a half-mile fairgrounds oval best known for hosting sprint car racing.

The lineups for Saturday night’s events were determined using each driver’s best points night from the pair of preliminary programs. Mike Marlar’s perfect 500-point total on Friday night (fast time, heat win, 25-lap preliminary feature victory) earned him the pole position for the 100-lapper that offers a $40,000 top prize.

A total of 24 drivers are locked into the feature on points. Six more starting berths will go to the top finishers in Saturday’s B-main.

Saturday’s agenda was originally scheduled to include a C-main and B-main leading into the finale, but a threat of rain that increases later in the evening prompted track and series officials to revise the program in an effort to beat the weather. All drivers set for the C-main will be added to a single B-main, which will run over the 20-lap distance.

In addition, officials announced that the timing of the scheduled fuel stop during the 100-lapper will be determined after weather conditions are taken into account. Currently the fuel stop is set for the first caution flag between laps 21 and 40 (and lap 40 if no yellow flag flies), but officials will move the red flag to lap 51 to get the race to its official halfway mark before halting the action.

Hot laps were moved up a half-hour to begin at 6:15 p.m. CT.  Racing will begin upon completion of practice.

Final points standings

(Best points night)
1. Mike Marlar - 500
2. Jonathan Davenport - 496
3. Josh Richards - 494
4. Brandon Sheppard - 484
5. Don O’Neal - 484
6. Tim McCreadie - 483
7. Jared Landers - 482
8. Chris Simpson - 481
9. Darrell Lanigan - 474
10. Jimmy Mars - 471
11. Jimmy Owens - 463
12. Scott Bloomquist - 463
13. Chad Simpson - 462
14. Gregg Satterlee - 462
15. Brian Shirley - 462
16. Dale McDowell - 460
17. Shannon Babb - 460
18. Chase Junghans - 458
19. Bobby Pierce - 455
20. Rodney Sanders - 455
21. Earl Pearson Jr. - 448
22. Hudson O’Neal - 447
23. Timothy Culp - 447
24. Kent Robinson - 441
25. Jesse Stovall - 440
26. Steve Francis - 436
27. Kyle Bronson - 436
28. Tyler Erb - 435
29. Jason Feger - 433
30. Spencer Diercks - 424