Jake Knowles scored a $3,000 win at SMS
The Chevrolet Performance Super Series rolled into the Smoky Mountain Speedway on Saturday night to take part in the Big Daddy 500 event. Georgia driver Jake Knowles came away from the Maryville, Tenn. facility with the win and the accompanying $3,000 payout.
Knowles proved to be the fastest in time-trials when he led the 17-car field with a lap of 17.362 seconds around the 4/10 mile clay oval. The top-10 qualifiers were locked into the feature which placed Joseph Brown, Chip Brindle, Ronnie Johnson, Chase King, Cruz Skinner, Zach Pilcher, Landon Bagby, Dalton Polston and Dale Thurman on the starting grid.
Oliver Gentry won the sole B-main used to set the remainder of the starting lineup.
At the start of the 40-lap feature it was Knowles who went to the lead with Brown, Brindle, King, Skinner and Johnson following. Johnson moved forward on lap 2 when he passed by Skinner to assume the fifth position in the running order.
The action was intense at the start
Soon after the start it would be the top-5 of Knowles, Brown, Brindle, King and Johnson who would break away from the rest of the pack while running in tight formation around the track. Brown closed in and looked inside of Knowles for the lead on lap 8 but the No. 66 machine fought off the challenge.
The race’s only caution flag flew on lap 13 which regrouped the field. On the ensuing restart it was Johnson who would again seize the opportunity to move forward when he got by King to claim fourth. Two laps later the car driven by Pilcher would also move around King to take the fifth spot in the running order.
Further back, Bagby took the eighth position away from Polston on lap 24 while the top-4 cars of Knowles, Brown, Brindle and Johnson broke away in an effort to settle the affair among themselves.
As the laps clicked away, Knowles crept out to an advantage of about five car lengths as Brindle closed in on Brown for the runner-up spot. Just after taking the white flag Brindle managed to briefly take second but Brown fought back to secure the position at the finish line. But it was Knowles who beat everyone to the checkered flag.
Feature Finish: 1. Jake Knowles, 2. Joseph Brown, 3. Chip Brindle, 4. Ronnie Johnson, 5. Zach Pilcher, 6. Chase King, 7. Cruz Skinner, 8. Landon Bagby, 9. Oliver Gentry, 10. Dalton Polston, 11. Dale Thurman, 12. Chad Wallace, 13. Barry Goodman, 14. Scott Hall, 15. Eric Dalton, 16. Matthew Turner, 17. Buster Goss
Jake Knowles and crew celebrate their win
