18-Year-Old Ryan Timms Dominates the Knoxville Nationals – Speedway Digest

 What were you doing at 18 years old?

Most are either navigating their final year of high school or freshly graduated, unsure of where they’re heading in life. But Ryan Timms’ future is very clear. It’s behind the wheel of a Sprint Car.

The teenager cemented himself in racing history on Saturday night. Timms delivered one of the most dominant drives in the history of the NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey’s.  The Oklahoma City, OK native was simply perfect. Fifty laps of mistake-free driving around Knoxville Raceway. He started on the pole of the 64th Knoxville Nationals and led every single circuit aboard the Liebig Motorsports No. 10.

Ryan Timms immortalized his name. A Knoxville Nationals champion in his first ever Championship Feature. A moment that’ll never be forgotten. He did donuts on the front straightaway. The crowd went wild. In Victory Lane, he rose all the way atop the wing and didn’t want to come down. When he finally did descend, emotion continued to erupt.

“Just so much excitement, so much disbelief,” Timms said. “This is awesome. I never thought I’d be standing here for the Knoxville Nationals. This is so awesome. I don’t even know what to say. It’s so awesome. I want to thank all the fans. I’ve never been able to win in front of a crowd like this. To be given this opportunity is amazing. There’re so many great people that got me here. I wouldn’t be standing here without Shane Liebig. He’s my crew chief and car owner. He’s coached me through this whole thing. My dad, my mom, the whole family. There’s a whole list. I know I’m forgetting some people, but we won the Knoxville Nationals!

“I’ve just been surrounded by great people. That’s what it comes down to. You can be a really good race car driver, have a really good car, but there’re so many pieces that come together that make things like this happen. It’s been a journey. To click such a crown jewel race, the biggest Sprint Car race in the world so soon, I really can’t even believe I’m standing here. I never would’ve imagined it. It’s just amazing.”

Timms became the 28th different winner through 64 runnings of “The Granddaddy of ‘Em All.” He’s the second youngest winner in the history of the event behind only Kenny Weld. And oddly enough, the Knoxville Nationals championship is his first official victory with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars, becoming the only driver to have their first win with The Greatest Show on Dirt be the Knoxville Nationals. He topped Wednesday’s Qualifying Night, but split-field prelims don’t count on the official win list. Saturday’s score also earned him a massive $195,000 payday. With the dominant Liebig ride he was driving, the result was never in doubt.

“I had no idea how big of a lead I had,” Timms said. “I kept looking up at the big screen, and I was like imagining cars or something because I’d see myself and think I’d see someone on my inside. I guess I was pretty far out the whole time. This car is just so fast. Knoxville is its track. Shane, he knows how to set up a race car, and he knows how to set one up really good here.”

The Knoxville Nationals runner-up went to Rico Abreu as he marched from seventh to record his best finish in the sport’s most prestigious race. The St. Helena, CA native banked $85,000 for his efforts. He came out on top of a wild battle with several different cars to claim the second spot.

“I’m just thankful for my team,” Abreu said. “It just allows us to taste a little blood in the water when we run second like that and have a strong car at the end of the race. I think we can collect a lot of data. Just the heat and the absorption of your body, the mental drainage it can take on you running 50 laps like that. It’s just a roading pace against the 41 (Carson Macedo), the 14 (Corey Day), the 57 (Kyle Larson) was there, the 49 (Brad Sweet). I was racing with the 17 (Sheldon Haudenschild) there for a minute. I was just focusing on really trying to hit my marks in (Turns) 1 and 2 and just running in clean air. My car was really fast there. I think if I could’ve just set a pace with the 10 and got to traffic. I know he was gone there the first half of the race, and I knew it was going to be really difficult to get him at the end.”

The 64th Knoxville Nationals podium was completed by David Gravel in the Big Game Motorsports No. 2. The 2019 event champion wheeled his way all the way from 21st to third after topping Friday’s FVP Hard Knox Night.

“We had a really good car,” Gravel said. “The second half of those runs our car was unbelievable. I just want to say congratulations to Ryan Timms. This race is not easy to win. To put together your prelim night and then put together 50 laps that is not easy to do with the best in the business behind you. What a run for us. Super proud of our team not giving up and proved we can pass race cars year in and year out. Man, wish we could’ve started a couple rows farther up. Felt like we were so good at the end.”

Carson Macedo and Logan Schuchart completed the top five.

Gravel’s drive from 21st to third earned him the KSE Racing Products Hard Charger.

Ryan Timms earned the SPA Technique Pole Award.

Cameron Martin was the JETCO Rookie of the Year.

Jimmy Light received the Team DGRD Best Appearing Car Award.

The Avanti Windows and Doors Best Dressed Crew went to Shark Racing.

Carson Macedo got the Think-n-Ink Best Appearing Helmet Award.

Brent Marks won the Micro-Lite Last Chance Showdown.

The Smith Titanium Brake Systems Break of the Race went to Bill Balog.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars make their final visits to Minnesota of the year with stops at Ogilvie Raceway on Friday, Aug. 15 and Jackson Motorplex on Saturday, Aug. 16. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, catch every lap live on DIRTVision.

FEATURE RESULTS:

A Main (50 Laps): 1. 10-Ryan Timms[1]; 2. 24R-Rico Abreu[7]; 3. 2-David Gravel[21]; 4. 41-Carson Macedo[2]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3]; 6. 14BC-Corey Day[6]; 7. 7BC-Giovanni Scelzi[14]; 8. 23-Garet Williamson[11]; 9. 88-Austin McCarl[12]; 10. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[5]; 11. 15-Donny Schatz[20]; 12. 19-Brent Marks[17]; 13. 4C-Cameron Martin[15]; 14. 26-Justin Peck[10]; 15. 18-Emerson Axsom[8]; 16. 71P-Parker Price Miller[19]; 17. 21T-James McFadden[18]; 18. 2C-Cole Macedo[23]; 19. (DNF) 57-Kyle Larson[9]; 20. (DNF) 49-Brad Sweet[4]; 21. (DNF) 83-Michael Kofoid[22]; 22. (DNF) 14-Spencer Bayston[16]; 23. (DNF) 3L-Daryn Pittman[24]; 24. (DNF) 17B-Bill Balog[13]

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

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