The most prestigious event in Sprint Car racing continues Thursday night with the second of two qualifying nights for the 2026 NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's at Knoxville Raceway. Throughout the night, we'll have lineups, results and updates posted in this blog-style notebook. Watch the Knoxville Nationals all week long on DIRTVision.
Understanding The Knoxville Nationals Format Breaking Down Knoxville Nationals Wednesday: Takeaways, Interviews & More Inside Sheldon Haudenschild's Soaring Confidence At The Knoxville Nationals Inside Kyle Larson, Ryan Timms' Clash In The Front Row Challenge Brad Sweet Explains Why He's Stepping Away From the Driver's Seat
Thursday Knoxville Nationals Prerace Notes
Over the last 10 years, the average points needed to lock into Saturday's Nationals A-main is 451. It was 446 last year, the lowest over that span, and as high as 457 in 2017. Nine drivers from Wednesday meet that mark:
Sheldon Haudenschild 481 James McFadden 478 Kasey Kahne 477 Justin Henderson 463 Chase Dietz 460 David Gravel 460 Cole Macedo 457 Corey Day 457
In that same vein, there's no path for any driver who qualifies outside the top 25 to hit the 451-point benchmark. Kyle Larson enters Thursday's prelim with an astounding 20 victories in 45 career Southern Iowa Speedweek starts - that's counting Knoxville Nationals main events and prelims, the Capitani Classic, the Front Row Challenge and USAC's Ultimate Challenge. Larson, of course, is only planning to race Thursday as NASCAR commitments Saturday at Richmond Raceway keep him competing in Knoxville's finale. Buddy Kofoid and Carson Macedo are both coming off flips earlier this week in the Capitani Classic (Kofoid) and the Front Row Challenge (Macedo). Aaron Reutzel returns to the Knoxville Nationals after a foot injury sidelined him from competing last year. He DNQ'ed in 2024, so he's looking for his first A-main start since 2023 when he finished 16th. He has a best finish of fourth in the Nationals main event in 2018. Brian Brown also returns to the Knoxville Nationals after breaking his right hand and left wrist following last year's Thursday night prelim crash. Brent Marks is coming off Sunday's seventh-place finish in the Capitani Classic, a strong debut for his new Chase Briscoe Racing team. He DNQ'ed last year after finished fifth in 2024. Last year's Knoxville Nationals Rookie of the Year in Cameron Martin looks to lock himself into his second straight main event. He finished 15th in overall prelim points last year. Terry McCarl (59) and Kerry Madsen (27) have the most Knoxville wins all-time among drivers in Thursday's prelim
2026 Knoxville Nationals Thursday Qualifying Night Roster
Car #
Driver
Hometown
Rookie
1M
Sean McClelland
Tulsa, OK
R
1s
Logan Schuchart
Hanover, PA
1TZ
Tasker Phillips
Pleasantville, IA
1X
Scott Bogucki
McLaren Vale, SA
2M
J.J. Hickle
Quilcene, WA
3 Ayrton Gennetten
Gravois Mills, MO
4C
Cameron Martin
Ankeny, IA
5 Brenham Crouch
Lubbock, TX
G5
Gage Pulkrabek
East Grand Forks, MN
6DC
Will Armitage
Athens, IL
R
7BC
Tyler Courtney
Indianapolis, IN
8 John Carney
El Paso, TX
9 Matt Juhl
Tea, SD
9 Daison Pursley
Locust Grove, OK
9R
Chase Randall
Waco, TX
12X
Landon Crawley
Benton, AR
14T
Brooke Tatnell
San Souci, NSW, Aust.
15JR
Cole Mincer
Burlington, IA
15K
Creed Kemenah
Alvada, OH
R
16C
Skylar Gee
Leduc, ALB, Can
16G
Austyn Gossel
Fort Collins, CO
17
Spencer Bayston
Lebanon, IN
17A
Jack Anderson
Newton, IA
17B
Bill Balog
North Pole, AK
19
Brent Marks
Myerstown, PA
19HM
Kaleb Johnson
Brandon, SD
21
Brian Brown
Higginsville, MO
23
Garet Williamson
Columbia, MO
23L
Jimmy Light
Pittsboro, IN
24
Terry McCarl
Altoona, IA
26R
Levi Hillier
Burlington, WA
R
27
Carson McCarl
Altoona, IA
27B
Garrett Benson
Concordia, MO
R
28M
Connor Morrell
Bradenton, FL
31
Cale Thomas
Greenfield, IN
33W
Cap Henry
Republic, OH
40
Clint Garner
Sioux Falls, SD
41
Carson Macedo
Lemoore, CA
44
Chris Martin
Ankeny, IA
45D
Derek Hagar
Marion, AR
49
Josh Schneiderman
West Burlington, IA
55
Kerry Madsen
Knoxville, IA
56
Joe Simbro
Swan, IA
57
Kyle Larson
Elk Grove, CA
69K
Daryn Pittman
Owasso, OK
71
Parker Price Miller
Kokomo, IN
74
Xavier Doney
Odessa, MO
83
Michael Kofoid
Penngrove, CA
87
Aaron Reutzel
Clute, TX
87x
Ashton Torgerson
Glendale, AZ
88T
Tanner Thorson
Broken Arrow, OK
88W
Austin McCarl
Altoona, IA