The No. 49 NAPA AUTO PARTS team traveled to Knoxville Raceway this weekend for two nights of action at the famous half-mile located in central Iowa. Brad Sweet kicked off night one of the Brownells Big Guns Bash qualifying fifth overall in flight A with a lap time of 15.444. He lined up third in Drydene heat race competition, right behind car owner Kasey Kahne. Sweet made a last lap pass on Kahne to take the second spot, transferring him into the Fast Pass Dash.
Sweet then pulled out the number four pill in the NOS Energy Drink can to set the starting line-up for the six lap Fast Pass Dash. After a fourth-place finish in the dash, the Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) No. 49 rolled off from the outside of row two for the 25-lap main event. The NAPA AUTO PARTS team came home sixth in Friday night’s feature event.
Saturday night, there were 39 cars in attendance again. Sweet went out late for qualifying in flight A, stopping the clock at 16.334. The NAPA AUTO PARTS No. 49 started sixth in heat race two after qualifying 12th overall in their flight. After finishing sixth, Sweet missed the main event by one position, forcing him to run the Last Chance Showdown. In the 12-lap last chance qualifier, the KKR No. 49 quickly went fifth to second, transferring the NAPA AUTO PARTS team into the 25-lap Brownells Big Guns Bash main event. After rolling off 22nd in the main event, Sweet fought traffic deep in the field and battled his way up to the 16 th position at the checkered flag.
“After a tough weekend, we are ready to get back to a few tracks this weekend where we’ve had success. My NAPA AUTO PARTS guys are excited to start the big money shows and we’re confident we can get our speed back.” The Grass Valley, California, native mentioned.
Looking ahead to next weekend, the World of Outlaws continue their midwest swing at 34 Raceway, Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway, and Beaver Dam Raceway. Sweet and the No. 49 team found success at 34 Raceway in 2020, coming home with a third-place finish. The World of Outlaws will make their Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway debut this weekend, after the event was cancelled last year. In 2020, Sweet and the KKR team swept the doubleheader at Beaver Dam Raceway.
Start/Finish-
Friday- Knoxville Raceway
Qualifying- 5th
Heat- 3rd/2nd
Fast Pass Dash- 4th/4th
Feature- 4th/6th
Saturday- Knoxville Raceway
Qualifying- 12th
Heat- 6th/6th
Last Chance Showdown- 5th/2nd
Feature- 22nd/16th
Points Standings- 1st (4,188 points) +48
Next Races-
Thursday, June 10- 34 Raceway, West Burlington, IA
Friday, June 11- Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway, Dubuque, IA
Saturday- June 12- Beaver Dam Raceway, Beaver Dam, WI
Team Website- www.kaseykahneracing.com
Watch live- www.dirtvision.com