2026 Knoxville Nationals Hard Knox Format, Driver Roster

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The Knoxville Nationals Hard Knox program gives the 70 drivers not already locked into Saturday’s A- or B-main a clean slate, with qualifying-night points no longer factoring into their path forward. The top four finishers in the Hard Knox A-main earn starting spots 21st through 24th in Saturday’s $200,000-to-win finale.

The field is headlined by defending Knoxville Nationals champion Ryan Timms, whose difficult preliminary night leaves him needing to race his way into Saturday’s finale. He’s joined by 11-time Nationals champion Donny Schatz and 1988 winner Sammy Swindell, who is making his 50th and final Nationals appearance.

Giovanni Scelzi is another notable name facing the Hard Knox route after making the A-main in each of his previous seven Nationals attempts, including a runner-up finish in 2024. Other accomplished drivers in the field include Danny Dietrich, Kerry Madsen, Justin Peck, Brady Bacon, Chris Windom and Sam Hafertepe Jr., making Friday’s four transfer spots especially difficult to secure.

The program begins with split-field qualifying followed by six heat races inverted by four, with the top three from each heat transferring to the A-main. A 10-lap C-main sends 12 drivers to a pair of B-mains, which each transfer their top three to the A-main.

Unlike the inverted qualifying-night features, the Hard Knox A-main is lined up by qualifying time, putting added importance on time trials. Below are the 70 drivers competing in the Hard Knox program, listed by car number along with their preliminary-night points ranking.


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2026 Knoxville Nationals Hard Knox Driver Roster​


Car #​

Driver​

Hometown​

Prelim Rank​

0​

Lynton Jeffrey​

Prairie City, IA​

71​

1​

Sammy Swindell​

Germantown, TN​

79​

1K​

Kelby Watt​

Adel, IA​

81​

1TZ​

Tasker Phillips​

Pleasantville, IA​

27​

1X​

Scott Bogucki​

Mclaren Vale, SA​

32​

2KS​

Hank Davis​

Sand Springs, OK​

68​

2M​

J.J. Hickle​

Quilcene, WA​

87​

3​

Ayrton Gennetten​

Versailles, MO​

56​

3P​

Sawyer Phillips​

Pleasantville, IA​

30​

4C​

Cameron Martin​

Ankeny, IA​

80​

4W​

Jamie Ball​

Knoxville, IA​

76​

5​

Brenham Crouch​

Lubbock, TX​

62​

6​

Kasey Jedrzejek​

Lagrange, OH​

59​

6DC​

Will Armitage​

Athens, IL​

83​

6T​

Zach Hampton​

Mooresville, IN​

34​

7B​

Ben Brown​

Marshall, MO​

89​

7S​

Chris Windom​

Canton, IL​

66​

8​

John Carney II​

El Paso, TX​

86​

9P​

Daison Pursley​

Locust Grove, OK​

46​

9R​

Chase Randall​

Waco, TX​

45​

9​

Matt Juhl​

Tea, SD​

61​

10​

Ryan Timms​

Oklahoma City, OK​

41​

11N​

Darin Naida (R)​

Adrian, MI​

57​

11R​

Rodney Huband​

Wimberley, TX​

90​

12X​

Landon Crawley​

Benton, AR​

64​

13​

Tanner Holmes​

Jacksonville, OR​

31​

14T​

Brooke Tatnell​

San Souci, NSW​

95​

15​

Donny Schatz​

Fargo, ND​

58​

15H​

Sam Hafertepe Jr​

Sunnyvale, TX​

44​

15J​

Kade Higday​

Knoxville, IA​

85​

15JR​

Cole Mincer​

Burlington, IA​

82​

15K​

Creed Kemenah​

Alvada, OH​

38​

16C​

Skylar Gee​

Leduc, AB​

36​

16G​

Austyn Gossel​

Fort Collins, CO​

92​

17​

Spencer Bayston​

Lebanon, IN​

28​

17A​

Jack Anderson​

Newton, IA​

70​

17GP​

Brock Zearfoss​

Jonestown, PA​

54​

19H​

Joel Myers Jr​

Santa Rosa, CA​

88​

19HM​

Kaleb Johnson​

Sioux Falls, SD​

39​

21H​

Brady Bacon​

Broken Arrow, OK​

48​

22​

Riley Goodno​

Knoxville, IA​

47​

23L​

Jimmy Light​

Pittsboro, IN​

84​

24D​

Danny Sams III​

North Port, FL​

40​

24T​

Christopher Thram​

Sanborn, MN​

52​

25​

Jy Corbet​

Gympie, QLD​

29​

26​

Justin Peck​

Monrovia, IN​

43​

26R​

Levi Hillier​

Burlington, WA​

73​

27​

Carson McCarl​

Altoona, IA​

51​

27B​

Garrett Benson​

Concordia, MO​

91​

28M​

Conner Morrell​

Bradenton, FL​

75​

31​

Cale Thomas​

Fairland, IN​

65​

33W​

Cap Henry​

Republic, OH​

72​

40​

Clint Garner​

Sioux Falls, SD​

63​

44​

Chris Martin​

Ankeny, IA​

37​

44X​

Scotty Johnson​

Melcher-Dallas, IA​

93​

45D​

Derek Hagar​

Marion, AR​

67​

45X​

Rees Moran (R)​

Tulsa, OK​

55​

48​

Danny Dietrich​

Gettysburg, PA​

35​

49​

Josh Schneiderman​

West Burlington, IA​

50​

51​

Steven Snyder Jr​

Rising Sun, MD​

53​

53​

Jack Dover​

Springfield, NE​

49​

55​

Kerry Madsen​

Knoxville, IA​

42​

56​

Joe Simbro​

Pleasantville, IA​

96​

74​

Xavier Doney​

Odessa, MO​

33​

77​

Giovanni Scelzi​

Fresno, CA​

60​

85J​

Logan Julien (R)​

Oconomowoc, WI​

69​

87X​

Ashton Torgerson​

Glendale, AZ​

74​

95​

Matt Covington​

Glenpool, OK​

78​

121​

R.J. Johnson​

Tampa, FL​

77​

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