Wednesday night at the Knoxville Nationals has developed a reputation in recent years for taking unexpected turn of events, particularly throwing some of the top teams in Sprint Car racing for a loop.

The first qualifying night of the week played out just like that as the evening showcased the recent rise of Ryan Timms while churning out drama when David Gravel went crashing on the opening lap of his heat race.

Runner-up Justin Peck, third-finishing Sheldon Haudenschild and hard-chargers Corey Day (22nd to seventh) and Rico Abreu (21st to eighth) put forth solid evenings as well, having positioned themselves as virtual lock-ins for Saturday's A-main. Before Thursday's second-round qualifying night gets going, here are the storylines that came out of the evening.

The Rise Of Ryan Timms

WATCH: Ryan Timms discusses Wednesday's Knoxville Nationals qualifying night win, how he's turned his career around and more.

Ryan Timms has been touted for years how he's the next great talent in open-wheel racing, drawing hype on par with Corey Day when the two emerged in limited 410 appearances in 2021 and hype also comparable to Buddy Kofoid and Giovanni Scelzi when they were highly-touted teenagers.

As a fresh-faced 16-year-old, Timms finished ninth and second in his first two World of Outlaws starts in 2021, a year he won four of 13 winged 410 races.

Though the teenaged Timms had time to grow into the driver many thought he'd be, the last three years were starting to look as if the now 18-year-old had been turning into a bust. From 2022-23, he struggled to run up front, winning only four times, finishing in the top-10 just 29 times in 104 races, and failing to qualify for 17 of 45 nationally touring events.

But since teaming with Shane Liebig's No. 10 operation last Oct. 8 in Kubota High Limit Racing action at I-70 Motorsports Park — a debut he finished second — Timms has been unlocked as a race car. With Liebig, he's racked up nine wins, 14 podiums, 24 top-fives and 33 top-10s in 56 starts.

On Wednesday, he looked every part of not only a Knoxville Nationals contender, but now as a true favorite, backing up his car speed and confidence each time he hit the track: Third in qualifying, eighth-to-fourth in his heat and leading the final 16 of 25 laps from eighth.

Now Timms has a chance Saturday to one of the youngest (if not, the youngest once facts are checked) Nationals winners ever. Here's when notable Nationals champs won their first Knoxville crown jewel:

• Kenny Weld, 19, when he won his first of four Nationals in 1964
• Doug Wolfgang, 25, when he won his first of five Nationals in 1977
• Steve Kinser, 26, when he won his first of 12 Nationals in 1980
• Mark Kinser, 32, when he won his first of three Nationals in 1996
• Danny Lasoski, 39, when he won his first of four Nationals in 1998
• Donny Schatz, 29, when he won his first of 11 Nationals in 2006
• Kyle Larson, 31, when he won his first of three Nationals in 2023

David Gravel's Crash

For the second straight year, David Gravel faces another Hard Knox Night at the Knoxville Nationals.

After he put forth a magnificent qualifying lap — fourth from the 49th of 51 cars in time trials  — the 2019 Knoxville Nationals champ tried hustling his Big Game Motorsports No. 2 around the top through the opening corner of the fourth heat race when contact with Hunter Schuerenberg sent his car flipping into the outside fence.

An unhappy Gravel didn't mince words in his DIRTVision interview when he claimed Schuerenberg "went out there with his eyes closed and drove right into me." 

Gravel was able to win the C-main, but couldn't make the top-four of the B-main after starting 21st.

Last year, Gravel had to race his way into Saturday's A-main through the B-main where he finished third from the sixth-starting spot. This year, being 20th in points through Wednesday night with Thursday still to go, he's bound to race his way through Friday's Hard Knox Night for the second time in three years.

In 2023, Gravel finished second on Hard Knox Night and in the Saturday A-main after starting 22nd.

Projected Feature Lock-Ins, Hard Knox Drivers

Ryan Timms (487 points), Sheldon Haudenschild (469), Corey Day (468), Rico Abreu (468), Emerson Axsom (467), Justin Peck (460) and Garet Williamson (460) are projected to make the top-16 cutoff from Wednesday night's Knoxville Nationals prelim.

Austin McCarl at 455 points will likely make the top-16 from Wednesday, but consider him on the bubble. The cut line for the top-16 the last three years has been 453, 449 and 447.

Chris Windom (445), Knoxville rookie Jack Anderson (444), James McFadden (443), and Sam Hafertepe Jr. (439) are virtually locked into Saturday's B-main, which saw a cutoff last year of 433. Danny Dietrich's 431 might be enough to start him 10th or at best ninth in Saturday's B-main.

Meanwhile, notable names facing Hard Knox Night: David Gravel, Donny Schatz, Anthony Macri, Justin Sanders, Daison Pursley, Tanner Holmes and Chase Randall, among others.