Sixteen drivers are already locked into the 50-lap, $195,000-to-win 64th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's finale with another 10 drivers locking into Saturday's B-main at Knoxville Raceway.

But for everyone else? Throw Wednesday's and Thursday's performances out the window because a clean slate awaits at Friday's Hard Knox Night at the Knoxville Nationals. Four drivers among the 70-plus have a shot at avoiding Saturday 's consolations by qualifying outright into the championship main event.

The Hard Knox roster features three of the top drivers in Sprint Car racing this year — the nation's winningest driver David Gravel, the nation's richest-earning driver Buddy Kofoid and Kings Royal champ Anthony Macri — plus 11-time Knoxville Nationals champ Donny Schatz.

For the full Hard Knox roster and format, read below.

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• 2025 Knoxville Nationals Thursday Results At Knoxville Raceway
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• Ranking The Knoxville Nationals Drivers: From Favorites To Long Shots
• Breaking Down Wednesday's Knoxville Nationals Qualifying Night

What Is Hard Knox Night At The Knoxville Nationals?

Hard Knox night resets the playing field — points from Thursday and Friday are discarded — as the top-four finishers from Friday’s A-main will earn the 21st through 24th starting spots in Saturday's big dance.

Before the Hard Knox main event, Friday consists of split-field qualifying, six heats that are inverted by four (with the top-three transferring to Hard Knox A-main), a 10-lap C-main (top-12 transfer among two B-mains), and two 12-lap B-mains (top-three from each transfer to Hard Knox A-main).

A unique element to Hard Knox night is the A-main is lined up by qualifying time, so drivers better make their time trial matter (and survive the four-car heat invert) to have the best chance possible at qualifying outright into Saturday's A-main.

Well-known names are often relegated to Hard Knox Night as last year Donny Schatz had to win Friday at the Knoxville Nationals last year for his spot in the main event. Logan Schuchart, who starts third in the 2025 Nationals, finished second in last year's Hard Knox.

Two years ago, Aaron Reutzel won Friday night while Gravel finished second.

Who's Racing Hard Knox Night At The Knoxville Nationals?