Saturday morning rainfall at Knoxville Raceway has prompted officials to revise the 65th annual NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's format, expanding the number of drivers locked directly into Saturday night’s program and shortening the rescheduled Hard Knox portion.
The top 20 in preliminary night points are now locked into the Knoxville Nationals A-main — that's Austin McCarl, Brent Marks, Tanner Thorson and Jace Park — while drivers ranked 21st through 40th are locked into Saturday night’s Last Chance Showdown. Drivers ranked 41st through 50th will occupy the first five rows of Saturday night’s C-main.
For example, 27th-ranked Sye Lynch is now on the pole of the B-main that'll transfer the top four to the 50-lap, $200,000-to-win finale while 41st-ranked Ryan Timms — last year's Nationals champion — will start from the pole of the C-main.
Drivers ranked 51st and lower will compete in what's now a shortened Hard Knox program to determine starting spots 11th-24th in the C-man, putting Donny Schatz's streak of 27 appearances in the A-main in grave jeopardy. Giovanni Scelzi, who's never missed an A-main in seven Nationals starts, is among the revised Hard Knox program, too.
The revised Hard Knox program will not include time trials. Instead, preliminary night points will determine the heat race lineups. Hard Knox hot laps are now scheduled for noon Central, with grandstands opening at 11 a.m.
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2026 Knoxville Nationals A-Main Starting Lineup
| Start | Car # | Driver | Prelim Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 57 | Kyle Larson | 485 |
| 2 | 18 | Sheldon Haudenschild | 481 |
| 3 | 21T | James McFadden | 478 |
| 4 | 4 | Kasey Kahne | 477 |
| 5 | 83 | Michael Kofoid | 469 |
| 6 | 11 | Justin Henderson | 463 |
| 7 | 71 | Parker Price-Miller | 461 |
| 8 | 69K | Daryn Pittman | 461 |
| 9 | 23D | Chase Dietz | 460 |
| 10 | 2 | David Gravel | 460 |
| 11 | 14TSR | Rico Abreu | 460 |
| 12 | 1S | Logan Schuchart | 459 |
| 13 | 23 | Garet Williamson | 458 |
| 14 | 2C | Cole Macedo | 457 |
| 15 | 14 | Corey Day | 457 |
| 16 | 21 | Brian Brown | 457 |
| 17 | 88W | Austin McCarl | 456 |
| 18 | 19 | Brent Marks | 452 |
| 19 | 88T | Tanner Thorson | 451 |
| 20 | 28 | Jace Park | 443 |
2026 Knoxville Nationals B-Main Starting Lineup
| Start | Car # | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Sye Lynch | 443 |
| 2 | 27A | Emerson Axsom | 440 |
| 3 | 17B | Bill Balog | 431 |
| 4 | 7BC | Tyler Courtney | 428 |
| 5 | 87 | Aaron Reutzel | 427 |
| 6 | 41 | Carson Macedo | 426 |
| 7 | 1TZ | Tasker Phillips | 426 |
| 8 | 17 | Spencer Bayston | 422 |
| 9 | 25 | Jy Corbet | 421 |
| 10 | 3P | Sawyer Phillips | 416 |
| 11 | 13 | Tanner Holmes | 416 |
| 12 | 1X | Scott Bogucki | 415 |
| 13 | 74 | Xavier Doney | 414 |
| 14 | 6T | Zach Hampton | 413 |
| 15 | 48 | Danny Dietrich | 412 |
| 16 | 16C | Skylar Gee | 411 |
| 17 | 44 | Chris Martin | 410 |
| 18 | 15K | Creed Kemenah | 407 |
| 19 | 19HM | Kaleb Johnson | 407 |
| 20 | 24D | Danny Sams III | 406 |
| 21 | — | C-Main 1st | — |
| 22 | — | C-Main 2nd | — |
| 23 | — | C-Main 3rd | — |
| 24 | — | C-Main 4th | — |
2026 Knoxville Nationals C-Main Starting Lineup
| Start | Car # | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Ryan Timms | 406 |
| 2 | 55 | Kerry Madsen | 404 |
| 3 | 26 | Justin Peck | 403 |
| 4 | 15H | Sam Hafertepe Jr. | 402 |
| 5 | 9R | Chase Randall | 402 |
| 6 | 9P | Daison Pursley | 401 |
| 7 | 22 | Riley Goodno | 400 |
| 8 | 21H | Brady Bacon | 400 |
| 9 | 53 | Jack Dover | 395 |
| 10 | 49 | Josh Schneiderman | 390 |
| 11 | — | Hard Knox Feature Winner | — |
| 12 | — | Hard Knox Feature 2nd | — |
| 13 | — | Hard Knox Feature 3rd | — |
| 14 | — | Hard Knox Feature 4th | — |
| 15 | — | Hard Knox Feature 5th | — |
| 16 | — | Hard Knox Feature 6th | — |
| 17 | — | Hard Knox Feature 7th | — |
| 18 | — | Hard Knox Feature 8th | — |
| 19 | — | Hard Knox Feature 9th | — |
| 20 | — | Hard Knox Feature 10th | — |
| 21 | — | Hard Knox Feature 11th | — |
| 22 | — | Hard Knox Feature 12th | — |
| 23 | — | Hard Knox Feature 13th | — |
| 24 | — | Hard Knox Feature 14th | — |
2026 Knoxville Nationals Hard Knox Field: Updated
| Prelim Rank | Car # | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 27 | Carson McCarl | 389 |
| 52 | 24T | Christopher Thram | 388 |
| 53 | 51 | Steven Snyder Jr | 388 |
| 54 | 17GP | Brock Zearfoss | 386 |
| 55 | 45X | Rees Moran (R) | 385 |
| 56 | 3 | Ayrton Gennetten | 384 |
| 57 | 11N | Darin Naida (R) | 384 |
| 58 | 15 | Donny Schatz | 381 |
| 59 | 6 | Kasey Jedrzejek | 379 |
| 60 | 77 | Giovanni Scelzi | 378 |
| 61 | 09 | Matt Juhl | 372 |
| 62 | 5 | Brenham Crouch | 370 |
| 63 | 40 | Clint Garner | 370 |
| 64 | 12X | Landon Crawley | 370 |
| 65 | 31 | Cale Thomas | 367 |
| 66 | 7S | Chris Windom | 361 |
| 67 | 45D | Derek Hagar | 358 |
| 68 | 2KS | Hank Davis | 356 |
| 69 | 85J | Logan Julien (R) | 354 |
| 70 | 17A | Jack Anderson | 349 |
| 71 | 0 | Lynton Jeffrey | 348 |
| 72 | 33W | Cap Henry | 344 |
| 73 | 26R | Levi Hillier | 344 |
| 74 | 87X | Ashton Torgerson | 344 |
| 75 | 28M | Conner Morrell | 341 |
| 76 | 4W | Jamie Ball | 333 |
| 77 | 121 | R.J. Johnson | 330 |
| 78 | 95 | Matt Covington | 327 |
| 79 | 1 | Sammy Swindell | 323 |
| 80 | 4C | Cameron Martin | 318 |
| 81 | 1K | Kelby Watt | 317 |
| 82 | 15JR | Cole Mincer | 317 |
| 83 | 6DC | Will Armitage | 315 |
| 84 | 23L | Jimmy Light | 310 |
| 85 | 15J | Kade Higday | 309 |
| 86 | 8 | John Carney II | 307 |
| 87 | 2M | J.J. Hickle | 302 |
| 88 | 19H | Joel Myers Jr | 301 |
| 89 | 7B | Ben Brown | 300 |
| 90 | 11R | Rodney Huband | 294 |
| 91 | 27B | Garrett Benson | 285 |
| 92 | 16G | Austyn Gossel | 280 |
| 93 | 44X | Scotty Johnson | 274 |
| 94 | G5 | Gage Pulkrabek | 269 |
| 95 | 14T | Brooke Tatnell | 267 |
| 96 | 56 | Joe Simbro | 263 |