KNOXVILLE, Iowa — Brad Sweet completed a sweep of midget racing action at Knoxville Raceway Saturday night, capturing the seventh-annual Pepsi Knoxville Midget Nationals presented by Iowa Telecom.
This event was co-sanctioned by the USAC National, Badger, POWRi and SMRS Midget Series. Sweet drove the Kasey Kahne Racing-owned Spike-Mopar No. 49.
Sweet jumped into the lead at the start, after drawing the pole earlier in the evening. By the fifth lap, Sweet held an eight-car-length advantage over Cole Whitt and Jerry Coons, Jr.
Close-quarters racing occurred for positions through the field, while Sweet slowly increased his advantage each lap.
The first caution flag came on lap 13, when Brad Kuhn hit the turn-one wall, erasing Sweet’s 2.4-second advantage over Coons. On the restart, Coons stayed on Sweet’s rear bumper, while Michael Pickens took third. A stalled car caused a caution on lap 17.
Coons took the lead entering turn three on the restart, barely edging Sweet at the start-finish line to lead lap 18.
Another stalled car brought another yellow flag one lap later. Coons led Sweet on the restart, carried his momentum down the backstretch and passed Coons for the lead entering turn three.
Sweet pulled away over the final five circuits to score a 1.53-second victory over Coons, who won the event in 2004.
Coons barely edged Sweet’s teammate, Brady Bacon, for runner-up honors. Pickens and Darren Hagen completed the top five.
“Any victory at Knoxville is huge, but to get two in two days is a big honor and thrill,” Sweet said.
The summary:
First Heat (8 laps): Darren Hagen (Kunz 67), Chris Windom (Windom 17), Tracy Hines (Stewart 21), Brent Beauchamp (Beauchamp 112), Levi Jones (Stewart 20), Brad Kuhn (B & T 07), Gary Altig (Mecum 67x), Don Droud, Jr. (Triple Crown 1h), Matt Smith (Hardy 14a), Scott Hatton (Huston 15).
Second  Heat (8 laps): Danny Stratton (Simmons 5f), Brad Loyet (Loyet 05s), Russ Harper (Harper 09), Mike Hess (Hardy 4x), A.J. Fike (RFMS 69), Kody Swanson (Nine Racing 19), Bradley Galedrige (Galedrige 29), David Gough (Hardy 14), Ryan Criswell (R & C 11c).
Third Heat (8 laps): Gary Taylor (Tel-Star 5x), Dave Darland (Nine Racing 9), Dustin Morgan (M & M 93), Tim Noble (Wide Open 71n), Austin Brown (Brown 7b), Kevin Swindell (Pedregon 75), Chad McDaniel (McDaniel 1c), Daniel Robinson (Robinson 24d), Don O’Keefe (LOK 0k).
Fourth Heat (8 laps): Chad Boat (Boat 30), Brady Bacon (Kahne 99), Donnie Ray Crawford (Tel-Star 55), Brett Anderson (Anderson 11a), Alfred Galedrige, Jr. (Galedrige 26), Aaron Fiscus (Wide Open 7x), Jason Holt (LOK 8j), Will Pierce (Pierce 10), Bobby Ross (Pierce 4r).
First Semi (10 laps): Kuhn, Jones, Beauchamp, B. Galedrige, Droud, Crawford, Hatton, O’Keefe, Noble, Swindell, McDaniel, Smith, Robinson.
Second Semi (10 laps): Altig, Anderson, Fike, Swanson, Fiscus, Criswell, Gough, Holt, Ross, Pierce, A. Galedrige, Brown.
Prequalified drivers: Brad Sweet, Cole Whitt, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Jerry Coons, Jr., Bobby East, Michael Pickens.
Feature (25 laps): Sweet, Coons, Bacon, Pickens, Hagen, Cole Whitt, Stenhouse, Hines, Darland, Hess, Loyet, East, Windom, Fike, Jones, Hatton, Fiscus, Swanson, Altig, Anderson, Harper, Beauchamp, Taylor, Boat, Kuhn, Morgan, Stratton.