2026 Knoxville Nationals Hard Knox Format, Driver Roster

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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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