Live From Knoxville: 2026 Knoxville Nationals Saturday Updates

The 2026 NOS Energy Drink Knoxville Nationals presented by Casey's heads into a weather-impacted Championship Saturday at Knoxville Raceway, with the rescheduled Hard Knox program leading into Saturday night's $200,000-to-win finale.

Throughout the day, we'll have the latest weather and schedule updates, along with lineups, results and other developments posted in this blog-style notebook. Watch the Knoxville Nationals live on DIRTVision.

• Knoxville Nationals Alters Format, Lineups For Saturday
• Kyle Larson's Knoxville Nationals: The Debate, The Wins & What-Ifs
• 2026 Knoxville Nationals Saturday A-Main, B-Main Lock-Ins
• Breaking Down Knoxville Nationals Thursday: Takeaways, Interviews & More
  
• Breaking Down Knoxville Nationals Wednesday: Takeaways, Interviews & More
• Inside Sheldon Haudenschild's Soaring Confidence At The Knoxville Nationals
• Brad Sweet Explains Why He's Stepping Away From the Driver's Seat

Watch Live

2026 Hasty Bake High Limit Room Live at Knoxville Nationals
**Knoxville Nationals Schedule Update: Hot Laps At 6:30**

4:08 p.m. CT: Knoxville Raceway officials have announced the latest schedule for Saturday evening. Grandstands will open at 5 p.m., with E- and D-main cars scheduled to hot lap at 6:30 p.m.

**2026 Knoxville Nationals Starting Lineups: A-Main, B-Main, C-Main & Hard Knox

The updated starting lineups for Saturday’s Knoxville Nationals program following the weather-related format changes are listed below, including the A-main, B-main, C-main and revised Hard Knox portion.

• 2026 Knoxville Nationals Updated Starting Lineups For Saturday

**Schatz, Timms Face Daunting Path To Knoxville A-Main

The weather-altered format has created a daunting path to Saturday night’s Knoxville Nationals A-main for several notable contenders, including Donny Schatz, defending champion Ryan Timms, Justin Peck and Giovanni Scelzi.

Timms and Peck will start first and third, respectively, in the C-main and must transfer through both the C- and B-mains to reach the $200,000-to-win finale. The road is even longer for Schatz, who starts 11th in the C-main following his Hard Knox program victory.

Schatz’s streak of 27 consecutive Knoxville Nationals A-main appearances is now in serious jeopardy. Peck, meanwhile, has qualified for five consecutive Nationals A-mains, a streak that’s also on the line Saturday.

(8:05 p.m.) Opening Ceremonies Complete, But Rain Coming Down Hard

8:05 p.m. update: The good news is opening ceremonies are complete. The bad news: the rain keeps coming down at Knoxville Raceway. Even once the rain lets up, expect a lengthy wait as track crews will need time to run the track back in before racing can begin.

(7:45 p.m.) Rain Shower Delays Start Of Hot Laps

7:45 p.m. update: Still trying to get hot laps underway at Knoxville Raceway, with the program now running more than an hour behind schedule. A light but persistent rain shower has put on-track activity in a holding pattern, though opening ceremonies are underway.

(5 p.m.) Weather Update At Knoxville Raceway

5:05 p.m. CT: The three major forecasts offer a mixed picture for Saturday evening at Knoxville Raceway, with the National Weather Service currently the most pessimistic.

Google Weather shows rain chances around 35 percent through roughly 7 p.m., dropping to 20 percent around 8 p.m. and 10 percent later in the evening.

The Weather Channel is considerably more optimistic through the heart of the program, showing just a 15 percent chance of rain from 5-9 p.m. Chances increase later, however, to 39 percent at 10 p.m. and 44 percent at 11 p.m.

The National Weather Service calls for a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5 p.m., with showers and storms becoming likely tonight, mainly before 9 p.m. The NWS puts the overall chance of precipitation tonight at 70 percent and says some storms could produce heavy rainfall.

For reference, Ryan Timms pulled into Knoxville Nationals victory lane at approximately 9:22 p.m. last year. If tonight’s program runs on a similar timetable, that would put the checkered flag before the later increase in rain chances shown by Google and The Weather Channel — though the National Weather Service suggests storms could arrive earlier.

Recapping Schatz's Saturday After Prelim Victory

Donny Schatz won Saturday afternoon’s revised Hard Knox program, but the format change leaves his streak of 27 consecutive Knoxville Nationals A-main appearances in serious jeopardy. Read more on Schatz’s disappointment with the format change and the daunting road ahead from 11th in the C-main below.

• Donny Schatz's Longtime Knoxville Nationals Streak In Jeopardy

2026 Knoxville Nationals C-Main Lineup

(Top four transfer to spots 21-24 in the B-main)

Start#Driver110Ryan Timms255Kerry Madsen326Justin Peck415HSam Hafertepe Jr.59RChase Randall69PDaison Pursley722Riley Goodno821HBrady Bacon953Jack Dover1049Josh Schneiderman1115Donny Schatz1251Steven Snyder Jr.1327Carson McCarl147SChris Windom1545XRees Moran1612XLandon Crawley1709Matt Juhl182MJ.J. Hickle191KKelby Watt2026RLevi Hillier2111NDarin Naida2233WCap Henry2317GPBrock Zearfoss2440Clint GarnerHard Knox Program Complete

2:40 p.m. CT: The checkered flag fell on the rescheduled Hard Knox program around 2:40 p.m., completing the first half of Saturday’s Knoxville Nationals doubleheader.

Knoxville Raceway will provide further updates on when C-main hot laps and the Championship Saturday program will begin. As of now, hot laps are scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT.

Scelzi’s Nationals A-Main Streak Likely Ends

A lap-four crash while running second in Saturday’s revised Hard Knox feature likely ended Giovanni Scelzi’s bid for an eighth consecutive Knoxville Nationals A-main appearance in as many starts.

Scelzi’s Spire Motorsports entry flipped hard off turn two while he was trying to challenge for the lead. He finished 22nd and would unofficially start 12th in Saturday evening’s D-main, should he continue and the D-main run as scheduled.

Hard Knox A-Main Results At Knoxville

Eleven-time Knoxville Nationals champ Donny Schatz powered from the seventh-starting spot to win the 25-lap altered Hard Knox feature on Saturday afternoon at Knoxville Raceway. He led the final 21 circuits and topped Steven Snyder Jr. by 2.265 seconds to earn the 11th-starting spot in the 15-lap C-main later this evening.

FinishStart#Competitor1715Donny Schatz2251Steven Snyder Jr3127Carson McCarl467SChris Windom5445XRees Moran6912XLandon Crawley71409Matt Juhl8242MJ.J. Hickle9181KKelby Watt102026RLevi Hillier111011NDarin Naida121933WCap Henry13317GPBrock Zearfoss141640Clint Garner151545DDerek Hagar1686Kasey Jedrzejek17210Lynton Jeffrey182223LJimmy Light191387XAshton Torgerson201717AJack Anderson211295Matt Covington22577Giovanni Scelzi23115Brenham Crouch24236DCWill ArmitageHard Knox A-Main Lineup At KnoxvilleRowInsideOutside127 Carson McCarl51 Steven Snyder Jr.217GP Brock Zearfoss45X Rees Moran377 Giovanni Scelzi7S Chris Windom415 Donny Schatz6 Kasey Jedrzejek512X Landon Crawley11N Darin Naida65 Brenham Crouch95 Matt Covington787X Ashton Torgerson09 Matt Juhl845D Derek Hagar40 Clint Garner917A Jack Anderson1K Kelby Watt1033W Cap Henry26R Levi Hillier110 Lynton Jeffrey23L Jimmy Light126DC Will Armitage2M J.J. HickleComplete Sellout At Knoxville Nationals

1:54 p.m. CT: Knoxville Raceway announced that the infield is sold out for Saturday night’s Knoxville Nationals Championship program, joining the grandstands in reaching capacity.

The infield sellout comes with previously purchased Friday-Saturday two-day and four-day pit passes being honored for Saturday’s program.

Hard Knox B-Main Results At KnoxvilleFinishStart#Competitor120Lynton Jeffrey2123LJimmy Light346DCWill Armitage432MJ.J. HickleTop 4 transfer


5527BGarrett Benson6615JKade Higday794CCameron Martin8814TBrooke Tatnell97G5Gage Pulkrabek101115JRCole Mincer11133Ayrton Gennetten121044XScotty Johnson1315121R.J. Johnson14167BBen Brown151285JLogan Julien161428MConner Morrell171756Joe SimbroHard Knox Heat Results At Knoxville

Heat 4

FinishStart#Competitor1145XRees Moran226Kasey Jedrzejek3695Matt Covington4340Clint Garner5526RLevi HillierTop 5 transfer


676DCWill Armitage7914TBrooke Tatnell8485JLogan Julien987BBen Brown

Heat 3

FinishStart#Competitor1117GPBrock Zearfoss2215Donny Schatz335Brenham Crouch4445DDerek Hagar5533WCap HenryTop 5 transfer


682MJ.J. Hickle79G5Gage Pulkrabek8715JRCole Mincer96121R.J. Johnson

Heat 2

FinishStart#Competitor1151Steven Snyder Jr247SChris Windom3211NDarin Naida4309Matt Juhl571KKelby WattTop 5 transfer


650Lynton Jeffrey7815JKade Higday8944XScotty Johnson9628MConner Morrell

Heat 1

FinishStart#Competitor1127Carson McCarl2377Giovanni Scelzi3412XLandon Crawley4687XAshton Torgerson5517AJack AndersonTop 5 transfer


6823LJimmy Light7927BGarrett Benson874CCameron Martin923Ayrton Gennetten101056Joe SimbroHard Knox Racing Underway At Knoxville

1:07 p.m. CT: The first Hard Knox heat race is underway at Knoxville Raceway, officially beginning Saturday’s on-track competition after a series of weather delays.

Hot Laps Underway At Knoxville

12:45 p.m. CT: Hot laps are officially underway at Knoxville Raceway as the rescheduled Hard Knox program gets rolling following Saturday morning’s weather delays.

Engines Fire At Knoxville For Hard Knox Program

12:07 p.m. CT: Engine heat is underway at Knoxville Raceway as officials continue preparations for Saturday’s rescheduled Hard Knox program.

The latest schedule calls for the Hard Knox portion of the Championship Saturday doubleheader to begin at 1 p.m. Central.

Knoxville Issues Severe Weather Advisory

11:59 a.m. CT: Knoxville Raceway issued a weather advisory at 11:59 a.m. Central, warning of the possibility of pop-up storms Saturday evening, some of which could produce severe weather, strong winds and lightning.

At the recommendation of the National Weather Service and Marion County Emergency Management, race teams will be allowed to keep their haulers in the infield for protection and safety.

Fans are being advised that if severe weather approaches and the grandstands need to be cleared, they should exit calmly and take shelter underneath the grandstands. Any approaching severe weather will be communicated over the track’s PA system.

The advisory comes as Knoxville works through continued weather challenges ahead of Saturday night’s Knoxville Nationals finale.

Hard Knox Start Pushed Back Again

11:44 a.m. CT: The start of Saturday’s rescheduled Hard Knox program has been pushed back another hour because of weather.

Officials announced the program is now scheduled to begin at noon Central (1 p.m. Eastern). Hard Knox was originally scheduled for an 11 a.m. CT start before Saturday morning rainfall delayed the program.

Rain Forces Knoxville Nationals Format Change

8:39 a.m. CT: Saturday morning rain has forced Knoxville Raceway officials to revise the Knoxville Nationals format, expanding the number of drivers locked into Saturday night’s program and shortening the rescheduled Hard Knox portion.

The top 20 in preliminary points are now locked into the A-main, adding Austin McCarl, Brent Marks, Tanner Thorson and Jace Park. Drivers ranked 21st through 40th are locked into the B-main, while those ranked 41st through 50th will start in the first five rows of the C-main.

That puts Sye Lynch on the B-main pole, while defending Knoxville Nationals champion Ryan Timms will start from the C-main pole.

Drivers ranked 51st and lower — including Donny Schatz and Giovanni Scelzi — will compete in a shortened Hard Knox program to determine starting spots 11th through 24th in the C-main. Schatz’s streak of 27 consecutive Nationals A-main appearances is now in serious jeopardy.

Hard Knox will not include time trials, with preliminary points setting the heat lineups. Hot laps are now scheduled for noon Central.

Hard Knox Postponed, Sets Up Saturday Doubleheader

Friday’s FVP Hard Knox program has been postponed to Saturday morning because of weather, setting up a Knoxville Nationals Championship Saturday doubleheader.

Heavy rain Friday morning and continued showers prevented Knoxville Raceway from drying the track and infield. Saturday’s Hard Knox program is scheduled to begin with hot laps at 11 a.m. Central, with the top four finishers in the feature advancing to Saturday night’s 50-lap Knoxville Nationals finale.

According to High Limit Racing publicist Brian Walker, it’s the first rainout during Knoxville Nationals week since Aug. 6, 2014, ending a streak of 45 consecutive completed programs.

A break will follow the Hard Knox program before Championship Saturday festivities resume. Saturday night hot laps remain scheduled for 6:45 p.m. Central.