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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2026 Knoxville Nationals Hard Knox Driver Roster
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