Kline Wins and Ball Finishes Second at Knoxville Raceway
June 20th, 2016 by Wade Huisman
The win ties him with Larry Ball Jr., who is his car owner, for most triumphs in the class at the famed half-mile oval.
Saturday began with Kline qualifying sixth quickest before he advanced from fourth to second place in a heat race. Kline then started the main event on the pole with a six-car inversion for the 15-lap main event.
“The first two laps me and Christian (Bowman) were side by side,” he said. “Then he worked away from me. I was catching him on the bottom in turns one and two and losing him on the bottom in turns three and four. I moved up and followed him on the top in turns three and four and stayed on the bottom in turns one and two. When I finally moved by him I started working the bottom again.”
Kline took the lead on Lap 7 and pulled away for the victory.
Teammate Jamie Ball also had a standout performance in his return from a weekend off following a violent crash. Ball timed in fifth quickest in the 360ci class and he ended sixth in a heat race to advance into the feature inversion, which lined him up on the outside of the front row for the 18-lap main event.
“It went about as good as it could go for the most part,” he said. “Our weekend started off like normal where we put ourselves in a good spot. We qualified fifth and made it through the heat race. I was able to start on the front row of the feature. I led a couple of laps before getting beat by a little better car.”
Ball took the lead on Lap 8 and held onto the top spot until Ian Madsen passed him on Lap 14. Ball held on for the runner-up position, which marked his seventh top five of the season.
“I was fast on both the top and the bottom,” he said. “I was able to get by Matt Covington on Lap 8 and I led a few laps. I think we had five restarts and eventually it bit me. A couple of laps after a restart Ian Madsen got by me. We’re being consistent and it’s nothing to hang our heads about, but we’re hungry for a win.”
Ball will return to competition this Friday and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway. Kline is off this weekend.
