Knowland Battles Busch, Earns Podium In Shootout Round 4

Taegan Knowland (right) celebrates a Summer Shootout podium finish with Brexton Busch Tuesday night.

CONCORD, N.C. – Taegan Knowland posted his best run of the Cook Out Summer Shootout thus far with a podium finish during round four Tuesday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Driving the No. 17 Bandolero for Race Driven Performance, the Topeka, Kan., young gun qualified fifth in a loaded Bandits division field and never dropped out of the top five during the 20-lap main event.

A rash of cautions at the mid-point at the CMS frontstretch quarter mile saw Knowland get shuffled back from third to fifth during a sequence of restarts, but once he was finally able to get to the outside lane Knowland’s speed came into its own.

He soared around two cars when the green flag waved with nine laps left to move into second place behind leader Brexton Busch – son of NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Busch – and spent much of the remaining stint chasing Busch for the race lead.

A slight bobble when Knowland overdrove turn two allowed James Behnke to overtake the 11-year-old late in the going, but he still hung on to finish third in his strongest showing yet during the 10-race miniseries.

“I’m super excited we were able to finish third and show what this team can do at the Summer Shootout,” said Knowland. “We’ve known we had this kind of speed since the opening race this year, it just took putting the whole race together and keeping the [mechanical] issues away to be able to stay up front and fight against the leaders all the way through.

“Qualifying has been a weak point of mine at times and I know starting up front allowed me to be able to focus forward much more than having to fight my way through the field,” he added. “I feel like I’ve been able to push the car harder on my qualifying laps now and know a lot better how much speed I can get out of the car in those situations.

My confidence is super high going forward and I think we’re ready to fight for wins the rest of the summer!”

With his third-place finish, Knowland moved up in the Shootout standings in the Bandits class, with 85 points separating him from Busch and the championship lead.

Knowland would like to thank marketing partners ATP Restoration; Thrivent Financial; Race Face Brand Development; the Friends of Jacklyn Foundation; Qdoba of Topeka, Manhattan, and Junction City; Jeremiah Bullfrogs Bar & Grille; Daredevil Coffee; Royal Signs; DC Lawn Care; and TruHeight Vitamins for their continued support of his racing efforts.

The 32nd season of Cook Out Summer Shootout action continues Monday night, June 30 as part of a two-day doubleheader for Independence week at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Round five rolls off Monday evening with a full program for round six following on Tuesday.

Fans can stream every lap of every Shootout division with a monthly or yearly FloRacing subscription.

For those local to the Topeka area, Jeremiah Bullfrogs Bar & Grille is hosting weekly watch parties in support of Knowland and his team, where fans can come out for a meal and cheer on the No. 17 each race!

About Taegan Knowland

Taegan Knowland is an 11-year-old Kansan whose dreams of racing were strong from his earliest years. A first-generation racer, Knowland began racing quarter midgets in 2021 and has since compiled a record of more than 30 victories, including a highlight win in 2022 at historic Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway.

Knowland currently races quarter midgets nationally in the NASCAR Youth Series (formerly the USAC.25 Series) and has also branched out into Bandolero car racing over the past year, competing for Race Driven Performance in the prestigious Summer Shootout Series at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and other major INEX-sanctioned events.

Away from the racetrack, Knowland is a supporter of the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation’s mission to better the lives of children affected by pediatric cancer and their families, and is also a member of his school choir.

For more information, including race results and team news, visit Knowland’s official website at www.taeganknowlandracing.com.