His finish puts him in a firm position in the series top ten with 285 points, just 69 points or four rounds of competition out of the top eight that will qualify for the MATCO Tools $35,000 Pro Mod Clash to be contested in Las Vegas at the end of October.

Knowles qualified strongly at No. 6 with a 5.977 at 240.64 mph and went on to face series newcomer Jason Stock in the opening stanza. Knowles left the tree before Stock and never looked back, taking the finish line with a 6.208 at 213.47 to Stock's tire smoking 10.447 at 113.00.

In round two, Knowles faced off against Roger Burgess. Knowles left the line with a lightening-quick .017 reaction time, almost seven-hundredths quicker than Burgess' .082. Immediately after the launch, his tires lost traction and he had to pedal the car, allowing Burgess the chance to pass him for the win.

"Overall, we had a great weekend," Knowles said. "We qualified really well and had a decent first round, and we thought we had the right combination to run another five-second pass in the quarters, but we blew the tires off and that was the end of the day.

"Racing at the U.S. Nationals is exciting, but it's also a marathon. That takes its toll on the whole crew, and by the time you get to race day, you want to win it all. Chuck (Ford), Mike (Strasburg) and I thought the setup was right because the conditions hadn't changed and we knew what we'd get - but, that's why they race them on the track and not on the computer," he said.

"We'll be back at it in just a week or so in Charlotte, and hopefully make up some ground to get into that MATCO Tools Clash - we really want to make that," he said. "I want to make sure that I thank all my guys for all their hard work, as well as B&J Transmissions for all they do for us as well. They keep us going."

Courtesy of Matthew Brammer