Ayrton Gennetten is one of the best, up and coming drivers in the ranks of sprint car racing – especially at Knoxville Raceway.
It’s not something that can be said about a lot of young drivers, where the famed half-mile in Iowa is considered one of his best tracks.
“I’ve been pretty decent on any type of track, but realistically, I think Knoxville is one of my best,” Gennetten said. “It’s just kind of the way the track races when it gets slick and it gets technical. I grew up on a micro track racing those type of races like a big track, so it kind of adapted me pretty quick.”
But as the 60th Knoxville Nationals approach, Gennetten has been hit with some adversity.
Over his past three races in Iowa, Gennetten has gone through engine and mechanical failures that have taken him out of contention in races – ones that he was running well in, too.
“If anyone wants to buy a T-shirt (from us), now’s the time,” Gennetten said.
First came a mishap during qualifying at All Star Circuit of Champions race at Knoxville. He came back and won his heat but still got buried in the feature, falling from P6 to P18.
During the Capitani Classic, the nozzle line got knocked off of the car by mud. It took Gennetten, who was two laps away from a win in his heat race, to the B-Main for the night. There, he would miss the transfer by two spots.
Then Monday night came at Osky. Genetten’s car jumped out of gear going into turns one and two in qualifying, causing him to flip.
There’s no overstating how much bad luck he’s had to fight through in the recent days.
If anyone wants to buy a TShirt nows the time.
Just went in the corner and something in the shifter broke and popped it outa gear then it just took off. I had it turned left as much as I could get it. Killed the frame and may have hurt the motor. Tough 2 days. pic.twitter.com/Gk9t6tJFUr
— Ayrton Steven Gennetten (@Gennetten_3) August 10, 2021
Throw in that Gennetten and his team added a new crew chief in Chad Morgan – former wrench turner for Brian Brown – and it takes it an extra step.
While Morgan and Gennetten are getting acquainted with one another, they’ve had to work to fix the car and overcome the run ins with adversity they are facing on the track.
“We kind of texted here and there, after the split,” Morgan said. “I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to (stay in racing). Ayrton kept kind of bugging me and saying, no don’t walk away from racing, I want to race. I was like well it doesn’t hurt to maybe go out and try and see what it’s like.”
Morgan had been with Brown for that past 13 years of his career, before the two mutually agreed to part ways earlier this summer.
He doesn’t like jumping from place-to-place and let Gennetten convince him to give it a shot.
“I’m a big fan of Ayrton,” Morgan said. “Honestly, I’ve been around enough to see when a guy can run an edge. I saw some entry speed even though we ran terrible at I-70 and things didn’t really play out our way. I’ve seen flashes of it of just how hard he’s willing to try in a race car. I think he’s really raw and he’s extremely talented which makes it fun for me. This is the right fit at what I need right now at this time in my life – something that can be built and racing for the right reasons.”
Now, Gennetten amidst hardships that began a year ago at Knoxville, is going into the 60th Knoxville Nationals with a capable car and a well heralded crew chief.
During the derecho, Gennetten’s hauler was blown over in the storm.
It started the process of getting to race in the Fischer-Baughman No. 3 that he’s wheeling in this year.
“After our rig flipped, we took all of our stuff to get repaired over to the Fischer’s,” Gennetten said. “Obviously with Aaron (Reutzel) leaving, it opened up the door for them to do something different. The Fischer’s approached me and asked if I would be interested in partnering up with them. Mike Baughman and Curt Fischer are good buddies, so they kind of came in together on our deal and kind of got us started for this season. It’s a blessing.”
All parties involved are confident in what they’ve got coming into the 60th running.
“My expectations for Knoxville are high, period,” Gennetten said. “With Chad turning the wrenches the car will be a little bit different, but he’ll have us dialed in and hopefully we can just capitalize.”
With Morgan on the wrenches and Gennetten behind the wheel, there’s a palpable sense of something big happening – so long as the hardships stay away.
Morgan thinks Gennetten has what it takes, too.
“He’s already – there’s very few times that you can think of a guy that has come to this place and just be able to be in the hunt this early,” Morgan said. “There’s guys that have been coming here for a long, long time and could never figure it out. He had a top 10 with the Outlaws and he’s ran second twice here for it.
“This place is tough. You either have a natural feel for it or you don’t. He has it.”
