By NICK SCHWIEN

nschwien@dailynews.net

Two-day shows offer a second chance.

They're also a good thing to get the cobwebs shaken out.

So was the case Saturday for Tyler Knight during the first day of the third annual Wheatshocker Rebel Nationals featuring the 305 sprint cars of the United Rebel Sprint Series at RPM Speedway in Hays.

Knight got a big victory in the feature, building momentum for Sunday's A-main and $2,000 payout.

"It's good to be back in a groove again," Knight said. "I think I got the jitters out."

Knight got things rolling with a good run in his heat race, then started outside the front row for the feature. He quickly bolted out to a lead on the dry, dusty track while every other driver jockeyed for position -- including a top-10 finish and an automatic berth in Sunday's finale.

"It helps," Knight said about his finish. "There's no way you can go from the back to the front in this class. If we would have finished outside the top 10, we probably would have gone home."

Knight led each of the 25 laps in the feature, one that went caution-free.

Meanwhile, the rest of the field tried to improve on positions. Keefe Hemel, who started inside the second row, got by pole-sitter Corey Lutters to move into second place, with Lutters holding down the third spot for several laps.

Brian Herbert, the URSS national champ in 2008, got by Lutters for third, while Ray Seemann held down the fifth spot.

"I didn't know if the track was going to get as dusty as it was in the (B-mains)," Hemel said. "You didn't have to fight through the dust. It was good to get out early."

Hemel closed in on Knight when the two encountered lap traffic. But Knight was able to maneuver his way around lap cars, cruising to the victory and leaving Hemel in second.

"He was fast," Hemel said about Knight. "He could get right up in the middle and ride it around the corner. I seemed to be skipping some."

For Knight, it was his second sprint car feature victory.

"The car ran good," Knight said. "I was guessing and choosing a little bit because it was only the second time I ran here."

Herbert finished third, with Lutters fourth and Seemann fifth. Darren Bowman, Ty Williams, C.J. Johnson, Smokey Fairbank and Kirby Hagans finished sixth through 10th, respectively, to grab automatic spots in Sunday's $2,000 feature.

The final 10 spots will be decided by races before Sunday's feature.

* Clayton Wilson bested the field in the Northern sport mod feature. Chris Heim was second, and Matthew Crowell was third.

* Jamie Rice took home top honors in the sport compact feature. Jesse Dunlap and Art Herzog rounded out the top three.

* Josh Latka, G.W. Fuller and Mike Traskousky finished first through third, respectively, in the hobby stock finale.