His first win in the Brockway Mechancial and Roofing Sprint Invaders Series was also Paul Nienheiser's first-ever win in a winged Sprint Car. The 16-year old 360 Sprint pilot topped a field of 30 entries during the series' first event of the season Saturday night at 34 Raceway in Burlington.
Nienheiser won his heat race, then led all eight laps of the Shakeup Dash before drawing the #3 pill to determine the starting lineup for the 25-lap main event. Although he started inside second row, Neinheiser made his way to the front by the completion of the first lap.
While Nienheiser was pulling away early, a pair of drivers battling for second place came together to bring out the red flag on lap two. Brett Triplett was working the low side of John Agan exiting turn four when their two rides came together. The contact resulted in the pair of cars getting upside down, ending the event for both drivers.
On the restart, Nienheiser again paced the field with Scotty Thiel and Josh Schneiderman in tow. The leader encountered lapped traffic on the seventh circuit, allowing Thiel to briefly keep Niehneiser in his sights. Nienheiser did a terrific job working through the back markers to extend his advantage while Matt Krieger was making his way through traffic from a seventh row starting spot.
Riding the top side of the 3/8-mile oval, Krieger entertained the fans as he marched his way toward the front. He swept past Thiel for second with seven laps to go while Nienheiser maintained his sizable advantage.
As Nienheiser raced to the impressive win, Krieger lost control on the top side of turn four on the final lap, ending his night in the wall with a ninth place finish. Thiel crossed the line second ahead of Schniederman, Russ Hall and Alan Ambers.
Season opening track points races for IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and Mod Lites were also part of Saturday's show, including a $1,000 winner's share in the Modified division.
Richie Gustin took the green from outside row one and quickly assumed command in the Modified main. Fellow front row starter Brandon Rothzen settled into the second spot with Dustan Fenton trailing.
Gustin showed the way early while Mike Vangenderen was making his way through the pack. Vangenderen used a nifty move exiting turn two on a lap six restart to sneak between Fenton and Scott Hogan for third. He made his way past Rothzen for second one lap later, just prior to the next caution.
Gustin pulled away from the pack unchallenged, then survived a pair of late restarts to take the big payday in the 20-lapper. Rothzen ran second at the line ahead of Jeff Waterman, Fenton and Andy Krieger. Vangenderen suffered mechanical problems on the final circuit to limp to a ninth place finish.
Arguably the most entertaining event of the night was the 20-lap feature for the IMCA Stock Cars. Front row starter Ray Raker held the early advantage while Chris Wibbell and Jim Lynch gave chase.
As Raker built his lead to a half-straightaway, John Oliver Jr., Tom Bowling Jr. and Jake Wenig entered the battle for second. Although a pair of cautions slowed the event and attrition affected the back-half of the 13-car field, the action out front kept fans on their feet following the final restart on lap 14.
Shortly after he led the field back to green, Raker slowed with mechanical problems, which left the top spot up for grabs. In fact, four different drivers held the lead over the final six laps with Wibbell being the first to take over.
After leading lap 15, Wibbell allowed both Bowling and Oliver to sneak past as those drivers battled (literally) wheel-to-wheel for position. After running second to Bowling on laps 16-18, Oliver shot to the inside of the leader in turn two on the white flag lap. He led at the stripe until Bowling returned the favor in turns one and two on the final lap. Contact sent both drivers off the track, allowing Abe Huls and Wibbell to sneak past.
The new leaders ran within a car-length of each other before Huls lunged ahead at the stripe for the thrilling win. Oliver regrouped to come home third.
In Mod Lite action, Greg Rossell led the entirety of the 15-lapper to take the win ahead of Chase Flatt. The lead pair took the checkers nearly a straightaway ahead of Dan Keltner and Randy Bryan.
Despite the chilly temperatures and occasional mist and sprinkles, the visit to Burlington was a great way to kick off the season. I made my way to town the night before the opener to help Facilities Director Jason Goble put finishing touches on preparations for the event. During (and for a couple weeks prior to) that time, track owner Jeff Laue and his crew were diligently working on the racing surface.
Laue and the gang were able to start track prep a couple weeks ago, however their progress was halted early this past week when a spring storm dumped a couple inches of snow on the grounds. You'd have never guessed it on race night. The track crew did a tremendous job getting the track race-ready despite the adverse conditions!
I also need to give a shout out to Sprinter Matt Krieger. I've never been a huge Sprint Car fan, although I've enjoyed taking in more Sprint races in recent years. Matt, thank you. Your efforts on Saturday night alone made me craving my next Sprint Car race. It got me even more fired up for the Sprint Invaders event at Independence on April 19. That promises to be a great night. Thanks to Sprint Invaders announcers Jeff Broeg and Bill Wright for talking up the series' first-ever visit to Independence. For Jeff's thoughts on last night's show be sure to check out the Back Stretch.
Sunday's season opener at Benton County Speedway in Vinton was canceled, pushing back that track's opener to next Sunday for the final event of the annual Frostbuster swing through Iowa. Frostbuster action gets underway this Thursday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, then moves to Marshalltown on Friday and Boone on Saturday before the finale in Vinton.
The only Frostbuster I know I'll be attending is next Sunday's event in Vinton. Other plans for the upcoming weekend include a return to 34 Raceway on Saturday for the fifth annual Slocum 50, the Deery Brothers Summer Series for IMCA Late Models event that pays tribute to the late Brent Slocum. That race pays $5,555 to the winner, in honor of Slocum's #5.
Aside from those two stops, a visit to Marshalltown may be in the works for Friday unless I head east to Dubuque for the Deery Series opener. Regardless where you go, be sure to get out and support a track near you. Afterall, race season is officially here! Again, to stay current on all special events in the region visit the events calendar at Positively Racing.
Have a great week!
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