MEMPHIS, Mo. — Paul Nienhiser had not heard of Scotland County Speedway before the Sprint Invaders arrived at the three-eighths-mile oval Friday.
By the end of the night, he won an incredible feature in front of a packed house. The victory, aboard the Scott Bonar No. 50, was the Chapin, Illinois driver’s third of the season and the 15th in his Sprint Invaders career, tying him for the third on the all-time list with John Schulz.
After winning the dash, Nienhiser looked like the driver to beat, and when he initially pulled away in the 25-lap main event, few thought he could be caught. Marshall, Missouri’s Miles Paulus had a different plan. He trailed Nienhiser early, while Terry McCarl moved into the third spot.
Nienhiser was already in lapped traffic on the fifth circuit. By lap nine, he was slowing a bit in the log jam, and Paulus reeled him in.
A move at the top of turn one at high speed almost ended in disaster for Paulus, when he put four wheels above the cushion. He was able to keep his momentum, however, and shot around Nienhiser to take the point at the start/finish line.
On lap 11, Tyler Lee drove around McCarl for the third spot before Nate Parks spun with eight laps to go, bringing out the caution. Paulus pulled away again on the restart, but just two more laps were in the books when Jake Glasgow came to a stop. Ryan Jamison’s top ten run ended just one lap later when he came to a stop on the fronstretch with apparent engine issues.
The third restart was the charm for Nienhiser, who slid in front of Paulus in turn two when the green flag fell. Bunton followed him into second. Nienhiser was able to keep his lead from there, cashing in $2,000 over Bunton, Paulus, McCarl and Cody Wehrle.
“You guys have a hidden little gem here,” said Nienhiser. “Thank you for coming out tonight and being here. I made a couple wrong decisions there in the race. I was really kicking myself and Miles got by me. He’s a spectacular racer. The restarts are probably what lost him the race, and won us the race. That was no fault of his. I had three tries at it, and just got a really good run that last time and made it count.”
“The car picked up late in the race,” said Bunton. “I’ve got to hand it to my Dad (Scott) and Flea Rudzic. Flea built this car a few weeks ago, and it’s just really quick. We were close, I just needed another late restart there and things may have gotten fun and interesting. I should be here thinking I’m fortunate to be running second, it’s just getting old. I’m ready to win one here.”
“Paul had the 50 running good,” said Paulus. “I snuck by him in lapped traffic and I thought I had a shot if I could just keep out front and rolling. I felt like there were twenty yellows and I felt like a sitting duck every lap. The first two or three went good, and we had tons of momentum. The last one…it only takes one with Paul, he is damn good. I spun the tires one time, and tried to turn down. That’s when the 6 car got by us.”
The finish:
Feature (25 laps): 1. 50, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (1) 2. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (6) 3. 98P, Miles Paulus, Marshall, MO (3) 4. 99, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (5) 5. 40c, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (11) 6. 99D, Tucker Daly, Hallsville, MO (8) 7. 11, Colton Fisher, Mediapolis, IA (12) 8. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (13) 9. 16, Dustin Clark, Agency, IA (19) 10. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO (4) 11. 81, Tanner Gebhardt, Burlington, IA (9) 12. 4x, Chase Richards, Burlington, IA (15) 13. 57, Cam Sorrels, Hallsville, MO (7) 14. 31, McCain Richards, Burlington, IA (16) 15. 17, Nate Parks, Burlington, IA (20) 16. 7, Tyler Lee, Cedar Rapids, IA (2) 17. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (14) 18. 62, Jake Glasgow, Burlington, IA (17) 19. 52D, Skyler Daly, Hallsville, MO (10) 20. Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (18).
