WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa — Paul Nienhiser took a break from the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car series Sunday night and emerged victorious with the Sprint Invaders at 34 Raceway.
The win was worth $2,000 for the Chapin, Illinois, driver aboard the Scott Bonar/Midland Performance No. 50. It was Nienhiser’s fourth career Sprint Invaders win and his third at 34 Raceway.
Nienhiser shot out from his starting spot outside row one in the 25-lap main event. Josh Schneiderman settled into second, followed by Tanner Gebhardt. The leader extended his advantage and entered lapped traffic on the sixth circuit. Cody Wehrle, the 2018 series champion, entered the top three on lap nine with a pass of Gebhardt.
While Nienhiser and Schneiderman navigated lapped traffic well, the battle for third, fourth, fifth and sixth became intense. Wehrle, Gebhardt, Chris Martin and Sawyer Phillips traded punches for several laps.
The lone caution came when Gebhardt’s good run came to an end with a spin in turn one. Blain Jamison was caught in the incident, spoiling a top ten run of his own. Nienhiser led Schneiderman, Wehrle, Martin and Phillips back to green-flag racing.
On lap 13, Wehrle shot by Schneiderman for second and Martin followed suit a lap later, as the two battled for position.
As they put on their show, Nienhiser pulled away. Jamie Ball’s threat for a top-five run ended over the top of turn two. He steered towards the pit area to avoid a collision with the backstretch wall with ten to go.
Up front, it was all Nienhiser, who won by a straightaway over Wehrle, Martin, Schneiderman and Phillips.
“Track position was big tonight, especially in the heat race to give you position in the feature,” said Nienhiser. “We always have a gameplan of attack. Starting in the front row, objective number one was to get the jump and get out in clean air. Then get a good enough pace for it to be tough to have someone drive by us. (Driving with the wing) is kind of like riding a bike. We’ve run with the wing a couple times this year. Scott (Bonar) puts a great car underneath me. We struggled for a couple years there to get a win. Now it seems like the dark cloud over our head is gone. Hopefully, we can pick up a couple more.”
The finish:
Feature (25 laps): 1. 50, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (2) 2. 40c, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (4) 3. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (6) 4. 88, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (1) 5. 3P, Sawyer Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (5) 6. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (7) 7. 78, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL (18) 8. 13, Brayden Gaylord, Wever, IA (9) 9. 11, Colton Fisher, Mediapolis, IA (15) 10. 8L, Tom Lenz, Marion, IA (14) 11. 9, Daniel Bergquist, Burlington, IA (10) 12. 99, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (8) 13. 41, Noah Samuel, Burlington, IA (17) 14. 11T, Dugan Thye, Burlington, IA (12) 15. 83, Kurt Mueller, Reynolds, IL (11) 16. 29w, Wyatt Wilkerson, Morning Sun, IA (20) 17. 81, Tanner Gebhardt, Burlington, IA (3) 18. 51J, Blain Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (16) 19. 33, Alan Zoutte, Knoxville, IA (13) 20. 10T, Tim Moore, Moline, IL (20) 21. 26, Jonathan Cornell, Sedalia, MO (21) DNS – 99x, Braydn Greubel, Lacona, IA. Lap Leader:Nienhiser 1-25. KSE/$75 Christine Wahl-Levitt Hard-charger: Gharst.