BUSTI, N.Y. — If one thing is for certain, it is that Hunter Schuerenberg knows his way around Stateline Speedway.
The Sikeston, Mo., native is now two for two at the facility, this time holding off defending Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 champion, Tyler Courtney, for a $6,000 payday.
The victory, a wire-to-wire display in front of a packed house, raises Schuerenberg’s season total to four, now tied with Buch Motorsports’ Justin Peck as the series’ leading winner.
Courtney held on to finish second, followed by Zeb Wise, who will resume his 2022 campaign aboard the Rudeen Racing No. 26, Cap Henry and Bill Balog.
“I’m confident that we’re as good as anyone right now, and I owe that all to the guys standing behind me. They’ve allowed me to focus on driving while taking full responsibility on what goes on with the car. The hard work is showing,” Schuerenberg explained, driver of the Vermeer Motorsports/Maxim Trucking & Materials/TK Concrete/No. 55 sprint car. “We’re going to keep doing what we’ve been doing and work to continue our consistency.”
Schuerenberg led them all on Saturday night at Stateline Speedway, but not without some challenges. The first 25 circuits went caution free allowing slower traffic to enter the picture early, first interrupting Schuerenberg’s momentum on lap eight.
Despite the onslaught of slower cars, “Hunter Percent” was able to maintain momentum, keeping a consistent gap and upwards of two cars between himself and second-place running Courtney.
A caution on lap 26, and two more on laps 28 and 29, also interrupted Schuerenberg’s pace, but the former non-winger turned All Star kept focus and raced on, finding moisture on all areas of the surface to keep the defending All Star champion and current championship leader at bay.
“Having experience racing on other short tracks helped me here tonight. I was able to find moisture on entry or exit, and that allowed me to keep pace and get around the slower cars without opening the door for anyone to get by,” Schuerenberg explained. “Even with those late cautions, I was able to stay focused and maintain patience. I just kinda pictured myself sitting in the stands and mapping out where the car needed to be. Entering through the middle and sliding to the cushion allowed me to get to the moisture first, which wouldn’t allow anyone to get around me.”
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [2]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [1]; 3. 10-Zeb Wise [4]; 4. 4-Cap Henry [3]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog [6]; 6. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni [11]; 7. 17-Carson Short [5]; 8. 47X-Dylan Westbrook [10]; 9. 19-Chris Windom [15]; 10. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [13]; 11. 11-Parker Price Miller [9]; 12. 35-Jared Zimbardi [18]; 13. 97-Greg Wilson [20]; 14. 23-Darren Pifer [16]; 15. 11B-Carl Bowser [17]; 16. 47-Brett Brunkenhoefer [14]; 17. 29-Logan McCandless [21]; 18. 13-Justin Peck [12]; 19. 22-Brandon Spithaler [8]; 20. 7NY-Matt Farnham [7]; 21. 19K-Joe Kubiniec [19]