PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Tony Stewart piloted his No. 14 sprint car powered by a Ford engine to victory in Saturday’s Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series event at the Plymouth Dirt Track.
The feature invert draw put Dave Uttech and Stewart on the front row. The initial start saw Scotty Thiel get upside down in turn one, collecting Scotty Neitzel. A complete restart gave Uttech another shot to get the jump on Stewart, be Stewart was just too strong, powering around the outside of turns one and two to take the lead.
Stewart was able to pull away from the field as he approached the tail of the pack. Bill Balog quickly moved from his seventh starting position into second. Balog set his sights on once again spoiling Stewart’s hopes of victory.
Balog chased Stewart through lapped traffic, looking for any opportunity to work around the Rush Truck Centers No. 14. Balog tried to slide Stewart on a couple occasions, but got out of the gas because he would not clear Stewart.
With a couple of laps left on the scoreboard, the yellow flag waved for a spinning car, setting up a dash to the finish. On three previous occasions Stewart and Balog had run toe to toe at Plymouth for the win, with Stewart winning the first battle and Balog winning the next two.
As the green flag waved Balog followed Stewart into turns one and two, looking to set up a move. Stewart ran the final laps perfectly, holding off Balog to earn the victory.
Balog settled for second, followed by Jeremy Schultz, Uttech and Mike Reinke.
The finish:
Tony Stewart, Bill Balog, Jeremy Schultz, Dave Uttech, Mike Reinke, Jake Blackhurst, Russel Borland, Jordan Goldesberry, Joey Moughan, Ben Schmidt, Wayne Modjeski, Kris Spitz, Scott Neitzel, Josh Walter, Steve Meyer, Danny Schlafer, John Fahl, Hunter Custer, Sean Rayhall, Bryce Schmitt, Brian Strange, Keith Fellner, Jereme Schroeder, Scotty Thiel.