WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa – Dylan Westbrook emerged victorious on a huge night of racing Saturday at 34 Raceway’s Sprint Invaders Fall Haul.
The driver of the Hill’s Racing No. 47x – a native of Scotland, Ontario, Canada – became the first Canadian winner in Sprint Invaders history.
Westbrook’s win was worth $5,000 in the finale for the Sprint Invaders.
“The track changed a lot,” said Westbrook. “I ran on the bottom of one and two, and in three and four, I kind of rolled through the middle. Later on, it got really thin on the bottom, so I had to really slow down in one and two. Late in the race, the bottom of turn four took rubber, so I had to hit that just right. Paul (Nienhiser) got by me the one time. I saw his nose on the top of turn four, so I thought I better try that. When I tried it, he got by me.
“After that, I knew I couldn’t let that happen again. I hit my marks and it paid off.”
Despite a rough night that saw him miss the feature, Chris Martin claimed his second Sprint Invaders driver championship, following his first in 2016.
Scott Bonar’s No. 50 team won the season owner championship.
The 34-lap feature was slow to start. Riley Goodno and Ricky Montgomery made contact, and both cars were damaged enough to retire. Scott Bogucki, who won the Dash, led early ahead of Westbrook and Trey Starks.
Westbrook tracked the leader down and won a battle for the point on lap five. At that point, Devon Dobie and Joe Beaver came to a stop and retired.
Westbrook led Bogucki, Starks, Justin Sanders and Austin McCarl back to green. It was a short-lived good run for Sanders, who slowed in three and four on the restart.
When the green flew again, McCarl and Paul Nienhiser swapped the fourth position, while Westbrook continued to lead the field.
Nienhiser gained the spot and then, surged from fifth to second. The move was negated when Bogucki’s second place run was thwarted with a 360 spin.
On that restart, the top ten cars of Josh Schneiderman and Kyle Offill, who were both feature winners at 34 in 2020, came together. Both suffered damage enough to retire.
Two more laps into green flag racing, Nienhiser passed Starks for second, before Nate Mills came to a stop on the front stretch. The last 22 laps went non-stop.
Carson and Austin McCarl battled for fourth, while the top three pulled away.
The track developed a low groove in three and four, and Nienhiser tracked down Westbrook. The two exchanged the lead a few times, with Nienhiser leading lap 19.
Westbrook officially took the lead back for good on lap 20, and entered lapped traffic on lap 23.
Starks reeled in the lead pair and passed Nienhiser for second on lap 31, but Nienhiser powered back by on the white-flag lap.
Westbrook pulled away for the win, ahead of Nienhiser, Starks, Carson McCarl and Austin McCarl. Ayrton Gennetten, hard-charger Lynton Jeffrey, Bogucki, Colton Fisher and Dugan Thye rounded out the top 10.
Sanders, Gennetten, Carson McCarl, Westbrook and Nienhiser won the five heats. Bogucki won the Shake-up Dash and Goodno claimed the B main. Blaine Jamison tangled with Mike Johnston in his heat race and got upside down hard. He was uninjured.
Nienhiser took home $500 for his win in the first annual eight-lap Shottenkirk Terry Jamison Memorial Owners Dash, honoring the top eight in owner points coming in.
Dozens of sponsors boosted the purse and provided bonuses throughout the night.
“It’s tough to say how it would have played out (without an early caution that cost him a couple of spots),” said Nienhiser. “I was rolling the top really well, and eventually it ended up taking some rubber down low. I found it pretty well. We passed for the lead once or twice, I just missed my marks a couple times. Dylan is a really good driver, and I knew I was going to have to run a perfect race to get by him. All in all, it was a good night, but second stings a little worse than a regular night with the money we had up for grabs.
“But it was a good night, we can’t complain.”
The finish:
1. 47x, Dylan Westbrook, Scotland, ONT, Can. (1) 2. 50, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (6) 3. 44s, Trey Starks, Puyallup, WA (3) 4. 27, Carson McCarl, Altoona, IA (10) 5. 99, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (4) 6. 3, Ayrton Gennetten, Gravois Mills, MO (7) 7. 83, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA (18) 8. 28, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (2) 9. 11, Colton Fisher, Mediapolis, IA (15) 10. 11T, Dugan Thye, Burlington, IA (14) 11. 35, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (20) 12. 41, Noah Samuel, Burlington, IA (17) 13. 40c, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (23) 14. 13, Brayden Gaylord, Wever, IA (16) 15. 29w, Wyatt Wilkerson, Morning Sun, IA (22) 16. 15, Christian Bowman, Altoona, IA (24) 17. 24N, Nathan Mills, Bondurant, IA (9) 18. 88, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (12) 19. 88w, Kyle Offill, Tracy, CA (13) 20. 16A, Justin Sanders, Prunedale, CA (5) 21. 23, Devon Dobie, Wapakoneta, OH (8) 22. 53, Joe Beaver, Knoxville, IA (11) 23. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (19) 24. 66M, Ricky Montgomery, Lakewood, CO (21) DNS – 19, Caleb Thornhill, Enumclaw, WA.
Lap Leaders: Bogucki 1-4, Westbrook 5-18, Nienhiser 19, Westbrook 20-34.