LINCOLN, Ill. — Paul Nienhiser returned to his winning ways on Friday night at Lincoln Speedway with the Morrow Brothers Ford MOWA Sprint Car Series, earning his first series victory of the season, besting the field of 25 competitors.
Friday’s win didn’t come easy as Nienhiser fought back a last-lap charge from Steven Russell who powered forward through the field to cross the line second less than a stone’s throw from the cockpit of Nienhiser’s No. 9X Machine. Joe B. Miller, Trevin Littleton and Reece Saldana completed the top five.Â
A lap one red flag for Jake Blackhurst slowed the field as the Hanna City, Ill. driver got upside down after colliding with the turn three wall. Blackhurst was uninjured in the accident but his night ended before taking a green flap lap in feature action. The second caution of the night was for Shelby Bosie on lap 17 who was running second at the time.Â
Returning to green flag action, Nienhiser set a torrid pace once again as he only had eight laps until he could breathe at the conclusion of the event. The Chapin, Ill. native quickly maneuvered through lapped traffic stretching his lead, but Russell wasn’t going to let him pull away easily. In a last ditch effort, Russell made contact with Nienhiser’s rear bumper, as the two crossed under the checkered flag.
Nienhiser extended his overall series victory totals to 24, after overtaking the top spot previously held by five-time series champion Jerrod Hull.
Jose Parga scored the DIRTcar Pro Late Models feature victory, with Patrick Bruns winning the MARA Midgets feature.Â
DIRTcar UMP Modified action was won by Allen Weisser, with Billy Mason winning the Hornets division.Â
Feature Finish (25 Laps)
 1. 9X-Paul Nienhiser; 2. 1JR-Steven Russell; 3. 31-Joe B Miller; 4. 1T-Trevin Littleton; 5. 17-Reece Saldana; 6. 77U-Chris Urish; 7. 9-Tyler Duff; 8. 42-Preston Perlmutter; 9. 7A-Will Armitage; 10. 56-Mitchell Davis; 11. 50K-Kyle Bellm; 12. 10S-Jeremy Standridge; 13. 2A-Austin Archdale; 14. 33$-Shane O’Banion; 15. 83-Colton Fisher; 16. 52F-Logan Faucon; 17. B8-John Barnard; 18. (DNF) 3B-Shelby Bosie; 19. (DNF) 31M-Joey Moughan; 20. (DNF) 96-Jake Blackhurst