Paul Nienhiser won with the Sprint Invaders in Peoria Saturday (Kali Eastin Photo)
(Bill W) Peoria, IL, August 19, 2023 – Paul Nienhiser picked up his third Sprint Invaders feature of the year, and the tenth in his career in impressive fashion Saturday night at the Peoria Speedway in Illinois. The Chapin, Illinois driver earned $2,000 for his win aboard the Scott Bonar #50.
Randy Martin led the first lap of the 25-lap main event, ahead of Nienhiser, Colton Fisher and Ryan Bunton. Nienhiser used the high side of turns one and two and found his way around Martin to take the point on lap two. Bunton claimed third from Fisher a lap later.
Austin Archdale clipped an infield tire eight laps in, bringing the first of two cautions in the event. Nienhiser led Martin, Bunton, Fisher, Cody Wehrle and Joey Moughan back to green. Wehrle used the opportunity to shoot around Fisher for fourth, and then slid by Bunton in turn four of lap eleven for the third spot.
The final caution came for a slowing Fisher on lap twelve. The Mediapolis, Iowa driver entered the night second in points to Bunton, but was done for the night. Moughan went by Bunton for fourth on that restart.
Nienhiser cruised the second half of the race, using the top side of turns one and two and the low side in three and four to win by over a straightaway ahead of Martin, Wehrle, Moughan and Bunton. Bret Tripplett, hard-charger Luke Verardi, Tyler Lee, Chase Porter and Tasker Phillips rounded out the top ten. Fisher and Bunton won the heats, and Nienhiser claimed the Shake-up Dash.
“I was really committed to the top in one and two,” said Nienhiser of his winning drive. “My car felt good there all night. I could see guys as I was making the turn on the bottom. Being the leader, it’s kind of tricky. You want to keep doing what you’re doing, but still check your surroundings. I also felt nice on the top of three and four, but it just got so far around. I don’t know if it was Randy Martin or who, but they seemed to be getting off the bottom of turn four really well. I just didn’t want to leave that door open, and we made the right decision to move down.”
“We pretty much made our mind up before the feature, we were going to run the bottom most of the race if we could,” said Martin. “Paul was making ground up on us on top. I tried it one lap, and I decided I better get back to the bottom there. All in all, we had a decent night. You know how it is, starting up front. We got lucky in the dash there (draw). That put us on the pole, but you know what…I’d rather be lucky than good any day!”
“The restarts were good,” said Wehrle. “We really didn’t have a whole lot else going on for us besides following the leader. I was too impatient to follow people around. I was probably doing a few things that I probably shouldn’t have been doing, and my guys let me know that after the race too. It worked out. Hopefully, it gave the fans something to watch. Randy Martin is just so good on the bottom with all his years of experience. It’s hard to drive around him. We’ll take it for the first time being here.”
The Sprint Invaders head to the Adams County (IL) Speedway in Quincy Sunday night, August 20.
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Sprint Invaders Results
Shottenkirk Automotive Group A main (started), 25 laps: 1. 50, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (2) 2. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO (1) 3. 40, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (5) 4. 5H, Joey Moughan, Springfield, IL (6) 5. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (3) 6. 99, Bret Tripplett, Lincoln, IL (10) 7. 28, Luke Verardi, Taylorville, IL (17) 8. 7, Tyler Lee, Cedar Rapids, IA (9) 9. 2, Chase Porter, St. Joseph, MO (7) 10. 1E, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (8) 11. 4x, Chase Richards, Burlington, IA (16) 12. 1T, Tyler Shoemaker, Clinton, IL (14) 13. 11, Colton Fisher, Mediapolis, IA (4) 14. 2A, Austin Archdale, Brimfield, IL (11) 15. 73c, Cody Fendley, Placerville, CA (12) 16. 16, Dustin Clark, Agency, IA (15) 17. 21, Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA (13). Lap Leaders: R. Martin 1, Nienhiser 2-25. $75 Christine Wahl-Levitt/KSE Hard-charger: Verardi. $50 Mystery Spots: Cody Fendley, Tasker Phillips, Colton Fisher
Randall’s Performance Heat one (started), 8 laps: 1. Colton Fisher (1) 2. Cody Wehrle (3) 3. Joey Moughan (2) 4. Randy Martin (6) 5. Austin Archdale (4) 6. Bret Tripplett (8) 7. Devin Wignall (7) 8. Dustin Clark (5) 9. Chase Richards (9)
Joshua Denning & Associates Heat two (started), 8 laps: 1. Ryan Bunton (3) 2. Paul Nienhiser (4) 3. Chase Porter (1) 4. Tyler Lee (2) 5. Tasker Phillips (7) 6. Cody Fendley (5) 7. Tyler Shoemaker (6) DNS – Luke Verardi
Automotive Machine Shake-up Dash (started), 6 laps: 1. Paul Nienhiser (2) 2. Ryan Bunton (1) 3. Colton Fisher (3) 4. Cody Wehrle (4) 5. Joey Moughan (6) 6. Randy Martin (5)
Reid’s Landscaping & Turf $50 Draw Award: Chase Richards
Contingencies
DMI: Devin Wignall
Saldana: Tyler Lee
BMRS High Point Driver: Ryan Bunton
Trophy Sponsor: Holtkamp’s Trailer Repair