8/19/2018
RacinBoys
Cody Wehrle wins for the first time with Sprint Invaders in Brian Hetrick Memorial
By Bill Wright (West Burlington, IA) -- Cody Wehrle and the Andy Huston Racing #40c team have been working some time for this one, and it came on a big night. The Burlington, Iowa driver claimed $2,000 in Saturday’s Brian Hetrick Memorial with the Sprint Invaders at 34 Raceway! The win marked “Opie’s” first with the series in a night that also honored the late Larry Beckman, a long-time tow truck operator at 34.
Wehrle shot out from his pole position early in the 25-lap main event ahead of McKenna Haase and Daniel Bergquist. Third row starter, Paul Nienhiser, jumped into the top three on lap two. The leaders entered lapped traffic on the fifth circuit. Nienhiser took advantage of the lapped traffic and worked around Haase to gain second on lap six.
Nienhiser slowly reeled in the leader, but when Wehrle moved up the track to evade a lapped car at the halfway point, he clipped Nienhsier in a racing incident that would send the Illinois driver off on the hook. Wehrle led Haase, Bergquist, Dustin Clark and Ben Wagoner back to green flag racing. He was back in lapped traffic by lap 18, but a circuit later, Bergquist, vying for his best career series finish, went up in smoke and coasted to a stop in turn two.
Wehrle would maintain his advantage to the checkers over Haase, Clark, Tanner Gebhardt and Randy Martin. John Schulz, Jarrod Schneiderman, Josh Schneiderman, Brayden Gaylord and Ben Wagoner completed the top ten. Neinshier, Wehrle and Clark were heat winners, and Harold Pohren claimed the B. Haase won the Shake-up Dash, which paid $350 in honor of Hetrick. All Dash competitors took a bonus check of $35, also in honor of Hetrick’s #35.
“This is for everybody here, especially my fans,” said an excited Wehrle in Victory Lane. “What a track. That’s awesome! My guys worked so hard. This is pretty good for a bunch of rednecks who just love racing! I love this place. I don’t know what it is, but it just suits my style.”
“I feel terrible for (Nienhiser),” continued Wehrle about the incident in traffic. “(Car owner of #50) Scott Bonar helps us out more than a lot of people would know. I didn’t want that to happen at all. I just didn’t know he was there. We have been searching for a long time, and we finally got one!”
“We didn’t have the best finish at Donnellson (Friday), so we came in with the goal of finishing” said Haase. “We were lucky to finish second. Cody was really fast. I don’t know if we had a shot at him or not. I was playing it safe, but I don’t think we were as fast as him. We were happy with the Dash win and second. If I was going beat him, it would have had to be in traffic. I thought the restart with six to go, that I might have a shot. We were happy with the podium tonight.”
“We started a little late,” said Clark. “I think this is our seventh time out this year. It’s a new car and we’re working out some bugs. The track was tied down and smooth. I congratulated the track owner there. It was a great racetrack. We had a little trouble in traffic. Some of the guys are new. They held their line well, but it is a mile per hour difference. You come up on them so fast. We had a tight racecar, so it was a little tougher for me to get through there, but we were happy with our finish.”
The Sprint Invaders next event is at Quincy Raceways in Quincy, Illinois, Sunday, September 16. For more information on the Sprint Invaders, visit http://www.SprintInvaders.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Sprint Invaders A main (started), 30 laps: 1. 40c, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (1) 2. 55, McKenna Haase, Des Moines, IA (2) 3. 16, Dustin Clark, Agency, IA (3) 4. 81, Tanner Gebhardt, Burlington, IA (10) 5. 14, Randy Martin, California, MO (5) 6. 99, John Schulz, West Burlington, IA (12) 7. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (11) 8. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (14) 9. 13, Brayden Gaylord, Wever, IA (7) 10. 84, Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (8) 11. 69, Justin Buchholz, Davenport, IA (18) 12. 78, Dugan Thye, Burlington, IA (15) 13. 50P, Harold Pohren, Lowell, IA (17) 14. 11, Colten Fisher, Mediapolis, IA (19) 15. 12, Doug Sylvester, Ottumwa, IA (21) 16. 9, Daniel Bergquist, Burlington, IA (4) 17. 19, Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres, IA (16) 18. 50, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (6) 19. 1st, John Greenwood, Woodward, IA (13) 20. 007, Brady Barker, New Berlin, IL (9) 21. 4J, Justin Parrish, Oquawka, IL (20). Lap Leader: Wehrle 1-25. KSE Hard-charger: Buchholz. $100 D&M Photography Mystery Spot: Ja. Schneiderman.
Randall’s Performance Heat one (started, qualified for feature), 8 laps: 1. Paul Nienhiser (1) 2. McKenna Haase (5*) 3. Brayden Gaylord (6*) 4. John Greenwood (4*) 5. Justin Buchholz (3) 6. Rob Weuve (7*) 7. 51J, Matt Krieger, Burlington, IA (2) DNS – Colten Fisher
CenPeCo Lubricants Heat two (started), 8 laps: 1. Cody Wehrle (1*) 2. Brady Barker (2*) 3. Tanner Gebhardt (3*) 4. John Schulz (4*) 5. Josh Schneiderman (6*) 6. Dugan Thye (7*) 7. 17J, Joey Laue, Morning Sun, IA (8) 8. 83, Dave Gechell, Sperry, IA (5)
Mohrfeld Electric Heat three (started), 8 laps: 1. Dustin Clark (2*) 2. Randy Martin (4*) 3. Daniel Bergquist (6*) 4. Ben Wagoner (8*) 5. Jarrod Schneiderman (7*) 6. Harold Pohren (3) 7. Doug Sylvester (1) 8. Justin Parrish (5)
B main (started), 8 laps: 1. Harold Pohren (3) 2. Justin Buchholz (1) 3. Colten Fisher (5) 4. Justin Parrish (6) 5. Doug Sylvester (4) / 6. Joey Laue (2) DNS – Dave Getchell, Matt Krieger
Budweiser King of Beers – Golden Eagle Distributors Shake-up Dash (started), 6 laps: 1. McKenna Haase (1) 2. Dustin Clark (2) 3. Daniel Bergquist (4) 4. Randy Martin (3) 5. Paul Nienhiser (6) 6. Cody Wehrle (5)
Contingencies
Pyrotec – Brayden Gaylord
Saldana Racing Products – Harold Pohren
Kreitz Oval Track Products – Rob Weuve
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott
