NEUMAN WINS FAIR NIGHT
By: Madeline Schultz
2022 Sage Fruit, Hepfner Racing Products Rookie of the Year Jake Neuman and 2023 Rookie of the year competitor Travis Arenz would set the front row of fair night on September 2nd, 2023. When the green would drop, it would be Arenz to the lead with Arenz jumping to the cushion. Neuman wouldn't let the 25T get away with it that easy, but Neuman had his hands full with the North Pole Nightmare on his tail.
Neuman would power around the cushion down the backstretch and the final turn and begin to close Arenz and steal the lead on lap five. Neuman would have to navigate lap traffic and have a little bit of luck when the 99 of Tyler Brabant would spin in front of him in turns 3 and tour.
Neuman, Arenz, Balog, Thiel, and Meyers Jr would be the top five when the race started once again. Neuman would get a great jump on the restart and continue to use the cushion to ditch the rest of the field. Arenz would try to compete with the 3N on the low side, but would lose second to Balog who was competing on the cushion.
Thiel would be next to pass Arenz on the cushion while Neuman would have a healthy lead on the rest of the field. Joel Meyers Jr would pass the Gibsville 73 on the backstretch but the yellow would come out once more for the Wiese Motorsports 23 spinning in turn 4.
Regroup the field once more with 19 laps to go. Fans awed at the race unfolding between Neuman, Balog, and Arenz for a top spot. Balog would now try to throw a slider on the low side of Plymouth Dirt Track, but Neuman would power once again on the cushion. Neuman would begin to slip away once more as fans observed the battle for third between Arenz, Meyers Jr, and Thiel. We would throw caution once more for Dave Uttech.
Neuman would pick up where he left off and take to the cushion to try to seal a fair night win. Balog again would try to dive on the bottom and exchange the lead briefly, but Neuman would take it back at the flagstand. Joel Meyers Jr would try to steal third from Arenz, but the 25T would hang onto it with 10 laps remaining.
The frontrunners of Neuman and Balog would contend with lap traffic as close as just under 10 laps. This allowed Balog to check up on Neuman, but the war would start on the front stretch when Neuman would be stuck behind lap traffic. Neuman was reminiscing the Road America Challenge when Balog beat him in traffic, he wasn't ready to let it happen for a second time.
Balog would again close in on Neuman with 5 laps remaining. Balog would be all over the tail tank of the 3N and would cross over the 3N in turn four, but Neuman would exchange the lead back with a jaw dropping move. Arenz would be challenged by Meyers Jr. and the 46JR would steal third on the backstretch with three laps to go.
Checkers would wave as Neuman would be victorious at the Plymouth Dirt Track for his first IRA feature win in 2023. Balog second, and Joel Meyers Jr rounding out the podium.
The Bumper to Bumper IRA Sprints are back in action for another double header weekend. Teams will head to northern Wisconsin to headline Gondik Law’s Northern Nationals partnered with NOSA Sprints. This event is $4000 to win for IRA/NOSA. Then the teams head to Cedar Lake Speedway for the 23rd Annual Jerry Richert Memorial. Fans who cannot attend can watch the races live on FloRacing: https://flosports.link/3z8dvo9
Photos by Emily Schwanke
- Madeline Schultz on Sep 04, 2023
- Article Date: 9/4/2023 by Madeline "Chatty Madi" Schultz