“Old guys rock.” Johnny Fahl proclaimed after stealing the victory from Jimmy Sivia in the 2024 AutoMeter Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series powered by Gandrud season finale.
The final race of the 2024 season at the Plymouth Dirt Track was held during the Kristine Hartmann-Pleasant View Realty/Shufflebotham Tree Service Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships, and it was certainly one to remember.
The night began for the wingless sprints with a non-qualifier race held for drivers outside the Top 10 in series points (the Top 10 locked into the night’s A Main) which was won by Racine, WI’s Josh Davidson. Trinity Uttech of Kenosha was fastest in hot laps for the locked-in drivers.
The night’s 20 lap A Main went green with Fahl and Allen Hafford on the front row but quickly went yellow on the opening circuit for a spinning Tristan Furseth after the 2023 Rookie of the Year made contact with the left rear of Hafford. On the ensuing restart, a flying Sivia moved through the middle of the racetrack to grab the 2nd spot, and then shortly after took the lead from Fahl on lap number three.
Hafford moved up to challenge Sivia briefly, while the series point leader Zach Raidart made several moves to grab a top 5 spot before the second caution flag of the race flew on lap 4. Sivia paced the field back to the restart and Hafford momentarily looked for the lead, but Sivia held strong. Behind the top two, Tyler Kuxhouse and Raidart used the multi-groove Plymouth Dirt Track surface to make their way up to challenge for podium positions.
Nearing the halfway point, Hafford dove low on Sivia in turns 1 and 2 but couldn’t make the pass stick, and the battle opened the door for Raidart to move into 2nd. On lap 15, Raidart went to the inside in an attempt to pass Sivia for the lead, but Sivia slammed the door and the #23Z went for a spin. That moved Kuxhouse into the 2nd spot on the restart and he also closed in on Sivia but made contact with Sivia’s left rear with 3 laps to go. The spinning #711 collected Hafford and Davidson and brought out the final caution flag of the race.
With 3 laps to go on the restart, Fahl now found himself in the 2nd position chasing down Sivia and threw caution to the wind on the Plymouth cushion to pull even with the #91 down the backstretch. On the penultimate lap, the #0 rocketed around Sivia to grab the lead and the veteran driver held strong over the final circuit to grab his first feature win since 141 Speedway on May 30th, 2021.
“These young guys have been kicking our butts all year.” Fahl said with a laugh in victory lane. “I watch Ryan Zielski all the time and he’s a hammer on the top. We talk and share info all the time. This is just awesome. This is one of my favorite joints, I absolutely love Plymouth. What a way to end the year.”
While Fahl enjoyed victory lane, Zach Raidart of Salem, WI earned his first career Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series championship.
“What a season.” Raidart said after the feature. “My guys have busted their butt all year. Just want to thank all my sponsors and family for their support. Definitely a little speechless about the whole season.”
The AutoMeter Wisconsin Wingless Sprint Car Series powered by Gandrud would like to thank all of the competitors, series staff and fans for a fantastic 2024 season. Banquet and 2025 series info will be posted in the coming weeks and months.
FULL RESULTS: 9/28/24-Plymouth Dirt Track
A Feature 20 Laps | 00:16:59.119
- 0-John Fahl[1]; 2. 91-Jimmy Sivia[5]; 3. 17-Bryce Andrews[7]; 4. 40-Tim Cox[12]; 5. 14Z-Ryan Zielski[13]; 6. 70H-Tate Hensley[9]; 7. 7-Trinity Uttech[8]; 8. 8-Parker Jones[14]; 9. 29J-Ralph Johnson[10]; 10. 50-Rusty Egan[18]; 11. 11-Austin Hansen[22]; 12. 23Z-Zach Raidart[6]; 13. 21T-Mitchell Reich[15]; 14. 44-Jordan Miklas[17]; 15. 57F-Tristan Furseth[3]; 16. 29OG-Tom Eller[16]; 17. 7D-Josh Davidson[11]; 18. 4G-George Gaertner III[19]; 19. 38-Allen Hafford[2]; 20. 711-Tyler Kuxhouse[4]; 21. 17M-Matt Rypel[20]; 22. (DNS) 99J-Seth Johnson
B Feature 10 Laps | 00:04:28.000
- 7D-Josh Davidson[1]; 2. 40-Tim Cox[7]; 3. 14Z-Ryan Zielski[9]; 4. 8-Parker Jones[12]; 5. 21T-Mitchell Reich[8]; 6. 29OG-Tom Eller[4]; 7. 44-Jordan Miklas[11]; 8. 50-Rusty Egan[2]; 9. 4G-George Gaertner III[3]; 10. 17M-Matt Rypel[10]; 11. (DNS) 11-Austin Hansen; 12. (DNS) 99J-Seth Johnson
Dave Olson Photos
- Loren Kelly on Oct 01, 2024
- Article Date: 10/1/2024 by Loren Kelly-Box3 Media