After a rough and rocky MOWA Illinois Sprint Week, a small mishap at the MOWA vs. IRA race at Lasalle Speedway, a near win after leading 20 laps at Granite City finishing 2nd, finishing 6th the following night, and a flip at Jacksonville Speedway, Paul Nienhiser returned to Victory Lane during the 31st annual Tom Knowles Memorial race at Spoon River Speedway in Canton, IL. That marked his 3rd feature win of the season with MOWA, and his 4th overall win of the season.
Paul started the night off strong by posting the second fastest lap time in hot laps. His pill draw was the 49, which was the lowest pill drawn all night. He would start 10th in the final heat race, needing to accumulate many passing points for a bid into the dash. Paul quickly passed 7 cars and found himself reeling in the leaders, but was unable to make the pass for a potential heat race win. That effort was good enough to be locked into the dash, starting 4th after the invert pill drawn was a 6. Paul quickly maneuvered into second, reeling in race leader Brad Loyet but was unable to make the pass, ultimately finishing 2nd. That meant the 9 car would start front row outside for the feature. Loyet jumped out to the early lead, and Paul found himself battling with now current MOWA point leader Jerrod Hull for the 2nd spot. He found the high groove to work well for his car, using the outer rim to work past Hull and also pass leader Brad Loyet. Unfortunately, a caution came out when he made the pass, and the field was reverted to the last completed lap, and Paul lined up 2nd again. Paul again was able to work by Loyet, but in the closing laps Loyet closed back in. Coming out of turn 4 on the final lap, Loyet and Paul made contact racing for the win, and Paul won by a mere .135 seconds! It was one of the best finishes in recent history.
Paul and the entire team would like to thank the following partners and friends for their continued support in 2015: Cam2 Blue Blood Racing Motor Oil, Mason Sound, Fierce Herbicide, Wessler Bros. Agency, Bradshaw Custom Pumping, Byers International, Arends-Awe John Deere, Engler Machine & Tool, Factory Kahne Indy, Bob Hawks Autobody, Kaeding Performance, Steve Thomas Racing, and Butlerbuilt seats!
If you are interested in becoming a part of the team with Paul and the rest of PNR, for marketing/sponsorship opportunities contact Paul at paul@nienhiser.com or John at john.a@nienhiser.com
- Paul Nienhiser on Sep 15, 2015
- Article Date: 9/15/2015