POINT BATTLE CONTINUES INTO UPCOMING DOUBLE HEADER WEEKENED!
September 19, 2015; Beaver Dam, WI – To finish first, first you must finish. The saying is older than motorsports itself.
The proverb also proved especially true during the inaugural running of the Scott Semmelmann Memorial Race at Beaver Dam Raceway. As lap 19 of the 30 lap main event started Mike Reinke looked to be on his way to victory as he roared around the high-banked third mile clay oval. He had checked out on the field, was running the cushion with authority, and he was pulling away from second running Jordan Goldesberry.
A half lap later Reinke was coasting to a halt in the infield, and Goldesberry with roaring by with the lead. It was a lead he held to the finish to earn his second Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint victory of the 2015 season.
Goldesberry proved to be the fastest the full distance, earning the win in convincing fashion outdistancing his nearest rival Jeremy Schultz by nearly a straightaway. Jason Johnson became the final podium finisher after making a last lap pass of visiting racer Brandon Wimmer.
The Scott Semmelmann Memorial event was one of reflection, while the some celebrated their success, and others pondered their performances, thoughts were with the family, and friends of Scott Semmelmann who had lost his life in an accident at the track nearly one year ago to the day. His memory lives on in the spirit of competition, which now takes place in this annual event.
The celebration of that memory began tonight as Goldesberry climbed atop his wing in victory lane to acknowledge the crowd.
“It feels great”, exclaimed Goldesberry after climbing from his car. “Thanks for the Semmelmann family for being here tonight”, as Goldesberry noted Semmelmann’s friends, and family who gathered in victory lane memory.
“The car was great all night long. I don’t know what happened to Mike (Reinke), we had some slip away like that so we’ll take it”, noted Goldesberry in how he inherited the lead.
I didn’t know where Schultz was I just figured I’d keep on the bottom, it ( the car) was rolling pretty good”, Goldesberry indicated of his run to the checkered
With a second placed run Schultz now finds himself in the thick of the point battle.
“I was just happy to finish behind Jordan (Goldesberry). He was on a rail. He was just better than us coming off the corner, he had it hooked up we were just chasing him around”, noted Schultz.
“I can’t complain with my car though. We had a good car, and managed to run second. Maybe if it was a little better we could have caught him, that’s how the dice rolls you know”, said Schultz pleased of the performance tonight.
Reinke had started on the pole of the 30 lap A-main but Schultz who had started outside the front row got the jump on the start taking the opening lead. Goldesberry working the lower line around the track engaged Reinke in a wing-to-wing duel for the spot.
Slowly edging ahead Goldesberry then began to reel in Schultz who found his lead shrinking with each passing lap. The caution flew on lap five as Bill Wirth came to a halt in turn four the victim of an engine failure.
The contest restarted, and Schultz found himself immediately challenged by Goldesberry. Goldesberry made his move, charging to the front with a pass coming off turn four to lead the eighth lap. One lap later Reinke, running the cushion, made his way by Schultz to grab the runner-up slot.
Goldesberry preferring to cling to the inside line found himself under pressure for the top spot. Reinke’s momentum off the cushion created the speed he needed to take the lead as he sailed past Goldesberry for the top position on lap 12.
Deeper in the field the top three in the point battle, Ben Schmidt, Scotty Neitzel, and Bill Rose were all in close proximity battling for position. Schmidt was holding his own in fifth, while Neitzel, and Rose started fading at the mid-point of the race.
Reinke’s lead had stretched to a full straightaway when he suddenly slowed coming off turn two on lap 19, limping his car to the infield. Goldesberry sailed by inheriting the top spot, with Schultz now elevated to second. Johnson began to work on Schultz for the second spot when the caution flew on lap 21 for Rose who spun his car in turn two while running inside the top ten.
Rose was able to rejoin the race from the tail of the field but the miscue as a setback in his championship hopes.
On the restart Goldesberry pulled away from his rivals leaving Schultz, and Johnson to battle for second. Goldesberry seemed to have the race in hand when a final caution occurred on lap 26 when Steve Meyer tagged a tire coming off turn four breaking his front suspension resulting in a spin on the front stretch. Meyer had just clawed his way into the top five when the incident ended his charge.
The green flag returned, and Goldesberry got a flawless restart. He was able to pull away from Schultz over the final laps earning his second win of the season in convincing fashion. Schultz earned a second place finish, which boosted his title efforts. He was the highest finisher of those in contention for the 2015 championship.
Johnson, had run third much of the second half of the race lost the podium spot to Brandon Wimmer of Jonesboro, Indiana who was piloting the Hartnell Motorsports entry after the final restart. He then fought tooth, and nail to regain the spot, making one last ditch effort in the final turns. Johnson’s persistence paid off as he surged ahead to get third at the line. Wimmer had to settle for fourth.
Seven-time IRA champion Bill Balog made an appearance this evening earning a respectable fifth place finish behind the #2b Hans Lien owned machine.
2012 IRA Rookie of the Year Robbie Pribnow piloting a car normally driven by Brandon Thone made a last lap pass on Schmidt to earn the sixth. Schmidt was able to hold onto a seven-place finish, and that effort was enough to allow him to retain the point lead.
Rookie of the year contender Josh Walters drove a strong race to claim eight, the highest finisher of the rookie class this evening. Blake Nimee quietly earned a ninth spot, enough to keep him in the title chase. Dave Uttech advanced from his 17th starting position up to the final top ten spot.
In the championship chase Schmidt now has Scotty Neitzel on his heels. Neitzel started the evening by setting quick time but had difficulty in the feature. He crossed the line in 11th place but his performance during the night allowed him to remain the closest point rival to Schmidt who continues to lead the standings.
Schmidt’s lead is a mere 8 markers. Schmidt has multiple 360 sprint championships to his credit is seeking his first 410 crown. Neitzel has spent the second half of the season putting himself in position for his third championship if he can make his way to the top of the standings in the final three events.
Rose had led the title chase at various points this season, and now sits third in points 31 markers back. The strong second place finish tonight elevated the title hopes of Schultz who is 53 markers back from the top spot. Nimee, the final driver in contention for the title this year is fifth, now 88 markers back.
There was also plenty of action in preliminary events.
The B-main had a wild finish. Russel Borland had come from deep in the field with an impressive drive working his way into a transfer spot. On the final lap his engine expired in dramatic fashion creating a huge fireball as it expired. Borland guided his car safely to a stop and emerged from his machine unhurt.
Kyle Marten picked up the win in the event chased to the line by Meyer, Scott Uttech, and Wayne Modjeski. Ryan Bowers the 2015 Upper Midwest Sprint Series 360 sprint champion finished fifth after starting dead last in the 15 car field, just missing the show.
In heat race action Schmidt, Johnson, Wimmer and Pribnow captured victories.
Neitzel has the fastest qualifying effort of the night with a lap of 13.441 seconds. Meyer was second quick turning in a lap of 13.539 seconds and Goldesberry was third fast at 13.544 seconds. 35 cars checked into the pit area for action this evening.
Three events remain on the 2015 schedule. Next up is a double-header weekend.
On Friday night the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints will be making their lone appearance at Luxemburg Speedway. The “Battle by the Bay” event is presented by Six-Four promotions. Last season Kyle Marten won the contest, and the show remains the wildcard in the title chase. Then on Saturday night the series heads to the Horsepower Half-mile for the Checkered Flag Classic. The event had traditionally ended the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint season each year but due to the number of rainouts an additional show was added to the schedule.
The final race of 2015 will be held on Saturday night October 3rd at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds in Plymouth.
For more information on the IRA Outlaw Sprints check out the tour website at www.irasprints.com or by logging onto the series Facebook page at www.facebook.com/irasprints the series is also on twitter at #IRA_sprints.
The IRA Sprints are presented by its long time supporting series partners. The series support is led by title sponsor Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts & Service Centers, and associate series partners Osborn & Son Trucking, TW Metals, Hoosier Tire, Cedar Creek Motorsports, Cummins Onan, and Carriage Auto Body.
Remaining 2015 Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Series Events:
9/25/2015 Luxemburg Speedway – Luxemburg, WI
9/26/2015 Dodge County Fairgrounds – Beaver Dam, WI
10/3/2014 Sheboygan County Fairpark – Plymouth, WI
IRA Sprint Cars | IRA Interstate Racing Association
Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[3]; 2. 5J-Jeremy Schultz[2]; 3. 44-Jason Johnson[6]; 4. 48H-Brandon Wimmer[9]; 5. 2B-Bill Balog[10]; 6. 94-Rob Pribnow[5]; 7. 35-Ben Schmidt[7]; 8. 12W-Josh Walter[16]; 9. 79-Blake Nimee[12]; 10. 68-Dave Uttech[17]; 11. 2W-Scott Neitzel[4]; 12. 99-Kyle Marten[20]; 13. 73-Todd King[21]; 14. 1HRP-Todd Hepfner[13]; 15. 1M-Phillip Mock[19]; 16. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[24]; 17. 6-Bill Rose[8]; 18. 4K-Kris Spitz[18]; 19. 7-Scott Uttech[23]; 20. (DNF) 85M-Steve Meyer[11]; 21. (DNF) 02-Mike Reinke[1]; 22. (DNF) 19-Todd Daun[15]; 23. (DNF) 11K-Rick Kelsey[22]; 24. (DNF) 53W-Bill Wirth[14]
Behling Racing Equipment B Feature (15 Laps): 1. 99-Kyle Marten[3]; 2. 85M-Steve Meyer[1]; 3. 7-Scott Uttech[5]; 4. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[9]; 5. 199-Ryan Bowers[15]; 6. 8A-Nick Alden[4]; 7. 0-John Fahl[11]; 8. 5QB-Quentin Blonde[8]; 9. 5-Bryon Walters[14]; 10. 43-Jereme Schroeder[6]; 11. 23-Russell Borland[10]; 12. 2BX-Jimmy Sivia[12]; 13. 41-Dennis Spitz[7]; 14. (DNF) 12-Michael Decker[13]; 15. (DNF) 9A-Andy Hunt[2]
Weld Racing Products Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 35-Ben Schmidt[4]; 2. 2W-Scott Neitzel[6]; 3. 02-Mike Reinke[5]; 4. 73-Todd King[1]; 5. 19-Todd Daun[3]; 6. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[8]; 7. 7-Scott Uttech[7]; 8. 12-Michael Decker[9]; 9. (DNF) 9A-Andy Hunt[2]
DMI Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 44-Jason Johnson[2]; 2. 2B-Bill Balog[5]; 3. 79-Blake Nimee[4]; 4. 11K-Rick Kelsey[1]; 5. 12W-Josh Walter[3]; 6. 85M-Steve Meyer[6]; 7. 43-Jereme Schroeder[7]; 8. 23-Russell Borland[8]; 9. 5-Bryon Walters[9]
All Star Performance Products Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 48H-Brandon Wimmer[3]; 2. 1M-Phillip Mock[2]; 3. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[6]; 4. 1HRP-Todd Hepfner[4]; 5. 68-Dave Uttech[1]; 6. 199-Ryan Bowers[7]; 7. 41-Dennis Spitz[5]; 8. 0-John Fahl[8]; DNS 8A-Nick Alden
R & H Enterprises Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. 94-Rob Pribnow[1]; 2. 5J-Jeremy Schultz[6]; 3. 4K-Kris Spitz[3]; 4. 6-Bill Rose[5]; 5. 53W-Bill Wirth[4]; 6. 99-Kyle Marten[2]; 7. 2BX-Jimmy Sivia[8]; 8. 5QB-Quentin Blonde[7]
Osborn & Son Qualifying 1: 1. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 13.441[26]; 2. 85M-Steve Meyer, 13.539[9]; 3. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 13.544[32]; 4. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 13.570[7]; 5. 02-Mike Reinke, 13.599[15]; 6. 2B-Bill Balog, 13.616[2]; 7. 48H-Brandon Wimmer, 13.677[35]; 8. 6-Bill Rose, 13.722[4]; 9. 35-Ben Schmidt, 13.737[19]; 10. 79-Blake Nimee, 13.857[25]; 11. 1HRP-Todd Hepfner, 13.897[16]; 12. 53W-Bill Wirth, 14.032[29]; 13. 19-Todd Daun, 14.059[20]; 14. 12W-Josh Walter, 14.149[30]; 15. 68-Dave Uttech, 14.330[3]; 16. 4K-Kris Spitz, 14.334[28]; 17. 9A-Andy Hunt, 14.337[23]; 18. 44-Jason Johnson, 14.426[18]; 19. 1M-Phillip Mock, 14.519[1]; 20. 99-Kyle Marten, 14.624[8]; 21. 73-Todd King, 14.660[21]; 22. 11K-Rick Kelsey, 14.668[10]; 23. 8A-Nick Alden, 14.686[27]; 24. 94-Rob Pribnow, 14.743[5]; 25. 7-Scott Uttech, 14.769[31]; 26. 43-Jereme Schroeder, 14.842[14]; 27. 41-Dennis Spitz, 15.252[34]; 28. 5QB-Quentin Blonde, 15.322[6]; 29. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 15.396[24]; 30. 23-Russell Borland, 15.459[22]; 31. 0-John Fahl, 15.488[12]; 32. 2BX-Jimmy Sivia, 15.559[13]; 33. 12-Michael Decker, 15.734[17]; 34. 5-Bryon Walters, 15.887[33]; 35. 199-Ryan Bowers, 16.151[11]
- Jeffrey Sachse on Sep 20, 2015
- Article Date: 9/20/2015