(Bill W) April 13, 2013 – The Brockway Mechanical & Roofing Sprint Invaders became the first winged sprint car group to run at Independence Motor Speedway in Independence, Iowa in sixteen years Saturday night, and it was Terry McCarl standing in Victory Lane at the end of the night. The Altoona, Iowa driver had a little redemption on his mind, as his last visit in 1997 ended in a crash with the IRA series. The win was the seventh in his career with the Sprint Invaders and was worth $1,200.
Jamie Ball paced the first lap of the 25-lap main event. Meanwhile, McCarl, who started seventh, stuck his A.R.T. chassis to the low side of turns one and two to move into third behind Dustin Selvage. He then passed him for second on the second lap. A lap later, Lucas Wolfe would follow him into third.
McCarl shot by Ball into the lead on lap five. A lap later, John Greenwood got over the turn two berm and flipped. He was uninjured. McCarl led Ball, Wolfe, Selvage and Russ Hall back to green flag racing. Wolfe and Hall drover under Ball for second and third before the youngster spun over turn four with nine laps in the books.
On the restart, Matt Krieger took a wild ride down the frontstretch taking out the turn one fence. He was unhurt, but the incident required some serious excavation. Once underway, the last 16 laps went uninterrupted.
McCarl' s lead was only shortened when he was slowed in heavy traffic. Wolfe trailed about ten car lengths behind, with Hall a distant third. A strong fifth place run by Mike Houseman Jr. ended when he pulled in on lap 22.
McCarl won ahead of Wolfe, Hall, Agan and Josh Schneiderman. Paul Nienhiser, hard-charger Ryan Jamison, Jimmy Davies, Tim Moore and Patrick Moore completed the top ten. Kaley Gharst, Selvage and Wolfe won heat races. Hall won the Dash. Gharst went up in smoke in the Dash, ending his night.
"This track was awesome," said McCarl in Victory Lane. "I want to thank the fans for coming. Hopefully, they'll have us back. This was a perfect track. There was a top and bottom…it was smooth. It's just my son Austin and I here. I have to thank him for all his hard work on this racecar."
Wolfe, who has run across the country with many sanctions this season also praised the track. "This may have been the best track I've run on this year. I think I may have been a little better than (McCarl) in one and two, but it was never quite enough. It's cool to come to these new tracks. This is a really nice one."
"We got beat by two Outlaw drivers, so we can't feel too bad about that," said Hall. "We weren't far behind. I have to thank my Dad Roger, Fluff (Mike Waddell) and Dirty Red. I also need to give a shout out to Ron with Northtown Motors."
The Sprint Invaders will be in action this Sunday, May 26 at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa.
A Main (started), 25 laps: 1. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (7) 2. 82, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (4) 3. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA (5) 4. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (9) 5. 2, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (3) 6. 9, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (11) 7. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (14) 8. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (10) 9. 10T, Tim Moore, Rock Island, IL (6) 10. 2x, Patrick Moore, Moline, IL (13) 11. 9D, Daniel Bergquist, Burlington, IA (17) 12. 73x, Dustin Whiting, Burlington, IA (16) 13. 83, Dave Getchell, Sperry, IA (20) 14. 85, Chase Wanner, Agency, IA (15) 15. 68, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (6) 16. 88, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (19) 17. 73, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (2) 18. 56, Matt Krieger, Burlington, IA (21) 19. 92c, Cody Ambers, Knoxville, IA (18) 20. 5J, Jamie Ball, Knoxville, IA (1) 21. 1st, John Greenwood, Woodward, IA (12) DNS – 6, Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL, 50P, Harold Pohren, Lowell, IA, 7H, John Hall, Marion, IA. Lap Leaders: Ball 1-4, McCarl 5-25. KSE Hard Charger: Jamison.
Heat one (started, top two to Dash, 8 laps): 1. Kaley Gharst (4) 2. Russ Hall (3) 3. Terry McCarl (6) 4. Tim Moore (1) 5. Patrick Moore (2) 6. Ryan Jamison (8) 7. Jarrod Schneiderman (5) 8. Cody Ambers (7)
Heat two (started, top two to Dash, 8 laps): 1. Dustin Selvage (1) 2. Josh Schneiderman (2) 3. Mike Houseman Jr. (6) 4. Paul Nienhiser (4) 5. John Greenwood (5) 6. Daniel Bergquist (3) 7. Dustin Whiting (7) 8. Dave Getchell (8)
Heat three (started, top two to Dash, 8 laps): 1. Lucas Wolfe (1) 2. Larry Ball Jr. (4) 3. Jon Agan (5) 4. Jimmy Davies (7) 5. Chase Wanner (6) 6. Harold Pohren (3) 7. Matt Krieger (2) DNS – John Hall
Dash (started, 6 laps): 1. Russ Hall (1) 2. Lucas Wolfe (5) 3. Jamie Ball (4) 4. Dustin Selvage (6) 5. Josh Schneiderman (2) 6. Kaley Gharst (3)
Contingencies
Weld Racing – Dave Getchell
Saldana Racing Products – Jimmy Davies
SBI – John Greenwood