(Bill W) August 31, 2008 - John Schulz won his third Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders feature of the year Sunday night at the CJ Raceway in Columbus Junction, Iowa. Driving the Deuce Motorsports, Inc. #2, Schulz led all 20 laps to best teammate and nephew, Josh Schneiderman. The win was worth $1,200 and was his seventh career victory with the series, moving him into second all-time in that category.
It was a night of attrition to say the least. Three cars were eliminated from the feature event before a lap could be completed. Rookie Andy Huston had his steering break after contact from another vehicle and collected Dan Avery, resulting in heavy damage to both cars. During the red, Travis Porter developed a flat tire, ending his night. One more lap was in the books before Jimmy Davies went pitside and Tim Moore's machine went up in smoke.
Schulz led with Mike Houseman Jr. in tow early on. The pair ran on the high side of the 4/10 mile oval. Houseman drifted too high on lap nine and rode over the turn two berm, surrendering second to Schneiderman. On the restart, Schneiderman slid his #49 past the leader, only to have Schulz drive back by him. It was the only time he was seriously challenged. "I got it loaded up on the start, and Josh got a heck of a run on me," said Schulz. "I saw him slide under me, and then we just got a run off the top and shot back under him."
Schneiderman had won the Modern Welding Shake-up Dash, and rolled a five setting his starting spot back a ways in the feature. "One of these days, we'll learn how to roll that thing," he said. Of the restart attempt at the lead, he added, "We had a great run on that restart. I knew we needed to try it then, because we just missed the setup. We struggled. I realize that we finished second, but you always want that one more spot."
One lap after the restart, Matt Harms took a horrendous ride, flipping several times down the frontstretch after contact with Ben Wagoner. He was uninjured. That would be the final stoppage in the event, as the final eleven laps went non-stop. Josh Higday found his way by Pete Crall late in the race to bring home third. "It was a good race with Crall," he said. "The track was racy at the end. I felt like I waited too long conserving my tires. I wish I would have gotten after it sooner, but I thought it would lay rubber and it didn't."
Crall had a long night himself. The Kansas native dominated his heat race in fine form, but was collected by a spinning Nick Eastin (who was done for the night) in the dash. His #1 machine performed a couple of flips and it appeared he was done. That's when several crews and others came to the rescue. "I had put my street clothes on, when someone asked if I wanted to race," said Pete. "I can't thank the other race teams enough for helping us get back on the track." He was rewarded with a fourth place finish.
Russ Hall was on a rail himself, driving from 16th to fifth to earn hard-charger honors. Bobby Mincer, Dustin Selvage, Matt Rogerson, Ryan Jamison and Korey Weyant rounded out the top ten finishers. Schneiderman and Higday joined Crall as heat race winners. Bart Andrews had his motor go up in flames in hot laps and scratched for the night, while Austin McCarl did the same after his heat race. The next Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders show will be Sunday, September 7 at the Quincy Raceways in Quincy, Illinois.
Results
Ideal Ready Mix 20-lap A main Finish (started): 1.2, John Schulz, West Burlington, IA (1) 2. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (4) 3. 10, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (5) 4. 1, Pete Crall, DeSoto, KS (3) 5. 29x, Russ Hall, Des Moines, IA (16) 6. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (10) 7. 7, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (8) 8. 29, Matt Rogerson, Burlington, IA (13) 9. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (9) 10. 99w, Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (11) 11. Y2, Mike Houseman Jr., Des Moines, IA (2) 12. 84, Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (17) 13. 93, Jamie Needham, Moline, IL (19) 14. 53H, Matt Harms, Morton, IL (12) 15. 10T, Tim Moore, Rock Island, IL (14) 16. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (7) 17. 31P, Travis Porter, Rock Island, IL (6) 18. 40, Andy Huston, Roseville, IL (15) 19. 18A, Dan Avery, Burlington, IA (18) DNS - 22x, Nick Eastin, West Burlington, IA; 17, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA; 9x, Bart Andrews, Muscatine, IA. Lap Leader: Schulz 1-20.
Staats Awards Heat Race #1, 8 laps, top two to Dash (started): 1. Pete Crall (5) 2. John Schulz (4) 3. Travis Porter (1) 4. Ryan Jamison (6) 5. Korey Weyant (7) 6. Tim Moore (2) 7. Ben Wagoner (8) 8. Jamie Needham (3)
Golden Eagle Distributors/Budweiser Heat Race #2, 8 laps, top two to Dash (started): 1. Josh Higday (1) 2. Mike Houseman Jr. (6) 3. Jimmy Davies (2) 4. Austin McCarl (4) 5. Matt Harms (3) 6. Andy Huston (7) 7. Dan Avery (5)
Holtkamp's Trailer Repair Heat Race #3, 8 laps, top two to Dash (started): 1. Josh Schneiderman (2) 2. Nick Eastin (1) 3. Dustin Selvage (4) 4. Bobby Mincer (5) 5. Matt Rogerson (3) 6. Russ Hall (6) DNS - Bart Andrews
Modern Welding of Burlington Shake-Up Dash, 6 laps (started): 1. Josh Schneiderman (1) 2. Josh Higday (4) 3. John Schulz (6) 4. Mike Houseman Jr. (5) 5. Nick Eastin (2) 6. Pete Crall (3)
Contingency Awards:
Hard Charger – Russ Hall
The Brake Man – Jimmy Davies
Diversified Machine – Matt Harms
M&W Aluminum Products – Korey Weyant
Ultra Shield – Dan Avery
Saldana Racing Products – Ryan Jamison
Rod End Supply – Tim Moore, Bobby Mincer
Velocity Wings - Andy Huston
Hepfner Racing Products – Matt Rogerson
Kinser Air Filters - Russ Hall