(Bill W) July 11, 2008 – John Schulz took the lead from early pacesetter Jerrod Hull on lap nine and never looked back in route to his sixth career Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders victory on Friday night at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. The win was Schulz’s third in Sprint Invaders competition at Lee County, and his second this season with the series.
Series career win leader, Hull, rolled a one on the dice after dominating the Shake-Up Dash and started on the pole of the 25-lap main event. He shot out to the lead immediately and left Schulz and Matt Rogerson to battle for second. Rogerson rode the low side, while Schulz rode the cushion as the two dueled lap after lap for the runner-up position.
On lap eight, things slowed when a sixth running Matt Harms flattened his left rear tire, and Aussie Brad Foster performed a 360 spin. Hull restarted ahead of Rogerson, Schulz, Ryan Jamison and Nick Eastin. At the drop of the green, Hull stormed through turns one a two in the middle of the track. Schulz circled above him, while Rogerson shot under him, with Schulz carrying the momentum as the new leader. “With Matt and Jerrod, you don’t have to worry about racing with them,” Schulz said later. “I knew both would give me room to race, and I would do the same.”
Schulz pulled away from there, decimating the field at the end. One week prior, a broken cam spud had cost him a win at West Liberty Raceway. “We’ve been fast all year really,” he said. “We got better as the race went on. I debated whether to stay on the bottom, but the car was good anywhere, so we went to the cushion.”
The result was a half-lap lead on Hull, who recaptured second on lap 18. The lead was erased with a lap 23 caution for Foster, who slowed. The final laps saw Schulz pull away and Bobby Mincer finish an outstanding run from row eight for the show position. “We got by most of the guys on the bottom,” he would later say. “Then I thought I better get to the high side after awhile. I just wish we had started closer to the front.”
Hull was gracious in defeat. “John was just awesome fast,” he said. “Early on, we were running well on the bottom, up top and through the middle. We found that after the first caution our left rear sealed up a bit. Late in the race, I pulled the wing back, and that seemed to help.”
Following Schulz, Hull and Mincer were Rogerson and Jordan Goldesberry. Jimmy Davies, Nick Eastin, Josh Schneiderman, Ryan Jamison and Korey Weyant. Eastin, Harms and Jamison won heat events.
The next Ideal Ready Mix Sprint Invaders event takes place Sunday, July 13, at the Cedar County Speedway in Tipton, Iowa. For more information, visit www.SprintInvaders.com!
Results
Ideal Ready Mix 25-lap A main Finish (started): 1.2, John Schulz, West Burlington, IA (3) 2. 12, Jerrod Hull, Sikeston, MO (1) 3. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (15) 4. 29, Matt Rogerson, Burlington, IA (5) 5. 65, Jordan Goldesberry, Springfield, IL (12) 6. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (7) 7. 22x, Nick Eastin, West Burlington, IA (6) 8. 49, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (9) 9. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (4) 10. 99w, Korey Weyant, Springfield, IL (14) 11. 17, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA (10) 12. 9x, Bart Andrews, Muscatine, IA (13) 13. 83, Chris Urish, Elkhart, IL (8) 14. 40, Andy Huston, Roseville, IL (18) 15. 00, Brad Foster, Melbourne, VIC, Aust. (11) 16. 38, Seth Wilke, Burlington, IA (16) 17. 18A, Dan Avery, Burlington, IA (17) 18. 53H, Matt Harms, Morton, IL (2). Lap Leaders: Hull 1-8; Schulz 9-25.
Staats Awards Heat Race #1 (8 laps, top two to Dash): 1. Nick Eastin (2) 2. Matt Rogerson (1) 3. Jimmy Davies (4) 4. Austin McCarl (5) 5. Bart Andrews (3) 6. Seth Wilke (6)
Golden Eagle Distributors/Budweiser Heat Race #2 (8 laps, top two to Dash): 1. Matt Harms (2) 2. Jerrod Hull (4) 3. Chris Urish (1) 4. Brad Foster (5) 5. Korey Weyant (3) 6. Dan Avery (6)
Holtkamp’s Trailer Repair Heat Race #3 (8 laps, top two to Dash): 1. Ryan Jamison (2) 2. John Schulz (1) 3. Josh Schneiderman (5) 4. Jordan Goldesberry (4) 5. Bobby Mincer (6) 6. Andy Huston (3)
Ideal Ready Mix Shake-Up Dash (6 laps): 1. Jerrod Hull (2) 2. Matt Harms (1) 3. John Schulz (3) 4. Ryan Jamison (5) 5. Matt Rogerson (6) 6. Nick Eastin (4)
Contingency Awards:
Hard Charger – Bobby Mincer
The Brake Man – Andy Huston
Diversified Machine – Seth Wilke
M&W Aluminum Products – Chris Urish
Ultra Shield – Austin McCarl
Saldana Racing Products – Ryan Jamison
Rod End Supply – Matt Harms, Bart Andrews
Kinser – Nick Eastin
HRP – Korey Weyant
Velocity Wings – Dan Avery