By Bill W
July 11, 2013 – Bobby Mincer won for the first time in three years with the Brockway Mechanical & Roofing Sprint Invaders at the Tipton International Speedway in Tipton, Iowa on Thursday night. The win came at the Cedar County Fair and was the first for the Burlington, Iowa pilot since a score on July 3, 2010 at the West Liberty Speedway. It was the ninth in his Sprint Invaders career, moving him into third place on the all-time list.
The 25-lap feature had trouble getting started. Before a lap could be completed, Jimmy Davies and Jon Agan were done. The incident also stacked up Andy Huston, Dave Getchell and Shawn Peterson. Agan ended up tipping over in the fray. On the second try, Peterson and Mitchell Alexander got together, with both retiring.
Once green, the feature went non-stop. Mincer led Ryan Jamison and Jarrod Schneiderman early on. Russ Hall slid by Schneiderman for third on lap nine, with the latter going over the berm and losing several spots. At the halfway mark, Mincer led Jamison, Hall, Paul Nienhiser and Dustin Selvage on the ¼-mile oval.
As traffic thickened, the battle for second through fourth heated up. On lap thirteen, Hall got by Jamison in traffic for second. A lap later, Nienhiser followed suit into third. On lap 18, Nienhiser and Jamison both passed Hall for second and third. As the trio battled, Mincer shot off to a commanding lead.
Jamison and Hall both found their way by Nienhiser again for second and third, but Mincer had checked out, winning by a half lap. At the checkers, he led Jamison, Hall, Nienhiser and Selvage. Matt Sutton, Jarrod Schneiderman, Josh Schneiderman, Huston and Tim Moore rounded out the top ten.
“I wondered if I was getting too old to do this,” said Mincer in Victory Lane. “I really figured Russ or Ryan or one of those guys were straight on my can and I thought, ‘Don’t screw up in the corner, ‘cause they’re right there. I just kept the car underneath me, and kept going. I could feel the track rubbering up exiting the corners. The car kept going and I just did the best I could.”
“That had to be fun to watch,” said Jamison of the battle for second. “I tried running the bottom early on, and decided this was not the night for that. I brought it back to the top. I messed with a lapped car and let the 45c and 9 cars catch me. We were lucky enough for them to get caught up too and we got back by them. We always like coming to Tipton. The track matches our whole program.”
“We got up to second there and the track hadn’t quite laid rubber yet,” said Hall. “We got stuck behind a lapped car and fell back to fourth. We made it up to third. All in all, it was a good night. We had the whole family here, and we had a good time in Tipton.”
Jarrod Schneiderman, Hall and Jamison won heats, while Jamison also won the Shake-up Dash. The next action for the Sprint Invaders will be Friday night, July 12 at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa.
A Main (started), 25 laps: 1. 15, Bobby Mincer, Burlington, IA (1) 2. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (3) 3. 45c, Russ Hall, Pleasant Hill, IA (4) 4. 9, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (6) 5. 73, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (9) 6. 3, Matt Sutton, Macomb, IL (10) 7. 14s, Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (2) 8. 2, Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA (11) 9. 40, Andy Huston, Roseville, IL (7) 10. 10T, Tim Moore, Rock Island, IL (18) 11. 36, Justin Newberry, West Burlington, IA (17) 12. 2x, Patrick Moore, Moline, IL (19) 13. 9D, Daniel Bergquist, Burlington, IA (14) 14. 1st, John Greenwood, Woodward, IA (12) 15. 83, Dave Getchell, Sperry, IA (15) 16. 6, Mitchell Alexander, Knoxville, IA (16) 17. 4x, Shawn Peterson, Irving, TX (8) 18. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (5) 19. 4, Jon Agan, Knoxville, IA (13) DNS – 22P, Kyle Peterson, Gladstone, IL, 85, Chase Wanner, Agency, IA. Lap Leader: Mincer 1-25. KSE Hard Charger: T. Moore.
Advanced Plumbing & Mechanical Heat one (started, top two to Dash, 8 laps): 1. Jarrod Schneiderman (2) 2. Bobby Mincer (5) 3. Andy Huston (4) 4. Matt Sutton (7) 5. Jon Agan (6) 6. Mitchell Alexander (3) 7. Kyle Peterson (1)
Huston Land Improvement Heat two (started, top two to Dash, 8 laps): 1. Russ Hall (3) 2. Jimmy Davies (2) 3. Shawn Peterson (4) 4. Josh Schneiderman (7) 5. Daniel Bergquist (1) 6. Justin Newberry (6) 7. Patrick Moore (5)
CenPeCo Heat three (started, top two to Dash, 8 laps): 1. Ryan Jamison (1) 2. Paul Nienhiser (4) 3. Dustin Selvage (6) 4. John Greenwood (2) 5. Dave Getchell (5) 6. Tim Moore (3) DNS – Chase Wanner
Budweiser “King of Beers” Shake-up Dash (started, 6 laps): 1. Ryan Jamison (2) 2. Russ Hall (4) 3. Jimmy Davies (1) 4. Paul Nienhiser (6) 5. Bobby Mincer (5) 6. Jarrod Schneiderman (3)