From Jeremy Sasche
LaSalle, IL — (August 25, 2013) — If Bill Balog has a list of favorite tracks on which he competes, LaSalle Speedway’s high banked quarter-mile is surely on that list. And likely at the top.
After a run with the World of Outlaws earlier this year at the facility where he earned a top five finish, Balog showcased some amazing speed on Saturday night in capturing this third straight Bill Waite Jr. Memorial trophy.
The victory in the 30 lap main event was part of a sweep in which he captured his heat race with a last lap pass and established a new series track record in qualifying. All of this was accomplished against a stellar field which showcased the best talent from both the Bumper to Bumper IRA Sprints and the Midwest Open Wheel Association (MOWA). A showing of 42 drivers made for one impressive sprint car event which played out before a near capacity crowd.
To reach victory tonight Balog had to fight past a determined Scott Neitzel. On lap 20 of the 30 lap contest Balog managed to work by Neitzel in lapped traffic and then held onto the top spot earning his 13th win of the season. The victory, Balog’s 58th in IRA competition, pushed him just a bit closer to Joe Roe’s all-time win mark of 61.
Mike Reinke managed to fend off two-time MOWA champion Jerrod Hull for the final podium spot as the pair waged a race long war for the third position. In doing so Reinke sealed an IRA sweep of the top three spots.
Both organizations together made for one of the most successful Bill Waite Jr. Memorial races held so far with drivers representing five states.
The 30 lap A-main rolled trackside after some fiercely contested heat races and a pair of B-mains had narrowed the field down to 22 starters.
Reinke who has made limited appearances this season would sit on the pole for the event with Neitzel to his outside. Phillip Mock and Paul Niemheiser, a 16 year old rookie sensation from the MOWA series, setup the second row, while Hull and Balog, defending champions from both represented series made up the third row for the start.
Neitzel would rim ride his way to the lead at the drop of starter Jim Barr’s green flag with Reinke working the bottom line to hold second. Balog blasted into the fourth behind Mock by the conclusion of the first lap.
Mock’s solid run came unhinged when he slapped the wall coming off turn four on the third lap coming to a stop in turn one with a flat right rear tire. After some quick pit work Mock was able to rejoin the field but his luck went from bad to worse on lap seven when he got upside down on the front stretch forcing the first red flag of the contest. Mock was unhurt in the accident walking disappointedly back to the pits. Cory Bales was also involved in the incident with his car tipping onto its side and collecting the ride of Russel Borland. Borland was the only driver able to return to action from the incident.
Only one more lap got in the books when leading IRA rookie Jeremy Schultz rolled his machine down the front stretch and the red flag again made an appearance. Schultz was unhurt but done for the evening. The accident also involved MOWA star Chris Urish and Borland who again managed to avoid sustaining any serious damage to his car. Urish would return as would Borland who continued on minus his front wing.
The final 22 laps would click off without interruption.
As the field came back to speed Neitzel again showed the way, with Balog now giving chase from the second spot. Reinke held down the third position and had his hands full finding off the challenges of Hull.
Neitzel worked the high line to perfection negating several passing attempt by Balog as the race past the halfway point. The lead pair continued their duel into lapped traffic with Neitzel preferring a high groove around the raceway.
Lapped traffic became thicker on the tight bullring and as the pair sought paths through the lapped cars Balog managed to work under Neitzel down the backstretch on lap 19. Balog would successfully complete the pass dropping Neitzel to second.
Behind the lead pair Hull continued to work on Reinke for the third spot but Reinke refused to bow to Hull’s pressure to maintain the position as the race wound down.
With six laps to go Balog jumped the cushion nearly tagging the wall allowing Neitzel to close back within striking distance, but Balog was able to recover quickly and over the final laps he went back to building his lead.
Balog would cruise under the checker flag with a 10 car length advantage on Neitzel. Reinke was successful in his battle with Hull to earn third. MOWA regulars Hull and Niemheiser comprised the top five finishers.
Cory Bruns and Jimmy Light two more MOWA stars captured sixth and seventh, with Tommy Sexton earning eighth representing IRA, Sexton advanced the most positions in the event advancing ten positions. Robbie Standridge and Brett Tripplett completed the top ten and Tripplett was the final car on the lead lap.
16 of the 22 starters were still on the racing surface at the finish.
In earlier action a pair of B-mains were used to fill out the balance of the main event with the top three finishers from each making the big show.
In the first contest Jim Moughan dominated the race to collect the win over Urish. The third spot was decided on the final lap. Scott Uttech continued a streak of back luck. Running third on the final lap his ride suddenly lost power which dropped him from the final transfer spot. As he slowed his cousin Dave Uttech slipped past for the position to make the show.
The second B-main was captured by current MOWA point leader A.J. Bruns. Jordan Goldesberry would finish second in the contest. The final transfer spot remained in flux until the finish. Matt Vandervere who was subbing in a car normally driven by Allen Hafford flipped his ride while in a transfer position with just a couple of laps to go. This briefly put Wayne Modjeski in the third position. With two laps to go Bill Wirth powered by Modjeski for the third spot and he held fast to the position to the finish.
Heat victories were captured by Balog, Light, Schultz and Cory Bales.
Qualifying also had plenty of drama. The well groomed racing surface was lightning fast as evidenced by five drivers eclipsing the old track record listed in the IRA records, with Balog earning the new IRA mark with a lap of 10.475 seconds. Hull threw down a lap of 10.699 seconds for the second quickest time of the night. Young charger Niemheiser was third fastest this evening with a 10.765 second effort. 16 cars managed to slip into the 10 second bracket with the top 33 in time all qualifying within a second of Balog’s record setting time.
The Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints continue their 2013 tour with a very busy late season schedule and will contest three consecutive double header weekends beginning next week.
The Labor Day weekend arrives and the Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprints will appear at the Plymouth Dirt Track during the running of the Sheboygan County Fair on Friday evening August 30th.
The 48 hours later, on Sunday evening September 1st, the series makes their final appearance of the year at the 141 Speedway located just north of Francis Creek, WI.
For more information on the IRA Outlaw Sprints check out the tour website at www.irasprints.com or logging onto the series Facebook page at www.facebook.com/irasprints
The IRA Outlaw Sprint Series is proudly supported by Bumper to Bumper Auto Parts & Service Centers, Hoosier Tire, Osborn & Son Trucking, TW Metals, Onan, Carriage Auto Body, Polaris DEFENSE, and Mother’s Polishes and Waxes. The office of the IRA Sprints can be reached at 815-759-9269 or by e-mail at steve@irasprints.com
BOX SCORE:
Event: #18 – LaSalle Speedway – LaSalle, IL – August 24, 2013
Bumper to Bumper IRA Outlaw Sprint Cars
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 17B-Bill Balog[6]; 2. 2W-Scott Neitzel[2]; 3. 02-Mike Reinke[1]; 4. 12-Jerrod Hull[5]; 5. 9-Paul Niemheiser[4]; 6. 42-Corey Bruns[10]; 7. 23L-Jimmy Light[8]; 8. 83-Tommy Sexton[18]; 9. Robbie Standridge[15]; 10. 22T-Brett Triplett[13]; 11. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[20]; 12. 84-Ben Wagoner[14]; 13. Chris Urish[19]; 14. 23-Russel Borland[17]; 15. 53W-Bill Wirth[22]; 16. 68-Dave Uttech[21]; 17. 5J-Jeremy Schultz[9]; 18. 4K-Kris Spitz[16]; 19. 1M-Phillip Mock[3]; 20. 5-Cory Bales[7]; 21. 1MM-Jim Moughan[6]; 22. A.J. Bruns [12].
First B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 1MM-Jim Moughan; 2. 77- Chris Urish; 3. 68-Dave Uttech; 4. 3-Matt Sutton; 5. 7-Scott Uttech; 6. 53H-Matt Harms; 7. 41-Dennis Spitz; 8. 94-Brandon Thone; 9. 5H-Patrick Hayes; 10. Kenny Hayes; 11. 71-Chad Tessman; 12. 4M-Kody Kinser; 13. 70-Derrick Rossio
Second B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 44-A.J. Bruns; 2. 65-Jordan Goldesberry; 3. 53W-Bill Wirth; 4. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski; 5. 8A-Nick Alden; 6. 10S-Robbie Standridge; 7. 79-Blake Nimee; 8. 43-Jereme Schroeder; 9. 12-Michael Decker; 10. 31-John Dines; 11. 99-Jimmy Davies; 12. 38-Matt Vandervere
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 17B-Bill Balog; 2. 22-Robbie Standridge; 3. 83-Tommy Sexton; 4. 2W-Scott Neitzel; 5. 38-Matt Vandervere; 6. 5H-Patrick Hayes; 7. 53W-Bill Wirth; 8. 94-Brandon Thone; 9. 70-Derrick Rossio; 10. 3-Matt Sutton; 11. 7-Scott Uttech
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 23-Jimmy Light; 2. 12-Jerrod Hull; 3. 02-Mike Reinke; 4. 4K-Kris Spitz; 5. 1MM-Jim Moughan; 6. 10S-Robbie Standridge; 7. 53H-Matt Harmes; 8. 65-Jordan Goldesberry; 9. 31-John Dines; 10. 79-Blake Nimee; 11. 35-Daren Granter
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 5J-Jeremy Schultz; 2. 9. Paul Niemheiser; 3. 42-orey Bruns; 4. 23-Russel Borland; 5. 41-Dennis Spitz; 6. 3-Matt Sutton; 7. 99-Jimmy Davies; 8. 44-A.J. Bruns; 9. 14-Kenny Hayes; 10. 4M-Cody Kinser
Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. 5- Cory Bales; 2. 22T-Brett Tripplett; 3. 84-Ben Wagoner; 4. 1M-Phillip Mock; 5. 8A-Nick Alden; 6. 68-Dave Uttech; 7. 77-Chris Urish; 8. 43-Jereme Schroeder; 9. 12-Michael Decker; 10. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski
Qualifying: (Top 10): 1. 17B-Bill Balog; 10.475 Seconds(Record) 2. 12-Jerro Hull, 10.699; 3. 9-Paul Niemheiser, 10.765; 4. 1M-Phillip Mock, 10.767; 5. 2W-Scott Neitzel, 10.812; 6. 1MM-Jim Moughan, 10.835; 7. 44-A.J. Bruns, 10.878; 8. 77-Chris Urish, 10.878; 9. 38-Matt Vandervere, 10.880; 10. 02-Mike Reinke, 10.880