From Bill Wright
Windom, MN — (April 14, 2015) — The inaugural FVP National Sprint League event is in the books, and it was all it was built up to be. The historic event saw great racing amongst great competitors at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa on Saturday. Following are a few notes from the event.
Big Win for Wayne – Winning the first FVP NSL event was huge for Wayne Johnson. It has to rank right up there with his 410 wins at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida, the prelims at the Knoxville Nationals and with the World of Outlaws Gumout series. The two-time ASCS National champion’s last wins came when he took home over $61,000 for sweeping last September’s Fall Brawl at the I-80 Speedway. His last 410 win came in 2012 in weekly competition at the Knoxville Raceway. Wayne likes the 34 Raceway. He has now won not only in a 410 there, but also in a 360 and a 305. His wins came for three different owners as well.
Tough Night for Stevenson – Just getting to the show was a task for Brandon Stevenson. The Holstein, Iowa driver was waiting for his trailer to be delivered…and waiting and waiting. At the last minute he had to borrow an open trailer just to make the five and a half hour tow. His time on the track didn’t last long when his #0 went end over end over the first turn in hot laps earning him the “Ti22 Good as New Award”. Fortunately, Brandon is only reporting some soreness where his belts contained him. He plans to be back in action on Friday, April 24 at the Eagle Raceway when the USAC National Sprint Car series visits. He’ll be back at Eagle for the next FVP NSL event on May 8 as well.
Loyet Shines – Brad Loyet led the point standings with the ASCS National Series for much of 2014. The Loyet Motorsports #o5 team is concentrating on the 410 this year, and his first ever trip to 34 Raceway was a good one. Strong throughout the 25-lap main event, he would bring it home in the third position. The Sunset Hills, Missouri driver plans on competing in the next three events with the NSL, and about 75% of the season. If he remains in the upper echelon of the point standings, it will be interesting to see if he is around for much more.
Hard-charging TK No Surprise – The brand new team partnering “TK” Tim Kaeding and Lunstra Motorsports was a success from the start. The San Jose, California driver showed how tough the heats can be, when he slipped just a little in turn one. That left him on the outside looking in. After winning the B main and the Hooker Harness “Locked in Award”, he proceeded to charge from 15th to fifth in his new ride to earn “KSE Hard-charger Award” honors as well.
Murphy’s Law for Josh – Josh Schneiderman had high hopes coming into the opener at his hometown track. Previously a podium finisher with the World of Outlaws at 34 Raceway, his night started well with the seventh quick time of the night. However, things went downhill after hooking the infield tire in turn two in his heat. Running strong up front in the B, flames and smoke started to billow from the Deuce Motorsports #49. If that weren’t enough, the nose wing collapsed at the same time. Josh was able to massage his mount to the fourth and final transfer spots earning the Speedway Graphics “From the Tail Award”. After limping out of the feature after six laps, he also earned the night’s Bell Helmets “Tough Luck Award” at his home track.
New Team, New Car, New Crew Chief, No Problem for BC – Bryan Clauson drove for the Matt Wood Racing #17w team on the west coast with the World of Outlaws, but it was a fresh start last Saturday night. The Noblesville, Indiana driver teamed with crew chief Shane Bowers for the first time. That wasn’t all. The team implemented a brand new shock package, and switched from ART to GF1 chassis for the night. The transition was seamless, as Clauson timed in fourth quick, had a bit of luck making it through the heat race, and then drew the pole for the main event. He was challenging for the lead when the final caution came out, and would eventually checker fourth in a stellar debut.
A Night of Firsts – Joining Kaeding (who was the first B main winner) and feature winner Wayne Johnson in FVP NSL “firsts”, were Danny Lasoski and Brooke Tatnell. “The Dude” drove the GoMuddy.com #2 to quick time at 12.455 seconds in Minnesota Mafia time trials. Tatnell won the first heat race aboard the Barry and Vivian Lewis/TK Concrete #55.
A 360 for TMAC – Terry McCarl has been strong at 34 Raceway throughout his career, and he commanded the lead on lap two and took off. However, a 360 spin (in which he kept it going in third place) cost him the lead, and eventually the win. Still, it was a strong night for TMAC, who would come back and finish second to Johnson in the feature. He was tenth quick and also picked up a heat win.
Another New Team – After partnering with Lunstra Motorsports for so many years, it was a bit strange to see Mark Dobmeier parked across pit lane. Like Kaeding and Clauson, the five-time Huset’s Speedway champ was aboard a new mount in the Jimco Motorsports #13. The Grand Forks, North Dakota driver would finish up a solid tenth.
Great Weather, Great Crowd – A forecast of sunny weather with 70 degree temperatures brought fans from across the country. Plates in the parking lot were spotted from as far as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Texas and Colorado among other states. The FVP NSL would like to thank all the fans that made the trip and we invite you to our next events on Friday, May 8 at the high-banked 1/3-mile Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Nebraska, and on Saturday, May 9 at the “Sprint Car Capital of the World” Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa.
2015 FVP National Sprint League Driver Point Standings
1. Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, IA 77x 344
2. Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA 24 310
3. Brad Loyet, Sunset Hills, MO o5 307
4. Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO 2 304
5. Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, IN 17w 302
6. Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO 21 279
7. Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA 3 270
8. Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND 13 226
9. Bill Balog, Brookfield, WI 17B 212
10. Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. 18 211
11. Dusty Zomer, Sioux Falls, SD 82 205
12. Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL 9 200
13. Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA 12 193
14. Davey Heskin, St. Michael, MN 56 187
15. Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. 55 185
16. Kaley Gharst, Decatur, IL 7 178
17. Austin Johnson, Pleasant Hill, IA 81 161
18. Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA 7TAZ 158
19. Josh Schneiderman, West Burlington, IA 49 147
20. Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA 44 124
21. Bryan Gossel, Windsor, CO 6 120
22. Stu Snyder, Waverly, NE 23s 118
23. Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL 7R 114
24. Matt Juhl, Sioux Falls, SD 09 108
25. Curtis Evans, Norborne, MO 1P 106
26. Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA 99 102
27. Brandon Stevenson, Holstein, IA 0 100