Tim Kaeding Roars from 14th to Win NSL Finale at I-80 Speedway!

by Bill Wright

Knoxville, IA, October 2, 2015 – Tim Kaeding had racked up seven KSE Hard-charger awards and four second place finishes with the FVP National Sprint League before Saturday’s “Fearless 410 Finale” at the I-80 Speedway near Greenwood, Nebraska. The San Jose, California native saved the best for last though! He was on a mission, going from 14th to win the final event of the 2015 season in convincing fashion aboard the Lunstra Motorsports #3. The series also crowned its first champion in Danny Lasoski.

Ian Madsen shot out to the early lead in the 30-lap main event from his pole position, ahead of Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski. Kinser would slide under Madsen to lead lap two, but Madsen would fight back and lead a circuit later. Furious action ensued not only at the front, but throughout the pack.

Tasker Phillips used the low side to move by Lasoski for third on lap three. Three laps later, Bill Balog took third from Phillips as the two dueled. Meanwhile, Kaeding was on the move, entering the top five by the fifth lap. Riding the cushion by the fence, he would then dive under Balog on lap ten to take third. Four laps later, he would shoot under Steve Kinser in lapped traffic to take second.

He reeled in Madsen the next two laps and the two leaders exchanged sliders in traffic. Kaeding would make the pass for the lead on lap 17. Kinser would follow Kaeding into second, while Balog rejoined the lead trio with a pass of Madsen on lap 19.

The lone caution of the event came for Austin McCarl, who spun with four laps to go. The restart saw Kaeding leading Kinser, Balog, Dominic Scelzi and Madsen back to green flag racing. Scelzi, who was spending his first weekend in a sprint car in the Midwest shot to third on the restart.

Kaeding would pull away the final four laps to take the $7,000 finale, ahead of Kinser, Scelzi, Balog and Bryan Clauson. Lynton Jeffrey, Madsen, Brian Brown, Terry McCarl and Craig Dollansky rounded out the top ten. Lasoski set quick time. Kinser, Kaeding and Terry McCarl won heat races, while Austin McCarl took the B.

“It was my motto,” said an emotional Kaeding in Victory Lane. “Live and die by the high side! I hope the fans enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed the donuts! I lost my grandfather this year, and I want to dedicate this to him. Just a lot of bad luck this year. It’s great to get this #3 car in Victory Lane with this NSL deal. We’ve been close and we struggled. We drove by everybody tonight and I’m happy about that!”

“We got the car a little better tonight,” said Kinser. “I’d have liked to win it, but we didn’t get the job done. I about had Tim. He was using his tire up. I took a shot at him on the bottom and about lost a spot. We ran him down there at the end, but if I caught him, I don’t know that I could have passed him.”

Tim Kaeding NSL photo — Tim Kaeding
NSL photo

“I saw Tim roll by me on the fence,” said Scelzi. “I thought it kind of looks like Tulare up there. I got up top and I was scared to be honest. It looked kind of treacherous. I tried to save my tires at the beginning and this place is about throttle control. There’s not many places like this that I’ve been before. To be able to run this well with these guys…I just can’t believe I got to race with Steve Kinser. To go wheel to wheel like that was a childhood dream.”

Danny Lasoski’s championship with the FVP National Sprint League was worth $75,000. He led the series with nine wins, twenty-one top fives and seventeen podium finishes. “First of all, I need to thank Tod and Lisa Quiring for this opportunity,” he said. “They could have chosen anyone they wanted, and they chose us. My hat’s off to (crew chief) Guy Forbrook. It didn’t show tonight with our performance, but that’s just one night. We win together and lose together.”

For more information on the FVP National Sprint League, visit www.NationalSprintLeague.com!

Results from I-80 Speedway
FVP A main (started), 30 laps: 1. 3, Tim Kaeding, San Jose, CA [14]; 2. 11, Steve Kinser, Bloomington, IN [3]; 3. 33, Dominic Scelzi, Fresno, CA [5]; 4. 17B, Bill Balog, Brookfield, WI [6]; 5. 17w, Bryan Clauson, Noblesville, IN [8]; 6. 12, Lynton Jeffrey, Prairie City, IA [9]; 7. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. [1]; 8. 21, Brian Brown, Grain Valley, MO [7]; 9. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA [15]; 10. 2KS, Craig Dollansky, Elk River, MN [16]; 11. 09, Matt Juhl, Tea, SD [10]; 12. 13, Mark Dobmeier, Grand Forks, ND [12]; 13. 1B, Jake Bubak, Arvada, CO [11]; 14. 7TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA [2]; 15. o5, Brad Loyet, Sunset Hills, MO [20]; 16. 2, Danny Lasoski, Dover, MO [4]; 17. 55, Brooke Tatnell, Sans Souci, NSW, Aust. [13]; 18. 4A, Jon Agan, Knoxivlle, IA [21]; 19. 4. Dakota Hendrickson, Omaha, NE [22]; 20. 17A, Austin McCarl, Altoona, IA [18]; 21. 7R, Stacey Alexander, Lacona, IA [23]; 22. 9N, Wade Nygaard, Grand Forks, ND [19]; 23. 8H, Jade Hastings, Grand Forks, ND [24]; 24. 17, Josh Baughman, Odessa, TX [17]. Lap Leaders: Madsen 1, Kinser 2, Madsen 3-16, Kaeding 17-30. KSE Hard-charger: Kaeding.

Hooker Harness B main (started), 10 laps: 1. Austin McCarl [2]; 2. Matt Juhl [1]; 3. Jon Agan [3]; 4. Dakota Hendrickson [5]; 5. Stacey Alexander [4]; 6. Jade Hastings [6] / 7. 69, Michael Moore, Des Moines, IA [8]; 8. 20A, Jordan Adams, Reynolds, ND [7] DNS – 2L, Logan Forler, Boise, ID, 81, Jack Dover, Springfield, NE

Fuel Safe Heat one (started), 10 laps: 1. Steve Kinser [4]; 2. Josh Baughman [1]; 3. Bill Balog [5]; 4. Ian Madsen [6]; 5. Mark Dobmeier [3]; 6. Wade Nygaard [7] / 7. Jordan Adams [8]; 8. Michael Moore [9]; 9. Logan Forler [2]

DMI Heat two (started), 10 laps: 1. Tim Kaeding [2]; 2. Craig Dollansky [1]; 3. Dominic Scelzi [4]; 4. Bryan Clauson [6]; 5. Jake Bubak [3]; 6. Lynton Jeffrey [5] / 7. Austin McCarl [7]; 8. Jack Dover [9]; 9. Stacey Alexander [8]

Kaeding Performance Heat three (started), 10 laps: 1. Terry McCarl [1]; 2. Brooke Tatnell [2]; 3. Danny Lasoski [6]; 4. Tasker Phillips [4]; 5. Brian Brown [5]; 6. Brad Loyet [10] / 7. Matt Juhl [3]; 8. Jon Agan [7]; 9. Dakota Hendrickson [8]; 10. Jade Hastings [9]

The Minnesota Mafia Time Trials (Qualifying Order), 2 laps: 1. Danny Lasoski, 14.090 [3]; 2. Bryan Clauson, 14.106 [10]; 3. Ian Madsen, 14.191 [24]; 4. Brian Brown, 14.217 [14]; 5. Lynton Jeffrey, 14.273 [5]; 6. Bill Balog, 14.290 [25]; 7. Tasker Phillips, 14.324 [18]; 8. Dominic Scelzi, 14.378 [4]; 9. Steve Kinser, 14.434 [11]; 10. Matt Juhl, 14.472 [2]; 11. Jake Bubak, 14.476 [9]; 12. Mark Dobmeier, 14.484 [22]; 13. Brooke Tatnell, 14.497 [7]; 14. Tim Kaeding, 14.526 [19]; 15. Logan Forler, 14.532 [13]; 16. Terry McCarl, 14.575 [26]; 17. Craig Dollansky, 14.578 [15]; 18. Josh Baughman, 14.592 [20]; 19. Jon Agan, 14.657 [21]; 20. Austin McCarl, 14.668 [23]; 21. Wade Nygaard, 14.678 [28]; 22. Dakota Hendrickson, 14.680 [17]; 23. Stacey Alexander, 14.691 [12]; 24. Jordan Adams, 14.785 [16]; 25. Jade Hastings, 14.847 [1]; 26. Jack Dover, 14.952 [27]; 27. Michael Moore, 15.028 [6]; 28. Brad Loyet[8]

Contingencies

The Minnesota Mafia Quick Time – Danny Lasoski
Fuel Safe Heat – Bill Balog
DMI Heat – Tim Kaeding
Kaeding Performance Heat – Terry McCarl
Maxim Driver of the Night – Bill Balog

Hooker Harness “Locked In Award” – Austin McCarl
Speedway Graphics “From the Tail Award” – Dakota Hendrickson
KSE Hard-charger Award – Tim Kaeding

Bell Helmets “Hard Luck Award” – Jordan Adams

Photo: Tim Kaeding (middle) celebrates his $7,000 victory at I-80 Speedway with second place Steve Kinser (L) and third place Dominic Scelzi (R) (Rob Kocak Photo)

Final FVP National Sprint League Driver Standings