By Steve Inch
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Logan Wagner of Harrisonville wired the field for the $20,000 victory in Saturday night’s Jim Nace Memorial/37th Annual National Open for 410 sprint cars presented by Red Robin at Selinsgrove Speedway.
The win was Wagner’s first career at Selinsgrove behind the wheel of the Zemco Racing No. 1. He became the 19th different driver to win the speedway’s crown jewel sprint car race. For the past 10 years, the race honored the memory of former five-time sprint car champion Jim Nace of Thompsontown.
Afternoon rain and nighttime humidity produced a smooth, lightning-fast racing surface for the stellar field of drivers all evening.
Kerry Madsen of St. Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia, broke the one-lap track for 410 sprint cars in qualifying with a lap time of 15.694, eclipsing the 2011 track record of 15.810 set by Daryn Pittman of Pittsboro, Ind. In all, five drivers broke the former record. Madsen collected the $300 Fast Tees Fast Time Award.
Garrett Bard of Wells Tannery took the lead on the second lap of the 20-lap 305 sprint car feature and took the win in only his second visit to the track.
Selinsgrove Speedway will close out the 2019 season at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, with the Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series-sanctioned 21st Annual Late Model Open paying $10,000 to win. The limited late models will join the super lates on the racing card. Gates will open at 4 p.m.
Front row starters Logan Wagner and Freddie Rahmer led the star-studded field to the green flag with Wagner taking the lead. Brian Brown, Kerry Madsen, and TJ Stutts followed.
Trey Starks slowed on the speedway bringing out the caution on lap eight. Starks was running sixth after starting ninth.
Wagner opened a slight lead on the restart but Rahmer closed in on his tail when the pair hit lapped traffic. Rahmer dogged Wagner until the red flag was shown on lap 20 so the cars could refuel.
As the cars were re-fired, 360 sprint car champion Kyle Reinhardt’s car did not fire. Reinhardt was running ninth after starting 21st.
Rahmer looked under Wagner on the restart but it was Wagner who held the lead with the momentum coming off the second turn.
When Wagner hit the lapped cars he had trouble getting around them which put Rahmer back on his nerf bar. Once in clean air he again opened a lead, taking the checkered flag by just .755 seconds in front of Rahmer, Brown, Madsen, and Stutts.
“Tommy (Carl) called me this week and asked how I did at Selinsgrove,” Wagner said. “I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d never raced there. This is the biggest win of my career. We timed fast, won the heat, and drew the pole so if anything happened, it was because I screwed up.”
“I did race 305’s here once and finished second to my brother Mike after we exchanged slide jobs,” Wagner added. “He called me and told me to get my butt back there and get the job done.”
410 sprint car heats were won by Brown, Wagner, and Rahmer. Lucas Wolfe won the consolation.
Jake Frye jetted to the front of the 305 sprint car lead, followed by Garrett Bard, Keith Prutzman, Jimmy White, and Ian Cumens.
By lap two, Bard, who is a relative newcomer to sprint car racing was in the lead. Bard, racing at the speedway for only the second time, finishing in fifth, took off and hid. His lead at the halfway point was two seconds. The lead was wiped out on lap 18 when Josh Spicer’s car erupted in flames and stopped in the third turn. Spicer was uninjured.
While the cars sat on the speedway, the car of Jeremi Hansen also caught on fire. Those flames were quickly extinguished and Hansen escaped harm. Second running Frye also had issues as his right rear went flat.
Bard led the final two laps winning by 1.039 seconds over Zach Newlin, Prutzman, and Devin Adams. It was Bard’s fourth win of the year.
Newlin, Nathan Gramley, and Adams won the 305 sprint car heats. Jake Waters, driving a Jim Nace No. 44 tribute car, won the consolation.
Jim Nace Memorial Selinsgrove National Open
Selinsgrove Speedway
Selinsgrove, PA
Saturday September 14, 2019
Winged 410 Sprint Cars
Feature:
1. 1-Logan Wagner
2. 51-Freddie Rahmer
3. 21b-Brian Brown
4. 2m-Kerry Madsen
5. 11-TJ Stutts
6. 39-Anthony Macri
7. 21-Brian Monteith
8. 48-Danny Dietrich
9. 69K-Lance Dewease
10. 17B-Steve Buckwalter
11. 72-Ryan Smith
12. 33-Jared Esh
13. 99-Cody Keller
14. 12-Blane Heimbach
15. 24-Lucas Wolfe
16. 29-Jason Shultz
17. 19-Landon Myers
18. 2-AJ Flick
19. 5-Dylan Cisney
20. 91-Kyle Reinhardt
21. 35-Tyler Reeser
22. 9-Ryan Linder
23. 44-Trey Starks
24. 39h-Cory Haas
PA Sprint Series
Feature:
1. 95-Garrett Bard
2. 11Z-Zach Newlin
3. 28-Keith Prutzman
4. 99A-Devin Adams
5. 79-Ian Cumens
6. 20-Doug Dodson
7. 67-Ken Duke
8. 53-Jimmy White
9. 3D-Dave Grube
10. 23-Nathan Gramley
11. 97-Kenny Heffner
12. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski
13. 5-John Walp
14. 6R-Reed Thompson
15. 55-Dominic Melair
16. 2-Erin Statler
17. 55b-Rick Romig
18. 88-Fred Arnold
19. 46-Mike Alleman
20. 301-Chad Conner
21. 56-Jake Frye
22. 36-Jaremi Hanson
23. 71-Josh Spicer
24. 44-Jake Waters