From Bill Wright
EAST MOLINE, Ill. (July 17, 2022) — Youth has definitely been served this season with the Sprint Invaders series. Fellow teens Chase Randall and Tyler Lee duked it out Sunday night at East Moline Speedway, with Randall emerging with his third win with the series of the year. The Waco, Texas native netted $2,000 aboard the Bush’s Chicken #9.
Colton Fisher shot out to lead lap one of the 25-lap feature, but after a lap was completed, he hit a turn three rut that upset his car and did all but flip it. Suspension damage sent him pitside. The restart saw Lee assume the lead, ahead of Randall, Jamie Ball, Bret Tripplett and Dugan Thye.
Randall shot around Lee to the point when the green fell. Thye’s top five run ended after he too, bicycled in turn three and came down, flattening his left rear tire. A lap later, McCain Richards and Ryan Edwards tangled, while JJ Hickle, who had advanced from row five to battle for fourth, retired with mechanical issues.
Lee stuck with Randall on the restart and stayed low to make a pass for the lead in turn two on lap eight. A Luke Verardi spin slowed things again. Verardi was fifth at the time. Lee led Randall, Ball, Tripplett and Paul Nienhiser, who had advanced from 17th, back to green. One last slowdown occurred when Devin Wignall stopped in turn two on lap ten.
Once green, the action ensued, with Nienhiser shooting from fifth to third on lap 12. Randall began closing on Lee again, and on lap 16, snuck under him to retake the point. The leaders were in lapped traffic with five to go. Nienhiser used the opportunity to get under Lee in turn three with two to go to cinch the runner-up spot, completing a night that started with a broken axle in his heat.
Randall, Nienhiser and Lee were followed by Tripplett and Ball at the checkers. Ryan Jamison, Verardi, Chase Richards, Tanner Gebhardt, Wignall and Austin Archdale rounded out the top ten. Fisher, Thye and Randall won heats, while Fisher also claimed the Dash. Brandon Wimmer’s entry never got going as he suffered ignition issues at the night’s outset.
“I really had to get to searching after (Lee) got by me the second time,” said Randall. “I kind of found a lane that worked for me, and kind of kept working it in and made the pass. I’m just happy to be here in Victory Lane, and cap off a long weekend with a win. We’ve had a long stretch of races this month, and it’s just really fun to race up here and race at these new tracks.”
“I can’t complain,” said Nienhiser, who finished second for the fifth time this season. “You have a little success, and you run second so many times…you can get frustrated with that. Coming from the back on a technical track…we came from the back and did what we had to do to survive. By the time we got to second, Chase was a straightaway ahead of us and we ran out of time. All in all, it was a good run for us. Scott (Bonar) had the car good, no matter where we were running on the track.”
“This feels good,” says Lee, who scored his first podium in a sprint car. “I’m just getting used to the car, and it feels great to run up front with these big guys. I was edgy all the way up to the race, and worried. Then we got in it, and I settled down a little bit. Chase has been really fast here and at Knoxville. I think it’s a really big confidence booster to be able to run with him. To get some sliders and be able to pass him is always good.”
The Sprint Invaders next action will be Wednesday, July 27 at the Dubuque Speedway during festivities at the Dubuque County Fair. For more information on the Sprint Invaders, visit www.SprintInvaders.org or look us up on Facebook.
Sprint Invaders Association
East Moline Speedway
East Moline, Illinois
Randalls Performance Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 11-Colton Fisher[1]
2. 35-Jamie Ball[6]
3. 7-Tyler Lee[5]
4. 21-Devin Wignall[2]
5. 357-Ryan Edwards[3]
6. 50-Paul Nienhiser[4]
Josh Denning Associates Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 11T-Dugan Thye[4]
2. 40C-Cody Wehrle[1]
3. 4X-Chase Richards[6]
4. 28-Luke Verardi[5]
5. 2A-Austin Archdale[3]
DNS: 50G-Brandon Wimmer
Mohrfeld Solar Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 9R-Chase Randall[3]
2. 99-Bret Tripplett[1]
3. 78-JJ Hickle[2]
4. 51J-Ryan Jamison[4]
5. 81-Tanner Gebhardt[5]
6. 31-McCain Richards[6]
Shottenkirk Automotive Group Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 11-Colton Fisher[4]
2. 35-Jamie Ball[2]
3. 9R-Chase Randall[3]
4. 11T-Dugan Thye[1]
5. 40C-Cody Wehrle[6]
6. 7-Tyler Lee[5]
Howard Law A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 9R-Chase Randall[4]
2. 50-Paul Nienhiser[17]
3. 7-Tyler Lee[1]
4. 99-Bret Tripplett[7]
5. 35-Jamie Ball[3]
6. 51J-Ryan Jamison[11]
7. 28-Luke Verardi[10]
8. 4X-Chase Richards[8]
9. 81-Tanner Gebhardt[13]
10. 31-McCain Richards[15]
11. 2A-Austin Archdale[16]
12. 21-Devin Wignall[12]
13. 78-JJ Hickle[9]
14. 357-Ryan Edwards[14]
15. 11T-Dugan Thye[5]
16. 40C-Cody Wehrle[6]
17. 11-Colton Fisher[2]