PETERSEN MEDIA
A busy weekend for Paul Nienhiser proved to be worth it. Competing with the Sprint Invaders on Friday night and the IRA on Saturday, Nienhiser was the class of the field on both nights as he swept the weekend and recorded his first two wins of the 2025 season.
“It was a really good weekend for us in both cars,” Paul Nienhiser said. ‘Both tracks were really slick, and we have struggled on that in the past, but we made it a point of focus and it is really paying off. It is really cool to pull within one win of the all time Sprint Invaders win record, and also nice to grab an IRA win for the first time in nearly a decade.”
Piloting Scott Bonar’s Midland Performance No. 50 on Friday night with the Sprint Invaders in Davenport, IA, Nienhiser got the weekend kicked off by drawing the fourth row to start his heat race.
With it being a passing points format, each position was vital for Dash and feature line up, and Nienhiser as was able to work his way forward and score a third-place finish on the surface that was more slick than usual early in the season.
Qualifying for the Dash, Nienhiser started on the front row and ended up finishing second to give himself the second starting position for the feature event. After admittedly struggling in the Dash, the changes the team made prior to the feature paid off as Nienhiser settled into second as he and the leader pulled away from the field.
Continuing to hold strong in second, Nienhiser was in prime position to pounce on a misstep the leader made as he raced into the lead and never looked back. With a firm grasp on the top spot, Nienhiser went on to score his 21st career with the Sprint Invaders.
Saturday night, Nienhiser jumped back into his family owned car as he joined the IRA at Sycamore Speedway. Getting off to a bit of a slow start, the Chapin, IL driver timed in 12th fastest after being the first car on the clock.
Lining up on the front row of his heat race, Nienhiser was locked in as he powered to the win before again powering to the win in the Dash to earn the pole for the feature event.
When the ‘A’ went green, Nienhiser found himself of to a good start on the slick surface, but was in a dogfight for the top spot during the opening laps.
Able to break away into the lead, Nienhiser set a torrid pace as he raced out to nearly a four second lead before a late caution bunched the field back up.
With rubber now down on the speedway, Nienhiser simply hit his marks in the final stanzas to cap off a weekend sweep, and claim his first series win in eight years.
“Very cool to win on those track conditions, because like I said that has been our struggle,” Nienhiser added. ‘Thankful for all of Scott’s hard work as well as everyone that helps us out on both cars.”
Nienhiser would like to thank CAM2 Lubricants, Midland Performance Inc., MB Heating & Cooling Inc., Buffalo Wild Wings, T&K Tree Services, Morrow Brothers Ford Inc., American Rental Center, Signature Signs, The Auringer Family, Matt Bradshaw, Wessler Bros. Agency Inc., Haverfield Construction-Concrete, Dropped Mobile, Mason Sound, AB&C Moving, Bayer, Dekalb/Asgrow, Maxim Racing, Engler Machine and Tool, Rider Racing Engines, K1 Race Gear, and Super Shox for their support.
Nienhiser would also like to thank Heartland Trailer Manufacturing, Rockstar Wraps, Kinney Racing Engines, and Stronghurst Collision Center for their support of Scott Bonar’s No. 50 car.
BY THE NUMBERS: Races-6, Wins-2, Top 5’s-4, Top 10’s-5
ON TAP: Nienhiser will be back to work this weekend as he is set for a Sprint Invader show Friday night at Columbus Junction.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with Paul Nienhiser by following him on Twitter @Paul_Nienhiser or by clicking over to www.paulnienhiser.com.