PETERSEN MEDIA
Finally able to kick the 2026 IRA season off over the weekend, Paul Nienhiser bounced back from a tough Friday night and picked up the Saturday night win at Sycamore Speedway.
“Over the weekend, we saw really technical tracks both nights,” Paul Nienhiser said. “Friday night we just got a little too buried and couldn’t rebound, but on Saturday night we put ourselves in good position and we were able to grab another win.”
Davenport Speedway in Davenport, IA played host to the 2026 IRA opener and going out extremely late in time trials, Nienhiser timed the AGRI-Yield/CAM2 Lubricants/Midland Performance Inc. No. 9x in 22nd fastest.
Lining up sixth in his heat race, Nienhiser was able to dig himself out of the early hole he was in as he raced to a fourth-place finish and transferred directly into the feature event.
With track conditions deteriorating rapidly, rubber going down was imminent so Nienhiser and crew took a couple big swings at their set up to try and put a car on track that could maneuver by any means necessary.
Lining up 15th, he flirted with the Top-10 early in the race, but as the rubber continued to go down, he slowly drifted back to 17th where he went on to finish.
Saturday night, the scene shifted to Sycamore Speedway, and even though conditions were very similar to Friday, things got off to a much better start as Nienhiser timed in fifth fastest in time trials.
Finishing third in his heat race, the Chapin, IL driver locked into Dash 1 and his third-place finish placed him in the third row of the 30-lap feature event.
On another extremely slick surface where rubber was imminent, Nienhiser made a couple of quick moves which saw him race into the second spot as rubber began to go down on the bottom of the speedway.
A late restart bunched the field back up, and when the action went back to green Nienhiser moved up one lane and was able to ride into the race lead as he quickly dropped back into the rubber.
Leading the final 10 laps, Nienhiser was able to secure his third win of the season, and his first of the year with IRA.
“I was really happy we bounced back on Saturday night after a tough start to the weekend on Friday,” Nienhiser said. “It was Scott Bonar’s birthday, so it was great to get him a nice birthday gift. I really want to thank Scott, Zoom, Caleb and Weston for working their tails off all weekend. If it wasn’t for them as well as Drake, Tom, and Eldon and the shop, we would not have been able to race these last few weeks as I have been busy outside of racing, and really appreciate all of their efforts.”
Nienhiser would like to thank AGRI-YIELD, 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 ID | SP, Bradshaw Custom Pumping, Wessler Bros. Agency Inc., Haverfield Construction-Concrete, Steve’s Towing, Dropped Mobile, Mason Sound, AB&C Moving, Bayer Crop Science, Dekalb/Asgrow, 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-4, Wins-3, Top 5’s-3, Top 10’s-3
ON TAP: Nienhiser will spend this Saturday and Sunday in Wisconsin with the IRA as he will be at Plymouth Speedway on Saturday, and Angel Park Speedway on Sunday.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with Paul Nienhiser by following him on Twitter @Paul_Nienhiser or by clicking over to www.paulnienhiser.com.