7.25.17 Sprint Invaders Results
When twenty-year-old Dominic Scelzi pulled in to the Dubuque Fairgrounds Speedway Tuesday night he likely had no idea that in his first ever appearance with the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders, he would be racing against a seven-time IRA Sprint Car champion and a member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. That was the case though and after Scelzi was able to beat them both, as well as the rest of the twenty-one car field, he was obviously thrilled with his accomplishment.
John Schulz, who won here last year during the annual Dubuque County Fair, and Carson McCarl would make up the front row for the 25-lap main event, but it would be Scelzi who would charge to the point at the drop of the green from his fourth starting position. The lap would not be scored though as Carson McCarl would spin in turn four with Schulz also going sideways to keep from making major contact.
The restart would move Hall of Famer Terry McCarl and Scelzi to the front row and the veteran would flex his muscles by driving up in front of the youngster in turn two to take the lead. The caution would wave again on lap two for a Cody Wehrle spin and once back to racing the large county fair crowd was treated to some great racing as McCarl and Scelzi swapped the lead on two occasions over the next five laps. In both cases Scelzi was able to throw a slider at McCarl in turns one and two only to have T-Mac come charging back on the inside down the back stretch. On the eighth lap Scelzi had completed the pass for the lead, but a spin by Tim Moore in turn two wiped that out and McCarl would again lead the field back to green.
Two more criss-cross moves would follow until Scelzi would complete the pass of McCarl on lap eleven with IRA champ Bill Balog now closely following in third. Rookie-of-the-year contender Tanner Gebhardt would slow on lap thirteen bringing an early end to his evening after he raced in the top five through the opening laps. Scelzi was able to pull away from McCarl on the restart while Balog was now involved in a thrilling four car battle for third with Jamie Ball, Jon Agan and Jarrod Schneiderman as they each used different lines around the perfectly prepared surface. Schneiderman had come from the eighth row to try to crack the top five, but when he spun in turn four on lap seventeen he would have to return to the back of the field for the final restart.
Scelzi would again drive away over the final eight laps to complete the $2,000 win and after climbing to his wing in jubilation and then hustling over to shake hands with McCarl, he told the crowd what a thrill it was to hold off two of then men that he admired the most. Scelzi also expressed his love for the Dubuque Speedway, “this place place is amazing, it is definitely one of the best tracks that I have ever raced on!” Terry McCarl gave the winner a thumbs up in victory lane after finishing second, Balog drove Scott Bonar’s #50 to third after starting eighth and Jon Agan tightened up the Sprint Invaders point race by finishing fourth just ahead of point leader Jamie Ball.
Next on the schedule will be the Shottenkirk.com Sprint Invaders Nationals doubleheader with Friday night action at the Lee County Speedway in Donnellson on August 18th before moving just up the road to 34 Raceway near Burlington on Saturday August 19th.
Results
25-lap A-Main – 1. Dominic Scelzi, Fresno CA 2. Terry McCarl, Altoona 3. Bill Balog, Hartland WI 4. Jon Agan, Knoxville 5. Jamie Ball, Knoxville 6. Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis 7. John Schulz, West Burlington 8. Dustin Clark, Agency 9. Carson McCarl, Altoona 10. Harold Pohren, Lowell 11. Justin Bucholz, Davenport 12. Daniel Bergqusit, Burlington 13. Brayden Gaylord, Wever 14. Jarrod Schneiderman, West Burlington 15. Rob Weuve, Oakland Acres 16. Cody Wehrle, Burlington 17. Tim Moore, Rock Island IL 18. Tanner Gebhart, Burlington 19. Dave Getchell, Sperry 20. Ben Wagoner, Emden IL 21. John Greenwood, Woodward
Randall’s Performance Heat One – 1. Schulz 2. Scelzi 3. Agan 4. Pohren 5. Wagoner 6. Schneiderman 7. Moore
Cen-Pe-Co Lubricants Heat Two – 1. T. McCarl 2. Gebhart 3. Balog 4. Jamison 5. Bucholz 6. Getchell DNS: Wehrle
Mohrfeld Electric Heat Three – 1. Ball 2. C. McCarl 3. Clark 4. Bergquist 5. Gaylord 6. Weuve 7. Greenwood
Golden Eagle Distributing Budweiser Shake Up Dash – 1. T. McCarl 2. Scelzi 3. Gebhardt 4. Ball 5. Schulz 6. C. McCarl
KSE Hard Charger: Jamison
Contingencies
Kreitz Oval Track Products: Brayden Gaylord
Pyrotect: Rob Weuve
Saldana Racing Products: Tim Moore