By Bill W (Vinton, IA) -- Cody Wehrle notched his second career Sprint Invaders feature, and first since a win at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa in 2018 Sunday night at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa. The Burlington, Iowa native notched $2,000 for his drive aboard the Andy Huston Racing #40.
Bret Tripplett looked good as the leader early in the 25-lap feature. It was a rough night for Luke Verardi, who won here last year, but completed just four laps before making contact with Ryan Bunton, ending his night. Bunton, who entered the night second to Colton Fisher in the point standings, restarted at the tail.
Wehrle used the low side of turn four to gain second from Chris Martin on lap two. Scott Bogucki, had his nose wing knocked askew by another car early, but was battling early with Chris Martin for the third spot in a great race. Tripplett entered lapped traffic, before Dustin Clark stopped with a fire on the backstretch, bringing the red flag out eleven laps in. He walked away under his own power.
The restart saw Tripplett leading Wehrle, Chris Martin, Riley Goodno and Bogucki. Wehrle measured up Tripplett and slid in front of him in turn four after the green was flown. Bogucki gained fourth from Goodno.
Tripplett’s good run came to an end with ten laps to go when he went over the top of turn two. Wehrle led Martin, Bogucki, Goodno and Fisher back to green. Bogucki made a late bid for the lead, but got caught in lapped traffic after Wehrle was able to find a way by in the final laps.
Wehrle’s win came ahead of Bogucki, Chris Martin, Goodno and Paul Nienhiser. Fisher, Cam Martin, Bunton, Tyler Lee and Tanner Gebhardt rounded out the top ten. Bunton and Clark won heat races, and Bogucki won both a heat and a Dash.
“Everybody involved with this car works their tails off,” said a happy Wehrle in Victory Lane. “Championships are awesome, but wins validate everything you do. The way the race went makes it fun for the fans. I’m glad everyone showed up.”
“We got run over the first lap and lost a nose wing,” said Bogucki. “That really hurt us on trying to run the bottom. We did what we could do. At the end, we had some lapped cars racing us back, but (Wehrle) did a hell of a job. Everything is in one piece other than nose wing, and we live to fight another day.”
“It was a solid night all around,” said Chris Martin. “We started out passing cars, and just got passed a couple times in the feature. We were committed to the top early. It kept getting dirtier up there, so I tried to make something work on the bottom for a little bit. Overall, it was a very fun track with good competition.”
On Wednesday, July 26. The Sprint Invaders make their annual visit to the Dubuque Speedway during the Dubuque County Fair.
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Sprint Invaders Results
Shottenkirk Automotive Group A main (started), 25 laps: 1. 40, Cody Wehrle, Burlington, IA (3) 2. 84, Scott Bogucki, McLaren Vale, SA, Aust. (6) 3. 44, Chris Martin, Ankeny, IA (2) 4. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (11) 5. 50, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (7) 6. 11, Colton Fisher, Mediapolis, IA (9) 7. 4, Cam Martin, Ankeny, IA (8) 8. 6R, Ryan Bunton, Morton, IL (4) 9. 7, Tyler Lee, Cedar Rapids, IA (13) 10. 81, Tanner Gebhardt, Burlington, IA (17) 11. 1E, Josh Higday, Des Moines, IA (10) 12. 99, Bret Tripplett, Lincoln, IL (1) 13. 21, Devin Wignall, Altoona, IA (19) 14. 69, JT Smith, Greenville, WI (14) 15. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (15) 16. 31, McCain Richards, Burlington, IA (16) 17. 4x, Chase Richards, Burlington, IA (18) 18. 4G, Cole Garner, Sioux Falls, SD (21) 19. 99x, Bradyn Greubel, Lacona, IA (20) 20. 16, Dustin Clark, Agency, IA (5) 21. 28, Luke Verardi, Taylorville, IL (12). Lap Leaders: Tripplett 1-11, Wehrle 12-25. $75 Christine Wahl-Levitt/KSE Hard-charger: Goodno. $200 Storm Steel Mystery Spots: Cam Martin, Dustin Clark.
Randall’s Performance Heat one (started), 8 laps: 1. Ryan Bunton (7) 2. Cody Wehrle (4) 3. Cam Martin (6) 4. Riley Goodno (3) 5. JT Smith (1) 6. McCain Richards (2) 7. Chase Richards (7)
Joshua Denning & Associates Heat two (started), 8 laps: 1. Scott Bogucki (3) 2. Bret Tripplett (5) 3. Colton Fisher (4) 4. Josh Higday (6) 5. Ryan Jamison (1) 6. Tanner Gebhardt (2) 7. Cole Garner (7)
Mohrfeld Solar Heat three (started), 8 laps: 1. Dustin Clark (2) 2. Paul Nienhiser (4) 3. Chris Martin (7) 4. Luke Verardi (3) 5. Tyler Lee (6) 6. Devin Wignall (1) 7. Bradyn Greubel (5)
Shake-up Dash (started), 6 laps: 1. Scott Bogucki (2) 2. Bret Tripplett (3) 3. Chris Martin (4) 4. Cody Wehrle (6) 5. Ryan Bunton (1) 6. Dustin Clark (5)
Reid’s Landscaping & Turf $50 Draw Award: None
Contingencies
DMI: Devin Wignall
Saldana: Chase Richards
BMRS High Point Driver: Ryan Bunton
Trophy Sponsor: Holtkamp’s Trailer Repair