PETERSEN MEDIA: With his early season schedule getting cancelled due to rain, it was only fitting that Paul Nienhiser’s first event of the season would ultimately get cut short due to an untimely shower drenching the Speedway midway through the feature event.
“I can’t seem to shake this late spring rain,” Paul Nienhiser said with a smile. “It was our first night out with a new car, and we still have some work to do but it was a really good first night. I think we had a car that was capable of winning, but with only running 11 laps, we didn’t get to see what it had late in the feature.”
Lining up sixth in his heat race, Nienhiser would get a good feel for his CAM2 Lubricants/Buffalo Wild Wings/Innovative Design backed No. 9x however he would contact the wall and cause damage to his rear end which led to a tip-over as he finished fifth.
Advancing to the feature event, the Chapin, IL driver lined up in the 13th starting position after repairing the minor damage from the heat race rollover. When the race went green, Nienhiser showcased a strong entry as he began working his way forward.
Turning in the fastest lap of the race on the seventh lap, Nienhiser would make his way into the Top-10 as he took over the seventh position just before the caution flag flew on the 11th lap.
With everyone bunched back up, Nienhiser had hopes of continuing this charge through the field, however Mother Nature had other ideas as rain began falling, forcing officials to cancel the remainder of the race.
“It was a bummer getting rained out, because not only did we have a really good car in the feature event, we also were starting on the front row of the 305ci race,” Nienhiser said.
Sunday the team made the trip to Brandon, SD where they would check in at Huset’s Speedway.
On top of the nine-hour commute, things got dicey Nienhiser about three hours from the track. Dealing with a case of food poisoning, Nienhiser would still go about his business though felt extremely under the weather.
“On top of feeling horrible most of the day Sunday, Scott Bonar had an accident in the pit area that left him injured, and made our night that much more eventful,’ Nienhiser said.
Despite the ill effects of Food Poisoning, Nienhiser would make the best of a really bad situation as he timed his mount in sixth fastest in qualifying time trials.
Running fourth during his heat race, Nienhiser admittedly made a couple of bad decisions that saw him fall back to a fifth-place finish which subsequently kept him out of the all important redraw.
Lining up 10th in the feature, the track would quickly take rubber and make for a tough feature event. With passing very limited, Nienhiser settled into 12th where he would go on to finish and cap off a very long day.
“With all things considered, we will gladly take a 12th place finish,” Nienhiser said. “With not racing for seven months, it was a pretty good weekend despite getting sick, and having Scott get hurt. We will take this weekend off to let everyone recover and get back after it soon.”
Nienhiser would like to thank CAM2 Lubricants, Buffalo Wild Wings, Innovative Design, Mason Sound, Bradshaw Custom Pumping, Signature Signs & Design, Sunstoppers Window Tinting, American Rental Center, Fierce Herbicide, Guse’s Pub & Eatery, Wessler Bros Agency, Willhite Mowing, T&K Tree Services, Engler Machine and Tool, FK Indy, Rider Racing Engines, Midland Performance, Simpson Race Products, Smith Titanium, and Premier Powder Coating for their continued support.
Nienhiser would also like to thank Midland Performance, Kinney Racing Engines, Rockstar Wraps, Heartland Trailer Manufacturing, Robert’s Tire Center, and Stronghurst Collision for their support of the No. 50 car.
BY THE NUMBERS: Races-2, Wins-0, Top 5’s-0, Top 10’s-1
ON TAP: Nienhiser is TBD on his next event.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay updated with Paul Nienhiser by following him on Twitter @Paul_Nienhiser or by clicking over to www.paulnienhiser.com.
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