(Bill W) April 13, 2013 – Ian Madsen was planning on wrapping up a championship at the Sydney Speedway in Australia on Saturday night. Unforeseen travel issues arose for the St. Mary’s, New South Wales native, and he ended up at the 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa racing at the Midwest Open Wheel Association opener. He made the most of it by sweeping the night’s events, holding off Terry McCarl, who charged from the tail of the field in an electric feature event. The win was worth $3,000 and came on the first night of competition with his brand new team (Brent Nehring #18).
After a heat win, and by virtue of a win in the Dash, Madsen started on the pole and shot out to a big lead early on in the 30-lapper with Lucas Wolfe in tow. A spin by Mike Moore with two laps in the books slowed things. Third running and two-time and defending MOWA champion, Jerrod Hull, suffered a flat left rear under caution, and restarted at the tail. McCarl had done the same at the race’s outset, with mag box problems the culprit.
Madsen pulled away again under green flag conditions as second place, Wolfe, had his hands full with AJ Bruns. With eleven laps in, it was Wolfe’s turn to lose a left rear. It was his second of the night, as he blew one in his heat race. He would restart at the tail as well.
Eyes were on McCarl, who had moved up to seventh from the tail on a track that was lending multiple grooves. McCarl began picking off cars, and had shot by Jimmy Hurley into third by lap 21. Two laps later, he was pressuring Madsen for the lead, when Aussie, Trevor Reynolds spun.
Madsen led McCarl, Bruns, Hurley and Jimmy Light back to green with seven laps to go. While eyes were on McCarl, who could not catch Madsen, Wolfe, who restarted seventh, was blazing a trail of his own. Incredibly, he would finish third behind the lead pair. Bruns was fourth, ahead of Ben Wagoner, and Hull, who did his own recovery effort from the tail. Hurley, Paul Nienhiser (from 22nd), Light and Robbie Standridge completed the top ten.
“It was pretty hectic in lapped traffic,” said Madsen in Victory Lane. “I knew (McCarl) would be coming. He’s an excellent racer. I knew he and Lucas would be coming from the back. I’m just looking forward to racing with him week in and week out at Knoxville. It was an awesome race. I hope we can beat him a couple more times this year.”
“It’s unfortunate that yellow came out,” said McCarl of the late caution that interrupted his chase of Madsen in the Country Builders Construction #24. “We put a little harder tire on than most guys did. The tires sealed up, and Ian took off on us. We certainly came to win, that pays the best. But I’m a promoter at heart, and that was a show. Hopefully, all the fans who braved the cold weather saw a good show.”
“I’m not sure what happened to it,” said Wolfe of his left rear tire on the Buffalo Wild Wings #82. “It must have had a hole in it. The track ended up being pretty racy and gave us two options.”
The next stop for the MOWA series will be Sunday, April 21 at the Vermilion County Speedway in Danville, Illinois.
A Main (started), 30 laps: 1. 18, Ian Madsen, St. Mary’s, NSW, Aust. (1) 2. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (21) 3. 82, Lucas Wolfe, Mechanicsburg, PA (2) 4. 44, AJ Bruns, Athens, IL (3) 5. 84, Ben Wagoner, Emden, IL (8) 6. 12, Jerrod Hull, Sikeston, MO (4) 7. 35, Jimmy Hurley, Springfield, IL (6) 8. 9, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (22) 9. 23, Jimmy Light, West Springfield, PA (5) 10. 22, Robbie Standridge, Springfield, IL (16) 11. 10s, Jeremy Standridge, Springfield, IL (9) 12. 47AU, Trevor Reynolds, Perth, WA, Aust. (15) 13. 51J, Ryan Jamison, Mediapolis, IA (13) 14. 77u, Chris Urish, Elkhart, IL (14) 15. 99, Jimmy Davies, Oquawka, IL (17) 16. 42, Cory Bruns, Lincoln, IL (19) 17. 69, Mike Moore, Des Moines, IA (7) 18. 71, Robert Bell, Colfax, IA (18) 19. 83, Dave Getchell, Sperry, IA (20) 20. 52F, Logan Faucon, Elkhart, IL (10) 21. 94, Brandon Thone, Sheboygan, WI (12) 22. 7K, Dustin Selvage, Indianola, IA (11). Lap Leader: Madsen 1-30. Hard Charger: McCarl.
Heat one (started, 10 laps): 1. Ian Madsen (4) 2. Terry McCarl (2) 3. Mike Moore (3) 4. Chris Urish (1) 5. Dustin Selvage (6) 6. Robbie Standridge (7) 7. Dave Getchell (5) 8. Cory Bruns (8)
Heat two (started, 10 laps): 1. Jerrod Hull (1) 2. Jimmy Hurley (3) 3. Lucas Wolfe (5) 4. Jimmy Light (6) 5. Jeremy Standridge (7) 6. Robert Bell (4) 7. Paul Nienhiser (2)
Heat three (started, 10 laps): 1. AJ Bruns (2) 2. Ben Wagoner (4) 3. Logan Faucon (1) 4. Brandon Thone (3) 5. Ryan Jamison (5) 6. Trevor Reynolds (7) 7. Jimmy Davies (6)
Dash (started, 8 laps): 1. Ian Madsen (2) 2. Lucas Wolfe (6) 3. AJ Bruns (1) 4. Jerrod Hull (4) 5. Terry McCarl (7) 6. Jimmy Hurley (5) 7. Jimmy Light (8) 8. Ben Wagoner (3)