August 18, 2023 (Lincoln, IL) – For Paul Nienhiser, it was a clean sweep of all events at Lincoln Speedway in 2023. The Chapin, Illinois hotshoe was victorious in both visits to the ¼-mile oval, winning his heat races and both A-Main events. Neither event was an easy win, however.
In July, Nienhiser fought off Steven Russell and Joe B. Miller to score the victory. Tonight, it was a challenge from Will Armitage, who gave it all that he had, as he tried to overtake Nienhiser for his first career MOWA Sprints Victory.
Nienhiser started the 25-Lap affair in the fifth spot and quickly moved his way forward, chasing down early front-runners Steven Russell and Trevin Littleton. The field slowed for a caution with Jeff Beasley in turn three that collected Russell and resulted in a DNF for the driver of the #1JR. Enter Mario Clouser. The Auburn, Illinois native made a rare start with a wing atop his #6 machine and ran inside the top three for a majority of the race. As the field refired with Nienhiser at the point, further back in the field, Jake Neuman and Jake Blackhurst quickly entered their hats into the battle for top five positions.
Nienhiser continued to pull away with laps winding down only to see the field slow once more when Paul Haley made contact with the infield berm, resulting in a roll-over. Haley was uninjured in the accident. Lining up for a two lap shootout, Nienhiser pulled away from Armitage and again saw caution fall as Preston Perlmutter pulled up lame just before turn one, ending his night. A race back to a green-white-checkered finish saw Nienhiser score his fifth career victory at Lincoln Speedway and 25th-overall series victory. Will Armitage, Trevin Littleton, Jake Neuman and Jake Blackhurst rounded out the top five.
The finish: 1. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 2. 7A-Will Armitage, 3. 1T-Trevin Littleton, 4. 3N-Jake Neuman, 5. 96-Jake Blackhurst, 6. 47-Korey Weyant, 7. 6-Mario Clouser, 8. 10S-Jeremy Standridge, 9. 52F-Logan Faucon, 10. 79-Gage Montgomery, 11. 83-Colton Fisher, 12. 3B-Shelby Bosie, 13. 16C-Tyler Rankin, 14. 9-Tyler Duff, 15. 77U-Chris Urish, 16. 37-Bryce Norris, 17. 14N-Kevin Newton, 18. 42-Preston Perlmutter, 19. 90-Patrick Budde, 20. 83B-Jeff Beasley, 21. 17-Paul Haley, 22. 1JR-Steven Russell, 23. 14M-Jordan Masson