WAGNER WIRES FIELD FOR $20,000 NACE MEMORIAL NATIONAL OPEN WIN ON RECORD-BREAKING NIGHT

WAGNER WIRES FIELD FOR $20,000 NACE MEMORIAL NATIONAL OPEN WIN ON RECORD-BREAKING NIGHT

Story By: Selinsgrove Speedway

Photos By: Dan DeMarco/RacersGuide.com

Logan Wagner of Harrisonville wired the field for the $20,000 victory in Saturday night’s Jim Nace Memorial/37th Annual National Open for 410 sprint cars presented by Red Robin at Selinsgrove Speedway.

The win was Wagner’s first career at Selinsgrove behind the wheel of the Zemco Racing No. 1. He became the 19th different driver to win the speedway’s crown jewel sprint car race. For the past 10 years, the race honored the memory of former five-time sprint car champion Jim Nace of Thompsontown.

Afternoon rain and nighttime humidity produced a smooth, lightning-fast racing surface for the stellar field of drivers all evening.

Kerry Madsen of St. Mary’s, New South Wales, Australia, broke the one-lap track for 410 sprint cars in qualifying with a lap time of 15.694, eclipsing the 2011 track record of 15.810 set by Daryn Pittman of Pittsboro, Ind. In all, five drivers broke the former record. Madsen collected the $300 Fast Tees Fast Time Award.

Garrett Bard of Wells Tannery took the lead on the second lap of the 20-lap 305 sprint car feature and took the win in only his second visit to the track.

Selinsgrove Speedway will close out the 2019 season at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, with the Morton Buildings World of Outlaws Late Model Series-sanctioned 21st Annual Late Model Open paying $10,000 to win. The limited late models will join the super lates on the racing card. Gates will open at 4 p.m.

Front row starters Logan Wagner and Freddie Rahmer led the star-studded field to the green flag with Wagner taking the lead. Brian Brown, Kerry Madsen, and TJ Stutts followed.

Trey Starks slowed on the speedway bringing out the caution on lap eight. Starks was running sixth after starting ninth.

Wagner opened a slight lead on the restart but Rahmer closed in on his tail when the pair hit lapped traffic. Rahmer dogged Wagner until the red flag was shown on lap 20 so the cars could refuel.

As the cars were re-fired, 360 sprint car champion Kyle Reinhardt’s car did not fire. Reinhardt was running ninth after starting 21st.

Rahmer looked under Wagner on the restart but it was Wagner who held the lead with the momentum coming off the second turn.

When Wagner hit the lapped cars he had trouble getting around them which put Rahmer back on his nerf bar. Once in clean air he again opened a lead, taking the checkered flag by just .755 seconds in front of Rahmer, Brown, Madsen, and Stutts.

“Tommy (Carl) called me this week and asked how I did at Selinsgrove,” Wagner said. “I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d never raced there. This is the biggest win of my career. We timed fast, won the heat, and drew the pole so if anything happened, it was because I screwed up.”

“I did race 305’s here once and finished second to my brother Mike after we exchanged slide jobs,” Wagner added. “He called me and told me to get my butt back there and get the job done.”

410 sprint car heats were won by Brown, Wagner, and Rahmer. Lucas Wolfe won the consolation.

Garrett Bard

Jake Frye jetted to the front of the 305 sprint car lead, followed by Garrett Bard, Keith Prutzman, Jimmy White, and Ian Cumens.

By lap two, Bard, who is a relative newcomer to sprint car racing was in the lead. Bard, racing at the speedway for only the second time, finishing in fifth, took off and hid. His lead at the halfway point was two seconds. The lead was wiped out on lap 18 when Josh Spicer’s car erupted in flames and stopped in the third turn. Spicer was uninjured.

While the cars sat on the speedway, the car of Jeremi Hansen also caught on fire. Those flames were quickly extinguished and Hansen escaped harm. Second running Frye also had issues as his right rear went flat.

Bard led the final two laps winning by 1.039 seconds over Zach Newlin, Prutzman, and Devin Adams. It was Bard’s fourth win of the year.

Newlin, Nathan Gramley, and Adams won the 305 sprint car heats. Jake Waters, driving a Jim Nace No. 44 tribute car, won the consolation.

SELINSGROVE SPEEDWAY RACE SUMMARY – 14 September 2019
410 Sprint Cars – 29 Entries
40-Lap A-Main: 1) 1 Logan Wagner ($20,000) 2) 51 Freddie Rahmer 3) 21 Brian Brown 4) 2 Kerry Madsen 5) 11 TJ Stutts 6) 39 Anthony Macri 7) 21 Brian Montieth 8) 48 Danny Dietrich 9) 69K Lance Dewease 10) 17B Steve Buckwalter 11) 72 Ryan Smith 12) 33 Jared Esh 13) 99 Cody Keller 14) 12 Blane Heimbach 15) 24 Lucas Wolfe 16) 29 Jason Shultz 17) 19 Landon Myers 18) 2 AJ Flick 19) 5 Dylan Cisney 20) 91 Kyle Reinhardt 21) 35 Tyler Reeser 22) 9 Ryan Linder 23) 44 Trey Starks 24) 39 Cory Haas
Heat Winners: Brian Brown, Logan Wagner, Freddie Rahmer
B-Main Winner: Lucas Wolfe

Time Trials: 1) 2 Kerry Madsen 15.694 2) 11 TJ Stutts 15.697 3) 48 Danny Dietrich 15.761 4) 21 Brian Brown 15.781 5) 1 Logan Wagner 15.809 6) 69K Lance Dewease 15.816 7) 72 Ryan Smith 15.833 8) 44 Trey Starks 15.849 9) 51 Freddie Rahmer 15.856 10) 39 Anthony Macri 15.857 11) 21 Brian Montieth 15.864 12) 29 Jason Shultz 15.984 13) 12 Blane Heimbach 16.029 14) 19 Landon Myers 16.031 15) 33 Jared Esh 16.053 16) Steve Buckwalter 16.060 17) 39 Cory Haus 16.062 18) 99 Cody Keller 16.100 19) 24 Lucas Wolfe 16.118 20) 19W Colby Womer 21) 91 Kyle Reinhart 16.162 22) 8S Trenton Sheaffern16.167 23) 9 Ryan Linder 16.172 24) 35 Tyler Reeser 16.173 25) 2 AJ Flick 16.312 26) 5 Dylan Cisney 16.387 27) 24B Dustin Baney 16.443 28) 11P Greg Plank 17.044 29) 97 Brie Hershey 17.267

305 Sprint Cars – 30 Entries
20-Lap A-Main: 1) 95 Garrett Bard 2) 11Z Zach Newlin 3) 28 Keith Prutzman 4) 99 Devin Adams 5) 79 Ian Cumens 6) 20 Doug Dodson 7) 67 Ken Duke 8) 53 Jimmy White 9) 3D Dave Grube 10) 23 Nathan Gramely 11) 97 Kenny Heffner 12) 41Z Jared Zionkowski 13) 5 John Walp 14) R6 Reed Thompson 15) 55 Dominic Melair 16) 2 Erin Statler 17) 55 Rick Romig 18) 88 Fred Arnold 19) 46 Mike Alleman 20) 301 Chad Conner 21) 56 Jake Frye 22) 36 Jaremi Hanson 23) 71 Josh Spicer 24) 44 Jake Waters
Heat Winners: Zach Newlin, Nathan Gramley, Devin Adams
B-Main Winner: Jake Waters