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Scotty Thiel – IRA Northern Swing Notations

Three nights of IRA 410 Sprint Car action took place this past weekend in the north woods of Wisconsin. Night number one started in Antigo, WI at the big half mile of Langlade County Speedway followed by ABC Raceway in Ashland, WI and rounded out at Eagle Valley Speedway in Jim Falls, WI. After 410 engine issues taunted the STM team once again, they were forced to pull down the back up 360 car and compete with the 410’s all weekend long.

Night number one was a set back as the team attempted to qualify the 410 but Scotty pulled off after the engine struggled to run. They rushed to get the ASCS 360 car down and ready for heat race action. Scotty tagged the rear of the heat race and was able to get a good start. He charged into the fifth place transfer spot in the first turn after starting in the eighth position. Being down horsepower the big half mile was a disadvantage and lost the transfer spot a few laps later. After eight laps of green flag action, Scotty finished sixth and would have to run the B main event.

Since Thiel did not have a recorded qualifying lap, he had to tag the rear of the B-main as well. Once the green flag flew, there was no stopping Scotty as he charge the high side again and shot into the third position going down the back stretch. This time, he maintained his ground and slowly pulled the leaders in. He fell short of making any more passes but transferred into the nights 20 lap A-main event. The track did not change much and still had a lot of moisture left when the field pulled onto the track for the main event. Scotty would start in the 20th position and after taking the green flag he did not waste any time to move forward. He charged the top side of the track going into turn one and passed several cars before going down the back stretch. In just three laps he moved up nine spots. A yellow came out a few laps later which set Thiel up for a better run since the field would be bunched back up. Taking the green flag the field stormed back into turns one and two. Scotty changed his line and went low and managed to pass several more cars before going down the back stretch. He battled for the eighth spot for the next few laps before another caution came out on lap 16. After going back to green flag action, Scotty used the low line but hit a huge rut which upset the car tremendously and sent him back to the 11th spot. Luckily, the car was still in one piece but the lost ground could not be gained back with only three laps to go. After 20 laps of racing action, Scotty crossed the line in the 11th position.

“I knew we were going to be down on power all night with the 360 and especially noticed here with a tacky half mile. I was surprised we moved up as fast as we did. Knowing we were passing for sixth before I go into that rut in turn one was pretty exciting but disappointing that we ended up back in 11th. Solid night for what we had to work with. Hopefully we can do better tomorrow at ABC Raceway” Scotty stated after the night.

Saturday night brought the team 165 miles north to Ashland, WI and ABC Raceway. A hot and sunny day made for the track conditions to be pretty dry which helped out Thiel being in the 360 car. After being towards the end of the qualifying order he managed to still set a time that was good enough for the 12th quickest car out of the 26 car field. That set him to start in the third spot for the ten lap heat race event. After going green, Scotty tried to make the top side of the track work but lost a few spots and moved down to the bottom. Not much action took place and he ended up in the fifth spot after ten laps of racing action. That finish was still good enough to transfer him into the A-main event. With the invert, Scotty managed to start the A-main in the eighth starting position. A few sprinkles of rain came across the track during the entire 30 lap A-main event. It did not make the track that slick and actually helped create a little bit of moisture for the cars to grab as the race went on. Once the field went green flag racing, Scotty moved up towards the top side of the track and maintained his position. A caution first came out with only six laps to go. Scotty was in the sixth position at that point in time. After going back to racing action, he moved down low in turn one but got into a slick spot and lost several positions going into turn three. The leader made contact with a car and spun coming out of turn four which called for another caution. Luckily, the field went back to the previous lap running order. This time around, Scotty used the high line in turn one and it worked out. He stormed from sixth to third coming out of turn two. With only a few laps left he started to reel in the second place car. The white flag flew and Scotty was able to get a good run going into turn one. Coming off of turn two he crossed over and had a run for second. The second place car was turning down into turn three and they made a little contact. Scotty was able to hold onto the car and crossed the line in the second position, earning his career best IRA finish.

“This team needed this tonight. Finally back on the podium with a second place finish. We haven’t had a solid run like this in a while so it’s a good confidence booster especially with the 360. The track conditions were in our favor tonight so that really helped. I feel horrible about the last lap in turn three. I didn’t mean to slide into the 7. I had a run and went low to make the pass but he was turning low at the same time. I did what I could to slow the car down but we bumped wheels.” Stated an excited Thiel after the race.

Sunday night brought the team back down about 140 miles to the south at Eagle Valley Speedway in Jim Falls, WI. This was the first time the team has ever been to this facility. The team prepared the car for the final night of the IRA northern swing. Scotty was in the middle of the pack for qualifying and laid down a solid lap that was 9th quickest out of the 25 cars on hand. That set him to start in the fourth spot for the nights ten lap heat race event. The field took the green and Scotty charged to the cushion that was fairly high on the track early on for the night. He made it three wide going down the backstretch and captured the lead going into turn three. He stormed out of turn four and never looked back. Over the next nine laps he managed to pull away from the field by over half of the track and captured the heat race victory. With the invert it would set him to start the night’s 25 lap A-main event in the seventh position. The cushion was the fast place to be and it was right against the wall all the way around the race surface. The field took the green for the A-main and it took Thiel a few laps to make his way up to the cushion after starting out in the inside line. Once he got up to the top side of the track it became follow the leader as passing was very difficult. He waited patiently for the right time to make moves. Lap traffic came into play early on and caused the lead cars to move around the track. A late caution came out with only several laps to go and Thiel was sitting in the seventh position. Once returning to green flag action, Scotty noticed the track was starting to take rubber which made for extra grip in the corners. HE moved his racing line down off of the top side of the track and moved into the sixth spot with only one lap to go. He was gaining a lot of ground very quick but the checkers were flying and the 25 laps were complete. Thiel ended up in the sixth place finishing position.

“We needed a 30-35 lap race tonight. I found the rubber with a few laps left and started to make ground up quick. It was a hard track to pass on tonight but it was still fun. Another good finish for our team tonight and overall a good three nights of racing. Crew worked hard all weekend long to give me a great car each night. Cannot thank them and all of our marketing partners who make this operation happen!” Scotty explained after the night.

Next up on tap for the #64 STM sprint car will be this coming Saturday evening at the Beaver Dam Raceway in Beaver Dam, WI.

Scott Thiel Motorsports would like to thank all of their 2014 marketing partners and encourages everyone to check out these fine companies!

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