4/14/2015
Schuerenberg Picks Up Top-Ten in MOWA Opener
(Photo by Brendon Bauman Photos)
BURLINGTON, Iowa – Finally getting his winged racing season underway after a long winter and a rainout on what was supposed to be his opening night, Hunter Schuerenberg started things strong with a top-ten showing at Illinois’ Jacksonville Speedway on Friday night, then narrowly missed out on a feature start in the first-ever National Sprint League race on Saturday.
Starting on Friday night, Jacksonville held the first Midwest Open Wheel Association event of 2015. 25 sprint cars signed in for competition, creating three heat races to be lined up based off pill draw. Schuerenberg would draw into the third race, starting sixth in the ten-lap contest. The narrow and tight Jacksonville Speedway presented a challenge for Schuerenberg; he was able to pick up one position to take fifth.
The finish locked “Hunter Percent” into the main event for a scheduled for 25 laps, where he’d start 15th. Choosing his battles wisely and meticulously, he was able to make his way forward. With the aid of a caution at the halfway point, Schuerenberg was able to garner a couple more positions before the end of the race, finishing in the tenth position.
“I just didn’t make the right calls on the car [setup] to get us a good finish [in the heat race],” he reflected. “From there, we were good, just couldn’t get any further than tenth before the race was over.”
However, the weekend was far from over; a brand-new sprint car series was about to hold the first race of what is likely to be a very successful group in the upper Midwest. The National Sprint League selected Burlington, Iowa’s 34 Raceway to host its first event, which put on a fantastic show throughout the night’s constant on-track action. Not to be left out, Schuerenberg headed north to join the party.
A strong 40 sprints checked into the pit area, with time trials being the selected method for lining up heat races. A low pill draw for qualifying order put Schuerenberg as the second car to hit the track to time in. His lap of 13.388 seconds was the quickest of the first five cars to qualify, but the track began to get faster as more cars worked the surface in, and he slowly fell down the board, winding up 26th on the chart. The time would line Schuerenberg up seventh in the third of four heat races. He’d run seventh nearly the whole race, but made his move into sixth on the tenth and final lap.
As only the top five earned transfers straight to the feature, the Roof Bolt Express/Nolen Racing entry was relegated to the B-main, where 12 laps would decide which drivers could finish in the top four spots to move into the main event. Since the B-main was again lined up based off qualifying times, Schuerenberg started outside of the third row. He quickly dispatched his counterpart to the inside on lap one, but the fourth-running car began to pull away. The early leader began to billow smoke from his engine and began to fall back progressively throughout the race, dropping to fourth by the time ten laps were in the books. Time ran out before Schuerenberg could run him down, and he fell just shy of the final transfer spot.
“Starting to get the hang of it [winged racing] again,” the Sikeston, Missouri native said. Schuerenberg, who has spent much of the past ten years piloting almost strictly wingless sprint cars in Indiana and on the USAC Racing circuit, offered up a concise summary with a tweet after the race Saturday: “Second night out in the wing car. First big slice of humble pie.”
Schuerenberg would like to thank Roof Bolt Express, Nolen Racing, Mach 1 Chassis, Competition Suspension Inc., AFCO Racing, ButlerBuilt Professional Seat Systems, Hinchman Racewear, Keizer Wheels, High Side Design, and Ron Gorby’s Howard Johnson, as well as all of his fans for their continued support.
Schuerenberg is next scheduled to compete on April 17 at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois with the MOWA series and on April 18 at LaSalle Speedway in LaSalle, Illinois in a MOWA/IRA co-sanctioned event, both in the #20N 410ci winged sprint entry.
Quick Results
April 10 – Jacksonville, IL – 410ci Winged Sprint – Heat: 5th (6); Feature: 10th (15)
April 11 – Burlington, IA – 410ci Winged Sprint – Qualifying: 26; Heat: 6th (7); B-Main: 5th (6)
Social Media
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Twitter: http://twitter.com/hunterpercent
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Website: http://www.hunterpercent.com
Article Credit: Redbeard Promotions
