Simpson Scores Big in East Series Winneshiek Debut

Chad Simpson took home returned to victory lane on a hot Saturday night as the Malvern Bank Super Late Model Racing East Series made its debut to the Winneshiek Raceway.

The ninth race of the East Series season saw the tour make its first ever visit to the 1/3- mile semi-banked oval at the Winneshiek County Fairgrounds in Decorah, Iowa. A field of 27 cars from Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota made the trip for a shot to take home the $4,000 top prize in the inaugural King of the Bullring.

Wisconsin native Jesse Glenz was the fastest in Keyser Manufacturing qualifying time trials when he topped group 1 with a blistering 13.798 second lap, the only driver to break the 13-second bracket. Dylan Thornton put up a 14.638 second lap to be the fastest of group 2. The third and final group was topped by hometown runner Tyler Bruening as he put in a 14.603 second lap time.

The three heat races on the night were won by Jesse Sobbing, Tad Pospisil and Chad Simpson. Dylan Thornton would be the top point driver for the second night in a row giving him the first chance at the Skyline Materials Lucky Sixth Place bonus money. Thornton declined the challenge giving the sixth-place starting position to Nick Panitzke. The Minnesota driver would have a chance at a $1,600 bonus should he win his first-ever Malvern Bank Series feature.

After Justin Kay took the win in the Predator Custom Trailers B feature, 24 cars took to the speedway for the 40-lap main event. Jesse Sobbing started on pole position, but it was Point Leader Chad Simpson who jumped to the race lead and showed the way while Sobbing went to battle with Dylan Thornton for the second spot.

The first of 2 cautions came out on lap 8 when J.T. Wasmund hit the back stretch wall while battling inside the top ten. The Pine Island, Minnesota driver took his car back to the pit area resulting in a 23rd-place finish.

When racing resumed, Simpson continued to lead while Tyler Bruening was able to work his way into the third position. Jesse Glenz also worked his way into the fourth position during the green-flag stint.

The final caution came out with 22 laps remaining when Jeff Tharp and Paul Niznik got tangled up in turn three and spinning out. Tharp would end up 18th while Niznik pulled off later in the race finishing 20th.

In the second half of the race, Simpson pulled away from second-place running Thornton and third-place Bruening. Simpson began to encounter lapped traffic in the final 12 laps which let Thornton and Bruening close the gap. By the time there were six laps to go, Thornton was right on Simpson’s back bumper. Thornton tried everything to force a mistake or get to the inside for the lead, but Simpson would be up to the challenge and hit his marks as the laps ran out.

Simpson would go on to lead all 40 laps and hung on at the end to score the King of the Bullring victory. It was Simpson’s second win of the year and his second win in the last 3 races with the East Series. The win was also Simpson’s seventh with the series in his career. Dylan Thornton would have to settle for second while Tyler Bruening took third. Jesse Glenz finished fourth while Jesse Sobbing rounded out the top five.

The East and West series are both in action during a 4-day stretch in the state of Iowa. July 25-28 the East Series starts a 3-race stretch at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa on Wednesday, the 25th. Thursday is the East series’ annual stop to the Cresco Speedway in Cresco followed by a trip to the Fayette County Speedway in West Union. The final stop will feature the return of the West Series as they head to the Adams County Speedway in Corning for the Hampel Memorial.

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