Dirt on Dirt - I-96 gives Schlenk first Hell Tour win in 16 years

July 8

I-96 Speedway,

Lake Odessa, MI

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $5,000

Information provided by: Series and track reports (last updated July 9, 1:26 am)

I-96 gives Schlenk first Hell Tour win in 16 years

Rusty Schlenk
Tanner English
Jason Feger
Travis Stemler
Luke Morey
Chad Finley
Rich Bell
Devin Shiels
Mike VanderMark Jr.
Mitch McGrath
Rich Neiser
Rylee Knoll
Colin Shipley
Eric Spangler
Bill Bray
Mark Voigt
Brian Ruhlman
Sam Seawright
Brandon Thirlby
Frank Heckenast Jr.
Kyle Moore
Logan Nickerson

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Jim DenHamer

Rusty Schlenk celebrates his first Hell Tour win since 2010.

What won the race: Powering around frontrunners Sam Seawright and Tanner English with a third-to-first move on the 14th lap, fifth-starting Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., led the rest of Wednesday's 30-lap DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature at I-96 Speedway. Schlenk held off English on a couple late restarts and beat him by 1.389 seconds for the $5,000 payday, his first tour win in 16 seasons.

Quotable: "We had a little home-field advantage here, those guys were all committed to the bottom and the cushion was kinda treacherous. I was kinda hoping they wouldn’t go up there and try to figure it out and they all kinda shied away from it, they left me a lane up there to drive around them," Schlenk said. "Had a little bit of a home-field advantage. I don’t know if we had the best race car, just had a little more laps around here."

Key notes: Schlenk led the final 16 laps for his third career series victory. ... It's his first Summer Nationals win since July 17, 2010, at Oakshade Raceway in Wauseon, Ohio, and eighth overall feature win of the season. ... Second-starting Sam Seawright led the opening 13 laps before facing heavy pressure from Tanner English after a lap-five restart. ... Schlenk got rolling on the high side to overtake them on lap 14. ... Seawright slipped to third and slowed on lap 20 to draw the race's third and final caution; he was credited with 18th. ... Polesitter Frank Heckenast Jr., the previous night's Hell Tour winner at Montpelier (Ind.) Speedway, faded to fifth before slowing on lap 17 for the second stoppage after rear end failure. ... Luke Morey initially claimed fourth on the lap-20 restart before Travis Stemler, a three-time winner this season at I-96, slipped by him a few laps later, relegating Morey to fifth. ... In addition to cautions for Heckenast and Seawright's mechanical woes, Brian Ruhlman spun on the fourth lap for the first yellow flag; he was 17th as the final starter to complete 30 laps in the 19-minute feature.

On the move: Travis Stemler of Ionia, Mich., started 12th and finished fourth.

Winner's sponsors: Schlenk’s Domination Race Car is powered by a Mullins Engine and sponsored by Buckeye Concrete Coatings, Tom Finch Automotive, TriState Pole Barns, Dominator Race Products, Integra Racing Shocks, Terry Henricks Auto Group, Velocita USA, Landrum Performance Springs, VP Racing Fuel and Lubricants, Vahlco Racing Wheels, Willy’s Carbs, ML Performance Allstar Performance, Wilwood Disc Brakes and KBC Graphix.

Points chase: Week 5 before I-96: T1. Frank Heckenast Jr. (50); T1. Kyle Moore (50); T1. Tristan Chamberlain (50); T1. Rich Bell (50); T1. Mitch McGrath (50). Overall before I-96: 1. Tanner English (1,239); 2. Jason Feger (1,116); 3. Clay Stuckey (837); 4. Mitch McGrath (783); 5. Brody Smith (701).

Current weather: Broken Clouds, 79°F

Car count: 29

Fast qualifier: Frank Heckenast Jr.

Time: 16.351 seconds

Polesitter: Frank Heckenast Jr.

Heat race winners: Sam Seawright, Frank Heckenast Jr., Jason Feger

Consolation race winners: Bill Bray

Provisional starters: Mark Voigt, Colin Shipley, Eric Spangler, Rylee Knoll

Next series race: July 9, Butler Motor Speedway (Quincy, MI) $5,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff reports

LAKE ODESSA, Mich. — Updates from Wednesday’s 19th round of the 40th annual DIRTcar Summer Nationals at I-96 Speedway, an event highlighted by a 30-lap, $5,000-to-win feature for DIRTcar Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Powering around frontrunners Sam Seawright and Tanner English with a third-to-first move on the 14th lap, fifth-starting Rusty Schlenk of Jackson, Mich., led the rest of Wednesday's 30-lap DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature at I-96 Speedway. Schlenk held off English on a couple late restarts and beat him by 1.389 seconds for the $5,000 payday, his first tour win in 16 seasons.

Feature lineup

(30 laps)

Row 1: Frank Heckenast Jr., Sam Seawright
Row 2: Jason Feger, Tanner English
Row 3: Rusty Schlenk, Luke Morey
Row 4: Mike VanderMark Jr., Brandon Thirlby
Row 5: Rich Bell, Devin Shiels
Row 6: Chad Finley, Travis Stemler
Row 7: Brian Ruhlman, Kyle Moore
Row 8: Logan Nickerson, Bill Bray
Row 9: Rich Neiser, Mitch McGrath
Row 10: Mark Voigt, Colin Shipley
Row 11: Eric Spangler, Rylee Knoll

Consolation race results

(Eight laps; top three transfer)

Results: Bill Bray, Rich Neiser, Mitch McGrath, Colin Shipley, Brayden Shiels, Chase Burda, Jake Rendel, Jamie Grochowski, Chad Roush, Matt Murawski, Chris Nethers, Rylee Knoll, Mark Voigt, Eric Spangler.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top five transfer)

First heat: Sam Seawright, Tanner English, Mike VanderMark Jr., Devin Shiels, Brian Ruhlman, Bill Bray, Brayden Shiels, Chad Roush, Matt Murawski. Scratched: Chase Burda.

Second heat: Frank Heckenast Jr., Rusty Schlenk, Brandon Thirlby, Chad Finley, Kyle Moore, Mitch McGrath, Rylee Knoll, Jake Rendel, Jamie Grochowski, Chris Nethers.

Third heat: Jason Feger, Luke Morey, Rich Bell, Travis Stemler, Logan Nickerson, Rich Neiser, Colin Shipley, Mark Voigt, Eric Spangler.

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Sam Seawright (16s), Rainsville, Ala., 16.508
2. Mike VanderMark Jr. (41), Cedar Springs, Mich., 16.672
3. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 16.696
4. Devin Shiels (51), Britton, Mich., 16.751
5. Bill Bray (94), Spring Lake, Mich., 16.897
6. Brian Ruhlman (23), Clarklake, Mich., 17.441
7. Chase Burda (18), Lapeer, Mich., 17.475
8. Matt Murawski (09), Kinde, Mich., 17.532
9. Chad Roush (32), Reedsville, Ohio, 17.658
10. Brayden Shiels (51B), Britton, Mich., 18.009
Group B
1. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 16.351
2. Chad Finley (42), St. Johns, Mich., 16.491
3. Brandon Thirlby (m14), Traverse City, Mich., 16.532
4. Rusty Schlenk (91), Jackson, Mich., 16.539
5. Kyle Moore (1*), Mansfield, Ohio, 17.033
6. Mitch McGrath (74), Waukesha, Wis., 17.130
7. Rylee Knoll (07), Lake, Mich., 17.176
8. Jake Rendel (06), Adrian, Mich., 18.161
9. Jamie Grochowski (45G), Toledo, Ohio, 18.328
10. Chris Nethers (41n), Watertown, N.Y., 20.630
Group C
1. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 16.430
2. Luke Morey (49), Zeeland, Mich., 16.616
3. Rich Bell (21B), Sheffield, Ill., 16.616
4. Travis Stemler (4), Ionia, Mich., 16.637
5. Logan Nickerson (21n), Vestaburg, Mich., 16.659
6. Eric Spangler (27), Lake City, Mich., 16.851
7. Rich Neiser (87), Fruitport, Mich., 17.017
8. Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill., 17.168
9. Colin Shipley (46), McClure, Ohio, 17.648

Wednesday’s schedule

(All times local)
4 p.m. - Pits open
5 p.m. - Grandstands open
5:15 p.m. - Tech and registration open
6:30 p.m. - Tech and registration close
6:45 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
7:35 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified group qualifying
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
- Sport compact hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Sport Compact heats (8 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Modified consolation (8 laps)
- Late Model consolation (10 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (30 laps)
- Modifieds (25 laps)
- Sport compacts (15 laps)