Riley Goodno Wins a Wild One with Sprint Invaders on the Benton County Bullring
VINTON, Ia.—Riley Goodno became the fifth different leader late in the going and captured his second career feature win with the Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders Sunday night at the Benton County Speedway in Vinton, Iowa. The action packed main event not only saw five leaders, but many changes in position in the top five throughout. It was the Knoxville, Iowa native’s first win with the series since a 2022 triumph at Eldon Raceway in Eldon, Iowa, and earned him $2,000 aboard the Goodno Promotions #22.
Alex Vande Voort impressed with his first career win in the Agriland FS Dash, and led from the outset in the 25-lap feature ahead of Tasker Phillips, Paul Nienhiser and Cody Wehrle. Vande Voort’s advantage lasted four laps when he got over the top of turn two and brought a caution as he slowed.
Phillips inherited the lead ahead of Nienhiser, Wehlre, Terry McCarl and Jake Blackhurst. On lap six, McCarl took third from Wehrle and a circuit later, Vande Voort slowed again to bring a second caution and a trip pitside. McCarl briefly moved by Nienhiser for second on the restart, but the defending champion returned the favor on lap nine. At that point, McCarl took his own trip over the top of turn two and lost several spots.
Up front, Nienhiser was gaining on Phillips, and he took the lead on the high side of turn four on lap 11, in time for a caution brought by a stopped Lance Fassbender on lap 12. The restart saw Nienhiser ahead of Phillips, Wehrle, and fifth row starters, Zach Daum and Goodno. Daum challenged Wehrle for the third spot with ten to go.
Up front, disaster struck for Nienhiser, when he lost a wheel and flipped hard in turn four. He was taken in for observation after the crash.
Nathan Murders spun on the next try at a restart. Phillips had inherited the lead, but Wehrle shot by immediately, becoming the fourth different leader of the event. With seven to go, Goodno got around Phillips for the second spot.
With four laps to go, Wehrle got over the turn two cushion, and Goodno was in the right place at the right time, leading the final four circuits and completing his run from tenth. Wehrle held onto second, ahead of Phillips, Daum and McCarl. Luke Verardi, Colton Fisher, Dustin Clar, Tyler Lee and Riley Scott rounded out the top ten. Phillips and Wehrle were the heat winners, and Vande Voort won the Dash.
“The track was really good,” said Goodno. “ We just weren’t good at the start. We were probably running about tenth or eleventh. We finally got rolling there about two cautions in, and we started rolling the top really well. We got lucky with a couple of cars falling out. With about five to go, the track took rubber and we were just hanging on from there. We’ve struggled the last couple years, but we’ve really gotten better with the car this year. I’ve been driving better too, and the whole system has been better.”
“This has been the story of this year,” said a disappointed Wehrle. “We’ve been good everyplace we’ve been. We’ve just had some pretty bad luck and I’ve made a lot of mistakes. This could have been a whole lot worse than it turned out to be. It’s just tough to swallow. Hopefully, we can use this and reset for the year. I can’t thank Andy Huston and the guys here enough for the car they give me every night. This group just gets better and better to race against every time. It’s cool to race against these really good guys. Zach Daum, Terry McCarl, Nienhiser, Blackhurst, Tasker…just everybody here is capable of winning.
“I was working on my patience and it caught me with Nienhiser,” said the third place Phillips. “I’ve been working on my patience to finish the race, and it cost me at the end. Too worried about finishing to let it all hang out! I’ve been struggling on the exits when the track dries out, getting the car down the straightaways. We got it going there, but I’m not happy. I’m not a short-tracker, so I’m trying everything to get comfortable. This is really helping me out with my footwork and racing close to people. It helps me to go back to Knoxville and be more smooth.”
The Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders head to the Cedar County Speedway and the Cedar County Fair on Thursday, July 10, and the Lee County Speedway and the Lee County Fair on Friday, July 11. For more information on the Sprint Invaders, visit www.SprintInvaders.net or visit us on Facebook.
Mohrfeld Solar Sprint Invaders Results
Alchemy Skin & Health A main (started), 25 laps: 1. 22, Riley Goodno, Knoxville, IA (10) 2. 40c, Cody Wehrle, Bulringotn, IA (3) 3. 1TAZ, Tasker Phillips, Pleasantville, IA (2) 4. 5D, Zach Daum, Pocahontas, IL (9) 5. 24, Terry McCarl, Altoona, IA (6) 6. 28, Luke Verardi, Taylorville, IL (8) 7. 11, Colton Fisher, Mediapolis, IA (12) 8. 16, Dustin Clark, Agency, IA (7) 9. 7, Tyler Lee, Cedar Rapids, IA (11) 10. 88, Riley Scott, Quincy, IL (13) 11. 7F, Lance Fassbender, Beaver Dam, WI (16) 12. 31, McCain Richards, Burlington, IA (14) 13. 71, Nathan Murders, Burlington, IA (15) 14. 99, Jake Blackhurst, Hanna City, IL (5) 15. 50, Paul Nienhiser, Chapin, IL (4) 16. 5A, Alex Vande Voort, Knoxville, IA (1). Lap Leaders: Vande Voort 1-4, Phillips 5-10, Nienhiser 11-15, Wehrle 16-20, Goodno 21-25. $75 Christine Wahl-Levitt/KSE Hard-charger: Goodno.
Randall’s Performance Heat one (started), 8 laps: 1. Tasker Phillips (1) 2. Paul Nienhiser (3) 3. Jake Blackhurst (4) 4. Luke Verardi (5) 5. Terry McCarl (8) 6. Colton Fisher (6) 7. Riley Scott (7) 8. Nathan Murders (2)
Dennis Woodworth, Attorney at Law Heat two (started), 8 laps: 1. Cody Wehrle (1) 2. Alex Vande Voort (3) 3. Dustin Clark (2) 4. Riley Goodno (4) 5. Zach Daum (7) 6. Tyler Lee (8) 7. McCain Richards (5) 8. Lance Fassbender (6)
Agriland FS Dash (started), 6 laps: 1. Alex Vande Voort (2) 2. Tasker Phillips (4) 3. Cody Wehrle (3) 4. Paul Nienhiser (5) 5. Jake Blackhurst (1) 6. Terry McCarl (6)
Contingency Award Winners
DMI – Luke Verardi
Saldana Racing Products – Nathan Murders
King Racing – Tyler Lee
BR Motorsports – Terry :McCarl
Rod End Supply – McCain Richards, Alex Vande Voort, Cody Wehrle
BMRS – Tasker Phillips
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