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Strong Start to 2015 for PNR

Brittany Hull Photography

2015 started off near perfect for Paul Nienhiser and his winged sprint car team, racing at 34 Raceway in Burlington, IA with the 360 Sprint Invaders April 4th. Drawing a late pill with a 30 car field, with a non-qualifying format, Paul started on the rear of the field in 8th in his heat race. Making some quick passes in the early stages of the heat, he was able to grab 2nd at the line, locking him into the night's dash event. After starting and finishing 4th in the dash, the team looked for adjustments to get the car a little better to get to Victory Lane. Rolling out 4th on the grid in the feature, Paul quickly found the best line around the track, using the bottom to get by the 2nd and 3rd place cars early, and running down the leader by lap 4. He managed to open up a sizable straightaway lead, but a caution on lap 18 of 25 saw his lead disappear. On the restart, fellow MOWA competitor Jerrod Hull slipped by, and Paul was unable to regain the lead and had to settle for 2nd.

PNR then opened the 410 racing season at Jacksonville Speedway on April 10th. Getting a better draw in a passing points format, Paul managed to advance to 3rd after starting 5th on a rough and narrow track early in the night. He was again locked into the dash, and after finishing 6th, the team again went to look for adjustments to get the car just a little bit better. As the feature went green, Paul showed very good speed, faster than the cars in front of him, but difficult to pass with the track being so top-dominant. After riding around in 6th for much of the race, he decided it was time to try something else to move forward. Using all of the racetrack, he tried multiple lines, finally losing grip with 5 laps remaining and doing a 360, but held on for a top 10 with a 9th place finish.

April 11th marked the start of another season, this time the inaugural season for the National Sprint League, the new 410 series in the Midwest. A field of 40 cars was on hand, this time back at 34 Raceway. In a qualifying format, Paul managed to get a solid run, despite going out early. With a 13th fastest qualifying run, he lined up inside row 2 for his heat race, amongst one of the most stout fields we'll see all year. Paul had locked himself into the feature, as it looked like he would finish the heat race in 4th, but a fuel nozzle came off with 2 laps to go. Still hanging on for 6th, that put him starting front row outside for the B Main, the top 4 cars would transfer. After running 2nd early, Paul made a great pass to take the lead and run with it before getting stuck in traffic, ultimately finishing 2nd, still locking into the feature. Again, a difficult track to pass on, Paul peeked around the top 10 and was as low as 15th, having a great race with such tough competitors. When the checkered flag flew, the now white and red number 9 crossed in 13th position.

This weekend, April 17th PNR will be seen at Tri-City Raceway in Granite City, IL and April 18th at Lasalle Speedway in Lasalle, IL.

Paul and the entire team thank the following partners and friends for their continued support: Cam2 Blue Blood Racing Motor Oil, Mason Sound, Fierce Herbicide, Wessler Bros. Agency, Bradshaw Custom Pumping, Byers International, Arends-Awe John Deere, Engler Machine & Tool, Factory Kahne Indy, Bob Hawks Autobody, Kaeding Performance, Steve Thomas Racing, and Butlerbuilt seats!

If you are interested in becoming a part of the team will Paul and the rest of PNR, for marketing/sponsorship opportunities contact Paul at paul@nienhiser.com or John at john.a@nienhiser.com

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