The Rayhall Motorsports/Sippel Racin’ #14r Team rolled into Wilmot expecting good things. After all, during the last event they ran at the ⅜ mile oval, Rayhall recorded his 2nd Quick Time Award of 2020, and 2nd Top 10 finish. However, things didn’t start as rosy last night.
Rayhall would clock a time good enough for 5th in his hot lap group, then go out 7th for Qualifying. “Top Shelf’s” time of 13.795 would come in at 4th initially, however the track would evolve into a hooked up, tacky one-laner and times would improve all the way until Bill Balog (25th to qualify) set the overall quick time of 13.116, dropping Rayhall to 14th by the end of the session.
That result would put the Big Machine Vodka/Bigg Golf #14r 5th on the grid for Heat #2. On the initial start, 2 cars came together in front of Rayhall and he would expertly avoid them to grab 3rd after the opening lap, however the 10w of Mike Reinke was not able to keep his car running, and a full restart and re-rack resulted. Rayhall would get a less than fantastic start, but hang on to the final transfer spot after the opening laps. However a much too-tight race car meant Sean couldn’t hold the car on the top of the speedway, and after a fierce battle with the 25 of Danny Schlafer, would concede the final transfer spot to that same 25 car. The team would make some fuel flow adjustments both before and after the heat, battling power issues early on in the evening.
Cars in the B Main get their Qualifying times back, so Rayhall would start second in the 10 lap LCQ. Rayhall would get a fantastic start and rocket around the #14 of Jack Routson for the lead. One restart with 4 laps to go would not faze the Woodstock, GA native and he would cruise to his first career Sprint Car victory by 1.8 seconds over Routson. Any celebration was short lived, as a quick turnaround for the A Main loomed for the Sippel Racin’ crew.
Full B Main from Wilmot. VC: FloRacing
Rayhall would push off 19th for the 30 Lap IRA Founder’s Night Feature. After an early red flag for the #68 of Dave Uttech, Rayhall would quickly start to make up spots, using the cushion to perfection and passing into the top 15 within just a few laps. While battling for 10th and 11th late in the race, Rayhall would encounter a near spinning #55 of Austin Deblauw and have to back off, losing all momentum and 4 or 5 positions. Sean would battle back up to 13th by the end of the feature, wrapping up a solid points night for the #14r Camp.
“The car was a rocket from the B Main on.” Rayhall said after pulling back to the hauler. “We just missed something with the fuel and RPM’s early on in the night which made us crazy tight and put us on the back foot for the rest of the night. Randy and the guys did a great job working with the fuel issue and gave me a great car for the second half of the night. I’m happy with that B Main win, but at the same time I feel like we had a great shot at a top 10 tonight. We’ll regroup and get ready for Fairbury on Saturday.”
Rayhall currently sits 6th in IRA Points, and with that result, chops into 5th Place driver Jake Blackhurst’s advantage. “Top Shelf” leads the Rookie of the Year standings by a considerable margin over Jack Routson, but is still pushing for a top 5 points finish by the end of his debut 410 Sprint Car season.
Sean Rayhall Wilmot Results
Heat: S/5, F/7
B Main: S/2, F/1
A Main: S/19, F/13
NEXT RACE:
August 15th, IRA 410 Sprints at Fairbury American Legion Speedway in Fairbury, IL
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