In the 2020 IRA Season, Bill Balog has been the class of the field out front all year long. However, there have still been 8 or 10 cars capable of both Podium and Top 5 finishes besides the (soon to be) 10 time champ all year long. Sean Rayhall may have just added his name to that very list which includes former champions Jeremy Schultz, Jake Blackhurst and Scotty Neitzel, series winners Jordan Goldesberry and Blake Nimee, and top runners Joey Moughan and Russel Borland.
The chilly September evening started off just about as well as the Sippel Racin’ 14R Team could have hoped for, with Sean recording the 6th best overall lap in hot laps, and backing that up with an 8th place run in Qualifying after going out 30th out of the 32 cars to take time. That put Rayhall in the 3rd starting position in Heat race #4.
Unfortunately, Rayhall couldn’t buck the season long trend of losing places early in heat races on Saturday, but did manage to stick with the loaded top 4 of Neitzel, Balog, eventual Feature winner Jake Blackhurst and former Wilmot Raceway 410 Champion Todd Daun to finish 5th and transfer into the night’s A Main.
The team made changes to just about everything on the Bigg Golf/Big Machine Vodka 14R before the feature and it seemed to play dividends early on. On a tacky but treacherous surface, the Georgia native gave up his preferred driving style of flying high on the cushion in favor of sticking to the bottom of the speedway. This decision made Rayhall one of the fastest and most consistent cars on track, quickly catching the Top 12 cars before several cautions and red flags hampered his progress. In dirt track racing, when a caution flies the scorekeepers go back to the last time all cars crossed the finish line, and almost every time this happened, Rayhall had made up a place or two on the lap that was erased. Nevertheless, Sean had the 14R into the top 10 well before a caution flew with around 15 laps to go. On the restart, Rayhall stuck to the rear nerf bar of MSA Sprints contender Travis Arenz and the two began to both make up places, and at the same time start battling fiercely with each other. However, as Rayhall began to solidify himself in front of Arenz in 7th, a fuel pickup issue caused the engine to sputter under full throttle, forcing Rayhall to nurse the 14R around the speedway behind Arenz and hope for a caution. Then on lap 24/30, third place running Russel Borland flipped violently into the catch fence out of Turn 4, and the red flag flew once again. With the race well over its time limit, and cars surely low on fuel, the field was parked on the backstretch and an “open red” situation ensued.
The Sippel Racin’ crew quickly went to work on the 14R, checking pressures and fueling up the car to ensure the pickup issue wasn’t a factor in the final 6 laps of the event. The problem had gotten so bad in fact that Rayhall assumed he was completely out of fuel. Usual competitor Scotty Thiel also lent a hand, checking over the car and giving some sage advice to Rayhall about how to attack the last few laps. Using the advice from Thiel and 14R crew chief Randy Sippel, Rayhall went on the offensive during the final stage of the race. Powering through the moisture on the bottom of the speedway. Both Rayhall and Arenz continued to run side by side, in 6th and 7th place respectively, and were quickly closing in on 5th place runner Mike Reinke in the Hood Motorsports 10w with 3 laps to go. Then, on the penultimate lap, Rayhall edged in front of Arenz and went to attack Reinke for a top 5. However, it was not meant to be. On that same lap, the 4b of Scott Biertzer (whom Rayhall and Arenz had passed one lap earlier) flipped into turn 2, bringing out the red flag once again. Already well past curfew, IRA officials decided to end the race 2 laps early, throwing the checkered and relegating Rayhall to a 7th place result. A career best finish to be proud of, but a feeling of “what could have been” circulated the 14R pits after the races.
“We had an awesome run at Beaver Dam, and brought home an IRA career best 7th place finish.” Rayhall began. “I really wish we didn’t have so many cautions and reds that caused us to give positions back multiple times. I truly think if we’d gone green the whole way, we’d be sitting here with our first top 5. We had a lot of variable issues going on throughout the night but man, did our team perform. Very proud of my guys and looking forward to wrapping up the season on another high note!”
Rayhall still sits 6th in IRA points standings, but with some luck and decent results, could still steal 5th away from Jeremy Schultz. The 2020 Rookie of the Year will look to cap his debut 410 Sprint Car season this weekend in double-header action. First at Dodge County Fairgrounds on Friday, September 25th, then at the Wisconsin Sprint Car Championships on Saturday, September 26th at the Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, WI.
Sean Rayhall Race Results
9/19 Beaver Dam Raceway
Qualifying: 8th out of 32 cars
Heat: S/3, F/5
Feature: S/17, F/7
NEXT RACE:
September 25th, Beaver Dam, WI Dodge County Fairgrounds, IRA Sprints
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