IOWA SPEEDWAY ASA Midwest Tour Race Recap

By Kari Shear-Carlson
August 8, 2011 - The Sandvik Coromat 150 presented by Cline Tool event at Iowa Speedway ended with a first time ASAMT event entry and first time Iowa Speedway visitor with the win. Jeff Choquette of West Palm Beach, FL started eighth and worked his way through traffic and a hard battle with Ross Kenseth to bring home the win on Friday, August 5th.

"I was so impressed not only with the competitors in the ASAMT, but the professionalism of the officials and the entire organization. The combination of the ASAMT and Iowa Speedway made this the top victory on my list," said the winner. "I hope I earned my respect with the drivers and the organization," he added.

The day started out at 6:00AM as haulers went through the tunnel under turns one and two and pulled into the infield to park. Drivers and teams started the sign-in process at 6:30AM and immediately unloaded and got into the tech line. It was a warm day, but thankfully the sun stayed behind the clouds all day so it was only the battle of humidity that kept everyone looking for rehydration.

It was no surprise that Tim Schendel topped the time chart in the first practice session with a 24.091 followed by Choquette with a 24.181 and Ross Kenseth with a 24.401. After a short rain shower, the second practice was cut a little short, but did not affect the teams too much. Kenseth came in with the fastest time of 24.211 followed by Schendel with a 24.279 and Cedar Rapids, IA driver, Griffin McGrath with a 24.330.

The ECHO Quick Cut Qualifier Award went to ASA Midwest Touring Star, Nathan Haseleu with a 23.813. Jeff Storm was having the best day he had had in a very long time. He was near the top and middle of the speed charts during practice and qualified second behind Haseleu with a 23.821. Choquette was third with a 23.850 followed by Jonathan Eilen and Bryan Reffner. The invert was ten putting last year's winner, Chris Wimmer and ASA Midwest Touring Star Jacob Goede on the front row.

Jacob Goede took the lead, but it did not last too long as Tim Schendel flew from fourth to first by lap three. It appeared that Schendel had the field covered and the rest of the field would be racing for second. The duel was between the 25's as Ross Kenseth and Jeff Storm were moving towards the front.

A spin on turn four brought out the caution. At the restart, the 25's split Schendel right down the middle and Jeff Storm took off with the lead by lap 24. Tim Schendel had apparent problems at the restart. He got lucky when another caution fell and he was able to head to the pit area and change a tire without going a lap down.

Ross Kenseth was doing everything he could to get around Storm. He tried the low side and the high side, but Storm was just too strong. Meanwhile, Jeff Choquette who started eighth had taken third around Jacob Goede in turn two. As he had done all year, Nathan Haseleu has been the silent competitor and was methodically moving into the top five.

Tim Schendel was not wasting any time coming back up through the field and was digging for tenth by lap 50. Storm had pulled away with a .2 second lead over Kenseth with 15 laps before the 75-lap break. Choquette and Haseleu were holding their own in third and fourth. As Jeff Storm and Ross Kenseth were heading into lapped traffic, Choquette was gaining on them.

With five to go before the break, Kenseth got a run on Storm and took the lead. Storm tried the cross-over move, but it just did not work out. Choquette then dove under Storm for second.

At the half-way break it was Kenseth, Choquette, Storm, Goede, and Haseleu rounding out the top five. With the double-file restarts, Kenseth chose the outside line. Choquette followed, as Haseleu took the inside. Kenseth led Choquette at the restart as Haseleu got off to a slow start. As Choquette and Kenseth were side-by-side for the lead, the caution came out once again.

Kenseth stretched out to a good lead after the restart and Jeff Storm was once again looking racy under Choquette. Schendel had continued his mission to the front taking over the fourth spot. With 50 laps to go, Jeff Choquette was all over the bumper of Ross Kenseth. They battled inside and outside with one another, but Kenseth maintained the lead.

Jeff was able to take the lead as they maneuvered through lapped traffic. With a couple cautions mixed in, Kenseth started the battle for second with Schendel and Haseleu moved into the mix. This gave Choquette the chance to stretch out to a one second lead with 15 laps to go.

Point leader, Andrew Morrissey, had an uncharacteristic day finishing 14th and is now only 15 points ahead of Ross Kenseth going into the next event. Rookie of the Year point leader, Skylar Holzhausen finished in eighth and continues to lead the rookie battle.

ASA Midwest Touring Star, Griffin McGrath had a rough start to his day, blowing his engine during qualifying. He was able to go to a back-up and finished 21st. Most ASA Midwest Touring Stars finished within the top 15. Nick Panitzke had a great night racing in the top ten most of the race and finished 7th. Goede ended up ninth, Eilen was 10th, Carlson was 11th followed by Chris Wimmer and Andrew Morrissey in 14th.

For a complete run down of the days events including a photo stream of the day, log on to asamidwesttour.com.

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To learn more about the American Speed Association® Kwik Trip Midwest Tour presented by ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment and GrandStay Hospitality, log on to asamidwesttour.com. For questions call the ASA Midwest Tour office at (630) 212-6022 or Tim Olson at (612) 327-5831 or e-mail Tim Olson at tim@asamidwesttour.comor Steve Einhaus at steve@asamidwesttour.com.

To learn more about the Daytona Beach, Florida-based Racing Speed Associates or the American Speed Association® Racing Member Track program, call (386) 258-2221 or send an e-mail to info@asa-racing.com. For news and information from racetracks and regional tours involved in the American Speed Association®, visit www.asaracing.com