By Chris Faulkner
Beacon Sports
The tightly contested Sport Compact class at 34 Raceway finished with a dead heat after the feature race on Championship Night Saturday, Aug. 27.
Tim Schnathorst, the points leader going into the championship night, finished fifth, two spots behind Larry Miller. Both Burlington drivers finished with 297 points.
But Schnathorst was awarded the track title based on his winning three features compared to no victories for Miller out of the eight-race season.
Chad Krogmeier of Burlington won the Stock Car class. Cody Wehrle of Burlington won the 305 Winged Sprints. Austen Becerra of Carthage, Ill., won the Modifieds class. Sean Wyatt of Danville took the Sport Mods title. Brian Tipps of Wapello won the Mini Hauler class. Jeff Guengerich of Washington claimed the Late Models crown.
“We both fought hard,” Schnathorst said of his and Miller's season-long battle.
“It was an emotional night for me.”
Schnathorst finished a solid fifth but had to battle from behind to force the tie.
“Larry made me work for it for sure,” Schnathorst said.
He said he struggled the entire season: “It was a new car, I was fighting issues and trying to make all the races.”
The Top 10
Winged sprints – 1. Cody Wehrle, Burlington 323, 2. Daniel Bergquist, Burlington 280, 3. Nick Guernsey, Burlington 274, 4. Nathan Murders, Burlington 271, 5. Chase Richards, Burlington 270, 6. J.J. Beaver, Knoxville 266, 7. Blaine Jamison, Mediapolis 258, 8. McCain Richards, Burlington 247, 9. Noah Samuel, Burlington 244, 10. Aaron Ferch, Kirkwood, Ill. 207.
Sport Compact – 1. Tim Schnathorst, Burlington 297, 2. Larry Miller, Burlington 297, 3. Noah Kayser, Burlington 284, 4. Justin Stevenson, Burlington 277, 5. Wayne Chamblee, Burlington 256, 6. Chadrick Edward Poland, Burlington 255, 7. Shane Vancil, Salem 198, 8. T.J. Weyls, Burlington 132, 9. Caleb Giese, Morning Sun 130,10. Jason Ash, Burlington 120.
Modifieds – 1. Austen Becerra, Carthage, Ill. 341, 2. Dennis LaVeine, West Burlington 310, 3. Bill Roberts Jr., Burlington 303, 4. Mitch Boles, New London 290, 5. Chad Giberson, Richland 227, 6. Jarrett Brown, Ainsworth 226, 7. Kyle Madden, Oxford 164, 8. Jardin Fuller, Memphis, Mo. 161, 9. Creston Williams, Newhaul 151, 10. Cole Helmerson, New London 149,
Sport Mods – 1. Sean Wyett, Danville 328, 2. Bob Cowman, Quincy, Ill., 291, 3. Draython Schanfish, East Moline, Ill., 286, 4. Travis Hartman, Burlington 276, 5. Mitch Strayer, Davenport 178, 6. Dylan Van Wyk, Oskaloosa 140, 7. Matt Thomas, Danville 117, 8. Tom Lathrop, Ottumwa 114, 9. Adam Birck, Canton, Mo., 113, 10. A.J. Tournear, Quincy, Ill. and Tom Bowling Jr., Burlington (tie) 108.
Stock cars – 1. Chad Krogmeier, Burlington 207, 2. Kirk Knisley, Wapello 177, 3. Austin Kemper, Wapello 167, 4. Dustin Griffiths, Hedrick 112, 5. Ray Raker, Danville 95, 6. Jason Cook, Mount Pleasant 75, 7. Abe Huls, Carthage, Ill. 67, 8. Dustin Vis, Martelle 40, 9. Johnny Spaw, Cedar Rapids 39, 10. David Brandies, Wilton 38.
Mini Hauler – 1. Brian Tipps, Wapello 157, 2. Tucker Richardson, Morning Sun 150, 3. Tim Wagner, Wapello 149, 4. Sheldon Bracket, Burlington 140, 5. Darin Ronner, Gladstone, Ill. 133, 6. Don Wood, Wapello and Jeff Bockes, Morning Sun (tie) 130, 8. James Ruble, Morning Sun 106, 9. Jacob Ruble, Mount Pleasant 105, 10. Matt Barton, Mount Pleasant 71.
Dirt Late Models – 1. Jeff Guengerich, Washington 151, 2. Ed Hollenbeck, Burlington 127, 3. Dustin Schram, Sterlin, Ill., 107, 4. Brandon Rothzen, Gladstone, Ill., 99, 5. Nick Marolf, Moscow 78, 6. Jay Johnson, West Burlington 76, 7. C.J. Horn, Cedar Rapids 74, 8. Ray Raker, Danville 70, 9. Jeremy Pundt, Donnellson 69, 10. Tommy Elston, Keokuk 42.