From Duane Hancock
Polyak Wins at Fremont
The popular Ohio Sprint Speedweek hits Fremont Speedway twice during the 9 day event. The Fremont stop not only showcases the All Star Sprints, the 305 drivers get their shot at racing in front of the swollen crowd of travelers. Coming off three consecutive top 3 finishes, Paige Polyak was looking to keep her momentum up during the Speedweek events. A pill draw of 22 would place Paige in the 2nd starting position in the 2nd heat for the Wednesday event. As Paige battled Caleb Griffith for the early lead in the heat, a miscue entering turn 3 resulted in some front end damage, ending her heat race. After working to get the car ready for the A Main, Paige was ready to roll from her 20th starting spot. As the green flag dropped, Polyak was hard on the throttle, passing 6 cars by the time she exited turn 2. Working on 2 more cars she was setting up entering turn 3, the yellow would fly for a spin, ruining her great start. On the restart, Paige got blocked in and didn’t get a great start, making for some hard work the next 25 laps. After working her way into 14th by the half way point, Paige was looking for more as she raced through lapped traffic, advancing into the top 10. As the laps wound down, Polyak would come home in 7th without the aid of any cautions, earning her 3rd hard charger award of the season, passing 13 cars.
Saturday it was back to Fremont Speedway where the 305s were the under card for the Ohio Speedweek final. With a draw of 17, Paige would once again start 2nd in the 2nd heat. Testing both the high side and low side in her heat, Paige would take home a 2nd place finish. With the dice roll, Paige would roll off from the 5th spot in the 25 lap A Main. Quickly moving into 3rd, Polyak would start to battle for 2nd a few laps later. Moving into 2nd, Paige had set sights set on running Griffith down. Lap after lap, Polyak was cutting into Griffith’s large lead. With 10 to go, Griffith entered heavy lapped traffic as Polyak closed quickly. 5 to go, the crowd could sense Paige was fast as you could hear them cheer her on. 2 to go, Polyak was on Griffith’s tail tank, as they both worked heavy lapped traffic. Trying high, low, and in between, Paige had one last shot on the final lap. As they race off turn 2, Paige is looking for a chance to make a move. Into 3, Polyak throws it on the high side and gets a huge run into 4. Off 4, she squeezes in between Griffith and the wall. With dust a blowing, sparks a flying, and the fans standing and cheering, Paige beats Caleb to the line by .02 of a second, earning her first win at Fremont on the season and her overall. A truly remarkable move and battle to finish this one. A special thanks to HE Rudy Trucking, Steyer Seeds, Handy Graphix, Napa Auto Parts of Bryan Ohio, Bryan Auto Plaza, Oliver Motorsports, Ned F Gregg Reality, JLH Contractors, and The Pit Stop of Tiffin Ohio for all of their support.