From Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio (June 3, 2017) – For the second week in a row an “outsider” came into Fremont Speedway and took the cash from the All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads FAST Championship 410 Series presented by Ohio Logistics. Californian Carson Macedo took the lead from Travis Philo on lap 18 in heavy lapped traffic and maintained the lead after a late race red to score his second career win at “The Track That Action Built” on Vision Quest Night.
“The track was great. We had something to lean on and something to get after it with. These guys, Tim Norman and Joe Gaerte, they get the care really good along with Slade Shocks. Everyone just puts a solid effort into this team and it makes a huge difference and makes my job so much easier. It’s pretty special to be here at Fremont and be in victory lane. This track is really tough. The first time I ever came here we ran really well and I thought I had it all figured out. And I came back here a few other times and was awful. I’m really happy to be back here in victory lane,” said Macedo beside his Lucas Oil, Gaerte Engines by Topp Performance, All Star Performance, XYZ Machining, Weld Wheels, Eagle Leads, Shepherd’s Chevrolet, Elliott’s Heating & Air, BMRS, Hoosier Tire backed #3G.
Eric Rankine, who is an inductee into the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame, came out on top a great battle with Paul Taschler and Tim Kern to win the 305 sprint Race of Legends. Rankine, the track’s 1991 and 2000 410 sprint champion, drove Alvin Roepke’s sprint car to his fifth career Fremont victory.
“Time flies. Didn’t seem like it when I was out there running. It seemed like it was just last week. I want to dedicate this race to a good friend of mine Jerry Nemire and a good friend of mine at USAC Kyle McCain. Alvin and I have been friends way back when we were both racing sprint cars and that continues. I can’t thank Alvin enough…if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have done this the past four years. I’m glad to finally get him a win,” said Rankine.
Tiffin, Ohio’s Chester Fitch and defending Fremont Speedway track champion John Brooks put on a fantastic show in the McCullough Industries 602 Late Model feature. Fitch edged Brooks for his second straight feature win and the eighth of his career at the track.
“That was a lot of work. Might have to get after my son some after he spun out late in that one. I’d like to thank my family, Sacksteder Worland Insurance, Kenny Clark…there’s just a ton of people,” said Fitch.
Once in the lead Fostoria, Ohio’s Shawn Valenti built a very substantial 6.7 second leads in the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Trucks until a caution with two laps to go bunched up the field. Valenti, who took a tumble in the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature while battling for third, was still too strong, earning his third victory of the season at Fremont Speedway. The win is Valenti’s 35th career victory at the track placing him along in 11th in the Fremont all-time win list.
“The sprint deal is a heart breaker. Hate to have a good run going like that…hate for Chris (Andrews) and me. It was just one of those racing deals. We’ll get it rebuilt and come back next week. We’ve been heading in the right direction with that car the last couple of weeks. This truck is awesome thanks to Jeff Babcock. It’s cool keeping track of the career wins and hopefully we keep climbing,” said Valenti of his A Plus Auto Center; Best Performance; Craig Miller Trucking; Dave Story Equipment; Real Geese Decoys backed truck.
The day started at Fremont Speedway earlier in the afternoon with the induction ceremonies of 13 individuals into the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame. They are drivers, Jeff Hoffman, Bobby Knoll, Gary Willey, Jack Kraylek, Kenny Nemire Sr. and Jerry Nemire; owners, Ron McComas and Lamar Burkin; builder/mechanics Doug Ford, Ken “Red” Root and Mike Beechler; and supporter/life time contributor, Eric Phillips and Ken Smith
Also, the late Bryan Clauson’s mom, Diana Clauson and his sister, Taylor McLean were on hand to register organ and tissue donors through the Driven2SaveLives organization. Hundreds of Fremont Speedway fans signed up to be organ and tissue donors. Others can sign up at driven2savelives.org.
In the 30 lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature, Brian Lay and Travis Philo brought the field to green with Philo gaining the advantage over Lay, Chris Andrews, Thomas Meseraull, Shawn Valenti, Carson Macedo and DJ Foos. Philo set a blistering pace, driving into heavy lapped traffic by the seventh circuit as Lay, Andrews, Meseraull and Macedo stayed within striking distance.
Lay slipped over the banking of turn three on lap nine, falling back to seventh as Philo now led a closing Andrews, Macedo and Meseraull. Just past the half-way point Macedo took second and quickly closed on Philo with Andrews staying close while Valenti, Tyler Gunn and Meseraull were locked in a tremendous battle. Macedo drove under Philo to take the lead on lap 18 as the leaders continued to battle through traffic.
Disaster struck for Andrews and Valenti as the two tumbled on the front stretch battling for third on lap 21. The restart order was Macedo, Philo, Meseraull, Lay, Dale Blaney, Byron Reed and Foos. When the green flew Macedo pulled away slightly with Philo comfortably in second while Meseraull and Lay raced hard for third and Blaney and Reed battled for fifth. Macedo drove to the win over Philo, Lay, Meseraull and Blaney.
Fremont Speedway Hall of Famer Clay Keim and Taschler brought the field to green for the 15 lap Race of Legends. Taschler grabbed the lead over Keim, Tim Kern, Ray Moon, Rankine and Lee Potter. Kern took second on the second lap as Rankine raced into fourth behind Keim. By lap six it was an entertaining race up front between Taschler, Kern and Rankine. Kern grabbed the lead on lap seven but surrendered the top spot to Rankine two circuits later.
The feature’s only caution flew on lap 11 which wiped out a sizeable lead for Rankine. On the restart Rankine pulled away for the win over Taschler, Kern, Keim and Moon.
Ky Harper, who owns two wins on the season, and last week’s winner Chester Fitch brought the field to green for the 15-lap late model feature. Harper led the first circuit before Fitch took over. Fitch seemed to have the race in hand until Skeeter Fitch spun on lap 10. Chester Fitch now had Harper and Brooks glued to his bumper. On the restart Brooks slid into second and took a peak to the inside of Fitch for the lead. Brooks led lap 13, but Fitch drove back around to the white flag. Fitch and Brooks leaned on each other the final lap with Fitch taking the win over Brooks, Harper, Kyle Dukeshire and Dustin Keegan.
The 20-lap dirt truck feature was filled with several cautions throughout. Pole-sitter Brad Mitten grabbed the early lead with Keith Sorg, Jim Holcomb, Matt Foos and Valenti not letting him get away. Disaster struck for Mitten on lap six as his smoking mount went up in flames. That handed the lead to Valenti who drove away from the field.
While Valenti was building a very sizeable lead, the action for second was very heated involving Keith Sorg, Holcomb, Dustin Keegan and Jeff Ward. A final caution with two laps to go didn’t stop Valenti. When the green reappeared Valenti disappeared, driving to the win over Sorg, Keegan, Brad Stuckey and Ward.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, June 10 on Kistler Engines Night. It will be an All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads FAST 410 Championship Series presented by Ohio Logistics point battle night along with a JLH General Contractor 305 FAST Championship Series presented by Engine Pro point night. The trucks and late models will also be in action. Prior to the night’s racing there will be a Classic Car Cruise In at the Sandusky County Fairgrounds.
For more information about Fremont Speedway go to www.fremontohspeedway.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FremontSpeedway or on Twitter https://twitter.com/FremontSpeedway. Those seeking additional information regarding the 2017 All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads FAST Championship 410 Sprint Series presented by Ohio Logistics or the 2017 JLH General Contractor FAST Championship 305 Sprint Series presented by Engine Pro can log on at www.fastondirt.com. Be sure to stay updated on everything FAST related and ‘like’ FAST on Facebook at facebook.com/fastondirt and follow FAST on Twitter @FASTseries.
FAST On Dirt, Inc. would like to thank the following contributors to the 2017 FAST Series point fund: All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads, Ohio Logistics, JLH General Contractors, Engine Pro, Kistler Racing Products, Engler Machine & Tool, CP-Carillo Pistons, Design Graphics Group Inc., SCS Gearbox, Reebar Die Casting, Hoseheads.com, Level Performance, Young’s RV Centers, Gressman Powersports, Hoserville Ohio, Jon Wright’s Custom Chrome Plating, Fremont Fence, Baumann Auto Group, Fricker’s, Goofy Golf, NAPA Auto Parts, Hoosier Tire, UNOH, Welty Financial Services, EZ Shop, US Army, Weld Racing Wheels and the Pub 400.
Fremont Speedway
Vision Quest Night
Saturday, June 3, 2017
[*] Indicates starting position
Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints
Qualifying
1.16-Chris Andrews, 12.398; 2.97-Broc Martin, 12.497; 3.23-DJ Foos, 12.595; 4.5K-Adam Kekich, 12.616; 5.5T-Travis Philo, 12.661; 6.45L-Brian Lay, 12.668; 7.7-Shawn Valenti, 12.674; 8.9X-Thomas Meseraull, 12.756; 9.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.797; 10.11n-Dale Blaney, 12.865; 11.3G-Carson Macedo, 12.891; 12.5-Byron Reed, 12.900; 13.68G-Tyler Gunn, 12.902; 14.17-Jared Horstman, 12.915; 15.35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.002; 16.27L-Brad Lamberson, 13.037; 17.4-Tracy Hines, 13.112; 18.12-Daniel Harding, 13.134; 19.2+-Brian Smith, 13.155; 20.7C-Phil Gressman, 13.209; 21.27-Cody Gallogly, 13.231; 22.60-Jody Keegan, 13.289; 23.22M-Dan McCarron, 13.596; 24.18D-Bobby Distel, 14.105; 25.14-Daryl Daugherty, 14.259; 26.16N-Austin Nemire, 43.999;
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 68G-Tyler Gunn[2] ; 2. 27L-Brad Lamberson[1] ; 3. 7-Shawn Valenti[4] ; 4. 16-Chris Andrews[6] ; 5. 11n-Dale Blaney[3] ; 6. 5K-Adam Kekich[5] ; 7. 60-Jody Keegan[8] ; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[7] ; 9. 14-Daryl Daugherty[9]
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 3G-Carson Macedo[3] ; 2. 4-Tracy Hines[1] ; 3. 17-Jared Horstman[2] ; 4. 9X-Thomas Meseraull[4] ; 5. 5T-Travis Philo[5] ; 6. 7C-Phil Gressman[7] ; 7. 22M-Dan McCarron[8] ; 8. 16N-Austin Nemire[9] ; 9. 97-Broc Martin[6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 2. 12-Daniel Harding[1] ; 3. 5-Byron Reed[3] ; 4. 45L-Brian Lay[5] ; 5. 23-DJ Foos[6] ; 6. 27-Cody Gallogly[7] ; 7. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[4] ; 8. 18D-Bobby Distel[8]
B-Main 1 (10 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 5K-Adam Kekich[2] ; 2. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[3] ; 3. 7C-Phil Gressman[5] ; 4. 2+-Brian Smith[4] ; 5. 27-Cody Gallogly[6] ; 6. 16N-Austin Nemire[11] ; 7. 60-Jody Keegan[7] ; 8. 22M-Dan McCarron[8] ; 9. 14-Daryl Daugherty[10] ; 10. 18D-Bobby Distel[9] ; 11. 97-Broc Martin[1]
A-Main 1 (30 Laps)
1. 3G-Carson Macedo[8] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 3. 45L-Brian Lay[1] ; 4. 9X-Thomas Meseraull[6] ; 5. 11n-Dale Blaney[7] ; 6. 5-Byron Reed[9] ; 7. 12-Daniel Harding[15] ; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker[12] ; 9. 23-DJ Foos[3] ; 10. 27L-Brad Lamberson[13] ; 11. 4-Tracy Hines[14] ; 12. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[17] ; 13. 5K-Adam Kekich[16] ; 14. 17-Jared Horstman[11] ; 15. 7C-Phil Gressman[19] ; 16. 27-Cody Gallogly[20] ; 17. 7-Shawn Valenti[5] ; 18. 16-Chris Andrews[4] ; 19. 68G-Tyler Gunn[10] ; 20. 2+-Brian Smith[18]
Hard Charger: 12-Daniel Harding +8
305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.99-Eric Rankin, 13.796; 2.20I-Lee Potter, 13.953; 3.28-Tim Kern, 14.181; 4.36-Clay Keim, 14.225; 5.8-Chris Nagy, 14.347; 6.16-Paul Taschler, 14.529; 7.18R-Ray Moon, 14.650; 8.11G-Harry Kresser, 15.082; 9.11X-Russ Adkins, 15.354; 10.5JR-Mike Riehl, 15.590; 11.85-Randy Curlis, 87.999;
Heat 1 – (10 Laps)
1. 99-Eric Rankin[1] ; 2. 28-Tim Kern[2] ; 3. 18R-Ray Moon[4] ; 4. 11X-Russ Adkins[5] ; 5. 85-Randy Curlis[6] ; 6. 8-Chris Nagy[3]
Heat 2 – (10 Laps)
1. 20I-Lee Potter[1] ; 2. 16-Paul Taschler[3] ; 3. 36-Clay Keim[2] ; 4. 5JR-Mike Riehl[5] ; 5. 11G-Harry Kresser[4]
A-Main 1 – (15 Laps)
1. 99-Eric Rankin[5] ; 2. 16-Paul Taschler[2] ; 3. 28-Tim Kern[4] ; 4. 36-Clay Keim[1] ; 5. 18R-Ray Moon[6] ; 6. 20I-Lee Potter[3] ; 7. 85-Randy Curlis[9] ; 8. 8-Chris Nagy[11] ; 9. 5JR-Mike Riehl[8] ; 10. 11G-Harry Kresser[10] ; 11. 11X-Russ Adkins[7]
Dirt Trucks –Burmeister Trophy
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 23m-Brad Mitten[2] ; 2. 2-Matt Foos[8] ; 3. 4s-Keith Sorg[9] ; 4. 1H-Zeth Sabo[6] ; 5. 115-Ben Good[1] ; 6. 32-Kevin Phillips[7] ; 7. 17x-Dustin Keegan[3] ; 8. 5s-Brad Stuckey[4] ; 9. 36M-Cory McCaughey[5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 16-Jim Holcomb[2] ; 2. 7B-Shawn Valenti[8] ; 3. 99-Gene Potridge[1] ; 4. 49X-Noah Wagner[6] ; 5. 4X-Eddie Bryant[7] ; 6. 26-Kyle Lagrou[3] ; 7. 51W-Thomas Anderson[4] ; 8. 33-Jeff Ward[5]
A-Main 1 (15 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[6] ; 2. 4s-Keith Sorg[3] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[13] ; 4. 5s-Brad Stuckey[15] ; 5. 33-Jeff Ward[16] ; 6. 49X-Noah Wagner[2] ; 7. 1H-Zeth Sabo[5] ; 8. 32-Kevin Phillips[11] ; 9. 4X-Eddie Bryant[10] ; 10. 16-Jim Holcomb[4] ; 11. 51W-Thomas Anderson[14] ; 12. 26-Kyle Lagrou[12] ; 13. 23m-Brad Mitten[1] ; 14. 2-Matt Foos[7] ; 15. 99-Gene Potridge[8] ; 16. 36M-Cory McCaughey[17] ; 17. 115-Ben Good[9]
602 Late Models – McCullough Industries
Heat 1 (6 Laps)
1. 6-Brad Mitten[1] ; 2. 101-Chester Fitch[3] ; 3. 4M-Jamie Miller[5] ; 4. 27K-Jay King[2] ; 5. 16-Jeff Hoffman[4]
Heat 2 (6 Laps)
1. 00-John Brooks[2] ; 2. 12-Kyle Dukeshire[4] ; 3. 34-Ky Harper[5] ; 4. 5-Chester Fitch III[1] ; 5. 17x-Dustin Keegan[3]
A-Main 1 (15 Laps)
1. 101-Chester Fitch[2] ; 2. 00-John Brooks[5] ; 3. 34-Ky Harper[1] ; 4. 12-Kyle Dukeshire[4] ; 5. 17x-Dustin Keegan[10] ; 6. 6-Brad Mitten[3] ; 7. 5-Chester Fitch III[8] ; 8. 27K-Jay King[7] ; 9. 4M-Jamie Miller[6] ; 10. 16-Jeff Hoffman[9]