From Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio (July 8, 2017) – There’s no place like home for Cap Henry. The Bellevue, Ohio native spent a lot of years on the road racing sprint cars, including several weeks in the Midwest this year. He returned home a couple of weeks ago and hooked up with the Lane Racing team and it paid off Saturday at Fremont Speedway. Henry took the lead on lap 17 and drove to his fourth career win at “The Track That Action Built” pocketing $5,000 thanks to Crown Battery.
Henry started 10th in the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature and steadily worked his way to the front. A tremendous battle involving Stuart Brubaker, Chris Andrews and Henry ensued as the leaders raced into heavy lapped traffic by lap 11. Henry drove around Brubaker for the lead exiting turn two to lead lap 17. It wasn’t easy for Henry as he encountered heavy lapped traffic with eight laps to go allowing Brubaker to close. Henry navigated through the traffic to earn the win.
“I can’t say enough about this Lane family. They didn’t know who I was two weeks ago. Man I knew this thing was pretty good early. I caught those guys in traffic and just didn’t want to screw it up. Hats off to Rich (Farmer, Fremont Speedway Promoter) and the whole crew. The track was awesome. I could run any where on the race track. This J&J was awesome. It’s good to be in victory lane and even better to be home,” said Henry beside his Metropolitan Landscaping, Kistler Engines backed #4.
Gibsonburg’s Nate Dussel survived a close call with a lapped car and led all 25 laps to claim his second feature win in as many weeks at Fremont Speedway. Last week he scored his first ever 360ci sprint win and this week the track’s Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprint 2016 champion scored his first win in that division, taking home $1,000 thanks to Crown Battery.
“Considering how bad I fouled it up last week in this car, stepping on it running second, I owed this to my dad and everyone on this team to get the #1 car back in victory lane,” said Dussel beside his Berrier Custom Fabrication; Al Davis Carpet; Industrial Movers; Gressman Powersports; Box 7; Real Geese; Wurtec; Design Graphics Group; Kistler Racing Products backed machine.
The victory is Dussel’s 23rd overall at the track, putting him in a tie with Bryan Sebetto and Jim Fleming for 23rd on the all time win list.
“I’ve said it before I sat in those stands as a little kid thinking maybe some day I can sit on this front stretch at least once let alone 23 times,” Dussel commented.
Wayne, Ohio’s John Brooks has racked up 5 runner-up finishes in the McCullough Industries 602 Late Models at Fremont Speedway in 2017. Brooks, the track’s defending division champion, finally broke into victory lane Saturday, taking the lead on lap six and driving to his sixth career win
“The track was smoother and it didn’t wear me out…I didn’t fall out of the seat,” said Brooks beside his Snack Time Vending; Foster Auto Repair; Brian Foster backed #00.
“Chester (Fitch) and Ky (Harper) give me a run for my money every week. It seems if I can beat one I can’t beat the other. This feels good…I was wondering where this place was,” Brooks said referring to the Engine Pro Victory Lane. “I want to thank my wife, Chris my crew chief, a friend of mine, Jim, came out to help us.”
A few years ago Fremont, Ohio’s Brad Mitten suffered a severe head injury. Through hard work and determination he came back to racing and it all paid off Saturday as he grabbed the lead from Shawn Valenti – who has five wins on the season – on a restart with just four laps to go and drove to his first career Burmeister Trophy Dirt Truck feature win at “The Track That Action Built.”
“I was faster in one and two than he (Valenti) was but he would come back on me in three and four. I thought he was going to come back around but I stuck with it and after 12 years I finally won,” said Mitten beside his Centec Cast Metal Products; Premier Planning Services; Borer Mirror & Glass; Shellukes Bar and Grill; SPS Distributing; B&R Powder Coasting backed #23m.
Jody Keegan and Todd Heller brought the 410 feature to green with Heller gaining the advantage over Chris Andrews, Keegan, Brubaker, Broc Martin and D.J. Foos. Keegan, who took home $1,000 for winning the Alex Burkett Memorial Pursuit earlier in the night, jumped back into second on lap two and immediately challenged Heller for the lead. Heller and Keegan would tangle on lap three, handing the lead to Brubaker.
Brubaker pulled away slightly on the restart from Andrews, Henry, Foos, Trey Jacobs, Valenti, Byron Reed and Tyler Gunn. The leaders raced into heavy lapped traffic by the 11th circuit and it was a three car battle for the lead involving Brubaker, Andrews and Henry. Henry sliced into second on lap 12 and battled with Brubaker and the lapped cars over the next five laps before driving under Brubaker exiting turn four on lap 17.
Henry pulled away from Brubaker, Andrews, Reed, Jacobs, Foos and Gunn until encountering more heavy traffic with eight laps remaining. Brubaker quickly closed and with three laps remaining was right on Henry’s rear bumper. Henry was able to negotiate through the traffic and drove to the win over Brubaker, Andrews, Reed and Jacobs.
Last week’s winner Steve Rando and Dussel paced the field for the 25 lap 305 sprint feature with Dussel gaining the advantage at the drop of the green. Paul Weaver moved into second on lap two and the battle began for the lead. Dussel and Weaver nose to tail over the next five laps before the caution flew just as they were racing into lapped traffic. After two green flag laps Rando’s run at the front came to an end with mechanical issues. On the restart Dussel led Weaver, Bobby Clark, Alvin Roepke, Matt Foos and John Ivy (from 17th).
Clark would spin on lap 10, collecting Ivy. When the green flew the battle between Dussel and Weaver continued with Roepke, Foos, Brandon Moore, and Jamie Miller giving chase. With 10 laps to go Dussel and Weaver were battling as they caught the rear of the field. Kevin Mingus would spin right in front of them. Dussel avoided the incident but Weaver spun to avoid heavy contact, sending him to the tail.
When the green flew Dussel pulled away from Roepke, Moore, Kyle Capodice, Foos and Dustin Stroup. As he worked his way back to the front, Weaver clipped Chase Dunham on lap 18 with Dunham laying his car on its side. Again when the green returned Dussel pulled away from Roepke with Moore and Foos battling for third. Dussel easily drove to the win over Roepke, Moore, Foos and Weaver.
In the 15 lap late model feature, Dustin Keegan and Ky Harper brought the field to green with Harper taking the lead over Brooks, Chester Fitch, Keegan and Kyle Dukeshire. Fitch spun while challenging for the lead on lap four. On the restart Brooks pressured Harper and drove into the lead on lap six just before the caution would fly. A pair of cautions over the next two laps kept the field close.
Once the green flew again on lap eight, Brooks began to pull away from Harper, Fitch and Keegan. Brooks drove to the win over Harper, Fitch, Keegan and Jay King.
The 20 lap dirt truck feature went green with Eric Devanna and Brad Stuckey on the front row. Cautions marred the first seven laps of the feature, thought he battle up front involving Devanna, Stuckey, Shawn Valenti and Dustin Keegan was quite entertaining. Valenti grabbed the lead on lap seven and began to pull away as Keegan, Devanna and Stuckey put on a show for second.
Mitten was finally able to take the runner-up position on lap 14 just before the caution flew wiping out Valenti’s big lead. When the green reappeared Mitten drove under Valenti to take the lead. Mitten hit his marks perfectly and drove to the win over Valenti, Keegan, Keith Sorg and Devanna.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, July 22 on Miller Rigging/Mac & Bob’s Service Garage Night with the 410 and 305 sprints, trucks and late models in action on Family Fun Night.
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.
Fremont Speedway
Saturday, July 8, 2017
Crown Battery Night
Starting position [*]
410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.803; 2.45L-Brian Lay, 12.811; 3.23-DJ Foos, 12.844; 4.3J-Trey Jacobs, 12.852; 5.16-Chris Andrews, 12.874; 6.97-Broc Martin, 12.900; 7.14H-Todd Heller, 12.926; 8.60-Jody Keegan, 13.010; 9.5-Byron Reed, 13.022; 10.4-Cap Henry, 13.031; 11.7-Shawn Valenti, 13.032; 12.5X-Justin Peck, 13.042; 13.2+-Brian Smith, 13.111; 14.16N-Austin Nemire, 13.149; 15.68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.183; 16.4t-Tracy Hines, 13.270; 17.2-Ricky Peterson, 13.423; 18.71-Ayrton Olsen, 13.440; 19.22M-Dan McCarron, 13.467; 20.3T-Tony Beaber, 13.500; 21.17x-Dain Naida, 13.747; 22.18D-Bobby Distel, 14.421;
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 4-Cap Henry[1] ; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4] ; 3. 14H-Todd Heller[2] ; 4. 3J-Trey Jacobs[3] ; 5. 4t-Tracy Hines[6] ; 6. 2+-Brian Smith[5] ; 7. 22M-Dan McCarron[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 7-Shawn Valenti[1] ; 2. 16-Chris Andrews[3] ; 3. 60-Jody Keegan[2] ; 4. 45L-Brian Lay[4] ; 5. 3T-Tony Beaber[7] ; 6. 16N-Austin Nemire[5] ; 7. 2-Ricky Peterson[6] ; 8. 18D-Bobby Distel[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps)
1. 97-Broc Martin[3] ; 2. 23-DJ Foos[4] ; 3. 5-Byron Reed[2] ; 4. 68G-Tyler Gunn[5] ; 6. 71-Ayrton Olsen[6] ; 6. 17x-Dain Naida[7] ; DNF. 5X-Justin Peck[1]
A-Main 1 (30 Laps)
1. 4-Cap Henry[10] ; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[6] ; 3. 16-Chris Andrews[4] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[9] ; 5. 3J-Trey Jacobs[8] ; 6. 68G-Tyler Gunn[15] ; 7. 23-DJ Foos[5] ; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[13] ; 9. 7-Shawn Valenti[11] ; 10. 5X-Justin Peck[12] ; 11. 45L-Brian Lay[7] ; 12. 22M-Dan McCarron[19] ; 13. 97-Broc Martin[3] ; 14. 17x-Dain Naida[21] ; 15. 3T-Tony Beaber[20] ; 16. 16N-Austin Nemire[14] ; 17. 60-Jody Keegan[1] ; 18. 71-Ayrton Olsen[18] ; 19. 2-Ricky Peterson[17] ; 20. 4t-Tracy Hines[16] ; 21. 18D-Bobby Distel[22] ; 22. 14H-Todd Heller[2]
Hard Charger: 4-Cap Henry +9
305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Heat 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 25-Jason Keckler[1] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[4] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[5] ; 4. 47-Matt Lucius[3] ; 5. 11G-Tyler Street[2] ; 6. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath[6] ; 7. 94K-Kevin Mingus[8] ; 8. 36-Seth Schneider[7]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps)
1. 66D-Chase Dunham[1] ; 2. 19R-Steve Rando[3] ; 3. 66-Jamie Miller[6] ; 4. 99-Alvin Roepke[7] ; 5. 10-Josh Harrison[2] ; 6. 77I-John Ivy[5] ; 7. 9R-Dustin Rall[8] ; 24. 09-Justin Adams[4]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps)
1. 2F-Matt Foos[2] ; 2. 12-Kyle Capodice[5] ; 3. 8-Bobby CLark[3] ; 4. 46AU-Stuart Williams[7] ; 5. 7M-Brandon Moore[4] ; 6. 21-Dustin Stroup[1] ; 7. 2L-Landon Lalonde[6]
A-Main 1 (25 Laps)
1. 1-Nate Dussel[2] ; 2. 99-Alvin Roepke[12] ; 3. 7M-Brandon Moore[15] ; 4. 2F-Matt Foos[6] ; 5. 1W-Paul Weaver[3] ; 6. 12-Kyle Capodice[9] ; 7. 21-Dustin Stroup[18] ; 8. 66-Jamie Miller[4] ; 9. 10-Josh Harrison[14] ; 10. 9R-Dustin Rall[20] ; 11. 2L-Landon Lalonde[21] ; 12. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath[13] ; 13. 46AU-Stuart Williams[10] ; 14. 66D-Chase Dunham[8] ; 15. 94K-Kevin Mingus[16] ; 16. 11G-Tyler Street[19] ; 17. 8-Bobby CLark[5] ; 18. 77I-John Ivy[17] ; 19. 25-Jason Keckler[11] ; 20. 19R-Steve Rando[1] ; 21. 47-Matt Lucius[7] ; 22. 36-Seth Schneider[22]
Hard Charger: 7M-Brandon Moore +12
Dirt Trucks – Burmeister Trophy
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 16-Jim Holcomb[1] ; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[4] ; 3. 0-Andy Keegan[6] ; 4. 4X-Eddie Bryant[2] ; 5. 2-Brian Sorg[7] ; 7. P51-Paul Brown JR[5] ; 8. 48-Jeramiah Halbeisen[8] ; DNF. 33-Jeff Ward[3]
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[1] ; 2. 4s-Keith Sorg[5] ; 3. 37-Eric DeVanna[6] ; 4. 49X-Noah Wagner[4] ; 5. 1H-Zeth Sabo[7] ; 6. 32-Kevin Phillips[2] ; 7. 26-Kyle Lagrou[3]
Heat 3 (8 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[5] ; 2. 5s-Brad Stuckey[1] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[3] ; 4. 29-Kyle Farmer[6] ; 5. 99-Gene Potridge[4] ; 6. 51W-Thomas Anderson[7] ; 7. 23m-Brad Mitten[2]
A-Main 1 (20 Laps)
1. 23m-Brad Mitten[5] ; 2. 7B-Shawn Valenti[8] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[12] ; 4. 4s-Keith Sorg[11] ; 5. 37-Eric DeVanna[1] ; 6. 2-Brian Sorg[16] ; 7. 16-Jim Holcomb[7] ; 8. 99-Gene Potridge[18] ; 9. 48-Jeramiah Halbeisen[22] ; 10. 32-Kevin Phillips[17] ; 11. 49X-Noah Wagner[6] ; 12. 5s-Brad Stuckey[2] ; 13. 33-Jeff Ward[9] ; 14. 51W-Thomas Anderson[20] ; 15. 0-Andy Keegan[3] ; 16. 26-Kyle Lagrou[19] ; 17. P51-Paul Brown JR[21] ; 18. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[10] ; 19. 8KB-Kent Brewer[4] ; 20. 4X-Eddie Bryant[13] ; 21. 1H-Zeth Sabo[14]
Hard Charger: 48-Jeramiah Halbeisen +13
602 Late Models – McCullough Industries
Heat 1 (6 Laps)
1. 101-Chester Fitch[2] ; 2. 34-Ky Harper[7] ; 3. 00-John Brooks[5] ; 4. 17x-Dustin Keegan[4] ; 5. 4M-Jamie Miller[9] ; 6. 12-Kyle Dukeshire[8] ; 7. 16-Brad Mitten[1] ; 8. 27K-Jay King[10] ; 9. 5-Chester Fitch III[3] ; 10. 95-Louis Kimberlin[6]
A-Main 1 (15 Laps)
1. 00-John Brooks[4] ; 2. 34-Ky Harper[2] ; 3. 101-Chester Fitch[3] ; 4. 17x-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 5. 27K-Jay King[8] ; 6. 5-Chester Fitch III[9] ; 7. 12-Kyle Dukeshire[6] ; 8. 16-Brad Mitten[7] ; 9. 95-Louis Kimberlin[10] ; 10. 4M-Jamie Miller[5]