By Brian Liskai
ATTICA, Ohio – You can see the fire in his eyes and hear it in his voice…Byron Reed is on a mission in 2010. The Monclova, Ohio driver, a five-time Attica Raceway Park 410 sprint champion, continued his early season success by claiming his second victory of the season on Burns Electric Mid-Season Championship Night at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” speedplant.
The win also adds to Reed’s point lead at Attica as it was a double-points night, but also stretched his lead in the Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica Sprint Title (FAST) Championship Series. Reed now has 24 career Attica victories, good for second on the track’s all-time win list behind Mark Keegan who has 55 wins.
Jackson, Michigan’s Rusty Schlenk came into Attica Friday leading the national UMP late model points by over 500 markers. He led all 25-laps of the feature to claim his second win of the season in the Fultz Fabrications and Speed Shop UMP Late Models. It wasn’t easy, as Schlenk had to hold off many late race challenges from Ryan Markham.
Fremont, Ohio’s D.J. Foos went from fourth to first on the first lap of the Fremont Fence 305 Sprint feature and held off several challenges from John Ivy to post his second victory of the season.
In the Computer Man Dirt Trucks, Bob Dible came back after nearly destroying his truck a couple of weeks ago at Fremont Speedway, to post his first victory of 2010.
Reed executed a great move on the bottom of turns three and four on lap five, passing both Mike Linder and Todd Heller to take the lead. By lap 14 he was hitting the back of the field, and that held him up somewhat allowing Linder to close. Then, with six laps remaining, Brandon Martin took second and tried to run down Reed, who was able to pick his way through traffic for the victory.
“It was a tough race. I can’t believe this track, it was great tonight. Everyone had to really be up on their game. I had to be aggressive in lapped traffic…it’s tough sometimes when you’re not sure where they are going,” said Reed beside his Reebar Diecasting, Schoenfeld Headers, ProShocks backed #5.
“I think last year on both double-points nights were our worst nights of the year, so this will turn it around hopefully,” added Reed.
Schlenk bolted into lead of the 25-lap late model feature from his pole-starting spot, but fourth place Ryan Markham moved into challenge by the second lap. With 10 laps to go, Markham had caught Schlenk as the leader was great on the high side of turns one and two and Markham was better on the bottom of turns three and four. The two raced side-by-side over the next couple of laps before hitting lapped traffic with six to go. Schlenk used the back markers to pull away, but a caution with two to go bunched up the field. A lap and another caution, and Schlenk was just too strong on the restarts as he scored his eighth career Attica victory.
“I didn’t plan on anyone getting to me that quick. We got held up in traffic a little bit, but I was just out their cruising and I saw his nose and figured I’d better turn it up a notch,” said Schlenk beside his Micro Armor Lubricants, CJ Rayburn Racecars, Main & Company backed #91. “It was too inconsistent up top in three and four for me…the sprint cars built up a cushion and I couldn’t seem a place to roll into it soft. Every time I hit it the car would go a different direction every lap. I had to move off the cushion the last couple of laps to protect the lead.”
In the 25-lap 305 feature, Foos went from his fourth place starting spot into the lead on the first lap. He used the bottom of the track to pull away slightly from John Ivy and Paige Polyak. The caution-filled feature prevented him from running away though, but also hampered Ivy’s momentum as every time he started to reel in Foos there would be a yellow. From lap 13 to 19 the race stayed green and Ivy closed on Foos, racing under him several times in turns three and four. But the cautions would allow Foos to pull away slightly as he went on to his fifth career Attica win.
“The first green flag I thought I had it and it got called back (caution for spin). I thought ‘Johnny (Ivy) isn’t going to fall for that again.’ It worked and then I saw on the scoreboard Johnny was behind me and thought ‘man I’ve got my work cut out for me.’ I needed all the yellows…the tires started to go away a little bit,” said Foos beside his Burger King, Level Performance, Buckshot Farms, Schiets Motorsports backed #11F.
“This is a big rebound for us. We hurt a motor a couple of weeks back. This one’s for my dad (Dave) and grandpa (Don). My dad just became the fire chief of Fremont so this one is for him,” added Foos.
Cory Ward and Dible battle early on in the 15-lap truck feature with Dible driving under Ward for the lead on lap three. A red due to fuel on the track on lap five might have brought an end to the race, as light rain began to fall. But, the track crew quickly cleaned up the mess and after a few laps to run in the moisture it was back to racing with Dible unable to shake Ward, Dwight Waltermeier and Brian Arnold. Dible never moved from his middle of the track line and went on to his fifth career victory.
“We had to rebuild this truck after that crash…we put in a lot of hard work. It’s a good thing we didn’t race that one weekend because it took the two weeks to put it back together,” said Dible beside his BMS Engines, Bob’s Machine Shop backed #17. “It’s a great track out there…you couldn’t ask for anything better. It was smooth and a little tacky yet. I just got on the top and let it go.”
At the drop of the green in the 410 sprint feature Todd Heller grabbed the lead with Mike Linder, Reed, Brian Lay and Rob Chaney in tow. Heller would continue to lead until Reed executed a great move on the bottom of turns three and four on lap five to pass both Linder and Heller for the lead. A quick caution on lap six, and Linder would drive around Heller into second on the restart with Chaney moving into third on lap 8. Reed would hit lapped traffic on lap 14, but Linder could not close as he had his hands full with Chaney and Brandon Martin.
On lap 17, Chaney had caught Linder and applied pressure for second, but Martin drove around him into the third spot a lap later as Linder used lapped traffic to pull away as Reed held a commanding lead. With six laps remaining, Martin drove under Linder into the runner-up spot as 13th place starter Dean Jacobs started to come on, moving in on Linder’s rear bumper into fourth. Jacobs would take third on lap 26 and drove under Martin into second on lap 27. Meanwhile Reed, who had been hung up slightly in traffic, broke free and pulled away while Martin drove back around Jacobs into second. At the finish it was Reed over Martin, Jacobs, Linder and Craig Mintz.
Schlenk pulled away at the drop of the green for the late model feature with Ken Hahn, Ryan Markham, Justin Chance and Devin Schiels in tow. Markham would dispose of Hahn on lap 2, but couldn’t get closer than 3 car lengths away from Schlenk as Chance took third and Schiels fourth on lap three. Just as Schiels moved into third on lap 6, the caution flew. On the restarts Schlenk would pull away with Markham comfortably in second with a great race for third between Schiels, Chance, Hahn, Jeremy Canada and Ryan Missler.
The race would stay green over the next 17 laps, allowing Markham to steadily eat into Schlenk’s lead. By lap 14, Markham was sticking the nose of his #5M under Schlenk as they raced side-by-side over the next five laps. Behind them, Schiels, Chance, Hahn and Missler continued to wage a torrid battle for third. Schlenk hit lapped traffic with six laps remaining and used it to pull away from Markham who got hung up in traffic. Schlenk would pull away for the win with Markham, Chance, Schiels and Missler rounding out the top five.
Foos would drive into the lead from his outside second row starting spot at the drop of the green with Ivy, Josh Muntz, Paige Polyak, Dustin Dinan and Nate Dussel in tow. Foos pulled away slightly as Ivy and Polyak battled for second with Dussel moving from his 11th starting spot into fourth. A caution on lap 5 bunched up the field, and Foos was able to pull away as Ivy and Polyak continued to race hard for second. Polyak’s run would come to an end on lap 12 as she made contact with the front stretch wall, breaking the rear end of her car. A lap and another yellow, but then the race found a rhythm and that allowed Ivy to close on Foos as Dussel, Bobby Clark and Zack Kramer battled for third. Ivy pulled along side of Foos on several occasions, but a caution on lap 19 broke that battle up.
Foos was able to pull away on the restart while Ivy had his hands full with Dussel and Clark. Another caution on lap 22 gave Ivy one last shot, but Foos was too smooth on the bottom of the track and pull away for the win. Ivy, Dussel, Kramer and Stuart Brubaker would round out the top five. As part of the FAST 305 Championship series presented by Cleveland Golf and Kear’s Speed Shop, Foos drew a ball out of the Kear’s Challenge Cup for an extra $100, which went to third place finisher Dussel.
In the dirt truck main, Cory Ward grabbed the early lead with Dible, Dustin Keegan, Paul Brown Jr. and Jeff Wank in pursuit. Dible would drive to Ward’s inside on lap three to take the lead. However, a fuel cell fell out of one of the trucks, prompting a red flag while it was burned off. The rain fell during the red and it took several laps to turn the track back in. Once it went back to green, Dible pulled away slightly while Ward, battled with Brown, Dwight Waltermeier, Wank and Arnold for second. Ward closed on Dible several times, bringing Waltermeier with him. With four laps to go, Dible had a slight lead over Ward, Waltermeier and 10th place starter Arnold. Arnold was on a mission, moving into third as the white flag flew. As Dible hit the checkers, Arnold took second with Ward, Waltermeier and Brown rounding out the top five.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, June 11 on American Powersports of Findlay Night with the 410 sprints, 305 sprints and dirt trucks. For more information log onto www.atticaracewaypark.com.
Race fans are also invited to Legends Sports Pub & Grille on U.S. 20 in Clyde on Thursday, June 17, from 6-8 p.m. as Dwight Allen’s Racing World holds a race night to help kick off the 27th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek. There will be cars and drivers on hand.
Attica Raceway Park – 6/4/2010
Burns Electric Night
410 Sprints (24 Cars)
Heat 1 – Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 15C-Chris Andrews; 2. 312-Mike Linder; 3. 11B-Brock Mayes; 4. 9X-Rob Chaney; 5. 97-Dean Jacobs; 6. X-Mark Keegan; 7. 2+-Brian Smith; 8. 91-Aaron Middaugh
Heat 2 – Bell Racing (8 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 10-David Harrison; 2. 20X-Craig Mintz; 3. 45-Brian Lay; 4. 11M-Brandon Martin; 5. 60-Jody Keegan; 6. 47-Caleb Helms; 7. 5M-Jamie Miller; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki
Heat 3 – Friendship Food Stores (8 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 16-Bryan Sebetto; 2. 14H-Todd Heller; 3. 5R-Byron Reed; 4. 28-Shawn Valenti; 5. 53-Phil Gressman; 6. O-Brandon Wimmer; 7. 3J-Kevin Lee; 8. 11-Josh Harrison
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. X-Mark Keegan; 2. O-Brandon Wimmer; 3. 47-Caleb Helms; 4. 3J-Kevin Lee; 5. 2+-Brian Smith; 6. 91-Aaron Middaugh; 7. 11-Josh Harrison; 8. 5M-Jamie Miller
A-Main – (30 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 5R-Byron Reed[4]; 2. 11M-Brandon Martin[8]; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[13]; 4. 312-Mike Linder[1]; 5. 20X-Craig Mintz[7]; 6. 11B-Brock Mayes[10]; 7. 9X-Rob Chaney[6]; 8. 53-Phil Gressman[15]; 9. O-Brandon Wimmer[17]; 10. 15C-Chris Andrews[12]; 11. X-Mark Keegan[16]; 12. 45-Brian Lay[3]; 13. 2+-Brian Smith[20]; 14. 3J-Kevin Lee[19]; 15. 14H-Todd Heller[2]; 16. 47-Caleb Helms[18]; 17. 10-David Harrison[11]; 18. 60-Jody Keegan[14]; 19. 16-Bryan Sebetto[9]; 20. 28-Shawn Valenti[5]
Hard Charger: 97-Dean Jacobs[+10]
Fultz Fabrication & Speed Shop – UMP Late Models (31 Cars)
Heat 1 – Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 4 Transfer)
1. 51-Devin Schiels; 2. 23C-Jeremy Canada; 3. 85-Bill Hahn; 4. 83-John Lawhorn; 5. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.; 6. 71-Dave Hornikel; 7. 12-Michael Stiltner II; 8. 99-Steve Sabo
Heat 2 – Bell Racing (8 Laps – Top 4 Transfer)
1. 5M-Ryan Markham; 2. 21-Larry Kingseed; 3. 50Y-Ryan Missler; 4. X3-Dan Wallace; 5. 92-Brandon Perkins; 6. 5H-Ernie Haynes; 7. 2D-Curtis Deisenroth; 8. 25-Ryan Eddleblute
Heat 3 – Friendship Food Stores (8 Laps – Top 4 Transfer)
1. 15B-Mike Bores; 2. 55T-Tom Ordway; 3. 27-Ken Hahn; 4. 2+-Brad Moore; 5. 93T-Jeff Esbenshade; 6. 18-Jim Gingery; 7. 22-Mike Stiltner; 8. O6-Kyle Perry
Heat 4 – Tin Lizzy Collision (8 Laps – Top 4 Transfer)
1. O1-Justin Chance; 2. 91-Rusty Schlenk; 3. WD40-Dusty Moore; 4. 92S-Cody Scott; 5. 48-John Bores; 6. 12M-Bobby Michaels; 7. 30-Nate Potts
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 4 Transfer)
1. 93T-Jeff Esbenshade; 2. 92-Brandon Perkins; 3. 25-Ryan Eddleblute; 4. 71-Dave Hornikel; 5. 48-John Bores; 6. 12M-Bobby Michaels; 7. 18-Jim Gingery; 8. O6-Kyle Perry; 9. 5H-Ernie Haynes; 10. 2D-Curtis Deisenroth; 11. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.; 12. 12-Michael Stiltner II; 13. 30-Nate Potts; 14. 22-Mike Stiltner; 15. 99-Steve Sabo
A-Main – (25 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 91-Rusty Schlenk[1]; 2. 5M-Ryan Markham[4]; 3. O1-Justin Chance[5]; 4. 51-Devin Schiels[3]; 5. 50Y-Ryan Missler[9]; 6. 21-Larry Kingseed[10]; 7. 55T-Tom Ordway[8]; 8. 71-Dave Hornikel[20]; 9. X3-Dan Wallace[14]; 10. 23C-Jeremy Canada[7]; 11. 93T-Jeff Esbenshade[17]; 12. 92S-Cody Scott[16]; 13. 15B-Mike Bores[6]; 14. 25-Ryan Eddleblute[19]; 15. 27-Ken Hahn[2]; 16. WD40-Dusty Moore[11]; 17. 85-Bill Hahn[12]; 18. 83-John Lawhorn[13]; 19. 92-Brandon Perkins[18]; 20. 2+-Brad Moore[15]
Hard Charger: 71-Dave Hornikel[+12]
Fremont Fence 305 Sprints (27 Cars)
Heat 1 – Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 94-John Ivy; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver; 3. 22D-Dan Hammond; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker; 5. 9-Jimmy Colvin; 6. 14-Chad Wilson; 7. 19R-Steve Rando; 8. 87-Ryan Hetrick; 9. 65-Doug Berryman
Heat 2 – Bell Racing (8 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 40-Bobby Clark; 2. 27-Paige Polyak; 3. M28-Josh Muntz; 4. 1-Nate Dussel; 5. 67M-Matt Ferrell; 6. 71-Bill Kraylek; 7. 25-Jason Keckler; 8. 30-Adam Ollom; 9. 8J-Jess Stiger
Heat 3 – Friendship Food Stores (8 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 8K-Zack Kramer; 2. 5-Dustin Dinan; 3. 11F-D.J. Foos; 4. 83X-Nate Reeser; 5. 51-Brad Bowman; 6. 10S-Roger Shammo; 7. 55-Benny Bowman; 8. 39M-Matt Merrill
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 19R-Steve Rando; 2. 14-Chad Wilson; 3. 71-Bill Kraylek; 4. 10S-Roger Shammo; 5. 39M-Matt Merrill; 6. 25-Jason Keckler; 7. 8J-Jess Stiger; 8. 65-Doug Berryman; 9. 87-Ryan Hetrick; 10. 30-Adam Ollom; 11. 55-Benny Bowman
A-Main – (25 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 11F-D.J. Foos[4]; 2. 94-John Ivy[2]; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[11]; 4. 8K-Zack Kramer[9]; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker[12]; 6. M28-Josh Muntz[1]; 7. 5-Dustin Dinan[5]; 8. 9-Jimmy Colvin[13]; 9. 67M-Matt Ferrell[14]; 10. 71-Bill Kraylek[18]; 11. 1W-Paul Weaver[10]; 12. 14-Chad Wilson[17]; 13. 22D-Dan Hammond[8]; 14. 39M-Matt Merrill[20]; 15. 40-Bobby Clark[7]; 16. 51-Brad Bowman[15]; 17. 10S-Roger Shammo[19]; 18. 27-Paige Polyak[6]; 19. 19R-Steve Rando[16]; 20. 83X-Nate Reeser[3]
Hard Charger: 1-Nate Dussel[+8]
Computer Man Inc. Dirt Trucks (20 Trucks)
Heat 1 – Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 8 Transfer)
1. P51-Paul Brown Jr.; 2. 39-Dwight Waltermier; 3. 8-Steve Endicott; 4. 4X-Brian Sorg; 5. 71-Craig Holland; 6. O-Andy Keegan; 7. 4S-Keith Sorg
Heat 2 – Bell Racing (8 Laps – Top 8 Transfer)
1. 33-Brian Arnold; 2. O1-Art Ball; 3. O9-Jeff Wank; 4. 56-Alex Weichman; 5. 84-Ron Kepling; 6. 92-Jordan Schwochow; 7. 13S-James Saam
Heat 3 – Friendship Food Stores (8 Laps – Top 8 Transfer)
1. 17-Bob Dible; 2. 36X-Dustin Keegan; 3. 18W-Cory Ward; 4. 32H-Dan Hennig; 5. 14-Scott Beard; 6. 9-Roger Inks
A-Main – (15 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 17-Bob Dible[6]; 2. 33-Brian Arnold[10]; 3. 18W-Cory Ward[4]; 4. 39-Dwight Waltermier[7]; 5. P51-Paul Brown Jr.[1]; 6. O9-Jeff Wank[3]; 7. 36X-Dustin Keegan[2]; 8. 32H-Dan Hennig[9]; 9. O1-Art Ball[8]; 10. 8-Steve Endicott[12]; 11. 4X-Brian Sorg[5]; 12. 84-Ron Kepling[14]; 13. 56-Alex Weichman[11]; 14. O-Andy Keegan[16]; 15. 71-Craig Holland[13]; 16. 9-Roger Inks[18]; 17. 4S-Keith Sorg[19]; 18. 92-Jordan Schwochow[17]; 19. 14-Scott Beard[15]; 20. 13S-James Saam[20]
Hard Charger: 33-Brian Arnold[+8]