By Brian Liskai, Mike Campbell photo
ATTICA, Ohio – Tim Shaffer put the lights out on the O”Reilly Auto Parts All Star Circuit of Champions and Attica Raceway Park Saturday, Sept. 4…figuratively and literally.
The Aliquippa, Pa. driver continues to be the hottest sprint car driver in the nation as he recorded his second straight All Star win in as many nights – he won Friday at Lernerville Speedway – taking the Baumann Auto Group/WNWO NBC Channel 24 Night Attica Ambush to wrap up the 2010 season at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” speedplant.
It wasn’t easy for “The Steel City Outlaw,” as a blown fuse doused the track’s front stretch lights with five laps to go. However, Shaffer would drive his Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook Motorsports machine away from the field on the restart for his 13th All Star victory of 2010. While the win was Shaffer’s 18th overall for the season, it was his first career All Star victory. Shaffer has won three features this season at Attica and eight over his career at the track.
“This is just a blast to drive. Hats off to my guys they just do a great, great job. It’s been an awesome month,” said Shaffer the Knoxville Nationals champion beside his Technique Roofing, JRC Transportation, J&J Auto Racing, Kistler Engines backed machine. “To have a month like we’ve had…the wins and the fun… the communication…it’s just been a blast.”
When the track’s lights went out with five to go, Shaffer said it reminded him of a race in Tulare, California. “I was leading the race then and I’ll tell you it gets your attention in a hurry,” added Shaffer. “When it goes out like that it’s black.”
When the green fell for the 40-lap feature, last week’s Attica victor Lee Jacobs would grab the early lead over track champion Byron Reed, Dale Blaney, Greg Wilson Craig Mintz and Shaffer. Reed, who picked up two All Star wins at Attica in 2010, would drive into the lead exiting turn four on lap 7 while Jacobs battled Blaney and Shaffer for second.
The first caution would fly on lap 9 for a Brandon Wimmer spin with the running order Reed, Jacobs, Blaney, Shaffer, Mintz, Greg Wilson and Cap Henry. A lap later, Sheldon Haudenschild would spin, and Mark Keegan and Brandon Martin would tangle trying to avoid Haudenschild with Martin getting upside down.
On the restart Reed would drive back into a commanding lead with Jacobs in tow while Shaffer would drive around Blaney into third. Reed would hit lapped traffic by lap 15 with Shaffer moving into second with Jacobs, Blaney and Wilson rounding out the top five. It would remain that way until the half-way mark when Blaney would grab third. Shaffer was reeling in Reed and the duo would race side-by-side for two laps until Shaffer would drive to the outside of Reed, utilizing a lapped machine as a pick to take the lead on lap 25 with Blaney, Jacobs and David Gravel rounding out the top five.
On lap 35, the field was bunched up when the front stretch lights went out. Shaffer had six lapped machines between himself and Reed, with Blaney, Jacobs and Dewease rounding out the top five. Once the lights came back on, Shaffer would put the lights out on the rest of the field. The win is Shaffer’s 32nd career All Star victory, moving him into a tie with Danny Lasoski for 14th on the series’ all-time win list.
The win came aboard a car Shaffer is very fond of – it carried him to a streak of five consecutive victories during the All Star’s Thunder Through the Plains. However, he crashed the car at Huset’s Speedway, though repairs would net him a win that night.
“We bent the car a little so we put a new car together for Knoxville. Brian (Kemenah, crew chief) brought it home and took it to Mark Keegan for repairs. After Knoxville the guys put it back together and it’s still fast,” said Shaffer. “This year has been by far the best year and the most fun of my career and I’ve been home about every weekend.”
For Reed, who scored the only other two All Star victories at Attica in 2010, the second place finish was a great way to end the year.
“What can you say…the guy’s the best in the country right now. I actually did slow down as the race went on, but when he passed me I thought I was still going as good as I was when I thought I was unbeatable. But you have to be perfect to beat those guys…I was lucky to finish second,” said Reed beside his Reebar Diecasting, Schoenfeld Headers backed machine.
Bellevue, Ohio’s Ryan Missler scored his fourth win of the year in the Fultz Fabrications and Speed Shop UMP Late Model feature, leading all 25 laps. It wasn’t easy for the 2010 track champion, as he had to survive a rash of cautions late in the race. Following a first lap yellow for a Bill Clapp spin, Missler would rocket away from the field, lapping up to ninth place until the next caution would be displayed with 10 laps remaining when third place running Mike Bores looped it out. A lap and a caution, a lap and a caution, a lap and a caution would follow. Each time, Missler would drive his York Fabrications, J&H Concrete, Taze DJ Service., Quality Welding. Terry McConnell Excavating machine away from the field.
With seven laps remaining, the race finally got going again with Missler leading John Bores, Dan Wallace, Rocky Owens and Matt Irey. John Bores would drive off the banking in turns one and two on lap 22 for another caution with the running order now Missler Wallace, Mike Bores (from the tail), Owens and Larry Kingseed. A lap and another caution for Jamie Reed would give the competition one last shot at Missler, but he was too strong, driving away the final three laps for his fourth victory of the year with Wallace, Mike Bores, Kingseed and Owens rounding out the top five.
Missler had installed a new engine during the week and was pleased with its performance.
“The motor worked great…it was the transmission…we had problems. It jumped out of gear there…I had to cram it back in there but we got through it,” said Missler beside his Missler Industries, Keizer Wheels, Level Performance, Hawk’s Auto Reconditioning backed #50Y. “I owe it all to my guys. I wouldn’t be here if they weren’t in the shop with me every night. I have to thank Jerry Huff, Dave Gulick, my dad, my wife, Amber and everybody that comes out to the shop.”
In the Computer Man Dirt Trucks, Dible would lead all 15 laps for the win. It wasn’t easy for the Fostoria, Ohio driver, as he had to battle with Art Ball, Paul Brown Jr. and Dwight Waltermeier throughout, including several restarts. However, his truck was just too strong as he took his third win of the season over Brown, Waltermeier, Ball and 12th place starter John Ivy. It was Dible’s 7th career win at the track.
“I wasn’t moving off the top. Actually until he (Brown) showed me his nose on the white flag lap I didn’t know anybody was really that close. When I saw him I thought it was time to step on it a little more,” said Dible beside his Bob’s Machine Shop, BMS Engines backed #17. “I about spun it out on the last corner.”
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Attica Raceway Park – 9/4/2010
Bauman Auto Group \ WNWO NBC Channel 24 Night
All Star Circuit of Champions – 410 Sprints (42 Cars)
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 22-Cole Duncan, 12.07; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer, 12.11; 3. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.16; 4. 89G-David Gravel, 12.18; 5. 2-Dale Blaney, 12.27; 6. 6-Bill Rose, 12.28; 7. 5T-Travis Philo, 12.29; 8. 24H-Lee Jacobs, 12.29; 9. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.32; 10. 20X-Craig Mintz, 12.33; 11. O4-Cap Henry, 12.36; 12. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.36; 13. 30C-Lance Dewease, 12.36; 14. 16-Bryan Sebetto, 12.37; 15. 53-Phil Gressman, 12.39; 16. 7K-Kyle Sauder, 12.40; 17. X-Mark Keegan, 12.43; 18. 60-Jody Keegan, 12.47; 19. 12-Jarred Ridge, 12.48; 20. 28V-Shawn Valenti, 12.50; 21. 97-Dean Jacobs, 12.51; 22. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 12.51; 23. 4K-Kody Kinser, 12.52; 24. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.53; 25. 45-Rob Chaney, 12.61; 26. O-Brandon Wimmer, 12.61; 27. 1X-Randy Hannagan, 12.68; 28. 11M-Brandon Martin, 12.68; 29. 14H-Todd Heller, 12.76; 30. 3J-Kevin Lee, 12.80; 31. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.84; 32. 1B-Keith Baxter, 12.86; 33. 16M-Danny Mumaw, 12.86; 34. 312-Mike Linder, 12.91; 35. O6-Brandy Bower, 13.16; 36. 2+-Brian Smith, 13.22; 37. 91-Aaron Middaugh, 13.23; 38. 5M-Caleb Griffith, 13.61; 39. OM-Bill Morrison, 13.69; 40. 40-Mark Imler, 13.79; 41. 11-Shawn Hubler, 14.33; 42. 26-Ryan French, 14.94
Heat 1 – Ultra Schield Race Products (10 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 97-Dean Jacobs; 2. 30C-Lance Dewease; 3. X-Mark Keegan; 4. W20-Greg Wilson; 5. 2-Dale Blaney; 6. 22-Cole Duncan; 7. 45-Rob Chaney; 8. 16M-Danny Mumaw; 9. 91-Aaron Middaugh; 10. 11-Shawn Hubler; 11. 14H-Todd Heller
Heat 2 – Bell Racing (10 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 83-Tim Shaffer; 2. 20X-Craig Mintz; 3. 60-Jody Keegan; 4. O-Brandon Wimmer; 5. D4-Danny Holtgraver; 6. 6-Bill Rose; 7. 16-Bryan Sebetto; 8. 312-Mike Linder; 9. 5M-Caleb Griffith; 10. 3J-Kevin Lee; 11. 26-Ryan French
Heat 3 – Friendship Food Stores (10 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 53-Phil Gressman; 2. 4K-Kody Kinser; 3. O4-Cap Henry; 4. 5R-Byron Reed; 5. 1X-Randy Hannagan; 6. 17B-Bill Balog; 7. 12-Jarred Ridge; 8. OM-Bill Morrison; 9. O6-Brandy Bower; 10. 5T-Travis Philo
Heat 4 – Tin Lizzy Collision (10 Laps – Top 5 Transfer)
1. 28V-Shawn Valenti; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild; 3. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 4. 24H-Lee Jacobs; 5. 7K-Kyle Sauder; 6. 11M-Brandon Martin; 7. 1B-Keith Baxter; 8. 40-Mark Imler; 9. 89G-David Gravel; 10. 2+-Brian Smith
Dash
1. 83-Tim Shaffer; 2. 24H-Lee Jacobs; 3. W20-Greg Wilson; 4. 5R-Byron Reed; 5. 30C-Lance Dewease; 6. O4-Cap Henry
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps – Top 4 Transfer)
1. 22-Cole Duncan; 2. 89G-David Gravel; 3. 16-Bryan Sebetto; 4. 11M-Brandon Martin; 5. 6-Bill Rose; 6. 17B-Bill Balog; 7. 5T-Travis Philo; 8. 16M-Danny Mumaw; 9. 312-Mike Linder; 10. 3J-Kevin Lee; 11. 14H-Todd Heller; 12. 2+-Brian Smith; 13. 91-Aaron Middaugh; 14. 1B-Keith Baxter; 15. O6-Brandy Bower; 16. 40-Mark Imler; 17. OM-Bill Morrison; 18. 26-Ryan French; 19. 11-Shawn Hubler; 20. 45-Rob Chaney; 21. 5M-Caleb Griffith
A-Main – (40 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 83-Tim Shaffer[5]; 2. 5R-Byron Reed[1]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[3]; 4. 24H-Lee Jacobs[2]; 5. 30C-Lance Dewease[9]; 6. 89G-David Gravel[12]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson[4]; 8. 20X-Craig Mintz[6]; 9. 97-Dean Jacobs[18]; 10. 7K-Kyle Sauder[14]; 11. 53-Phil Gressman[10]; 12. O4-Cap Henry[7]; 13. 16-Bryan Sebetto[13]; 14. D4-Danny Holtgraver[19]; 15. 1X-Randy Hannagan[23]; 16. 4K-Kody Kinser[20]; 17. O-Brandon Wimmer[22]; 18. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[21]; 19. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]; 20. 28V-Shawn Valenti[17]; 21. 22-Cole Duncan[11]; 22. X-Mark Keegan[15]; 23. 11M-Brandon Martin[24]; 24. 60-Jody Keegan[16]
Hard Charger: 97-Dean Jacobs[+9]
Fultz Fabrication & Speed Shop – UMP Late Models (22 Cars)
Heat 1 – Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps)
1. 48B-Dan Wallace; 2. 27-Ken Hahn; 3. 36-Matt Irey; 4. 12-Michael Stiltner II; 5. 30-Nate Potts; 6. 99-Steve Sabo; 7. 69-John Mayes Jr.; 8. 1J-Jason Stancil
Heat 2 – Bell Racing (8 Laps)
1. 50Y-Ryan Missler; 2. 29-Rocky Owens; 3. 83-Bill Hahn; 4. 48-John Bores; 5. 21-Larry Kingseed; 6. 33-Shawn Cains; 7. 92-Brandon Perkins
Heat 3 – Friendship Food Stores (8 Laps)
1. O6-Kyle Perry; 2. 23C-Jeremy Canada; 3. 15B-Mike Bores; 4. 18-Jamie Reed; 5. 22-Bill Clapp; 6. 1-Tom Nichols; 7. 84-Tim Sabo
A-Main – (25 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 50Y-Ryan Missler[2]; 2. 48B-Dan Wallace[7]; 3. 15B-Mike Bores[3]; 4. 21-Larry Kingseed[14]; 5. 29-Rocky Owens[11]; 6. 27-Ken Hahn[9]; 7. 83-Bill Hahn[12]; 8. 36-Matt Irey[4]; 9. 48-John Bores[1]; 10. O6-Kyle Perry[6]; 11. 99-Steve Sabo[16]; 12. 18-Jamie Reed[10]; 13. 30-Nate Potts[13]; 14. 92-Brandon Perkins[20]; 15. 12-Michael Stiltner II[8]; 16. 1J-Jason Stancil[19]; 17. 1-Tom Nichols[18]; 18. 22-Bill Clapp[15]; 19. 23C-Jeremy Canada[5]; 20. 33-Shawn Cains[17]
Hard Charger: 21-Larry Kingseed[+10]
Computer Man Inc. Dirt Trucks (20 Trucks)
Heat 1 – Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps )
1. P51-Paul Brown Jr.; 2. 33-Brian Arnold; 3. 32H-Dan Hennig; 4. 56-Alex Weichman; 5. O1-Art Ball; 6. O-Andy Keegan; 7. O9-Jeff Wank; 8. 36X-Dustin Keegan; 9. 14-Scott Beard
Heat 2 – Bell Racing (8 Laps)
1. 11-John Iny; 2. 6-Dan Roepke; 3. 4X-Brian Sorg; 4. 17-Bob Dible; 5. 39-Dwight Waltermier; 6. 4S-Keith Sorg; 7. 71-Craig Holland; 8. 9-Curt Inks; 9. 22K-Josh Kiser
A-Main – (15 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 17-Bob Dible[1]; 2. P51-Paul Brown Jr.[3]; 3. 39-Dwight Waltermier[6]; 4. O1-Art Ball[4]; 5. 11-John Iny[12]; 6. 4X-Brian Sorg[8]; 7. O-Andy Keegan[7]; 8. 32H-Dan Hennig[5]; 9. 6-Dan Roepke[11]; 10. 4S-Keith Sorg[2]; 11. 9-Curt Inks[16]; 12. 3R-Chuck Rolle[19]; 13. 56-Alex Weichman[9]; 14. 33-Brian Arnold[10]; 15. 36X-Dustin Keegan[15]; 16. 22K-Josh Kiser[18]; 17. 14-Scott Beard[17]; 18. O9-Jeff Wank[13]; 19. 71-Craig Holland[14]
Hard Charger: 11-John Iny[+7]