From Brian Liskai, image courtesy of Jim Fisher
FREMONT, Ohio – Tim Shaffer proved he’s as tough as the steel that comes from his home town in Pennsylvania. “The Steel City Outlaw” took the lead from race-long leader Dale Blaney with six laps to go and went on to score the win on opening night at Fremont Speedway, Saturday, April 23.
Rains all week coupled with heavy downpours late Friday night made for a very challenging track. In fact, the track crews worked throughout Friday night and into early Saturday morning pumping water off the track just so that the 60th anniversary season of “The Track That Action Built” could even take place. With a full grandstands and nearly 100 race vehicles in the pits on Eagle 99 Night it was worth the effort.
“My hats off to the Rich Farmer (promoter) and all the guys here. They could have easily given up and rained out, but they worked hard to get this show in. Yes it was rough, but I’ve been on a lot worse. A lot of guys complain about a track like this but it really does put the racer back into it and it takes some luck too,” said Shaffer in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.
Shaffer’s win was the 9th of his career at Fremont and came on the open night of the Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica Sprint Title (FAST) Championship Series for the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints. The victory was worn $3,000 to the two-time All Star Circuit of Champions titlist.
“You had to be aggressive but patient. It seemed the harder you tried the worst it got. So many saves…I don’t know how many,” said Shaffer beside his Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook backed #83 sponsored by Kistler Racing Products and Kistler Engines.
Fremont’s D.J. Foos took the lead when Nate Dussel nearly flipped with just six laps remaining while leading, and went on to score his first career victory in at Fremont Speedway in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints.
“I feel bad for Nate…he’s a good friend, but I had a similar situation last year. He gave me that one…he had me whooped. I was wore out…sorry for him but thank God for me,” said Foos beside his Buckshot Farms, Burger King, Level Performance, R&R Used Cars backed #11F. “Mike Linder told me to just take your time and take what you could get. We just hung in there and was good when it counted.”
In the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks, Jimmy McGrath Jr. of Clyde took the lead from Bob Dible on lap 9 and held off several challenges from Dible to score his sixth career Fremont victory.
“We got a late start getting the truck ready…we like the pressure. That was something else…I’m amazed I did it. The track was rough and I had a hard time holding on,” said McGrath beside his Winesburg Barbecue, J&F Miller Farms, Tower Driving Academy backed #5jr.
At the drop of the green in the 30-lap 410 sprint main, pole-sitter Dale Blaney grabbed the lead while rookie Brad Haudenschild ran right on his rear bumper with Danny Smith, Shaffer and Dean Jacobs in tow. Blaney caught the back of the field by lap 7 with Haudenschild continuing to hound him with Smith, Shaffer and Jacobs waging a tremendous battle for third. Just past the half-way mark, a tip-over by Kevin Lee would bring the first race stoppage with the running order Blaney, Haudenschild, Shaffer, Smith, Jacobs, Brandon Martin, Jared Ridge and Craig Mintz.
On the restart Haudenschild would once again pressure Blaney as they bounced through the ruts in turns one and two. Shaffer would close and put pressure on Haudenschild for the runner-up spot by lap 20 as Blaney led by a car length. Blaney again caught lapped traffic by lap 22 as Haudenschild and Shaffer continued racing side-by-side for second with Jacobs, Smith, Ridge and a closing Byron Reed in tow. Shaffer would steal the second spot a lap later and immediately closed on Blaney. With six circuits remaining, Blaney bounced out of the grove in turn four, allowing Shaffer to duck under to take the lead.
Shaffer couldn’t shake Blaney who now had his hands full once again with Haudenschild and Jacobs. As Shaffer took the white flag, Haudenschild was able to sneak under Blaney to take the second spot. Jacobs would also get by Blaney down the back stretch. Shaffer would take the checkered with Haudenschild right on his rear bumper while Jacobs, Blaney, and Reed rounding out the top five.
In the 25-lap 305 sprint feature, outside front row starter Stuart Brubaker would grab the lead while fifth place starter Nate Dussel wasted little time moving into second followed by Foos, Justin Franks and Jess Stiger. Dussel would drive under Brubaker to take the lead on lap five and would hit lapped traffic two circuits later. Foos would grab second on lap 11 while Brubaker now had his hands full with Zack Kramer and Paige Polyak. Dussel would pull away as Foos ran comfortably in second with Kramer taking third on lap 14. The top three continued to be Dussel, Foos and Kramer with a tremendous battle for fourth between Brubaker, Polyak and 17th place starter Dean Jacobs.
Disaster struck for Dussel on lap 19 as he bicycled hard in turn two, nearly turning over. That handed the lead to Foos who had three lapped machines between himself and the second place car of Polyak with Kramer in third and Jacobs fourth. Jacobs would use the restart to drive under both Kramer and Polyak into second, but Foos had an 8 car length lead and cruised the remaining four laps to the win. Jacobs, Kramer, Polyak and 18th place starter Paul Weaver would round out the top five.
Fostoria’s Bob Dible would grab the early lead of the caution-filled 20-lap truck feature over McGrath Jr., Tony Siferd, Paul Brown Jr. and Kent Brewer. You could throw a blanket on the top five the first five laps until Siferd spun to bring out the caution. On the restart Dible and McGrath Jr. raced side by side for the lead with Brown Jr., Brewer, Steve Sabo and Art Ball right on their rear deck lids. A caution on lap seven would give everyone a chance to catch their breaths. Again on the restart, Dible and McGrath Jr. would battle for the lead with Brewer moving into third. McGrath would duck under Dible exiting turn four on lap 9 to take the lead.
A caution on lap 12 would bunch up the field with the running order McGrath Jr., Dible, Brewer, Sabo and Ball. Sabo would take third on lap 14 while McGrath Jr. and Dible continued to battle hard for the lead. Dible would get one final shot at McGrath Jr. with a caution flying on lap 16. However, McGrath Jr. mapped out his line perfectly and went on to the win with Dible, Sabo, Jim McGrath Sr. and Brewer rounding out the top five.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, April 30 for the Baumann Auto Group Night with the 410 sprints, 305 sprints and dirt trucks again in action. It will be another FAST Championship Series points night as well.
Go to www.fremontohspeedway.com for more information.
Fremont Speedway – 4/23/2011
Eagle 99 Night
Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints (41 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 83-Tim Shaffer, 13.330; 2. 4-Danny Smith, 13.430; 3. 10-Brad Haudenschild, 13.540; 4. 2-Dale Blaney, 13.580; 5. 97-Dean Jacobs, 13.610; 6. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.880; 7. 312-Mike Linder, 13.970; 8. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 13.980; 9. 9X-Brandon Martin, 14.010; 10. 12-Jarred Ridge, 14.160; 11. 14H-Todd Heller, 14.170; 12. 16-Bryan Sebetto, 14.180; 13. 51-Brad Bowman, 14.250; 14. 2M-Dustin Daggett, 14.250; 15. 89G-David Gravel, 14.260; 16. 22-Cole Duncan, 14.290; 17. 3J-Kevin Lee, 14.310; 18. 5R-Byron Reed, 14.350; 19. 5T-Travis Philo, 14.470; 20. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.470; 21. 7K-Kyle Sauder, 14.540; 22. 60C-Kory Crabtree, 14.630; 23. 83M-Broc Martin, 14.650; 24. 53-Phil Gressman, 14.660; 25. 3T-Tony Beaber, 14.700; 26. 35-Ronnie Blair, 14.740; 27. 17-Jared Horstman, 14.740; 28. 2+-Brian Smith, 14.810; 29. 28-Shawn Valenti, 14.880; 30. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 14.950; 31. 27K-Ryan Kirkendall, 14.970; 32. 45-Rob Chaney, 15.020; 33. 57X-Andrew Palker, 15.100; 34. 60-Jody Keegan, 15.410; 35. 9W-Lance Webb, 15.420; 36. 27-Scott Euler, 15.450; 37. 51C-Roger Campbell, 15.780; 38. 11D-Bryce Dickson, 16.010; 39. 11H-Shawn Hubler, 16.080; 40. 40-Caleb Helms, 19.590; 41. O-Chris Andrews, 99.000
Heat 1 – Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 9X-Brandon Martin[4] ; 2. 7K-Kyle Sauder[1] ; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer[6] ; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[5] ; 5. 51-Brad Bowman[3] ; 6. 3J-Kevin Lee[2] ; 7. 3T-Tony Beaber[7] ; 8. 57X-Andrew Palker[9] ; 9. O-Chris Andrews[11] ; 10. 51C-Roger Campbell[10] ; 11. 28-Shawn Valenti[8]
Heat 2 – Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 60C-Kory Crabtree[1] ; 2. 5R-Byron Reed[2] ; 3. 12-Jarred Ridge[4] ; 4. 4-Danny Smith[6] ; 5. O9-Craig Mintz[5] ; 6. 2M-Dustin Daggett[3] ; 7. 35-Ronnie Blair[7] ; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[8] ; 9. 60-Jody Keegan[9] ; 10. 11D-Bryce Dickson[10]
Heat 3 – Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 312-Mike Linder[5] ; 2. 14H-Todd Heller[4] ; 3. 10-Brad Haudenschild[6] ; 4. 89G-David Gravel[3] ; 5. 83M-Broc Martin[1] ; 6. 17-Jared Horstman[7] ; 7. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 8. 27K-Ryan Kirkendall[8] ; 9. 11H-Shawn Hubler[10] ; 10. 9W-Lance Webb[9]
Heat 4 – Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 53-Phil Gressman[1] ; 2. 16-Bryan Sebetto[4] ; 3. W20-Greg Wilson[2] ; 4. 2-Dale Blaney[6] ; 5. 22-Cole Duncan[3] ; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver[5] ; 7. 45-Rob Chaney[8] ; 8. 40-Caleb Helms[10] ; 9. 27-Scott Euler[9] ; 10. 2+-Brian Smith[7]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 2M-Dustin Daggett[2] ; 2. 3J-Kevin Lee[3] ; 3. 45-Rob Chaney[12] ; 4. 35-Ronnie Blair[6] ; 5. 51C-Roger Campbell[17] ; 6. 3T-Tony Beaber[5] ; 7. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[10] ; 8. 57X-Andrew Palker[13] ; 9. 40-Caleb Helms[20] ; 10. O-Chris Andrews[21] ; 11. 27K-Ryan Kirkendall[11] ; 12. 9W-Lance Webb[15] ; 13. 17-Jared Horstman[7] ; 14. 2+-Brian Smith[8] ; 15. 5T-Travis Philo[4] ; 16. 11D-Bryce Dickson[18] ; 17. 27-Scott Euler[16] ; 18. 11H-Shawn Hubler[19] ; 19. 28-Shawn Valenti[9] ; 20. 60-Jody Keegan[14] ; 21. D4-Danny Holtgraver[1]
A-Main – (30 Laps)
1. 83-Tim Shaffer[4]; 2. 10-Brad Haudenschild[2]; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[5]; 4. 2-Dale Blaney[1]; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[17]; 6. 4-Danny Smith[3]; 7. 16-Bryan Sebetto[11]; 8. 89G-David Gravel[14]; 9. 12-Jarred Ridge[9]; 10. 22-Cole Duncan[15]; 11. 9X-Brandon Martin[8]; 12. 45-Rob Chaney[24]; 13. 53-Phil Gressman[22]; 14. 60C-Kory Crabtree[20]; 15. O9-Craig Mintz[6]; 16. 51-Brad Bowman[12]; 17. 7K-Kyle Sauder[19]; 18. 14H-Todd Heller[10]; 19. 3J-Kevin Lee[16]; 20. 312-Mike Linder[7]; 21. 83M-Broc Martin[21]; 22. W20-Greg Wilson[18]; 23. 35-Ronnie Blair[23]; 24. 2M-Dustin Daggett[13]
Hard Charger: 5R-Byron Reed[+12]
Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints (31 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 40-Justin Franks[1] ; 2. 10X-Dustin Stroup[3] ; 3. 8J-Jess Stiger[4] ; 4. M28-Josh Muntz[7] ; 5. 22D-Dan Hammond[2] ; 6. 36-Seth Schneider[5] ; 7. 717-Dean Jacobs[8] ; 8. 8B-Bobby Clark[6]
Heat 2 – Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 19R-Steve Rando[1] ; 2. 5R-Jordan Ryan[3] ; 3. 48-Mike Burkin[2] ; 4. 25-Jason Keckler[6] ; 5. 1W-Paul Weaver[7] ; 6. 5-Dustin Dinan[5] ; 7. OOS-Bryan Scott[4] ; 8. 80-Jake Trevino[8]
Heat 3 – Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 27-Paige Polyak[2] ; 2. 11F-D.J. Foos[5] ; 3. 94-John Ivy[3] ; 4. OO-Jim Cushing[4] ; 5. 2-Kyle Mills[8] ; 6. 83X-Nate Reeser[1] ; 7. 10H-Josh Harrison[6] ; 8. 30-Adam Ollom[7]
Heat 4 – Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[1] ; 3. 8K-Zack Kramer[5] ; 4. 9-Jimmy Colvin[3] ; 5. 39-Matt Merrill[4] ; 6. 10S-Roger Shammo[7] ; 7. 36X-Dustin Keegan[6]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 717-Dean Jacobs[7] ; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[2] ; 3. 39-Matt Merrill[4] ; 4. 5-Dustin Dinan[6] ; 5. 8B-Bobby Clark[11] ; 6. 10S-Roger Shammo[8] ; 7. 80-Jake Trevino[14] ; 8. 10H-Josh Harrison[9] ; 9. 2-Kyle Mills[15] ; 10. 83X-Nate Reeser[5] ; 11. 22D-Dan Hammond[1] ; 12. OOS-Bryan Scott[10] ; 13. 36-Seth Schneider[3]
A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 11F-D.J. Foos[3]; 2. 717-Dean Jacobs[17]; 3. 8K-Zack Kramer[8]; 4. 27-Paige Polyak[9]; 5. 1W-Paul Weaver[18]; 6. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2]; 7. 19R-Steve Rando[12]; 8. 10X-Dustin Stroup[10]; 9. 8J-Jess Stiger[7]; 10. 5-Dustin Dinan[20]; 11. 40-Justin Franks[1]; 12. 5R-Jordan Ryan[6]; 13. 48-Mike Burkin[11]; 14. 39-Matt Merrill[19]; 15. 1-Nate Dussel[5]; 16. OO-Jim Cushing[15]; 17. M28-Josh Muntz[13]; 18. 25-Jason Keckler[14]; 19. 9-Jimmy Colvin[16]; 20. 94-John Ivy[4]
Hard Charger: 717-Dean Jacobs[+15]
Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks (25 Trucks)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 16-Steve Sabo[1] ; 2. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[3] ; 3. 5-Jim McGrath[7] ; 4. 99X-Gene Potridge[4] ; 5. 4S-Keith Sorg[6] ; 6. 30-Dave Gibbs[8] ; 7. 99-Art Howey Jr.[5] ; 8. 92-Loren Schwochow[9]
Heat 2 – Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 84-Tony Siferd[7] ; 2. O1-Art Ball[5] ; 3. 4X-Brian Sorg[3] ; 4. OO-John Ivy[4] ; 5. 9-Curt Inks[6] ; 6. 41C-Chad Stahl[2] ; 7. 8-Steve Endicott[1] ; 8. 18W-Cory Ward[8]
Heat 3 – Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. P51-Paul Brown Jr.[4] ; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[3] ; 3. 23M-Brad Mitten[2] ; 4. 17-Bob Dible[7] ; 5. 6-Linda Sabo[5] ; 6. 88-Dan Roepke Jr.[8]
A-Main – (20 Laps)
1. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[2]; 2. 17-Bob Dible[1]; 3. 16-Steve Sabo[6]; 4. 5-Jim McGrath[10]; 5. 8KB-Kent Brewer[7]; 6. O1-Art Ball[9]; 7. 88-Dan Roepke Jr.[16]; 8. 23M-Brad Mitten[11]; 9. 30-Dave Gibbs[15]; 10. 6-Linda Sabo[14]; 11. P51-Paul Brown Jr.[8]; 12. 18W-Cory Ward[20]; 13. 84-Tony Siferd[4]; 14. 4X-Brian Sorg[5]; 15. 99-Art Howey Jr.[17]; 16. 99X-Gene Potridge[3]; 17. 9-Curt Inks[13]; 18. 4S-Keith Sorg[12]; 19. 8-Steve Endicott[18]; 20. 92-Loren Schwochow[19]
Hard Charger: 88-Dan Roepke Jr.[+9]
Photo Gallery
