From J&J
McKENZIE, TN (April 28) – From Ohio to Alabama to Texas and to Australia, J&J Auto Racing teams continue to show the way in Sprint car action at dirt tracks around the world. Tim Shaffer and DJ Foos were victorious at Fremont Speedway in Ohio. Matt Linder won in Alabama and Neil McCarl raced to victory in Texas while Steve Lines won a thriller over Jamie Veal in south Australia.
FREMONT SPEEDWAY
410 DIVISION
Two-time defending All-Star champion Tim Shaffer opened the Kistler Racing Products FAST Championship Series with a victory at Fremont (Ohio) Speedway on Saturday night. Shaffer started the program by pacing the field of 41 cars in qualifying driving the familiar CH Motorsports No. 83 Kistler powered J&J owned by Aaron Call and Janet Holbrook.
Shaffer started the feature event fourth and worked his way into second on lap 23 after a spirited battle with fellow J&J racer, Brad Haudenschild. Shaffer took the lead with six laps remaining and went on to earn his ninth victory at the track by holding off a strong challenge from Haudenschild in his No. 10 J&J. Dean Jacobs (No. 97 J&J) finished third to give J&J a podium sweep.
“My hats off to the (Fremont track promoter) Rich Farmer and all the guys here,” said Shaffer. “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.”
“You had to be aggressive but patient. It seemed the harder you tried the worse 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.
305 DIVISION
DJ Foos took advantage of a competitor’s misfortune and scored his first win at Fremont Speedway. Foos assumed the lead in his No. 11F Buckshot Farms/Burger King/Level Performance/R&R Used Cars sponsored J&J with six laps remaining when leader Nate Dussel nearly flipped while leading.
“I feel bad for Nate…he’s a good friend,” admitted Foos following the win. “He gave me that one…he had me whooped. I was wore out…sorry for him but thank God for me. 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.”
GREEN VALLEY SPEEDWAY
Matt Linder won Friday’s portion of the 360 Winged Outlaw Sprint Cars “Rumble in the Jungle” at Green Valley Speedway in Southside, Ala. Linder raced his No. 1x J&J from the pole position and claimed his first feature event win of 2011. Terry Gray (No. 10 J&J) finished second after starting fifth.
WARRNAMBOOL SUNGOLD STADIUM
Exciting would be an understatement in defining Steve Lines winning move on fellow J&J racer Jamie Veal in Saturday’s third leg of the Easter Sprintcar Trail at Warrnambool’s Sungold Stadium. Veal set a torrid pace in the No. V35 J&J, while Lines battled his way up from fifth in the Monte Motorsport No. 7 J&J. Lines would reel in Veal, but couldn’t make a bid for the lead until the white flag waived. He made his run at the win by riding around the high line in turns three and four and had just enough room to inch in front of Veal at the flagstand.
SOUTHERN THUNDER SPRINTS – LONE STAR SPEEDWAY
Neil McCarl picked up his first Sprint car victory of the season on the high banks of Lone Star Speedway in Kilgore, Texas. McCarl started in position two driving the No. 311 E-Team Cleaning/Shed Road Auto Parts/Moore Metal Plating J&J and ran in second during the early stages of the race. By lap 10, he began reeling in the leader and making his bid for the lead. On lap 13, he used his momentum to make a move under leader Greg Bartchy in turns three and four. The move worked and McCarl would go on and lead the rest of the way to claim the win.