From Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio – The car and driver were battered and bruised. But the team patched up the car and the driver did what he was suppose to – win the race.
Fremont’s Bryan Sebetto took the lead from Jody Keegan on lap 24 of the 30-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature and went on to claim his third victory of 2011 at Fremont Speedway Saturday on Sunbelt Rental Night.
The win was not only worth $3,000, but it clinched the 2011 Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica Sprint Title (FAST) Championship and its $10,000 payday for the Burmeister Racing team.
A week ago, Sebetto, who came into Saturday’s FAST finale with a 13 point lead in the points, was involved in a nasty looking crash at Attica Raceway Park. The car was bent and broken and Sebetto suffered an injury to his arm. He healed over the week, and his crew went to work on the car, which included a repair to the frame by Mark Keegan.
“When they came over the radio and said we need the winner and the FAST champion to stop on the front stretch so I figured I might as well stop for both,” said Sebetto in the Engine Pro Victory Lane beside his JLH General Contractors/Steven Mapus Tools/R&R Auto Wrecking/Schiets Motorsports/Atkins Fence/Wendy’s Restaurant backed machine.
“What does this tell you about this whole Burmeister team? We were coming to the front at the All Star race at Attica until we crashed. We got it out to Mark Keegan and he got it fixed. Then Mikey and Tommy and Rollie and Jay and Mango and Rodney…everyone just puts in so much hard work. The old man and old lady (car owners Mr. and Mrs. Sonny Burmeister)…you have no idea how much money and hard work that goes into this race team. To give them their first ever championship and have it be the one that pays the good money…that’s just extra special,” added Sebetto.
“We really tightened the car up a lot. I knew it wouldn’t be good early in the race but when I got the wing back toward the end of the race it was a lot better,” continued Sebetto of his fifth win of the year which included two at Attica. “The Burmeister family has had race cars at Fremont Speedway for 56 years now (this is the 60th year of operation for the track) and we’re going to win the track championship too.”
The Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints ran two features – the regular event and a make-up from an Aug. 6 rain-out.
In the night’s regular feature, Paul Weaver passed 14-year-old Jordan Ryan with five laps to go to take the lead and went on to record his second victory of the season at Fremont. The win was Weaver’s 30th career victory and ties him with John Ivy for 12th on the track’s all-time win list.
“This is probably the only car I’ve ever had that I could actually kind of roll around the bottom. I would like to thank Brian Schnee for letting me use the first one he ever built,” said Weaver beside his Spanky’s Pizza/Hampshire Engines/M&L Excavating/Schiets Motorsports/Mountain Man Trading Post backed #1w. “I have to thank my wife, Andrea, Dave Rice and Bob Hampshire and Darrel Schiets for all their help and support.”
In the make-up feature, defending track champion Stuart Brubaker – who currently leads the track’s point standings – passed D.J. Foos with three laps remaining to take his second victory of the season. For Brubaker, who also won the track championship in 2008, it was his sixth career victory at “The Track That Action Built.”
“That pissed me off I didn’t win the first one. But I’ll take a second and a win,” said Brubaker beside his J. Lynn Abstracting/Advanced Industrial Services/Gressman Powersports backed #35. “I told the guys it wasn’t tight enough on the right rear and that’s all you have to do is tell them and it’s fixed. These guys are awesome. I have to take my hat off to Donnie Lyons and Joe Crawford and Tyler and Joe Laugherty came in to help us. I have to thank my wife and my mom and dad, my Aunt Dru and all my sponsors.”
In the 20-lap feature for the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks, rookie Daniel Roepke Jr. battled with four-time track champion Steve Sabo and Jimmy McGrath Jr. over the last seven laps before taking the lead with four to go and going on to claim his first ever Fremont Speedway victory. The 20-year-old Woodville resident is the son of former track champion Dan Roepke.
“That was a long race…I was nervous the last few laps,” said Roepke. “I have to thank my dad…he helped me put this thing together and get it set up.”
In the 30-lap 410 sprint feature, Jody Keegan and Mike Linder would lead the field to the green with Keegan gaining control from the onset. While Keegan pulled away, Linder had his hands full with a hungry Dean Jacobs while Craig Mintz, Sebetto, Phil Gressman and Chris Andrews gave chase.
While Keegan would ride the outside rim to pull to a 6 car length advantage over Linder, Jacobs ran comfortably in third while Sebetto and Mintz waged a great battle for fourth. As Keegan hit lapped traffic at the half-way mark, Linder, Jacobs and Sebetto were locked in a torrid battle for second. Sebetto would take third from Jacobs on lap 17 as Linder began to close on Keegan.
The feature’s only caution flew for a Lee Jacobs flat tire on lap 20. On the restart Sebetto would drive under Linder for second and immediately closed on Keegan. Keegan and Sebetto would race side by side, and even touched wheels down the front stretch on lap 24, with Sebetto taking the lead.
Sebetto would pull away from Keegan as Linder exited the track with mechanical woes as the white flag was displayed. Sebetto would take the checkered flag over Keegan, Mintz, Jacobs and Gressman.
In the first 305 sprint feature, Ryan would take the lead from his outside front row starting spot with Dan Hammond, Jimmy Colvin, Dustin Dinan, Brubaker and Weaver giving chase. The caution would fly for a stalled Matt Ferrell after two laps were recorded. On the restart Ryan would pull away from the battle for second between Hammond, Colvin, Brubaker, Dinan and Weaver. Colvin would move into the runner-up spot on lap five with Brubaker taking third on lap eight and Weaver taking fourth a lap later.
Ryan would catch the back of the field with 10 laps to go, but struggled to get around the lapped traffic. Colvin, Weaver and Brubaker quickly closed. Weaver would drive under Colvin into the second spot on lap 18 and immediately drove to Ryan’s inside for the lead.
Weaver would use lapped traffic to steal the lead on lap 20 with Colvin taking second a circuit later as Brubaker drove into third. With three laps to go you could throw a blanket on the top three of Weaver, Colvin and Brubaker. Brubaker would take second on lap 22 and tried to hunt down Weaver, but he ran out of time.
Weaver would take the win over Brubaker, Colvin, Ryan and Hammond.
In the make-up 305 feature, Josh Muntz would grab the lead at the drop of the green with D.J. Foos racing to his inside while Hammond, Dinan and Brubaker gave chase. The red would fly on lap two when Jamie Miller tumbled down the front stretch – he was uninjured.
When the green came back out, Muntz and Foos continued their battle for the lead with Brubaker moving into third. Brubaker quickly made it a three car war for the lead with Weaver taking fourth on lap five. Muntz would hit lapped traffic by the 10th circuit as Foos and Brubaker stayed close.
Foos would dive under Muntz in turn four to take the lead on lap 14. The second and final caution would fly on lap 15 for a stalled Bobby Clark with the running order Foos, Muntz, Brubaker, Weaver, Colvin and Paige Polyak. When the green flew again, Muntz would drive to Foos’ outside to challenge with Brubaker right on their rear bumpers. That trio battled over the next eight laps before Brubaker would take the second spot on lap 22.
Brubaker would then drive around Foos into the lead a lap later and went on to the win. Weaver would pass Foos on the last lap for second while Colvin and Polyak would round out the top five.
In the 20-lap dirt truck feature, Jimmy McGrath Jr. and Alex Wiechman would race door to door for the lead over the first three laps with Kent Brewer, Steve Sabo, Bob Dible, Cory Ward and Art Ball giving chase. Ball would bring out the caution with two flat tires on lap three. When the green came back out McGrath and Wiechman continued their side-by-side battle for the lead while Sabo moved into third.
The caution would fly again on lap nine for a stalled Brian Sorg with the running order McGrath, Wiechman, Sabo, Dible and 9th place starter Roepke. However, during the caution, Wiechman would go pit side with a flat tire, moving Sabo into second followed by Dible, Roepke and Dan Hennig.
McGrath and Sabo would battle hard for the lead when the green came back out with Dible and Roepke staying within striking distance. Sabo would drive under McGrath for the lead on lap 14 while Roepke took third from Dible. You could throw a blanket on the top five at this point.
Roepke would take second on lap 16 and immediately pressured the veteran Sabo. The rookie took the lead a lap later as Sabo tried to battle back while Dible ran in their tire track sin third. Roepke was able to start pulling away the remaining three laps for the win with Sabo, Dible, McGrath and 17th place starter John Ivy rounding out the top five.
Fremont Speedway will host a big double-header weekend Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16 and 17 as the All Star Circuit of Champions make their final visit of the year for the Jim Ford Classic. Friday’s event will pay the 410 sprint winner $4,000 while the 305 sprints will make up their 305 Sprint Invitational which pays the feature winner $2,500. The dirt trucks will also be in action. On Saturday, the All Star feature will pay $10,000 to win with the 305 sprints and dirt trucks in action – the trucks will battle for $1,000 to win.
For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com
Fremont Speedway – 9/10/2011
Sunbelt Rental Night
Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints (16 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 10-Brad Haudenschild, 13.46; 2. 53-Phil Gressman, 13.47; 3. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.51; 4. 16-Bryan Sebetto, 13.56; 5. 312X-Chris Andrews, 13.58; 6. 97-Dean Jacobs, 13.59; 7. 312-Mike Linder, 13.62; 8. 60-Jody Keegan, 13.64; 9. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.66; 10. 9X-Brandon Martin, 13.72; 11. 2+-Brian Smith, 13.72; 12. O-Lee Jacobs, 13.75; 13. 14H-Todd Heller, 13.80; 14. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.81; 15. 3J-Kevin Lee, 13.88; 16. 51C-Roger Campbell, 14.35
Heat 1 – Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 312X-Chris Andrews[2] ; 2. 312-Mike Linder[1] ; 3. 10-Brad Haudenschild[4] ; 4. O9-Craig Mintz[3] ; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[5] ; 6. 14H-Todd Heller[7] ; 7. 3J-Kevin Lee[8] ; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[6]
Heat 2 – Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 60-Jody Keegan[1] ; 2. 97-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 3. 53-Phil Gressman[4] ; 4. 16-Bryan Sebetto[3] ; 5. 9X-Brandon Martin[5] ; 6. O-Lee Jacobs[6] ; 7. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[7] ; 8. 51C-Roger Campbell[8]
A-Main – (30 Laps)
1. 16-Bryan Sebetto[5]; 2. 60-Jody Keegan[1]; 3. O9-Craig Mintz[6]; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[3]; 5. 53-Phil Gressman[7]; 6. 2+-Brian Smith[11]; 7. 9X-Brandon Martin[10]; 8. 10-Brad Haudenschild[8]; 9. 5R-Byron Reed[9]; 10. 312X-Chris Andrews[4]; 11. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[14]; 12. 14H-Todd Heller[13]; 13. 51C-Roger Campbell[16]; 14. O-Lee Jacobs[12]; 15. 312-Mike Linder[2]; 16. 3J-Kevin Lee[15]
Hard Charger: 2+-Brian Smith[+5]
Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints (29 Cars) Regular Scheduled Race
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 2. 27-Paige Polyak[2] ; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[6] ; 4. 36X-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 5. 11F-D.J. Foos[4] ; 6. 48-Mike Burkin[7] ; 7. 30-Adam Ollom[5] ; 8. 94K-Kurt Huber[9] ; 9. 39-Matt Merrill[8] ; 10. 3-Tim Ollom[10]
Heat 2 – Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5R-Jordan Ryan[1] ; 2. 67M-Matt Ferrell[2] ; 3. 5-Dustin Dinan[3] ; 4. OO-Alvin Roepke[4] ; 5. M28-Josh Muntz[6] ; 6. 8K-Bobby Clark[8] ; 7. 25-Jason Keckler[7] ; 8. 10S-Roger Shammo[5] ; 9. 80-Jake Trevino[9] ; 10. 1M-Mike Moore[10]
Heat 3 – Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 9-Jimmy Colvin[1] ; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[9] ; 3. 22D-Dan Hammond[3] ; 4. 717-Brad Bowman[5] ; 5. 10X-Dustin Stroup[7] ; 6. 94-John Ivy[8] ; 7. 4M-Jamie Miller[2] ; 8. 36-Seth Schneider[6] ; 9. 10-Josh Harrison[4]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 8K-Bobby Clark[2] ; 2. 48-Mike Burkin[1] ; 3. 94-John Ivy[3] ; 4. 4M-Jamie Miller[6] ; 5. 25-Jason Keckler[5] ; 6. 36-Seth Schneider[9] ; 7. 10S-Roger Shammo[8] ; 8. 80-Jake Trevino[11] ; 9. 30-Adam Ollom[4] ; 10. 1M-Mike Moore[14] ; 11. 94K-Kurt Huber[7] ; 12. 39-Matt Merrill[10] ; 13. 10-Josh Harrison[12]
A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[7]; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[6]; 3. 9-Jimmy Colvin[4]; 4. 5R-Jordan Ryan[2]; 5. 22D-Dan Hammond[1]; 6. 1-Nate Dussel[5]; 7. 27-Paige Polyak[8]; 8. 717-Brad Bowman[12]; 9. 5-Dustin Dinan[3]; 10. M28-Josh Muntz[14]; 11. OO-Alvin Roepke[11]; 12. 48-Mike Burkin[17]; 13. 25-Jason Keckler[20]; 14. 94-John Ivy[18]; 15. 11F-D.J. Foos[13]; 16. 36X-Dustin Keegan[10]; 17. 10X-Dustin Stroup[15]; 18. 4M-Jamie Miller[19]; 19. 8K-Bobby Clark[16]; 20. 67M-Matt Ferrell[9]
Hard Charger: 25-Jason Keckler[+7]
Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints (27 Cars) Make up >From 8-6-2011
[#]-Starting Position
A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[6]; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[7]; 3. 11F-D.J. Foos[3]; 4. 9-Jimmy Colvin[13]; 5. 27-Paige Polyak[8]; 6. M28-Josh Muntz[2]; 7. 5-Dustin Dinan[4]; 8. 1-Nate Dussel[5]; 9. 94-John Ivy[10]; 10. 22D-Dan Hammond[1]; 11. 80-Jake Trevino[14]; 12. 36X-Dustin Keegan[12]; 13. 25-Jason Keckler[17]; 14. 36-Seth Schneider[11]; 15. 39-Matt Merrill[15]; 16. 10S-Roger Shammo[18]; 17. 5R-Jordan Ryan[20]; 18. 30-Adam Ollom[19]; 19. 1M-Mike Moore[21]; 20. 8K-Bobby Clark[16]; 21. 4M-Jamie Miller[9]
Hard Charger: 9-Jimmy Colvin[+9]
Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks (28 Trucks)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. O-Andy Keegan[1] ; 2. 4S-Keith Sorg[3] ; 3. 56-Alex Wiechman[5] ; 4. 4X-Brian Sorg[9] ; 5. 8-Steve Endicott[8] ; 6. 115-Ben Good[7] ; 7. 99-Art Howey Jr.[2] ; 8. 5-Brian Melnek[10] ; 9. 99X-Gene Potridge[6]
Heat 2 – Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 16-Steve Sabo[2] ; 2. O1-Art Ball[1] ; 3. 18W-Cory Ward[4] ; 4. 32H-Dan Hennig[3] ; 5. 23M-Brad Mitten[6] ; 6. 36X-Dustin Keegan[5] ; 7. 4-Dave Brewer[7] ; 8. 79-Andrew Lutman[9] ; 9. P51-Willie Keegan[8]
Heat 3 – Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[1] ; 2. 88-Dan Roepke Jr.[3] ; 3. 17-Bob Dible[4] ; 4. 8KB-Kent Brewer[5] ; 5. 9-Curt Inks[2] ; 6. 92-Loren Schwochow[7] ; 7. 30-Dave Gibbs[9] ; 8. O1X-Gary Ball[8] ; 9. 6-Linda Sabo[6]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 99-Art Howey Jr.[4] ; 2. OO-John Ivy[13] ; 3. P51-Willie Keegan[11] ; 4. 36X-Dustin Keegan[2] ; 5. 30-Dave Gibbs[6] ; 6. 4-Dave Brewer[5] ; 7. O1X-Gary Ball[9] ; 8. 5-Brian Melnek[7] ; 9. 6-Linda Sabo[12] ; 10. 115-Ben Good[1] ; 11. 92-Loren Schwochow[3] ; 12. 79-Andrew Lutman[8] ; 13. 99X-Gene Potridge[10]
A-Main – (20 Laps)
1. 88-Dan Roepke Jr.[9]; 2. 16-Steve Sabo[4]; 3. 17-Bob Dible[6]; 4. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[2]; 5. OO-John Ivy[17]; 6. 32H-Dan Hennig[7]; 7. 8KB-Kent Brewer[3]; 8. 18W-Cory Ward[5]; 9. P51-Willie Keegan[18]; 10. 8-Steve Endicott[13]; 11. O1-Art Ball[8]; 12. 99-Art Howey Jr.[16]; 13. 9-Curt Inks[15]; 14. 4S-Keith Sorg[11]; 15. O-Andy Keegan[12]; 16. 23M-Brad Mitten[14]; 17. 30-Dave Gibbs[20]; 18. 56-Alex Wiechman[1]; 19. 36x-Dustin Keegan[19]; 20. 4X-Brian Sorg[10]
Hard Charger: OO-John Ivy[+12]
Photo Gallery
