Battle of the Bullring: Smith to Make Final Visit to Fremont Speedway

Stevie Smith. - Jan Dunlap Photo

From CL Motorsports

HOLMESVILLE, Ohio. – September 13, 2012 – They call it “the track that action built.”

As the 2012 season winds down for Stevie Smith and the CL Motorsports team, they will have to reckon with Fremont (OH) Speedway twice more. The Jim Ford Classic will pit the best of the best of the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions against each other as they chase the $10,000 dollar prize on Saturday, September 15. The tour has already raced four times at the 1/3rd mile track in the northern section of the Buckeye state.

“It can be a difficult and hard track to race,” said Smith, a native of New Oxford, Pa. “There is usually a lot of excitement at Fremont because of the beating and banging that goes on. It’s a small track and space is at a premium, especially during the heat races as drivers are trying to get locked into the feature. You really have to be careful and race smart.”

The first two events at the track for Smith and the team were less than memorable but served as a turning point for the first year organization.
The Bandit at Attica Raceway Park. Photo courtesy of DBIII Imaging

“We really started to make some progress during our second race at the track,” said Smith, referring to a pair of events over Memorial Day weekend. “The first night we had to pull in before taking the green with an injector issue. We resolved for the following night and that set off a run of 12 straight top-10’s for our team. It really righted the ship for us so to speak and got us rolling. We’ve had a lot of success since then.”

During the stretch of top-10’s, Fremont served as the site of one of the team’s triumphs as they captured the 2012 Ohio Sprint Speedweek title during the June 30th race.

“It was really special to win the Ohio Sprint Speedweek title with this #19 team,” said Smith, who has an average finish of 10.0 in four events at Fremont this season. “It represented over a weeks worth of racing non-stop and it built our confidence. We won our first race as an organization during that week at Waynesfield Raceway Park and that was extremely exciting. Our focus now is on getting some wins to close out this season. We’ve been close to quite a few and I think we are right there. We just need a little extra push to be a threat to win each and every night. Our cars are getting better all the time, Fisher Racing Engines continues to find us more power and our crew keeps finding new and interesting ways to set up the car. Dale Blaney has won all four of the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions races at Fremont this year and we’d like to end his streak. It won’t be an easy task but I certainly think we are up to it.”.

Grandstands for the Jim Ford Classic weekend (Friday, September 14 and Saturday, September 15) will open at 4 p.m. with time trials beginning at 7 p.m.

Following the Jim Ford Classic, CL Motorsports will return to action with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Friday, September 21 at Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio and Saturday, September 22 at Lernerville Speedway, near Sarver, Pa.

For more information about Fremont Speedway, please visit www.FremontOHSpeedway.com

For more information on CL Motorsports and the Black Bandit, please visit
www.TheBlackBandit.com
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