From Brian Liskai
Attica, OH — (May 17, 2013) — Attica Raceway Park is quickly becoming one of Danny Holtgraver’s favorite tracks. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania resident passed Dale Blaney with two laps to go in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints to score the win in the first of two 25-lap features on the Eric Phillips 25th Anniversary Classic. In the second feature, Bixby, Oklahoma’s Shane Stewart held off a charging rookie D.J. Foos to score his third career win at the track on American Powersports/Sutton Bank Night.
In the first of the 25-lap features, Holtgraver, who scored his first career UNOH All Star win at Attica last year, led early, but lost the lead to Blaney with 10 laps to go as they raced in lapped traffic. But, a red flag with five laps to go gave Holtgraver a chance to regroup and he drove to the top edge of the track when the green flew and battled with Blaney until driving by on lap 23 and went on to score his second career victory at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” speed plant.
“When Dale drove by me I just tried to stay calm. I guess the whole time I really wasn’t running the top hard enough. I kind of just said screw it on the restart cause I had to..it was going to be my only shot. And when he went back to the bottom I found out the top was going to hold me. I couldn’t tell racing if I could trust it at first, but it worked out,” said Holtgraver in the Engine Pro Victory Lane beside his Rob Hunter/Bryan Grove owned machine. “I have to thank Canton Erectors, Berlin Natural Bakery, Classic Ink, DKW Transport, Kistler Engines, J&J Racing and VRP Shocks.”
In the second 25-lap feature, Stewart, aboard the Joe Gaerte #3G, would lead all the way, but it wasn’t easy. Foos, who charged from 18th starting spot to a fifth place finish in the first feature, would drive into second on lap five after a spirited battle with Greg Wilson, and with eight laps to go was closing quickly on Stewart. But, a caution with six laps to go gave Stewart the break he needed as he drove to the victory.
“I can’t thank Joe (Gaerte) and Tim (Norman) and Cindy enough for working hard for me and putting me in this race car. It’s one of the four, five, six or seven I’m going to be in this summer. Very thankful to be the pilot of that thing. It’s a brand new Cool chassis which are made in Australia and a lot of people aren’t familiar with them,” said Stewart of his Gaerte Engines/XYZ Machining/Red Line Oil/All Star Performance backed machine.
“We made a lot of whole sale changes after the first A-main and track position was huge. The way the top got cleaned off…just starting on the front row was definitely vital. Everyone did their job and I didn’t run off the race track. That kid in the 53 (Foos) was fast all night and it’s good to see all the young kids. The sport just keeps getting younger and younger and the future looks pretty bright. I’m proud I can still have people like this call me and have me run their car. You will see me quite a bit around here this summer…here and Fremont and we are going to try and do Ohio speedweek. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to victory lane here. I was telling the guys earlier I let one of the Brad Doty Classics slip away on the last lap to Danny Smith. It’s always great to win here,” added Stewart.
In the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Late Models, Swanton, Ohio’s Dusty Moore took the lead on the second lap and survived a couple of mid race cautions to score his second career win at Attica.
“It’s about time! I don’t know why the car was so good on the high side. Nobody was passing me. I started fifth and I got around John Bores for the lead and I was like they are going to show me the door…they’re going to show me the door. I never thought it would have lasted. I stuck to it…it was my game plan to go out there and roll it. I wanted to keep the tires under me and keep them cool and not slide around too much,” said Moore beside his Markey Ambulance Rental/Dominator Race Products/Keyser Manufacturing/Warpaint Graphics/Johnny’s Automotive/Barry Wright Race cars backed #75. “Those last couple of laps I was kind of feathering it. I was looking at the laps and it was 23 and 24 and I was like if I roll out of it just a little bit maybe I won’t catch the lapped cars. And I looked down on the last lap and saw Rusty (Schlenk)…I’ll tell you what; I think I bent the throttle shaft. I want to thank my car owner Roger, Brad, Stacy, my crew, Phil, Shawn and all my sponsors.”
The Foster’s Auto Body 305 Sprints competed without using the front wings as a tribute to the way the cars ran when the division was created at Attica. It was Fremont drivers Dustin Dinan and John Ivy who raced side by side over the middle part of the race before Dinan took the lead for good on lap 15 and went on to his first career win at Attica.
“Finally. We’ve been so close here Dave Foos had the car so good on the bottom. I have to thank Rich Farmer and Shelly Liskai for all their support,” said Dinan beside his Johnson’s Hunting and Fishing/Tank’s Meats/Quality Welding/Hillside Pawnshop/Quaintance Farms/ Schiets Tender Touch Car Wash backed #6.
In the first 25-lap 410 feature, it was Holtgraver and Bryan Sebetto who brought the field to the green, with Holtgraver rocketing into the lead. Cap Henry would spin after a lap was complete and when the green flew again, Holtgraver would continue to lead as Brandon Martin, sporting a paint scheme similar to the legendary Mark Keegan X car, would drive into second. After a lap three caution, Holtgraver would drive away again with Martin, Sebetto, Blaney, Brad Bowman, Stewart and Craig Mintz in tow. With five laps in, all eyes were on Foos who had moved from his 18th starting position to 8th.
The top four would remain Holtgraver, Martin, Sebetto and Blaney as they raced into heavy lapped traffic by the 13th circuit. Martin would pressure Holtgraver as Blaney closed. Blaney would grab second on lap 14 and drive under Holtgraver for the lead a circuit later. Sebetto would take third from Martin on lap 17 with defending track champion Mintz moving into fifth on lap 17, ahead of Stewart and Foos.
With five laps to go, Travis Philo would get upside down, collecting Henry. When the green reappeared, Holtgraver jumped to the high side challenged Blaney for the lead while Sebetto, Martin, Mintz, Foos and Stewart gave chase. Blaney and Holtgraver would race side by side over the next two laps before Holtgraver executed his winning high side move on lap 23 to take the lead. Holtgraver went on to the victory over Blaney, Sebetto, Mintz and Foos.
The top eight finishers were inverted for the second 25 laps feature after Holtgraver drew a card. That put Greg Wilson and Stewart on the front row. When the green flew Stewart quickly grabbed the lead over Wilson with Foos driving into third over Blaney, Martin, Sebetto and Holtgraver. Henry would bring out the caution on lap five just as Foos grabbed second from Wilson. On the restart Blaney would drive into third, but he and Wilson waged a tremendous battle over the next several laps until the caution flew for a Cole Duncan spin on lap 9.
Stewart was able to get great restarts and pulled away slightly from Foos with Wilson, Blaney, Martin, Mintz, Caleb Griffith and Sebetto in tow. With 8 laps to go, Foos began chopping into Stewart’s lead a tenth of a second a lap and was within a car length of the leader when the caution flew for Mintz, who suffered a broken front suspension part with six laps to go.
Again Stewart would get a fantastic restart and pulled away for the win with Foos, Blaney, Martin and Wilson rounding out the top five. Foos would earn a $500 bonus from the Kistler Racing Products FAST Champion Series for having the highest average A-main finishing position among the FAST series drivers.
In the 25-lap late model feature, John Bores and Tim Sabo would bring the field to the green with Bores grabbing the lead over fifth place starter Moore, Sabo, John Mayes Jr., Matt Irey and Rusty Schlenk. Moore would drive under Bores for the lead on lap two with Irey moving into third on lap three. Moore pulled away from a great battle for second between Bores, Irey and Ryan Missler. Irey would bring out the caution on lap eight with the running order Moore, Bores, Ryan Missler, Cody Scott, Schlenk and Chris Keller.
Again Moore was able to pull away on the restart while Bores had his hands full with Missler and Scott. Scott would drive into third on lap 10 and would take second on lap 13, bringing Schlenk into third. A caution on lap 13 saw Bores go pit side with mechanical woes. Now it was Moore leading Scott, Schlenk, Missler and Keller. As Moore pulled away again, Scott and Schlenk were locked into a tremendous battle for second. When Schlenk finally cleared Scott, he started to close on Moore and with five laps to go was within striking distance.
Moore caught the back of the field with two laps to go and Schlenk was there waiting for a mistake while Scott, Keller and now Devin Shiels battled for third. On the final lap, Schlenk poked the nose of his car under Moore in turns one and two, but Moore stayed cool and drove to his second career Attica win. Schlenk, Scott, Keller and Shiels would round out the top five.
Jordan Ryan and Ricky Peterson brought the 305 sprints to the green for their 25-lap feature. But, A Nate Reeser spin on the start necessitated another try. On the second attempt at a green, Jimmy Colvin and Jeremy Duposki got together. The third time was the charm as Ryan lead over John Ivy, Peterson, Bobby Clark, Seth Schneider and Dinan. Ivy would drive into the lead on lap two with Ryan staying close. Reeser would bring out the caution again on lap three and on the restart while Ivy drove away, Peterson drove under Ryan for second with Clark, Dinan, Schneider and Nate Dussel in tow.
A debris caution on lap six bunched up the field, but Ivy was able to pull away as Dinan drove into second with Peterson, Clark, Ryan and Schneider in pursuit. Jeremy Shambaugh would bring out the final caution on lap 9 and when the green reappeared, Dinan began pressuring Ivy. The two raced side by side over the next six laps before Dinan took the lead for good on lap 15.
Not even lapped traffic could slow Dinan as he marched his way to the win over Ivy, Ryan, Clark and Schneider.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, May 31 for the Kistler Engine Classic for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, paying $10,000 to win. For ticket information and more go to www.atticaracewaypark.com
Attica Raceway Park – 5/17/2013
Powersports of Findlay & Sandusky/ Sutton Bank Night
O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints (37 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 9-Dean Jacobs[1] ; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[3] ; 3. 11X-Brandon Martin[2] ; 4. 32M-Tony Beaber[5] ; 5. 29-Rob Chaney[6] ; 6. 35-Stuart Brubaker[8] ; 7. 22-Cole Duncan[9] ; 8. 38-Dennis Wagner[7] ; 9. 69-Scott Curren[10] ; 10. 98-Robert Robenalt[4]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 3G-Shane Stewart[2] ; 2. 54-Cap Henry[1] ; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer[4] ; 4. W20-Greg Wilson[7] ; 5. 14H-Todd Heller[8] ; 6. 45L-Brian Lay[6] ; 7. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[9] ; 8. 27P-Paige Polyak[5] ; 9. 39M-Matt Merrill[3]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5T-Travis Philo[1] ; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[4] ; 3. 55-Brad Bowman[6] ; 4. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[2] ; 5. 16-Chris Andrews[3] ; 6. 2+-Brian Smith[5] ; 7. 40-Caleb Helms[9] ; 8. 5R-Byron Reed[7] ; 9. 4-Danny Smith[8]
Heat 4 – Bell Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[2] ; 2. 45-Danny Holtgraver[3] ; 3. 9W-Brandon Wimmer[1] ; 4. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[6] ; 5. O-Justin Henderson[9] ; 6. 53-DJ Foos[7] ; 7. 97-Phil Gressman[8] ; 8. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 9. 11N-Ed Neumeister[5]
B-Main #1 – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 16-Chris Andrews[2] ; 2. 29-Rob Chaney[1] ; 3. 22-Cole Duncan[5] ; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[8] ; 6. 4-Danny Smith[10] ; 7. 40-Caleb Helms[6] ; 8. 38-Dennis Wagner[7] ; 9. 69-Scott Curren[9] ; 10. 98-Robert Robenalt[11] ; 11. 2+-Brian Smith[4]
B-Main #2 – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 53-DJ Foos[4] ; 2. 45L-Brian Lay[3] ; 3. 14H-Todd Heller[1] ; 4. 27P-Paige Polyak[7] ; 5. O-Justin Henderson[2] ; 6. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[5] ; 7. 11N-Ed Neumeister[10] ; 8. 39M-Matt Merrill[9] ; 9. 97-Phil Gressman[6] ; 10. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[8]
A-Main – #1 (25 Laps)
1. 45-Danny Holtgraver[1]; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[5]; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[2]; 4. O9-Craig Mintz[10]; 5. 53-DJ Foos[18]; 6. 11X-Brandon Martin[3]; 7. 3G-Shane Stewart[7]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson[14]; 9. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[16]; 10. 16-Chris Andrews[17]; 11. 9W-Brandon Wimmer[4]; 12. 9-Dean Jacobs[11]; 13. 55-Brad Bowman[8]; 14. 83-Tim Shaffer[9]; 15. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[15]; 16. 45L-Brian Lay[20]; 17. 22-Cole Duncan[21]; 18. 14H-Todd Heller[22]; 19. 29-Rob Chaney[19]; 20. 54-Cap Henry[6]; 21. 5T-Travis Philo[12]; 22. 32M-Tony Beaber[13]
Hard Charger: 53-DJ Foos[+13]
A-Main – #2 (25 Laps)
1. 3G-Shane Stewart[2]; 2. 53-DJ Foos[4]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[7]; 4. 11X-Brandon Martin[3]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson[1]; 6. 45-Danny Holtgraver[8]; 7. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[9]; 8. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[6]; 9. 9-Dean Jacobs[12]; 10. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[15]; 11. 32M-Tony Beaber[21]; 12. 54-Cap Henry[20]; 13. 9W-Brandon Wimmer[11]; 14. 55-Brad Bowman[13]; 15. 35-Stuart Brubaker[22]; 16. 16-Chris Andrews[10]; 17. 14H-Todd Heller[18]; 18. O9-Craig Mintz[5]; 19. 22-Cole Duncan[17]; 20. 29-Rob Chaney[19]; 21. 83-Tim Shaffer[14]; 22. 45L-Brian Lay[16]
Hard Charger: 32M-Tony Beaber[+10]
Summit Racing Equipment Late Models (25 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 3-Matt Miller[3] ; 2. 92-Cody Scott[2] ; 3. 50Y-Ryan Missler[6] ; 4. 75-Dusty Moore[9] ; 5. 30-Nate Potts[5] ; 6. O1-Brandon Perkins[4] ; 7. 11-Ryan Sutter[7] ; 8. 12-Ky Harper[1] ; 9. 77-Coby Bartram[8]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 91-Rusty Schlenk[7] ; 2. OO-Chris Keller[4] ; 3. 48-John Bores[3] ; 4. 98-Tim Sabo[5] ; 5. 42S-Bob Mayer[1] ; 6. 77K-Steve Kester[8] ; 7. O3-Jim Gingery[6] ; 8. 99-Steve Sabo[2]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 36-Matt Irey[2] ; 2. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.[5] ; 3. 27-Ken Hahn[3] ; 4. 69-John Mayes Jr.[4] ; 5. 51-Devin Shiels[8] ; 6. 15B-Mike Bores[7] ; 7. 21-Larry Kingseed[6] ; 8. 5J-Josh Haynes[1]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 77K-Steve Kester[2] ; 2. 15B-Mike Bores[3] ; 3. 12-Ky Harper[7] ; 4. 21-Larry Kingseed[6] ; 5. O3-Jim Gingery[5] ; 6. 99-Steve Sabo[8] ; 7. 77-Coby Bartram[10] ; 8. 11-Ryan Sutter[4] ; 9. O1-Brandon Perkins[1] ; 10. 5J-Josh Haynes[9]
A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 75-Dusty Moore[5]; 2. 91-Rusty Schlenk[6]; 3. 92-Cody Scott[9]; 4. OO-Chris Keller[8]; 5. 51-Devin Shiels[15]; 6. 12-Ky Harper[18]; 7. 15B-Mike Bores[17]; 8. 69-John Mayes Jr.[3]; 9. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.[12]; 10. 98-Tim Sabo[2]; 11. 27-Ken Hahn[11]; 12. 36-Matt Irey[4]; 13. 30-Nate Potts[13]; 14. 77K-Steve Kester[16]; 15. 21-Larry Kingseed[19]; 16. 42S-Bob Mayer[14]; 17. O3-Jim Gingery[20]; 18. 50Y-Ryan Missler[7]; 19. 48-John Bores[1]; 20. 3-Matt Miller[10]
Hard Charger: 12-Ky Harper[+12]
Foster Auto Body 305 Sprints (21 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 8I-John Ivy[2] ; 2. 9-Jimmy Colvin[7] ; 3. 8J-Jess Stiger[4] ; 4. 2-Ricky Peterson[5] ; 5. 13D-Jeremy Duposki[1] ; 6. 68G-Tyler Gunn[6] ; 7. 22D-Dan Hammond[3]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 6-Dustin Dinan[2] ; 2. 10X-Dustin Stroup[4] ; 3. 4X-Bobby Clark[5] ; 4. 48-Mike Burkin[1] ; 5. 83X-Nate Reeser[7] ; 6. 1W-Paul Weaver[6] ; 7. 25-Jason Keckler[3]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 36-Seth Schneider[2] ; 2. 5R-Jordan Ryan[6] ; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[7] ; 4. 8M-T.J Michael[4] ; 5. 26-Ryan French[1] ; 6. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[5]
A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 6-Dustin Dinan[6]; 2. 8I-John Ivy[3]; 3. 5R-Jordan Ryan[1]; 4. 4X-Bobby Clark[4]; 5. 36-Seth Schneider[10]; 6. 2-Ricky Peterson[2]; 7. 1-Nate Dussel[12]; 8. 10X-Dustin Stroup[8]; 9. 25-Jason Keckler[20]; 10. 22D-Dan Hammond[19]; 11. 68G-Tyler Gunn[16]; 12. 8M-T.J Michael[5]; 13. 48-Mike Burkin[9]; 14. 13D-Jeremy Duposki[13]; 15. 8J-Jess Stiger[7]; 16. 26-Ryan French[15]; 17. 1W-Paul Weaver[17]; 18. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[18]; 19. 83X-Nate Reeser[14]; 20. 9-Jimmy Colvin[11]
Hard Charger: 25-Jason Keckler[+11]