By T.J. Buffenbarger
Attica, OH – (April 5, 2014) – Dale Blaney achieved a milestone Saturday night at Attica Raceway Park picking up his 100th career feature victory with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions. Blaney and his team overcame an engine change after qualification and a late race challenge by Craig Mintz for the victory.
“(Mintz) runs well here. We had a good starting spots and struggled a little bit the last half of the race. Fortunately we caught one lapped car while was beside me there and it worked out,” said Blaney franked by signs made in honor of his 100th victory.
The win was also Blaney’s seventh during the Spring Nationals in a region where Blaney has had a lot of success at during his All Star career. “Western Ohio has really been good to me. Fremont, Attica, I’ve won a lot of races here,”said Blaney. “To do it here and do it at the spring nationals, we have run well this race and won it a few times It was pretty cool. If I could have done it anywhere it would have been Fremont or Attica.”
While the win was Blaney’s 100th in All Star competition, the victory was the first for Blaney’s new car owner Tony Kennedy.
“There are a few different changes, but a lot of the key components are the same,” said Blaney. “ George Fisher is still wrenching the car, and I think it will be good for us.”
While Blaney appreciated the achievement of 100 victories, he did not seem to be in a reflective mood with a long season ahead.
“I haven’t thought about (the meaning of 100 All Star wins). When you are racing and you just got race to race. Three or four years from now I’ll look back on it and think it’s pretty neat.”
After winning the dash Blaney started from the pole position and opened up a sizeable lead until the only caution 10 laps in the 40 lap feature when Brandon Wimmer slowed with a flat tire. Blaney took off again during the restart. Mintz however was working up from fifth starting position picking off cars on his way to the front. Eight laps in Mintz moved into fourth and s started to gain momentum. After passing Shaffer for third just before the lap 10 caution Mintz slid off the backstretch trying to pass Andrew Palker for the second spot, but was able to maintain the third spot. On lap 14 Mintz moved into second and set out after Blaney.
Blaney at this point had built up a full straightaway lead and was cruising through lapped traffic until encountering cars running side by side on lap 28. This allowed Mintz to slowly climb into contention. As the laps continued to wind down Mintz closed the gap on Blaney and challenged Blaney for the lead with seven laps to go. Mintz got a run on the outside of Blaney and took the lead for a moment before a lapped car boxed Mintz in and allowed Blaney to retake the lead. From there Blaney was able to put a lapped car between himself and Mintz and open up enough of a gap to hold on for the victory. Mintz maintained the runner up position while Tim Shaffer, Danny Holtgraver, and Dean Jacobs rounded out the top five.
Caleb Helms was your fastest qualifier with a lap of 12.380 seconds at an averaage speedway of 96.931 miles per house around the 1/3-mile oval. Christopher Bell, Lee Jacobs, Danny Smith, and Caleb Griffith won heat race events. Dean Jacobs got upside down in turn four after clipping a marker tire front over back in a grinding crash, but the Wooster Motorsports crew bounced back and got the car ready for Jacobs to win the B-main. Brandon Wimmer later got upside down in virtually the same location and recovered to transfer to the feature from the B-Main.
Attica Raceway Park – 4/5/2014
Construction Equipment & Supply / HD Supply Night
O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints (36 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 40-Caleb Helms, 12.380; 2. 10H-Danny Holtgraver, 12.535; 3. 57X-Andrew Palker, 12.562; 4. 14K-Dale Blaney, 12.580; 5. 787-Dean Jacobs, 12.662; 6. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.663; 7. 60K-Jody Keegan, 12.678; 8. 45-Tim Shaffer, 12.696; 9. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.697; 10. 63-Chad Kemenah, 12.716; 11. 77-Shane Stewart, 12.884; 12. 16-Chris Andrews, 12.985; 13. 22-Cole Duncan, 13.046; 14. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.064; 15. 45L-Brian Lay, 13.068; 16. 24H-Brandon Wimmer, 13.105; 17. 55-Brad Bowman, 13.122; 18. 21-Dallas Hewitt, 13.133; 19. 4-Danny Smith, 13.138; 20. 40DD-Caleb Griffith, 13.199; 21. 53C-Christopher Bell, 13.231; 22. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.246; 23. 11X-Brandon Martin, 13.263; 24. 9W-Jac Haudenschild, 13.292; 25. 33M-Bryan Sebetto, 13.293; 26. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.317; 27. 80-Trey Gustin, 13.330; 28. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 13.408; 29. 83-Stevie Smith, 13.444; 30. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.471; 31. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.474; 32. 17-Scott Euler, 13.548; 33. 2-Nathan Skaggs, 13.570; 34. 53-D.J. Foos, 13.665; 35. O7X-Dain Naida, 13.699; 36. 7-Troy Kingan, 14.502
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 53C-Christopher Bell[1] ; 2. 55-Brad Bowman[2] ; 3. 22-Cole Duncan[3] ; 4. 33M-Bryan Sebetto[7] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[4] ; 6. 2-Nathan Skaggs[9] ; 7. 83-Stevie Smith[8] ; 8. 787-Dean Jacobs[5] ; 9. 40-Caleb Helms[6]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 81-Lee Jacobs[3] ; 2. 5R-Byron Reed[1] ; 3. 63-Chad Kemenah[4] ; 4. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[6] ; 5. O9-Craig Mintz[5] ; 6. 21-Dallas Hewitt[2] ; 7. 5T-Travis Philo[8] ; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7] ; 9. 53-D.J. Foos[9]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 4-Danny Smith[2] ; 2. 11X-Brandon Martin[1] ; 3. 45L-Brian Lay[3] ; 4. 77-Shane Stewart[4] ; 5. 57X-Andrew Palker[6] ; 6. 60K-Jody Keegan[5] ; 7. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[8] ; 8. 80-Trey Gustin[7] ; 9. O7X-Dain Naida[9]
Heat 4 – Bell Racing Products (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[2] ; 2. 45-Tim Shaffer[5] ; 3. 9W-Jac Haudenschild[1] ; 4. 16-Chris Andrews[4] ; 5. 14K-Dale Blaney[6] ; 6. 46AU-Stuart Williams[7] ; 7. 17-Scott Euler[8] ; 8. 7-Troy Kingan[9]
Dash – R & R (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 14K-Dale Blaney[2] ; 2. 57X-Andrew Palker[1] ; 3. 45-Tim Shaffer[4] ; 4. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[6] ; 5. O9-Craig Mintz[3] ; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 787-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 2. 40-Caleb Helms[1] ; 3. 24H-Brandon Wimmer[4] ; 4. 60K-Jody Keegan[3] ; 5. 83-Stevie Smith[9] ; 6. 46AU-Stuart Williams[8] ; 7. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[11] ; 8. 53-D.J. Foos[14] ; 9. 5T-Travis Philo[10] ; 10. 80-Trey Gustin[7] ; 11. O7X-Dain Naida[15] ; 12. 2-Nathan Skaggs[13] ; 13. 7-Troy Kingan[16] ; 14. 21-Dallas Hewitt[5] ; 15. 35-Stuart Brubaker[6] ; 16. 17-Scott Euler[12]
A-Main – (40 Laps)
1. 14K-Dale Blaney[1]; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[5]; 3. 45-Tim Shaffer[3]; 4. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[4]; 5. 787-Dean Jacobs[12]; 6. 77-Shane Stewart[8]; 7. 63-Chad Kemenah[7]; 8. 22-Cole Duncan[10]; 9. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[19]; 10. 16-Chris Andrews[9]; 11. 57X-Andrew Palker[2]; 12. 5R-Byron Reed[21]; 13. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[6]; 14. 45L-Brian Lay[15]; 15. 33M-Bryan Sebetto[24]; 16. 81-Lee Jacobs[14]; 17. 53C-Christopher Bell[20]; 18. 40-Caleb Helms[11]; 19. 11X-Brandon Martin[22]; 20. 9W-Jac Haudenschild[23]; 21. 4-Danny Smith[18]; 22. 60K-Jody Keegan[13]; 23. 55-Brad Bowman[17]; 24. 24H-Brandon Wimmer[16]
Hard Charger: 40DD-Caleb Griffith[+10]
Summit Racing Equipment Late Models (23 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[2] ; 2. 1-Jeff Babcock[7] ; 3. 5M-Ryan Markham[1] ; 4. 36-Matt Irey[6] ; 5. O1-Justin Chance[5] ; 6. 21-Larry Kingseed[4] ; 7. 51-Devin Shiels[8] ; 8. 5J-Josh Haynes[3]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 56-Russ King[5] ; 2. 27-Eric Spangler[6] ; 3. 42S-Bob Mayer[2] ; 4. 15B-Mike Bores[7] ; 5. 45-Nate Potts[4] ; 6. 69R-Doug Baird[8] ; 7. 1W-Brain Orth[1]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 91-Rusty Schlenk[1] ; 2. OO-Chris Keller[7] ; 3. 92-Cody Scott[3] ; 4. 16-Steve Sabo[4] ; 5. 23C-Jeremy Canada[6] ; 6. 34-Ky Harper[5] ; 7. J4-John Garvin Jr.[2]
A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 5M-Ryan Markham[2]; 2. 91-Rusty Schlenk[4]; 3. OO-Chris Keller[3]; 4. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[7]; 5. 36-Matt Irey[6]; 6. 27-Eric Spangler[8]; 7. 56-Russ King[11]; 8. 15B-Mike Bores[9]; 9. 51-Devin Shiels[17]; 10. O1-Justin Chance[13]; 11. 21-Larry Kingseed[16]; 12. 34-Ky Harper[18]; 13. 45-Nate Potts[14]; 14. 42S-Bob Mayer[12]; 15. 16-Steve Sabo[5]; 16. 1-Jeff Babcock[10]; 17. 69R-Doug Baird[19]; 18. 23C-Jeremy Canada[15]; 19. 92-Cody Scott[1]; 20. 5J-Josh Haynes[20]
Hard Charger: 51-Devin Shiels[+8]
Foster Auto Body 305 Sprints (23 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 8I-John Ivy[3] ; 2. 8-Bobby Clark[1] ; 3. 25-Jason Keckler[4] ; 4. 19R-Steve Rando[8] ; 5. 1-Nate Dussel[5] ; 6. 68G-Tyler Gunn[6] ; 7. 11G-Luke Griffith[2] ; 8. 13-Jeremy Duposki[7]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[2] ; 2. 5R-Jordan Ryan[8] ; 3. 36-Seth Schneider[3] ; 4. 7M-Brandon Moore[6] ; 5. 22D-Dan Hammond[5] ; 6. 39C-Scott Riley[1] ; 7. 32-Dan Hennig[4] ; 8. 2-Ricky Peterson[7]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 22M-Dan McCarron[1] ; 2. 8M-T.J Michael[4] ; 3. 9-Jimmy Colvin[6] ; 4. 12-Kyle Capodice[2] ; 5. 4T-Jim Taddeo[7] ; 6. 3J-Trey Jacobs[3] ; 7. 4G-Bill Griffith[5]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 68G-Tyler Gunn[1] ; 2. 11G-Luke Griffith[4] ; 3. 3J-Trey Jacobs[3] ; 4. 13-Jeremy Duposki[7] ; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson[8] ; 6. 39C-Scott Riley[2] ; 7. 32-Dan Hennig[5] ; 8. 4G-Bill Griffith[6]
A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 8I-John Ivy[1]; 2. 5R-Jordan Ryan[4]; 3. 25-Jason Keckler[5]; 4. 1W-Paul Weaver[11]; 5. 22M-Dan McCarron[3]; 6. 9-Jimmy Colvin[7]; 7. 19R-Steve Rando[10]; 8. 8M-T.J Michael[9]; 9. 68G-Tyler Gunn[16]; 10. 2-Ricky Peterson[20]; 11. 36-Seth Schneider[6]; 12. 7M-Brandon Moore[8]; 13. 13-Jeremy Duposki[19]; 14. 1-Nate Dussel[13]; 15. 3J-Trey Jacobs[18]; 16. 11G-Luke Griffith[17]; 17. 12-Kyle Capodice[12]; 18. 4T-Jim Taddeo[15]; 19. 22D-Dan Hammond[14]; 20. 8-Bobby Clark[2]
Hard Charger: 2-Ricky Peterson[+10]