From Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio (May 26, 2018) – Coming to the checkers for a $5,000 pay day Craig Mintz and Brady Bacon were side by side at Fremont Speedway. At the line, Mintz earned his third straight win by .057 seconds on American Powersports Night.
“I really wasn’t sure where that lapped car was going to go. The lap before he ran the top so I had no idea where to go. I saw Brady under me but I was already committed. I just laid the throttle on the floor and hoped. I’ve never won three in a row. Heck there’s been times I haven’t won three total all year. This crew behind me built a new car after we hurt one at Attica two weeks ago,” said Mintz beside his Eagle Ignition Leads; Real Geese; Design Graphics Group; KS Sales & Service; Anjulina’s; Linder’s Speed Equipment backed #09
“I saw earlier today Robert Ballou tweet we need heavy, wet tracks with some holes. This proved tonight you can have a heavy track that’s smooth. That close of a race is fun. That’s why we do this to put on a show for the people in the stands. I’d rather have a race like that then win by 50 seconds,” Mintz added in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.
Mintz, a two time Fremont track champion, expands his lead in the chase for a third All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads FAST 410 Championship Series presented by Ohio Logistics championship.
The K&L Ready Mix NRA Sprint Invader A-main was equally entertaining as Brantford, Ontario, Canada’s Jake Brown and Lima, Ohio’s Max Stambaugh swapped the lead while dicing through lapped traffic for six laps toward the end of the A-main. The pair even touched, which resulted in Stambaugh getting a flat left rear tire. A caution with three laps to go put Jake’s brother Mitch right on his rear bumper but Jake drove to his first career Fremont Speedway win.
“I got together with Max and I feel horrible for that. It was close quarters racing in traffic…I’m not that kind of a driver. I have to thank all my guys, my brother, Brantford Hyundai, Strodes Barbecue, Brown Auto Sales and Service, Hills Tire and Gas. What a great race track and awesome fans. We need racing like this in Canada,” Hill said.
The Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints ran their 25 lap feature without any cautions and completed it in just over six minutes. Lindsey, Ohio’s Steve Rando utilized a lapped car as a pick to take the lead from Tyler Street with just 11 laps to go to score his first win of the season, holding off a late race charge from Dustin Stroup. Rando also has a win at Attica Raceway Park in 2018.
“I could see where he was going and he couldn’t see where I was coming from and luckily it worked out for me. I thought I was going to get passed there at the end when I couldn’t get around the lapped cars,” Rando said beside his Davis Fabricators, North Coast Asphalt, North Coast Sealing, Garza Construction, Parkmount Wealth, Attitudes Hair Salon backed #19R.
“We put a new car together over the winter…we actually ran it three nights last year and it’s working pretty good. I think we have some things figured out,” Rando added. “I want to thank my mom and dad, my girlfriend Kayleah, Scott, Chris, Leroy, Tony and Dawn and Scott Gressman.”
The 40-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints were brought to green by Tyler Gunn and Mintz with Mintz gaining the slight advantage over Gunn, TJ Michael, Bacon, Travis Philo and Spencer Bayston. Mintz set a blistering pace, encountering heavy lapped traffic by the sixth circuit which allowed Gunn and Bacon to close.
Bacon finally took second on lap seven while Gunn, Bayston, Michael and Cap Henry waged an entertaining race for third. Just as Bacon and Mintz began racing side by side for the lead Philo spun on lap 18. Two laps later and Bayston’s run to the front came to a halt as he spun in turn two. Another two laps under green and a pile-up involving DJ Foos, Dan McCarron and Thomas Schinderle on the back stretch brought out the red but thankfully all involved were okay.
With a clear track when the green came back out Mintz pulled away slightly from Bacon, Gunn, Henry and Byron Reed. Once again Mintz quickly found lapped traffic by lap 28 and that allowed Bacon to close. Duane Zablocki spun with 11 laps to go, handing Mintz a clear track.
Mintz again pulled away slightly from Bacon and Gunn and Henry bumped and banged for the third spot. With seven laps remaining Bacon mounted another charge at Mintz. As the pair raced into lapped traffic with two laps to go, Mintz bobbled on the cushion in turn four and Bacon ducked to his inside. The pair raced side by side to the white flag and entering the final two turns a lapped car held Mintz up ever so slightly and it was a drag race to the checkers with Mintz winning by a whisper. Henry, Gunn and Reed rounded out the top five.
Stambaugh and Jake Brown brought the field to green for the 25 lap, $2,000 to win NRA A-main but before a lap could be scored Jeff Williams and Cory Turner got together. On the second attempt to start the race Brown got the advantage over Stambaugh, Devin Dobie, Butch Schroeder and Jared Horstman. Horstman, who won the previous night at Limaland Motorsports Park, would flip after two laps were scored, collecting Matt Westfall who also tumbled. Both were uninjured.
When the green flew Brown had his hands full with Stambaugh with Dobie holding off Mitch Brown for third. A caution for Aaron Robnolte on lap seven kept the field close as Jake Brown led Stambaugh, Dobie, Mitch Brown, Schroeder, Kyle Sauder, Cody Bova and Tim Allison.
When Jake Brown encountered heavy lapped traffic with 11 laps to go Stambaugh and Dobie closed quickly. Stambaugh used a lapped car to take the lead on lap 17 but he and Brown made contact and Stambaugh’s left rear tire started to go low. Dobie would pull to the infield seeking medical attention on lap 19 for a broken power steering line and Stambaugh ducked into the pits to change the tire handing the lead back to Jake Brown.
When the green reappeared Jake Brown pulled away from Mitch Brown, Schroeder, Sauder, Bova and Allison. A caution for Kobe Allison with three laps to go gave Mitch a final shot at Jake. Jake executed a great restart and drove to the win over Mitch Brown, Schroeder, Allison and Bova.
Rando and Street paced the field for the 25 lap 305 sprint A-main with Street grabbing the early lead over Rando, Dustin Stroup and Matt Foos. Street encountered heavy lapped traffic by lap eight and Rando and Stroup closed.
When Street had difficulty getting around a lapped machine on lap 15 Rando pounced, taking the lead. Stroup was able to take second on lap 19 and started to eat into Rando’s lead. A bobble by Stroup exiting turn two with three laps to go may have been the deciding factor in the race. Stroup rebounded to pull beside Rando coming to the checkers but Rando hung on for his 11th career Fremont win over Stroup, Street, Foos and John Ivy.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, June 2 for Vision Quest Night. Prior to the night’s racing the 10th class will be inducted into the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame. Gates will open at 1 p.m. with the ceremony to get underway at 2:30 p.m. Those planning to attend need to purchase a ticket which also gets you into the night’s racing which features the FAST 410 sprints; 305 sprints, dirt trucks and late models.
For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FremontSpeedway or on Twitter https://twitter.com/FremontSpeedway
About American Powersports
At American Powersports we are power sports enthusiasts, and we are excited to help you experience the fun and adventure that a quality Can-Am®, Arctic Cat®, Polaris®, Suzuki, and Yamaha can bring into your life! American Powersports in Sandusky, on Milan Rd. beside Meiers and in Findlay along I-75 Exit 161 offers the best in new and pre-owned ATVs, motorcycles, trailers, snowmobiles, or UTVs. At American Powersports we have the latest models from Arctic Cat®, Polaris®, Sea-Doo, Ski-Doo, Suzuki, Yamaha, Can-Am®, Spyder, and Victory Motorcycles®. We also have a large selection of used motorcycles ATVs, snowmobiles and UTVs and used watercraft.
At American Powersports our service department will help you maintain your vehicle so it runs for years. And our parts department has the largest selection of parts and accessories in the area. Find out more at www.americanpowersport.com
Fremont Speedway
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Starting Position – [*]
410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.8M-TJ Michael, 12.910; 2.16-Chris Andrews, 12.993; 3.99-Brady Bacon, 13.065; 4.4H-Cap Henry, 13.141; 5.09-Craig Mintz, 13.176; 6.5-Byron Reed, 13.190; 7.68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.237; 8.21-Spencer Bayston, 13.287; 9.5T-Travis Philo, 13.300; 10.78-Todd Kane, 13.354; 11.35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.354; 12.5K-Adam Kekich, 13.416; 13.1-Nate Dussel, 13.459; 14.7-Shawn Valenti, 13.576; 15.22M-Dan McCarron, 13.629; 16.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.678; 17.4T-Tracy Hines, 13.706; 18.20I-Kelsey Ivy, 13.709; 19.19-Paige Polyak, 13.749; 20.8J-Jess Stiger, 13.852; 21.91x-Aaron Middaugh, 13.991; 22.41-Thomas Schinderle, 14.020; 23.14H-Todd Heller, 14.137; 24.23-DJ Foos, 43.999;
Heat 1 (8 laps)
1. 68G-Tyler Gunn[2] ; 2. 78-Todd Kane[1] ; 3. 8M-TJ Michael[4] ; 4. 4H-Cap Henry[3] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[6] ; 6. 1-Nate Dussel[5] ; 7. 41-Thomas Schinderle[8] ; 8. 19-Paige Polyak[7]
Heat 2 (8 laps)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[1] ; 2. 09-Craig Mintz[3] ; 3. 21-Spencer Bayston[2] ; 4. 16-Chris Andrews[4] ; 5. 7-Shawn Valenti[5] ; 6. 8J-Jess Stiger[7] ; 7. 4T-Tracy Hines[6] ; 8. 14H-Todd Heller[8]
Heat 3 (8 laps)
1. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 2. 99-Brady Bacon[4] ; 3. 5K-Adam Kekich[1] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[3] ; 5. 23-DJ Foos[8] ; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron[5] ; 7. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[6] ; 8. 91x-Aaron Middaugh[7]
A-Main 1 (40 Laps)
1. 09-Craig Mintz[2] ; 2. 99-Brady Bacon[3] ; 3. 4H-Cap Henry[10] ; 4. 68G-Tyler Gunn[1] ; 5. 5-Byron Reed[12] ; 6. 8M-TJ Michael[4] ; 7. 7-Shawn Valenti[14] ; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker[5] ; 9. 5K-Adam Kekich[9] ; 10. 4T-Tracy Hines[20] ; 11. 16-Chris Andrews[11] ; 12. 21-Spencer Bayston[8] ; 13. 1-Nate Dussel[16] ; 14. 5T-Travis Philo[6] ; 15. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[13] ; 16. 8J-Jess Stiger[17] ; 17. 19-Paige Polyak[22] ; 18. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[21] ; 19. 23-DJ Foos[15] ; 20. 22M-Dan McCarron[18] ; 21. 41-Thomas Schinderle[19] ; 22. 14H-Todd Heller[23] ; 23. 78-Todd Kane[7] ; 24. 91x-Aaron Middaugh[24]
Hard Charger: 4t-Tracy Hines +10
360 NRA Sprint Invaders
Qualifying
1.17-Jared Horstman, 13.302; 2.5M-Max Stambaugh, 13.378; 3.B20-Butch Schroeder, 13.529; 4.2-Kyle Sauder, 13.591; 5.20B-Cody Bova, 13.604; 6.24-Kobe Allison, 13.747; 7.33M-Matt Westfall, 13.771; 8.10-Mitch Brown, 13.788; 9.5W-Jeff Williams, 13.813; 10.23-Devon Dobie, 13.819; 11.7J-Joe Swanson, 13.829; 12.1-10-Jake Brown, 13.894; 13.18-Tood Heuerman, 13.910; 14.11A-Tim Allison, 13.948; 15.02-Brandon Long, 13.967; 16.77X-Alex Hill, 14.018; 17.97-Cory Turner, 14.068; 18.22D-Aaron Robnolte, 14.088; 19.22H-Randy Hannagan, 14.177; 20.51T-John Taylor, 15.171;
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 17-Jared Horstman[4] ; 2. 23-Devon Dobie[1] ; 3. 2-Kyle Sauder[3] ; 4. 33M-Matt Westfall[2] ; 5. 18-Tood Heuerman[5] ; 6. 22H-Randy Hannagan[7] ; 7. 77X-Alex Hill[6]
Heat 8 Laps)
1. 10-Mitch Brown[2] ; 2. 5M-Max Stambaugh[4] ; 3. 20B-Cody Bova[3] ; 4. 11A-Tim Allison[5] ; 5. 97-Cory Turner[6] ; 6. 7J-Joe Swanson[1] ; 7. 51T-John Taylor[7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps)
1. 1-10-Jake Brown[1] ; 2. B20-Butch Schroeder[4] ; 3. 02-Brandon Long[5] ; 4. 5W-Jeff Williams[2] ; 5. 22D-Aaron Robnolte[6] ; 6. 24-Kobe Allison[3]
A-Main 1 (25 Laps)
1. 1-10-Jake Brown[2] ; 2. 10-Mitch Brown[5] ; 3. B20-Butch Schroeder[4] ; 4. 11A-Tim Allison[11] ; 5. 20B-Cody Bova[8] ; 6. 2-Kyle Sauder[7] ; 7. 5M-Max Stambaugh[1] ; 8. 18-Tood Heuerman[13] ; 9. 22H-Randy Hannagan[16] ; 10. 02-Brandon Long[9] ; 11. 7J-Joe Swanson[17] ; 12. 77X-Alex Hill[19] ; 13. 24-Kobe Allison[18] ; 14. 22D-Aaron Robnolte[15] ; 15. 23-Devon Dobie[3] ; 16. 51T-John Taylor[20] ; 17. 17-Jared Horstman[6] ; 18. 33M-Matt Westfall[10] ; 19. 5W-Jeff Williams[12] ; 20. 97-Cory Turner[14]
Hard Charger: 11A-Tim Allison +7
305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.21-Dustin Stroup, 13.655; 2.2F-Matt Foos, 13.715; 3.4*-Tyler Street, 13.858; 4.19R-Steve Rando, 13.908; 5.47-Matt Lucius, 13.918; 6.1W-Paul Weaver, 13.934; 7.36-Seth Schneider, 13.957; 8.5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr, 13.995; 9.Z10-Kevin Mingus, 14.000; 10.12-Kyle Capodice, 14.009; 11.26-Jamie Miller, 14.068; 12.77I-John Ivy, 14.092; 13.8-Bobby CLark, 14.167; 14.9R-Dustin Rall, 14.202; 15.7M-Brandon Moore, 14.305; 16.97-Kyle Peters, 14.309; 17.09-Justin Adams, 14.355; 18.99-Alvin Roepke, 14.380; 19.250-Jared Mcfarland, 14.594;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 8-Bobby CLark[2] ; 2. 4*-Tyler Street[4] ; 3. 9R-Dustin Rall[1] ; 4. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr[3] ; 5. 99-Alvin Roepke[5] ; 6. 250-Jared Mcfarland[6]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 36-Seth Schneider[1] ; 2. 19R-Steve Rando[3] ; 3. 21-Dustin Stroup[4] ; 4. 77I-John Ivy[6] ; 5. Z10-Kevin Mingus[5] ; 6. 1W-Paul Weaver[2]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 12-Kyle Capodice[2] ; 2. 26-Jamie Miller[1] ; 3. 2F-Matt Foos[4] ; 4. 97-Kyle Peters[6] ; 5. 47-Matt Lucius[3] ; 6. 7M-Brandon Moore[5] ; 7. 09-Justin Adams[7]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 19R-Steve Rando[1] ; 2. 21-Dustin Stroup[4] ; 3. 4*-Tyler Street[2] ; 4. 2F-Matt Foos[3] ; 5. 77I-John Ivy[11] ; 6. 8-Bobby Clark[5] ; 7. 12-Kyle Capodice[7] ; 8. 26-Jamie Miller[8] ; 9. 36-Seth Schneider[6] ; 10. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr[10] ; 11. 7M-Brandon Moore[18] ; 12. 97-Kyle Peters[12] ; 13. 1W-Paul Weaver[17] ; 14. 99-Alvin Roepke[13] ; 15. 09-Justin Adams[19] ; 16. Z10-Kevin Mingus[14] ; 17. 250-Jared Mcfarland[16] ; 18. 47-Matt Lucius[15] ; 19. 9R-Dustin Rall[9]
Hard Charger: 7M-Brandon Moore +7