From Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio (July 7, 2018) – It was a night of repeat winners at Fremont Speedway Saturday, July 7 on Crown Battery Night.
Sandusky, Ohio’s Chris Andrews scored his second straight 410 sprint win as did Fremont, Ohio’s Jamie Miller in the 305 sprints. Tiffin, Ohio’s Chester Fitch scored his third consecutive late model victory while Fostoria, Ohio’s Shawn Valenti charged from his 12th starting spot for his second win of the year in the dirt trucks.
Andrews win in the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints aboard the Burmeister Racing machine was his 11th career victory at “The Track That Action Built” and was worth $3,000. He also scored the $1,000 victory in the Alex Burkett Memorial Australian Pursuit and another $250 for winning his heat, all thanks to Crown Battery. It was Andrews second win of the year with the All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads FAST 410 Championship Series Presented by Ohio Logistics.
“Fremont is so special because it’s so difficult. It means a lot to win one race but to win two is spectacular. I can’t say enough about my crew, Mikey, Sharon…the old man passed away a couple of years ago but I’m sure he helped us out tonight. This Kistler Engine is one damn good piece and I have to thank Paul Kistler,” said Andrews beside his ML Graphics, Channel Seed, Edwards Agriculture, Dave Story Equipment, Lucas Oil, DKW Transport, Kistler Racing Products backed #16.
“I kind of gauged myself on the good lapped cars…I moved around and gauged myself off DJ Foos. The car was very good tonight, I could maneuver around,” Andrews added in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.
Miller put on a dominating performance in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints, leading all 25 laps. The feature had only one caution, that falling with just three laps to go and wiping out an over four second lead for Miller. The victory was Miller’s third of the year at Fremont and the sixth overall in 2018. He now has 15 career wins at Fremont Speedway.
“I knew we were pretty good. I didn’t even look at the board…I didn’t want to know who was behind me. I was just going to run my race. This race car and my crew make me look good…they make my job easy,” said Miller beside his Sonic Hauling, Fostoria Mod Shop, Phil Rister Racing, NAPA of Attica, Reedtown Tavern, Branham Builders, Crown Battery, Avon by Angie, Sparting Underground backed #26.
Over the winter a rules change allowed the McCullough Industries Late Models to move to different engine than the crate motors. Fitch build a new motor and had problems with it and used his crate engine as a back up and it has powered him to three straight wins. Fitch now has 12 career victories at Fremont.
“I’m very tickled with this engine. Tonight was not an easy one, we had problems with the car from the get-go. It just wasn’t working quite right but starting on the pole helped a million,” said Fitch of his Westside Auto Sales, Tiffin Auto Auction, Fremont Fence, Sacksteder-Worland Insurance, Miracle Motors, Danner’s Recycling and Towing, Hi-Way 101 Auto Parts, Shorty’s Auction & Liquidation Services, Griff’s Engines backed #101.
Valenti started 12th in the 20-lap Burmeister Trophy Dirt Truck feature and took the lead on lap nine and held off Matt Foos for his 44th career win at Fremont. He is now tied for 9th on the track’s all-time win list with Wayne Maffett Sr.
“Once I got around Matt he kept showing me his nose and I knew he was right there. I tried the top in three and four to keep some speed but he was showed me the bottom was better. It was fun running the top in one and two…it was a fine line. I want to thank the Babcocks for everything they do for me,” said Valenti beside his Craig Miller Trucking, Best Performance Motorsports, Dave Story Equipment, KS Sales & Service, Pagliai’s Pizza, Gressman Powersports backed #7B.
Nate Dussel and Stuart Brubaker brought the field to green for the 30-lap 410 A-main but a four car tangle that left Todd Heller upside down and involved Ricky Peterson, Tony Beaber and Aaron Middaugh halted the action. Everyone was okay with Middaugh and Peterson rejoining the field.
On the second attempt Brubaker grabbed the lead over Dussel, Andrews and Brock Martin. Brubaker pulled away slightly as Andrews drove into second on lap three just before Dan McCarron tumbled in turn four ending his night though he was uninjured. On the restart Andrews drove to Brubaker’s outside to take the lead and quickly pulled away.
Andrews caught the back of the field on lap 10 and picked his way through to maintain the lead over Brubaker, Dussel, Craig Mintz, Byron Reed and Tyler Gunn. By the half-way point of the race Andrews was in heavy traffic. Brubaker was occupied trying to hold off Dussel while Mintz and Reed went at it heavy for the fourth spot.
Andrews made some daring moves in traffic and with 10 to go had a some what clear track that he used to build his lead to three seconds. He cruised to the win with Brubaker holding off Dussel for second. Reed and Mintz rounded out the top five.
The 25-lap 305 A-main went green with Miller and Alvin Roepke leading the field. Miller quickly moved out front with Roepke battling with Bobby Clark and Tyler Street for second. Miller’s lead was nearly three seconds when he drove into heavy lapped traffic by just the sixth circuit.
Miller was patient in traffic and picked them off one at a time to maintain his advantage over Roepke, Clark, Street, Kyle Peters and John Ivy. The battle between veterans Roepke and Clark in traffic was very entertaining for the runner-up spot.
When the only caution flew on lap 22 for a Jared McFarland spin Miller had built up a four second lead over Roepke. The caution also stopped a tremendous battle for third involving Peters, Ivy, Clark and Street.
Miller drove away when the green reappeared with Roepke maintaining second while Ivy took third. With a clear track no one was going to challenge Miller as he took the checkers over Roepke, Ivy, Peters and Street.
Foos and Brad Mitten brought the field to green for the 20-lap dirt truck A-main with Foos taking the lead over Mitten, Jeff Ward, Andy Keegan, Dustin Keegan and Brad Stuckey. The first caution for a stopped Dana Fry fell on lap four with Foos leading Mitten, Ward, Valenti, Andy Keegan, Stuckey and Dustin Keegan.
A caution for a Noah Wagner spin on lap seven wiped out a 1.5 second lead for Foos and put Valenti on his rear bumper. When the green flew Foos and Valenti went at it for the lead with Mitten, Ward and Andy Keegan battling for third.
Kyle Lagrou brought out another caution on lap nine just as Valenti had taken the lead. With a clear track Valenti and Foos pulled away from the field with Mitten battling with Andy Keegan and Ward exchanging the fifth spot lap after lap with Dustin Keegan.
The final caution flew with five laps to go for Ben Clapp with the running order Valenti, Foos, Mitten, Andy Keegan, Ward and Dustin Keegan. Again when the green flew Valenti and Foos pulled away with Andy Keegan moving into third.
Valenti took the checkers with Foos right in his tire tracks while Andy Keegan, Dustin Keegan and Ward rounding out the top five.
Fitch jumped into the lead at the drop of the green for the late model A-main. Only a couple of cautions would keep the field close, the last coming with just three laps to go.
No one had anything for Fitch as he drove away for the win over John Brooks, Dustin Keegan, Steve Sabo and Jay King.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, July 21 for Kear’s Speed Shop Throw Back Night with fans encouraged to wear their oldest racing t-shirts. It will be a FAST 410 night with the 305 sprints, trucks and late models also in action.
Fremont Speedway
Crown Battery Night
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Indicates starting position – [*]
410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.16-Chris Andrews, 12.508; 2.23-DJ Foos, 12.615; 3.97-Broc Martin, 12.644; 4.35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.651; 5.1-Nate Dussel, 12.655; 6.5-Byron Reed, 12.692; 7.09-Craig Mintz, 12.695; 8.68G-Tyler Gunn, 12.772; 9.22M-Dan McCarron, 12.916; 10.8M-TJ Michael, 12.934; 11.8J-Jess Stiger, 12.939; 12.4H-Cap Henry, 12.968; 13.14H-Todd Heller, 12.983; 14.2+-Brian Smith, 12.989; 15.2-Ricky Peterson, 13.001; 16.4T-Tracy Hines, 13.041; 17.20I-Kelsey Ivy, 13.068; 18.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.079; 19.7-Shawn Valenti, 13.247; 20.3T-Tony Beaber, 13.871; 21.96AU-Bruce White, 13.889; 22.91x-Aaron Middaugh, 13.997;
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 09-Craig Mintz[2] ; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 3. 16-Chris Andrews[4] ; 4. 8M-TJ Michael[1] ; 5. 4T-Tracy Hines[6] ; 6. 14H-Todd Heller[5] ; 7. 7-Shawn Valenti[7] ; 8. 91x-Aaron Middaugh[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 68G-Tyler Gunn[2] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[3] ; 3. 8J-Jess Stiger[1] ; 4. 23-DJ Foos[4] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[6] ; 6. 2+-Brian Smith[5] ; 7. 3T-Tony Beaber[7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps)
1. 4H-Cap Henry[1] ; 2. 22M-Dan McCarron[2] ; 3. 5-Byron Reed[3] ; 4. 97-Broc Martin[4] ; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson[5] ; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[6] ; 7. 96AU-Bruce White[7]
Australian Pursuit (8 Laps)
1. 16-Chris Andrews[1] ; 2. 97-Broc Martin[2] ; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[5] ; 5. 09-Craig Mintz[6] ; 6. 23-DJ Foos[7] ; 7. 8M-TJ Michael[8] ; 8. 1-Nate Dussel[4]
A-Main 1 (30 Laps)
1. 16-Chris Andrews[4] ; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[1] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[8] ; 5. 09-Craig Mintz[5] ; 6. 68G-Tyler Gunn[6] ; 7. 8M-TJ Michael[10] ; 8. 4H-Cap Henry[7] ; 9. 2+-Brian Smith[17] ; 10. 23-DJ Foos[11] ; 11. 4T-Tracy Hines[13] ; 12. 2-Ricky Peterson[18] ; 13. 8J-Jess Stiger[9] ; 14. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[15] ; 15. 7-Shawn Valenti[19] ; 16. 91x-Aaron Middaugh[22] ; 17. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[14] ; 18. 97-Broc Martin[3] ; 19. 22M-Dan McCarron[12] ; 20. 96AU-Bruce White[21] ; 21. 3T-Tony Beaber[20] ; 22. 14H-Todd Heller[16]
Hard Charger: 2+-Brian Smith +8
305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.4*-Tyler Street, 13.580; 2.5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr, 13.819; 3.8-Bobby Clark, 13.904; 4.99-Alvin Roepke, 13.913; 5.26-Jamie Miller, 13.971; 6.97-Kyle Peters, 14.018; 7.12-Kyle Capodice, 14.135; 8.77I-John Ivy, 14.147; 9.29-Bryan Sebetto, 14.163; 10.9R-Dustin Rall, 14.172; 11.19R-Steve Rando, 14.268; 12.36-Seth Schneider, 14.272; 13.21-Dustin Stroup, 14.311; 14.7M-Brandon Moore, 14.319; 15.10-Josh Harrison, 14.587; 16.250-Jared McFarland, 14.617; 17.47-Matt Lucius, 14.751; 18.48-Mike Burkin, 14.866; 19.2L-Landon Lalonde, 14.961; 20.Z10-Kevin Mingus, 42.999; 21.09-Justin Adams, 90.999;
Heat 1, Group A (8 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 36-Seth Schneider[1] ; 3. 29-Bryan Sebetto[3] ; 4. 7M-Brandon Moore[5] ; 5. 9R-Dustin Rall[2] ; 6. 47-Matt Lucius[7] ; 7. 250-Jared McFarland[6]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 77I-John Ivy[2] ; 2. 19R-Steve Rando[1] ; 3. 8-Bobby Clark[4] ; 4. 12-Kyle Capodice[3] ; 5. 2L-Landon Lalonde[6] ; 6. 10-Josh Harrison[5] ; 7. Z10-Kevin Mingus[7]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 97-Kyle Peters[1] ; 2. 99-Alvin Roepke[2] ; 3. 4*-Tyler Street[4] ; 4. 21-Dustin Stroup[5] ; 5. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr[3] ; 6. 48-Mike Burkin[6] ; 7. 09-Justin Adams[7]
A-Main 1 – (20 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[1] ; 2. 99-Alvin Roepke[2] ; 3. 77I-John Ivy[5] ; 4. 97-Kyle Peters[6] ; 5. 4*-Tyler Street[4] ; 6. 36-Seth Schneider[7] ; 7. 8-Bobby Clark[3] ; 8. 21-Dustin Stroup[12] ; 9. 29-Bryan Sebetto[9] ; 10. 12-Kyle Capodice[11] ; 11. 7M-Brandon Moore[10] ; 12. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr[15] ; 13. 9R-Dustin Rall[13] ; 14. 19R-Steve Rando[8] ; 15. 48-Mike Burkin[18] ; 16. 47-Matt Lucius[16] ; 17. 09-Justin Adams[21] ; 18. 2L-Landon Lalonde[14] ; 19. 250-Jared McFarland[19] ; 20. Z10-Kevin Mingus[20] ; 21. 10-Josh Harrison[17]
Hard Charger: 21-Dustin Stroup +4
Dirt Trucks – Burmeister Trophy
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 33-Jeff Ward[3] ; 2. 32-Kevin Phillips[1] ; 3. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[8] ; 4. 17x-Dustin Keegan[5] ; 5. 37-Eric DeVanna[6] ; 6. 7f-Dana Frey[4] ; 7. 67-Ben Clapp[7] ; 8. 11-Austin Gibson[2]
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[4] ; 2. 5s-Brad Stuckey[2] ; 3. 2-Matt Foos[6] ; 4. 23m-Brad Mitten[8] ; 5. 26-Kyle Lagrou[1] ; 6. 16-Jim Holcomb[3] ; 7. 8KB-Kent Brewer[5] ; 8. 49X-Brad Keckler[7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps)
1. 0-Andy Keegan[6] ; 2. 1H-Zeth Sabo[2] ; 3. 9-Curt Inks[1] ; 4. 4s-Keith Sorg[5] ; 5. 22-Brandon Leighton[4] ; 6. 83-Noah Wagner[3] ; 7. 32H-Dan Hennig[7]
A-Main 1 (20 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[12] ; 2. 2-Matt Foos[1] ; 3. 0-Andy Keegan[4] ; 4. 17x-Dustin Keegan[5] ; 5. 33-Jeff Ward[3] ; 6. 23m-Brad Mitten[2] ; 7. 5s-Brad Stuckey[9] ; 8. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[8] ; 9. 49X-Brad Keckler[21] ; 10. 32-Kevin Phillips[6] ; 11. 4s-Keith Sorg[11] ; 12. 37-Eric DeVanna[13] ; 13. 22-Brandon Leighton[15] ; 14. 83-Noah Wagner[18] ; 15. 9-Curt Inks[10] ; 16. 67-Ben Clapp[19] ; 17. 1H-Zeth Sabo[7] ; 18. 26-Kyle Lagrou[14] ; 19. 7f-Dana Frey[16] ; 20. 16-Jim Holcomb[17] ; 21. 11-Austin Gibson[22] ; 22. 8KB-Kent Brewer[20]
Hard Charger: 49x-Brad Keckler +12
Limited Late Models – McCullough Industries
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 4M-Jamie Miller[1] ; 2. 101-Chester Fitch[4] ; 3. 23m-Brad Mitten[2] ; 4. 17x-Dustin Keegan[3] ; 5. 16-Steve Sabo[5] ; 6. 4C-Bill Clapp JR[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 69-John Mayes[2] ; 2. 00-John Brooks[3] ; 3. 27K-Jay King[5] ; 4. 22J-Josh Kiser[1] ; 5. 12-Kyle Dukeshire[4]
A-Main 1 (15 Laps)
1. 101-Chester Fitch[1] ; 2. 00-John Brooks[2] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[7] ; 4. 16-Steve Sabo[9] ; 5. 27K-Jay King[5] ; 6. 4C-Bill Clapp JR[11] ; 7. 69-John Mayes[3] ; 8. 23m-Brad Mitten[6] ; 9. 4M-Jamie Miller[4] ; 10. 22J-Josh Kiser[8] ; 11. 12-Kyle Dukeshire[10]
Hard Charger: 16-Steve Sabo +5