By Brian Liskai
WAYNESFIELD, Ohio – Leduc, Alberta, Canada’s Skylar Gee had never competed at Waynesfield Raceway Park. But, he made his first appearance a good one, taking the lead on lap 34 and driving away to earn the $5,630 pay day for the 2nd Annual Bob Hampshire Classic.
The event, honoring the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame sprint car owner and mechanic, was the final race of 2019 for the FAST 410 Sprint Series. Cole Duncan, with his win the week prior, earned the series’ championship.
The one-third mile high banked track lived up to its reputation as the 50-lap FAST feature saw several lead changes. Cap Henry led the first eight circuits with NASCAR Xfinity Star Christopher Bell taking over to lead laps 9-16 only to have Henry regain the top spot for a lap with Bell using heavy lapped traffic to move back into the lead on lap 18. Bell seemed to have the race in control when he spun in turn four while maneuvering through lapped traffic, falling back to 11th and handing the lead back to Henry. Gee, who had hung around the top five throughout the race, hunted down Henry and drove around him on lap 34. A caution with eight laps to go gave Henry one final shot, but Gee hit his marks perfectly and drove to the win.
“I struggled pretty hard the first half of the race. I started watching Christopher and then I seen DJ (Foos) poking his nose in there and it started to rubber up there a little and I started creeping and creeping and pretty soon we were pretty good and I could start cheating the wing forward. I got going pretty good in one and two and I had a good race with Cap….he raced me hard and clean. It was a lot of fun. I’ve never won a 50 lap race before so that’s pretty cool. Hats off to Rob and Gary for working their asses off all night and all the fans for sticking out this cold,” said Gee beside his Bluvos/Carlan Services/Pat Beck Motorsports/Strongs Crane Sales and Repair backed machine.
For Henry, the close of the 2019 season was bittersweet. “I thought we had a pretty good chance starting on the pole. It laid rubber and I was sure where to go. I think our worst finish here is third of fourth so I’m happy. This is a really cool place and it was a fun race,” said Henry beside his Beer Barrel Bourbon sponsored #4.
Fremont, Ohio’s DJ Foos, the 2019 Attica Fremont Championship Series titlist, also hung around the top five throughout the 50 lap feature and brought his Burmeister Racing machine home in third.
“I love coming to this place. I can’t say enough about Shane Helms (promoter) and his gang. It’s pretty bad ass to be racing here in October,” said Foos of his Jet Express/CR Juices/Greer Automotive/Kistler Racing Products backed #16.
Mike Campbell photo
Milford, Ohio’s Cody Gardner scored his first ever sprint car win at Waynesfield during the 11th Annual Jack Hewitt Classic early in July. Gardner proved that was no fluke, leading all 25 laps of the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series feature for his second win. It wasn’t easy as he had to hold off Landon Simon after a late race red. Matt Westfall wrapped up the 2019 BOSS championship the week prior with his win at Atomic Speedway.
“When I won the Jack Hewitt Classic it was unbelievable…I never thought that would happen. This place has always suited me for whatever reason. The way you have to drive here just works for me and we’ve always run good here. To be able to win both BOSS features here this year…I’m at a loss for words. I didn’t know if I was running in the right place and when you get reds and yellows you start second guessing yourself wondering if you’re in the right spot. Luckily we were. I heard Landon late in the race and I just had to buckle down and hit my marks and make him drive around me if he could,” said Gardner beside his Pate Manufacturing/Advanced Racing Suspensions/Superior Bearing and Supply/Ashford Motorsports backed #9G.
Middletown, Ohio’s Rod Henning, a two time Waynesfield track champion, stormed into the lead with five laps to go and drove away to claim the USAC D2 Thunder Midget/AMSA Mini Sprint feature over a Gunnar Lucius and Andy Baugh.
For the 50-lap FAST feature, Henry and Cale Conley brought the field to green with Henry grabbing the early advantage over Conley, Zeb Wise, Gee and Bell. Bell drove fifth to third on lap four and took second a circuit later. Bell quickly closed on Henry and drove into the lead on lap nine as the leaders entered heavy lapped traffic. Shawn Dancer slipped off the track on lap 11, necessitating a red as officials wanted to make sure he was safe. On the restart and with a clear track, Bell and Henry scooted away from a good battle for third between Conley and Wise with Gee staying within striking distance.
By lap 15 Henry had closed the gap on Bell and pounced on lap 17 to regain the lead only to have Bell return the slider the following lap to move back to the point with Conley, Gee, Foos and Wise in Pursuit. Heavy lapped traffic awaited the leaders by lap 20 but Bell was able to move through to maintain a slight lead over Henry with Gee moving into third.
Driving through turns three and four in traffic on lap 25, Bell got side ways, did a 360 and kept going, but dropped to 11th, moving Henry back to the lead over Gee, Conley, Foos and Wise. A caution on lap 32 for a Chad Kemenah spin put Gee right on Henry’s rear bumper and on the restart Gee drove to his outside as the pair raced side by side with Gee finally taking the lead on lap 34.
Gee was able to pull away slightly from Henry over the next hand full of laps while Conley was battling Foos and Duncan for third. With 10 laps to go, Stuart Brubaker spun, putting Henry once again on Gee’s rear bumper. Kemenah would spin again on lap 42, setting up an eight lap shoot out. On the restart Gee and Henry pulled away from Foos while Conley battled with Bell for fourth. With six laps to go, Henry took several looks to the inside of Gee but couldn’t make the pass. Gee went on to take the win over Henry, Foos, Conley and Bell.
John Ivy and Cody Gardner brought the field to green for the 25-lap BOSS non-wing sprint car feature with Gardner jumping into the lead over Toby Alfrey, Ivy, Cory Crabtree and Landon Simon. While Gardner pulled away, the battle for second quickly heated up between Alfrey, Ivy and Simon. Simon was able to secure the runner-up spot on lap nine and closed on Gardner with Ivy moving into third.
Gardner and Simon ran nose to tail over the next hand full of laps until the first caution flew on lap 17 when Alfrey had trouble getting back to the pits. On the ensuing restart a multi-car crash saw Dallas Hewitt flip but walk away uninjured. When the green flew Simon kept the pressure on Gardner but was unable to drive to the lead.
Gardner hit his marks perfectly and took the checkers over Simon, Ivy, Ricky Peterson and Max Adams.
The 20-lap mini sprint feature was exciting as Chris Bounds and Andy Baugh battled throughout the first 14 laps. Henning, who started sixth, had steadily worked his way forward and a three car battle ensued for the lead with Henning taking the point on lap 15. Henning drove away to the win over a charger Gunnar Lucius and Baugh.
Waynesfield Raceway Park
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019
Bob Hampshire Classic
[*] indicates starting position
FAST 410 Sprints –
Qualifying
1.22-Cole Duncan, 11.505; 2.99-Skylar Gee, 11.568; 3.9X-Ricky Peterson, 11.623; 4.4H-Cap Henry, 11.649; 5.49-Shawn Dancer , 11.675; 6.23-Luke Hall, 11.683; 7.11-Zeb Wise, 11.763; 8.K4-Chad Kemenah, 11.771; 9.16-DJ Foos, 11.785; 10.W20-Greg Wilson, 11.817; 11.5T-Travis Philo, 11.846; 12.22B-Ryan Broughton, 11.944; 13.3C-Cale Conley, 11.984; 14.8M-TJ Michael, 11.985; 15.4-Danny Smith, 12.004; 16.21-Christopher Bell, 12.009; 17.68G-Tyler Gunn, 12.011; 18.81-Lee Jacobs, 12.019; 19.47-Caleb Helms, 12.064; 20.35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.079; 21.97-Max Stambaugh , 12.093; 22.1ST-Nate Dussel, 12.116; 23.5X-Justin Peck, 12.137; 24.21M-Brinton Marvel, 12.150; 25.9J-Dean Jacobs, 12.211; 26.45-Trevor Baker, 12.249; 27.02-Brandon Long, 12.256; 28.22M-Dan McCarron, 12.356; 29.J4-John Garvin, 12.402; 30.78-Todd Kane, 12.613; 31.5-Jordan Harble, 12.677; 32.21H-Adam Cruea, 12.703; 33.20B-Cody Bova, 12.718; 34.10S-Jay Steinbach, 12.729; 35.9W-Lance Webb, 12.961; 36.1B-Keith Baxter, 12.967; 37.A79-David Pagano, 14.078; 38.71P-Parker Price-Miller, 99.991;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 22-Cole Duncan[4] ; 2. 3C-Cale Conley[2] ; 3. 78-Todd Kane[6] ; 4. J4-John Garvin[5] ; 5. W20-Greg Wilson[3] ; 6. 5-Jordan Harble[7] ; 7. 21H-Adam Cruea[8] ; 8. 20B-Cody Bova[9] ; 9. A79-David Pagano[10] ; 10. 45-Trevor Baker[1]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 16-DJ Foos[2] ; 2. 99-Skylar Gee[4] ; 3. 4-Danny Smith[5] ; 4. 5T-Travis Philo[1] ; 5. 9X-Ricky Peterson[3] ; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron[8] ; 7. 1B-Keith Baxter[10] ; 8. 68G-Tyler Gunn[6] ; 9. 9W-Lance Webb[9] ; 10. 5X-Justin Peck[7]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 4H-Cap Henry[4] ; 2. 11-Zeb Wise[1] ; 3. 47-Caleb Helms[6] ; 4. 49-Shawn Dancer [3] ; 5. K4-Chad Kemenah[5] ; 6. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7] ; 7. 23-Luke Hall[2] ; 8. 02-Brandon Long[8]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 81-Lee Jacobs[1] ; 2. 21-Christopher Bell[2] ; 3. 8M-TJ Michael[3] ; 4. 1ST-Nate Dussel[6] ; 5. 97-Max Stambaugh [5] ; 6. 9J-Dean Jacobs[8] ; 7. 22B-Ryan Broughton[4] ; 8. 21M-Brinton Marvel[7] ; 9. 10S-Jay Steinbach[9]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps, top 3 to A)
1. W20-Greg Wilson[1] ; 2. K4-Chad Kemenah[2] ; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4] ; 4. 23-Luke Hall[6] ; 5. 02-Brandon Long[8] ; 6. 10S-Jay Steinbach[10] ; 7. 21H-Adam Cruea[5] ; 8. 20B-Cody Bova[7] ; 9. A79-David Pagano[9] ; 10. 5-Jordan Harble[3]
B-Main 2 – (10 Laps, top 3 to A)
1. 97-Max Stambaugh [2] ; 2. 9X-Ricky Peterson[1] ; 3. 9J-Dean Jacobs[4] ; 4. 22B-Ryan Broughton[6] ; 5. 22M-Dan McCarron[3] ; 6. 21M-Brinton Marvel[8] ; 7. 68G-Tyler Gunn[7] ; 8. 1B-Keith Baxter[5] ; 9. 9W-Lance Webb[9]
A-Main 1 – (50 Laps)
1. 99-Skylar Gee[3] ; 2. 4H-Cap Henry[1] ; 3. 16-DJ Foos[6] ; 4. 3C-Cale Conley[2] ; 5. 21-Christopher Bell[8] ; 6. 11-Zeb Wise[4] ; 7. 22-Cole Duncan[9] ; 8. 5T-Travis Philo[10] ; 9. 81-Lee Jacobs[7] ; 10. 47-Caleb Helms[13] ; 11. 97-Max Stambaugh [18] ; 12. 49-Shawn Dancer [5] ; 13. 1ST-Nate Dussel[16] ; 14. W20-Greg Wilson[17] ; 15. 8M-TJ Michael[14] ; 16. 9J-Dean Jacobs[22] ; 17. J4-John Garvin[15] ; 18. 9X-Ricky Peterson[20] ; 19. K4-Chad Kemenah[19] ; 20. 4-Danny Smith[12] ; 21. 78-Todd Kane[11] ; 22. 35-Stuart Brubaker[21]
Hard Charger: 97-Max Stambaugh +7
BOSS Non Wing Sprints –
Qualifying
1.2DI-Dustin Ingle, 13.186; 2.33M-Matt Westfall, 13.489; 3.24-Landon Simon, 13.492; 4.27-Scotty Weir, 13.544; 5.57-Max Adams, 13.560; 6.82-Mike Miller, 13.629; 7.12-Kody Swanson, 13.862; 8.3-Chad Wilson, 13.928; 9.77-Dustin Smith, 13.984; 10.9N-Luke Hall, 14.015; 11.5A-Toby Alfrey, 14.022; 12.26W-Cody White, 14.057; 13.18H-Dallas Hewitt, 14.098; 14.21H-Travis Hery, 14.125; 15.9G-Cody Gardner, 14.235; 16.9X-Ricky Peterson, 14.307; 17.60-Kory Crabtree, 14.318; 18.53-Steve Little, 14.323; 19.19-Matt Cooley, 14.333; 20.23S-Kyle Simon, 14.345; 21.71-Stratton Briggs, 14.358; 22.wee34-Parker Frederickson, 14.390; 23.21B-Ryan Barr, 14.494; 24.77I-John Ivy, 14.519; 25.49-Brian Ruhlman, 14.532; 26.12L-Aaron Leffel, 14.537; 27.16K-Harley Burns, 14.628; 28.71C-Barney Craig, 14.754; 29.00-Joey Irwin, 15.087; 30.31L-Buddy Lawther, 15.113; 31.01-Dustin Hammond, 15.156; 32.36-Tim Perry, 15.686; 33.44-Tom Davies, 99.991; 34.1H-Korbyn Hayslett, 99.992;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 12-Kody Swanson[1] ; 2. 57-Max Adams[2] ; 3. 33M-Matt Westfall[4] ; 4. 27-Scotty Weir[3] ; 5. 53-Steve Little[6] ; 6. 3-Chad Wilson[5] ; 7. 01-Dustin Hammond[8] ; 8. wee34-Parker Frederickson[7] ; 9. 44-Tom Davies[9]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 18H-Dallas Hewitt[1] ; 2. 24-Landon Simon[3] ; 3. 9X-Ricky Peterson[5] ; 4. 2DI-Dustin Ingle[4] ; 5. 82-Mike Miller[2] ; 6. 49-Brian Ruhlman[7] ; 7. 12L-Aaron Leffel[8] ; 8. 71C-Barney Craig[9] ; 9. 21B-Ryan Barr[6]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 9G-Cody Gardner[1] ; 2. 5A-Toby Alfrey[2] ; 3. 77-Dustin Smith[4] ; 4. 9N-Luke Hall[3] ; 5. 23S-Kyle Simon[6] ; 6. 19-Matt Cooley[5] ; 7. 16K-Harley Burns[8] ; 8. 71-Stratton Briggs[7]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 77I-John Ivy[1] ; 2. 60-Kory Crabtree[2] ; 3. 26W-Cody White[4] ; 4. 31L-Buddy Lawther[6] ; 5. 21H-Travis Hery[3] ; 6. 00-Joey Irwin[5] ; 7. 36-Tim Perry[7] ; 8. 1H-Korbyn Hayslett[8]
B-Main 1 – (12 Laps, top 6 to A)
1. 21H-Travis Hery[4] ; 2. 82-Mike Miller[2] ; 3. 53-Steve Little[1] ; 4. 23S-Kyle Simon[3] ; 5. 00-Joey Irwin[8] ; 6. 19-Matt Cooley[7] ; 7. 71-Stratton Briggs[15] ; 8. 12L-Aaron Leffel[10] ; 9. 3-Chad Wilson[5] ; 10. wee34-Parker Frederickson[13] ; 11. 71C-Barney Craig[14] ; 12. 16K-Harley Burns[11] ; 13. 36-Tim Perry[12] ; 14. 49-Brian Ruhlman[6] ; 15. 01-Dustin Hammond[9] ; 16. 44-Tom Davies[17]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 9G-Cody Gardner[2] ; 2. 24-Landon Simon[6] ; 3. 77I-John Ivy[1] ; 4. 9X-Ricky Peterson[10] ; 5. 57-Max Adams[5] ; 6. 12-Kody Swanson[8] ; 7. 2DI-Dustin Ingle[14] ; 8. 33M-Matt Westfall[9] ; 9. 27-Scotty Weir[13] ; 10. 77-Dustin Smith[11] ; 11. 21H-Travis Hery[17] ; 12. 60-Kory Crabtree[3] ; 13. 53-Steve Little[19] ; 14. 19-Matt Cooley[22] ; 15. 26W-Cody White[12] ; 16. 9N-Luke Hall[15] ; 17. 31L-Buddy Lawther[16] ; 18. 00-Joey Irwin[21] ; 19. 18H-Dallas Hewitt[7] ; 20. 82-Mike Miller[18] ; 21. 5A-Toby Alfrey[4] ; 22. 23S-Kyle Simon[20]
Hard Charger: 19-Matt Cooley +8
AMSA Mini Sprints –
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 1-Rod Henning[2] ; 2. 3D-Cody Downard[1] ; 3. 11L-Aaron Leffel[7] ; 4. 11J-James Moore[4] ; 5. 10-Zane Briggs[8] ; 6. 2-Tyler Kalb[3] ; 7. 23S-Brad Strunk[6] ; 8. 2B-Tommy Bigelow[5]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 22-Gunnar Lucius[5] ; 2. 65-Chris Bounds[4] ; 3. 71-Stratton Briggs[6] ; 4. 11T-Tommy Kouns[3] ; 5. C4-Chuck Weigt[1] ; 6. 35-Howard McCormick[7] ; 7. 23D-Bryce Dues[2]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 42-Cory Guingrich[3] ; 2. 93C-Chett Gehrke[6] ; 3. 6-Adam Schmenk[2] ; 4. 4-Andrew Heitkamp[1] ; 5. 6M-Eddie Mehl[5] ; 6. 62-Zack Gingerich[4] ; 7. 53-Chris Miller[7]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 37-Andy Baugh[8] ; 2. 81H-Anthony Haas[7] ; 3. 01-Ryan Moran[4] ; 4. 7T-Tom Hessel[3] ; 5. 36-Ian Creager[9] ; 6. 90-Matt Freeman[5] ; 7. 12-Kyle Kriegbaum[2] ; 8. 4B-Don Bigelow[6] ; 9. 3-Jon Watson[1]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. C4-Chuck Weigt[2] ; 2. 23S-Brad Strunk[9] ; 3. 36-Ian Creager[4] ; 4. 90-Matt Freeman[8] ; 5. 6M-Eddie Mehl[3] ; 6. 10-Zane Briggs[1] ; 7. 2-Tyler Kalb[5] ; 8. 35-Howard McCormick[6] ; 9. 62-Zack Gingerich[7] ; 10. 3-Jon Watson[15] ; 11. 4B-Don Bigelow[14] ; 12. 12-Kyle Kriegbaum[12] ; 13. 23D-Bryce Dues[10] ; 14. 2B-Tommy Bigelow[13]
A-Main 1 – (20 Laps)
1. 1-Rod Henning[6] ; 2. 22-Gunnar Lucius[5] ; 3. 37-Andy Baugh[3] ; 4. 65-Chris Bounds[1] ; 5. 71-Stratton Briggs[10] ; 6. 42-Cory Guingrich[4] ; 7. 93C-Chett Gehrke[7] ; 8. 23S-Brad Strunk[18] ; 9. 81H-Anthony Haas[8] ; 10. 01-Ryan Moran[12] ; 11. 11T-Tommy Kouns[14] ; 12. 4-Andrew Heitkamp[15] ; 13. 36-Ian Creager[19] ; 14. C4-Chuck Weigt[17] ; 15. 7T-Tom Hessel[16] ; 16. 90-Matt Freeman[20] ; 17. 3D-Cody Downard[2] ; 18. 6-Adam Schmenk[11] ; 19. 11L-Aaron Leffel[9] ; 20. 11J-James Moore[13]
Hard Charger: 23s-Brad Srunk +10