By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio – Michael Buddy Kofoid brought a bunch of midget experts to some 410 sprint car races this weekend. The results? The Penngrove, California driver swept the All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series Presented by the Baumann Auto Group.
On Operational Support Services Night, Saturday, July 25 at Fremont Speedway, Kofoid, the defending track champion, took the lead for good on lap 10 after a spirited battle with Nate Dussel and drove his Keith Kunz/Pete Willoughby sprint car to his third career win at “The Track That Action Built.” Kofoid has been the pilot of the KKM midgets this season on the USAC and POWRi trail, winning several features.
“I never swept a weekend before in sprint cars. I was doing the math today the last sprint car race for this team was 10 months on the dot. To do this and two new cars with different shock packages and everything and come out and win both nights and lead a lot of laps is pretty cool. Pete and Keith and Jarrett (Martin) and Grant (Penn) and Chuck (Gurney)…they work their asses off. Jarrett and Grant are both so smart and they work so hard and I’m glad to do this for them and also Toyota and Mobil 1,” said Kofoid.
“I figured Christopher was coming and lapped traffic made it difficult at the end and my brakes started to fade at the end…they got so hot. I was just trying to stay smooth. Christopher told me whoever starts in front of the other…we have a good shot at winning. He told me ‘don’t mess up you should win.’ Christopher is one of the best at this track and he’s beat me up here before. I’m glad the cards are turning,” added Kofoid beside his IWX Motor Freight backed #67.
Paul Weaver dominated the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 A-main until a lapped car spun in front of him and Weaver slid to a stop to avoid him. Alvin Roepke inherited the lead with two laps to go and drove to his eighth career Fremont victory.
The feature finish will certainly shake up the standings for the NAPA of Bryan AFCS Presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales 305 Sprint Cars.
“Paul had us covered but we will take it. After qualifying and the heat I was ready to give up. This engine has like 40 or 50 shows on it….it’s tired but Dennis Level builds a hell of a motor and by feature time it’s good to go. Driving a sprint car is the coolest thing in the world and winning at Fremont Speedway is the best experience,” said Roepke beside his Napa Auto Parts, Crown Battery, Woodville Mutual, Computer Man, Darmofal Racing backed #99.
The finish is certain the shake up the battle for the NAPA Auto Parts of Bryan AFCS Presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales standings.
After a spirited three truck battle early, Fostoria, Ohio’s Shawn Valenti drove into the lead at the half-way point of the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Truck feature and drove to his third feature win of the season. It was his 58th career Fremont victory, putting him into a tie with Jim Linder for fifth on the track’s all-time win list.
“It’s good hard racing. Cory (McCaughey) is tough in that 911 truck. Hopefully we put on a show for the fans. Can’t thank the Babcocks enough for giving me this opportunity and A Plus Auto Center for putting up some extra cash and being a damn good sponsor,” said Valenti beside his Best Performance Motorsports; A Plus Auto Center; Craig Miller Trucking; KS Sales & Service; Gressman Powersports; Dave Story Equipment, Speedways Bar and Grill backed #7B.
Dussel and Kofoid brought the field to green for the 30-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint A with Dussel, who crashed hard the previous night, taking the lead over Kofoid, Cale Thomas, DJ Foos, Cole Macedo, Cap Henry and Bell. Kofoid caught Dussel on lap seven and took the lead a circuit later only to see Dussel retake the spot on the ninth lap.
Just as the leaders were set to enter lapped traffic third running Thomas spun. A lap later another caution but when the green flew again so did Kofoid, opening up his advantage over Dussel as Macedo, Henry and Bell put on a fantastic battle for third.
Kofoid’s nearly two second lead vanished when the caution flew on lap 19. When the race resumed Kofoid pulled away while Dussel had to contend with Bell who finally took the runner-up spot on lap 22. Once into second Bell steadily closed on Kofoid and with just three laps to go had knocked a half second off of the lead.
Bell got over the cushion in turn two on the final lap and Kofoid cruised to the win. Bell, Dussel, Macedo and Foos rounded out the top five.
The win was worth $4,000 to Kofoid thanks to Spanky’s Pizza of Carey, Ohio. A Plus Auto Center also added another $100 to the winner’s pockets.
The front row for the 25 lap 305 sprint A-main was comprised of Seth Schneider and Kyle Peters and Schneider quickly jumped into the lead with third starter Paul Weaver moving into second. The top two duo pulled away from a tremendous battle for third involving Peters, Matt Foos, Roepke and Kyle Capodice.
The leaders drove into heavy lapped traffic by lap six and it proved costly for Schneider who got upside down on lap eight, handing the lead to Weaver. On the restart Weaver pulled away over Peters, Foos, Roepke, Steve Rando and Jamie Miller.
Brandon Moore and Mike Keegan tangled on lap 11, keeping the field close to Weaver. As soon as the green flew so did Weaver, pulling away to a three second lead in just a few laps. Meanwhile Peters, Roepke, Foos and Rando waged war for the runner-up spot.
A caution with just six laps to go seemed to put the finishing touches to the feature as Weaver was kept out of lapped traffic. But, with three laps to go, a lapped car spun right in front of Weaver and he jumped the cushion and came to a rest, giving the lead to Roepke.
Roepke held off Peters for the win with Rando, Miller and Foos rounding out the top five.
Miller and Jim Holcomb comprised the front row of the dirt truck feature and when the green flew Miller grabbed the lead over Holcomb, Dustin Keegan, Ben Clapp and Kyle Lagrou. Holcomb spun with just two laps in and a mechanical issue for one of the competitors on the restart brought another yellow flag. When the green flew Keegan grabbed the lead from Miller just before a couple of cautions.
When the race finally went back to green on lap eight, Keegan had his hands full with 11th starter Valenti and Cory McCaughey. Valenti took the lead on lap 10 with Keegan battling McCaughey with Miller Lagrou and Brad Stuckey giving chase.
A caution with just three laps to go put last week’s winner McCaughey on Valenti’s rear bumper but Valenti hit his marks perfectly and drove to the win over McCaughey, Miller, Holcomb and Keegan.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, Aug. 1 with the AFCS 410 and 305 sprints and dirt trucks.
Keep up to date with Fremont Speedway by going to www.fremontohspeedway.com or on Facebook at www.facebook/FremontSpeedway or on Twitter https://twitter.com/FremontSpeedway
About Operational Support Services
Operational Support Services, LLC out of Findlay, Ohio! For over 15 years they have helped out the packaging industry by cutting and selling expandable polystyrene. Operational Support Services is partnered with Green Bay Packaging here in Fremont! They also assist local businesses with sorting, inspections and light manufacturing.
For race tracks, OSS is showcasing the ability to cut and supply the foam safety walls! The walls help prevent some damage to the cars and potential injury to drivers!
For more information, contact Van Holsinger, General Manager for Operational Support Services, LLC at 419-425-0889 ext. 306!
Fremont Speedway
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Operational Support Services Night
410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.11N-Christopher Bell, 12.734; 2.77I-John Ivy, 12.830; 3.1-Nate Dussel, 12.845; 4.70-Cale Thomas, 12.887; 5.91-Cale Thomas, 12.887; 6.19-Paige Polyak, 12.896; 7.67-Buddy Kofoid, 12.932; 8.23-Cole Macedo, 12.984; 9.16-DJ Foos, 13.013; 10.15K-Chad Kemenah, 13.017; 11.35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.028; 12.5T-Travis Philo, 13.040; 13.22-Cole Duncan, 13.071; 14.3J-Trey Jacobs, 13.145; 15.3C-Cale Conley, 13.169; 16.4-Cap Henry, 13.200; 17.67K-Dasion Pursley, 13.237; 18.27z-Zane Devault, 13.412; 19.33W-Caleb Griffith, 13.441; 20.5-Byron Reed, 13.537; 21.2L-Landon Lalonde, 13.598; 22.39-Tyler Rankin, 13.786; 23.14-Chad Wilson, 13.834; 24.7T-Troy Vaccaro, 13.854; 25.27-Keith Sheffer, 14.035; 26.21m-Adam Cruen, 14.205; 27.4T-Josh Turner, 14.591; 28.27K-Zach Broughman, 21.007; 29.2+-Brian Smith, 99.999;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 23-Cole Macedo[2] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[1] ; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[3] ; 4. 3J-Trey Jacobs[5] ; 5. 77I-John Ivy[4] ; 6. 3C-Cale Conley[6] ; 7. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[7]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 67-Buddy Kofoid[3] ; 2. 16-DJ Foos[2] ; 3. 70-Cale Thomas[4] ; 4. 2L-Landon Lalonde[1] ; 5. 27-Keith Sheffer[6] ; 6. 14-Chad Wilson[5] ; 7. 27K-Zach Broughman[7]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 2. 11N-Christopher Bell[4] ; 3. 67K-Dasion Pursley[1] ; 4. 33W-Caleb Griffith[6] ; 5. 15K-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 6. 27z-Zane Devault[5] ; 7. 21m-Adam Cruen[7]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps)
1. 4-Cap Henry[2] ; 2. 5-Byron Reed[1] ; 3. 22-Cole Duncan[3] ; 4. 19-Paige Polyak[4] ; 5. 2+-Brian Smith[7] ; 6. 4T-Josh Turner[6] ; 7. 39-Tyler Rankin[5]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps)
1. 15K-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 2. 77I-John Ivy[1] ; 3. 2+-Brian Smith[4] ; 4. 3C-Cale Conley[5] ; 5. 27-Keith Sheffer[2] ; 6. 14-Chad Wilson[6] ; 7. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[9] ; 8. 4T-Josh Turner[8] ; 9. 39-Tyler Rankin[12] ; 10. 27z-Zane Devault[7] ; 11. 27K-Zach Broughman[10] ; 12. 21m-Adam Cruen[11]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 67-Buddy Kofoid[2] ; 2. 11N-Christopher Bell[10] ; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[1] ; 4. 23-Cole Macedo[8] ; 5. 16-DJ Foos[3] ; 6. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7] ; 7. 4-Cap Henry[5] ; 8. 3J-Trey Jacobs[13] ; 9. 5T-Travis Philo[9] ; 10. 3C-Cale Conley[20] ; 11. 77I-John Ivy[18] ; 12. 15K-Chad Kemenah[17] ; 13. 5-Byron Reed[6] ; 14. 19-Paige Polyak[16] ; 15. 67K-Dasion Pursley[11] ; 16. 33W-Caleb Griffith[15] ; 17. 2+-Brian Smith[19] ; 18. 22-Cole Duncan[12] ; 19. 2L-Landon Lalonde[14] ; 20. 70-Cale Thomas[4]
Hard Charger: 3C-Cale Conley +10
305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.X-Mike Keegan, 13.637; 2.4M-Jamie Miller, 13.706; 3.1W-Paul Weaver, 13.725; 4.97-Kyle Peters, 13.910; 5.85-Shawn Valenti, 13.947; 6.21-Larry Kingseed JR, 14.024; 7.36-Seth Schneider, 14.029; 8.1H-Zeth Sabo, 14.037; 9.99-Alvin Roepke, 14.078; 10.12F-Matt Foos, 14.078; 11.12-Kyle Capodice, 14.109; 12.19R-Steve Rando, 14.117; 13.11G-Luke Griffith, 14.120; 14.Z10-Brandon Moore, 14.275; 15.3X-Brandon Riehl, 14.285; 16.75-Jerry Dahms, 14.299; 17.5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr, 14.329; 18.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 14.398; 19.5-Kody Brewer, 14.470; 20.9-Logan Riehl, 14.604; 21.3V-Chris Verda, 14.642; 22.51-Garrett Craine, 15.015; 23.B15-Brad Reber, 16.381;
Heat 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 12F-Matt Foos[1] ; 2. 36-Seth Schneider[2] ; 3. 97-Kyle Peters[3] ; 4. 11G-Luke Griffith[5] ; 5. 5-Kody Brewer[7] ; 6. 75-Jerry Dahms[6] ; 7. 51-Garrett Craine[8]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps)
1. 12-Kyle Capodice[1] ; 2. 1H-Zeth Sabo[2] ; 3. 4M-Jamie Miller[4] ; 4. 85-Shawn Valenti[3] ; 5. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[6] ; 6. Z10-Brandon Moore[5] ; 7. B15-Brad Reber[8] ; 8. 9-Logan Riehl[7]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps)
1. 19R-Steve Rando[1] ; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 3. 99-Alvin Roepke[2] ; 4. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[3] ; 5. 3V-Chris Verda[7] ; 6. 3X-Brandon Riehl[5] ; 7. X15-Kasey Ziebold[6]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 99-Alvin Roepke[9] ; 2. 97-Kyle Peters[2] ; 3. 19R-Steve Rando[7] ; 4. 4M-Jamie Miller[4] ; 5. 12F-Matt Foos[5] ; 6. 1H-Zeth Sabo[8] ; 7. 85-Shawn Valenti[11] ; 8. 11G-Luke Griffith[10] ; 9. 12-Kyle Capodice[6] ; 10. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[12] ; 11. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[14] ; 12. 5-Kody Brewer[13] ; 13. 75-Jerry Dahms[16] ; 14. 1W-Paul Weaver[3] ; 15. 3X-Brandon Riehl[18] ; 16. X15-Kasey Ziebold[21] ; 17. 51-Garrett Craine[19] ; 18. 9-Logan Riehl[23] ; 19. 3V-Chris Verda[15] ; 20. B15-Brad Reber[20] ; 21. Z10-Brandon Moore[17] ; 22. X-Mike Keegan[22] ; 23. 36-Seth Schneider[1]
Hard Charger: 99-Alvin Roepke +8
Dirt Trucks – Burmeister Trophy
Heat 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[8] ; 2. 1-John Brooks[1] ; 3. 911-Cory Mccaughey[6] ; 4. 67-Ben Clapp[2] ; 5. 4s-Keith Sorg[5] ; 6. 6-Steve Sabo[4] ; 7. 11-Austin Gibson[7] ; 8. 7H-JT Horn[3]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps)
1. 4M-Jamie Miller[2] ; 2. 14T-Cody Truman[1] ; 3. 26-Kyle Lagrou[4] ; 4. P51-Paul Brown JR[3] ; 5. 7X-Dana Frey[7] ; 6. 93B-Bryce Black[6] ; 7. 1x-Patrick Pinkston[5]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps)
1. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[2] ; 2. 17x-Dustin Keegen[4] ; 3. 16-Jim Holcomb[7] ; 4. 32H-Dan Hennig[1] ; 5. 8S-Brandon Stuckey[5] ; 6. 27-Calob Crispen[6] ; 7. 20-Caleb Shearn[3]
A-Main 1 – (20 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[11] ; 2. 911-Cory Mccaughey[8] ; 3. 4M-Jamie Miller[1] ; 4. 16-Jim Holcomb[2] ; 5. 17x-Dustin Keegen[4] ; 6. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[10] ; 7. 14T-Cody Truman[7] ; 8. 4s-Keith Sorg[13] ; 9. 67-Ben Clapp[3] ; 10. P51-Paul Brown JR[12] ; 11. 32H-Dan Hennig[9] ; 12. 7X-Dana Frey[14] ; 13. 27-Calob Crispen[18] ; 14. 7H-JT Horn[22] ; 15. 26-Kyle Lagrou[5] ; 16. 1-John Brooks[6] ; 17. 11-Austin Gibson[19] ; 18. 6-Steve Sabo[16] ; 19. 93B-Bryce Black[17] ; 20. 1x-Patrick Pinkston[20] ; 21. 8S-Brandon Stuckey[15] ; 22. 20-Caleb Shearn[21]