By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio – It was déjà vu for DJ Foos at Fremont Speedway Saturday, Oct. 3. On championship night in 2019, the Fremont, Ohio driver won the feature but fell two points short of claiming the track championship. Fast forward to championship night in 2020. Foos and Nate Dussel came into the night tied atop the track’s 410 sprint point standings. Foos took the lead from Dussel with five laps to go and drove to his second feature win of the season on Fremont Federal Credit Union Night. But Dussel’s qualifying effort and heat race finish coupled with his second place feature finish made him the 2020 Fremont Speedway track champion….by ONE POINT! It was Foos’ 17th career win at the track.
“Last year it was two points so I guess we’re getting closer. Getting points for qualifying and heat races makes this whole deal so tough. Hats off to the Dussel family. They are a good family doing stuff together and we can all look at them and know we can come together as a family and win races and championships. They are very deserving. Nate and I started racing 305s together in 2008…not saying we are rivals but we’ve chased each other up through here. It’s pretty cool for the both of us to be up here. I’m happy for my Burmeister team. I had my hands full for a little bit there. I wouldn’t have caught Nate if it wasn’t for traffic. It was every man for himself tonight. I’m very grateful to be able to drive this car. Hopefully I get to win one of these championships one of these days. I grew up coming here every weekend and I just want to win a Fremont championship,” said Foos beside his Crown Battery,Vantage Branding, Kistler Engines, CR Juices, Berryman Shocks, Burmeister Trophy, The Jet Express, Minor Customs, Napa of Bryan, KS Sales & Service, Keizer Wheels, Dave Story Equipment backed #16.
“For the most part the lapped cars wanted to make that exciting. Man the top was so dominant when they entered the middle and slide to the cushion it was just like sitting and waiting. Congrats to DJ, he put it on us and no one gave him anything. This is a dream come true. My first championship (in 305s) came kind of the same way. I have a ton of respect for DJ and I knew when he got in that 16 it was going to be real tough because they will be consistent. To beat them shows how great of a season we put together. I feel like we were one of the fastest cars every single night here regardless of the track conditions. Hopefully both of us can kick some ass at the Jim Ford Classic next weekend,” said Dussel.
Lindsey, Ohio’s Steve Rando dominated the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 A-main, lapping up to the fifth place car on route to his first win of the season and 12th of his career at the track.
“That’s crazy. I knew I was passing cars and it felt like they were sitting still. I was struggling a little at the end. We started the night in the heat race and it was going pretty good and the last lap entered turn one and blew the radiator out into the motor and cracked the pulleys and everything in the front. Luckily we got it fixed and found out we were starting second and here we are. I want to thank my mom and dad, my girlfriend Olive, Scott that helps me…if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t be able to do this…he’s here every race with me, my Uncle Leroy, Chris, Melissa and all my sponsors,” said Rando beside his Davis Fabricators, North coast Asphalt, North Coast Sealing, Parkmont Retirement Solutions, Garza Construction, Tony and Dawn, Vastag Racing, Attitudes Hair Salon, Loadmaster Trailers, Gressman Powersports backed #19R.
All Fremont, Ohio’s Paul Weaver had to do was start the A-main Saturday to claim the 2020 Fremont Speedway track title for the 305 sprints. Weaver drove from his 7th starting spot to finish second in the A-main, claiming his third track title. Weaver also won the Attica Raceway Park track title and the NAPA of Bryan Attica Fremont Championship Series Presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales championship in 2020.
“When you get older you appreciate track championships more. You don’t know when the last one will be. It’s been a long time since the last championship,” said Weaver who was the track’s 2005 and 2006 champion.
Toledo, Ohio’s Cory McCaughey took the lead with 10 laps to go and drove to his fifth feature win of the season and of his career at Fremont Speedway in the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Trucks. Fostoria’s Shawn Valenti drove from 11th to a second place finish to wrap up his third track title in the division.
“To be on the same win list with everyone that ever raced here is unbelievable. It’s all these people beside me here that makes this happen,” said McCaughey beside his KC Engineering, Ron Miller Race Cars, DAS Motors #911.
For Valenti it’s his second straight track title in the dirt trucks and the third in the past seven years.
“That was a little to close but hats off to Cory and that team. They’ve had a great year and are great competitors and will be a team to deal with for years to come. I want to thank the Babcocks for putting me in this thing and everyone who helps out,” said Valenti.
Cap Henry and Dussel brought the field to green for the 30-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature with Dussel grabbing the lead over Henry, Byron Reed, Foos, TJ Michael, Stuart Brubaker and Craig Mintz. Foos drove into third on lap three. A caution on lap five kept Dussel out of heavy lapped traffic.
Dussel began to pull away when the green appeared while Henry and Foos battled for second with Mintz moving into fourth. By lap 13 Dussel’s lead was 3.7 seconds and he had put two lapped cars between himself and Foos while Mintz moved into fourth just as the caution flew, once again getting Dussel out of very heavy lapped traffic.
On the restart Dussel again built up a sizeable lead, growing it to two seconds over Foos with 12 laps to go. Three laps later and Dussel found himself in very heavy traffic and Foos began to close quickly with Mintz, Henry, Reed, Trey Jacobs and Dean Jacobs (up from 16th) in pursuit.
Dussel slipped over the cushion in turn four with five laps to go while battling in traffic and Foos pounced to take the lead. Foos drove to the victory over Dussel, Mintz, Henry and Reed.
In the 25-lap 305 A-main, rookie Logan Riehl and Rando brought the field to green with Rando quickly taking control. Rando set a torrid pace, lapping cars by the fifth circuit and building a four second lead. Meanwhile seventh starter Weaver had moved into second with Kyle Capodice, Alvin Roepke and Matt Foos giving chase.
With no cautions to slow his pace, Rando lapped cars quickly and when the checkers flew he was on the rear bumper of the fourth place car!. Weaver, Roepke, Foos and Capodice.
Cautions plagued the opening few laps of the dirt truck feature but pole-sitter Dustin Keegan took charge early over Brad Mitten, Curt Inks, Kent Brewer, McCaughey and Paul Brown. McCaughey was able to work into second on lap five with Brewer, Mitten, Austin Black, Jamie Miller and Valenti giving chase.
McCaughey drove to Keegan’s outside on lap 10 to take the top spot while Black, Valenti and Brewer battled for third. Following a caution for debris with four laps to go, Valenti was able to take second but McCaughey made no mistakes and drove to the win over Valenti, Keegan, Black and Brewer.
Fremont Speedway will close it’s season Friday and Saturday, Oct. 9 and 10 as the Ti22 FAST and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions co-sanction the 13th Annual Jim and Joanne Ford Classic. The 410 sprints battle for $5,000 to win Friday and $10,000 to win Saturday. The 305 sprints and dirt trucks are on the racing card both nights. There will be a band playing in the campground following Saturday’s races and Saturday afternoon race teams and campers are asked to bring goodies for a Halloween camp trick-or-treat.
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 Fremont Federal Credit Union – www.fremontfcu.com
The Fremont Federal Credit Union is not just another community financial institution, it is a financial cooperative made up of members sharing a common bond – membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in all of Sandusky and Ottawa Counties and parts of Seneca and Wood Counties. The Fremont Federal Credit Union has been around since 1946 and have steadily built a strong reputation in Sandusky County for great service, low loan rates, higher than market deposit rates, and payroll deduction.
The Fremont Federal Credit Union is not owned by one person or organization, it’s governed by you, its members. The board of directors are volunteer members elected for a three-year term. There are no outside shareholders and profits to worry about. Earnings are returned right back to our members in the form of lower rates and fees. This means, you receive higher returns on savings and lower than market rates on loans.
Fremont Speedway
Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020
Fremont Federal Credit Union Night
410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.5-Byron Reed, 12.937; 2.97-Max Stambaugh, 12.961; 3.09-Craig Mintz, 13.002; 4.22B-Ryan Broughton, 13.034; 5.28m-Conner Morrell, 13.039; 6.1-Nate Dussel, 13.048; 7.4-Cap Henry, 13.055; 8.3J-Trey Jacobs, 13.112; 9.27z-Zane DeVault, 13.128; 10.8M-TJ Michael, 13.165; 11.23-Cole Macedo, 13.208; 12.77I-John Ivy, 13.290; 13.2L-Landon LaLonde, 13.299; 14.16-DJ Foos, 13.343; 15.9J-Dean Jacobs, 13.407; 16.35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.409; 17.14-Chad Wilson, 13.439; 18.2-Ricky Peterson, 13.450; 19.7T-Troy Vaccaro, 13.496; 20.4*-Tyler Street, 13.542; 21.5T-Travis Philo, 13.566; 22.22M-Dan McCarron, 13.620; 23.4T-Josh Turner, 13.880; 24.20-Danial Burkhart, 14.003; 25.10S-Jay Steinebach, 14.126; 26.2+-Brian Smith, 14.182; 27.21J-Jeffrey Neubert, 15.616;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 3J-Trey Jacobs[2] ; 2. 4-Cap Henry[3] ; 3. 8M-TJ Michael[1] ; 4. 97-Max Stambaugh[4] ; 5. 23-Cole Macedo[5] ; 6. 9J-Dean Jacobs[8] ; 7. 2L-Landon LaLonde[7] ; 8. 2-Ricky Peterson[9] ; 9. 77I-John Ivy[6]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 22B-Ryan Broughton[2] ; 2. 16-DJ Foos[1] ; 3. 09-Craig Mintz[3] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[4] ; 5. 28m-Conner Morrell[5] ; 6. 14-Chad Wilson[6] ; 7. 20-Danial Burkhart[8] ; 8. 5T-Travis Philo[7] ; 9. 21J-Jeffrey Neubert[9]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[4] ; 3. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[1] ; 4. 27z-Zane DeVault[3] ; 5. 22M-Dan McCarron[6] ; 6. 4*-Tyler Street[5] ; 7. 2+-Brian Smith[9] ; 8. 4T-Josh Turner[7] ; 9. 10S-Jay Steinebach[8]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps)
1. 9J-Dean Jacobs[1] ; 2. 4*-Tyler Street[3] ; 3. 2L-Landon LaLonde[4] ; 4. 77I-John Ivy[10] ; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson[7] ; 6. 4T-Josh Turner[9] ; 7. 14-Chad Wilson[2] ; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[6] ; 9. 20-Danial Burkhart[5] ; 10. 21J-Jeffrey Neubert[11] ; 11. 10S-Jay Steinebach[12]
A-Main 1 – (30 Laps)
1. 16-DJ Foos[4] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[2] ; 3. 09-Craig Mintz[8] ; 4. 4-Cap Henry[1] ; 5. 5-Byron Reed[3] ; 6. 23-Cole Macedo[13] ; 7. 3J-Trey Jacobs[9] ; 8. 9J-Dean Jacobs[16] ; 9. 2-Ricky Peterson[20] ; 10. 8M-TJ Michael[5] ; 11. 2L-Landon LaLonde[18] ; 12. 77I-John Ivy[19] ; 13. 35-Stuart Brubaker[6] ; 14. 27z-Zane DeVault[12] ; 15. 28m-Conner Morrell[14] ; 16. 22M-Dan McCarron[15] ; 17. 4*-Tyler Street[17] ; 18. 22B-Ryan Broughton[7] ; 19. 97-Max Stambaugh[11] ; 20. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[10]
Hard charger: 2-Ricky Peterson +11
305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.26-Jamie Miller, 13.633; 2.1W-Paul Weaver, 13.748; 3.Z10-Brandon Moore, 13.753; 4.36-Seth Schneider, 13.859; 5.21-Larry Kingseed JR, 13.873; 6.1H-Zeth Sabo, 13.889; 7.12-Kyle Capodice, 13.906; 8.X-Mike Keegan, 13.916; 9.19R-Steve Rando, 13.920; 10.12F-Matt Foos, 13.970; 11.3X-Brandon Riehl, 13.992; 12.99-Alvin Roepke, 14.022; 13.47-Matt Lucius, 14.034; 14.9-Logan Riehl, 14.077; 15.5-Kody Brewer, 14.257; 16.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 14.272; 17.75-Jerry Dahms, 14.326; 18.3V-Chris Verda, 14.437; 19.6-Jimmie Ward, 14.575; 20.3F-Wade Fraley, 14.785; 21.77X-Jamin Kindred, 15.103;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 12-Kyle Capodice[2] ; 2. 12F-Matt Foos[1] ; 3. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 4. 36-Seth Schneider[3] ; 5. 3V-Chris Verda[5] ; 6. 3F-Wade Fraley[7] ; 7. 6-Jimmie Ward[6]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 1H-Zeth Sabo[2] ; 2. X-Mike Keegan[1] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 4. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[3] ; 5. 3X-Brandon Riehl[5] ; 6. X15-Kasey Ziebold[7] ; 7. 47-Matt Lucius[6]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 99-Alvin Roepke[2] ; 2. 19R-Steve Rando[3] ; 3. 9-Logan Riehl[1] ; 4. Z10-Brandon Moore[4] ; 5. 5-Kody Brewer[5] ; 6. 75-Jerry Dahms[6] ; 7. 77X-Jamin Kindred[7]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 19R-Steve Rando[2] ; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[7] ; 3. 99-Alvin Roepke[9] ; 4. 12F-Matt Foos[10] ; 5. 12-Kyle Capodice[4] ; 6. Z10-Brandon Moore[6] ; 7. X-Mike Keegan[5] ; 8. 9-Logan Riehl[1] ; 9. 1H-Zeth Sabo[3] ; 10. 36-Seth Schneider[11] ; 11. X15-Kasey Ziebold[17] ; 12. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[12] ; 13. 26-Jamie Miller[8] ; 14. 3X-Brandon Riehl[14] ; 15. 5-Kody Brewer[15] ; 16. 3V-Chris Verda[13] ; 17. 47-Matt Lucius[20] ; 18. 75-Jerry Dahms[18] ; 19. 3F-Wade Fraley[16] ; 20. 6-Jimmie Ward[19] ; 21. 77X-Jamin Kindred[21]
Hard Charger: 99-Alvin Roepke +6
Dirt Trucks – Burmeister Trophy
Heat 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 4M-Jamie Miller[5] ; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[8] ; 3. 13-Andy Keegan[4] ; 4. 32H-Dan Hennig[1] ; 5. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[6] ; 6. 93B-Bryce Black[2] ; 7. 11-Austin Gibson[3] ; 8. 20-Caleb Shearn[7]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps)
1. 23m-Brad Mitten[1] ; 2. P51-Paul Brown JR[4] ; 3. 78-Austin Black [5] ; 4. 1-John Brooks[7] ; 5. 4s-Keith Sorg[2] ; 6. 7H-JT Horn[3] ; 7. 33A-Brian Arnold[8] ; 8. 6-Josh Meggitt[6]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps)
1. 17x-Dustin Keegan[4] ; 2. 7B-Shawn Valenti[6] ; 3. 8S-Brandon Stuckey[7] ; 4. 67-Ben Clapp[3] ; 5. 1x-Patrick Pinkston[2] ; 6. 54-Alex Stoudinger[1] ; 7. 16-Jim Holcomb[5]
Heat 4 – (8 Laps)
1. 911-Cory McCaughey[4] ; 2. 7X-Dana Frey[2] ; 3. 9-Curt Inks[6] ; 4. 14T-Cody Truman[3] ; 5. 77-Steven Pocock[1] ; 6. 27-Calob Crispen[7] ; 7. 26-Kyle Lagrou[5]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps)
1. 4s-Keith Sorg[2] ; 2. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[1] ; 3. 16-Jim Holcomb[11] ; 4. 7H-JT Horn[6] ; 5. 33A-Brian Arnold[10] ; 6. 26-Kyle Lagrou[12] ; 7. 27-Calob Crispen[8] ; 8. 93B-Bryce Black[5] ; 9. 77-Steven Pocock[4] ; 10. 11-Austin Gibson[9] ; 11. 1x-Patrick Pinkston[3] ; 12. 54-Alex Stoudinger[7] ; 13. 20-Caleb Shearn[13] ; 14. 6-Josh Meggitt[14]
A-Main 1 – (20 Laps)
1. 911-Cory McCaughey[4] ; 2. 7B-Shawn Valenti[11] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 4. 78-Austin Black [7] ; 5. 8KB-Kent Brewer[5] ; 6. 4M-Jamie Miller[12] ; 7. 1-John Brooks[14] ; 8. 16-Jim Holcomb[19] ; 9. 23m-Brad Mitten[2] ; 10. P51-Paul Brown JR[8] ; 11. 4s-Keith Sorg[17] ; 12. 7X-Dana Frey[6] ; 13. 26-Kyle Lagrou[22] ; 14. 9-Curt Inks[3] ; 15. 8S-Brandon Stuckey[9] ; 16. 7H-JT Horn[20] ; 17. 14T-Cody Truman[16] ; 18. 32H-Dan Hennig[13] ; 19. 67-Ben Clapp[15] ; 20. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[18] ; 21. 33A-Brian Arnold[21] ; 22. 13-Andy Keegan[10]
Hard Charger: 16-Jim Holcomb +11