By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio – Since opening night, Craig Mintz has not finished out of the top seven in the 410 sprints at Fremont Speedway. However, there has not been a victory. The Gibsonburg, Ohio driver put an end to that Saturday, July 30 at “The Track That Action Built,” leading all 30 laps to score his 15th career victory on Ohio Laborers Night.
It wasn’t easy for Mintz, who a week before got hit with a big chunk of mud and had to be taken for a check-up at the local hospital, as a caution with just two laps to go put DJ Foos right on his rear bumper. Mintz, a three time Fremont track champion, got an excellent restart but survived a last ditch slider from Foos and drove to his first win of the 2022 season.
“Give props to my race team. It’s a special night…Janet Holbrook gave $500 to fast time in memory of George Fisher and we’re running one of his race cars. Hats off to DJ…there’s not a lot of drivers out there like him who won’t just destroy the race car in that situation. He left me room and raced me clean. I didn’t get a good start so I knew it was coming,” said Mintz beside his Real Geese Decoys, KS Sales & Service, Modern Woodman of America, Design Graphics Group, Wonderly Carpet Care backed #09.
With his second place run Foos edged a little closer to Cole Macedo in the standings for the All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series presented by the Baumann Auto Group.
Macedo was upset with his performance in the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature but redeemed himself with a dominating performance in the Great Lakes Super Sprints (360c.i.) feature, leading all 25 laps and at one time had a half track lead. Macedo scored his sixth feature win of the season at Fremont – four 410 victories and a pair of GLSS wins to run his career total at the track to 10. It was his ninth overall victory in the Ray Brooks Racing entry in 2022.
“I really don’t know what happened. The first five or six laps we were really good and then I got really tight and burnt the brakes right off the thing. The last 10-15 laps I was all over the place. I’ve lost a race this year because I lost brakes and I didn’t want that to happen again. Almost gave it away quite a few times there. I’m pretty bummed out about the 410 show there. We have a good piece to take to the Trophy Cup,” said Macedo of his Fremont Auto Parts, Grant Decker Construction, Linder’s Speed Equipment, Gill Construction, CK Mechanical, ML Graphics, Catawba Island Club, Durst backed machine.
The Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints will open the Sandusky County Fair in August and in order to be eligible to compete in the event, drivers have had to compete in two weekly events at Fremont Speedway. So DJ Foos hoped in the Burmeister Racing 305 and after battling throughout the 25 lap feature with Jamie Miller, and a late race caution, held on for the win.
Miller lead the first 11 laps of the race with Foos taking over on lap 12. Miller used lapped traffic to regain the lead on lap 20 but a caution reverted back to the last fully scored lap, giving the top spot back to Foos who then held on for the win, the 24th of his career at the track.
Miller’s second place finish edge him closer to Paul Weaver in the NAPA of Bryan AFCS presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales standings.
“I’m very happy to be in victory lane. This has not been our year but we’re finding speed in the 410 deal. This is Mikey Sommers and LJ’s car with some Burmeister stuff on it. It’s a pretty good piece and we’re getting it tuned up and hopefully be standing up here for the fair,” said Foos beside his Sonny’s Signs, Kistler Racing Products, Burmeister Racing, Berryman Racing Shocks backed #16.
Jeff Babcock and Cory McCaughey put on a hell of a show in the Burmeister Trophy Dirt trucks, swapping the lead back and forth the last six laps before Babcock was able to drive to the win, the second of his career at the track. The race saw several lead changes with McCaughey leading the first lap, Dan Hennig leading lap two while McCaughey retook the lead from lap three to lap 13 before Babcock got by for a lap with McCaughey back out front on lap 15 with Babcock leading laps 16 and 17, McCaughey lap 18 and Babcock laps 19 and 20.
“Cory raced me very clean. That was a lot of fun to run side by side like that lap after lap and not hit each other. When we took the white I knew I had to go up top and block him and it worked out,” said Babcock of his Roelle Racing owned machine.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, August 6 with the 410 and 305 sprints and trucks in action.
Keep up to date with Fremont Speedway by going to www.fremontohspeedway.com or on Facebook at www.facebook/FremontSpeedway or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FremontSpeedway.
About Ohio Laborers
The races were brought to you by the Ohio Laborers and Ohio LECET in conjunction with LIUNA – The Laborers’ International Union of North America. There are 23 Local Union Halls throughout Ohio representing 20,000 union laborers. Laborers build roads, construct buildings, install gas and water lines, clean hazardous waste, and much more. When you see Ohio Laborers working on the roads, please remember to keep them safe, slow down and move over! Check out the website for more information and job and training opportunities!
https://www.liuna.org/
Winged 410 Sprint Cars
Feature:
1. 09-Craig Mintz
2. 16-DJ Foos
3. 5T-Travis Philo
4. 23-Chris Andrews
5. 68G-Tyler Gunn
6. 2X-Stuart Brubaker
7. 18-Cole Macedo
8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki
9. 24D-Danny Sams
10. 49I-John Ivy
11. 09+ Brian Smith
12. 12-Kyle Capodice
13. 7N-Darin Naida
14. 75-Jerry Dahms
15. 15K-Creed Kemenah
16. 7T-Troy Vaccaro
Great Lakes Super Sprints
Qualifying
1. X-Mike Keegan, 12.615[7]
2. 18-Cole Macedo, 12.791[28]
3. 24-Kobe Allison, 13.046[12]
4. 66-Chase Dunham, 13.076[24]
5. 46-Ryan Coniam, 13.089[3]
6. 23-Devon Dobie, 13.119[16]
7. 28-Shawn Valenti, 13.239[10]
8. 2S-Kyle Sauder, 13.272[4]
9. 71H-Max Stambaugh, 13.295[11]
10. 22M-Dan McCarron, 13.300[15]
11. 5E-Bobby Elliott, 13.312[20]
12. 24D-Danny Sams III, 13.363[25]
13. 85-Dustin Daggett, 13.415[26]
14. 11G-Luke Griffith, 13.480[2]
15. 7C-Phil Gressman, 13.533[6]
16. 1M-Brandon Moore, 13.628[27]
17. 27-Brad Lamberson, 13.708[13]
18. 49T-Gregg Dalman, 13.741[9]
19. 01-Bryan Sebetto, 13.770[22]
20. 51X-Matt Linder, 13.918[29]
21. 88N-Frank Neill, 14.036[5]
22. 70-Eli Lakin, 14.037[17]
23. 11H-Caleb Harmon, 14.112[21]
24. 84-Kyle Poortenga, 14.180[14]
25. 86-Keith Sheffer Jr, 14.289[19]
26. 5NC-Jac Nickles, 14.437[8]
27. 51-Garrett Craine, 14.789[23]
28. 2-Tyler Bearden, 14.850[1]
29. 98-Robert Robenalt, 15.750[18]
Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 22M-Dan McCarron[1]
2. 66-Chase Dunham[3]
3. 01-Bryan Sebetto[7]
4. X-Mike Keegan[4]
5. 1M-Brandon Moore[6]
6. 86-Keith Sheffer Jr[9]
7. 70-Eli Lakin[8]
8. 2-Tyler Bearden[10]
9. 28-Shawn Valenti[2]
10. 85-Dustin Daggett[5]
Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 18-Cole Macedo[4]
2. 2S-Kyle Sauder[2]
3. 11G-Luke Griffith[5]
4. 5E-Bobby Elliott[1]
5. 27-Brad Lamberson[6]
6. 5NC-Jac Nickles[9]
7. 51X-Matt Linder[7]
8. 11H-Caleb Harmon[8]
9. 98-Robert Robenalt[10]
10. 46-Ryan Coniam[3]
Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 23-Devon Dobie[3]
2. 7C-Phil Gressman[5]
3. 71H-Max Stambaugh[2]
4. 49T-Gregg Dalman[6]
5. 88N-Frank Neill[7]
6. 51-Garrett Craine[9]
7. 24D-Danny Sams III[1]
8. 24-Kobe Allison[4]
9. 84-Kyle Poortenga[8]
B-Main (12 Laps)
1. 70-Eli Lakin[4]
2. 85-Dustin Daggett[13]
3. 5NC-Jac Nickles[2]
4. 28-Shawn Valenti[10]
5. 51X-Matt Linder[5]
6. 11H-Caleb Harmon[8]
7. 2-Tyler Bearden[7]
8. 51-Garrett Craine[3]
9. 98-Robert Robenalt[11]
DNS: 86-Keith Sheffer Jr
DNS: 24D-Danny Sams III
DNS: 24-Kobe Allison
DNS: 84-Kyle Poortenga
DNS: 46-Ryan Coniam
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 18-Cole Macedo[2]
2. X-Mike Keegan[7]
3. 01-Bryan Sebetto[8]
4. 7C-Phil Gressman[5]
5. 22M-Dan McCarron[1]
6. 27-Brad Lamberson[14]
7. 71H-Max Stambaugh[10]
8. 66-Chase Dunham[4]
9. 23-Devon Dobie[3]
10. 28-Shawn Valenti[19]
11. 49T-Gregg Dalman[12]
12. 85-Dustin Daggett[17]
13. 88N-Frank Neill[15]
14. 11G-Luke Griffith[9]
15. 70-Eli Lakin[16]
16. 5E-Bobby Elliott[11]
17. 51X-Matt Linder[20]
18. 1M-Brandon Moore[13]
19. 2S-Kyle Sauder[6]
20. 5NC-Jac Nickles[18]
Winged 305 Sprint Cars
Feature:
1. 16-DJ Foos
2. 26-Jamie Miller
3. 10X-Dustin Stroup
4. 31-Paul Weaver
5. 8-Chris Andrews
6. 28-Shawn Valenti
7. X-Mike Keegan
8. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr
9. X15-Kasey Ziebold
10. 15k-Creed Kemenah
11. 9R-Logan Riehl
12. 5-Kody Brewer
13. 20i-Kelsey Ivy
14. 19R-Steve Rando
15. 5K-Kasey Jedrzejek
16. 3V-Chris Verda
17. 51M-Haldon Miller
18. 3F-Wade Fraley
19. 10TS-Tyler Schiets
20. 7M-Brandon Moore
21. 78-Austin Black
22. 47-Matt Lucius