From Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio (September 17, 2022) — Craig Mintz capped off his vacation with a thrilling 410 sprint win at Fremont Speedway Saturday, Sept. 17 on Roots Poultry Night. The three time Fremont champion and current point leader, nipped defending track champion DJ Foos by .020 seconds for his third win of the season at “The Track That Action Built.”
After Bobby Elliott led the first lap of the 30-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature, veteran John Ivy took over, leading until Mintz rocked off the high side of turn two to gain the top spot on the 11th circuit. Mintz, who had vacationed out of the country all week, watched Foos slip by on the white flag lap. When Foos slid a lapped car in the final two turns, Mintz turned under both and the drag race to the checkers was on with Mintz edging Foos for the narrow win. Ivy, Jamie Miller and Dan McCarron rounded out the top five.
“If you don’t like that you are in the wrong sport. DJ and I banged wheels…there wasn’t anything there…we banged wheels again…that’s just going for the win. That’s a blast. Hats off to my guys. We have to get better early on. These guys have been busting their tails all week. I haven’t even been in the states and they worked on it all week and I showed up this morning and everything was ready to go,” said Mintz beside his Real Geese Decoys, KS Sales & Service, Modern Woodman of America, Design Graphics Group, Wonderly Carpet Care backed #09.
“Two or three laps before the end I tried to slide up in front of that lapped car and he didn’t give me room so I knew if he (Foos) slid him he wasn’t going to give him any room and I thought if he’s going to slide up I’m going to arch it the other way and slide DJ as best I could. I knew it was going to be close,” added Mintz.
In a caution-filled Steel Block Late Model Series feature, Corey Delancey led the first eight laps before encountering mechanical woes, turning the lead over to Seth Daniels who held the point for four laps. Lyons, Ohio’s BJ Gregory was the only top five car to utilize the top groove and he drove into the lead on lap 13. A caution with just three laps to go allowed Daniels to challenge until a caution flew just after the white flag fell. Gregory got a fantastic restart and drove to the win over Daniels, Zach Milbee, Pete Crum and 16th starter Carter Murday.
The victory is the second Fremont win of his career for Gregory who also won the Steel Block Late Model Series event at Fremont in 2021. It also comes after a crash Friday in Michigan that had the #56 crew working to rebuilt to the wee hours of Saturday morning.
“It’s been a tough weekend and a tough season. We’ve run pretty well this year but had some tough luck and difficult things happen. Last night was no exception to that. We went up to Mt. Pleasant and things didn’t go as well as we planned. We were running good in the feature but late in the race we got caught up in a wreak and tore up almost every panel on the car, junked a bumper…it was a long night and long day. Got home at 3 in the morning and started again at 7. I have to thank my brother Brandon…all year long he’s the set-up guy and makes this thing fast and I just drive it. My tire guy Nate and on these open tires he has had a lot of work. My mom and dad and all the family members,” said Gregory beside his Aquatek Water Conditioning, Turnworks Machine & Fabrication, Robertson EDM, Chasin’ Checkers, CCR the Racers Connection backed machine.
Fremont, Ohio’s Jamie Miller nursed a smoking truck to victory lane Saturday, leading all 20 laps of the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Truck A-main for his fourth win of the season in the division. Miller now has 35 total career feature wins at the track, putting him 14th on the all-time win list. The victory also will vault Miller into the division point lead.
“Something went wrong with the brakes that last lap and I had to really get out of the gas and nurse it through the last two corners. The motor is tired but it held out for the win. I want to thank Tim and all his family for putting this truck deal together,” said Miller beside his Fostoria Mod Shop backed #4m.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, Sept 24 with the 410 and 305 sprints and dirt trucks in action. On Sunday, Sept. 25, the vintage cars take over for the Johnny Auxter Day.
Fremont Speedway
Fremont, Ohio
September 17, 2022
410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.16-DJ Foos, 13.245; 2.7T-Troy Vaccaro, 13.310; 3.2+-Brian Smith, 13.316; 4.12-Kyle Capodice, 13.370; 5.09-Craig Mintz, 13.412; 6.5E-Bobby Elliott, 13.518; 7.28M-Conner Morrell, 13.540; 8.15k-Creed Kemenah, 13.578; 9.22M-Dan McCarron, 13.657; 10.49I-John Ivy, 13.684; 11.21-Larry Kingseed, 13.708; 12.3V-Chris Verda, 13.735; 13.26-Jamie Miller, 13.934; 14.75-Jerry Dahms, 14.360; 15.28-Gray Leadbetter, 99.998; 16.98-Robert Robenalt, 99.999;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 28M-Conner Morrell[1] ; 2. 5E-Bobby Elliott[2] ; 3. 12-Kyle Capodice[3] ; 4. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[4] ; 5. 15k-Creed Kemenah[5] ; 6. 3V-Chris Verda[7] ; 7. 22M-Dan McCarron[6] ; 8. 75-Jerry Dahms[8]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 49I-John Ivy[1] ; 2. 2+-Brian Smith[3] ; 3. 09-Craig Mintz[2] ; 4. 16-DJ Foos[4] ; 5. 26-Jamie Miller[6] ; 6. 21-Larry Kingseed[5] ; 7. 98-Robert Robenalt[8] ; 8. 28-Gray Leadbetter[7]
A-Main 1 – (30 Laps)
1. 09-Craig Mintz[8] ; 2. 16-DJ Foos[6] ; 3. 49I-John Ivy[3] ; 4. 26-Jamie Miller[10] ; 5. 22M-Dan McCarron[13] ; 6. 3V-Chris Verda[11] ; 7. 21-Larry Kingseed[12] ; 8. 15k-Creed Kemenah[9] ; 9. 2+-Brian Smith[5] ; 10. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[1] ; 11. 28M-Conner Morrell[4] ; 12. 5E-Bobby Elliott[2] ; 13. 75-Jerry Dahms[15] ; 14. 98-Robert Robenalt[14] ; 15. 12-Kyle Capodice[7] ; 16. 28-Gray Leadbetter[16]
Dirt Trucks – Burmeister Trophy
Qualifying
1.7b-Shawn Valenti, 17.404; 2.25-Jeff Babcock, 17.515; 3.25X-Chuck Roelle, 17.633; 4.P51-Dave Gumby Jr., 17.680; 5.4M-Jamie Miller, 17.703; 6.36M-RJ Cornett, 17.845; 7.11H-Jim Holcomb, 18.014; 8.101-Chester Fitch, 18.055; 9.8S-Brandon Stuckey, 18.077; 10.8KB-Kent Brewer, 18.227; 11.67-Ben Clapp, 18.296; 12.28-Cody Laird, 18.375; 13.5s-Bradley Stuckey, 18.391; 14.17x-Dustin Keegan, 18.482; 15.4s-Keith Sorg, 18.490; 16.7H-JT Horn, 18.626; 17.7X-Dana Frey, 18.639; 18.23m-Brad Mitten, 18.648; 19.9-Curt Inks, 18.648; 20.14T-Cody Truman, 18.669; 21.6-Butch Latte, 18.719; 22.51-David Bankey, 18.950; 23.18s-Randy Swiecicki, 19.031; 24.65R-Jeremy Ernsberger, 19.499; 25.20-Troy Hahn, 19.612; 26.57MS-Mason Stull, 20.112; 27.21-Todd Warnick, 21.476; 28.X-Cory McCaughey, 99.998; 29.32H-Dan Hennig , 99.999;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 25-Jeff Babcock[4] ; 2. 67-Ben Clapp[3] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 4. 28-Cody Laird[2] ; 5. 4s-Keith Sorg[5] ; 6. 9-Curt Inks[6] ; 7. 6-Butch Latte[8] ; 8. 23m-Brad Mitten[7] ; 9. 65R-Jeremy Ernsberger[9] ; 10. 57MS-Mason Stull[10]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 7b-Shawn Valenti[4] ; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[5] ; 3. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[6] ; 4. 25X-Chuck Roelle[2] ; 5. 7X-Dana Frey[8] ; 6. 7H-JT Horn[7] ; 7. 8S-Brandon Stuckey[1] ; 8. 18s-Randy Swiecicki[10] ; 9. 36M-RJ Cornett[3] ; 10. 51-David Bankey[9]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 4M-Jamie Miller[3] ; 2. P51-Dave Gumby Jr.[4] ; 3. 11H-Jim Holcomb[2] ; 4. 32H-Dan Hennig [8] ; 5. 101-Chester Fitch[1] ; 6. 20-Troy Hahn[6] ; 7. 14T-Cody Truman[5] ; 8. 21-Todd Warnick[7] ; 9. X-Cory McCaughey[9]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps)
1. 36M-RJ Cornett[11] ; 2. 7H-JT Horn[2] ; 3. 14T-Cody Truman[6] ; 4. 20-Troy Hahn[3] ; 5. 65R-Jeremy Ernsberger[10] ; 6. 57MS-Mason Stull[12] ; 7. 9-Curt Inks[1] ; 8. 6-Butch Latte[4] ; 9. 18s-Randy Swiecicki[8] ; 10. 8S-Brandon Stuckey[5] ; 11. 23m-Brad Mitten[7] ; 12. 51-David Bankey[13] ; 13. 21-Todd Warnick[9]
A-Main 1 – (20 Laps)
1. 4M-Jamie Miller[2] ; 2. 25-Jeff Babcock[6] ; 3. P51-Dave Gumby Jr.[8] ; 4. 17x-Dustin Keegan[9] ; 5. 7b-Shawn Valenti[3] ; 6. 11H-Jim Holcomb[7] ; 7. 67-Ben Clapp[4] ; 8. 101-Chester Fitch[15] ; 9. 36M-RJ Cornett[16] ; 10. 32H-Dan Hennig [12] ; 11. 7X-Dana Frey[14] ; 12. 4s-Keith Sorg[13] ; 13. 28-Cody Laird[11] ; 14. 25X-Chuck Roelle[5] ; 15. 20-Troy Hahn[19] ; 16. 65R-Jeremy Ernsberger[20] ; 17. 7H-JT Horn[17] ; 18. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[10] ; 19. 14T-Cody Truman[18] ; 20. 8KB-Kent Brewer[1]
Steel Block Late Models
Qualifying
1.2-Rick Mardis, 14.885; 2.56-BJ Gregory, 14.975; 3.5M-Zach Milbee, 14.990; 4.C2-Corey Delancey, 15.207; 5.S21-Seth Daniels, 15.288; 6.34c-Pete Crum, 15.398; 7.1GRS-Daniel Hill, 15.448; 8.43-Dustin Sprouse, 15.493; 9.24-Jimmy Morey, 15.543; 10.8-Justin Bradford, 15.739; 11.43M-Mike Sprouse, 15.996; 12.69-John Mayes, 16.007; 13.16-Steve Sabo, 16.095; 14.9-Toma Johnson, 16.168; 15.20-Troy Hahn, 16.185; 16.25T-Ted Johnson JR, 16.234; 17.19M-Carter Murday, 16.427; 18.25-Ted Johnsen, 16.520; 19.46-Chris Williams, 16.555; 20.69R-Douglas Baird, 16.559; 21.O-Cameron Tusing, 16.899; 22.X-Gary Cole Jr., 17.130; 23.C4-Zach Calkins, 17.177; 24.22-Anthony Voyles, 17.254; 25.8JR-Dale Cole Jr., 17.564; 26.41-Randy Pollock, 17.739; 27.151-Trace Settles, 17.879; 28.27K-Randy Burkholder, 19.179;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 1GRS-Daniel Hill[1] ; 2. 16-Steve Sabo[3] ; 3. 8JR-Dale Cole Jr.[2] ; 4. 19M-Carter Murday[5] ; 5. 69-John Mayes[7] ; 6. X-Gary Cole Jr.[4] ; 7. 27K-Randy Burkholder[8] ; 8. O-Cameron Tusing[6]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 43-Dustin Sprouse[1] ; 2. C4-Zach Calkins[6] ; 3. 9-Toma Johnson[3] ; 4. 41-Randy Pollock[7] ; 5. 43M-Mike Sprouse[2] ; 6. 25T-Ted Johnson JR[4]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 24-Jimmy Morey[1] ; 2. 69-John Mayes[2] ; 3. 20-Troy Hahn[4] ; 4. 46-Chris Williams[5] ; 5. 22-Anthony Voyles[6] ; 6. 8-Justin Bradford[3] ; 7. 151-Trace Settles[7]
Dash – (6 Laps)
1. C2-Corey Delancey[1] ; 2. 2-Rick Mardis[4] ; 3. 5M-Zach Milbee[2] ; 4. S21-Seth Daniels[5] ; 5. 34c-Pete Crum[6] ; 6. 56-BJ Gregory[3]
B-Main 1 – (0 Laps)
1. 19M-Carter Murday[1] ; 2. 69R-Douglas Baird[4] ; 3. 43M-Mike Sprouse[5] ; 4. 46-Chris Williams[3] ; 5. 25T-Ted Johnson JR[8] ; 6. 22-Anthony Voyles[6] ; 7. 41-Randy Pollock[2] ; 8. X-Gary Cole Jr.[7]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 56-BJ Gregory[6] ; 2. S21-Seth Daniels[4] ; 3. 5M-Zach Milbee[3] ; 4. 34c-Pete Crum[5] ; 5. 19M-Carter Murday[16] ; 6. 69-John Mayes[12] ; 7. 1GRS-Daniel Hill[7] ; 8. 16-Steve Sabo[10] ; 9. 9-Toma Johnson[14] ; 10. 2-Rick Mardis[2] ; 11. 43-Dustin Sprouse[8] ; 12. 46-Chris Williams[19] ; 13. 8-Justin Bradford[13] ; 14. C4-Zach Calkins[11] ; 15. 25T-Ted Johnson JR[20] ; 16. 69R-Douglas Baird[17] ; 17. 24-Jimmy Morey[9] ; 18. 20-Troy Hahn[15] ; 19. C2-Corey Delancey[1] ; 20. 43M-Mike Sprouse[18]