By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio – Cale Thomas lost his sprint car ride recently. He drove the family car a few races then teamed up with Jay Kiser Racing of Fremont, Ohio two weeks ago and immediately the team contended for wins. A crash battling for the lead at Attica Raceway Park the first night, and a third place run at Fremont Speedway the following night earned the Fairland, Indiana driver another weekend with the team. It paid off Saturday, Aug. 5 with his first ever 410 sprint win at Fremont Speedway on Plaza Lanes/Cameo Pizza/All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Night.
Thomas had to battle heavy lapped traffic and a determined Cap Henry and last week’s winner Travis Philo for the win the final two laps. The podium finishes for Henry and Philo keeps the battle for the All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series presented by the Baumann Auto Group very close.
Only one caution fell in the 30-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature. Behind Thomas was Henry, Philo, Friday’s winner Stuart Brubaker and Nate Dussel.
“This place has been my….I’m good here I just can’t seem to get it done. Jay gave me a great race car. Honestly we had the same car we did last week when I ran well last night and we weren’t any good. So Jay wanted to try something even after that seventh to second run in the heat and obviously it worked. We’ve been fast. A good benchmark for that is Cap (Henry). We’ve been competitive with Cap every time,” said Thomas beside his Spanky’s Pizza, NAPA Auto Parts, Shelluke’s Bar, Automatic Fire Protection, JLH General Contractor, Queen of Clean, Fremont Fence, BH41, TMH Holdings, Burdue Insurance backed #23.
Fremont native Paul Weaver swept the weekend in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints. The four time and defending division track champion took the lead from Jamie Miller on lap nine of the non-stop 25 lap affair and drove to his fifth win of the year at Fremont. The victory puts Weaver in a tie with Art Ball atop the track’s all-time win list with 76 checkers.
“My first time over here was 1975 and I was mad because…I think Ron Leaser won the race but I went home happy because Art Ball won the points and ever since then he was my favorite. I’ve never spoke to him one time. Stood on the Attica banquet stage one year…he won the trucks and I won the 305s but never spoke to him. I always kept that to myself that he was one of my childhood heroes,” said Weaver beside his Steve Brown’s B&B Drain Services, Hampshire Racing Engines, M&L Excavating backed machine.
The victory pads Weaver’s lead for a fifth straight NAPA of Bryan Attica Fremont Championship Series presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales title as John Ivy, Shawn Valenti, Jamie Miller and Dustin Stroup rounded out the top five in the A-main.
Toledo, Ohio’s Cory McCaughey has contended for wins in the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Trucks all season, recording three runner-up finishes and not finishing out of the top five until Friday when a mechanical failure sidelined him in the feature. He put all that behind him Saturday, leading all 20 laps for his first win of the year and eighth of his career at Fremont. Friday’s winner Dave Gumby pressured McCaughey the last five laps after he was in a spirited battle with Dustin Keegan as that duo raced side by side for eight laps. But, McCaughey was able to hold on for the win over Gumby, Keegan, Dana Fry and Jamie Miller.
“I heard Dave Gumby down there and I had to pull that rubber band up…get it, let’s go! I have to thank Wagner Improvements, the Big E Crew, Dippman Motorsports, Blast Masters. My guys worked their tails off this weekend,” said McCaughey.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Monday, August 21 with the 305 sprints helping to kick off the Sandusky County Fair.
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 Plaza Lanes and Cameo Pizza – www.cameopizza.com www.theplazalanes.com
Centrally located between Fremont and Clyde, Plaza Lanes is your destination for local family fun. Whether it’s date night, a night out with friends, or some quality family time, Plaza Lanes has you covered. Bowling, live bands, their new TruGolf Virtual Golf Simulator are here to create a great time for everyone.
Plaza Lanes is the home of Cameo Pizza. Cameo Pizza started in Sandusky in 1936 when Mamma Loccoco began serving her family and friends old world style Italian cooking from her kitchen. Since 1936, Cameo Pizza has been a family-owned business carrying on the tradition of great food, family values, and personal service. Why does Cameo’s pizza taste so good? It starts with Mamma’s secret family recipe for pizza sauce and dough. Mamma’s recipes and the freshest ingredients are used every day to make Cameo’s sauce and dough.
About All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads – www.allproheads.com
Located in Johnstown, Ohio, Bob and Susie Williams have built All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads as an industry leader in small block Chevy aluminum cylinder heads, as well as the new Generation 3 and Mopar W9RP, catering to the hard core racer always looking for the perfect design for a specific application. Whether it’s sprints, super late models, drag racing, off-road, marine or road racing, you can count on All Pro for engine builders and racers seeking a distinct advantage.
Fremont Speedway
Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023
410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.97-Zeth Sabo, 14.695; 2.15C-Chris Andrews, 14.809; 3.5T-Travis Philo, 14.956; 4.8M-TJ Michael, 15.063; 5.99-Skylar Gee, 15.085; 6.5-Byron Reed, 15.171; 7.33w-Cap Henry, 15.226; 8.15k-Creed Kemenah, 15.457; 9.32-Bryce Lucius, 15.508; 10.86-Michael Lutz, 15.561; 11.35-Stuart Brubaker, 15.567; 12.21-Larry Kingseed, 15.581; 13.7N-Darin Naida, 15.600; 14.1-Nate Dussel, 15.636; 15.2+-Brian Smith, 15.720; 16.12-Brian Lay, 15.831; 17.83x-Nate Reeser, 15.845; 18.22M-Dan McCarron, 15.863; 19.6-Jimmy Ward, 16.086; 20.55-Jake Swanson, 16.097; 21.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 16.135; 22.13-Van Gurley, 16.178; 23.4-Josh Turner, 16.182; 24.10-Justin Adams, 16.190; 25.3V-Chris Verda, 16.204; 26.98-Robert Robenalt, 16.297; 27.75-Jerry Dahms, 16.317; 28.33$-Shane O’Banion, 16.532; 29.88-Jimmy McCune, 16.558; 30.40-Logan Fenton, 16.787; 31.23-Cale Thomas, 21.919;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 5-Byron Reed[1] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker[6] ; 4. 97-Zeth Sabo[4] ; 5. 15C-Chris Andrews[3] ; 6. 32-Bryce Lucius[5] ; 7. 33$-Shane O’Banion[8] ; 8. 6-Jimmy Ward[7]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 33w-Cap Henry[3] ; 2. 8M-TJ Michael[4] ; 3. 7N-Darin Naida[2] ; 4. 22M-Dan McCarron[6] ; 5. 2+-Brian Smith[1] ; 6. 12-Brian Lay[5] ; 7. 10-Justin Adams[8] ; 8. 13-Van Gurley[7]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[2] ; 2. 99-Skylar Gee[4] ; 3. 4-Josh Turner[1] ; 4. 3V-Chris Verda[5] ; 5. 75-Jerry Dahms[7] ; 6. 15k-Creed Kemenah[3] ; 7. 98-Robert Robenalt[6] ; 8. 40-Logan Fenton[8]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps)
1. 1-Nate Dussel[2] ; 2. 23-Cale Thomas[7] ; 3. 21-Larry Kingseed[3] ; 4. 55-Jake Swanson[5] ; 5. 88-Jimmy McCune[6] ; 6. 83x-Nate Reeser[1] ; 7. 86-Michael Lutz[4]
B-Main 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 15C-Chris Andrews[1] ; 2. 15k-Creed Kemenah[4] ; 3. 32-Bryce Lucius[3] ; 4. 33$-Shane O’Banion[5] ; 5. 75-Jerry Dahms[2] ; 6. 40-Logan Fenton[8] ; 7. 98-Robert Robenalt[6] ; 8. 6-Jimmy Ward[7]
B-Main 2 – (8 Laps)
1. 2+-Brian Smith[1] ; 2. 83x-Nate Reeser[4] ; 3. 88-Jimmy McCune[2] ; 4. 13-Van Gurley[7] ; 5. 10-Justin Adams[5] ; 6. 12-Brian Lay[3] ; 7. 86-Michael Lutz[6]
A-Main 1 – (30 Laps)
1. 23-Cale Thomas[2] ; 2. 33w-Cap Henry[1] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[3] ; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[5] ; 5. 1-Nate Dussel[9] ; 6. 5-Byron Reed[4] ; 7. 15C-Chris Andrews[17] ; 8. 21-Larry Kingseed[13] ; 9. 3V-Chris Verda[15] ; 10. 22M-Dan McCarron[14] ; 11. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[10] ; 12. 32-Bryce Lucius[21] ; 13. 99-Skylar Gee[8] ; 14. 4-Josh Turner[12] ; 15. 8M-TJ Michael[7] ; 16. 88-Jimmy McCune[22] ; 17. 2+-Brian Smith[18] ; 18. 55-Jake Swanson[16] ; 19. 15k-Creed Kemenah[19] ; 20. 97-Zeth Sabo[6] ; 21. 7N-Darin Naida[11] ; 22. 83x-Nate Reeser[20]
305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.26-Jamie Miller, 15.045; 2.1W-Paul Weaver, 15.130; 3.10X-Dustin Stroup, 15.281; 4.5K-Kasey Jedrzejek, 15.395; 5.99-Alvin Roepke, 15.582; 6.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 15.711; 7.4K-Blayne Keckler, 15.757; 8.5DD-Dustin Dinan, 15.765; 9.10TS-Tyler Schiets, 15.766; 10.49I-John Ivy, 15.781; 11.3M-Logan Mongeau, 15.842; 12.7M-Brandon Moore, 15.842; 13.5-Kody Brewer, 15.958; 14.9R-Logan Riehl, 15.960; 15.0-Bradley Bateson, 15.971; 16.28-Shawn Valenti, 16.156; 17.16-Lee Sommers, 16.175; 18.36-Seth Schneider, 16.176; 19.98-Dave Hoppes, 16.213; 20.27-Calob Crispen, 16.310; 21.2s-Jackson Sebetto, 16.351; 22.4X-Bobby Clark, 16.357; 23.51M-Haldon Miller, 16.411; 24.34-Jud Dickerson, 16.533; 25.11TS-Tate Schiets, 16.565; 26.78-Austin Black , 16.720; 27.63-Randy Ruble, 16.835; 28.8-Jim Leaser, 17.002; 29.97X-Rodney Hurst, 17.117; 30.13-Jeremy Duposki, 17.139; 31.1S-James Saam, 17.224;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 2. 99-Alvin Roepke[2] ; 3. 10X-Dustin Stroup[3] ; 4. X15-Kasey Ziebold[1] ; 5. 3M-Logan Mongeau[5] ; 6. 27-Calob Crispen[7] ; 7. 63-Randy Ruble[8] ; 8. 98-Dave Hoppes[6]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 5-Kody Brewer[1] ; 3. 7M-Brandon Moore[2] ; 4. 10TS-Tyler Schiets[3] ; 5. 0-Bradley Bateson[5] ; 6. 2s-Jackson Sebetto[6] ; 7. 13-Jeremy Duposki[8] ; 8. 11TS-Tate Schiets[7]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 9R-Logan Riehl[2] ; 2. 16-Lee Sommers[1] ; 3. 5K-Kasey Jedrzejek[4] ; 4. 4K-Blayne Keckler[3] ; 5. 4X-Bobby Clark[5] ; 6. 78-Austin Black [6] ; 7. 8-Jim Leaser[7] ; 8. 1S-James Saam[8]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps)
1. 28-Shawn Valenti[2] ; 2. 49I-John Ivy[3] ; 3. 5DD-Dustin Dinan[4] ; 4. 36-Seth Schneider[1] ; 5. 51M-Haldon Miller[5] ; 6. 34-Jud Dickerson[6] ; 7. 97X-Rodney Hurst[7]
B-Main 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 3M-Logan Mongeau[1] ; 2. 4X-Bobby Clark[2] ; 3. 78-Austin Black [4] ; 4. 63-Randy Ruble[5] ; 5. 27-Calob Crispen[3] ; 6. 98-Dave Hoppes[7] ; 7. 1S-James Saam[8] ; 8. 8-Jim Leaser[6]
B-Main 2 – (8 Laps)
1. 0-Bradley Bateson[1] ; 2. 51M-Haldon Miller[2] ; 3. 34-Jud Dickerson[4] ; 4. 13-Jeremy Duposki[5] ; 5. 2s-Jackson Sebetto[3] ; 6. 97X-Rodney Hurst[6] ; 7. 11TS-Tate Schiets[7]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 2. 49I-John Ivy[3] ; 3. 28-Shawn Valenti[1] ; 4. 26-Jamie Miller[2] ; 5. 10X-Dustin Stroup[10] ; 6. 5-Kody Brewer[5] ; 7. 5DD-Dustin Dinan[12] ; 8. 5K-Kasey Jedrzejek[7] ; 9. 7M-Brandon Moore[11] ; 10. 99-Alvin Roepke[6] ; 11. 10TS-Tyler Schiets[14] ; 12. 16-Lee Sommers[9] ; 13. 4K-Blayne Keckler[15] ; 14. 9R-Logan Riehl[8] ; 15. 3M-Logan Mongeau[17] ; 16. X15-Kasey Ziebold[13] ; 17. 36-Seth Schneider[16] ; 18. 4X-Bobby Clark[19] ; 19. 34-Jud Dickerson[22] ; 20. 0-Bradley Bateson[18] ; 21. 78-Austin Black [21] ; 22. 51M-Haldon Miller[20]
Dirt Trucks – Burmeister Trophy
Qualifying
1.25-Jeff Babcock, 18.560; 2.36m-Cory McCaughey, 18.710; 3.P51-Dave Gumby Jr., 18.746; 4.26-Kyle Lagrou, 18.764; 5.7b-Shawn Valenti, 18.781; 6.4M-Jamie Miller, 18.835; 7.28-Cody Laird, 18.926; 8.4x-Keith Sorg, 18.938; 9.7X-Dana Frey, 19.162; 10.99H-Art Howey Jr, 19.221; 11.17x-Dustin Keegan, 19.233; 12.44X-Jim Holcomb, 19.373; 13.34-Todd Warnick, 19.379; 14.9-Curt Inks, 19.529; 15.23m-Brad Mitten, 19.537; 16.3-Devan McEwan, 19.598; 17.18s-Randy Swiecicki, 19.651; 18.3b-Kaydin Bailey, 19.765; 19.23W-Butch Latte, 19.858; 20.8S-Brandon Stuckey, 19.912; 21.101-Chester Fitch, 20.032; 22.51-David Bankey, 20.135; 23.5s-Bradley Stuckey, 20.211; 24.8KB-Kent Brewer, 20.212; 25.99-Eric Potridge, 20.856; 26.1-Scott Milligan, 99.998; 27.57MS-Mason Stull, 99.999;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 23m-Brad Mitten[2] ; 2. 34-Todd Warnick[3] ; 3. 44X-Jim Holcomb[4] ; 4. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[6] ; 5. 1-Scott Milligan[7] ; 6. 101-Chester Fitch[1] ; 7. 51-David Bankey[5]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 7X-Dana Frey[2] ; 2. 17x-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 3. 28-Cody Laird[3] ; 4. 8KB-Kent Brewer[6] ; 5. 26-Kyle Lagrou[4] ; 6. 99-Eric Potridge[7] ; 7. 3-Devan McEwan[5]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 4x-Keith Sorg[3] ; 2. 36m-Cory McCaughey[4] ; 3. 9-Curt Inks[2] ; 4. 23W-Butch Latte[5] ; 5. 18s-Randy Swiecicki[1] ; 6. 57MS-Mason Stull[6]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps)
1. 7b-Shawn Valenti[2] ; 2. 25-Jeff Babcock[4] ; 3. P51-Dave Gumby Jr.[3] ; 4. 4M-Jamie Miller[1] ; 5. 99H-Art Howey Jr[5] ; 6. 8S-Brandon Stuckey[7] ; 7. 3b-Kaydin Bailey[6]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps)
1. 26-Kyle Lagrou[2] ; 2. 99H-Art Howey Jr[4] ; 3. 1-Scott Milligan[1] ; 4. 99-Eric Potridge[6] ; 5. 18s-Randy Swiecicki[3] ; 6. 3-Devan McEwan[10] ; 7. 8S-Brandon Stuckey[8] ; 8. 101-Chester Fitch[5] ; 9. 51-David Bankey[9] ; 10. 3b-Kaydin Bailey[11] ; 11. 57MS-Mason Stull[7]
A-Main 1 – (20 Laps)
1. 36m-Cory McCaughey[3] ; 2. P51-Dave Gumby Jr.[6] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[7] ; 4. 7X-Dana Frey[10] ; 5. 4M-Jamie Miller[9] ; 6. 4x-Keith Sorg[8] ; 7. 28-Cody Laird[12] ; 8. 7b-Shawn Valenti[2] ; 9. 25-Jeff Babcock[4] ; 10. 9-Curt Inks[13] ; 11. 44X-Jim Holcomb[11] ; 12. 99H-Art Howey Jr[18] ; 13. 8KB-Kent Brewer[15] ; 14. 23W-Butch Latte[16] ; 15. 34-Todd Warnick[5] ; 16. 99-Eric Potridge[20] ; 17. 5s-Bradley Stuckey[14] ; 18. 1-Scott Milligan[19] ; 19. 26-Kyle Lagrou[17] ; 20. 23m-Brad Mitten[1]