Tuesday, May 15, 2012
By Brian Liskai

Fremont Speedway has long been known as “The Home of the All Stars.” The Sandusky County oval has hosted the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions 99 times during its 61 year history and is planning for a big celebration of the 100th and 101st visit Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27.

Saturday’s event is sponsored by Kear’s Speed Shop and will not only feature the UNOH All Stars but the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints and Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks. Sunday’s racing is sponsored by Bud Light and will pay the UNOH All Star feature winner $10,000! The 305 sprints and dirt trucks will also be in competition that night as well.

Fremont Speedway ALWAYS lives up to its moniker “The Track that Action Built,” especially when the UNOH All Star teams come calling. Who could forget the series’ last visit to Fremont Speedway for the Jim Ford Classic, a two-day affair in September 2011. Three time and defending All Star champion Tim Shaffer held off 2011 Fremont champion Bryan Sebetto on the first night with Sebetto banging wheels with Shaffer coming down for the $10,000 finale and edging the “Steel City Outlaw” by just .045 seconds for the biggest win of his career. Sebetto, who scored a win at Fremont on May 12, scored his first All Star win at the track in 2010.

Shaffer, who won his first UNOH All Star feature of 2012 on May 12 at Mercer Raceway Park, also took the $10,000 Ohio Sprint Speedweek finale at Fremont in 2011 and has 11 career wins at Fremont. The other two UNOH All Star events in 2011 at Fremont went to three time series champion Dale Blaney, who has 12 career wins at Fremont, and 2011 World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers.

Blaney, who has 86 career All Star wins, including two this season, leads the series’ national and Ohio Region points with Shaffer second and young chargers David Gravel third in the national and Danny Holtgraver third in the Ohio region standings. Former Fremont and All Star rookie of the year Cap Henry sits fourth in both the national and Ohio region points with Paul McMahan fifth in the national and two time series champion Greg Wilson fifth in the Ohio Region.

The double header weekend promises to be a barn-burner between the travelling UNOH All Stars and the tough weekly competitors of Fremont with some possible surprises dropping in. Fremont has held two 410 sprint events in 2012 with Oklahoma’s Shane Stewart and Sebetto claiming the victories. The track’s 2010 champion Craig Mintz has scored a win against the UNOH All Stars at Attica Raceway Park in 2012 and was passed on the last lap of another series event at Attica. The Memorial Day weekend event could draw the likes of Danny “The Dude” Lasoski who has three All Star victories in 2011 and many of the Western Pennsylvania contingent.

Fremont regular Phil “The Ohio Gas Man” Gressman has looked strong at Fremont so far, leading much of the race on May 12 before settling for second. Throw in three time track champion Byron Reed, who has 23 career wins at Fremont, and others like Chris Andrews (third on May 12), Lee Jacobs, Dean Jacobs, Brian Smith, Travis Philo, Brandon Martin, and others and it will be an exciting weekend.

Besides Blaney, Shaffer, Gravel, Holtgraver and Henry, the UNOH All Stars will also bring 2011 rookie of the year Pete Miller. The Pennsylvania native scored a non-sanctioned win recently at Lernerville Speedway.

Monday, May 28 is a rain date for the finale night only should it be needed.

Gates will open both nights at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m.

For a list of the past UNOH All Star Circuit of Champion winners and more information on Fremont Speedway go to www.fremonohspeedway.com. For more information on the UNOH All Stars go to www.allstarsprint.com

FREMONT, Ohio – Knowledge of Fremont Speedway is certainly an advantage when ever a touring organization visits The Track That Action Built. Fremont Speedway’s tough 305 sprint division proved that Saturday on Roots Poultry Night taking five of the top seven finishing positions against the Buckeye Outlaw Super Sprints (BOSS) non-wing racers with Fostoria, Ohio’s Jamie Miller claiming the $2,000 victory.

“I enjoy taking the wing off every once and awhile…I usually run pretty good when we do. Last time I ran here non-wing I had a really bad crash and it was in this same car. It was fast then and it was fast tonight,” said Miller beside his Crown Battery backed #4m. “The first few laps I ran up top and there wasn’t much up there in one and two and I got really loose off the top there but I held my own.”

“I have to thank my dad and all my crew Jeff and Joe and my daughter, Kendra is here tonight and my girlfriend Valerie and Gressman Powersports. We had trouble with this motor when we put it in this car today and if it weren’t for Scott Gressman we wouldn’t be here right now,” added Miller in the Engine Pro Victory Lane. 

In the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 winged sprints, defending Fremont Speedway champion Bryan Sebetto used a late race restart to drive from fourth into second. Then Sebetto executed a perfect slide job on Phil Gressman for the lead on lap 22 and went on to the win on a Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica Sprint Title (FAST) Championship Series night.

“This thing was a freakin’ rocketship all night. I was just biding my time, just bumping the wing back a little bit and a little bit and right before that restart (at the halfway point) I got back too far. I yanked it all the way back and said screw it and left it there and made a couple of laps and it was really tight…a little too tight. Then when we got that caution toward the end (on lap 18) I rolled the wing back forward there a little bit and once I got by those guys and got into the lead I pulled it all the way back and just started lettin’ it rip. I don’t know if they were keeping up with me but the car felt really good,” said Sebetto in the Engine Pro Victory Lane beside his Hammer Pallets, JLH General Contractors, Gressman Powersports, Crown Battery backed #24h. 

“Aaron and Guhn and Randy and Timmy P. isn’t here tonight…he’s going to be mad. These guys worked their butts off in the shop all week and they tuned it in great tonight…it was just a rocket ship and would go any where I wanted. I knew I was good around lap eight or ten when I started hitting the top down in one and two and there was no one else up there and my car was locked down up there. I was just running guys over coming off the corner and I could set them up and pull good slide jobs down in three and four. And cautions fell where they needed to to get us bunched back up. It was a lot of fun,” added Sebetto.

Art Ball went to the cardiologist this week and said, “it don’t sound good.” But, the 73-year-old Tiffin, Ohio driver didn’t seem to let that bother him. Ball, who has more victories at Fremont Speedway than any other driver in the track’s 61 year history (Ball has been racing for 51 years), held off a last week’s winner Dustin Keegan to score his 72nd career victory at The Track That Action Built.

“I’m tired. I told the cardiologist it’s a good thing they didn’t have that monitor in last Saturday (Ball battled with Dustin Keegan for the win). Dustin got under me a couple of times…he raced me clean just like I did him last week,” said Ball beside his Kear’s Speed Shop, Distel’s Septic Service, Ritzler Accounting, Chaney Roofing backed #01.

So, after scoring the win, what will Ball tell his cardiologist when he visits this week?

“I’m not sure yet. I’m going to tell him I didn’t do anything this weekend but sit in my lawn chair,” joked Ball.

FREMONT, Ohio – Jon Henry knew on a tight bullring like Fremont Speedway, lapped traffic would come into play. He and Curtis Roberts battled each other and heavy lapped traffic during the middle portion of the Sunoco American Late Model Series feature at “The Track That Action Built” before Henry used the high line in turn four to grab the lead on lap 16 and then survived several late race cautions to score his second career win at the track on Underground Utilities Inc. Night.

“You do what you have to do. The guys were telling me it seems like the high side was fastest. So I figured if I just calm down a little bit on the top and get through the bumps, I didn’t think anyone could pass me on the bottom. I have to thank all these fans for coming out here. This is a fun place to come race. We don’t get to race here that often. I really have to thank my Dad, John and Randy for all their help. I have to thank Rocket Chassis. This is a brand new orange front end Rocket and has two heat race wins and two wins,” said Henry beside his Fultz Fabrications backed machine.

“That’s one thing when you come to Fremont…you know it’s tight and you know you’re going to have to battle around traffic. I knew when I rolled up there pretty quick and got to Roberts...he was kind of dicing and I was able to hang with him and I knew I had to go back to the top shelf and see if I can get around him,” added Henry from the Engine Pro Victory Lane.

“I really have to thank the Dirty Dozen. They are the reason I’m able to do this this year…all 12 of them,” said Henry of the sponsors JLH General Contractor, William H. Bass Trucking, Reproductive Assistance, Truman Quarter Horses, Re-Deck of Northwest Ohio, Home Savings and Loan, Mike and Sheila Keller, Ron Spencer Real Estate, Automated Transport, Lehman & Lehman, Norada Lanes and APC.

In the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints, hometown driver D.J. Foos executed a slide job on Nate Dussel in turns one and two on the last lap to take the lead and his fourth career Fremont Speedway win. It was Foos’ fourth win of the season as he has scored three at Attica Raceway Park.

“I just had to wait until we got to lapped traffic…I tried and tried. He (Dussel) bobbled a couple of times in the hole down in turn four and I followed him right through it. Was that a good race or what?” asked an elated Foos beside his Level Performance, Automatic Fire Protection, Tender Turn Car Wash, Buckshot Farms, Pit stop Carryout backed #11F.

“I couldn’t ask for a better season so far. A couple of weeks ago here we struggled…this makes up for that,” added Foos, thanking his Mom and Dad and sponsors, Crown Battery, Kistler Racing Products, Gyro Motorsports and Linder’s Speed Equipment. “This afternoon Daryl Schiets (of Schiets Motorsports) said ‘look, I have some money for you now make it happen.’ I have to take my motor to Level’s…I have a cracked block we found today. But this feels good.”

It was a marathon race of attrition in the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks as numerous cautions slowed the flow of the race with only nine of the 20 starters taking the checkered flag. But, Fremont’s Dustin Keegan held off challenges from Bob Dible then Art Ball and John Ivy to score his first career Fremont Speedway victory.

“This is awesome. I didn’t think this would come in a truck…I thought it would be a sprint car (he has raced 305 sprints over the years) but I’ll take this one,” said Keegan in the Engine Pro Victory Lane. “I knew Art and Johnny were coming…I just didn’t know how close. I was nervous on those last restarts…I just wanted to see that checkered. I have to thank Ted Foster and Foster’s Auto Body, York Fabrication, Chuck Roelle Fabrication and Advanced Auto Parts. And the truck owner Joe West for putting this thing together for me, my dad and all the crew.”