Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009
Contact Brian Liskai
liskai2x@cros.net

By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio - There was drama, late race passing and track championships 
on the line...it all played out Saturday, Sept. 12 at Fremont Speedway on 
Kistler Racing Products Night.

When all was said and done, Monclova, Ohio's Byron Reed, the defending 
Fremont Speedway 410 sprint champion, got his first victory of the season, 
but it wasn't easy and he and Phil Gressman traded slide jobs the last three 
laps as the crowed roared their approval.

Bucyrus, Ohio's Brock Mayes' fourth place run was good enough to claim the 
track championship by just three points over Reed in the Fort Ball Pizza 
Palace 410 Sprints. Also, Gibsonburg, Ohio's Craig Mintz finished third in 
the feature to lock up the first ever Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica 
Sprint Title (FAST) Championship series.

"I didn't come here worried about it (the championship)... I just wanted to 
win. Those last five laps didn't seem like they would ever get over. I'm not 
that good on this stuff when it gets slick and Mintz and them guys are. I 
was just trying to make the car as big as I could and it worked out," said 
champion Mayes beside his J&F Construction, Mansfield Cement, Kinn Brothers 
Heating and Cooling backed #11b. "I have to thank my guys...we've had an up 
and down year, good weeks and bad weeks. I have to thank my dad for giving 
us the opportunity and Daniel Smith my crew chief gave me a good car all 
year. Davey and Keith and my fiancée Alisha and my mom and everybody."

The Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprint feature had the large crowd on 
their feet in the closing laps. Tiffin, Ohio's Paige Polyak became the first 
female to win a sprint race at "The Track That Action Built," handing her 
great-grandmother a great 92nd birthday present as she was there to witness 
the feat. Polyak accomplished this while holding off a hard-charging Paul 
Weaver the last five laps, while Weaver was trying to secure the track 
championship while battling point leader Todd Heuerman. In the end, 
Heuerman's third place finish gave him the track championship by a scant 1 
point over Weaver.

"I was having a hell of a time with him (Nate Dussel)...I didn't know which 
way to go I just knew I had to follow that 1w (Weaver). I knew I had to stay 
within reach of him if I wanted to get the job done and luckily we did," 
said track champion Heuerman beside his Same Gerdeman Construction, P.W. 
Chamberlin Trucking, Quality Concrete backed #18. "This is the first year we 
really put everything together and made sure we made it to every race. We 
had our mind set on that's what we really wanted to do and it all paid off."

In the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks it was much more subdued. All Steve 
Endicott had to do was take the green flag and the track championship was 
his. However, the Risingsun, Ohio driver wasn't going to settle for that, as 
he took the lead on lap 8 and held off  Dan Hennig for his second feature 
victory of the season.

"My guys have been on me because I've been out here riding around and not 
trying to win. Right before the feature we saw the track dried out so made a 
bunch of changes and it paid off," said Endicott beside his Endicott 
Trucking, Bob's Machine Shop backed #8 truck. "Boy, track champion sounds 
great!"

In the 30-lap 410 sprint feature, Caleb Griffith jumped into the early lead 
with Andy Shammo, Reed, Gressman, Mayes and Mike Linder waging a torrid 
battle behind. Reed moved into second on lap three and began chasing down 
Griffith and caught him on lap 11 with Gressman and Mike Linder nipping at 
their rear bumpers. Griffith and Reed would battle hard over the next five 
laps. Reed would use lapped traffic to drive under Griffith into the top 
spot on lap 16, but Griffith would race him had to the outside. Gressman 
then closed and would drive into second on lap 19, bringing Linder into 
third a lap later.

The first caution would fly on lap 20 for Chris Andrews with the running 
order Reed, Gressman, Linder, Griffith and Mayes. Reed would pull away 
slightly on the ensuing restart with Gressman and Linder racing each other 
hard for second. Linder would take the second spot on lap 24 and began to 
pressure Reed.

With three laps David Harrison brought out the caution. On the ensuing 
restart, Linder drove off the high side of turn two, losing four position, 
and as he tried to make up for his mistake, took tip-over in turn three. On 
the third attempt for the restart, Scott Euler stopped for another caution. 
Finally, when the race went back to green for good, the excitement really 
heated up as Gressman would dive under Reed and slide up in front in turns 
one and two and Reed would return the favor in turns three and four.

At the checkered, Reed edged Gressman for the win, with Mintz, Mayes and Ivy 
rounding out the top five.

"I just want to thank all the fans. I've had a really bad year and I still 
have a lot of people come down and cheering me on. It's pretty tough to be 
upset when you have a little kid come down and he's happy to see us. I 
really have to thank the fans for pumping me up," said Reed beside his 
Reebar Diecasting, ProShocks, Weld Wheels backed #5r.

"I gotta thank my mom and dad and my crew, Kurt and Romey...we tried really 
hard this year and it just wasn't working out. I also have to thank Paul 
Kistler...he tried really hard to do whatever he could to help us out this 
year. I'm glad we finally got a win for him," added Reed.

For Mintz, the FAST championship comes with a $10,000 payday. It was the 
first year for the series that carried a separate point fund from that of 
both Fremont Speedway and Attica Raceway Park, with each track scheduled to 
host 11 shows.

"It was wreckers or checkers for us at the end. We came into the night 
wanting to make the show and seal the FAST deal up, but we also wanted to 
win at Fremont. This is my first championship in anything in a sprint car," 
said Mintz of his championship beside his Pumps Landscaping, Bobby's Truck 
and Auto Repair, Keller Chevrolet backed #09.

"It's these guys behind me that put this thing on the race track...I just 
drive the thing. If it weren't for them this race car wouldn't be here. I'm 
glad my mom (Lynne) was here to see this. She's a fighter and she's really 
pushed all of us," added Mintz of his mom who is battling cancer.

"It was fun racing with them guys. Brock has had a heck of a year here.. 
he's been tough to beat. Glad Byron finally got into victory lane too...that 
could mean trouble for all of us these last few races," Mintz concluded.

Polyak, just 15-years-old, grabbed the early lead of the 305 feature with 
Dustin Stroup, Nate Dussel, Steve Rando and Stuart Brubaker in tow. Rando 
would take second on lap three while Dussel would move into third on lap 
four. The car on the move early was D.J. Foos who took third on lap six from 
his sixth starting spot. Just as Polyak was about to hit lapped traffic the 
caution would fly on lap 11. On the ensuing restart Foos would grab second, 
while Rando would stop with mechanical problems on lap 13 to bring out the 
caution.

Polyak would pull away on the restarts while the fans were treated to the 
points battle between Weaver and Heuerman. Dussel would grab second on lap 
15 with Weaver and Heuerman right on his rear bumper. Weaver would take 
second on lap 17, temporarily taking the point lead. However, a caution on 
lap 19 would bunch up the field with Polyak leading over Weaver, Dussel and 
Heuerman. On the restart, Weaver began to pressure Polyak, but the young 
lady kept her cool. Meanwhile, Heuerman would make his championship move, 
passing Dussel on the white flag lap to move into third.

Polyak would take the checkered as the crowd thundered their approval, with 
Weaver, Heuerman, Dussel and Foos rounding out the top five.

"I saw him (Weaver) duck under me on the restart (with five laps to go) and 
wow. This is awesome. I have to thank my dad and mom and sister and 
everyone," said Polyak in the Engine Pro Victory Lane beside her Hoosier 
Tires, Handi-Grafix, Level Performance backed #27.

In the dirt truck feature, Art Ball grabbed the early lead with Kent Brewer, 
Loren Schwochow, Brad Mitten and Jimmy McGrath Jr. Following a lap three 
caution, Ball would continue to lead while Schwochow grabbing second. 
Schwochow would pressure Ball for the lead while ninth place starter 
Endicott worked his way to third. On lap 7, Endicott would take second and a 
lap later would drive under Ball for the lead.

The second and final caution would fly on lap nine with the running order 
Endicott, Ball, McGrath Jr., Brewer and Jim Keegan. While Endicott pulled 
away on restart, Ball had his hands full with a charging Dan Hennig, who 
started 10th. Henning would drive around Ball on lap 14 into the runner-up 
position and began closing on Endicott. But, Endicott had enough to hold him 
off for the win with Ball coming home third and Keegan and McGrath Jr. 
rounding out the top five.

"I don't know what happened there at the end, the truck started to get 
loose, but we held on," said Endicott.

Fremont Speedway will be back in action for a special two-day event, Friday 
and Saturday, Sept. 18 and 19. For more information log onto 
www.fremontohspeedway.com

Fremont Speedway - 9/12/2009
Kistler Racing Products Night

Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints
Qualifying -
1. 312-Mike Linder, 12.39; 2. 6-Kenny Jacobs, 12.41; 3. 27-Scott Euler, 
12.43; 4. 11B-Brock Mayes, 12.44; 5. 7T-Troy Vaccaro, 12.45; 6. 15C-Chris 
Andrews, 12.52; 7. O4-Cap Henry, 12.53; 8. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 12.54; 9. 
53-Phil Gressman, 12.55; 10. 10-David Harrison, 12.56; 11. 60-Jody Keegan, 
12.57; 12. 1B-Keith Baxter, 12.58; 13. 3J-Kevin Lee, 12.58; 14. 9Z-Duane 
Zablocki, 12.64; 15. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.69; 16. 12-Caleb Griffith, 12.73; 17. 
48S-Andy Shammo, 12.74; 18. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.76; 19. 28-Shawn Valenti, 
12.78; 20. X-Mark Keegan, 12.80; 21. 2+-Brian Smith, 12.81; 22. 25-Lee 
Jacobs, 12.88; 23. 45-Brian Lay, 12.93; 24. 14H-Todd Heller, 12.97; 25. 
5T-Travis Philo, 13.10; 26. 24-John Ivy, 13.15; 27. O6-Brandy Bower, 13.19; 
28. 47-Caleb Helms, 13.20; 29. 9-Jamie Miller, 13.60; 30. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 
13.82; 31. 6X-Zack Ames, 13.94; 32. 10J-Jarrod DeLong, 14.11; 33. 1K-Willie 
Keegan, 14.50; 34. 11-Josh Harrison, 99.00

Heat 1 -  (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 53-Phil Gressman; 2. 2+-Brian Smith; 3. 48S-Andy Shammo; 4. 312-Mike 
Linder; 5. 3J-Kevin Lee; 6. 7T-Troy Vaccaro; 7. 9-Jamie Miller; 8. 5T-Travis 
Philo; 9. 1K-Willie Keegan

Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 25-Lee Jacobs; 2. O9-Craig Mintz; 3. 24-John Ivy; 4. 15C-Chris Andrews; 
5. 10-David Harrison; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 7. 6-Kenny Jacobs; 8. 11N-Ed 
Neumeister; 9. 11-Josh Harrison

Heat 3 -  (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 45-Brian Lay; 2. 5R-Byron Reed; 3. 28-Shawn Valenti; 4. 60-Jody Keegan; 
5. O4-Cap Henry; 6. 27-Scott Euler; 7. O6-Brandy Bower; 8. 6X-Zack Ames

Heat 4 -  (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. X-Mark Keegan; 2. 14H-Todd Heller; 3. 11B-Brock Mayes; 4. 12-Caleb 
Griffith; 5. 1B-Keith Baxter; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver; 7. 47-Caleb Helms; 8. 
10J-Jarrod DeLong

B-Main -  (10 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 7T-Troy Vaccaro; 2. 6-Kenny Jacobs; 3. 27-Scott Euler; 4. 10-David 
Harrison; 5. 3J-Kevin Lee; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver; 7. O4-Cap Henry; 8. 
1B-Keith Baxter; 9. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 10. 47-Caleb Helms; 11. 9-Jamie 
Miller; 12. 1K-Willie Keegan; 13. O6-Brandy Bower; 14. 5T-Travis Philo; 15. 
11N-Ed Neumeister; 16. 11-Josh Harrison; 17. 10J-Jarrod DeLong

A-Main -  (30 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 5R-Byron Reed[3]; 2. 53-Phil Gressman[5]; 3. O9-Craig Mintz[13]; 4. 
11B-Brock Mayes[7]; 5. 24-John Ivy[18]; 6. 25-Lee Jacobs[17]; 7. 48S-Andy 
Shammo[1]; 8. 6-Kenny Jacobs[9]; 9. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[11]; 10. 2+-Brian 
Smith[16]; 11. 12-Caleb Griffith[2]; 12. 14H-Todd Heller[19]; 13. 3J-Kevin 
Lee[20]; 14. X-Mark Keegan[15]; 15. 60-Jody Keegan[4]; 16. 10-David 
Harrison[12]; 17. 27-Scott Euler[10]; 18. 312-Mike Linder[8]; 19. 15C-Chris 
Andrews[6]; 20. 28-Shawn Valenti[14]
 

Fremont Federal Credit Union - 305 Sprints
Heat 1 -  (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 1-Nate Dussel; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver; 3. 40-Bobby Clark; 4. M28-Josh Muntz; 
5. 10-Brad Haudenschild; 6. 9-Jimmy Colvin; 7. 8K-Zack Kramer; 8. 83X-Nate 
Reeser; 9. 30-Adam Ollom; 10. 8J-Jess Stiger

Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 36X-Josh Burdette; 2. 18-Todd Heuerman; 3. 10X-Dustin Stroup; 4. 
19R-Steve Rando; 5. 80-Jake Trevino; 6. 94-John Ivy; 7. 28-Shawn Valenti; 8. 
99X-Tim Buchanan; 9. 22D-Dan Hammond

Heat 3 -  (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker; 2. 27-Paige Polyak; 3. 67M-Bryan Sebetto; 4. 11F-D.J. 
Foos; 5. 71-Bill Kraylek; 6. 31-Chuck Wilson; 7. 3B-Tim Bottles; 8. 14-Chad 
Wilson; 9. 49-Coty Runion

B-Main -  (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 94-John Ivy; 2. 9-Jimmy Colvin; 3. 8K-Zack Kramer; 4. 14-Chad Wilson; 5. 
28-Shawn Valenti; 6. 31-Chuck Wilson; 7. 22D-Dan Hammond; 8. 99X-Tim 
Buchanan; 9. 8J-Jess Stiger; 10. 83X-Nate Reeser; 11. 3B-Tim Bottles; 12. 
30-Adam Ollom

A-Main -  (25 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 27-Paige Polyak[1]; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[8]; 3. 18-Todd Heuerman[10]; 4. 
1-Nate Dussel[7]; 5. 11F-D.J. Foos[6]; 6. 10-Brad Haudenschild[13]; 7. 
35-Stuart Brubaker[9]; 8. 10X-Dustin Stroup[2]; 9. 71-Bill Kraylek[15]; 10. 
80-Jake Trevino[14]; 11. 94-John Ivy[16]; 12. M28-Josh Muntz[3]; 13. 14-Chad 
Wilson[19]; 14. 9-Jimmy Colvin[17]; 15. 28-Shawn Valenti[20]; 16. 67M-Bryan 
Sebetto[12]; 17. 19R-Steve Rando[4]; 18. 36X-Josh Burdette[11]; 19. 8K-Zack 
Kramer[18]; 20. 40-Bobby Clark[5]
 

Fremont Fence Co. Dirt Trucks
Heat 1 -  (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. O-Jim Keegan; 2. 8K-Kent Brewer; 3. O1-Art Ball; 4. 92-Loren Schwochow; 
5. 16-Steve Sabo; 6. 39-Dwight Waltermier; 7. 21R-Dustin Keegan

Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 52-Will Tezak; 2. 17-Bob Dible; 3. 32H-Dan Hennig; 4. 8-Steve Endicott; 
5. 99-Art Howey Jr.; 6. 71-Craig Holland; 7. 4X-Brian Sorg; 8. 30-Dave Gibbs

Heat 3 -  (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.; 2. 5-Jim McGrath; 3. 23M-Brad Mitten; 4. 84-Russ 
Stahl; 5. 6-Linda Sabo; 6. 4J-Jeremy Lozano; 7. 4S-Keith Sorg

B-Main -  (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 39-Dwight Waltermier; 2. 4X-Brian Sorg; 3. 71-Craig Holland; 4. 4J-Jeremy 
Lozano; 5. 30-Dave Gibbs; 6. 4S-Keith Sorg; 7. 21R-Dustin Keegan

A-Main -  (20 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 8-Steve Endicott[9]; 2. 32H-Dan Hennig[10]; 3. O1-Art Ball[3]; 4. O-Jim 
Keegan[11]; 5. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[5]; 6. 8K-Kent Brewer[2]; 7. 16-Steve 
Sabo[13]; 8. 52-Will Tezak[6]; 9. 30-Dave Gibbs[20]; 10. 99-Art Howey 
Jr.[14]; 11. 5-Jim McGrath[8]; 12. 23M-Brad Mitten[1]; 13. 4X-Brian 
Sorg[17]; 14. 4S-Keith Sorg[19]; 15. 6-Linda Sabo[15]; 16. 92-Loren 
Schwochow[4]; 17. 71-Craig Holland[18]; 18. 17-Bob Dible[7]; 19. 84-Russ 
Stahl[12]; 20. 39-Dwight Waltermier[16]