Saturday, May 15, 2010
By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio – Byron Reed is off to a FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) start to 2010. The Monclova, Ohio driver held off Dale Blaney to win his second straight 410 sprint feature at Fremont Speedway Saturday, May 15 on Roots Poultry Night. The night’s racing was part of a celebration of life night as several of the young people who are battling cancer from the Clyde area were honorary pit crew members of race teams as the Racers Racing for a Cure arranged for the special event.

Reed, who now has 20 career wins at “The Track That Action Built,” paid tribute to the courage of the 21 youngsters in the Clyde-Green Springs area who are fighting cancer

“Every body here has had someone in their life affected by cancer. My father-in-law died a little over a year ago. He meant a lot to me…it’s tough. It’s nothing that someone wants to go through. He had a hard fight and all these kids have a hard fight. I hope they had a good time tonight. We’re honoring them…we’re not feeling sorry for them. They are fighting and they are going to live a long time,” said Reed in the Engine Pro Victory Lane beside his Reebar Diecasting, ProShocks backed #5.

Fremont’s Stuart Brubaker, Fremont’s 2008 track champion, dominated the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprint feature, lapping up to 9th place and taking the checkered flag a half straightaway ahead of Bobby Clark. 

“I saw all those lapped cars coming and I thought, man I need a yellow my arms are getting tired,” joked Brubaker beside his Waterville Sheet Metal, Advanced Industrial Services backed #35. “I have to thank Mike Dunahoe, he bought all this stuff this winter. I have to thank my wife and crew and Scott Gressman for a great motor.”

Castalia’s Dan Hennig took advantage of early leader Jim McGrath Sr. suffered a flat tire with five laps remaining and went on to his fifth career victory in the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks.

“I hate taking it from Jim like that but it’s the bad part of racing…things happen and I was there to take advantage,” said Hennig beside his Liberty Tax Service, Village Pizza House, Riedy’s Auto World, Level Performance backed #32H. “

At the drop of the green for the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints feature, Reed rocketed into the lead with Greg Wilson, Jody Keegan, Craig Mintz and Tim Shaffer in tow. Keegan drove around Wilson for second a lap later while Mintz pressured Wilson for third. Reed pulled away while Keegan looked comfortable in second, with a tremendous battle for third between Wilson, Mintz, Shaffer and Dale Blaney. 

Reed’s blistering pace had him in lapped traffic by lap 8, allowing Keegan to close. Meanwhile, Mintz moved into third with Shaffer, Wilson and Blaney right on his bumper. The first caution flew on lap 11 for a stalled Rob Chaney with the running order Reed, Keegan, Mintz, Shaffer and Blaney. On the restart Reed had a lapped machine between himself and Keegan with another lapped car separating second and third. Another lap and another caution for a stalled Cap Henry, but this time the lapped machines were out of the way and the running order was Reed, Keegan, Mintz, Blaney and Shaffer.

Reed picked right back up, pulling away in the clean air. Keegan still ran strong in second with Mintz, Blaney and Shaffer waging a great battle for third. Blaney would move into third on lap 16 and immediately began pressuring Keegan for the runner-up spot. A caution for a stalled Linder would bunch up the field with no lapped machines on the track, and on the ensuing restart Blaney would drive under Keegan into second and closed on Reed. Behind them Keegan now battled Shaffer for third while Mintz had his hands full with Hannagan for fifth. 

Blaney would stick the nose of his Ti22 sprinter under Reed in turns three and four with five laps remaining and the battle was on as they raced into lapped traffic. Meanwhile Shaffer grabbed third. Once Blaney showed Reed his nose, Reed picked it up a notch and flew to the checkers with Blaney, Shaffer, a hard-charging Brock Mayes and Mintz rounding out the top five.

“I thought I was running pretty hard, but when I saw that #2 (Dale Blaney) under me, I knew I had to step it up to another level,” said Reed, who increased his lead in the Kistler Racing Products FAST Championship Series. “Yeah, I started on the pole but it wasn’t easy by any means. I ran it as hard as I could.”

“It’s a long season and we didn’t want to start thinking about points, but you can’t help it when you start winning this early in the season. We still have a long way to go, but we’ve made great strides from last year,” added Reed about the FAST title.

In the 305 sprint feature, Brubaker served notice early he was going to be the car to beat. He pulled away at the drop of the green while Roger Shammo, Josh Muntz, Dan Hammond, Paul Weaver and Steve Rando battling for second. On lap three disaster struck when Shammo spun, collecting Weaver. Brubaker set sail on the restart, pulling away quickly while Muntz ran second with Bobby Clark, Hammond and Zack Kramer rounding out the top five.

Brubaker would hit lapped traffic by lap nine while Muntz battled Clark for second with Kramer battling John Ivy for fourth. While Brubaker pulled away, Clark would drive under Muntz for second on lap 14. Brubaker picked his way through traffic like a precision surgeon, taking the checkered by a straightaway over Clark with Muntz, Kramer and Ivy rounding out the top five.

“Our plan is to win this FAST thing. We struggled early this year, but it looks like we have a shot at that deal and possibly the Fremont points,” said Brubaker of his fourth career Fremont win on the second night of the FAST Championship Series for the 305 sprints presented by Kear’s Speed Shop and Cleveland Golf.

In the 20-lap Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks, Hennig would grab the initial lead with McGrath, Will Tezak and Brad Mitten in tow. McGrath would rocket off the bottom of turn two to grab the lead on lap four and pulled away while Hennig raced Tezak, Mitten, Kent Brewer, Art Howey Jr., Cory Ward and Art Ball for second. The caution would fly on lap seven, but McGrath was able to pull away slightly again while the tremendous seven truck battle for second continued. On lap 15, McGrath slowed with a flat tire, handing the lead to Hennig who had been smooth in second. Hennig had the race in control until Howey spun down the backstretch on the final lap, collecting Bob Dible. 

Hennig would take the green and white together on the restart and went on to the victory over Tezak, Mitten, Ward and Brewer.

“I’m trying to look at the bigger picture this year and be consistent to win a track championship. We didn’t have a good night a couple of weeks ago when the transmission broke, but this is a great comeback,” said Hennig in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.

Fremont Speedway will not be in action next weekend, but will come back with a big Memorial Day Weekend double-header on Saturday and Sunday, May 29 and 30. On Kear’s Speed Shop Night, Saturday, the O’Reilly Auto Parts All Star Circuit of Champion Sprints will be in action with the 305 sprints and for the first time ever, the E-Mods. Then on Sunday, the 410 sprints will be joined by the late models and dirt trucks.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com
Fremont Speedway - 5/15/2010
Roots Poultry Night

Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints  (31 Cars)

Qualifying - Kistler Engines

1. 2-Dale Blaney, 12.56; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer, 12.57; 3. 24H-Lee Jacobs, 12.57; 4. 11B-Brock Mayes, 12.64; 5. 14H-Todd Heller, 12.66; 6. 16-Bryan Sebetto, 12.69; 7. O-Brandon Wimmer, 12.70; 8. 15C-Chris Andrews, 12.75; 9. 1X-Randy Hannagan, 12.75; 10. 60-Jody Keegan, 12.79; 11. 20X-Craig Mintz, 12.80; 12. 2+-Brian Smith, 12.81; 13. 12-Jarred Ridge, 12.85; 14. X-Mark Keegan, 12.87; 15. 9X-Rob Chaney, 12.92; 16. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.92; 17. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.92; 18. 11M-Brandon Martin, 12.93; 19. 312-Mike Linder, 12.93; 20. 2M-Dustin Daggett, 12.96; 21. 3J-Kevin Lee, 13.04; 22. O4-Cap Henry, 13.07; 23. 53-Phil Gressman, 13.11; 24. 26-Cody White, 13.13; 25. 47-Caleb Helms, 13.15; 26. 45-Brian Lay, 13.19; 27. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.32; 28. 28-Shawn Valenti, 13.41; 29. 11-Josh Harrison, 13.89; 30. 5M-Troy Vaccaro, 14.41; 31. 10-David Harrison, 99.00

Heat 1 - Heat 1 (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 3J-Kevin Lee; 2. 5R-Byron Reed; 3. 1X-Randy Hannagan; 4. 2-Dale Blaney; 5. 12-Jarred Ridge; 6. 14H-Todd Heller; 7. 47-Caleb Helms; 8. 11-Josh Harrison

Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 11M-Brandon Martin; 2. 60-Jody Keegan; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer; 4. O4-Cap Henry; 5. X-Mark Keegan; 6. 45-Brian Lay

Heat 3 - Heat 3 (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 312-Mike Linder; 2. 20X-Craig Mintz; 3. 9X-Rob Chaney; 4. O-Brandon Wimmer; 5. 53-Phil Gressman; 6. 24H-Lee Jacobs; 7. 10-David Harrison; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki

Heat 4 - Heat 4 (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 2M-Dustin Daggett; 2. W20-Greg Wilson; 3. 2+-Brian Smith; 4. 11B-Brock Mayes; 5. 15C-Chris Andrews; 6. 28-Shawn Valenti; 7. 26-Cody White

Crack the Whip -  (10 Laps)
1. O-Brandon Wimmer; 2. 16-Bryan Sebetto; 3. 24H-Lee Jacobs; 4. 83-Tim Shaffer; 5. 11B-Brock Mayes; 6. 60-Jody Keegan; 7. 14H-Todd Heller; 8. 1X-Randy Hannagan; 9. 2-Dale Blaney; 10. 15C-Chris Andrews

B-Main -  (10 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 16-Bryan Sebetto; 2. 24H-Lee Jacobs; 3. 14H-Todd Heller; 4. 12-Jarred Ridge; 5. 15C-Chris Andrews; 6. X-Mark Keegan; 7. 53-Phil Gressman; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 9. 28-Shawn Valenti; 10. 10-David Harrison; 11. 5M-Troy Vaccaro; 12. 26-Cody White; 13. 11-Josh Harrison; 14. 47-Caleb Helms

A-Main -  (30 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 5R-Byron Reed[1]; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[5]; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer[6]; 4. 11B-Brock Mayes[8]; 5. 20X-Craig Mintz[3]; 6. 60-Jody Keegan[4]; 7. 24H-Lee Jacobs[7]; 8. 1X-Randy Hannagan[12]; 9. 2M-Dustin Daggett[18]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson[2]; 11. 12-Jarred Ridge[14]; 12. 3J-Kevin Lee[19]; 13. O-Brandon Wimmer[11]; 14. 2+-Brian Smith[13]; 15. 11M-Brandon Martin[16]; 16. 14H-Todd Heller[9]; 17. 16-Bryan Sebetto[10]; 18. 312-Mike Linder[17]; 19. O4-Cap Henry[20]; 20. 9X-Rob Chaney[15]

Hard Charger: 2M-Dustin Daggett[+9]

Fremont Federal Credit Union - 305 Sprints (27 Cars)

Heat 1 -  (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 19R-Steve Rando; 2. 81-Bobby Clark; 3. 39M-Matt Merrill; 4. 8K-Zack Kramer; 5. 1-Mike Dussel; 6. 14-Chad Wilson; 7. 10X-Dustin Stroup; 8. 30-Adam Ollom; 9. 10-Brad Haudenschild

Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 94-John Ivy; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver; 3. 11F-D.J. Foos; 4. 9-Jimmy Colvin; 5. 51-Brad Bowman; 6. 71-Bill Kraylek; 7. 27-Paige Polyak; 8. 3B-Tim Bottles

Heat 3 -  (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. M28-Josh Muntz; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker; 3. 22D-Dan Hammond; 4. 10S-Roger  Shammo; 5. 83X-Nate Reeser; 6. 8J-Jess Stiger; 7. 65-Doug Berryman; 8. 55-Benny Bowman; 9. 87-Ryan Hetrick

B-Main -  (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 71-Bill Kraylek; 2. 14-Chad Wilson; 3. 10X-Dustin Stroup; 4. 65-Doug Berryman; 5. 8J-Jess Stiger; 6. 30-Adam Ollom; 7. 27-Paige Polyak

A-Main -  (25 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2]; 2. 81-Bobby Clark[11]; 3. M28-Josh Muntz[4]; 4. 8K-Zack Kramer[5]; 5. 94-John Ivy[8]; 6. 19R-Steve Rando[7]; 7. 1W-Paul Weaver[6]; 8. 1-Mike Dussel[13]; 9. 51-Brad Bowman[12]; 10. 22D-Dan Hammond[3]; 11. 9-Jimmy Colvin[10]; 12. 10X-Dustin Stroup[16]; 13. 83X-Nate Reeser[15]; 14. 8J-Jess Stiger[18]; 15. 14-Chad Wilson[17]; 16. 10S-Roger  Shammo[1]; 17. 65-Doug Berryman[19]; 18. 11F-D.J. Foos[20]; 19. 39M-Matt Merrill[9]; 20. 71-Bill Kraylek[14]

Hard Charger: 81-Bobby Clark[+9]

Fremont Fence Co. Dirt Trucks (27 Trucks)

Heat 1 - Heat 1 (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 8-Steve Endicott; 2. 5-Jim McGrath; 3. 32H-Dan Hennig; 4. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.; 5. 92-Loren Schwochow; 6. 71-Craig Holland; 7. 84-Adam Jones; 8. P51-Paul Brown Jr.; 9. 13S-James Saam

Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 23M-Brad Mitten; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer; 3. 52-Will Tezak; 4. 16-Steve Sabo; 5. 36X-Dustin Keegan; 6. 3R-Chuck Rolle; 7. 6-Linda Sabo; 8. 72-Eric Potridge; 9. 9-Roger Inks

Heat 3 - Heat 3 (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 18W-Cory Ward; 2. O1-Art Ball; 3. 4X-Brian Sorg; 4. 99-Art Howey Jr.; 5. 17-Bob Dible; 6. O9-Jeff Wank; 7. 30-Dave Gibbs; 8. 4S-Keith Sorg; 9. O-Andy Keegan

B-Main -  (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 71-Craig Holland; 2. O9-Jeff Wank; 3. 3R-Chuck Rolle; 4. 30-Dave Gibbs; 5. 84-Adam Jones; 6. O-Andy Keegan; 7. 6-Linda Sabo; 8. 13S-James Saam; 9. 9-Roger Inks; 10. 72-Eric Potridge; 11. 4S-Keith Sorg; 12. P51-Paul Brown Jr.

A-Main -  (20 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 32H-Dan Hennig[2]; 2. 52-Will Tezak[1]; 3. 23M-Brad Mitten[4]; 4. 18W-Cory Ward[9]; 5. 8KB-Kent Brewer[3]; 6. 16-Steve Sabo[6]; 7. 71-Craig Holland[14]; 8. O1-Art Ball[11]; 9. O-Andy Keegan[20]; 10. 84-Adam Jones[18]; 11. 36X-Dustin Keegan[12]; 12. 5-Jim McGrath[5]; 13. O9-Jeff Wank[17]; 14. 92-Loren Schwochow[13]; 15. 99-Art Howey Jr.[7]; 16. 17-Bob Dible[15]; 17. 8-Steve Endicott[10]; 18. 4X-Brian Sorg[8]; 19. 3R-Chuck Rolle[16]; 20. 30-Dave Gibbs[19]

Hard Charger: O-Andy Keegan[+11]

©2010 - Results Provided by: Computer Man Inc. Fremont, OH