Saturday, June 9, 2012
By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio – Just like last year, Dean Jacobs is passing a lot of race cars. The difference this year….he’s ending up in victory lane.

The Wooster, Ohio driver drove from 14th starting spot to take the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints victory at Fremont Speedway Saturday on Vision Quest Night. Jacobs passed Travis Philo with a low move off turn two on lap 17 and went on to score his second victory of the year at “The Track That Action Built.” Jacobs’ fifth career Fremont win was in front of a huge crowd that was on hand for the earlier induction of 17 into the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame.

The win also propelled Jacobs into the lead of the $10,000-to-win Kistler Racing Products FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) Championship Series Presented by Engine Pro and KS Sales and Service.

“I think that is what I’ve changed in my career…I used to be a pretty good qualifier and now I’m racing good and not so good on qualifying. I’ve got a good race car. I have to tell you when I got here tonight I looked at the track and thought ‘oh boy what are we in for.’ We were in for a lot of fun…she was awesome. You could run around the top, you could run around the bottom and make things happen as a driver. That’s all a guy can ask,” said Jacobs beside his Joe and Diane Seeling owned machine sponsored by Northwest Ohio Towing and NAPA Truck Center.

“We are here to win that FAST deal. I felt like I let it get away last year and I don’t want to let it get away this year…I want to win that,” concluded Jacobs in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.

It was very fitting that Fremont’s Bobby Clark would lead all 25 laps to take the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprint victory. His father, Ken, was one of the inductees into the hall of fame earlier in the afternoon. Bobby executed several great restarts to pull away for his 27th career Fremont win, tying him with Steve Sabo for 14th on the track’s all-time win list.

“I took a nap earlier in the pits…I didn’t get one at the normal time. I found me a shady spot and a nice breeze and got my old man nap in and it worked out fine,” joked Clark beside his #4x, the number his dad used to claim the track’s 1983 late model championship.

“This is a brand new car…it’s something dad designed. We pretty much put it together just for this race. We couldn’t ask for a better out come,” added Clark beside the Fremont Fence, B&L Plumbing and Heating, Jenny’s Copper Penny backed machine. 

Clark nearly gave up the lead to Jamie Miller on lap 18 when he tried the high groove in turns one and two.

“I went up there to go around the lap car but I really didn’t need to move there at that time. I got back down there quickly,” said Clark. “I have to thank my crew and everyone that helped put this thing together. We scrambled today and got it done just before the ceremony. This one is for my dad.”

When Bob Dible, who had lead the first 17 laps, broke, handing the lead to Kent Brewer, it looked like the race was over in the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks. But, Bellevue’s Cory Ward pounced on the restart when Brewer slipped off the bottom in turns one and two and grabbed the lead as they raced to the white flag. Ward would hang on for his second straight win at Fremont and the 20th of his career, moving him into a tie with Paul Strasser for 25th on the track’s all-time win list. 

“I’m shaking…I don’t know what happened with Kent. I saw Dible’s right front towed out big time and Kent just went a little hard and slid up and that’s all it took for me,” said Ward beside his Budweiser, Precision Body and Frame, Hiser’s Transmissions, Griff’s Engines backed truck. “I think we have this thing turned back around where we had it a few years ago. I think there’s going to be some more wins. I have to thank my crew, my dad, my grandpa, my uncle Jeff and all the guys that help us.”

Brad Bowman and Stuart Williams would lead the 410 sprint field to the green, but Bowman made contact with the front stretch wall, ending his night. On the ensuing restart it was now Broc Martin and Williams pacing the field with Travis Philo and Byron Reed in the second row. Philo would drive into the top spot with sixth starting Phil Gressman blasting into second. Philo would set sail, opening up a commanding lead while Gressman battled with Martin and Byron Reed for second while Craig Mintz, Chris Andrews, Bryan Sebetto, Mike Linder and Jacobs putting on a tremendous show for fifth. The caution would fly on lap six for a Todd Heller spin, wiping out Philo’s huge lead. 

Philo continued to lead when the green flew, but Gressman now stayed glued to his rear bumper with Reed, Martin, Andrews, Sebetto, Mintz and Jacobs in tow. With 10 laps recorded, Martin and Duane Zablocki would get together to bring out the caution. The running order was now Philo, Gressman, Reed, Andrews, Sebetto, Mintz, Jacobs and Linder. On the restart, Reed would take second from Gressman, who would return the favor the next lap while Jacobs blasted his way to fourth. Jacobs would grab third on lap 13 and two circuits later moved under Gressman for second.

On lap 17, Jacobs would drive under Philo to grab the lead exiting turn two. Meanwhile, the crowd was entertained by the battle for third between Gressman, Reed, Linder, Sebetto and Andrews. As Jacobs pulled away and raced into lapped traffic with eight laps to go, Reed and Philo were side-by-side for second with Linder, Sebetto, Gressman and 19th starter Greg Wilson in pursuit. Reed would take the runner-up spot on lap 23, but could not close on Jacobs. Jacobs would drive to the win over Reed, Linder, Sebetto and Philo.

“I knew where my car was fast. I wasn’t going to pass any one in three and four unless they made a mistake. But boy, one and two I could run around the bottom and get a nice drive off. My guy Ron has been working on this thing and we’ve been scrambling a little bit early, especially when the track is sticky. We’ve found something that’s really working good for us now in these conditions. Last night we started in the back and went forward (at Attica from 17th to a 4th place finish) and we did it again tonight,” continued Jacobs.

Clark and Paige Polyak would bring the 305 sprint field to the green, with Clark taking the top spot. Fourth starter Jaime Miller, who has two wins at Fremont in 2012, would drive into second on lap two while Polyak, Dustin Dinan and John Ivy battled for third. Seth Schneider would tumble in turn three on lap 7 to bring the action to a halt. Clark would get a fantastic restart and pull away by four car lengths over Miller while Polyak raced to his outside with Dinan, Alvin Roepke and Jimmy Colvin in pursuit. Both Dinan and Roepke would drive under Polyak on lap 10 and closed on Miller.

Roepke’s good run would end on lap 15 when he clipped an infield tire barrier, collapsing his front end. With 10 laps to go, again Clark executed a perfect restart and pulled away from Miller with Polyak rebounding to drive into third, bringing D.J. Foos into fourth. Clark would drive up the track in turns one and two on lap 18, allowing Miller to race to his inside. But, Clark regrouped and drove back around for the lead and began to pull away while Miller had his hands full with Polyak, Foos and Dinan. With four laps, Clark averted disaster when, after lapping Jeremy Duposki, the later nearly clipped the leader entering turn 1 and spun. On the restart, Caleb Griffith spun on the back stretch, collecting Matt Ferrell to bunch up the field. The running order was Clark, Miller, Polyak, Foos, 16th starter Nate Dussel, Colvin and Dinan. 

Clark continued his restart mastery and pulled away to the win, while Polyak drove around Miller on the final lap for second with Foos and Colvin rounding out the top five.

Jimmy McGrath Jr. and Kent Brewer would bring the dirt truck field to the green for their 20 lap feature. But, it was third place starter Bob Dible who blasted to their inside, grabbing the lead. Dible and Brewer would run nose to tail over the first 11 laps until the caution flew for a Ben Good spin. The running order was Dible, Brewer, McGrath, Ward, Dan Roepke Jr., Art Ball and John Ivy. While Dible and Brewer pulled away on the restart, McGrath and Ward were locked in a great battle for third. The caution flew for a Willie Keegan spin on lap 14 with Dible leading Brewer, Ward, McGrath, Roepke, Ball and Steve Sabo.

The final caution flew for a Craig Holland spin with just three laps to go. It was then Dible’s right front suspension looked to have given out. On the restart, he tried to hang on, but his truck washed up the track, giving Brewer the lead over Ward, McGrath, Roepke, Dustin Keegan and John Ivy. As they raced to the white flag, Brewer slipped off the bottom of turns one and two and Ward pounced. Ward would drive to the victory over Brewer, McGrath, Roepke and Dustin Keegan.

Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, June 16 for Crown Battery Night for the 410 and 305 sprints and dirt trucks.

Go to www.fremontohspeedway.com for more information.

Fremont Speedway - 6/9/2012
Vision Quest Night

Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints (26 Cars)

[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying - Callie's Performance
1. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.035; 2. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 13.306; 3. 53-Phil Gressman, 13.340; 4. 16-Chris Andrews, 13.411; 5. 3-Mike Linder, 13.501; 6. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.508; 7. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.547; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.573; 9. 22-Cole Duncan, 13.628; 10. 83M-Broc Martin, 13.630; 11. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 13.690; 12. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.700; 13. 55-Brad Bowman, 13.701; 14. 60-Jody Keegan, 13.703; 15. 97-Dean Jacobs, 13.708; 16. 14H-Todd Heller, 13.733; 17. 45L-Brian Lay, 13.738; 18. 14-Chad Wilson, 13.766; 19. 1X-Matt Linder, 13.804; 20. O-Lee Jacobs, 13.922; 21. 27-Scott Euler, 13.970; 22. 12-Jarred Ridge, 13.981; 23. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.048; 24. 2+-Brian Smith, 14.268; 25. O6-Brandy Bower, 14.650; 26. 3F-Rick Fraley, 14.936

Heat 1 - (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 55-Brad Bowman[2] ; 2. 14H-Todd Heller[1] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[4] ; 4. 16-Chris Andrews[5] ; 5. 83M-Broc Martin[3] ; 6. O9-Craig Mintz[6] ; 7. 12-Jarred Ridge[8] ; 8. 1X-Matt Linder[7] ; 9. O6-Brandy Bower[9] 

Heat 2 - (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 45L-Brian Lay[1] ; 2. 60-Jody Keegan[2] ; 3. O-Lee Jacobs[7] ; 4. W20-Greg Wilson[8] ; 5. 46AU-Stuart Williams[3] ; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[4] ; 7. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[6] ; 8. 3-Mike Linder[5] ; 9. 3F-Rick Fraley[9] 

Heat 3 - (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 53-Phil Gressman[6] ; 2. 97-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 3. 2+-Brian Smith[8] ; 4. 22-Cole Duncan[4] ; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[5] ; 6. 14-Chad Wilson[1] ; 7. 27-Scott Euler[7] ; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] 

B-Main - Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[2] ; 2. 3-Mike Linder[3] ; 3. O9-Craig Mintz[1] ; 4. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[4] ; 5. 12-Jarred Ridge[9] ; 6. 35-Stuart Brubaker[5] ; 7. 14-Chad Wilson[6] ; 8. 27-Scott Euler[8] ; 9. 3F-Rick Fraley[11] ; 10. 1X-Matt Linder[7] ; 11. O6-Brandy Bower[10] 

A-Main - (30 Laps)
1. 97-Dean Jacobs[14]; 2. 5R-Byron Reed[6]; 3. 3-Mike Linder[11]; 4. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[10]; 5. 5T-Travis Philo[5]; 6. 53-Phil Gressman[8]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson[19]; 8. O9-Craig Mintz[9]; 9. 2+-Brian Smith[20]; 10. 16-Chris Andrews[7]; 11. 22-Cole Duncan[4]; 12. O-Lee Jacobs[17]; 13. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[12]; 14. 12-Jarred Ridge[18]; 15. 14H-Todd Heller[15]; 16. 45L-Brian Lay[16]; 17. 60-Jody Keegan[13]; 18. 46AU-Stuart Williams[2]; 19. 83M-Broc Martin[3]; 20. 55-Brad Bowman[1]

Hard Charger: 97-Dean Jacobs[+13]

Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints (23 Cars)

[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 - (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 19R-Steve Rando[1] ; 2. 8K-John Ivy[7] ; 3. 25-Jason Keckler[2] ; 4. 27-Paige Polyak[5] ; 5. 68G-Tyler Gunn[3] ; 6. 1-Nate Dussel[8] ; 7. 77S-Jim Sipe[6] ; 8. 10-Josh Harrison[4] 

Heat 2 - (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 11F-D.J. Foos[4] ; 2. 4M-Jamie Miller[2] ; 3. 4X-Bobby Clark[3] ; 4. 10S-Roger Shammo[1] ; 5. 40-Caleb Griffith[7] ; 6. 39-Matt Merrill[5] ; 7. 8J-Jess Stiger[6] ; 8. 3F-Dean Kester[8] 

Heat 3 - (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5-Dustin Dinan[1] ; 2. OO-Alvin Roepke[2] ; 3. 9-Jimmy Colvin[6] ; 4. 67M-Matt Ferrell[4] ; 5. 36-Seth Schneider[5] ; 6. 13D-Jeremy Duposki[3] ; 7. 5R-Jordan Ryan[7] 

B-Main - Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 1-Nate Dussel[1] ; 2. 39-Matt Merrill[2] ; 3. 8J-Jess Stiger[5] ; 4. 10-Josh Harrison[7] ; 5. 13D-Jeremy Duposki[3] ; 6. 77S-Jim Sipe[4] ; 7. 3F-Dean Kester[8] 

A-Main - (25 Laps)
1. 4X-Bobby Clark[1]; 2. 27-Paige Polyak[2]; 3. 4M-Jamie Miller[4]; 4. 11F-D.J. Foos[5]; 5. 9-Jimmy Colvin[7]; 6. 5-Dustin Dinan[3]; 7. 1-Nate Dussel[16]; 8. 8K-John Ivy[6]; 9. 19R-Steve Rando[9]; 10. 25-Jason Keckler[10]; 11. 10S-Roger Shammo[12]; 12. 10-Josh Harrison[19]; 13. 40-Caleb Griffith[14]; 14. 67M-Matt Ferrell[11]; 15. 8J-Jess Stiger[18]; 16. 68G-Tyler Gunn[13]; 17. 13D-Jeremy Duposki[20]; 18. OO-Alvin Roepke[8]; 19. 36-Seth Schneider[15]; 20. 39-Matt Merrill[17]

Hard Charger: 1-Nate Dussel[+9]

Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks (20 Trucks)

[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 - (8 Laps - Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 8KB-Kent Brewer[3] ; 2. 9-Curt Inks[1] ; 3. O1-Art Ball[6] ; 4. 95-Keith Sorg[4] ; 5. 45-Brian Melnek Jr.[7] ; 6. 115-Ben Good[2] ; 7. 99X-Gene Potridge[5] 

Heat 2 - (8 Laps - Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[1] ; 2. 17-Bob Dible[4] ; 3. 18W-Cory Ward[5] ; 4. P51-Willie Keegan[6] ; 5. 99-Art Howey Jr.[3] ; 6. D1-Dustin Keegan[2] ; 7. 71-Craig Holland[7] 

Heat 3 - (8 Laps - Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 88-Dan Roepke Jr.[4] ; 2. 94-John Ivy[6] ; 3. 16-Steve Sabo[3] ; 4. 23M-Brad Mitten[1] ; 5. 4X-Brian Sorg[5] ; 6. 4-Dave Brewer[2] 

A-Main - (20 Laps)
1. 18W-Cory Ward[5]; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[2]; 3. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[1]; 4. 88-Dan Roepke Jr.[4]; 5. D1-Dustin Keegan[17]; 6. 23M-Brad Mitten[9]; 7. 99-Art Howey Jr.[14]; 8. 4X-Brian Sorg[15]; 9. 94-John Ivy[8]; 10. P51-Willie Keegan[12]; 11. 9-Curt Inks[10]; 12. O1-Art Ball[7]; 13. 99X-Gene Potridge[19]; 14. 115-Ben Good[16]; 15. 71-Craig Holland[20]; 16. 17-Bob Dible[3]; 17. 95-Keith Sorg[11]; 18. 16-Steve Sabo[6]

Hard Charger: D1-Dustin Keegan[+12]

©2012 - Results Provided by: Computer Man Inc. Fremont, OH