Tuesday, Sept. 25, 2012

By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio (Tuesday, Sept. 25) – The point battles for the coveted Fremont Speedway track championships are close and will be decided Saturday, Sept. 29 on Kistler Racing Products Season Championship Night.

Fremont Speedway will wrap up its 61^st season of racing the following week, Saturday, Oct. 6 for the Hoy’s Bar Run What Ya Brung event.

In the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints, Gibsonburg, Ohio’s Craig Mintz, who claimed the track championship in 2010, holds a slim 17 point lead over Fremont’s Phil Gressman. Mintz, who claimed Attica Raceway Park’s championship in 2012, is coming off an impressive run against the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions, where he scored a runner-up finish on Sept. 15. Gressman has one win in 2012, that coming at Attica Raceway Park, while Mintz holds three wins this season, all at Attica. Both are winless at Fremont.

Byron Reed, who claimed Fremont championships in 2003, 2007 and 2008, is third in the points, just 28 points behind Mintz. Uncharacteristically, Reed, who has 23 career wins at Fremont, has also been held out of the Engine Pro Victory Lane so far in 2012.

Two time track champion Mike Linder, who has a victory at “The Track That Action Built” in 2012, sits fourth in the points, 33 out of first. Chris Andrews, who also has a win at Fremont this season, is fifth with former 305 sprint track champion Brian Smith sixth.

Three-time Fremont 305 champion Stuart Brubaker has had an impressive 410 sprint rookie season and sits 7^th in the points with Dean Jacobs in 8^th, Jody Keegan 9^th and defending track champion Bryan Sebetto in 10^th. Sebetto has five wins at Fremont in 2012.

In the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints, local driver D.J. Foos looks to wrap up his first track title. Foos has 11 wins overall this season, six coming at Fremont as he holds a slim eight point lead over John Ivy, a three time Fremont 410 sprint champion. Ivy had a good weekend Sept. 14 and 15, scoring his second win of the season in the 305 sprints on Friday and his second victory of the year in the dirt trucks the following night to increase his career total at the track to 35.

Nate Dussel, who has earned back-to-back track championships at Attica, is third in Fremont’s standings, just 24 points behind Foos. Dussel has a win at Fremont this season.

Dustin Dinan is fourth in the division point standings and has a win this season, with Jamie Miller sitting fifth with two victories in 2012 at Fremont. The rest of the top 10 are Alvin Roepke, 6^th; Jason Keckler, 7^th; Jimmy Colvin, 8^th; Jess Stiger, 9^th; and rookie Tyler Gunn, 10^th.

At the age of 73, Art Ball is showing no signs of slowing down. The Tiffin, Ohio resident leads the Fremont Fence Dirt Truck Points with two feature wins in 2012, to run his career total to 73, the track’s all-time winningest driver. Ball, a two-time Fremont late model champion, is the track’s defending champion in the dirt trucks and was recently inducted into the track’s hall of fame.

Last season’s rookie of the year, Dan Roepke Jr. of Woodville, is 35 points behind Ball and has scored three wins at Fremont Speedway in 2012. Cory Ward, the track’s 2007 dirt truck champion, is third in the standings, 64 points out and has three wins in 2012. Kent Brewer, who scored a win recently, is fourth in the points while Dustin Keegan rounds out the top five and has four victories in 2012

The father-son duo of Brian and Keith Sorg, are 6^th and 7^th, with Brad Mitten 8^th, four-time track champion Steve Sabo 9^th and Ivy in 10^th.

In the newly created Surf’n Sweepstakes Sports Compact division, Grand Rapids, Ohio’s Brandon Myers has scored two sins and holds a slim two-point advantage over Steve Pocock who has a win in 2012. Chevy Farmer is third, 56 points back, while the rest of the top 10 are Tyler Sherman (1 win), Derek Genzman, Kyle Farmer, Erik Paulson, Amanda Shammo, Kelsey Ivy and Trent Laird.

The 410 sprints will battle for 30 laps for $3,000 to win while the 305 sprints will vie for $1,000 to win. The dirt trucks will be running double features as they make up a rained out main from Aug. 4.

Gates open at 4 p.m. with racing under way at 7 p.m.

The track will wrap up the season on Oct. 6 with a rather unique and exotic event. The “Run What Ya Brung” basically has no engine, body or tire rules.

“All sprint cars, regardless of engine size, will compete in one division. There’s no wing size rule, no tire rule and no body rule,” said Fremont Speedway Promoter Rich Farmer.

Late models and modifieds will be put together in another division. Again, no body, engine or tire rules.

“They can have wedge bodies, wings…we want to see how creative they can get,” said Farmer.

There will be a stock car/truck class too.

“There are some rules on engine placement for the stock car/truck class,” said Farmer.

And there will be a compact class open to all four-cylinder race vehicles, and Farmer added there is no age restriction (other than drivers have to be at least 14 years of age).

The ladies will battle in the traditional Powder Puff race, driving the dirt trucks.

Also, kids are encouraged to bring out their bicycles as there will be two age groups for a race sponsored by the Tackle Box II. The younger kids will race the length of the front stretch while the older kids have to race all the way around the one-third mile oval.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com or call Farmer at 419-307-4241.