Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012
Double features to crown $10,000 FAST Champion Saturday
Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame membership to be auctioned

By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio – One night, two features, one $10,000 champion.

It all comes down to Saturday, Sept. 8 at Fremont Speedway. The drivers in the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints will compete in two 30-lap feature events. And, besides the purse, one driver will walk away $10,000 richer as the Kistler Racing Products FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) Championship Presented by Engine Pro and KS Sales and Service will be decided.

Besides the scheduled races on Tanks Meats Night – 410 sprints, 305 sprints, dirt trucks and sports compacts – the rained out feature from Aug. 4 will be held. The make-up feature will be held prior to the regular night of racing.

The 2012 FAST season saw seven different lead changes among five different drivers in the FAST Kistler Cup point standings. But, since mid-summer, it’s been all Bryan Sebetto. Sebetto claimed the Fremont Speedway and FAST championships last season.

Sebetto has scored four wins at Attica in 2012 and three at Fremont to hold a 52-point lead over 2009 FAST champion Craig Mintz. Mintz, who was crowned the 2012 Attica Champion, has a slim three point lead in the Fremont point standings over three time track champion and 2010 FAST champion Byron Reed.

Sebetto has qualified for all 15 FAST events in 2012 and has finished inside the top five a dozen times, leading the series in both stats. But, hope remains for Mintz as the three features Sebetto failed to finish in the top five have each resulted in 20th place finishes. Merely finishing the opening make-up feature and qualifying for the second event will be important steps in becoming the first two-time FAST champion.

After a disappointing opening night, which resulted in an 18th place finish, Mintz has qualified for every feature event and has picked up two FAST wins (both at Attica), nine top five finishes and five top 10 finishes.

Dean Jacobs, who has scored two wins at Fremont in 2012, sits third in the FAST standings, 104 points out of first and has qualified for all 15 FAST features and has collected seven top five finishes as well as six top 10 finishes. He sits 52 points behind Mintz.

Reed, who uncharacteristically has not visited victory lane in 2012, is fourth in the FAST points, just 24 points behind Jacobs. Phil Gressman sits fifth in the FAST standings and is only 20 point out of first in the Fremont Speedway point standings and is coming off a win against the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions last week at Attica.

Saturday’s event is also a FAST Championship event for the drivers of the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints. Fremont native D.J. Foos, who has four wins at Fremont this season in addition to five at Attica, holds a commanding 61-point lead over Nate Dussel. John Ivy, Paige Polyak and Dustin Dinan round out the top five in the $1,500-to-win championship.

The 305 Sprint FAST championship will be decided on Friday, Sept. 14 as the remaining laps from the Aug. 4 rain-out are contested.

Should weather become a factor on Saturday, Sept. 8, there is a rain date of Sunday, Sept. 9.

Also, because the 13th Annual 305 Sprint Invitational was rained out, as a way to thank the teams in that division for their support all season, Fremont Speedway Promoter Rich Farmer will put an additional $1,300 in the top 10 finishing positions in the division’s features each of the next four events (excluding the make-up feature on Sept. 14). Each of these four events will pay the feature winner $1,000.

And if that weren’t enough, Farmer will also put an additional total of $1,000 in the top 10 finishing positions in the Fremont Fence Dirt Truck features each of the next four events (excluding the make-up feature on Sept. 29). And, the winner of the Saturday, Sept. 16 dirt truck feature will take home $1,000!

The ladies’ powder puff truck race and the kids’ bike races will be held Oct. 6.

And if all of the championship excitement and all the money that is on the line wasn’t enough, the very first open membership to the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame will be auctioned off.

The Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame will soon begin offering memberships. For a minimum donation of $20 per year, fans can have a say in who is enshrined in the hall of fame. But, membership #1 will be auctioned off to the highest bidder this Saturday and it will be a lifetime membership.

“We have the most knowledgeable, loyal fans in dirt track racing. They have supported Fremont Speedway for 61 years. It’s because of them the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame came to fruition. By offering memberships, we are rightfully making sure the hall of fame belongs to the fans,” said Farmer, who is also one of the three Fremont Speedway Historical Club Executive Officers, along with Brian Liskai and Randy Mapus.

Each year, members of the hall of fame in good standing will receive a ballot of nominees and they will determine who is inducted into the hall of fame. So far there have been four classes of individuals inducted into the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame. The members will pick who is inducted in 2013.

The ballot will include categories such as drivers, mechanics/builders, car owners, employees/service to the speedway, etc. The Fremont Speedway Historical Club Executive Officers will craft the ballot that will be sent to Hall of Fame members who will have a set number of individuals they will vote on.

The membership form also allows members to make suggestions on who they would like to see inducted into the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame.

“We want to make sure the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame continues forever and by offering memberships that will happen. And, members will be very helpful in forming future ballots of inductees,” added Liskai.

Gates Saturday will open at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m. For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com