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Stenhouse tames
tough Fremont
By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio (Thursday, June 30, 2006) - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
was told Ohio tracks and drivers were tough. The 18-year-old from Olive
Branch, Miss. didn't let that intimidate him, as he scored the All Star
Circuit of Champions Ohio Speedweek victory Thursday at Fremont Speedway.
Stenhouse opened Ohio Speedweek by winning at Attica Raceway Park on
Sunday - the first time he had ever visited that track. He said then in
victory lane he was told Fremont would be his toughest test and it was,
as 58 cars signed in on Miller Beer Night at "The Track That Action Built."
"I'm going to have to come back and race in Ohio more often. I have
to thank Pete Grove and Premeire Pallets for helping to get us to Speedweek
and Jack Elam and J&J Chassis for giving us such a great race car,"
said Stenhouse, whose father builds the team's motors. "We hired Andy Potter
(from Fremont) to wrench on this car this week and he just had this thing
so good. I could
drive it anywhere to get around lapped traffic."
Attica's Brandon Martin jumped into the lead of the 40-lap feature from
his pole starting spot, with outside front row starter Dale Blaney, Stenhouse,
Lee Jacobs, Phil Gressman and Paul McMahan in tow. Martin hugged the bottom
berm and continued to lead, but slipped up entering turn three on lap 10
to allow Blaney to get under him for the lead.
Blaney would continue to lead with Stenhouse getting around Martin on
lap 11 for second. As the leaders hit lapped traffic, Stenhouse closed
on Blaney and raced beside him on several ocassions. At the half-way mark,
the running order was Blaney, Stenhouse, Martin, Jacobs, McMahan, Phil
Gressman and David Harrison.
Things got interesting on lap 27 as the leaders hit heavy lapped traffic
that was racing side by side and sometimes three abreast in front of them.
Stenhouse used a lapped car as a pick and drove to the inside of Blaney
exiting turn four to take the lead as they completed lap 28.
The first and only caution would fly on lap 37 for a stalled Tim Hunter.
Stenhouse held the point with two lapped machines between he and second
place running Blaney. There were four lapped cars then to third place running
Martin who had a couple lapped machines between he and Jacobs.
On the restart, Stenhouse set sail and would cruise to the win with
Blaney in second, Jacobs moving around Martin on the last lap for third,
and Martin and 21st starting Kelly Kinser rounding out the top five.
"I don't know what happened, but with about 15-20 laps to go, the car
just got tight," said Blaney of his George Fisher-owned #2. "I'm disappointed,
but we'll take second...Ricky's a great little driver and we have to work
hard to beat him these last two.
For Jacobs, the third place run was a reward to the hard work of his
Burmeister team.
"These guys work hard to give me a good race car. We were a little off
at the beginning of the race, but it came around at the end," said Jacobs.
"Hats off to Ricky...he's going to be a good one."
In the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 sprint feature, Fremont's A.J.
Sleek jumped into the early lead, but it was lapped traffic that caused
him troubles. Paul Weaver caught Sleek on lap 14 and squeezed between him
and a lapped car on lap 20 to take the lead. Weaver would go on to pick
up his fourth win of the season at Fremont and his eight of the year (4
at Attica). It was also Weaver's 17th career Fremont victory, tying him
for 26th on the track's all-time win list.
"The track was smooth and racey...you just had to be patient. We had
some close calls with the lapped cars," said Weaver beside his M&L
Excavating, Weaver-Koonce Construction, Levell Performance sponsored #1w.
"We bought a used Byron Reed right rear tire last week and it was awesome...heck,
it's still got a couple of features left in it."
A special dash was held in memory of Billy Stierwalt, who loved racing.
The six drivers in the dash - Mark Keegan, Byron Reed, Mike Linder, Brandon
Martin, David Harrison and John Ivy battled for the $1,000 prize. Reed,
who won the dash, said the drivers decided beforehand to donate the money
to the Billy Stierwalt Memorial Scholarship Fund. Drivers also took up
a collection in the stands and the fans added another $2,000 for a $3,000
donation to the scholarship fund.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Monday, July 3, as the Coors
Light Dirt Trucks, Underground Utilities Inc. Limited Late Models, school
buses and vintage race cars are in action.
The "New" Fremont Speedway (6-29-06)
All-Star Circuit of Champions
Qualifying - Huggins Cams
1. 20-Paul McMahan, 12.493; 2. 9X-Rob Chaney, 12.551; 3. 1R-Phil Gressman,
12.613; 4. 2H-Tim Hunter, 12.630; 5. X-Mark Keegan, 12.657; 6. 40R-Ricky
Stenhouse, 12.780; 7. 71M-Paul May, 12.781; 8. 10-David Harrison, 12.820;
9. 37Z-Bryan Scott, 12.846; 10. 16-Lee Jacobs, 12.857; 11. 2-Dale Blaney,
12.940; 12. 8S-Craig Mintz, 13.053; 13. 78-Todd Kane, 13.057; 14. 12-Caleb
Griffith, 13.130; 15. 20E-Brian Ellenberger, 13.145; 16. 11M-Brandon Martin,
13.188; 17. 53-John Ivy, 13.252; 18. 7B-Jamie Miller, 13.295; 19. 11B-Brock
Mayes, 13.317; 20. 20AU-Troy Little, 13.319; 21. 8-Bobby Clark, 13.365;
22. 7K-Butch Schroeder, 13.385; 23. 55-Brian Smith, 13.389; 24. 70-Kevin
Huntley, 13.408; 25. 99-Alvin Roepke, 13.428; 26. O-Brandon Wimmer, 13.431;
27. 27-Scott Euler, 13.488; 28. 3L-Mike Linder, 13.493; 29. 29-Dean Jacobs,
13.495; 30. 7T-Troy Vaccaro, 13.544; 31. 5B-Chad Blonde, 13.562; 32. 4K-Kelly
Kinser, 13.570; 33. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.642; 34. 1B-Keith Baxter, 13.644;
35. 4-Danny Smith, 13.655; 36. 48-Mike Burkin, 13.656; 37. F1-Jon Finsel,
13.683; 38. K-Andrew Palker, 13.732; 39. 63-Barry Ruble, 13.785; 40. 31-Chuck
Wilson, 13.846; 41. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.949; 42. 15M-Jamie Martin, 13.952;
43. 97S-Cory Seeling, 13.980; 44. 4N-Niel Shepard, 14.019; 45. 18-Scott
Reily, 14.147; 46. 14H-Todd Heller, 14.164; 47. 26-Cody White, 14.169;
48. 6-Mike Dussel, 14.200; 49. 22W-Chuck Waddell, 14.238; 50. 10S-Roger
Shammo, 14.242; 51. 97-Todd King, 14.620; 52. 12M-James Mosher, 14.674;
53. 16X-Lee Stark, 14.740; 54. 22B-Ben Gregg, 14.868; 55. 7BX-Jeff Babcock,
14.888; 56. 98-Bruce Robenalt, 15.010; 57. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 15.197; 58.
45X-Alex Bliesner, 15.270
Heat 1 - Outwears Pre-Filters (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 8-Bobby Clark; 2. W20-Greg Wilson; 3. 20-Paul McMahan; 4. 5R-Byron
Reed; 5. 29-Dean Jacobs; 6. 53-John Ivy; 7. 97-Todd King; 8. 18-Scott Reily;
9. 78-Todd Kane; 10. X-Mark Keegan; 11. 99-Alvin Roepke; 12. F1-Jon Finsel;
13. 37Z-Bryan Scott
Heat 2 - B & B Oval Track Products (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 7K-Butch Schroeder; 2. 40R-Ricky Stenhouse; 3. 7B-Jamie Miller;
4. 14H-Todd Heller; 5. 16-Lee Jacobs; 6. 1B-Keith Baxter; 7. K-Andrew Palker;
8. O-Brandon Wimmer; 9. 10S-Roger Shammo; 10. 15M-Jamie Martin; 11. 7T-Troy
Vaccaro; 12. 12-Caleb Griffith; 13. 9X-Rob Chaney
Heat 3 - Engler Machine & Tool (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 2-Dale Blaney; 2. 55-Brian Smith; 3. 1R-Phil Gressman; 4. 11B-Brock
Mayes; 5. 5B-Chad Blonde; 6. 71M-Paul May; 7. 4-Danny Smith; 8. 20E-Brian
Ellenberger; 9. 97S-Cory Seeling; 10. 98-Bruce Robenalt; 11. 27-Scott Euler;
12. 63-Barry Ruble; 13. 26-Cody White
Heat 4 - TP Wings (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 70-Kevin Huntley; 2. 11M-Brandon Martin; 3. 4K-Kelly Kinser; 4.
20AU-Troy Little; 5. 3L-Mike Linder; 6. 10-David Harrison; 7. 48-Mike Burkin;
8. 4N-Niel Shepard; 9. 6-Mike Dussel; 10. 31-Chuck Wilson; 11. 7BX-Jeff
Babcock; 12. 2H-Tim Hunter; 13. 8S-Craig Mintz
Dash 1 - Haulmark (4 laps)
1. 2-Dale Blaney; 2. 40R-Ricky Stenhouse; 3. 20-Paul McMahan; 4. 1R-Phil
Gressman; 5. 11B-Brock Mayes; 6. 11M-Brandon Martin
Dash in Memory of Billy Stierwalt (6 laps)
1. 5R-Byron Reed; 2. 3L-Mike Linder; X. 11M-Brandon Martin; 4. 53-John
Ivy; 5. X-Mark Keegan; 6. 10-David Harrison
C-main - Computer Man Inc. (12 laps, top 4 transfer to B-main)
1. 4-Danny Smith; 2. 48-Mike Burkin; 3. 97S-Cory Seeling; 4. 31-Chuck
Wilson; 5. K-Andrew Palker; 6. 4N-Niel Shepard; 7. 26-Cody White; 8. 97-Todd
King; 9. 10S-Roger Shammo; 10. 63-Barry Ruble; 11. 6-Mike Dussel; 12. 98-Bruce
Robenalt; 13. 15M-Jamie Martin; 14. 18-Scott Reily; 15. 7BX-Jeff Babcock;
16. 16X-Lee Stark
B-main - University of NW Ohio (15 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 10-David Harrison; 2. 9X-Rob Chaney; 3. 2H-Tim Hunter; 4. X-Mark
Keegan; 5. 53-John Ivy; 6. O-Brandon Wimmer; 7. 37Z-Bryan Scott; 8. 27-Scott
Euler; 9. 48-Mike Burkin; 10. 12-Caleb Griffith; 11. 97S-Cory Seeling;
12. 4-Danny Smith; 13. 8S-Craig Mintz; 14. 1B-Keith Baxter; 15. 7T-Troy
Vaccaro; 16. 71M-Paul May; 17. 31-Chuck Wilson; 18. 20E-Brian Ellenberger
A-main - MSD Ignitions (40 laps) Starting Position []
1. 40R-Ricky Stenhouse[4]; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[2]; 3. 16-Lee Jacobs[3];
4. 11M-Brandon Martin[1]; 5. 4K-Kelly Kinser[21]; 6. 1R-Phil Gressman[5];
7. 11B-Brock Mayes[12]; 8. 10-David Harrison[10]; 9. 20-Paul McMahan[6];
10. 14H-Todd Heller [24]; 11. 20AU-Troy Little [13]; 12. 8-Bobby Clark[14];
13. X-Mark Keegan[9]; 14. W20-Greg Wilson[22]; 15. 9X-Rob Chaney[7]; 16.
29-Dean Jacobs[19]; 17. 5R-Byron Reed[23]; 18. 70-Kevin Huntley[17]; 19.
7K-Butch Schroeder[15]; 20. 7B-Jamie Miller[11]; 21. 2H-Tim Hunter[8];
22. 55-Brian Smith[16]; 23. 3L-Mike Linder[18]; 24. 5B-Chad Blonde[20]
Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints
Heat 1 - Riverside Machine & Tool (8 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 14-Chad Wilson; 2. 29-Chris Lang; 3. 71-Bill Kraylek; 4. 18-Todd
Hierman; 5. 5-Dustin Dinan; 6. 39-Matt Merrill; 7. 5D-Willie Keegan; 8.
18C-Jason Crispen; 9. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh; 10. 25P-Mark Pridemore
Heat 2 - R & R Auto Wrecking (8 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver; 2. 17X-Dustin Keegan; 3. 62C-Bob Dawson; 4. 23-Vern
Menkhoff; 5. 67M-Matt Ferrell; 6. O7-Scott Mominee; 7. 9H-Josh Hill; 8.
66L-Ryan Lowe; 9. 65-Mark Lang; 10. 7-Steve Sabo
Heat 3 - Gressman Powersports (8 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 55-Brad Bowman; 2. O2-Kevin Lee; 3. 9-Craig Kays; 4. 19R-Steve Rando;
5. 55S-Doug Berryman; 6. 31-Chad Gullett; 7. 22D-Dan Hammond; 8. 15C-Chris
Andrews; 9. O4-Cap Henry
Heat 4 - Computer Man Inc. (8 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 15-A.J. Sleek; 2. O1-Bryan Sebetto; 3. 21-Scott Kraylek; 4. 48S-Andy
Shammo; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 6. 3J-Bobby Foster; 7. 49-Coty Runion; 8.
27-Stuart Brubaker; 9. 12-Brett Lane; 10. 83D-Noah Wagner
B1 Main (10 laps, top 2 transfer to A-main)
1. 5-Dustin Dinan; 2. 39-Matt Merrill; 3. 67M-Matt Ferrell; 4. O7-Scott
Mominee; 5. 66L-Ryan Lowe; 6. 5D-Willie Keegan; 7. 9H-Josh Hill; 8. 1J-Jeremy
Shambaugh; 9. 18C-Jason Crispen; 10. 25P-Mark Pridemore; 11. 65-Mark Lang;
12. 7-Steve Sabo
B2 Main (10 laps, top 2 transfer to A-Main)
1. 55S-Doug Berryman; 2. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 3. 3J-Bobby Foster; 4.
49-Coty Runion; 5. 31-Chad Gullett; 6. 27-Stuart Brubaker; 7. 15C-Chris
Andrews; 8. 22D-Dan Hammond; 9. O4-Cap Henry; 10. 12-Brett Lane; 11. 83D-Noah
Wagner
A-main (25 laps) Starting Position []
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[6]; 2. 15-A.J. Sleek[2]; 3. 55-Brad Bowman[5]; 4.
21-Scott Kraylek[1]; 5. 71-Bill Kraylek[3]; 6. O1-Bryan Sebetto[4]; 7.
48S-Andy Shammo[16]; 8. 17X-Dustin Keegan[11]; 9. 9-Craig Kays[8]; 10.
18-Todd Hierman[13]; 11. 39-Matt Merrill[19]; 12. O2-Kevin Lee[7]; 13.
9Z-Duane Zablocki[20]; 14. 19R-Steve Rando[15]; 15. 5-Dustin Dinan[17];
16. 62C-Bob Dawson[10]; 17. 29-Chris Lang[12]; 18. 23-Vern Menkhoff[14];
19. 55S-Doug Berryman[18]; 20. 14-Chad Wilson[9] |