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Congratulations to Stevie Smith the 2012 Speedweek Champion  Money on the line....Blaney is there to take it at Fremont for Ohio Sprint Speedweek finale at Fremont 
Fremont, Ohio- By Brian Liskai (Saturday, June 30, 2012) – It was like dangling a carrot…put $10,000 out in front of Dale Blaney and he goes after it.
The “Low Rider” did just that at Fremont Speedway Saturday for the finale of the 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek. The Hartford, Ohio native chased down race-long leader Bryan Sebetto and passed him with seven laps to go in the 50-lap affair and went on to claim the finale.
For Blaney, it was his sixth University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions win of 2012. It was also his 90th career series victory, moving him to within 8 of tying hall-of-famer Kenny Jacobs for the All Stars all-time win lead. Blaney has swept the four UNOH All Star shows at Fremont in 2012 and now leads the series’ all-time win list at “The Track That Action Built” with 11 wins. It was also Blaney’s 16th career win at Fremont and the fourth series’ win this season at the track to keep him undefeated in All Star shows there.
“Shaff’s kind of owned this place the last couple of years and he still runs really, really good here and to beat him and sweep both of them here for Speedweek and add the Memorial Day weekend sweep…we kind of finally found Fremont again. The track was awesome…you could run any where you wanted to. My car was really good when it gets like this and George and Troy and Bobby, Rick and Junior and all the guys they put it together and I just drove it,” said Blaney beside his Ti22 Performance backed machine.
Blaney, who started 10th in the 50-lap feature, used lapped traffic to catch and pass Sebetto.
“I kind of found a little different line in four there…I was kind of hurting a little bit and I finally started to get patient and running it down off the middle and run down off the hill. In one and two I was a little bit better than he (Sebetto) was and in three and four he was better than me. I kind of had to run the top behind him for a little bit but then I got to running different lanes. You can do that when you are behind guys. It works out. If I was leading at that point…there’s a good chance I could have gotten taken advantage of,” added Blaney, a four time Ohio Sprint Speedweek champion and three time UNOH All Star Champion.
Blaney would finish third in the Ohio Sprint Speedweek points and continues to lead the Ohio Region points of the UNOH All Stars while holding second in the series’ national points.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Stevie Smith would finish fifth and earn his second Ohio Sprint Speedweek championship, having won the title in 2009.
“I owe it to my guys. They’ve had me a consistent, good race car. This is great for the team. I wish this was a 100 lapper…I wish we were a little bit better and we could have gotten up there and raced with them. We tried our best and we did our best and it just wasn’t good enough,” said Smith beside his CL Motorsports/DDNI/CJB Motorsports #19.
Defending Ohio Speedweek champion and three time UNOH All Star Champion Tim Shaffer would race from his 11th starting spot to edge Sebetto at the checkered for a second place finish. Shaffer, who leads the national UNOH All Star points, would come home second in the speedweek points and trails Blaney in the Ohio region points battle.
“The car really came on those last 20 laps. The guys are doing just a great job…Aaron Call and Janet Holbrook, the Kistler Engines, VRP Shocks, J&J Chassis…it’s a package deal and it’s really coming together and it really feels fun again,” said Shaffer. “Me and Bryan (Sebetto) got to racing each other so hard there at the end Blaney got away from us. That had to be a hell of a race to watch…it was a lot of fun where I was sitting.”
Sebetto, who embarked on his first ever complete Ohio Sprint Speedweek event, lead from laps 1-42.
“Lapped traffic was a pain tonight. They were all over the place. There at the end them guys…they wouldn’t run in the same place any two laps. It was frustrating, but Dale got through it the best. I’m glad to bring it home in one piece and put on a heck of a show for the fans,” said Sebetto beside his Hammer Pallets, Crown Battery, R3 Nutrition, Crown Batter, Gressman Powersports backed machine.
“To end up fourth in the speedweek points…to go to tracks I’ve never raced on and never having to run a B-main…it’s says a lot about this team. We were fast all week…sometimes our finish didn’t show how good we were. I’m proud of this team and all the guys who work their butts off and Randy and Lisa Hammer for believing in me and spending the money to take me on the road,” added Sebetto, the defending Fremont Speedway champion.
Paul McMahan and Sebetto would bring the field to the green with Sebetto grabbing the lead over McMahan, Smith, Shane Stewart, Byron Reed, Mike Linder and Dean Jacobs. Sebetto would fly away out front while McMahan battled with Stewart, with and Reed for second. The caution would fly on lap four for a multi-car event involving Chris Andrews, Cory Crabtree and Cap Henry, who had worked his way from the 24th starting position up to 14th.
On the restart, with clean air, Sebetto would pull way. He would encounter lapped traffic by the 11th circuit with Stewart moving into second with McMahan, Smith, Blaney, Reed, Linder and Shaffer in pursuit. By lap 18, Stewart began to track down Sebetto with McMahan, Blaney, Smith and Reed right there to challenge. Blaney would move into third on lap 20, and just as Stewart began to pressure Sebetto for the lead, he would slide off the high side of turns three and four and drop back to third on lap 22.
As they neared the half-way point, Blaney was quickly closing on Sebetto who was dealing with heavy lapped traffic. By lap 27, Blaney was racing under Sebetto as the large crowd rose to their feet to watch the excitement. The two would continue to wage a great battle as they sliced and diced through lapped traffic with Stewart, Shaffer, McMahan and Smith in tow.
On lap 31, Sam Hafertepe would make hard contact with the front stretch wall and flip hard, though he would exit the car uninjured. On the restart, Sebetto, Blaney and Stewart would run nose to tail with two lapped cars separating them from Shaffer, McMahan and Smith. The red would bring about a fuel stop as well.
Now, with a clear track ahead of him, it appeared Sebetto was primed to win the biggest race of his career. He would pull away slightly on the restart with Blaney, Steward, Shaffer, McMahan, Smith, Reed and Greg Wilson in pursuit. Shaffer would drive under Stewart for third on lap 35.
With 10 laps to go, Sebetto would once again catch the rear of the field, allowing Blaney to close once again with Shaffer not far behind. Blaney would slide under Sebetto for the lead exiting turn two on lap 42 to take the lead. As Blaney picked his way through traffic, Sebetto now had his hands full with a closing Shaffer with Stewart, Smith and Reed in tow.
Blaney could not shake Sebetto or Shaffer, but he was able to negotiate through the traffic to take the win. Shaffer would drive under Sebetto on the last corner to take second with Stewart and Smith rounding out the top five.
Fremont Speedway - 6/30/2012
All Star Circuit of Champions (42 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying - Kistler Engines
1. 29-Shane Stewart, 13.233; 2. 45-Paul McMahan, 13.270; 3. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.374; 4. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 13.389; 5. 40-Caleb Helms, 13.449; 6. 3L-Mike Linder, 13.464; 7. 19-Stevie Smith, 13.499; 8. 12-Jared Ridge, 13.576; 9. 97-Dean Jacobs, 13.588; 10. 71AU-Ryan Davis, 13.591; 11. 9X-Brandon Martin, 13.658; 12. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.662; 13. 14K-Cole Duncan, 13.690; 14. 2-Dale Blaney, 13.706; 15. 83-Tim Shaffer, 13.709; 16. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.715; 17. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.755; 18. 60K-Jody Keegan, 13.791; 19. 16-Chris Andrews, 13.802; 20. 57X-Andrew Palker, 13.803; 21. O-Lee Jacobs, 13.804; 22. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 13.832; 23. 4K-Kody Kinser, 13.845; 24. 2+-Brian Smith, 13.871; 25. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.883; 26. 53-Phil Gressman, 13.912; 27. 3-Pete Miller III, 13.915; 28. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.930; 29. 55-Brad Bowman, 13.996; 30. 89G-David Gravel, 14.015; 31. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 14.024; 32. 14W-Chad Wilson, 14.045; 33. 40C-Caleb Griffith, 14.211; 34. 40I-Mark Imler, 14.267; 35. 80-Trey Gustin, 14.423; 36. 60C-Kory Crabtree, 15.070; 37. 9W-Lance Webb, 15.136; 38. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 15.315; 39. 14H-Todd Heller, 17.375; 40. 54-Cap Henry, 99.997; 41. 4-Danny Smith, 99.998; 42. 73-Joe Ambruster, 99.999
Heat 1 - Kears Speed Shop (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[2] ; 2. O-Lee Jacobs[1] ; 3. 29-Shane Stewart[6] ; 4. 14K-Cole Duncan[3] ; 5. 97-Dean Jacobs[4] ; 6. 4-Danny Smith[11] ; 7. 40-Caleb Helms[5] ; 8. O9-Craig Mintz[7] ; 9. 9W-Lance Webb[10] ; 10. 55-Brad Bowman[8] ; 11. 40C-Caleb Griffith[9]
Heat 2 - All Pro Aluminum Heads (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. D4-Danny Holtgraver[1] ; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[3] ; 3. 45-Paul McMahan[6] ; 4. 60K-Jody Keegan[2] ; 5. 3L-Mike Linder[5] ; 6. 89G-David Gravel[8] ; 7. 53-Phil Gressman[7] ; 8. 46AU-Stuart Williams[10] ; 9. 40I-Mark Imler[9] ; 10. 71AU-Ryan Davis[4] ; 11. 73-Joe Ambruster[11]
Heat 3 - Dragon Race Fuel (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 83-Tim Shaffer[3] ; 2. 4K-Kody Kinser[1] ; 3. 16-Chris Andrews[2] ; 4. 19-Stevie Smith[5] ; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[6] ; 6. 14H-Todd Heller[10] ; 7. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[8] ; 8. 80-Trey Gustin[9] ; 9. 9X-Brandon Martin[4] ; 10. 3-Pete Miller III[7]
Heat 4 - Kinsler Fuel Injection (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. W20-Greg Wilson[4] ; 2. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[6] ; 3. 2+-Brian Smith[1] ; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7] ; 5. 57X-Andrew Palker[2] ; 6. 12-Jared Ridge[5] ; 7. 54-Cap Henry[10] ; 8. 60C-Kory Crabtree[9] ; 9. 14W-Chad Wilson[8] ; 10. 5T-Travis Philo[3]
Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 45-Paul McMahan[1] ; 2. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[3] ; 3. 29-Shane Stewart[5] ; 4. 19-Stevie Smith[2] ; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[4] ; 6. 3L-Mike Linder[6]
B-Main - MSD Ignition (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. O9-Craig Mintz[6] ; 2. 53-Phil Gressman[7] ; 3. 54-Cap Henry[20] ; 4. 55-Brad Bowman[9] ; 5. 4-Danny Smith[21] ; 6. 3-Pete Miller III[8] ; 7. 46AU-Stuart Williams[18] ; 8. 14H-Todd Heller[19] ; 9. 60C-Kory Crabtree[16] ; 10. 12-Jared Ridge[2] ; 11. 40I-Mark Imler[14] ; 12. 14W-Chad Wilson[12] ; 13. 9W-Lance Webb[17] ; 14. 73-Joe Ambruster[22] ; 15. 80-Trey Gustin[15] ; 16. 89G-David Gravel[10] ; 17. 40C-Caleb Griffith[13] ; 18. 9X-Brandon Martin[4] ; 19. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[11] ; 20. 40-Caleb Helms[1] ; 21. 71AU-Ryan Davis[3]
A-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (50 Laps)
1. 2-Dale Blaney[10]; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[11]; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[2]; 4. 29-Shane Stewart[3]; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[4]; 6. 5R-Byron Reed[5]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson[8]; 8. 45-Paul McMahan[1]; 9. D4-Danny Holtgraver[17]; 10. 3L-Mike Linder[6]; 11. O9-Craig Mintz[20]; 12. 16-Chris Andrews[14]; 13. 14K-Cole Duncan[9]; 14. O-Lee Jacobs[16]; 15. 97-Dean Jacobs[7]; 16. 54-Cap Henry[24]; 17. 4K-Kody Kinser[18]; 18. 60K-Jody Keegan[13]; 19. 57X-Andrew Palker[15]; 20. 35-Stuart Brubaker[22]; 21. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[12]; 22. 53-Phil Gressman[21]; 23. 2+-Brian Smith[19]; 24. 55-Brad Bowman[23]
Hard Charger: 2-Dale Blaney[+9] Stewart takes new team to Speedweek victory at Hilltop MILLERSBURG, OH- By Brian Liskai (Thursday, June 28, 2012) – Shane Stewart took a new team to victory lane Thursday at Hilltop Speedway on Night #8 of the 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of champions. Stewart, who joined the Fremont, Ohio based team on Sunday and promptly recorded a pair of third place finishes, drove the Level Performance, Kear’s Speed Shop, Hoy’s Bar, CA Kustoms backed Maxim, past Tim Shaffer on lap 12, and then benefitted from several cautions to keep him out of traffic on the small bullring, to score his seventh career UNOH All Star victory. “This car has been fast since I’ve been in it and everything I’ve complained about Rich (Farmer) has gone to Shirley Kear’s or Kistler’s and bought it so I didn’t have any more excuses. I just can’t thank Daniel (Smith) and all the guys that work hard on this car,” said Stewart. “It’ just got so dusty I couldn’t see the curb and actually jumped over it one time going into one. The curb got pretty nasty exiting turn four and I hit it a couple of times. Every time the yellow came out I was thanking the Lord. I have to thank Rich Farmer for putting me in this car this week and we have two more races to try and go and win. I want to thank Level Performance…they put a new motor in this thing two nights ago and it’s been fantastic. ProShocks and everyone that works hard there,” added Stewart. It wasn’t easy for Stewart, as he first battled hard with three time and defending UNOH All Star champion Tim Shaffer, and then he battled the fast track as he escaped disaster on Lap 23 when he jumped the cushion in turns one and two and nearly smashed into the guardrail. “Actually, after I got out of the fence I figured I must have a sizeable lead because I didn’t see that #83 (Shaffer) come zooming by me. It was just our night to win honestly…you just can’t make mistakes like that with those guys behind you and win every night,” added Stewart. Shaffer would come home with his second consecutive runner-up finish. “He did a great job and his guys did a great job and they deserve that win. We were just off a little bit and that’s all it takes. I didn’t like that yellow (on lap 23 that put four lapped cars between Shaffer and Stewart), but I was glad to see the red open up though that allowed us to make a few changes that helped us hang on to second,” said Shaffer beside his Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook Motorsports, VRP Shocks, Kistler Engines backed machine. “But by then I had the right rear over heated and the party was over.” The previous night’s winner, Dale Blaney, would bring the Ti22 Performance machine home in third after a spirited battle with Shaffer and Stevie Smith throughout the 30-lap affair. “I’ve been on the front stretch here before…it’s not my best track…I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite. I enjoy coming here…it’s a challenge for us every time we come here. It seems like I don’t run my best here…it doesn’t suit my style. We ran alright tonight though. Our car has been good all week. We had one problem this week and got turned over at Waynesfield, but other than that we’ve been really good,” said Blaney. Shaffer and Stewart would bring the field to the green, but before a lap could be completed, Paul McMahan and Mike Linder would get together with McMahan’s night finished. On the restart, Shaffer would slide into the lead with Stewart, Blaney, Stevie Smith and Cap Henry in pursuit. Shaffer could not shake Stewart as Blaney, Henry and Smith waged a terrific battle for third. As Shaffer hit lapped traffic by the seventh circuit, Stewart and Henry closed, but the race would grind to a halt when Lee Jacobs got upside down in turn two. On the restart, Shaffer, Stewart and Henry battled for the lead while Blaney, Smith and Sam Hafertepe gave chase. Shaffer and Stewart raced side by side over the next four circuits before Stewart drove around Shaffer for the lead on lap 12 as they raced back into lapped traffic. The caution would fly on lap 14 when Hafertepe slowed on the track with engine woes. The running order was Stewart, Shaffer, Henry, Blaney and Smith. With a clear track ahead of him, Stewart blasted to a big lead as Shaffer, Blaney and Smith raced hard for second while Bryan Sebetto and Andrew Palker gave chase. But, Jason Dolick would tip over in turn four with Danny Mumaw spinning to avoid the crash a lap later. Henry would go pit side for work and would rejoin the field at the tail. Again with a clear track, Stewart disappeared on the restart with Shaffer trying to hold off Blaney, Smith and Sebetto. Stewart would race into lapped traffic on lap 21 with Shaffer still trying to hold off Blaney and Smith. Stewart avoided disaster on lap 23, as he jumped the cushion in turns one and two and scraped the outside retaining wall. But, the leader was able to gather up his machine and continue to lead over Shaffer and Smith. The final caution would fly on lap 23 when Caleb Helms stopped off turn three. Because of the number of laps run, the race was red flagged for a fuel stop. On the restart, Stewart had four lapped cars separating him and Shaffer. When the green reappeared, Stewart drove away as Shaffer, Blaney, Smith and Sebetto had to work through the lapped traffic. Stewart would easily drive to the victory over Shaffer, Blaney, Sebetto and Smith. For more information go to www.allstarsprint.com Hilltop Speedway - 6/28/2012 All Star Circuit of Champions (28 Cars) [#]-Starting Position Qualifying - Kistler Engines 1. 89G-David Gravel, 12.225; 2. 19-Stevie Smith, 12.304; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer, 12.321; 4. 29-Shane Stewart, 12.396; 5. 54-Cap Henry, 12.398; 6. 2-Dale Blaney, 12.493; 7. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.504; 8. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 12.535; 9. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 12.556; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.559; 11. 57X-Andrew Palker, 12.567; 12. 45-Paul McMahan, 12.568; 13. 22-Cole Duncan, 12.572; 14. O-Lee Jacobs, 12.603; 15. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 12.605; 16. 3L-Mike Linder, 12.619; 17. 4-Danny Smith, 12.637; 18. 40-Caleb Helms, 12.649; 19. 3-Pete Miller III, 12.660; 20. 55-Brad Bowman, 12.664; 21. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.716; 22. 17-Marty Perovich, 12.743; 23. 12-Jared Ridge, 12.753; 24. 16-Danny Mumaw, 12.756; 25. 4K-Kody Kinser, 12.766; 26. 91-Aaron Middaugh, 12.774; 27. D12-Jason Dolick, 12.972; 28. 80-Trey Gustin, 13.045 Heat 1 - Kears Speed Shop (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 22-Cole Duncan[2] ; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3] ; 3. 29-Shane Stewart[5] ; 4. 3L-Mike Linder[1] ; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4] ; 6. 89G-David Gravel[6] ; 7. 3-Pete Miller III[7] ; 8. 17-Marty Perovich[8] ; 9. 4K-Kody Kinser[9] ; 10. 80-Trey Gustin[10] Heat 2 - All Pro Aluminum Heads (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. O-Lee Jacobs[2] ; 2. 4-Danny Smith[1] ; 3. 54-Cap Henry[5] ; 4. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[4] ; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[6] ; 6. 57X-Andrew Palker[3] ; 7. 91-Aaron Middaugh[9] ; 8. 12-Jared Ridge[8] ; 9. 55-Brad Bowman[7] Heat 3 - Dragon Race Fuel (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 40-Caleb Helms[1] ; 2. D4-Danny Holtgraver[2] ; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[4] ; 4. 83-Tim Shaffer[6] ; 5. 2-Dale Blaney[5] ; 6. 45-Paul McMahan[3] ; 7. W20-Greg Wilson[7] ; 8. 16-Danny Mumaw[8] ; 9. D12-Jason Dolick[9] Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature 1. 83-Tim Shaffer[1] ; 2. 29-Shane Stewart[4] ; 3. 19-Stevie Smith[6] ; 4. 2-Dale Blaney[3] ; 5. 89G-David Gravel[5] ; 6. 54-Cap Henry[2] B-Main - MSD Ignition (12 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 55-Brad Bowman[2] ; 2. 3-Pete Miller III[1] ; 3. 16-Danny Mumaw[6] ; 4. W20-Greg Wilson[3] ; 5. 4K-Kody Kinser[7] ; 6. D12-Jason Dolick[9] ; 7. 12-Jared Ridge[5] ; 8. 80-Trey Gustin[10] ; 9. 91-Aaron Middaugh[8] ; 10. 17-Marty Perovich[4] A-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (30 Laps) 1. 29-Shane Stewart[2]; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[1]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[4]; 4. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[8]; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[3]; 6. 57X-Andrew Palker[11]; 7. 22-Cole Duncan[13]; 8. 89G-David Gravel[5]; 9. 54-Cap Henry[6]; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart[10]; 11. 4-Danny Smith[17]; 12. 40-Caleb Helms[18]; 13. W20-Greg Wilson[21]; 14. 3-Pete Miller III[19]; 15. 3L-Mike Linder[16]; 16. 4K-Kody Kinser[23]; 17. 16-Danny Mumaw[22]; 18. D4-Danny Holtgraver[15]; 19. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[9]; 20. D12-Jason Dolick[24]; 21. 55-Brad Bowman[20]; 22. O-Lee Jacobs[14]; 23. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7]; 24. 45-Paul McMahan[12] Hard Charger: W20-Greg Wilson[+8] Blaney holds off Shaffer to take #6 of Ohio Sprint Speedweek at Fremont  FREMONT, OH- By Brian Liskai (6-28-12)– Despite some mechanical woes over the past few races and some bad racing luck, Dale Blaney has remained confident. That was evident Wednesday at Fremont Speedway for night #6 of the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions’ 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek. Prior to the night’s racing on JLH General Contractor’s Night, Blaney was calm and confident in the pit area, joking with fellow competitors, and letting them know he was taking ALL the money at “The Track That Action Built.” “It was a great night…got a good qualifying lap and that just set the tone for it,” said Blaney beside his Ti22 Performance #2. “I’ll tell you what…to beat those two guys (Tim Shaffer and Kyle Larson) here…especially Larson. He’s unbelievable and we’re going to be watching him race on Sundays for a lot of years. It’s pretty neat to race with him right now. And to beat Shaffer…I saw that #83 on the board and I knew he was good. He gets up on the wheel for these races. We have a good time racing. Boy he shoved it in there in four. I thought I was okay…I was kind of getting held up there just a little bit…the 45 car kind of took my line a little bit. I don’t know if I was playing a little too cautious, but I got in there a little easier than I should of and he (Shaffer) got a run and boy I had to get between him and the curb and the curb was tall and I just caught it good. He could have just used me up but he raced me clean.” Blaney, a three time UNOH All Star champion and four time Ohio Sprint Speedweek titlist, passed race-long leader Kyle Larson in heavy lapped traffic with just seven laps to go and then held off a valiant last lap effort from defending speedweek champion Tim Shaffer to score his fifth UNOH All Star win of the year. It was Blaney’s 10th career All Star win at Fremont, tying him with Jack Hewitt for the most all time series’ win at “The Track That Action Built.” “It’s pretty cool to tie Jack. There’s no other place I really like to come to. This is one of my favorite places to come race. It’s a racing town and the fans are always great here. To win here is special and the fans have always treated me right,” said Blaney Blaney’s 15th career win at Fremont Speedway, tightens the UNOH All Stars point standings for the national title as Shaffer came into the event with a narrow 12 point lead. The Ohio Sprint Speedweek points battle is also close as Stevie Shaffer and Blaney narrow the gap to leader Stevie Smith. For Shaffer, the second place run just continues to show how his Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook Motorsports team continues to grow and gel. “I was trying my damnest…that was a hell of a race. You get Larson out front…that kid is awesome; he’s got a lot of talent. To stay up front at this track…it’s tough, the track changes and you have to move around a lot. When I got to third I thought I might have a shot at this. I kind of slid Larson down there earlier and it worked so I tried it just to see how close I could get to Dale and I tried it and got next to him and thought I needed to save that for later. I just came up a little short. What a heck of a race…that was a lot of fun,” said Shaffer beside his Kistler Engines, VRP Shocks backed #83. “I can’t wait to race tomorrow… I just love racing every night. We have a great team with Janet and Aaron giving us great tools to work with. The J&J chassis and VRP shocks and Kistler Engines…it’s just starting to come together and it’s a lot of fun,” added Shaffer. For Larson, who has won two Ohio Speedweek features in his first ever appearance in the event, third place was a bit disappointing. “The cushion got tougher and tougher to run. I figured the Low Rider (Blaney) would be down on the bottom in one and two...it really got slick down there and you had to make sure you hit your marks. I didn’t want to take a chance of missing the bottom like I did when he got by me. I don’t know what happened there after that yellow…I just kept messing up and let him get close to me. I felt like I was getting through traffic good so I really didn’t want to see that yellow (only caution was on lap 25) I wanted it to go 40 laps nonstop. We will take two wins and almost a third last night and a third tonight…it’s not bad,” said Larson of his Abreu Vineyards/Stadelhoffer Construction/Butlerbuilt Seats backed #1k. Larson and Blaney would lead the field to the green of the 40-lap feature with Larson blasting into the lead with Blaney, Shane Stewart, Sam Hafertepe, Shaffer, Stevie Smith, Lee Jacobs and Greg Wilson in pursuit. Larson set a blistering pace on the fast track, catching the rear of the field by lap seven. Looking like a seasoned veteran, Larson patiently worked his way through the heavy traffic and by lap 12 had some clear track and opened up a sizeable lead over Blaney, Stewart, Shaffer, Hafertepe, Smith and Craig Mintz. But, just three laps later, Larson encountered traffic again, this time they were racing side by side in front of him. However, Blaney could not close as Stewart, Shaffer and Smith waged a terrific battle for third. Cap Henry and Jared Ridge would stop exiting turn four on lap 25 for the only caution. On the restart Larson had a lapped car separating him from Blaney who had two lapped machines between himself and Shaffer. On the restart Chris Andrews got upside down to bring out the red. On the restart Larson used the clean air and the lapped cars to open up a lead again, but not for long as Blaney quickly disposed of the traffic. Larson handed Blaney the break he needed on lap 28 when the leader slid off the top of turn two. Meanwhile Shaffer got around Stewart and was closing on the top two cars. Larson and Blaney raced into heavy lapped traffic on lap 31 with Shaffer closing, and after completing the 32nd lap, Blaney would dive under Larson in turns one and two and drive off the bottom into the lead. Larson would stay to Blaney’s outside and Shaffer joined the fun a lap later. With five to go, Blaney, Larson and Shaffer were within a car length of each other for the lead while Stewart, Smith and Wilson gave chase. Shaffer would take second on lap 36 and quickly raced to Blaney’s inside. Blaney and Shaffer would battle side by the side to the white flag with Larson falling back slightly. As they raced into three and four toward the checkered, Shaffer blasted to Blaney’s inside and slid up, the two nearly banging wheels as they had a drag race to the finish with Blaney winning by half a car. Blaney, Larson, Stewart, Smith and Wilson would round out the top five. “I hate to lead races early, especially with him (Larson) behind you. He watched me the other night at Wayne County…well he really didn’t watch me long, he just drove by me, but I watched him a little bit. He was really good on the bottom early in one and two and then he kind of stayed up top and after he run off the cliff there in two, I thought he’d move down a little bit but he didn’t. We just took advantage of him…we were running second and traffic just went our way,” said Blaney of his winning strategy. Fremont Speedway - 6/27/2012 Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints (40 Cars) [#]-Starting Position Qualifying - Kistler Engines Qualifying 1. 2-Dale Blaney , 13.095; 2. 1K-Kyle Larson, 13.253; 3. 55X-Dave Blaney, 13.273; 4. 45-Paul McMahan, 13.317; 5. 29-Shane Stewart, 13.363; 6. 89G-David Gravel, 13.364; 7. O-Lee Jacobs, 13.391; 8. 40-Caleb Helms, 13.402; 9. 12-Jared Ridge, 13.431; 10. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. , 13.450; 11. 19-Stevie Smith, 13.453; 12. 83-Tim Shaffer, 13.463; 13. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.518; 14. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.523; 15. 14H-Todd Heller, 13.523; 16. 16-Chris Andrews, 13.537; 17. 55-Brad Bowman, 13.579; 18. 14-Tony Stewart, 13.595; 19. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.643; 20. 97-Dean Jacobs, 13.692; 21. 54-Cap Henry, 13.732; 22. 45L-Brian Lay, 13.733; 23. 3L-Mike Linder, 13.735; 24. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 13.764; 25. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.797; 26. 4K-Kody Kinser, 13.815; 27. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.873; 28. 3-Pete Miller III , 13.876; 29. 53-Phil Gressman, 13.890; 30. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.909; 31. 60-Jody Keegan, 13.936; 32. 22-Cole Duncan, 13.960; 33. 71AU-Ryan Davis, 13.971; 34. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 13.998; 35. 2+-Brian Smith, 14.066; 36. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 14.071; 37. 5T-Travis Philo, 14.161; 38. 4-Danny Smith, 14.240; 39. 2M-Dallas Hewitt, 14.258; 40. 14W-Chad Wilson, 14.328 Heat 1 -Kears Speed Shop (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 54-Cap Henry[1] ; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[3] ; 3. 29-Shane Stewart[5] ; 4. 2-Dale Blaney [6] ; 5. 55-Brad Bowman[2] ; 6. 53-Phil Gressman[8] ; 7. 12-Jared Ridge[4] ; 8. 5T-Travis Philo[10] ; 9. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7] ; 10. 71AU-Ryan Davis[9] Heat 2 - All Pro Aluminum Heads(10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 14-Tony Stewart[2] ; 2. W20-Greg Wilson[3] ; 3. 1K-Kyle Larson[6] ; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4] ; 5. 4K-Kody Kinser[7] ; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver[9] ; 7. 4-Danny Smith[10] ; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[8] ; 9. 89G-David Gravel[5] ; 10. 45L-Brian Lay[1] Heat 3 - Dragon Race Fuels(10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 5R-Byron Reed[2] ; 2. 3L-Mike Linder[1] ; 3. 19-Stevie Smith[4] ; 4. 14H-Todd Heller[3] ; 5. O-Lee Jacobs[5] ; 6. 55X-Dave Blaney[6] ; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart[7] ; 8. 60-Jody Keegan[8] ; 9. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[10] ; 10. 2+-Brian Smith[9] Heat 4 - Kinsler Fuel Injection(10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[1] ; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[4] ; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 4. 16-Chris Andrews[3] ; 5. 22-Cole Duncan[8] ; 6. 40-Caleb Helms[5] ; 7. 3-Pete Miller III [7] ; 8. 46AU-Stuart Williams[9] ; 9. 14W-Chad Wilson[10] ; 10. 45-Paul McMahan[6] Dash - Outerwears Performance Products(6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature 1. 1K-Kyle Larson[2] ; 2. 2-Dale Blaney [3] ; 3. 29-Shane Stewart[1] ; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [5] ; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[4] ; 6. O-Lee Jacobs[6] B-Main - MSD Ignition (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 55X-Dave Blaney[1] ; 2. 45-Paul McMahan[2] ; 3. 89G-David Gravel[3] ; 4. 12-Jared Ridge[5] ; 5. 40-Caleb Helms[4] ; 6. 53-Phil Gressman[10] ; 7. 45L-Brian Lay[6] ; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7] ; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart[8] ; 10. D4-Danny Holtgraver[14] ; 11. 60-Jody Keegan[12] ; 12. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[11] ; 13. 5T-Travis Philo[17] ; 14. 3-Pete Miller III [9] ; 15. 46AU-Stuart Williams[16] ; 16. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[19] ; 17. 14W-Chad Wilson[20] ; 18. 71AU-Ryan Davis[13] ; 19. 4-Danny Smith[18] ; 20. 2+-Brian Smith[15] A-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio(40 Laps) 1. 2-Dale Blaney [2]; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[7]; 3. 1K-Kyle Larson[1]; 4. 29-Shane Stewart[3]; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[5]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson[9]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4]; 8. O9-Craig Mintz[8]; 9. 55X-Dave Blaney[11]; 10. 5R-Byron Reed[18]; 11. 45-Paul McMahan[12]; 12. O-Lee Jacobs[6]; 13. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[22]; 14. 89G-David Gravel[13]; 15. 97-Dean Jacobs[19]; 16. 14-Tony Stewart[17]; 17. 22-Cole Duncan[24]; 18. 3L-Mike Linder[21]; 19. 55-Brad Bowman[16]; 20. 54-Cap Henry[20]; 21. 14H-Todd Heller[10]; 22. 16-Chris Andrews[15]; 23. 12-Jared Ridge[14]; 24. 4K-Kody Kinser[23] Hard Charger: 24H-Bryan Sebetto[+9] Brandon Matus takes care of tires and claims his first ever UNOH All Star win at Sharon
 HARTFORD, OH - By Brian Liskai(Tuesday, June 26, 2012) – After several attempts to finish the 30-lap feature at Sharon Speedway Tuesday night there were only three cars in front of the field that hadn’t blown tires. It was Wampum, Pennsylvania’s Brandon “The Wheel Man” Matus who nursed his tires enough to take his first ever University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions victory on night #5 of the 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek.
There were several attempts at a green, white checkered finish that resulted in race-long leader Tony Stewart finally blowing his right rear, followed by then leader Kyle Larson and Dale Blaney. When the green came out, leader Logan Schuchart raced around to the white flag, but his right rear tire let go and he kept going as Matus, who started 18th, drove by and went on to the biggest win of his young career much to the delight of the local crowd.
“I wish I knew how I saved enough of my tires. Everyone knows me for loving these slick tracks. Running up in the dust under cautions helped I know that, but just easy on the throttle…that’s it,” said Matus beside his Sobczak Electric, Matus Service Center, Miller Masonry, Gressman Powersports backed machine.
“I was a bundle of nerves those last couple of green, white, checkered attempts. There’s so many things going through your head…you have no idea. I didn’t know if the tire would last,” added Matus of his GF1 Chassis, Ti22 sponsored #13. “I have to thank my Mom, Dad, Sister…everybody.”
Paul McMahan would come back from an early flat tire to take second after restarting fourth on the final attempt at the finish.
“That was kind of our game plan. We didn’t have much tire left after the heat race. I thought maybe I might be able to save it but it just kept getting flatter and worse and worse. So I just decided to try and tear it up…it’s a bad thing to do but it’s what you have to do and it paid off for us tonight. We missed it by one spot. Congratulations to those guys (Matus)…he drove a heck of a race to save that tire for 30 laps…he did a heck of a job,” said McMahan beside his Bryan Grove Racing, Canton Erectors, Berlin Natural Bakery backed #45.
Another of the cars that did not require a tire change – Eric Williams of Greenville, Pa. – would come home third.
“Under that red flag (a fuel stop before the first attempt at a green, white, checkered finish) they told me I hardly had any air left in the right rear so they put some air in it and I was just hoping it would hold,” said Williams beside his Approved Toilet Rentals, McClung Auto Body, Rentools and Equipment backed #7. “I just tried to nurse it to the end. I was debating on coming here tonight…I’m glad I did.”
Tony Stewart and Dale Blaney would bring the field to the green of the 30-lap feature with Stewart blasting into the lead while Blaney had his hands full with the winner of the previous two nights, Kyle Larson with Caleb Helms, Logan Schuchart, McMahan, Tim Shaffer and Sam Hafertepe Jr. in tow. Stewart would pull away and hit lapped traffic by the sixth circuit with Blaney, Larson, Helms and Schuchart in tow.
With eight laps in the books, Stewart was mired in lapped traffic, allowing Blaney to close with Larson comfortably in third while Helps battled with Schuchart and Hafertepe for fourth. Once clear of traffic, Stewart again pulled away from Blaney, Larson, Hafertepe and Schuchart.
The tire situation began on lap 19 when Danny Smith suffered a flat to bring out the caution. On the restart Stewart would pull away from Blaney and Larson. Bryan Sebetto’s tire would let go on lap 23 for another yellow. And again, Stewart would blast away on the restart with Blaney, Larson, Hafertepe, Schuchart, Helps and McMahan in pursuit. With six laps to go, McMahan’s tire finally blew for another yellow. A lap and another flat, this time for Stevie Smith.
With five laps to go, the running order was Stewart, Larson, Blaney, Hafertepe, Schuchart and Eric Williams. This time the field was able to get two laps in before Stewart’s right rear left go and he retired pit side, handing the lead to Larson. But, the caution flew when several cars blew tires.
That set up the first attempt at a green, white, checkered. On the first attempt, Shaffer blew a tire, followed by Blaney on the second try, necessitating the fuel stop. On the restart, both Larson and second place running Hafertepe suffered flats, handing the lead to Schuchart, who, along with Matus and Williams, were the only cars left from the original start of the event that had not had a flat.
The green came out and Schuchart looked like he might nurse his car home to the victory. He raced around to the white, but when he entered turns one and two, his right rear let go as Matus, McMahan – who had come from the back of the backing the last five laps after getting a new right rear – and Williams applied pressure. Matus stayed glued to the rubber on the bottom and drove home to the victory.
McMahan, Williams, Mike Linder and Stevie Smith – the later two having changed flat tires late in the race – would round out the top five.
UNOH Night
All Star Circuit of Champions (43 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying - Kistler Engines
1. 14-Tony Stewart, 14.806; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.020; 3. 1K-Kyle Larson, 15.088; 4. 83-Tim Shaffer, 15.104; 5. 2M-Dallas Hewitt, 15.141; 6. 2-Dale Blaney, 15.145; 7. 89G-David Gravel, 15.157; 8. 2L-Ed Lynch, 15.174; 9. 40-Caleb Helms, 15.192; 10. 45-Paul McMahan, 15.206; 11. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 15.212; 12. 3L-Mike Linder, 15.214; 13. W20-Greg Wilson, 15.247; 14. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 15.255; 15. 7-Eric Williams, 15.263; 16. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 15.323; 17. 33-Brent Matus, 15.343; 18. 5B-Adam Anderson, 15.364; 19. 3-Pete Miller III, 15.364; 20. 13-Brandon Matus, 15.382; 21. 4-Danny Smith, 15.389; 22. 19-Stevie Smith, 15.395; 23. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 15.415; 24. 17-Marty Perovich, 15.486; 25. 5T-Travis Philo, 15.519; 26. 94-Rob Chaney, 15.556; 27. 30C-Lance Dewease, 15.563; 28. 29-Shane Stewart, 15.565; 29. 6-Bill Rose, 15.613; 30. 5K-Adam Kekich, 15.616; 31. 24-Brian Steinman, 15.630; 32. O8-Dan Kuriger, 15.654; 33. 54-Cap Henry, 15.720; 34. 55-Brad Bowman, 15.776; 35. 8-Mike Lutz, 15.788; 36. 60-Jody Keegan, 15.839; 37. 55X-Dave Blaney, 15.853; 38. 22S-Brandon Spithaler, 15.905; 39. 23-Jimmy Light, 15.926; 40. 71AU-Ryan Davis, 15.991; 41. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 16.101; 42. 4K-Kody Kinser, 16.204; 43. 55AU-Luke Bowey, 16.237
Heat 1 - Kears Speed Shop (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 4-Danny Smith[1] ; 2. 33-Brent Matus[2] ; 3. W20-Greg Wilson[3] ; 4. 14-Tony Stewart[6] ; 5. 40-Caleb Helms[4] ; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver[11] ; 7. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[5] ; 8. 55X-Dave Blaney[10] ; 9. 6-Bill Rose[8] ; 10. 54-Cap Henry[9] ; 11. 5T-Travis Philo[7]
Heat 2 - All Pro Aluminum Heads (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 19-Stevie Smith[1] ; 2. 45-Paul McMahan[4] ; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[5] ; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[6] ; 6. 55-Brad Bowman[9] ; 7. 5B-Adam Anderson[2] ; 8. 22S-Brandon Spithaler[10] ; 9. 94-Rob Chaney[7] ; 10. 5K-Adam Kekich[8] ; 11. 4K-Kody Kinser[11]
Heat 3 - Dragon Race Fuel (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[4] ; 2. 46AU-Stuart Williams[1] ; 3. 3-Pete Miller III[2] ; 4. 7-Eric Williams[3] ; 5. 1K-Kyle Larson[6] ; 6. 30C-Lance Dewease[7] ; 7. 89G-David Gravel[5] ; 8. 23-Jimmy Light[10] ; 9. 8-Mike Lutz[9] ; 10. 24-Brian Steinman[8] ; 11. 55AU-Luke Bowey[11]
Heat 4 - Kinsler Fuel Injection (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 17-Marty Perovich[1] ; 2. 13-Brandon Matus[2] ; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[3] ; 4. 83-Tim Shaffer[6] ; 5. 29-Shane Stewart[7] ; 6. 3L-Mike Linder[4] ; 7. O8-Dan Kuriger[8] ; 8. 2L-Ed Lynch[5] ; 9. 60-Jody Keegan[9] ; 10. 71AU-Ryan Davis[10]
Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 14-Tony Stewart[4] ; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[-] ; 3. 40-Caleb Helms[1] ; 4. 1K-Kyle Larson[2] ; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart[6] ; 6. 83-Tim Shaffer[5]
B-Main - MSD Ignition (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 89G-David Gravel[2] ; 2. 2L-Ed Lynch[3] ; 3. 30C-Lance Dewease[8] ; 4. 3L-Mike Linder[4] ; 5. 5T-Travis Philo[6] ; 6. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[1] ; 7. 54-Cap Henry[13] ; 8. 6-Bill Rose[9] ; 9. 94-Rob Chaney[7] ; 10. D4-Danny Holtgraver[20] ; 11. 55-Brad Bowman[14] ; 12. 55X-Dave Blaney[17] ; 13. 5B-Adam Anderson[5] ; 14. 60-Jody Keegan[16] ; 15. 22S-Brandon Spithaler[18] ; 16. 8-Mike Lutz[15] ; 17. 71AU-Ryan Davis[19] ; 18. 55AU-Luke Bowey[21] ; 19. 5K-Adam Kekich[10] ; 20. 24-Brian Steinman[11]
A-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (30 Laps)
1. 13-Brandon Matus[18]; 2. 45-Paul McMahan[7]; 3. 7-Eric Williams[14]; 4. 3L-Mike Linder[13]; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[20]; 6. 40-Caleb Helms[3]; 7. 83-Tim Shaffer[6]; 8. 1K-Kyle Larson[4]; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart[5]; 10. 2-Dale Blaney[2]; 11. 89G-David Gravel[11]; 12. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[8]; 13. 4-Danny Smith[19]; 14. W20-Greg Wilson[9]; 15. 33-Brent Matus[16]; 16. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[15]; 17. 17-Marty Perovich[22]; 18. 30C-Lance Dewease[23]; 19. 46AU-Stuart Williams[21]; 20. 3-Pete Miller III[17]; 21. 14-Tony Stewart[1]; 22. 29-Shane Stewart[24]; 23. 35-Stuart Brubaker[10]; 24. 2L-Ed Lynch[12]
Hard Charger: 13-Brandon Matus[+17]
Larson a perfect 2-for-2 in Ohio Sprint Speedweek  ORRVILLE, OH- By Brian Liskai (Monday, June 25, 2012) – Kyle Larson made it two wins in two outings with the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions during the 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek. The Elk Grove, California native drove from his seventh starting spot to pass Dale Blaney for the lead on lap 13 and went on to score the victory at the NAPA Auto Parts Wayne County Speedway Monday. Larson, 19, who picked up his first UNOH All Star win the previous night at Cannonball Speedway, scored his second consecutive victory at a track he had never laid eyes on. The victory impressed the packed grandstands and reminded many of the veteran fans of another youngster who came to Ohio Sprint Speedweek several years ago and won on tracks he had never seen – 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. “Three and four was elbows up like a lot of places are in California where they have a lot of moisture and rough so that was a lot of fun. I was getting a little wore out there…I usually don’t get tired but I had to take a second and catch my breath there under the yellow. I was really working hard there in three and four and in one and two I had to make sure I didn’t hit the tractor tires on the bottom,” said Larson beside his Abreu Vineyards, Stadelhoffer Construction, Butlerbuilt Seats backed #1k. “The lappers were pretty tough to get by. They were just fast enough that I couldn’t get a run on them off the exit. Luckily I got a few of them before the yellow so I had a couple between me and Dale there on the restart,” continued Larson of the green, white checkered finish following that late race caution. “Thanks to Davey, Dalton, Chuck for all their hard work. They built this car in a week and the first two nights out on it we got wins. This is great for Spike Chassis. I have to thank Jeannie and Brian Butler with Butlerbuilt Seats and Abreu Vineyards and Stadelhoffer Construction and everybody that helps out on this car…without them we wouldn’t be able to do it,” said Larson, who won in a stock car recently with the K&N Pro Series East Series. “We will see if we can make it a hat trick and go three for three. This is really cool to come out here and get wins the first two nights of my speedweek. All the guys are really tough out here. I grew up reading about them and watching them on TV…they’re all really old compared to me…I’ve been keeping an eye on them for a long time,” joked Larson, who will turn 20 years of age next month. For three time All Star Champion Dale Blaney – who has four Ohio Sprint Speedweek titles on his resume – a late race caution may have spoiled his chances, as he was reeling in the leader in heavy lapped traffic. But, when you consider the problems Blaney and his team have worked to overcome in the first three races of Speedweek, the runner-up finish was a shot in the arm. “When I saw the #1 on the board I knew it was him (Larson) and he runs pretty good. My car was stumbling real bad in the corners and on restarts so it was hard for me to throttle it from the center off and I had to kind of run up a little bit where I had to keep my speed up. The car was pretty good all night and we didn’t have too many problems and we brought it home second. Hopefully we’re heading back in the right direction and the rest of the week we can do pretty well,” said Blaney beside his Ti22 Performance machine. While Larson has two wins in his first two Ohio Sprint Speedweek events, Bixby, Oklahoma’s Shane Stewart has two third place finishes in his first two speedweek starts. “You don’t ever want to start on the pole and fade by any means, but we’re going to have to figure out a way to slow Kyle down. We’re going to have to put a sniper in the trees and shoot one of his tires out. He’s a great talent and it’s always fun to watch him race. Hopefully when he makes it big he remembers all us poor sprint car drivers…he can come back and help us,” joked Stewart beside his Level Performance, Hoy’s Bar, Kear’s Speed Shop backed #29. “I lost my brakes in the middle of the race and was just kind of hanging on. Me and Stevie (Smith) had a pretty good race the last couple of laps and I was lucky to hang on to third which is a solid effort for this team and hopefully we can get a win before I have to go back to Pennsylvania.” Stewart and Blaney would bring the field to the green with Blaney taking charge over Stewart, Paul McMahan, Bryan Sebetto, Stevie Smith and Larson. Just as Blaney was set to hit lapped traffic on the fifth circuit, the caution would fly for a tangle involving Stuart Brubaker and Ryan Davis. On the restart, Blaney pulled away from a great battle between McMahan, Stewart and Larson. Larson would drive under Stewart for third on lap nine and around McMahan for second on the next circuit and quickly closed on Blaney. Danny Holtgraver would spin in turn two on lap 11, putting Larson right on Blaney’s rear bumper. On the restart, Larson quickly dove under Blaney as they raced side by side through one and two, with Larson gaining the advantage down the back stretch. Larson would pull away as Blaney ran comfortably in second with the battle for third heating back up between McMahan, Stewart and Smith. Smith would take the third spot at the halfway point. Larson would race into lapped traffic by the 18th circuit and began picking cars off one at a time. However, with eight laps to go, the lapped cars were racing side-by-side in front of Larson, and the veteran Blaney pounced on the situation to quickly close. Meanwhile, Smith, Stewart and McMahan continued to put on a great show for third with Cap Henry, Tim Shaffer and Tony Stewart in tow. As the laps ticked off, Blaney pulled to within a couple of car lengths from Larson with Stewart moving into third with five to go. Just as it looked like things would get interesting as they took the white flag, Sam Hafertepe Jr. would bring out the caution, necessitating a green-white-checkered finish. On the restart, Larson would have three lapped machines separating him from Blaney and would hit his marks perfectly to take the win. Blaney, Stewart, Smith and Shaffer rounding out the top five. Wayne County Speedway - 6/25/2012 UNOH Night All Star Circuit of Champions (45 Cars) [#]-Starting Position Qualifying - Kistler Engines 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.218; 2. 97-Dean Jacobs, 15.224; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 15.242; 4. 2-Dale Blaney, 15.257; 5. 54-Cap Henry, 15.288; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 15.307; 7. 19-Stevie Smith, 15.356; 8. 29-Shane Stewart, 15.433; 9. 45-Paul McMahan, 15.450; 10. 3L-Mike Linder, 15.457; 11. 1K-Kyle Larson, 15.492; 12. 89G-David Gravel, 15.511; 13. 83-Tim Shaffer, 15.524; 14. 14-Tony Stewart, 15.530; 15. 57X-Andrew Palker, 15.600; 16. 16-Danny Mumaw, 15.624; 17. O-Lee Jacobs, 15.633; 18. W20-Greg Wilson, 15.638; 19. 71AU-Ryan Davis, 15.649; 20. 40-Caleb Helms, 15.670; 21. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 15.687; 22. O8-Dan Kuriger, 15.692; 23. 2M-Dallas Hewitt, 15.711; 24. 5T-Travis Philo, 15.723; 25. 24-Brian Steinman, 15.743; 26. 22-Cole Duncan, 15.770; 27. 4K-Kody Kinser, 15.818; 28. 38K-Rob Chaney, 15.820; 29. 30C-Lance Dewease, 15.822; 30. 53-Phil Gressman, 15.830; 31. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 15.851; 32. 4-Danny Smith, 15.855; 33. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 15.997; 34. 6-Bill Rose, 16.050; 35. 3-Pete Miller III, 16.069; 36. 80-Trey Gustin, 16.107; 37. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 16.264; 38. 17-Marty Perovich, 16.340; 39. 35W-Wes McGlumphy, 16.360; 40. D12-Jason Dolick, 16.596; 41. 73-Joe Armbruster, 17.073; 42. 41-Jimmy Pooler, 17.337; 43. 52-Chris Smith, 17.465; 44. 33P-Nick Patterson, 17.550; 45. 21-Jack Whitmore, 17.609 Heat 1 - Kears Speed Shop (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[1] ; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[3] ; 3. 45-Paul McMahan[4] ; 4. 54-Cap Henry[5] ; 5. 30C-Lance Dewease[8] ; 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart[6] ; 7. D4-Danny Holtgraver[9] ; 8. 24-Brian Steinman[7] ; 9. 46AU-Stuart Williams[10] ; 10. 73-Joe Armbruster[11] ; 11. 21-Jack Whitmore[12] ; 12. O-Lee Jacobs[2] Heat 2 - All Pro Aluminum Heads (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 14-Tony Stewart[3] ; 2. W20-Greg Wilson[2] ; 3. O8-Dan Kuriger[1] ; 4. 53-Phil Gressman[8] ; 5. 22-Cole Duncan[7] ; 6. 6-Bill Rose[9] ; 7. 17-Marty Perovich[10] ; 8. 3L-Mike Linder[4] ; 9. 41-Jimmy Pooler[11] Heat 3 - Dragon Race Fuel (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 1K-Kyle Larson[4] ; 2. 71AU-Ryan Davis[2] ; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[6] ; 4. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[1] ; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[5] ; 6. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[8] ; 7. 4K-Kody Kinser[7] ; 8. 3-Pete Miller III[9] ; 9. 35W-Wes McGlumphy[10] ; 10. 52-Chris Smith[11] ; 11. 57X-Andrew Palker[3] Heat 4 - Kinsler Fuel Injection (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 29-Shane Stewart[5] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[1] ; 3. 40-Caleb Helms[2] ; 4. 16-Danny Mumaw[3] ; 5. 2-Dale Blaney[6] ; 6. 4-Danny Smith[8] ; 7. 38K-Rob Chaney[7] ; 8. 89G-David Gravel[4] ; 9. D12-Jason Dolick[10] ; 10. 80-Trey Gustin[9] ; 11. 33P-Nick Patterson[11] Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature 1. 29-Shane Stewart[2] ; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[3] ; 3. 45-Paul McMahan[4] ; 4. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[1] ; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[6] ; 6. 54-Cap Henry[5] C-Main - Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps - Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature) 1. 73-Joe Armbruster[3] ; 2. D12-Jason Dolick[2] ; 3. 33P-Nick Patterson[6] ; 4. 35W-Wes McGlumphy[1] ; 5. 52-Chris Smith[5] ; 6. 21-Jack Whitmore[7] ; 7. 41-Jimmy Pooler[4] B-Main - MSD Ignition (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart[1] ; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[3] ; 3. D4-Danny Holtgraver[13] ; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 5. 24-Brian Steinman[8] ; 6. 89G-David Gravel[5] ; 7. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[11] ; 8. 57X-Andrew Palker[6] ; 9. 3-Pete Miller III[15] ; 10. 4K-Kody Kinser[9] ; 11. 46AU-Stuart Williams[17] ; 12. 80-Trey Gustin[16] ; 13. 73-Joe Armbruster[20] ; 14. 4-Danny Smith[12] ; 15. 17-Marty Perovich[18] ; 16. 3L-Mike Linder[4] ; 17. 38K-Rob Chaney[10] ; 18. D12-Jason Dolick[19] A-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (30 Laps) 1. 1K-Kyle Larson[7]; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[2]; 3. 29-Shane Stewart[1]; 4. 19-Stevie Smith[5]; 5. 83-Tim Shaffer[8]; 6. 45-Paul McMahan[3]; 7. 14-Tony Stewart[9]; 8. 54-Cap Henry[6]; 9. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[4]; 10. 97-Dean Jacobs[12]; 11. O8-Dan Kuriger[18]; 12. 30C-Lance Dewease[22]; 13. 16-Danny Mumaw[10]; 14. D4-Danny Holtgraver[24]; 15. W20-Greg Wilson[14]; 16. 53-Phil Gressman[23]; 17. 40-Caleb Helms[16]; 18. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[19]; 19. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[13]; 20. 5T-Travis Philo[20]; 21. 22-Cole Duncan[21]; 22. 35-Stuart Brubaker[17]; 23. 71AU-Ryan Davis[15]; 24. 1S-Logan Schuchart[11] Hard Charger: 30C-Lance Dewease[+10] Larson makes All Star Ohio Speedweek debut memorable
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, Ohio- By Brian Liskai (Sunday, June 24, 2012) - Check another racing achievement off young Kyle Larson's already pretty impressive resume. The Elk Grove, California resident made his debut in the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek Sunday at Cannonball Speedway and thrilled the crowd by holding off three time and defending series champion Tim Shaffer to score the victory.
Larson, who has won in everything he has sat in from sprint cars to midgets to fendered late models, made his first appearance of the nine-night Ohio Sprint Speedweek at a track that hasn't hosted a sprint car race in over 10 years. However, the 20-year-old battled with Shaffer throughout the 30 laps, and was the beneficiary when David Gravel, who had driven past both for the lead on lap 17, slid into the turn two fence and flipped, before driving to his first UNOH All Star victory.
"Davey Jones had me hooked up tonight. We were good from the git-go. We were quick every time we were out there. It's a good thing I got the lead there on the start. I just had to make sure I hit my marks...the bottom was pretty narrow down there and tricky. I saw Shaffer get around me a couple of times in three and four...I had to make sure I hit the moisture there on the bottom. I started to open up my entry into three just to try and kill his momentum. It felt like it was taking rubber a little there so I could carry a little more speed," said Larson beside his Abreu Vineyards/Stadelhoffer Construction/Butlerbilt seats backed #1k.
"This was the debut for this Spike Chassis...it's a really good car. Hopefully we can get some more wins in it," added Larson.
Shaffer tried several times to drive around Larson's outside as the duo battled side-by-side down the front stretch several times. The Steel City Outlaw would come home in the runner-up position for his second consecutive podium finish.
"We are definitely starting to gel and work well together. Its new people and it's a time to learn each other and see what I like and what they like to do and that makes it tough. But Kyle did a heck of a job. I thought we had him a couple of times...I didn't need that last caution. But, it was a good race...we just came up short," said Shaffer beside his Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook owned machine with backing from Kistler Engines/VRP Shocks/J&J Auto Racing. "Our main goal is to be consistent...to be up front and get a top five each night and build a team.
Also making his debut for the 2012 Ohio Sprint Speedweek was Bixby, Oklahoma's Shane Stewart aboard a new car fielded by a new team out of Fremont, Ohio. Stewart didn't disappoint, driving the Level Performance/Hoy's Bar/Kear's Speedshop #29 to a third place finish.
"Daniel Smith had the car very good and I have to thank Rich Farmer for inviting me to come and drive the 29. It was a good way to start off the four or five races I'm going to be in it. We've got a little motor issue and hopefully once we get that figured out we will have a pretty solid car," said Stewart. "My hats off to Kyle...he's a pretty good talent for his age. It was pretty cool to watch...they had a pretty good battle. I was having fun watching them. I wished I could have gotten up there and contended for the lead. We were just a little bit off, but I'm pretty happy with a third place finish for the first night in the car."
Shaffer and Lance Dewease would bring the field of 24 to the green on the .4-mile track, with Shaffer grabbing the lead while third starting Larson slid into second with Dewease, David Gravel, Cap Henry and Dale Blaney in tow
Larson would drive under Shaffer for the lead on lap two, but Shaffer would continue to drive to Larson’s outside exiting turn four lap after lap. Meanwhile, behind that fantastic battle, Dewease, Gravel and Henry were waging war for third.
The action would come to a fiery halt on lap eight just as the leaders were racing into lapped traffic, when Logan Schuchart drove to the infield with the rear of his car erupting in flames. The young Hanover, Pa. resident bailed out of his car unharmed as fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze. During the red, Dale Blaney, who had been running sixth, ducked to the work area and would rejoin the field at the tail.
On the restart, again Larson and Shaffer would battle for the lead with Gravel now pulling away in third and closing on the leaders. With 13 laps in the books, it was now a fantastic three car battle for the lead with Larson glued to the bottom, Shaffer in the middle and Gravel blasting away up top.
Gravel would take second on lap 14 and raced to Larson’s outside for the lead as they hit lapped traffic again on the 16th circuit. Gravel would fly around Larson to lead lap 17, but as the 2010 Ohio Sprint Speedweek champion blasted around turns one and two, he slid up the track in the marbles and into the fence, flipping hard. Gravel was uninjured, but was visibly upset as it appeared he had the car to beat.
On the restart it was Larson over Shaffer, Henry, Dewease and Stewart, who had found something in the middle of the track. Shaffer would resume his drive to the outside of Larson for the lead as Henry no had his hands full with Stewart. Larson and Shaffer raced side by side over the next eight laps with Stewart taking third on lap 20.
Larson would pull away slightly from Shaffer the remaining four laps for the win with Shaffer unchallenged for second, Stewart third, Henry fourth and Blaney rallying to a fifth place finish.
Cannonball Motor Speedway - 6/24/2012
UNOH Night
All Star Circuit of Champions (34 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying - Kistler Engines
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.624; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer, 13.714; 3. 89G-David Gravel, 13.719; 4. 1K-Kyle Larson, 13.758; 5. 54-Cap Henry, 13.826; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 13.890; 7. 30C-Lance Dewease, 13.933; 8. 60C-Kory Crabtree, 14.086; 9. 2-Dale Blaney, 14.132; 10. 29-Shane Stewart, 14.151; 11. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 14.154; 12. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.204; 13. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 14.217; 14. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 14.266; 15. 17-Marty Perovich, 14.299; 16. 45-Paul McMahan, 14.329; 17. 40-Caleb Helms, 14.338; 18. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 14.366; 19. 14K-Cole Duncan, 14.382; 20. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 14.483; 21. 4K-Kody Kinser, 14.486; 22. 3-Pete Miller III, 14.575; 23. 55-Brad Bowman, 14.637; 24. 19-Stevie Smith, 14.746; 25. 2M-Dallas Hewitt, 14.830; 26. 13-Brandon Matus, 14.851; 27. 35W-Wes McGlumphy, 14.876; 28. 5T-Travis Philo, 14.904; 29. 4-Danny Smith, 14.967; 30. D12-Jason Dolick, 15.033; 31. 24-Brian Steinman, 15.122; 32. 71AU-Ryan Davis, 15.320; 33. 33-Brent Matus, 15.475; 34. 80-Trey Gustin , 99.999
Heat 1 - Kears Speed Shop (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 40-Caleb Helms[2] ; 2. 4K-Kody Kinser[1] ; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart[3] ; 4. 54-Cap Henry[5] ; 5. 2-Dale Blaney[4] ; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[6] ; 7. 4-Danny Smith[8] ; 8. 33-Brent Matus[9] ; 9. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[7]
Heat 2 - All Pro Aluminum Heads (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 3-Pete Miller III[1] ; 2. D4-Danny Holtgraver[5] ; 3. 29-Shane Stewart[4] ; 4. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[3] ; 5. 83-Tim Shaffer[6] ; 6. 46AU-Stuart Williams[2] ; 7. 13-Brandon Matus[7] ; 8. D12-Jason Dolick[8]
Heat 3 - Dragon Race Fuel (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 55-Brad Bowman[1] ; 2. 17-Marty Perovich[3] ; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[4] ; 4. 30C-Lance Dewease[5] ; 5. 89G-David Gravel[6] ; 6. 14K-Cole Duncan[2] ; 7. 35W-Wes McGlumphy[7] ; 8. 24-Brian Steinman[8]
Heat 4 - Kinsler Fuel Injection (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 19-Stevie Smith[1] ; 2. 45-Paul McMahan[3] ; 3. 1K-Kyle Larson[6] ; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 5. W20-Greg Wilson[4] ; 6. 60C-Kory Crabtree[5] ; 7. 5T-Travis Philo[7] ; 8. 71AU-Ryan Davis[8]
Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 83-Tim Shaffer[1] ; 2. 30C-Lance Dewease[4] ; 3. 1K-Kyle Larson[5] ; 4. 54-Cap Henry[6] ; 5. 89G-David Gravel[2] ; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver[3]
B-Main - MSD Ignition (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[1] ; 2. 60C-Kory Crabtree[2] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[8] ; 4. 14K-Cole Duncan[4] ; 5. 13-Brandon Matus[6] ; 6. 4-Danny Smith[9] ; 7. 35W-Wes McGlumphy[7] ; 8. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[5] ; 9. 46AU-Stuart Williams[3] ; 10. 24-Brian Steinman[11] ; 11. 33-Brent Matus[13] ; 12. 71AU-Ryan Davis[12] ; 13. D12-Jason Dolick[10]
A-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (30 Laps)
1. 1K-Kyle Larson[3]; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[1]; 3. 29-Shane Stewart[8]; 4. 54-Cap Henry[4]; 5. 2-Dale Blaney[7]; 6. D4-Danny Holtgraver[6]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[11]; 8. 30C-Lance Dewease[2]; 9. 19-Stevie Smith[23]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson[10]; 11. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[9]; 12. 45-Paul McMahan[16]; 13. 55-Brad Bowman[22]; 14. 60C-Kory Crabtree[12]; 15. 17-Marty Perovich[15]; 16. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[14]; 17. 14K-Cole Duncan[18]; 18. 40-Caleb Helms[17]; 19. 35-Stuart Brubaker[19]; 20. 3-Pete Miller III[21]; 21. 5T-Travis Philo[24]; 22. 89G-David Gravel[5]; 23. 4K-Kody Kinser[20]; 24. 1S-Logan Schuchart[13]
Hard Charger: 19-Stevie Smith[+14]
Hard work finally pays off for "Black Bandit" Stevie Smith...takes Waynesfield UNOH All Star victory
 WAYNESFIELD, Ohio- By Brian Liskai (Saturday, June 23, 2012) – Sprint car drivers are, by definition, highly competitive. This can lead to them pushing themselves too hard at times. Such has been the case for Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Stevie Smith. Though he is a veteran of many years of racing, 2012 brought a new team and many challenges for Smith. One of his goals was to get his 200th career victory. He admits it’s been a struggle to get to that magical number. But, his team has worked hard, and Saturday, it paid off as Smith passed race-long leader Cap Henry with eight laps to go to take night #2 of the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions’ 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek at Waynesfield Raceway Park. “These guys have worked so hard. I need to thank everybody. Chris Luck started this team and kept it going and of course we have Chad and Jen Clemens and Renee North…we have the whole crew. We got Brian Bloomfield and Sparky and Kyle Luetters…it’s just a big crew…a big family. John Anthony is helping us this weekend and a lot of Brian’s family like Ed Haudenschild…it’s just a great group of people,” said Smith beside his CJB Motorsports/Digital Delivery Network Inc./Spectro Oils backed #19. “I was just a little tight in the beginning. I had to keep telling myself ‘you need to calm down’ because I’m on the verge of tearing something up every night just trying to get this first win for this team. It’s not my style to get into this many bumps and bangs but I’ve been doing it…it’s been all on my own. Now we have our first win with the CL Motorsports team and we’re going to build off of that,” added Smith of his 17th career UNOH All Star victory. “That 54 car has been pretty darn fast and that team has been working hard and he’s getting hard to beat.” For Henry, who led the first 36 laps of the Ohio Sprint Speedweek opener the previous night at Attica Raceway Park, only to get caught up when a lapped car flipped in front of him, possibly taking away his first All Star win, once again leading much of the race and coming home second was a bit of redemption. “I was just trying so hard, especially knowing Stevie was behind me. I knew he had a good car when I got him at the start, but in traffic I knew it was going to be tough,” said Henry beside his Stanton Mopar/FK Rods/Lucas Oil backed #54. “This definitely helps heal some of the wounds from last night. I was having flash backs with 30 laps in. I thought ‘here we go again,” but it was a good night…I can accept this.” Three-time and defending UNOH All Star champion Tim Shaffer waged a race long battle with Paul McMahan, Byron Reed, Bryan Sebetto and Sam Hafertepe Jr. before claiming the third finishing position. “That was a really awesome race. To slide back and forth was fun. My guys gave me a really good car tonight…we really felt good tonight,” said Shaffer beside his Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook owned, Kistler Engines/Kistler Racing Products backed #83. “Hopefully we’re getting back on track. We’ll take a third place….it’s going to be a tough week and we have a lot of tough competition…the kids are getting faster. Smith and Henry, the later breaking Smith’s two year old Waynesfield qualifying record earlier in the evening, would pace the field to the green on the fast bullring. Right away, you somehow knew the race was going to be decided by these two as Smith led the opening lap by a nose before Henry blasted by. The huge crowd was also treated to a fantastic battle for third between Paul McMahan, Byron Reed, Sam Hafertepe, Bryan Sebetto, Greg Wilson and Shaffer. Henry would pull away slightly and encountered heavy lapped traffic by the fifth circuit. The race would grind to a half on lap eight when Craig Mintz, Dale Blaney and Lee Jacobs tangled in turn two with Blaney ending up on his side. Blaney and Mintz would retire pit side while Jacobs rejoined the field after repairs. On the restart, Henry had four lapped cars separating him from Smith with McMahan, Reed, Sebetto, Shaffer and Wilson in tow. Henry would fly away on the restart while Smith had to negotiate the four lapped machines. Henry would again catch the rear of the field on lap 15, but Smith could not close as McMahan, Reed, Shaffer, Sebetto and Hafertepe waged a tremendous battle for third. Henry would continue to dice and slice his way through traffic, but by the 27th circuit, Smith was closing with McMahan, Hafertepe, Shaffer and Sebetto also narrowing the gap. As the field raced into turns one and two after completing the 31st lap, Smith dove under Henry to grab the lead down the back stretch. Shaffer would drive into third on lap 34 with Hafertepe and Sebetto continuing to apply pressure. Smith was able to drive his Black Bandit machine any where on the track, and pulled away for the win while Henry would come home second, with Shaffer, Hafertepe and Sebetto rounding out the top five. Waynesfield Raceway Park - 6/23/2012 UNOH Night All Star Circuit of Champions (45 Cars) [#]-Starting Position Qualifying - Kistler Engines 1. 54-Cap Henry, 10.363; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 10.364; 3. 19-Stevie Smith, 10.410; 4. 89G-David Gravel, 10.541; 5. 5R-Byron Reed, 10.566; 6. 71AU-Ryan Davis, 10.570; 7. 45-Paul McMahan, 10.575; 8. W20-Greg Wilson, 10.580; 9. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 10.601; 10. 83-Tim Shaffer, 10.610; 11. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 10.631; 12. 29-Rob Chaney, 10.675; 13. 55-Brad Bowman, 10.687; 14. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 10.722; 15. 9X-Brandon Martin, 10.748; 16. O-Lee Jacobs, 10.753; 17. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 10.754; 18. O9-Craig Mintz, 10.766; 19. 53-Phil Gressman, 10.768; 20. 2-Dale Blaney, 10.782; 21. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 10.800; 22. 5T-Travis Philo, 10.806; 23. 14W-Chad Wilson, 10.833; 24. 4-Danny Smith, 10.866; 25. 2M-Dallas Hewitt, 10.867; 26. 3L-Mike Linder, 10.873; 27. 97-Dean Jacobs, 10.876; 28. 3-Pete Miller III, 10.905; 29. 4K-Kody Kinser, 10.930; 30. 22-Cole Duncan, 10.931; 31. 22B-Ryan Broughton, 10.940; 32. 60C-Kory Crabtree, 10.950; 33. 17-Marty Perovich, 10.952; 34. 80-Trey Gustin, 10.984; 35. 45L-Brian Lay, 11.019; 36. 1X-Randy Hannagan, 11.037; 37. 30C-Lance Dewease, 11.075; 38. 1-Chad Blonde, 11.096; 39. 49-Shawn Dancer, 11.165; 40. 9W-Lance Webb, 11.382; 41. 35R-Ronnie Blair, 11.423; 42. 40-Caleb Helms, 11.547; 43. O6-Brandy Bower, 11.553; 44. 22D-Josh Davis, 11.748; 45. 40I-Mark Imler, 15.081 Heat 1 - Kears Speed Shop (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 5R-Byron Reed[5] ; 2. 46AU-Stuart Williams[2] ; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[4] ; 4. D4-Danny Holtgraver[1] ; 5. 54-Cap Henry[6] ; 6. 30C-Lance Dewease[10] ; 7. 4K-Kody Kinser[8] ; 8. 55-Brad Bowman[3] ; 9. 17-Marty Perovich[9] ; 10. 35R-Ronnie Blair[11] ; 11. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[7] ; 12. 40I-Mark Imler[12] Heat 2 - All Pro Aluminum Heads (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. O9-Craig Mintz[2] ; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[4] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[1] ; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[6] ; 5. 22-Cole Duncan[8] ; 6. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 7. 71AU-Ryan Davis[5] ; 8. 1-Chad Blonde[10] ; 9. 40-Caleb Helms[11] ; 10. 80-Trey Gustin[9] ; 11. 3L-Mike Linder[7] Heat 3 - Dragon Race Fuel (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 53-Phil Gressman[2] ; 2. 14W-Chad Wilson[1] ; 3. 9X-Brandon Martin[3] ; 4. 45-Paul McMahan[5] ; 5. 19-Stevie Smith[6] ; 6. 97-Dean Jacobs[7] ; 7. 11N-Ed Neumeister[4] ; 8. 22B-Ryan Broughton[8] ; 9. 45L-Brian Lay[9] ; 10. 49-Shawn Dancer[10] ; 11. O6-Brandy Bower[11] Heat 4 - Kinsler Fuel Injection (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 29-Rob Chaney[4] ; 2. 89G-David Gravel[6] ; 3. 4-Danny Smith[1] ; 4. O-Lee Jacobs[3] ; 5. W20-Greg Wilson[5] ; 6. 60C-Kory Crabtree[8] ; 7. 22D-Josh Davis[11] ; 8. 1X-Randy Hannagan[9] ; 9. 9W-Lance Webb[10] ; 10. 3-Pete Miller III[7] ; 11. 2-Dale Blaney[2] Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature 1. 19-Stevie Smith[1] ; 2. 54-Cap Henry[3] ; 3. 5R-Byron Reed[2] ; 4. 45-Paul McMahan[4] ; 5. 89G-David Gravel[6] ; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[5] C-Main - Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps - Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature) 1. 40-Caleb Helms[4] ; 2. 35R-Ronnie Blair[3] ; 3. 22D-Josh Davis[6] ; 4. O6-Brandy Bower[5] ; 5. 9W-Lance Webb[2] ; 6. 40I-Mark Imler[7] B-Main - MSD Ignition (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 2-Dale Blaney[5] ; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4] ; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[8] ; 4. 11N-Ed Neumeister[2] ; 5. 3L-Mike Linder[7] ; 6. 55-Brad Bowman[3] ; 7. 17-Marty Perovich[13] ; 8. 45L-Brian Lay[15] ; 9. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[6] ; 10. 1-Chad Blonde[18] ; 11. 30C-Lance Dewease[17] ; 12. 40-Caleb Helms[-] ; 13. 22B-Ryan Broughton[11] ; 14. 1X-Randy Hannagan[16] ; 15. 35R-Ronnie Blair[-] ; 16. 80-Trey Gustin[14] ; 17. 4K-Kody Kinser[10] ; 18. 60C-Kory Crabtree[12] ; 19. 71AU-Ryan Davis[1] A-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (40 Laps) 1. 19-Stevie Smith[1]; 2. 54-Cap Henry[2]; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer[9]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[6]; 5. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[8]; 6. 45-Paul McMahan[4]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson[7]; 8. 29-Rob Chaney[10]; 9. 5R-Byron Reed[3]; 10. 89G-David Gravel[5]; 11. 4-Danny Smith[22]; 12. D4-Danny Holtgraver[19]; 13. 97-Dean Jacobs[23]; 14. 9X-Brandon Martin[13]; 15. 53-Phil Gressman[17]; 16. 5T-Travis Philo[20]; 17. 46AU-Stuart Williams[15]; 18. 14W-Chad Wilson[21]; 19. 35-Stuart Brubaker[12]; 20. O-Lee Jacobs[14]; 21. 22-Cole Duncan[24]; 22. 11N-Ed Neumeister[11]; 23. 2-Dale Blaney[18]; 24. O9-Craig Mintz[16] Hard Charger: 4-Danny Smith[+11] Holtgraver earns 1st UNOH All Star win to open Ohio Speedweek at Attica
ATTICA, OH By Brian Liskai (6 -22-12) – When race-long leader Cap Henry slid backwards off turn four trying to avoid a flipping car with just four laps to go, Danny Holtgraver was there to take advantage. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania resident held off Craig Mintz and Bryan Sebetto the last four laps to score his first University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions victory at Attica Raceway Park to kick off the 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek Friday night. Holtgraver, the 2010 Lernerville Speedway champion, earned $6,000 for the victory on Ohio Caterpillar/Kistler Racing Engines Night, as engine builder Paul Kistler added an extra $1,000 because the winner had a Kistler Engine under the hood. “I was shaken that last restart…I didn’t know what to do. I knew the top was good down here (in turns three and four) and Mintz is unbelievable here and Sebetto on the high side. I just didn’t know what to do. I just did the same thing I did the whole race and it paid off,” said Holtgraver beside his Kargo Quality Cars and Trucks, Alternative Power Source, DKW Transport backed machine. “I think it would have been a good race…that sucks for him. That’s a tough break…he was good. But I think we could have made it interesting,” added Holtgraver about Cap Henry’s misfortune. “This is unbelievable…to get this first All Star win at Attica…there’s some of the greatest race cars in the world out here every week.” For Mintz, who has three wins this season at Attica, including a last lap All Star victory in April, second was a great finish after starting 15th. “We went out to qualify like the 35th car (out of 41) and the race track slowed down quite a bit. Qualifying is very important when you with the All Stars. We made a pretty good show out of it. There were a lot of slide jobs and lot of bumping and banging for an open wheel race car,” said Mintz beside his Real Geese Decoys, R2C Filters, Kistler Engines, Ti22 Performance backed #09. “Danny was just too good on the bottom…I don’t think I had anything for him. We had a couple of things break on the race car but no excuses…that D4 car was fast. This GF1 car…we will keep working on it and get it faster,” added Mintz of his Wasserman Construction, Design Graphics Group, Erie Shore Propane machine. Sebetto ran in the top three nearly the entire 40 laps, but struggled to find a balance in each corner with the car. “I had to have my car free enough to roll the cushion in three and four but it was too free for me to roll the top where I felt like I was good in one and two. So I had to get the wing all the way back then I could roll one and two really nice but I was having to run the thing so deep into three trying to make momentum. I got the wing all the way back and I was just too tight in three and four and kept plowing through the cushion,” explained Sebetto beside his Crown Battery, JLH General Contractor, Hammer Pallets backed car. “Congrats to Danny and Craig…that was a fun race. I would have loved to have seen no red flag…there were cars every where. A great night for the Hammer team and a good start to speed week,” added Sebetto of his Meggit Powder Coating, R3 Nutrition, Gressman Powersports, OC Shocks, Keizer Wheels backed machine. Cap Henry, a former Attica and All Star rookie of the year, and Rob Chaney in a new ride, would bring the field to the green. But, before a lap could be completed, Chris Andrews would spin to necessitate a complete restart. When the green flew again, Henry would bolt into the lead with Sebetto, Chaney, Stevie Smith, Byron Reed and Danny Smith in tow. Henry would set a blistering pace, encountering heavy lapped traffic by the eighth circuit, allowing Sebetto and Smith to close. But, Chad Blonde and Andrews would spin in separate incidents to give Henry a clear track. Again when the green came back out, Henry set sail, with Sebetto battling Smith for second while Smith moved into four and Chaney, Dean Jacobs, Reed, Mintz and Holtgraver giving chase. Again, just as Henry would catch the rear of the field, the caution would fly for Tim Shaffer, who spun and would go pit side with front end damage. Henry would fly away on the restart while Sebetto and Smith continued their torrid battle for second with Smith, Jacobs, Chaney, Mintz and Holtgraver trying to keep pace. Smith would take the second spot on lap 17 with the caution flying again on lap 19 for a multi-car incident involving Mike Linder, Travis Philo, David Gravel, Brian Lay, Brandon Martin and Duane Zablocki. When the green came back out, Henry was still able to pull away while Stevie Smith, Sebetto, Danny Smith, Jacobs, Mintz and Holtgraver raced hard for second. As they exited turn four, it was three wide for fourth with Jacobs doing a; 360 spin, bringing out the caution. At the half-way point it was Henry over Stevie Smith, Sebetto, Mintz, Holtgraver and Danny Smith. Henry would hold a four car length lead as Smith tried to hold off Sebetto and a closing Mintz and Holtgraver. With 25 laps scored, Sebetto, Mintz and Holtgraver were locked in a heated battle for third. As the laps began clicking off, Stevie Smith was slowly reeling Henry in as Sebetto, Mintz and Holtgraver continued their entertaining battle for third. With eight laps to go, Stevie Smith had caught Henry and as he tried to make the pass entering turn one, got side ways, dropping back to fifth. Henry would encounter heavy lapped traffic with six circuits to go as Holtgraver drove around Sebetto for second with Mintz in fourth, Stevie Smith fifth and 18th starter Dale Blaney sixth. With five laps to go, Holtgraver and Sebetto had caught Henry. As they raced into turn three, Gravel would flip right in front of Henry who had no place to go and flew off the top side of the track backwards into the catch fence. No damage was done to the car, but Henry, who led all 36 laps, had to go to the tail, giving the lead to Holtgraver. On the restart, Holtgraver stayed glued to the bottom groove with Mintz running the middle and Sebetto blasting the top cushion with Stevie Smith there to pounce. On each of the last four laps, Mintz would drive to Holtgraver’s outside, but could not make the pass. Holtgraver would go on to take the close win – his first ever at Attica – over Mintz, Sebetto, Stevie Smith and Dale Blaney. Attica Raceway Park - 6/22/2012 UNOH Night All Star Circuit of Champions (41 Cars) [#]-Starting Position Qualifying - Kistler Engines 1. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.818; 2. 60K-Jody Keegan, 12.894; 3. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.922; 4. 54-Cap Henry, 12.961; 5. 9X-Brandon Martin, 12.967; 6. 29-Rob Chaney, 12.988; 7. 19-Stevie Smith, 13.016; 8. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 13.022; 9. 1-Chad Blonde, 13.048; 10. 4-Danny Smith, 13.061; 11. 22-Cole Duncan, 13.084; 12. 97-Dean Jacobs, 13.089; 13. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 13.159; 14. 89G-David Gravel, 13.234; 15. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.237; 16. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.274; 17. 83-Tim Shaffer, 13.295; 18. 45L-Brian Lay, 13.349; 19. 4K-Kody Kinser, 13.351; 20. 2-Dale Blaney, 13.353; 21. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.359; 22. 3L-Mike Linder, 13.376; 23. 40-Caleb Helms, 13.382; 24. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.408; 25. 45-Paul McMahan, 13.408; 26. 16-Chris Andrews, 13.409; 27. 3-Pete Miller III, 13.427; 28. 55-Brad Bowman, 13.428; 29. 17-Marty Perovich, 13.509; 30. O-Lee Jacobs, 13.541; 31. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 13.545; 32. 53-Phil Gressman, 13.602; 33. 14W-Chad Wilson, 13.608; 34. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 13.649; 35. 12-Jared Ridge, 13.751; 36. 2+-Brian Smith, 14.026; 37. 71AU-Ryan Davis, 14.031; 38. 98-Robert Robenalt, 14.918; 39. 69-Scott Curren, 99.997; 40. 73-Joe Armbruster, 99.998; 41. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. , 99.999 Heat 1 - Kears Speed Shop (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 5T-Travis Philo[1] ; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[2] ; 3. D4-Danny Holtgraver[3] ; 4. 9X-Brandon Martin[5] ; 5. 1-Chad Blonde[4] ; 6. 45-Paul McMahan[7] ; 7. W20-Greg Wilson[6] ; 8. 17-Marty Perovich[8] ; 9. 14W-Chad Wilson[9] ; 10. 71AU-Ryan Davis[10] Heat 2 - All Pro Aluminum Heads (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 3L-Mike Linder[1] ; 2. 4-Danny Smith[4] ; 3. 89G-David Gravel[3] ; 4. 29-Rob Chaney[5] ; 5. 16-Chris Andrews[7] ; 6. 45L-Brian Lay[2] ; 7. O-Lee Jacobs[8] ; 8. 60K-Jody Keegan[6] ; 9. 11N-Ed Neumeister[9] ; 10. 98-Robert Robenalt[10] Heat 3 - Dragon Race Fuel (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 40-Caleb Helms[1] ; 2. 19-Stevie Smith[5] ; 3. O9-Craig Mintz[3] ; 4. 5R-Byron Reed[6] ; 5. 22-Cole Duncan[4] ; 6. 4K-Kody Kinser[2] ; 7. 46AU-Stuart Williams[8] ; 8. 3-Pete Miller III[7] ; 9. 12-Jared Ridge[9] ; 10. 69-Scott Curren[10] Heat 4 - Kinsler Fuel Injection (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[1] ; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[2] ; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[5] ; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[4] ; 5. 54-Cap Henry[6] ; 6. 53-Phil Gressman[8] ; 7. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 8. 55-Brad Bowman[7] ; 9. 73-Joe Armbruster[10] ; 10. 2+-Brian Smith[9] Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature 1. 54-Cap Henry[2] ; 2. 29-Rob Chaney[3] ; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[1] ; 4. 19-Stevie Smith[4] ; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[6] ; 6. 1-Chad Blonde[5] B-Main - MSD Ignition (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 60K-Jody Keegan[2] ; 2. W20-Greg Wilson[1] ; 3. 45L-Brian Lay[4] ; 4. 55-Brad Bowman[8] ; 5. 3-Pete Miller III[7] ; 6. 17-Marty Perovich[9] ; 7. 53-Phil Gressman[12] ; 8. 46AU-Stuart Williams[11] ; 9. 4K-Kody Kinser[5] ; 10. 45-Paul McMahan[6] ; 11. 73-Joe Armbruster[20] ; 12. 11N-Ed Neumeister[14] ; 13. 14W-Chad Wilson[13] ; 14. 69-Scott Curren[19] ; 15. 98-Robert Robenalt[18] ; 16. O-Lee Jacobs[10] ; 17. 12-Jared Ridge[15] ; 18. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 19. 71AU-Ryan Davis[17] ; 20. 2+-Brian Smith[16] A-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (40 Laps) 1. D4-Danny Holtgraver[10]; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[15]; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[3]; 4. 19-Stevie Smith[4]; 5. 2-Dale Blaney[18]; 6. 4-Danny Smith[7]; 7. 55-Brad Bowman[24]; 8. 29-Rob Chaney[2]; 9. 22-Cole Duncan[8]; 10. 40-Caleb Helms[21]; 11. 5R-Byron Reed[5]; 12. 1-Chad Blonde[6]; 13. W20-Greg Wilson[12]; 14. 97-Dean Jacobs[9]; 15. 16-Chris Andrews[23]; 16. 5T-Travis Philo[19]; 17. 54-Cap Henry[1]; 18. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[22]; 19. 89G-David Gravel[14]; 20. 60K-Jody Keegan[13]; 21. 45L-Brian Lay[17]; 22. 3L-Mike Linder[20]; 23. 9X-Brandon Martin[11]; 24. 83-Tim Shaffer[16] Hard Charger: 55-Brad Bowman[+17] Often imitated, never duplicated - UNOH All Stars ready for 30th Annual ...... Ohio Sprint Speedweek Camargo, IL (6-15-12) Brian Liskai- When former Eldora owner Earl Baltes, former All Star president Bert Emick, promoter Jean Lynch and a handful of Ohio dirt track promoters sat down over 30 years ago and dreamed up the Ohio Sprint Speedweek, they probably had no idea how popular the event would become. It has often been imitated by other racing organizations in other states, but nothing can match the excitement of Ohio Sprint Speedway.
The 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek featuring the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions will kick off Friday, June 22 and will feature nine straight nights of racing across the Buckeye State. Each event will pay the feature winner $5,000 with the exception of the finale on June 30 at Fremont Speedway, which pays $10,000 to win.
The Friday Speedweek opener at Attica marks the 96th visit of the UNOH All Stars at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” venue since the track opened in 1988. As an incentive for the tough weekly competitors at Attica, the track has put up some bonus incentives. Kistler Engines is offering a $1,000 bonus to the feature winner if that driver is using a Kistler power plant. And, Attica Raceway Park is adding a $1,000 bonus if the winning driver is in the track’s top 10 in points after the June 15 Mid-Season Championship event.
There have been two UNOH All Star events at Attica in 2012, with three time series champion and current point leader Dale Blaney scoring a win with Craig Mintz getting a last lap pass of Blaney to score the other. Blaney and Mintz have both won three features at Attica in 2012 with Bryan Sebetto claiming the only other victory as of June 8.
Attica first began playing host to an Ohio Sprint Speedweek event in 1990. After falling victim to rain outs in 2008 and 2009, six-time track champion Byron Reed scored the speedweek win in 2010 with three time and defending All Star champion Tim Shaffer taking the victory in 2011 on route to the 2011 Ohio Sprint Speedweek championship. Blaney – a four time Ohio Sprint Speedweek champion – has two speedweek victories at Attica.
Defending Attica track champion Dean Jacobs – the 2001 Ohio Sprint Speedweek champion – scored a speedweek victory at Attica in 1998 and has two wins at Fremont Speedway in 2012.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m. Tickets are $22 for adults; $20 for senior citizens; $10 for teens ages 11-15; kids 10 and under get in free. Pit passes will be $30. For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com
On Saturday, June 23, the UNOH All Stars move to Waynesfield Motorsports Park (near Lima, Ohio). Last year the Ohio Sprint Speedweek event fell victim to rain. However, traditionally, the one-third mile bullring has provided some of the most exciting racing during Speedweek.
The last Ohio Sprint Speedweek event at “The Field” in 2010 saw NASCAR driver Brad Sweet pick up the win aboard the Kasey Kahne Racing machine. Sweet recently picked up his first ever World of Outlaws win in Iowa.
Pit gates will open at 4 p.m. with grandstand gates open at 5 p.m. and racing underway at 7 p.m. Go to www.waynesfieldmotorsportspark.com for more information.
Sunday, the UNOH All Stars head to Cannonball Motor Speedway near St. Clairsville, Ohio, on the Ohio River.
The newly reconfigured 3/8 mile track located off State Route 40 near the Morristown exit of I-70, has not hosted the UNOH All Stars in many, many years.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing to get underway around 6 p.m. For more information about Cannonball Motor Speedway go to www.cannonballspeedway.com
The fourth leg of the Ohio Sprint Speedweek finds the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions back at the NAPA Wayne County Speedway near Orrville, Ohio. The track has not hosted a speedweek event for a couple of years, but was one of the original speedweek destinations when the concept began 30 years ago.
The NAPA Wayne County Speedway, a 3/8 mile oval with long straights and wide, tight turns, was an important part of the creation of the All Stars in the 1970s. When the All Stars last competed at Wayne County for a speedweek event in 2010, Blaney scored the win.
So far in 2012, winners at Wayne County have included Andrew Palker, Caleb Helms, Danny Mumaw and Sheldon Haudenschild.
Gates will open Monday at 3 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m. For more information go to www.waynecountyspeedway.com
Sharon Speedway, another of the tracks that was part of the first Ohio Sprint Speedweek 30 years ago, will play host to the Tuesday, June 26 UNOH All Star event.
The 3/8th mile oval will host the 410 sprint cars for the first time in 2012 for the Speedweek event. After a five year absence, Ohio Sprint Speedweek returned to Sharon in 2010 Shaffer took the win, while last season Dale Blaney scored the victory.
NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Dave Blaney, one of the owners of the track, is expected to compete as is Sharon’s all-time winner Ed Lynch Jr. who has 50 victories at the track.
Advance tickets are on sale, which will admit ticket holders into the facility for preferred seating at 3 p.m. – one hour before the tickets go on sale and the gates open. An order form for tickets is available by going to www.sharonspeedway.com, click “fans” and then tickets. Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing under way at approximately 7:30 p.m. Adult admission is $22 with kids 13 and under free and pit passes at $35.
Wednesday, June 27 will find the UNOH All Stars making the first of two Ohio Sprint Speedweek stops at the historic Fremont Speedway. It will mark the 102nd visit of the UNOH All Stars at “The Track That Action Built,” since 1980.
At the two All Star shows at Fremont this season, Dale Blaney swept the Memorial Day weekend double-header for his third and fourth series wins of 2012, to run his career total to 88, second on the All Stars all-time win list behind Kenny Jacobs (98 wins).
Last year, Fremont was set to host two stops during Ohio Sprint Speedweek, but the Tuesday night event fell victim to rain. On the $10,000 to win Saturday finale, Shaffer would claim the top prize.
So far this season, Shane Stewart, Dean Jacobs (two wins) and Blaney (two wins) have posted victories at Fremont.
For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com
On Thursday, June 28, Hilltop Speedway near Millersburg, Ohio, will host the UNOH All Stars for night #7 of Ohio Sprint Speedweek. The 3/8th mile high banked oval last hosted a speedweek event in 2010 with hometown driver Rob Chaney getting a last lap, last corner pass of David Gravel, the 2010 Ohio Speedweek champion, to score the win.
Hilltop has held one 410 sprint race in 2012, with Lee Jacobs scoring the victory.
Pit gates will open at 3 p.m. with general admission gates opening at 4 p.m. and racing underway at 7 p.m. For more information go to www.hilltopspeedway.com
The high banked quarter-mile of Limaland Motorsports Park will host the Friday, June 29 Ohio Sprint Speedweek stop.
Last year, Kyle Sauder would score his first ever All Star win during the Limaland speedweek event. Sauder would go on to claim the track championship that year. In 2010, David Gravel would score his first ever All Star win during the speedweek event at Limaland on route to picking up the 2010 Ohio Sprint Speedweek championship.
Pit gates will open at 4 p.m. Friday with spectator gates opening at 5 p.m. and racing getting under way at 7:30 p.m. For more information go to www.limaland.com
The 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek wraps up with the $10,000-to-win, 50-lap finale at Fremont Speedway. It will mark the 103rd visit of the UNOH All Stars to the one-third mile fairgrounds’ facility. There is a rain date of Sunday, July 1 if needed.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m. Go to www.fremontohspeedway.com for more information
Ohio Speedweek always draws in the best talent from the Midwest, western Pennsylvania, along with the All Star regulars and usually a few surprises. Last season NASCAR Sprint Cup stars Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne competed at several speedweek events. Look for some of Pennsylvania’s best such as Lance Dewease and Stevie Smith and don’t be surprised to see a couple of others join in. Western Pennsylvania’s Danny Holtgraver, the 2010 Lernerville Speedway champion, along with Pete Miller III, have followed the All Star tour as much as possible the last two seasons.
After a slow start this season, Shaffer of Aliquippa, Pa. has picked up momentum with his first win at Mercer Raceway Park on May 12 followed by another victory at NY’s Utica-Rome Speedway. Blaney meanwhile has already won four All Star features this season and has racked up 88 in his career! Blaney also leads both the National and Ohio Region points for the All Stars.
For more information go to www.allstarsprint.com. |
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Shaffer wraps up UNOH All Star Eastern swing with Utica Rome victory |
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 VERNON, N.Y. (6-10-12) By Brian Liskai – Just like the summer temperatures, three time and defending champion of the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions Tim Shaffer is getting hot. “The Steel City Outlaw” wrapped up a very successful weekend with the UNOH All Stars with his second series win of 2012 at Utica Rome Speedway Sunday.
The victory – Shaffer’s 47th with the UNOH All Stars – moves him to within striking distance of Dale Blaney for the series’ national points lead and Daryn Pittman for the $20,000 championship of the Eastern Region. While Shaffer posted a fifth place finish at Williams Grove and a seventh place finish at Lincoln to go with his win at Utica Rome over the weekend, Blaney, a three time series champion, struggled, not making the feature at Williams Grove, scoring an eighth place at Lincoln and dropping out of Sunday’s event while leading.
Once Blaney dropped out, Shaffer would drive into the lead and survived several late race cautions for the victory.
“It’s been awhile…we’ve got one win so far this year…they keep getting harder and harder to get. Everyone just keeps getting faster and faster and making us work harder. What a great job by my crew, Dave Lawrence, James Chambers and Craig Stephens…they’re all new on this team but one guy. We’re trying to gel together with new people and it’s starting to click,” said Shaffer beside his Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook owned machine.
“Dale was pretty good tonight. I don’t know if we had anything for him later in the feature. He was gone. I thought I was still chasing him and the yellow came out and I looked on the board and thought ‘hey, we’re leading it.’ On those late cautions, you’re always concerned if someone is coming or not and you’re trying to pay attention to lapped cars where they are running in case rubber gets down. But, we were really good. Hats off to my guys, they gave me a great car. Aaron Call is doing a great job back at home. He’s getting this thing ready during the week for us to come out and play. Janet Holbrook giving us everything we need. I can’t thank everyone enough who has helped us through this…it’s been a tough season,” added Shaffer of his Kistler Engines/VRP Shocks backed machine.
Blaney and Shaffer would bring the field to the green Sunday, with Blaney seizing the top spot while third place starter Jessica Zemken drove into second, bringing fourth place starter Shawn Donath into third. Donath would grab second on the second circuit and would move past Blaney a lap later for the lead.
Shaffer would drive by Zemken into third on lap eight and a circuit later Blaney would do the same to Donath to take the lead. But, Blaney would coast to a stop on lap 11 with mechanical issues. On the restart, Shaffer would drive by Donath for the lead. Donath would bobble on lap 13, with Zemken, Stevie Smith and David Gravel getting by. The car on the move was 10th place starter Greg Hodnett as he would move into the top five by the half-way point.
Shaffer would continue to lead Zemken, who, before her sprint car days was a winner and champion at Utica-Rome Speedway in the dirt sportsman ranks. Smith ran third with Hodnett getting around Gravel for fourth on lap 16. The battle for fourth through 10th was a good one throughout the race as Cap Henry, Tony Stewart (who posted a third place finish with NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series earlier in the day at Pocono, Pa.), Paul McMahan, Fred Rahmer and Daryn Pittman joined the fun.
With 10 laps to go, the running order was Shaffer, Zemken, Smith, Hodnett, Gravel, Henry, Stewart, Rahmer, McMahan and Donath. The top nine would stay in that order until lap 25 when Gravel was able to get around Hodnett for fourth. Hodnett would return the favor with three to go.
Shaffer would drive away to the win over Zemken, Smith, Hodnett and Stewart who made a last lap pass to take fifth and the feature’s hard-charger honor after starting 19th.
Zemken, who has three 360 sprint wins at Utica-Rome Speedway, was thrilled with her runner-up finish.
“I’ll take second to Tim Shaffer any day. He’s a hell of a race car driver and I’ve learned a lot from him. And, he’s a really nice guy…kind of like a big brother to me. He’s the first guy I’d go to to ask for help when we’re struggling…he’s always one of the first guys to help out,” said Zemken. “I have to thank Corr-Pak Merchandising for sticking with me and the crew…the guys worked so hard tonight on tires…it was so hot. We had a really good car. We definitely didn’t have anything for Tim, that’s for sure. This is like a home track to me with my family and friends here so it’s great to run good here with the 410…my best finish with a 410.”
For Smith, the good weekend with the UNOH All Stars continued with his podium finish.
“We’re happy with third after starting 11th. Jessica did a good job…she never made a mistake and Tim took off and left us all,” said Smith beside his CL Motorsports/CJB Motorsports/DDNi backed machine. “I’m just happy with the way everything is going. We’re making progress and we’re going to keep working. I have to thank my car owners Chad and Jen and my crew. We started the season off pretty good and then went into a little bit of a slump. We made some changes with the personnel…it’s just been a kind of up and down so far. But I’m really proud of the guys working on the car. We’ve got Shane and Sparky who’s actually from New York and of course Brian Bloomfield and probably one of the best video guys in Kyle (Luetters). I really appreciate what everyone has done for me…they have assembled a great team here.”
For more information go to www.allstarsprint.com
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Dietrich's storybook season at Lincoln continues with UNOH All Star win |
 ABBOTTSTOWN, PA (6/9/12) By Brian Liskai – Last season when the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions rolled into Lincoln Speedway, Danny Dietrich scored (at the time) his biggest career victory. It may have given the Aspers, Pennsylvania driver the confidence he was looking for, as he has carried that into 2012 in a huge way, including taking the UNOH All Star triumph Saturday.
Just three weeks after scoring his first win over the World of Outlaws, Dietrich, who leads the point standings at Lincoln, took home the $5,000 top prize in the 30-lap non-stop University of Northwest Ohio All-Star Circuit of Champions “A” main.
A fourth-place finish in the six-lap dash put Dietrich on the outside of row two for the start. He switched lanes and dove under three time and defending All-Star champ Tim Shaffer for third in the first two turns. Dietrich then caught outside front row starter Fred Rahmer for second in turns three and four of lap five, and then erased Alan Krimes’ 1.79-second lead as the leaders raced through lapped traffic between laps six and 11.
Dietrich drove past Krimes for the race lead on the back stretch of lap 12, and then pulled away to a 5.68-second win at the checkered. It was his fourth win of the season at Lincoln.
“It could turn around the other way real quick,” said Dietrich when asked about his fantastic season to date, “But we’re enjoying this. This is great. Week after week I say the same thing when I get up here…this team here behind me…they’re great. Every car in the pit area can come here and win, and to be standing out here again feels really good.”
“Tim Shaffer was so good in the dash there I thought we were going to have an All Star winner here tonight. But thank God it wasn’t an All Star winner tonight,” added Dietrich beside his Sandoe’s Fruit Market, APM Buildings.com, El Vista Orchards, Alwine Farms, Whisler’s Dry Cleaning, Rt. 30 Seafood backed machine. “We weren’t that good in our heat or the dash. “The track came to us tonight. We love these kind of race tracks. This format they have for the All Stars for the heat race makes it just about tough for just about anybody, especially when you time trial good you kinda’ get penalized for it. You get started in a non-qualifying spot so it makes it tough. You time trial in the top 24 of 37 cars…they’re good cars, all top six of them starting in the heat races. Luckily we got our way into fifth there…I had to beat my brother (Billy) out but we got there and made the dash, and this is where the money’s at.”
“That’s pretty cool!” exclaimed Dietrich after being reminded of beating both the Outlaws and All-Stars at Lincoln this year, “I can’t thank these guys behind me enough, all my sponsors, and especially (car owner) Gary (Kauffman).”
Kauffman said it was hard to believe his team beat the Outlaws and the All Stars in the same season.
“Danny and our crew work very hard every week and that’s what it takes to keep a car up front, hard work and a lot of dedication. Ron Krimes builds us a good motor…it’s a team effort,” said Kauffman.
Krimes settled for second, with Rahmer third, and ninth-starting Cory Haas and fifth-starting Aaron Ott completing the top five. Sixth through tenth were Stevie Smith, Tim Shaffer, national All-Star points leader Dale Blaney and All Star regulars Cap Henry and Paul McMahon.
“You never like to lose the lead when you are leading. But, we weren’t very good again…we haven’t been very good here all year. I don’t know what we have to change. We aren’t even in the class of the 48 (Dietrich) or the 11c (Cory Haas). We have to get faster. I don’t how we’re going to do it but we have to do something,” said a dejected Krimes beside his Conestoga Valley Garage, Krimes Racing Engines, Mike’s Powerwash backed machine.
“That was the only time my car was good all day,” added Krimes who moved from third to first on first lap. “I saw those two guys slide in there and start sliding up and I hit the bottom about perfect and drove by them…I thought ‘that didn’t take long to get the lead.’ It was kind of hard to tell where I needed to run when I was out there by myself and I come up on that lap car and I just couldn’t get around him and Danny snuck by on the bottom. I don’t think it would have mattered… I think he was going to get us regardless…he was a lot better than we was.”
Rahmer noted “two guys for sure were better than me tonight.”
“We’re chipping away at it. We’ll get it figured out,” added Rahmer beside his C&S Lawn and Landscape, Bairs Tree Service backed machine.
The UNOH All Stars will be back in action tomorrow night at Utica Rome Speedway and then the 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek kicks off with nine straight nights of racing across the Buckeye State June 22-30.
For more information go to www.allstarsprint.com
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Leppo drives 'one night deal' to UNOH All Star win at Williams Grove |
 MECHANICSBURG, PA (6-8-12) By Brian Liskai– It was suppose to be a one night deal. New Oxford, Pennsylvania’s Brian Leppo would pilot the famous John Zemaitis, Zemco #1 for one night. Leppo turned that opportunity into a victory against the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions Friday at the famous Williams Grove Speedway.
They say things work out for a reason. For Leppo, it was his first victory since his former car owner Jesse Keen died unexpectedly a month ago. Then this week, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and the Zemco team parted ways and as the UNOH All Stars were set to invade Posse Land this weekend, Leppo was tapped to fill in for a night.
“That was awesome right there…that was one of my favorite races,” said Leppo. “Of course, when you win it is always one of the best ones. First off I dedicate this to my old car owner Jesse Keen. It’s tough to be back here without him and without the guys.”
“Tommy (Carl, crew chief) called me on my birthday Wednesday and asked me if I’d run this thing. I’ve been after those guys when the situations fit and I came here with an open mind and wanting to make 30 good laps…not really an interview. We made a one race deal and I’ll be damned if we didn’t win the thing. It’s perfect. Tommy and Ryan and the guys and John and Pee Wee they field a very good race car….my brother-in-law (Stevie Smith) can tell you all about it,” continued Leppo.
“For us to start on the front row…I said to those guys ‘there goes the fun.’ I came here to have fun…there was no pressure and have a good time and the next thing you know here we are parked on the front stretch…it was perfect,” Leppo added.
But, it wasn’t all that easy for Leppo, who had to survive a wild late race melee to score his first ever UNOH All Star win, running the PA Posse’s win streak to 26-0 verses the All Stars at Williams Grove.
Leppo started on the pole and grabbed the early race lead from Brian Montieth and Stevie Smith, who also experienced team issues over the past couple of weeks as the Black Bandit’s ownership changed hands. However, it became apparent the trio of Leppo, Montieth and Smith would be the prime factors in the event.
The caution would fly before one lap could be completed when UNOH All Star regular Cap Henry stopped in turn four when his wing slider value broke, dumping fluid all over his helmet.
On the restart, Leppo got the jump again on Montieth to lead the first lap. Montieth closed as Leppo raced into lapped traffic with eight laps completed, with Smith a close third.
When Leppo bobbled on the top groove on lap 12, Montieth drove into the lead and began putting daylight between himself and Leppo with Smith a very close third.
A race ground to a halt with 10 laps to go for Paul McMahan who had stopped while racing inside the top five after suffering leg injuries due to a broken driveline.
An intense battle developed between Montieth and Leppo after the restart as they swapped the lead in every turn for a few laps. Montieth led lap 21, but it was Leppo grabbing the top spot at the line on lap 22. Leppo stayed in front this time with Montieth and Smith close. The caution came back out with three laps to go when Logan Schuchart, who defeated the UNOH All Stars in April at Williams Grove, blew a right rear tire.
That’s when all hell broke loose.
On the ensuing restart, Montieth’s car sputtered up the inside of the front stretch as the field behind him throttled forward, causing several cars to get together, with Chad Layton spinning and Cory Haas flipping at the flagstand. Track officials reported Montieth’s machine had run out of fuel.
Leppo would hold off Smith for the win. Greg Hodnett, Daryn Pittman (who leads the UNOH All Star’s Eastern Region Points) and three time and defending UNOH All Star Champion Tim Shaffer completed the top five.
“I remember running three or four really idiotic laps and getting passed (by Montieth) to lose the lead but after we got that red…Tommy and Ryan said a slider is your best chance. It’s pretty cool to race with Tony Stewart…he respects racers and he gave me the lane I needed to go and we got a lot of grip and it just drove underneath and it stuck and we raced there for a couple of laps. I knew if we could get back in front I felt like we had a pretty good chance to win this thing. I’ve never won an All Star race…we wrapped up a lot of good things in one night…it’s pretty sweet,” said Leppo of his winning move.
For Smith, his second runner-up finish of the year against the UNOH All Stars (the other at Attica in April), it was a great way to put the distractions of the week behind him.
“I had a pretty good view of that battle between Montieth and Brian. They were racing hard. I just never felt like I could make the right move. I was trying to wait for that time to come…I just never found it,” said Smith beside his CL Motorsports/CJB Motorsports/DDNi backed #19.
“If I can’t win I’d rather see Brian and the Zemco car get it done,” continued Smith, who drove the Zemco car last season. “We’re all buddies…that’s a great family and a great race car. They are great people and Brian’s going to fit good with them. My next win would be career number 200 and I’ve been fighting hard. These guys are working hard…we’ve been making a lot of changes trying to get better. I think we’re going in the right direction. We had a couple of other little set-backs and we took a week off and it seems like we are back on track.”
Hodnett was coming at the end, but that late race incident damaged his machine.
“After them guys ran out of fuel on that restart, I knocked the front wing back and I got a flat left rear tire. They patched it up the best they could but it wouldn’t hold air. The wing fell back…all I was doing was kind of hanging on. But even so we finished third and I’m proud of the guys for doing that,” said third place finisher Hodnett. “I think of the track would have gotten slicker sooner…it’s a little too fast for my liking. When it slicks off where you can run in the middle to bottom we seem to kind of come on. We kind of got going there towards the end but then all that stuff happened. We just figured we ride it out and get as good as we can.”
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UNOH All Stars make second visit to PA Posse land |
CAMARGO, IL (5-30-12) By Brian Liskai – The drivers of the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars Series want only one thing when they travel to Central Pennsylvania in two weeks – to defeat the tough Pennsylvania Posse. The UNOH All Stars will travel to the historic Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, June 8, then to Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, June 9 and wrap up their Eastern swing on Sunday, June 10 at Utica Rome Speedway in Vernon, N.Y.
It kicks off a busy June for the UNOH All Stars, who then have the grueling 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedway June 22-30, which features nine consecutive nights of racing across the Buckeye State.
The three races June 8-10 are part of the UNOH All Stars’ Eastern Region points that will reward the season-ending champion $20,000. Daryn Pittman, who opened the series’ season with a win at Screven Motor Speedway, leads the Eastern Region points over three time All Star champion Dale Blaney with All Star regulars David Gravel and three time and defending series champion Tim Shaffer third and fourth while Greg Hodnett, who scored an All Star win in April at Port Royal Speedway, is fifth.
Blaney is coming off a sweep of a double-header UNOH All Star weekend at Fremont Speedway in Ohio. He has four series wins in 2012 and leads the National and Ohio region points for the All Stars. Blaney now has 88 career All Star wins, second only to Kenny Jacobs’ 98 series wins.
After his latest wins at Fremont, Blaney’s focus turned to the Pennsylvania/New York UNOH All Star swing.
"I’m looking forward to our next trip to Central Pennsylvania. I think we’ve got a car good enough to go win out there at Williams Grove and Lincoln. I just have to go out there and do it. I’ve never won a race at either place…I just have to go get it done," said a determined Blaney.
The UNOH All Star drivers have never defeated the Posse at Williams Grove in 25 tries. That’s 25-0 in favor of the Pennsylvania Posse. In late April, Logan Schuchart, grandson of hall of fame driver and 1980 All Star champion Bobby Allen, scored his first ever Williams Grove win and first series win. So far in 2012 at Williams Grove, point leader Greg Hodnett has two wins with Fred Rahmer scoring a pair, one of which was against the World of Outlaws. Other Williams Grove winners have been Lance Dewease, Chad Layton, Alan Krimes and Danny Dietrich. Steve Kinser won a World of Outlaws event at the track.
Hodnett leads the track's points over Rahmer, Dietrich, Dewease, Daryn Pittman, Chad Layton, Schuchart, Brian Montieth, Krimes and Aaron Ott.
At Lincoln Speedway, Dietrich has 3 wins at the Abbottstown, Pa. track – including a World of Outlaws triumph - to lead the point standings. Last season when the UNOH All Stars came calling, Dietrich scored the biggest win of his career up to that point. Alan Krimes sits second with Brent Marks (1 win in 2012), Cory Haas (2 wins in 2012), Kevin Nouse, Jim Siegel, Brian Montieth (3 wins), Bill Dietrich (1 win in 2012), Nick Schlauch Jr. and Adam Wilt (1 win in 2012) rounding out the top 10 in the track’s points. Brian Leppo also has a win at the track in 2012.
Rahmer has more wins at Lincoln than anyone in the track’s history with 166. Dewease has 36 wins, Montieth, 28, and Hodnett 25 among the top winners at the track.
When the UNOH All Stars invade the Utica Rome Speedway in Vernon, N.Y., it will mark the first visit since July 2010 when Rahmer and two time All Star champion Greg Wilson traded the lead throughout the 30-lap event, with Rahmer coming out on top.
Besides the top three UNOH All Star points drivers of Blaney, Shaffer and Gravel, look for the likes of Pennsylvania natives and series contenders Pete Miller III of Port Vue and Danny Holtgraver of Pittsburgh, Cap Henry, Sam Hafertepe Jr., Paul McMahan and more.
For more information go to www.williamsgrovespeedway.com; www.lincolnspeedway.com; www.uticaromespeedway.net or www.allstarsprint.com |
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Blaney sweeps UNOH All Star weekend at Fremont with $10,000 win |
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FREMONT, OH (5-27-12)By Brian Liskai – Dale Blaney says his job is easy driving the Ti22 Performance #2 sprint car. He made it look easy Sunday at Fremont Speedway, cruising to the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions $10,000 payday to make it a clean sweep of the two-day show at The Track That Action Built.
“George and Troy and Bobby and Junior make my life easy. This car has been operating phenomenally all year…back to where we were in about 08. I finally started racing a little better and the car’s a little better. Everybody is working so good together…we just want to race every day,” said Blaney of his fourth All Star win of 2012.
“This car is phenomenal. Any where we’ve gone this year it’s been really, really good. George (Fisher) designs them things and Barry Jackson makes them. If we can duplicate that exact car every time I’ll take it. We’re going to Lawrenceburg tomorrow to race against the Outlaws, but I’m looking forward to our next trip to Central Pennsylvania. I think we’ve got a car good enough to go win out there at Williams Grove and Lincoln. I just have to go out there and do it. I’ve never won a race at either place…I just have to go get it done,” added Blaney in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.
It was Blaney’s 14th career win at Fremont and his 9th UNOH All Star win at the track, which has now hosted 101 series events in its 61 year history. Blaney now has 88 career UNOH All Star wins, just 10 behind all-time series winner Kenny Jacobs. Blaney is only one victory away from tying Jack Hewitt for the most All Star wins at Fremont.
For local driver Bryan Sebetto, Sunday’s second place run was a bit of redemption from Saturday night when he admittedly made a bad move causing Brandon Martin to flip.
“Dale was just flat better than us tonight. We had nothing for him. We had a second place car. I’m happy to run second to Dale when he’s that quick…he’s a class act and one of the best out here,” said Sebetto beside his Hammer Pallets, Gressman Powersports, JLH General Contractor, Crown Battery, Meggitt’s Powdercoating, Big D’s Pizza backed #24h.
“With the exception of all the drama last night, it was a good weekend. We made it on the front stretch both nights. It’s not what we wanted…we wanted wins, But we got top threes both nights and we will take that. The guys worked their butts off on the car with Aaron, Timmy P., Guhn, Randy and Gibbs.”
There’s just something about a 50 lap race at Fremont that seems to bring out the best in Greg Wilson. He would storm from his 10th starting spot to a third place finish.
“I told somebody earlier make these things 100…we’ll put on a hell of a show for the fans. I want to thank all the fans for coming out this weekend. The team worked hard and made a big turnaround from last night. I have to thank Veryl Warnimont for doing this thing, DNC Hydraulics, Ohio Logistics and Hercules Tires. What a turn around from last night. We wanted to crawl under a rock and stay there. We came out tonight and ran good. Brian Kemenah and the guys did an awesome job. We changed some stuff today and it’s great to be standing on the front stretch,” said Wilson.
Bryan Sebetto and Kyle Larson would bring the field of 24 to the green with Sebetto gaining the advantage while Paul McMahan, Blaney, Craig Mintz and David Gravel in tow. Broc Martin would spin after two laps were scored with the running order Sebetto, Larson, Blaney, Mintz, McMahan, Gravel and Stevie Smith. On the restart, Martin would spin again and go pitside.
On the ensuing restart, Blaney would drive into second and quickly closed on Sebetto. With Sebetto running the top ledge and Blaney in the middle, they pulled away from Larson, Mintz, McMahan, Smith and Wilson. On lap eight, Blaney would drive under Sebetto and slide up in front exiting turn four to take the lead.
Blaney would catch the rear of the field on lap 13 and as they raced side by side it allowed Sebetto to close slightly. Larson continued to run third with Mintz, McMahan and Wilson in pursuit. Just as Blaney crossed the finish line to complete the half-way point, the caution would fly for a David Gravel spin.
On the ensuing restart Blaney had three lapped cars separating himself from Sebetto. That allowed Blaney to rocket away. Sebetto would steadily pick his way around the lapped cars while Wilson blasted from fifth to third by lap 27. Blaney would again catch the back of the pack by lap 32 and again they were racing each other hard, holding up the leader’s progress. Blaney’s patience would pay off as he picked them off one by one, putting more and more of the field between himself and Sebetto.
With 10 laps to go, Blaney held a commanding lead while Sebetto now had his hands full with Wilson with Mintz, Tim Shaffer and Smith in tow. With two laps to go Wilson raced inside Sebetto for second but did a 360 spin in turn four. Wilson would maintain third.
Blaney would pull away for the win with Sebetto, Wilson, Mintz and Shaffer rounding out the top five.
The UNOH All Stars have a week off before embarking on a grueling month of racing. It all kicks off with a trip to Pennsylvania where the All Stars have never defeated the PA Posse. First up is Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, June 8, then on to Lincoln Speedway on Saturday and up to Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday. Then there a bit of a break before the 30th Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek featuring 9 straight nights of racing across the Buckeye State.
For more information go to www.allstarsprint.com *Click Read More For Complete Results |
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Blaney opens UNOH All Star weekend with Fremont win |
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 FREMONT, OH (5-26-12) By Brian Liskai – Dale Blaney survived a lengthy red and a caution late in the race to score his 87th career University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions victory to open the double-header weekend at Fremont Speedway Saturday, May 26.
For Blaney, it was his third UNOH All Star win of 2012 and 13th career victory at “The Track That Action Built” on Kear’s Speed Shop Night. It was the 100th appearance of the UNOH All Stars at Fremont Speedway and Blaney is second to Jack Hewitt in the number of series victories at the track with 8.
“You never know…the wins could stop tonight…you never know. The way it’s going we’ve been running really, really well this year. I don’t think we’ve had a night where we’ve been disappointed. Last Saturday we weren’t real good, but we will take fourth for not being very good. I love my guys, George, Troy, Bobby…Junior and Rick were here. It’s pretty awesome to have all those guys working on it…they give me a great car every night,” said Blaney beside his Ti22 Performance backed machine.
“I love coming here to Fremont…I’ve had a lot of success here and I’m looking forward to coming back tomorrow,” said Blaney of Sunday’s $10,000 to win finale. “Sitting in the race car you don’t even think about what it pays. Hopefully we’ll get here, draw a decent number, qualify well and take it from there. If this was a 50 lapper tonight it would have gotten interesting. The track changed a whole bunch toward the end. Fifth laps tomorrow…it will be fun.”
Just like they did earlier this year at Attica, Blaney and former Fremont track champion Craig Mintz battled early for the lead. Mintz led laps 1-6 before Blaney drove under him. Mintz would stay close to Blaney and at one time early in the event when they were racing in traffic, there was a tremendous battle between those two, Tim Shaffer and Bryan Sebetto.
“It’s just hard to be George (Fisher, owner of Blaney’s car) and Dale and that car…they are just good and Dale doesn’t make many mistakes,” said Mintz of his second place run. “I would have liked to have gotten into lapped traffic and had a little race there but that #2 just kept getting smaller, smaller and smaller.”
“These guys behind me…my dad and Brad and Kemp and my fiancée and Kevin Shammo and all my sponsors, Real Geese Decoys, Erie Shore Propane, KS Sales and Service, Kistler Engines, Wasserman Construction…these guys put this car here and I just put my foot on the floor,” added Mintz.
After being involved in a tangle with Brandon Martin while battling for third on lap 21, which sent Martin flipping violently into turn four with his wing flying into the stands (no one was seriously hurt…a few fans were taken to the hospital for a check-up), Sebetto would get a last lap pass of Phil Gressman to finish third.
“That was 100 percent my fault. I ran it in there…we were just racing hard. That’s what you get with a one lane race track…everyone is fighting to run in the same place. I feel bad for Brandon…we’ve been racing together since we were kids in go-karts. He’s one of the last guys I’d do that to…I don’t ever want to do that to anyone. I feel bad and I apologize. I know he’s mad and I deserve the criticism…that was a pretty crappy move,” said Sebetto beside his Hammer Pallets, Gressman Powersports, JLH General Contractors, Meggit Powdercoating backed machine.
“We don’t have to change anything on this car for tomorrow…it was good enough to get up there and race with Craig and Dale but I just kept screwing up and blowing it through the cushion,” added Sebetto.
Blaney and Mintz would bring the field to the green for the 30-lap feature with Mintz grabbing the lead with Blaney glued to his rear bumper while Shaffer raced into third and Sebetto and David Gravel in tow. Mintz and Blaney would pull away from a tremendous battle for third between Shaffer and Sebetto with Danny Smith grabbing fifth.
The leaders would race into lapped traffic by the 7th circuit with Blaney driving under Mintz for the lead while Sebetto and Shaffer closed. Shaffer would do a 360 spin in turn two on the eighth lap to bring out the caution. Blaney and Mintz would pull away on the restart with Sebetto now battling 10th place starter Brandon Martin for third with Smith continuing to run fifth.
On lap 12, Todd Heller made contact with another car and slammed into the turn two soft wall to bring out the red. Heller was taken to the hospital for a precautionary check.
On the ensuing restart Blaney and Mintz would again pull away from the battle for third between Martin, Sebetto and Phil Gressman. By the 17th lap the leaders again raced into lapped traffic with the running order Blaney, Mintz, Martin, Gressman and Sebetto. Sebetto would drive back around Gressman into fourth on the 19th lap and began racing Martin hard for third.
On the 21st lap, the caution would fly for Andrew Palker who spun in turn two. On the restart, Blaney and Mintz would pull away with Martin and Sebetto still racing hard for third. As the drove into turns three and four, Sebetto and Martin got together, with Martin taking a nasty flip with his top wing flying over the tall front stretch fence into the stands. A few fans received bumps and bruises and were taken to the local hospital for a check up while track crews worked to repair the fence. Martin was uninjured.
Also in that incident, Brian Smith got upside down on the back stretch and was not injured. With nine laps to go when the green came back out and a clear track ahead of him, Blaney would pull away slightly from Mintz while Sebetto and Gressman battled for third. Sebetto would slide off the top side of turn two on lap 24, dropping back to fifth.
A Dean Jacobs spin on lap 25 would give Mintz one more shot at Blaney. Blaney would drop the hammer on the restart and pulled away to a three car length lead with Gressman, Smith, Sebetto and Gravel in tow. Sebetto would get around Smith with two laps to go to take fourth. As Blaney drove to the win over Mintz, Sebetto would slide in front of Gressman for the third spot coming to the checkered as Gravel would take fifth.
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UNOH All Stars to battle at double-header weekend at Fremont |
Camargo, IL (5-21-12) By Brian Liskai- Fremont Speedway has long been known as “The Home of the All Stars.” The Sandusky County oval has hosted the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions 99 times during its 61 year history and is planning for a big celebration of the 100th and 101st visit Memorial Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27.
Saturday’s event is sponsored by Kear’s Speed Shop and will not only feature the UNOH All Stars but the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints and Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks. Sunday’s racing is sponsored by Bud Light and will pay the UNOH All Star feature winner $10,000! The 305 sprints and dirt trucks will also be in competition that night as well.
Fremont Speedway ALWAYS lives up to its moniker “The Track that Action Built,” especially when the UNOH All Star teams come calling. Who could forget the series’ last visit to Fremont Speedway for the Jim Ford Classic, a two-day affair in September 2011. Three time and defending All Star champion Tim Shaffer held off 2011 Fremont champion Bryan Sebetto on the first night with Sebetto banging wheels with Shaffer coming down for the $10,000 finale and edging the “Steel City Outlaw” by just .045 seconds for the biggest win of his career. Sebetto, who scored a win at Fremont on May 12, scored his first All Star win at the track in 2010.
Shaffer, who won his first UNOH All Star feature of 2012 on May 12 at Mercer Raceway Park, also took the $10,000 Ohio Sprint Speedweek finale at Fremont in 2011 and has 11 career wins at Fremont. The other two UNOH All Star events in 2011 at Fremont went to three time series champion Dale Blaney, who has 12 career wins at Fremont, and 2011 World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers.
Blaney, who has 86 career All Star wins, including two this season, leads the series’ national and Ohio Region points with Shaffer second and young chargers David Gravel third in the national and Danny Holtgraver third in the Ohio region standings. Former Fremont and All Star rookie of the year Cap Henry sits fourth in both the national and Ohio region points with Paul McMahan fifth in the national and two time series champion Greg Wilson fifth in the Ohio Region.
The double header weekend promises to be a barn-burner between the travelling UNOH All Stars and the tough weekly competitors of Fremont with some possible surprises dropping in. Fremont has held two 410 sprint events in 2012 with Oklahoma’s Shane Stewart and Sebetto claiming the victories. The track’s 2010 champion Craig Mintz has scored a win against the UNOH All Stars at Attica Raceway Park in 2012 and was passed on the last lap of another series event at Attica. The Memorial Day weekend event could draw the likes of Danny “The Dude” Lasoski who has three All Star victories in 2011 and many of the Western Pennsylvania contingent.
Fremont regular Phil “The Ohio Gas Man” Gressman has looked strong at Fremont so far, leading much of the race on May 12 before settling for second. Throw in three time track champion Byron Reed, who has 23 career wins at Fremont, and others like Chris Andrews (third on May 12), Lee Jacobs, Dean Jacobs, Brian Smith, Travis Philo, Brandon Martin, and others and it will be an exciting weekend.
Besides Blaney, Shaffer, Gravel, Holtgraver and Henry, the UNOH All Stars will also bring 2011 rookie of the year Pete Miller. The Pennsylvania native scored a non-sanctioned win recently at Lernerville Speedway.
Monday, May 28 is a rain date for the finale night only should it be needed.
Gates will open both nights at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m.
For a list of the past UNOH All Star Circuit of Champion winners and more information on Fremont Speedway go to www.fremonohspeedway.com. For more information on the UNOH All Stars go to www.allstarsprint.com or follow us on twitter by visiting www.twitter.com/ascoc |
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There's no place like home for Shaffer who dominates Mercer All Star event |
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 MERCER, PA (5-12-12) By Brian Liskai – Sometimes you just need to go home.
For Aliquippa, Pennsylvania’s Tim Shaffer it was just what the doctor ordered. The three time and defending champion of the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions travelled just up the road from his residence Saturday and proceeded to dominate the 30-lap series event at Mercer Raceway Park to score his first All Star win of 2012. Shaffer has shown his Aaron Call/Janet Holbrook Motorsports team can win against any competition over the past three years. But, during the off-season, the team under went a few internal changes, leaving many to wonder if “The Steel City Outlaw” could dominate as he has, winning All Star championships and even the 2010 Knoxville Nationals. And while Shaffer has been very competitive so far in 2012, there have been little things that have gone wrong and even some bad racing luck that have kept him from victory lane. “It’s been a tough year. We’ve put ourselves in a position four or five times and just couldn’t make it happen,” said Shaffer in victory lane beside his Kistler Engines/Kistler Racing Products/VRP Shocks backed machine. “We started on the pole tonight and then you kind of worry, ‘what’s going to happen tonight?’ It’s been that kind of a year.” “What a great job by the team. I have Craig Stevens, Aaron Call, James and A.J….there’s five or six guys that are doing a great job on the car. We’re just trying to gel and work together and make this thing fast,” added Shaffer of his 46th career All Star victory. “We will continue to work hard and if we continue to run up front and be competitive the wins will come.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Danny Holtgraver also liked racing close to home, driving his Kargo Quality Cars/Alternative Power Sources backed #D4 to a second place finish. “I had a good care and was able to get through lapped traffic and get by a couple of cars…I’m happy,” said Holtgraver. “I saw him (Shaffer) when we got to traffic and I saw the two to go and said ‘man I wish it was five to go.’ We came on strong at the end so I can’t complain,” added Holtgraver. “I have to thank Mark and Pam from Kargo…they have a booth up here. And I have to thank Alternative Power Source and Tim Shaffer…he helps me a lot.” Three time UNOH All star champion Dale Blaney from nearby Hartford, Ohio, would have liked to have his qualifying effort back. But, “The Low Rider” passed Ed Lynch Jr. late in the race for a third place finish. “This is as good as we’ve run here the past couple of years. I shot myself in the foot qualifying. I didn’t make as good of a lap as I could have and that got us behind. We had a really good race car from there on out. But, if you have to start behind those two guys…it’s hard to pass them,” said Blaney beside his Ti22 Performance/George Fisher Racing #2. Before the 30-lap feature could get underway, contender David Gravel, who had fired off his #89G, went pit side, refired and again went to the pits to end his night. Shaffer and Rob Chaney would lead the field to the green, with Shaffer grabbing the lead over Lynch, Chaney, Holtgraver and Blaney. Holtgraver would drive around Chaney into third a lap later with Blaney moving into fourth on lap four. Shaffer, Lynch, Holtgraver, Blaney and Chaney would continue in that order a caution on lap 11 when Rod George got sideways in turn four, collecting Brian Steinman. Both were done for the night. On the restart, Scott Priester hit the restart cone, bringing the caution back out. Priester was sent to the tail of the field. When the green came back out, Shaffer pulled away slightly while Holtgraver began pressuring Lynch for second. Holtgraver was able to take the runner-up spot on lap 18. Meanwhile, Cap Henry, who scored a win during weekly competition at Mercer last season, had raced his way from his eighth starting spot into the top five. Another car on the move was two-time All Star champion Greg Wilson. Wilson, who started 19th, cracked the top 10 on lap 18 and would ride home 9th to earn the night’s “hard charger” honor. As Shaffer raced into lapped traffic, Holtgraver was able to close. “I tried to move around in traffic and I lost some time. I just tried to be patient and not get caught up and do something dumb,” said Shaffer. With five laps to go, Blaney, who leads the All Star’s national point standings, was able to drive around Lynch into third, but ran out of time to catch Shaffer and Holtgraver. Lynch would bring his Howard Concrete machine home in fourth with Henry rounding out the top five. The UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions head back to Ohio to wrap up the month of May, with a double-header weekend at the historic Fremont Speedway, Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27 (there is a Monday rain date for the finale). The Sunday finale will pay the feature winner $10,000. For more information go to www.allstarsprint.com or follow the All Stars on Twitter. Click Read More for Full Results... |
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UNOH All Stars battle tough regulars at Mercer |
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 Camargo, IL (5-8-12) - Western Pennsylvania has ALWAYS been a big part of the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions heritage. The series will travel to the three-eighths mile oval Saturday to take on the tough regular competitors.
Saturday's event will be like a homecoming for the UNOH All Stars. The series, founded in Western Pennsylvania by area businessman Bud Miller and others, has long roots in the region and Mercer was one of the tour stops from the very beginning. The first UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions titlest was hometown favorite Ralph Quarterson. Times have changed, but there is one constant - successive generations of UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions heroes hailed from Western Pennsylvania including Hall of Fame driver Brad Doty and current NASCAR star Dave Blaney. Among the contemporary UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions are three time and defending champion Tim Shaffer, of Aliquippa, Pa., and three time series champion and current All Star national points leader Dale Blaney of Hartford, Ohio, who has two series wins in 2012 and sits second in the All Stars' all-time win list with 86 victories. And, the younger set is well represented by 2010 Lernerville champion Danny Holtgraver, of Pittsburgh, and Pete Miller, III, of Port Vue, Pa., the All Star's 2011 Rookie of the Year who recently scored a win at Lernerville. The home team, the Luxaire Heating & Cooling Sprint Cars, will be led by former UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions travelers Rod George, who won last week’s feature, and Bob Felmlee, the defending track champion. Also expected to compete are Ed Lynch, Jr. and Brian Ellenberger, both of whom have won on the road with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions, and in their own back yards and at Mercer. All of the other Mercer talents will be on hand, such as Brent and Brandon Matus, Brandon Spithaler, Eric Williams, and many more. Other visitors expected include Lee Jacobs and Rob Chaney, both of whom were testing the waters last weekend, and Cap Henry, who was victorious last season at the Mercer Raceway Park. Could someone like Daryn Pittman, who leads the UNOH All Star's Eastern Region points and its $20,000 prize and sits in the top three of the series' Ohio Region show up? Or Stevie Smith and his Black Bandit team? Saturday’s race will be the first of two visits for the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions, whose drivers swept both programs last season. The UNOH ALl Stars have three regional championship point standings and a national title. Saturday's race at "The Park" is part of the Ohio Region and mufflers are required for all teams. Can the home team even up the score? You won’t want to miss this rematch. Joining the powerful 410 Sprints will be their cousins, the TI22 Performance Outlaw Sprint Warriors. The Precise Racing Products Stock Cars and the Mini Stocks will complete the racing card. Racing starts at 7 p.m., and front gates will open at 4. Adults will be admitted for $23, seniors for $21, and students for just $9. Children 8 and under are always admitted free. The Family Pass will cost $48, and that will be good for two adults and up to four children of any age. Pit passes will be just $35. For more information, check out www.mercerracewaypark.com or www.allstarsprint.com |
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The All Stars are one of the premier sprint car sanctioning bodies in the USA. It is owned by an Illinois businessman, and now in their 30th year of operation, the All Stars take pride in their reputation of providing highly competitive, fair, exciting racing for outlaw sprint cars with many different winners in a year. About 400 drivers participate in All Star races yearly in front of an average of 5,000 spectators per event. Currently 40+ races are scheduled in numerous states, such as Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Kansas. 
Ohio Sprint Speedweek proves to be one of the most competitive weeks in racing during the 2010 All Star season. Tough battles happened in the 2010 Ohio Sprint Speedweek season, as it included nine straight nights of racing action in the buckeye state, it challenged the best of the best, but young David Gravel- DDR Motorsports was crowned the 2010 champion.