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Mintz holds off Keegan for Fremont FAST
victory; Dussel and McGrath get 2nd 305 and truck victories
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Contact Brian Liskai
liskai2x@cros.net
By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio - It was the cagey
veteran and the young up-and-comer battling
for the 410 sprint victory at Fremont
Speedway Saturday night on Schiets
Motorsports Night. In the end, the
youngster took the win over a driver he
looked up to as a child in the stands.
Gibsonburg, Ohio's Craig Mintz scored
his second victory of the season at "The
Track That Action Built," holding
off nine-time track champion Mark Keegan.
The win helped Mintz expand his lead
in the Kistler Racing Products Fremont
Attica Sprint Title Championship Series.
The FAST Series is a $50,000
point/contingency fund separate from both
the point funds of Attica and
Fremont, with the winner claiming $10,000
a year's end. Mintz also took the
point lead for the Fremont Speedway
champion by just three points over Brock
Mayes and six points over defending track
champion Byron Reed.
It was another youngster battling a
veteran for the win in the Fremont
Federal Credit Union 305 Sprint feature,
with second year driver Nate Dussel
of Bradner, Ohio, getting his second
career victory.
Defending Fremont Fence Dirt Truck
track champion Jim McGrath of Clyde,
Ohio, took control of the feature on lap
seven and never looked back on
route to his second victory of the season
and fifth career at Fremont
Speedway.
Mintz led the first lap of the Fort
Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature,
but Keegan took the top spot a lap later,
only to see Mintz drive around him
on lap 11. Keegan would hound him, and
when they hit lapped traffic with the
white flag in the air, Keegan was able to
pull off the bottom of turn four
to regain the lead, but Mintz flew around
the high side exiting turn two to
regain the lead and the win.
"I was happy to run with Mark there.
Pat Harger put a great set-up on this
thing. We tried something different
tonight and it helped out. I can't thank
everyone that helps out on this
enough...Bobby and Kellie Sears have helped
me out a ton on this FAST deal and that's
what we're trying to do...it's our
goal at the end of the season," said
Mintz in the Engine Pro Victory Lane
beside his Bobby's Truck and Auto Repair,
Pumps Landscaping and Nursery,
Erie Shore Propane, Real Geese Decoys
backed #09.
"It's hard running up front like that.
A year ago I lead 47 of 50 laps and
had no idea where anybody was at. You
just try to hit your marks. I saw
Mark's nose wing and I decided to pick it
up a little bit and it still
wasn't enough. It was just one of those
deals where he was really good on
the bottom in three and four and I was
halfway descent in one and two on the
top, so I just tried to hold my line as
best I could in three and four and
try to beat him into one," added Mintz.
When asked if he thought about giving
one of his boyhood heroes a shot at
the win, Mintz said Keegan has plenty of
wins - 59 to sit third on the
all-time victory list.
"I've got a long ways to go to try and
catch him. He's a legend...I've
watched him since I was knee high and now
I get to race with him and that
was fun," said Mintz, who now has four
career victories at Fremont.
Veteran Bill Kraylek and Nate Dussel
raced each other hard the entire 25
laps, with Dussel gaining the top spot on
lap 8. Then, with 10 laps
remaining, Dussel encountered lapped
traffic and they gave him fits,
allowing Kraylek to close. Dussel would
be patient and finally pick his way
through for the win.
"Every where I kept going he (lapped
machine) kept going. I mean it's give
an inch take an inch. You just gotta get
every little bit you can. I mean he
wasn't giving it to me, but once I got
around him I knew I probably had a
pretty good chance of winning it," said
Dussel in the Engine Pro Victory
Lane beside his Berrier Fabrication,
Dussel Welding, Gressman Powersports
backed #1.
"I've gotten my only two wins here,
but I've probably thrown two of them
away at Attica. My brothers give me the
best car pretty much every
night..it's whether or not I can hold
onto it, so I really have to thank
them," added Dussel.
After a great battle with Steve Sabo
the first part of the race, once
McGrath took the lead on lap seven he was
pretty much gone. Only a lap 16
caution would bunch up the field, but he
drove away on the restart for the
victory.
"I tuned it up a little bit and
changed the front wheel and it quieted
everything down. I was watching Mark
(Keegan) in the feature and he kind of
messed up a little bit..I tried to make
up for it," joked McGrath in the
Engine Pro Victory Lane beside his B&K
Auto Service, J&F Miller Farms,
Winesburg Barbecue, Level Performance
backed truck. "Seriously I have to
thank Mark Keegan and Dennis Level for
all they do for me."
At the drop of the green in the 30 lap
410 sprint feature, Mintz would drive
from his third starting spot into the
lead with pole-sitter Keegan in
second, Brandon Martin third, Cole Duncan
fourth and Greg Wilson fifth.
Keegan would use the bottom groove to
slide under Mintz for the lead a lap
later, but Mintz would utilize the middle
of the surface to stay beside
Keegan. Mintz would drive to Keegan's
outside on lap 11 exiting turn four to
grab the lead, but Keegan would continue
to hound Mintz on his inside until
the caution flew on lap 12 for a Caleb
Griffith spin. The car on the move
was Lee Jacobs who had cracked the top 10
from his 17th starting spot.
Just two laps and the final caution of
the race would fly for a Chris
Andrews spin at the halfway mark. On the
restart, Mintz and Keegan would
resume their torrid battle up front while
Martin, Duncan, Wilson and Brock
Mayes staged a tremendous fight for
third. Mayes would move into third on
lap 16 while Wilson grabbed fourth on lap
17. With 10 laps remaining the
running order was Mintz, Keegan, Mayes,
Wilson, Tim Shaffer and rookie Cap
Henry. Three laps later, as Mintz and
Keegan continue to battle up front
Wilson would grab third from Mayes.
The anticipation grew among the fans
as the leaders closed in on traffic as
the laps wound down. With two laps to go,
Mintz had hit the back-markers,
allowing Keegan to get one last run on
him. In fact, as they charged out of
turn four to the white flag, Keegan
grabbed the lead, but Mintz was able to
use a lapped machine as a pick and
regained the top spot and win on to the
victory. Wilson, Shaffer and Mayes would
round out the top five.
Bill Kraylek used the low line to grab
the lead of the 25-lap 305 sprint
feature with Dussel racing to his outside
and Dan Hammond, Brad
Haudenschild, Todd Heuerman and Stuart
Brubaker right on their bumpers.
Kraylek and Dussel were able to pull away
slightly over the next couple of
laps while Hammond ran unchallenged for
third. Besides the battle for the
lead, fans were entertained with the race
for fourth between Haudenschild,
Brubaker, Heuerman and Paul Weaver.
Dussel was finally able to drive to
Kraylek's outside for the lead on lap
eight, but Kraylek continued to hound him
on the bottom in the non-stop
feature. With 10 laps in the books,
Brubaker had worked his way into third,
with Hammond fourth and ninth starter
Brad Bowman moving into the top five.
Dussel was able to pull away slightly
until he hit the backmarkers on lap
15, allowing Kraylek to close. Meanwhile,
the battle for third heated up
between Brubaker and Bowman. While Dussel
struggled with a lapped machine
Kraylek just couldn't muster enough
momentum to pass him. Once Dussel was
able to dispose of the backmarker, he
pulled away the last three laps for
the win. Kraylek, Brubaker, Bowman and
Heuerman would round out the top
five.
Steve Sabo would grab the early lead
of the 20-lap dirt truck feature while
a tremendous battle was waged for second
between Paul Brown Jr., McGrath,
Loren Schwochow, Jimmie McGrath Jr., Bob
Dible, Cory Ward, Art Ball and Dan
Hennig. There was literally several
three-abreast battles going on all over
in the top 10.
McGrath would drive under Brown for
second on lap three and began to race to
Sabo's outside for the lead. McGrath and
Sabo would race side-by-side until
McGrath got a good bite off of turn four
to take the top spot on lap 7.
Meanwhile, Dible would move into third
with Schwochow, Brown and Steve
Endicott closing. As McGrath pulled away,
Dible would put the pressure on
Sabo for second while the truck on the
move on the outside was Hennig who
vaulted into fourth on lap 11. The second
and final caution would fly on lap
16 for a Will Tezak spin, but McGrath was
able to pull away the final four
laps for the victory with Sabo, Hennig,
Dible and Endicott rounding out the
top five.
Fremont Speedway will be back in
action Saturday, July 18 as Beck Oil Night
brings in the super late model of the
Sunoco American Late Model Series
along with the 305 sprints and dirt
trucks. There is also a special match
race planned between Fremont Speedway
Promoters Rich Farmer and Andy James
aboard 305 sprints against Attica Raceway
Park Promoter John Bores and his
son, Mike, behind the wheel of their late
models.
For more information log onto
www.fremontohspeedway.com
Fremont Speedway - 7/11/2009
Schiets Motor Sports Night
Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints
Qualifying -
1. 83-Tim Shaffer, 14.02; 2. 11B-Brock
Mayes, 14.10; 3. 312-Mike Linder,
14.31; 4. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.46; 5.
16-Bryan Sebetto, 14.47; 6. 22-Cole
Duncan, 14.56; 7. 15C-Chris Andrews,
14.56; 8. O9-Craig Mintz, 14.56; 9.
11M-Brandon Martin, 14.62; 10. X-Mark
Keegan, 14.75; 11. 47-Caleb Helms,
14.79; 12. 9X-Phil Gressman, 14.87; 13.
10-David Harrison, 14.91; 14.
89G-David Gravel, 14.92; 15. 9Z-Duane
Zablocki, 14.92; 16. 5R-Byron Reed,
14.93; 17.
3J-Kevin Lee, 14.97; 18. 25-Lee Jacobs, 15.01; 19. 60-Jody
Keegan, 15.02; 20. O4-Cap Henry, 15.02;
21. 2+-Brian Smith, 15.06; 22.
12-Caleb Griffith, 15.12; 23. 14H-Todd
Heller, 15.20; 24. 53-John Ivy,
15.22; 25. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild,
15.30; 26. 51-Roger Campbell Jr., 15.40;
27. 48-Mike Burkin, 16.66; 28. 7AU-Roddy
Bellbowen, NT
Heat 1 - (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 5R-Byron Reed; 2. 10-David Harrison;
3. 83-Tim Shaffer; 4. X-Mark Keegan;
5. W20-Greg Wilson; 6. 60-Jody Keegan; 7.
15C-Chris Andrews; 8. 7AU-Roddy
Bellbowen; 9. 12-Caleb Griffith; 10.
93-Sheldon Haudenschild
Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (8 Laps
- Top 5 Transfer)
1. 3J-Kevin
Lee[1]; 2. O9-Craig Mintz; 3. 89G-David Gravel; 4. 16-Bryan
Sebetto; 5. 11B-Brock Mayes; 6. O4-Cap
Henry; 7. 14H-Todd Heller; 8.
47-Caleb Helms; 9. 51-Roger Campbell Jr.
Heat 3 - (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 25-Lee Jacobs; 2. 9Z-Duane Zablocki;
3. 9X-Phil Gressman; 4. 11M-Brandon
Martin; 5. 22-Cole Duncan; 6. 312-Mike
Linder; 7. 53-John Ivy; 8. 2+-Brian
Smith; 9. 48-Mike Burkin
B-Main - (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 312-Mike Linder; 2. O4-Cap Henry; 3.
15C-Chris Andrews; 4. 12-Caleb
Griffith; 5. 14H-Todd Heller; 6. 53-John
Ivy; 7. 2+-Brian Smith; 8. 47-Caleb
Helms; 9. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild; 10.
7AU-Roddy Bellbowen; 11. 48-Mike
Burkin; 12. 51-Roger Campbell Jr.; 13.
60-Jody Keegan
A-Main - (30 Laps) [#]-Starting
Position
1. O9-Craig Mintz[3]; 2. X-Mark
Keegan[1]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson[6]; 4. 83-Tim
Shaffer[8]; 5. 11B-Brock Mayes[7]; 6.
O4-Cap Henry[18]; 7. 25-Lee
Jacobs[17]; 8. 22-Cole Duncan[4]; 9.
5R-Byron Reed[15]; 10. 16-Bryan
Sebetto[5]; 11. 11M-Brandon Martin[2];
12. 9X-Phil Gressman[11]; 13.
312-Mike Linder[9]; 14. 14H-Todd
Heller[20]; 15. 3J-Kevin Lee[16]; 16.
12-Caleb Griffith[19]; 17. 10-David
Harrison[12]; 18. 15C-Chris Andrews[10];
19. 89G-David Gravel[13]; 20. 9Z-Duane
Zablocki[14]
Fremont Federal Credit Union - 305
Sprints
Heat 1 - (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker; 2. 14-Chad Wilson;
3. 1W-Paul Weaver; 4. 11F-D.J.
Foos; 5. 19R-Steve Rando; 6. 40-Bobby
Clark; 7. 28-Shawn Valenti; 8. 8K-Zack
Kramer
Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (8 Laps
- Top 5 Transfer)
1. 51-Brad Bowman; 2. 1-Nate Dussel; 3.
10-Brad Haudenschild; 4. 18-Todd
Heuerman; 5. 10X-Dustin Stroup; 6. 3B-Tim
Bottles; 7. 24X-Tom Nichols; 8.
8J-Jess Stiger
Heat 3 - (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 22D-Dan Hammond;
2. 3J-Kevin Lee[3]; 3. 2-Tim Kern; 4. 71-Bill
Kraylek; 5.
9-Jimmy Colvin; 6. 94-John Ivy; 7.
M28-Josh Muntz; 8. 30-Adam Ollom
B-Main - (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 94-John Ivy; 2. 40-Bobby Clark; 3.
28-Shawn Valenti; 4. M28-Josh Muntz;
5. 8K-Zack Kramer; 6. 3B-Tim Bottles; 7.
24X-Tom Nichols; 8. 8J-Jess Stiger;
9. 30-Adam Ollom
A-Main - (25 Laps) [#]-Starting
Position
1. 1-Nate Dussel[2]; 2. 71-Bill
Kraylek[1]; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker[6]; 4.
51-Brad Bowman[9]; 5. 18-Todd
Heuerman[5]; 6. 1W-Paul Weaver[7]; 7. 11F-D.J.
Foos[8]; 8. 22D-Dan Hammond[4];
9. 3J-Kevin Lee[10]; 10. 94-John Ivy[16];
11. 10-Brad Haudenschild[3]; 12. 9-Jimmy
Colvin[15]; 13. 28-Shawn
Valenti[18]; 14. 14-Chad Wilson[12]; 15.
M28-Josh Muntz[19]; 16. 10X-Dustin
Stroup[14]; 17. 2-Tim Kern[11]; 18.
8K-Zack Kramer[20]; 19. 40-Bobby
Clark[17]; 20. 19R-Steve Rando[13]
Fremont Fence Co. Dirt Trucks
Heat 1 - (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 18W-Cory Ward; 2. 16-Steve Sabo; 3.
8-Steve Endicott; 4. 32H-Dan Hennig;
5. 39-Dwight Waltermier; 6. 6-Linda Sabo;
7. 4X-Brian Sorg; 8. 4J-Josh
Lozano; 9. 34K-Kevin Miller
Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (7 Laps
- Top 5 Transfer)
1. 17-Bob Dible; 2. O1-Art Ball; 3.
5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr.; 4. P51-Paul Brown
Jr.; 5. 30-Dave Gibbs; 6. 21R-Dustin
Keegan; 7. 40-Corey Tappel
Heat 3 - (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 92-Loren Schwochow; 2. 5-Jim Mcgrath;
3. 23M-Brad Mitten; 4. 71-Craig
Holland; 5. 8K-Kent Brewer; 6. 4S-Keith
Sorg; 7. 52-Will Tezak; 8. 9-Roger
Inks
B-Main - (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 52-Will Tezak; 2. 99-Art Howey Jr.; 3.
4J-Josh Lozano; 4. 6-Linda Sabo;
5. 4S-Keith Sorg; 6. 9-Roger Inks; 7.
21R-Dustin Keegan; 8. 4X-Brian Sorg;
9. 40-Corey Tappel
A-Main - (20 Laps) [#]-Starting
Position
1. 5-Jim Mcgrath[4]; 2. 16-Steve Sabo[1];
3. 32H-Dan Hennig[10]; 4. 17-Bob
Dible[6]; 5. 8-Steve Endicott[9]; 6.
5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr.[5]; 7. 39-Dwight
Waltermier[13]; 8. 92-Loren Schwochow[3];
9. 18W-Cory Ward[7]; 10. 99-Art
Howey Jr.[17]; 11. P51-Paul Brown Jr.[2];
12. 30-Dave Gibbs[14]; 13.
4S-Keith Sorg[20]; 14. 4J-Josh
Lozano[18]; 15. 6-Linda Sabo[19]; 16. 52-Will
Tezak[16]; 17. 8K-Kent Brewer[15]; 18.
O1-Art Ball[8]; 19. 71-Craig
Holland[11]; 20. 23M-Brad Mitten[12]
Back to 2009 Results
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