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Smith is king at Fremont Speedway; Dible
grabs 2nd truck victory
Friday, Sept. 18, 2009
Contact: Brian Liskai
liskai2x@cros.net
By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio - Stevie Smith won the King of the
Hill match race to earn a
pole starting spot for the 410 sprint feature at Fremont Speedway. He then
led all 30 laps to be crowned the king on Burger King Night at "The Track
That Action Built."
Fostoria, Ohio's Bob Dible held off Jim Keegan to
claim his second feature
win of the year in the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks.
Smith, who hails from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma,
always seems to find success
at Fremont when big money is on the line. Last year at the Jim Ford Classic
he finished second. He grabbed a third place run earlier this year at the
$10,000 to win Ohio Sprint Speedweek finale, and now, with the largest purse
in the 58-year history of "The Track That Action Built" on tap for this
weekend, he claimed the $4,000 payday Friday. Saturday's feature pays
$10,000 to win, and if Smith can take the checkered flag in that 50-lap
feature, he will claim an additional $6,000 bonus for a $20,000 weekend!
"Like I said earlier, I'm really proud of Fremont,
they're really trying
hard. I proud of these guys working on this car they've done a great job for
me. We're in position...you had to win the first night to get the $6,000
bonus but we have our work cut out for us," said Smith, the 2009 Ohio Sprint
Speedweek champion in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.
"The track really widened out and it was a pretty
good track in the feature.
This is a tough little track. I'm really happy with the whole year. It's
been exciting just about every race," added Smith beside his Zemco Speed
Equipment, Zemco Headers backed #1.
It wasn't easy for Smith, as Daryn Pittman caught
him late in the race in
lapped traffic, but Smith was able to negotiate through for his third career
Fremont victory.
"By feature time the track widened out pretty good,
but the speeds were just
so fast. Lapped traffic was an issue but obviously it held him (Smith) up
too. Problem is when you're in lapped traffic and it holds the leader up you
really think you're fast and you're going to win the thing. Then he cleared
them and they held me up just as bad," said Pittman beside his Keen
Motorsports, Peterbuilt backed #17.
"He would have had to make a huge mistake in lapped
traffic for me to win.
If I'd have done a better job in the King of the Hill and put us a little
closer to the front to start maybe we would have something for him," added
Pittman.
Dible got around Jim Keegan on lap five and the
pair raced side-by-side over
the remaining 15 laps. It got interesting heading into turns three and four
on the last lap as Dible and Keegan raced for the lead with a lapped machine
right in front of the. Dible was able to get under the back marker and race
to his 9th career Fremont victory.
"I saw that lapped truck and I said 'oh know.'
Every time I would slip a
little bit Jim was there...I could see him and then I'd have to get back
into the groove. This was an awesome track, smooth and fast," said Dible in
the Engine Pro Victory lane..
"I built this truck band new this year and of all
the trucks I've ever had
this was the hardest one to get so it would operate. We found something
about three or four weeks ago and it shows. I can't wait till next year when
we start out fresh," added Dible beside his Bob's Machine Shop, BMS Engines
backed #17.
Smith grabbed the lead at the drop of the green of
the 30-lap sprint
feature, but it was for naught, as Scott Euler took a nasty tumble in turn
one, but was able to walk away. On the second try, again Smith jumped into
the lead with Todd Kane applying pressure with Bill Rose and Pittman racing
hard for third. Pittman would steal third on lap two and he and Kane closed
on Smith who set a blistering pace and was into lapped traffic by lap nine.
Smith avoided disaster on lap 13 when he slipped up
the track in turn two,
but gathered it back in. The caution would fly for Brandon Wimmer who
stopped on lap 14 with the running order Smith, Kane, Pittman, Kenny Jacobs,
Rose, Dale Blaney, Randy Hannagan, Phil Gressman and Bryan Sebetto.
With a clear track, Smith was able to widen out his
lead on the restart
while Kane and Pittman waged a great battle for second with Jacobs fourth
and Blaney up to fifth. Pittman would dispose of Kane on lap 19 and began
closing on Smith who had already caught the back of the back and was having
trouble putting cars a lap down.
Meanwhile there was a tremendous battle for third
between Kane, Jacobs,
Blaney and Hannagan, who had earlier earned a $1,000 for setting quick time
in qualifications. Blaney would move into third on lap 26 while Hannagan
moved in on Kane's rear bumper for fourth. Once Smith cleared traffic, he
would cruise to the victory with Pittman five car lengths back in second and
Blaney third. Kane would salvage a fourth place run while Gressman moved
from 10th to round out the top five.
A scary moment in front of the flag stand on the
last lap as Jacobs and
Hannagan got together with Jacobs getting upside down. Jacobs, who has a
history of back injuries, was taken to the hospital for a check-up, but was
able to get out of the car under his own power.
Jim Keegan would grab the lead from his pole
starting spot when the green
dropped for the 20-lap dirt truck feature with Jim McGrath, Dible and Jimmie
McGrath Junior in tow. Dible would take the second spot on lap two while the
feather-son McGrath duo would battle for third with Dan Hennig and Art Ball
racing side-by-side for fifth.
Dible would slide under Keegan for the lead on lap
five, but Keegan would
not give up and race him hard the rest of the race. Meanwhile, the McGrath's
continued to duke it out for third while Hennig and Ball resumed their
tremendous battle four fifth.
The race would grind to a half on lap 15 when Will
Tezak hit the front
stretch wall hard - he was checked out by the track's safety crew and was
okay.
Dible could not shake Keegan on the restart, with
McGrath Sr. making it a
three truck battle. After taking the white flag, Dible and Keegan raced
side-by-side down the backstretch, with Dible able to squeeze under the
lapped machine in the final two corners to take the victory. Keegan,
McGrath, Jr. and Art Ball would round out the top five.
Fremont Speedway is back in action tomorrow,
Saturday, Sept. 19, as the
O'Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions come to town for the 2nd Annual Jim
Ford Classic, with the winner of the 50-lap feature taking home $10,000. The
Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints will also be in action.
For more information log onto
www.fremontohspeedway.com.
Fremont Speedway - 9/18/2009
Burger King Night
Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints
Qualifying -
1. 1X-Randy Hannagan, 12.72; 2. 27-Scott Euler, 12.79; 3. X-Mark Keegan,
12.80; 4. 6R-Bill Rose, 12.81; 5. 53-Phil Gressman, 12.81; 6. 1Z-Stevie
Smith, 12.87; 7. 2-Dale Blaney, 12.88; 8. 47-Caleb Helms, 12.94; 9. 28K-Todd
Kane, 12.97; 10. 17-Daryn Pittman, 12.98; 11. 312-Mike Linder, 12.98; 12.
16-Bryan Sebetto, 13.00; 13. 6-Kenny Jacobs, 13.00; 14. 83-Tim Shaffer,
13.00; 15. 48S-Andy Shammo, 13.00; 16. 22-Cole Duncan, 13.03; 17. 7T-Troy
Vaccaro, 13.06; 18. 10-David Harrison, 13.07; 19. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.09; 20.
9X-Brandon Martin, 13.11; 21. 3J-Kevin Lee[21],
13.13; 22. 25-Lee Jacobs, 13.14;
23. 6F-Bob Felmlee, 13.17; 24. 11B-Brock Mayes, 13.19; 25. 4-Danny Smith,
13.19; 26. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.24; 27. 45-Brian Lay, 13.25; 28. 9Z-Duane
Zablocki, 13.28; 29. 24H-John Ivy, 13.32; 30. 14H-Todd Heller, 13.33; 31.
O-Brandon Wimmer, 13.40; 32. 5A-Rob Elyer, 13.42; 33. 97-Dean Jacobs, 13.45;
34. 28-Shawn Valenti, 13.49; 35. 48-Mike Burkin, 13.50; 36. W20-Greg Wilson,
13.56; 37. 1XL-Matt Linder, 13.59; 38. 25AU-Brooke Tatnell, 13.63; 39.
O6-Brandy Bower, 13.74; 40. 15C-Chris Andrews, 99.00; 41. 60-Jody Keegan,
99.01
Heat 1 - (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 3J-Kevin Lee[1]; 2. 6-Kenny Jacobs; 3.
7T-Troy Vaccaro; 4. 28K-Todd Kane; 5.
53-Phil Gressman; 6. 4-Danny Smith; 7. 1X-Randy Hannagan; 8. 24H-John Ivy;
9. 1XL-Matt Linder; 10. 97-Dean Jacobs
Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (8 Laps - Top 4
Transfer)
1. 25-Lee Jacobs; 2. 17-Daryn Pittman; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer; 4. 1Z-Stevie
Smith; 5. 5R-Byron Reed; 6. 28-Shawn Valenti; 7. 25AU-Brooke Tatnell; 8.
27-Scott Euler; 9. 14H-Todd Heller; 10. 10-David Harrison
Heat 3 - (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. O9-Craig Mintz; 2. 6F-Bob Felmlee; 3. 312-Mike Linder; 4. 2-Dale Blaney;
5. X-Mark Keegan; 6. 48S-Andy Shammo; 7. O-Brandon Wimmer; 8. 45-Brian Lay;
9. 48-Mike Burkin; 10. O6-Brandy Bower
Heat 4 - (8 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 9X-Brandon Martin; 2. 11B-Brock Mayes; 3. 16-Bryan Sebetto; 4. 6R-Bill
Rose; 5. 47-Caleb Helms; 6. 22-Cole Duncan; 7. W20-Greg Wilson; 8. 5A-Rob
Elyer; 9. 15C-Chris Andrews; 10. 9Z-Duane Zablocki
C-Main - (10 Laps - Top 2 Transfer)
1. 97-Dean Jacobs; 2. W20-Greg Wilson; 3. 25AU-Brooke Tatnell; 4. 28-Shawn
Valenti; 5. 1XL-Matt Linder; 6. 48-Mike Burkin; 7. O6-Brandy Bower; 8.
15C-Chris Andrews
B-Main - (12 Laps - Top 6 Transfer)
1. 1X-Randy Hannagan; 2. X-Mark Keegan; 3. 53-Phil Gressman; 4. 27-Scott
Euler; 5. 5R-Byron Reed; 6. O-Brandon Wimmer; 7. 47-Caleb Helms; 8. 14H-Todd
Heller; 9. 22-Cole Duncan; 10. W20-Greg Wilson; 11. 97-Dean Jacobs; 12.
45-Brian Lay; 13. 10-David Harrison; 14. 24H-John Ivy; 15. 5A-Rob Elyer; 16.
9Z-Duane Zablocki; 17. 48S-Andy Shammo; 18. 4-Danny Smith
A-Main - (30 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 1Z-Stevie Smith[1]; 2. 17-Daryn Pittman[4]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[5]; 4.
28K-Todd Kane[2]; 5. 53-Phil Gressman[10]; 6. 6R-Bill Rose[3]; 7. 83-Tim
Shaffer[13]; 8. O9-Craig Mintz[15]; 9. X-Mark Keegan[11]; 10. 11B-Brock
Mayes[18]; 11. 9X-Brandon Martin[14]; 12. 16-Bryan Sebetto[7]; 13. 1X-Randy
Hannagan[9]; 14. 6-Kenny Jacobs[6]; 15. 25-Lee Jacobs[16]; 16. 6F-Bob
Felmlee[19]; 17. 5R-Byron Reed[21]; 18. 3J-Kevin
Lee[17]; 19. O-Brandon
Wimmer[20]; 20. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[12]; 21. 312-Mike Linder[22]; 22. 27-Scott
Euler[8]
Fremont Fence Co. Dirt Trucks
Heat 1 - (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. O1-Art Ball; 2. 32H-Dan Hennig; 3. 52-Will Tezak; 4. 17-Bob Dible; 5.
9-Roger Inks; 6. 84-Adam Jones; 7. 71-Craig Holland; 8. 34K-Kevin Miller; 9.
6-Linda Sabo
Heat 2 - Bell Racing Products (7 Laps - Top 5
Transfer)
1. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr.; 2. 5-Jim Mcgrath; 3. 4X-Brian Sorg; 4. 16-Steve
Sabo; 5. 4S-Keith Sorg; 6. 92-Loren Schwochow; 7. 30-Dave Gibbs; 8. 21R-Phil
Burroughs
Heat 3 - (7 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 39-Dwight Waltermier; 2. 99-Art Howey Jr.; 3. O-Jim Keegan; 4. 33-Brian
Arnold; 5. 8-Steve Endicott; 6. 8K-Kent Brewer; 7. 23M-Brad Mitten; 8.
P51-Paul Brown Jr.
B-Main - (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 8K-Kent Brewer; 2. 84-Adam Jones; 3. P51-Paul Brown Jr.; 4. 92-Loren
Schwochow; 5. 23M-Brad Mitten; 6. 71-Craig Holland; 7. 21R-Phil Burroughs;
8. 34K-Kevin Miller; 9. 30-Dave Gibbs
A-Main - (20 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 17-Bob Dible[3]; 2. O-Jim Keegan[1]; 3. 5-Jim Mcgrath[4]; 4. 5JR-Jimmy
Mcgrath Jr.[6]; 5. O1-Art Ball[7]; 6. 8-Steve Endicott[15]; 7. 8K-Kent
Brewer[16]; 8. 99-Art Howey Jr.[8]; 9. 16-Steve Sabo[5]; 10. 39-Dwight
Waltermier[11]; 11. 23M-Brad Mitten[20]; 12. 92-Loren Schwochow[19]; 13.
9-Roger Inks[13]; 14. 4S-Keith Sorg[14]; 15. 4X-Brian Sorg[2]; 16. 32H-Dan
Hennig[10]; 17. 33-Brian Arnold[12]; 18. 52-Will Tezak[9]; 19. 84-Adam
Jones[17]; 20. P51-Paul Brown Jr.[18]
Back to 2009 Results
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