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