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Stevie Smith takes $15,000 Fremont
finale; Shammo wins feature 305 championship; Ward gets win and title; Ball gets
#68; Dinan wins 2nd 305 Feature
By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio (Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007) -
Stevie Smith is used to stiff
competition. He ran against some of the best in
sprint car racing with the
World of Outlaws. However, the Broken Arrow,
Oklahoma driver knew coming to
Ohio to compete in the season finale at Fremont
Speedway for $15,000 would
offer just as tough a battle against the weekend
warriors.
Smith, who struggled early in the evening at
"The Track That Action Built,"
had to make a late race charge in the B-main to
even qualify for the 50-lap
Chuck Kear Memorial feature. Starting 12th in the
A-main, he took the lead
from Mark Keegan on lap 21 and went on to claim the
rich payday and the new
XXX Chassis.
"We were terrible. My crew changed everything on
the car. I knew we would
have our hands full...these guys around here are
tough. We drove by a race
paying $10,000 to come here," said Smith beside his
Race Against the Abuse
of Children Everywhere sponsored #19 in the Engine
Pro Victory Lane. "It was
probably the early '90s the last time we were here.
This is some of the
toughest competition you'll find at any track
across the country on a weekly
basis."
The Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints and
Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks
were split into odds and evens in their point
standings for two feature
events for each division, each paying $1,000 to
win.
Millbury, Ohio's Andy Shammo picked up his fifth
victory of the season in
one 305 main, to claim the 2007 Fremont Speedway
track championship. He also
picked up a new XXX Chassis for his feature win.
Shammo also won the track
title at Attica Raceway Park. In the other 305
feature, Fremont's Dustin
Dinan scored his second career victory.
"This was a dream season. I have to thank Lemar
and Yvonne Burkin for giving
me the opportunity to drive their car and all our
sponsors...without them we
couldn't do this," said Shammo beside his Fort Ball
Pizza Palace, K-S Sales
and Service backed #48. "Dennis Level built us one
heck of a motor."
"When I won the first one it really didn't
comprehend what I had done. I'm
going to enjoy this one a lot more," said Dinan
beside his Quality Welding,
Tanks Meats, Johnson's Hunting & Fishing backed #5.
In the first truck feature, Sandusky's Cory Ward
picked up his 7th victory
of the season to claim the 2007 track championship.
In the second truck
feature, Tiffin's Art Ball matched his age with his
68th career victory at
Fremont Speedway to lead all drivers on the
all-time win list.
"This started with my grandpa and then my dad.
Now I have a track
championship just like my dad (Jim Ward). I
couldn't ask for a better year,"
said Ward beside his Budweiser, Blue Chip Machine,
Excuses Lounge backed
#18w.
"I still feel good and Keith Pierce and the crew
give me a good truck, so
I'll keep on driving," said Ball beside his Magers
Lumber, Clouse
Constructioned backed #01.
By virtue of his 12th place finish, Monclova,
Ohio's Byron Reed claimed the
track championship for the Fort Ball Pizza Palace
410 Sprints, his second
title at Fremont Speedway having took the trophy in
2003. Reed also won the
2007 track championship at Attica Raceway Park.
Rod George jumped into the early lead in the big
50-lap 410 sprint feature
with Brandon Wimmer, Mark Keegan, Mike Linder and
David Harrison in tow. The
first yellow would fly on lap three with another
caution waving on the
restart as Reed made contact with Linder, sending
Reed spinning. Once the
green came back out, the race was on.
George led until lap 10 when Keegan would drive
around the outside. Keegan
would continue to lead over George, Wimmer
Harrison, Linder and Smith. Smith
would move into fourth on lap 11, third on lap 15
and into the runner-up
spot on lap 17. Keegan and Smith would race side by
side until driving under
Keegan exiting turn four on lap 21 for the lead.
Smith could not shake
Keegan who stayed on his rear bumper until third
place running Mike Linder
made contact with the lapped machine of Greg Dalman
entering turn 3 on lap
42, sending Linder and Dalman both flipping.
On the restart, Smith had six lapped machines
between himself and Keegan and
would cruise to his second career win at "The Track
That Action Built."
Keegan would finish second with Wimmer, Harrison
and Kevin Huntley rounding
out the top five. John Ivy earned the RickandKell
Hard Charger Award for his
drive from 21st starting spot to a 6th place
finish.
In "odds" 305 sprint feature, outside front row
starter Todd Heuerman would
grab the early lead with Mark Pridemore, Travis
Hoffbauer and Mark Whaley in
tow. Shammo was on the move, going from his 10th
starting spot into 6th in
the first lap before the yellow would fly. Another
caution followed on lap 2
with Shammo now up to fourth. While Heuerman
continued to lead over
Pridemore, Shammo drove into third on lap 4 and
would take the runner-up
position on lap 6 before another caution would fly.
On the restart, Shammo
seemed content to follow Heuerman until lap 12 when
he would race beside him
and grab the lead a circuit later. Shammo pulled
away for the win with
Heuerman, Pridemore, Bill Kraylek and Hoffbauer
rounding out the top five.
In the "evens" 305 sprint feature, pole-sitter
Scott Mominee would grab the
lead at the drop of the green with Bobby Foster,
Matt Merrill and Brad
Bowman in tow. Foster would drive under Mominee to
take the lead a lap
later. The driver on the move was Bowman who moved
into second on lap 3 and
began to pressure Foster. Foster made contact with
a lapped machine on lap
5, collapsing his front wing, but he continued to
lead. Bowman would drive
around Foster to grab the lead on lap 11. Dinan,
who started 10th, whould
move into third on lap 11 and take second on lap
14. Bowman and Dinan would
race side by side until Dinan slipped under for the
lead on lap 18. Dinan
would go on to the win with Matt Lucius moving into
second in the closing
laps; Stuart Brubaker into third, Foster and Bowman
rounding out the top
five.
In the "odds" dirt truck feature, rookie Zak
Cramer grabbed the initial lead
with Brad Mitten, Art Howey Junior and Dave Gibbs
in tow. Ward, who started
8th, was up to fourth by lap 2 and move dinto
second on lap 4. Ward would
drive under Cramer for the lead on lap 8 and had to
contend with several
strong challenges from Jim McGrath, as the two
raced side by side the rest
of the way. At the checkered it was Ward over
McGrath, Shawn Valenti,
15th-starter Dan Roepke and Loren Schwochow
rounding out the top five.
In the final feature of the night and the 2007
season - the "events" dirt
truck main, Dwight Waltermeier grabbed the initial
lead with Ball and Steve
Sabo right on his rear bumper. Ball would drive
around Waltermeier for the
top spot on lap six. Sabo would move into second at
the half-way mark of the
20-lap main and put pressure on Ball. However, Ball
began to hit his marks
and pulled away for the win. Sabo, Waltermeier,
Andy Maynard and Bob Dible
would round out the top five.
The race marked the end of the eight-year
promotion of the historic speedway
by the Jim and Joanne Ford family. Long-time race
fans and car owners and
drives Andy James of Ada, Ohio, and Rich Farmer of
Fremont have teamed up to
take over operations of Fremont Speedway beginning
in 2008.
"It's been a wonderful ride these past eight
years. While we are sad to hang
it up....it's time to let someone else have a try
at this. So many fans,
drivers, teams, sponsors have become a part of our
family. We will forever
have them in our hearts," said an emotional Jim
Ford.
Fremont Speedway will crown its champions and
honor the top 10 in the point
standings for all three divisions at the awrads
banquet at Ole Zim's
Wagonshed on Saturday, Nov. 3. For banquet tickets
call the track office at
419-862-2206.
The "New" Fremont Speedway (09-15-07)
Chuck Kear Memorial-Season Championship Night
Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Super Sprints
Qualifying
1. 7T-Troy Vaccaro, 12.66; 2. 24H-Rob Chaney,
12.88; 3. 87-Alan Krimes,
12.89; 4. 27-Scott Euler, 12.92; 5. 19-Stevie
Smith, 12.96; 6. 10-David
Harrison, 13.04; 7. 12-Caleb Griffith, 13.04; 8.
9X-Kevin Huntley, 13.05; 9.
97-Bobby Clark, 13.11; 10. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.15;
11. 3L-Mike Linder, 13.17;
12. X-Mark Keegan, 13.18; 13. O-Brandon Wimmer,
13.19; 14. 53-Kenny Jacobs,
13.20; 15. O1-Jamie Miller, 13.20; 16. 4-Rod
George, 13.22; 17. 29-Bryan
Sebetto, 13.26; 18. 16-Lee Jacobs, 13.30; 19.
5A-Rob Eyler, 13.32; 20.
3T-Tony Beaber, 13.32; 21. 1W-Paul Weaver, 13.32;
22. 99-Alvin Roepke,
13.37; 23. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr., 13.38; 24. 55-Brian
Smith, 13.39; 25. 6K-Chris
Knopp, 13.40; 26. 10S-Roger Shammo, 13.46; 27.
83-Phil Gressman, 13.63; 28.
98-Bruce Robenalt, 13.69; 29. 21-Rodney Morgan,
13.72; 30. 1H-Kyle Cummins,
13.76; 31. M20-Chris Andrews, 13.84; 32. 51-John
Ivy, 13.88; 33. 14H-Todd
Heller, 13.90; 34. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 13.95; 35.
8S-Eric Rankin, 14.08; 36.
49T-Gregg Dalman, 14.20; 37. 2H-Tim Hunter, 14.21;
38. 7A-Dave Dickson,
14.25; 39. 31-Chuck Wilson, 14.35; 40. 17-Jarred
Horstman, 14.51; 41.
O6-Brandy Bower, 14.52; 42. 41-Randy Tusing, 14.97;
43. 11-Josh Harrison,
15.00
Heat 1 (10 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver; 2. O-Brandon Wimmer; 3. 29-Bryan
Sebetto; 4. 6K-Chris
Knopp; 5. 97-Bobby Clark; 6. 19-Stevie Smith; 7.
2H-Tim Hunter; 8. 7T-Troy
Vaccaro; 9. O6-Brandy Bower; 10. 14H-Todd Heller;
11. 21-Rodney Morgan
Heat 2 (10 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 99-Alvin Roepke; 2. 16-Lee Jacobs; 3. 5R-Byron
Reed; 4. 10-David
Harrison; 5. 24H-Rob Chaney; 6. 53-Kenny Jacobs; 7.
10S-Roger Shammo; 8.
1H-Kyle Cummins; 9. 7A-Dave Dickson; 10. 11N-Ed
Neumeister; 11. 41-Randy
Tusing
Heat 3 (10 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 2L-Ed Lynch Jr.; 2. 3L-Mike Linder; 3. 5A-Rob
Eyler; 4. 12-Caleb
Griffith; 5. 87-Alan Krimes; 6. M20-Chris Andrews;
7. 83-Phil Gressman; 8.
8S-Eric Rankin; 9. 31-Chuck Wilson; 10. 11-Josh
Harrison; 11. O1-Jamie
Miller
Heat 4 (10 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 55-Brian Smith; 2. X-Mark Keegan; 3. 4-Rod
George; 4. 9X-Kevin Huntley;
5. 51-John Ivy; 6. 98-Bruce Robenalt; 7. 3T-Tony
Beaber; 8. 49T-Gregg
Dalman; 9. 27-Scott Euler; 10. 17-Jarred Horstman
C-main (10 laps, top 2 transfer to B-main)
1. 14H-Todd Heller; 2. 8S-Eric Rankin; 3. 17-Jarred
Horstman; 4. 11N-Ed
Neumeister; 5. 31-Chuck Wilson; 6. 2H-Tim Hunter;
7. 7A-Dave Dickson; 8.
49T-Gregg Dalman; 9. 11-Josh Harrison; 10.
O6-Brandy Bower; 11. 41-Randy
Tusing
B-main (12 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 7T-Troy Vaccaro; 2. 87-Alan Krimes; 3. 19-Stevie
Smith; 4. 27-Scott
Euler; 5. 53-Kenny Jacobs; 6. 8S-Eric Rankin; 7.
21-Rodney Morgan; 8.
M20-Chris Andrews; 9. 98-Bruce Robenalt; 10.
1H-Kyle Cummins; 11. 3T-Tony
Beaber; 12. 24H-Rob Chaney; 13. 83-Phil Gressman;
14. 14H-Todd Heller; 15.
97-Bobby Clark; 16. 51-John Ivy; 17. O1-Jamie
Miller; 18. 10S-Roger Shammo
A-main (50 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. 19-Stevie Smith[12]; 2. X-Mark Keegan[3]; 3.
O-Brandon Wimmer[2]; 4.
10-David Harrison[8]; 5. 9X-Kevin Huntley[6]; 6.
51-John Ivy[21]; 7. 16-Lee
Jacobs[14]; 8. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[9]; 9. 1W-Paul
Weaver[16]; 10. 4-Rod
George[1]; 11. 87-Alan Krimes[10]; 12. 5R-Byron
Reed[5]; 13. 5A-Rob
Eyler[15]; 14. 99-Alvin Roepke[17]; 15. 14H-Todd
Heller[22]; 16. M20-Chris
Andrews[24]; 17. 27-Scott Euler[11]; 18. 29-Bryan
Sebetto[13]; 19. 12-Caleb
Griffith[7]; 20. 3L-Mike Linder[4]; 21. 49T-Gregg
Dalman[23]; 22. 2L-Ed
Lynch Jr.[18]; 23. 6K-Chris Knopp[20]; 24. 55-Brian
Smith[19]
Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints (Odd
Points)
A-main (25 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. 48S-Andy Shammo[12]; 2. 18-Todd Heuerman[4]; 3.
25P-Mark Pridemore[3]; 4.
71-Bill Kraylek[10]; 5. 82-Travis Hoffbauer[1]; 6.
49-Coty Runion[9]; 7.
65-Mark Lang[5]; 8. 31-Chad Gullett[11]; 9. 34-Mark
Whaley[6]; 10. 23-Willie
Keegan[22]; 11. 36X-Dustin Keegan[8]; 12. 10-Brad
Haudenschild[15]; 13.
M28-Josh Muntz[13]; 14. 13-Junior Felver[20]; 15.
2-Brian Need[21]; 16.
22-Evan Helle[18]; 17. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[17]; 18.
6-Ryan Dickey[16]; 19.
51S-Jon Taylor[24]; 20. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[7]; 21.
5X-Chuck Dagg[23]; 22.
24X-Tom Nichols[19]; 23. 55S-Benny Bowman[14]
Fremont
Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints (Even Points)
A-main (25 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. 5-Dustin Dinan[10]; 2. 1A-Matt Lucius[8]; 3.
35-Stuart Brubaker[11]; 4.
53-Bobby Foster[2]; 5. 66L-Brad Bowman[5];
6. 3L-Kevin Lee[12]; 7. 19R-Steve
Rando[6]; 8. 22D-Dan Hammond[4]; 9. O4-Cap
Henry[9]; 10. 7-Scott Mominee[1];
11. 9-Craig Kays[7]; 12. 72C-John Bartlome[15]; 13.
67M-Matt Ferrell[17];
14. O2-Mike Burkin[20]; 15. 18C-Jason Crispen[13];
16. 25-Chris Pifher[19];
17. 3X-Brad Keckler[14]; 18. 27K-Ryan
Kirkendall[16]; 19. 72-Rich
Farmer[18]; 20. 44-Codey Renfro[21]; 21. 39M-Matt
Merrill[3]; 22. 26M-Zak
Moore[22]
Fremont Fence & Guardrail Dirt Trucks (Odd
Points)
A-main (20 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. 18W-Cory Ward[8]; 2. 5-Jim Mcgrath[7]; 3.
28-Shawn Valenti[6]; 4. 53-Dan
Roepke[15]; 5. 92-Loren Schwochow[9]; 6. 23M-Brad
Mitten[3]; 7. 19-Jimmy
Sebetto[13]; 8. O7-Roger Inks[16]; 9. 34M-Kevin
Miller[12]; 10. 84-Russ
Stahl[19]; 11. 30-Dave Gibbs[2]; 12. 8K-Zack
Kramer[1]; 13. P51-Paul Brown
Jr.[10]; 14. 8H-Art Howey Jr.[5]; 15. 3R-Chuck
Roelle[4]; 16. 21R-Ryan
Bloom[17]; 17. X-Tim Keegan[14]; 18. 55B-Bill
Bruen[11]; 19. 4X-Keith
Sorg[18]
Fremont Fence & Guardrail Dirt Trucks (Even
Points)
A-main (20 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. O1-Art Ball[9]; 2. 16-Steve Sabo[6]; 3.
39-Dwight Waltermier[5]; 4.
20-Andy Maynard[4]; 5. 17-Bob Dible[8]; 6. 6-Linda
Sabo[11]; 7. 4D-Donald
Fitch[17]; 8. 62-David Severs[13]; 9. 5W-Ralph
Willey[14]; 10. 83B-Dave
Brewer[2]; 11. 33-Brian Arnold[10]; 12. O-Jim
Keegan[15]; 13. 18-Jim
Ward[16]; 14. 2-Bob Sinkevitch Jr.[12]; 15. 56-Alex
Wiechman[1]; 16. 37-Eric
Devanna[3]; 17. 8-Steve Endicott[7]
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