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Mark Keegan finds Fremont's Engine Pro
Victory Lane for #59; Runion takes 305 sprints; Ward wins third truck feature
By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio (Saturday, June 23, 2007) - Mark
Keegan has been racing for
over 30 years. He has accumulated over 180 feature
wins and 20 track
championships. But over the last few years the
competition has gotten
tougher and made it harder for the Fremont, Ohio
driver to find victory
lane. However, the 49-year-old driver still has
some wins left in him and he
made that clear Saturday at Fremont Speedway, as he
executed a daring pass
to move from third to the front and went on to take
his 59th career victory
at "The Track That Action Built."
Tiffin's Cody Runion was forced to bring out an
old car a few weeks ago
after destroying a brand new one. And once again,
it propelled him to a win
in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints.
Sandusky's Cory Ward drove a flawless race to
claim his third win of the
season in the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks.
Keegan's win on Burger King Night in the Fort
Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints
puts him in the third spot on Fremont Speedway's
all-time win list, just
three away from his uncle Gug Keegan and eight away
from leader Art Ball.
"I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get back
up here," said Keegan in the
Engine Pro Victory Lane beside his Midwest
Transportation & Auto Sales/Jon
Wright Custom Chrome Plating sponsored #X. "These
kids are just getting
better and better and you really have to be on your
game if you're going to
beat them."
"And the way my luck has been going...the motor
quit after I took the
checkered...I hope it isn't too bad," added Keegan
about his J&J
chassis/Kistler Engines ride.
Runion took the lead from Duane Zablocki on lap
17 and survived the race's
only yellow with just four laps remaining to score
his second career Fremont
victory.
"We really thought coming into the season we'd
be good. We bought a new car
and I proceeded to junk it. We rolled out this 1998
car once again. It got
me my first win here and now it has us back in the
Engine Pro Victory Lane,"
said the 18-year-old driver of the CamTech,
Waterville Sheet Metal sponsored
#49.
"I really hated to see that yellow. I didn't
have any brakes the last four
laps. But when I looked at the scoreboard and
didn't see the 48 car
(point-leader Andy Shammo who has 4 wins at Fremont
in 2007). I relaxed and
just cruised around the bottom."
Ward grabbed the lead from Bob Dible on lap 10
of the 20-lap truck feature
and would not budge off the bottom to score the
victory.
"I came off the bottom to pass for the lead, but
I blew a couple of wins by
trying to race up there before...I really didn't
know what to do but go back
down there and wait to see if anyone was going to
try the high side," said
Ward beside his Lakefront Drywall, East Side Cafe,
Hisers Transmission's
backed #18w truck.
Pole-sitter Paul Weaver led the first lap in the
30-lap 410 sprint feature
before being passed by last week's Fremont winner
John Ivy a lap later.
Defending track champion Mike Linder would move
around Weaver on lap five
and would race outside of Ivy for the lead the next
circuit. Meanwhile
Keegan, who started 7th, moved into third and
waited for his opportunity.
Keegan would split Linder and Ivy in the third
and fourth turns to grab the
lead on lap 7. Linder would mount several
challenges to Keegan before the
veteran would move to the bottom groove in 3 and 4
to stop Linder's advance.
Just as Keegan got into heavy traffic on lap 17,
the second and final
caution of the feature would fly, giving him a
clear track.
Linder would battle hard with Keegan on the
restart, but once he regained
his momentum, Keegan would cruise to the win. Ivy
would nip Linder at the
checkers for second, with fast-qualifier Byron Reed
fourth and rookie Chris
Andrews rounding out the top five.
In the 25-lap feature for the 305 sprints, Duane
Zablocki would grab the
early lead with Runion and Brad Bowman right on his
bumper. The real battle
was for positions 4-10 as they changed with every
lap.Bowman would drop out
on lap 11, making the running order Zablocki,
Runion, Kevin Lee and Bill
Kraylek.
The leaders would hit lapped traffic by lap 15,
allowing Runion to close on
Zablocki. The duo would battle hard for the lad the
next two circuits before
Runion shot under Zablocki exiting turn 4 on lap 17
for the lead. The only
yellow would fly on lap 21 with Runion and Zablock
having a lapped car
between them and third place Bill Kraylek.
Runion would set sail on the restart, pulling
away from Zablocki for the
win. Kraylek would come home third with Lee and
Bobby Foster rounding out
the top five.
Brad Mitten took the early lead in the 20-lap
dirt truck feature, with Dave
Gibbs driving around him on lap 3. The driver on
the move were 8th starting
Bob Dible and 12th-starting Ward. Dible would drive
under Gibbs for the lead
on lap 5, bringing into second. Ward would drive
around Dible on lap 10.
Dible's teammate Steve Endicott would grab the
second apot on lap 12 and
would put pressure on Ward.
Ward would not budge off the bottom and went on
to the victory with
Endicott, Dible, Art Ball and Jim McGrath rounding
out the top five.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action
Thursday, June 28 as Budweiser
presents the fifth leg of the University of
Northwest Ohio Sprint Speedweek
presented by RacingJunk.com featuring the O'Reilly
All Star Circuit of
Champions. It will be an all-sprint car night, as
the Fremont Federal Credit
Union 305 Sprints will also be in action. Gates
open at 4:30 p.m. with
racing action slated for 7:30 p.m.
The "New" Fremont Speedway (06-23-07)
Burger King Night
Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Super Sprints
Qualifying
1. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.56; 2. X-Mark Keegan, 12.61;
3. 12-Caleb Griffith,
12.69; 4. 1R-Phil Gressman, 12.75; 5. 10-David
Harrison, 12.84; 6. 3L-Mike
Linder, 12.85; 7. 51-John Ivy, 12.85; 8. 4K-Kelly
Kinser, 12.91; 9.
15C-Chris Andrews, 12.98; 10. 1W-Paul Weaver,
12.98; 11. 16-Lee Jacobs,
12.99; 12. 7T-Troy Vaccaro, 12.99; 13. O-Gus
Wasson, 13.00; 14. 49T-Gregg
Dalman, 13.03; 15. 55-Brian Smith, 13.10; 16.
3T-Tony Beaber, 13.22; 17.
8S-Bobby Clark, 13.25; 18. 31-Chuck Wilson, 13.33;
19. 27-Scott Euler,
13.35; 20. 10S-Roger Shammo, 13.36; 21. 14H-Todd
Heller, 13.39; 22. 99-Alvin
Roepke, 13.53; 23. 96AU-Bruce White, 13.79; 24.
48-Mike Burkin, 14.35; 25.
5T-Travis Philo, 14.85; 26. 11-Josh Harrison
Heat 1 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 51-John Ivy; 2. 5R-Byron Reed; 3. 3T-Tony
Beaber; 4. 1W-Paul Weaver; 5.
1R-Phil Gressman; 6. 99-Alvin Roepke; 7. 27-Scott
Euler; 8. 5T-Travis Philo
Heat 2 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 8S-Bobby Clark; 2. 16-Lee Jacobs; 3. X-Mark
Keegan; 4. 49T-Gregg Dalman;
5. 4K-Kelly Kinser; 6. 10-David Harrison; 7.
10S-Roger Shammo; 8. 96AU-Bruce
White; 9. 11-Josh Harrison
Heat 3 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 55-Brian Smith; 2. 15C-Chris Andrews; 3. 3L-Mike
Linder; 4. 7T-Troy
Vaccaro; 5. 14H-Todd Heller; 6. 31-Chuck Wilson; 7.
48-Mike Burkin; 8.
12-Caleb Griffith
B-main (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. O-Gus Wasson; 2. 10-David Harrison; 3. 27-Scott
Euler; 4. 99-Alvin
Roepke; 5. 31-Chuck Wilson; 6. 48-Mike Burkin; 7.
10S-Roger Shammo; 8.
96AU-Bruce White; 9. 5T-Travis Philo; 10. 11-Josh
Harrison; 11. 12-Caleb
Griffith
A-main (30 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. X-Mark Keegan[7]; 2. 51-John Ivy[4]; 3. 3L-Mike
Linder[5]; 4. 5R-Byron
Reed[8]; 5. 15C-Chris Andrews[2]; 6. 1W-Paul
Weaver[1]; 7. 4K-Kelly
Kinser[3]; 8. 1R-Phil Gressman[6]; 9. 16-Lee
Jacobs[10]; 10. 14H-Todd
Heller[19]; 11. O-Gus Wasson[12]; 12. 7T-Troy
Vaccaro[11]; 13. 10-David
Harrison[9]; 14. 27-Scott Euler[18]; 15. 55-Brian
Smith[14]; 16. 3T-Tony
Beaber[15]; 17. 99-Alvin Roepke[20]; 18. 31-Chuck
Wilson[17]; 19. 8S-Bobby
Clark[16]; 20. 49T-Gregg Dalman[13]
Fremont
Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints
Heat 1 - Riverside Machine & Tool (8
laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. O2-Kevin Lee; 2. O1-Bryan Sebetto; 3. M28-Josh
Muntz; 4. 65-Mark Lang; 5.
36X-Dustin Keegan; 6. 19R-Steve Rando; 7. 34-Mark
Whaley; 8. 23-Brad Keckler
Heat 2 - R & R Auto Wrecking (8 laps, top 4
transfer to A-Main)
1. 3J-Bobby
Foster; 2. O4-Cap Henry; 3. 49-Coty Runion; 4. 25P-Mark
Pridemore; 5. 40-Bobby Davis; 6. 18C-Jason Crispen;
7. 6-Ryan Dickey; 8.
22D-Dan Hammond
Heat 3 - Gressman Powersports (8 laps, top 4
transfer to A-Main)
1. 31-Chad Gullett; 2. 9-Craig Kays; 3. 48S-Andy
Shammo; 4. 1A-Matt Lucius;
5. 35-Stuart Brubaker; 6. 72C-John Bartlome; 7.
18-Todd Heuerman; 8.
82-Travis Hoffbauer
Heat 4 - Reco Equipment (8 laps, top 4 transfer
to A-Main)
1. 66L-Brad Bowman; 2. 71-Bill Kraylek; 3. 9Z-Duane
Zablocki; 4. 5-Dustin
Dinan; 5. 29L-Chris Lang; 6. 27K-Ryan Kirkendall;
7. O7-Scott Mominee; 8.
55S-Benny Bowman
Dash - Computer Man Inc. (4 laps)
1. O2-Kevin Lee; 2. 31-Chad Gullett; 3. 66L-Brad
Bowman; 4. 3J-Bobby Foster;
5. O4-Cap Henry
B1 Main (8 laps, top 2 transfer to A-main)
1. 36X-Dustin Keegan; 2. 40-Bobby Davis; 3.
19R-Steve Rando; 4. 34-Mark
Whaley; 5. 23-Brad Keckler; 6. 18C-Jason Crispen;
7. 6-Ryan Dickey; 8.
12-Brett Lane
B2 Main (8 laps, top 2 transfer to A-Main)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker; 2. 18-Todd Heuerman; 3.
29L-Chris Lang; 4. O7-Scott
Mominee; 5. 55S-Benny Bowman; 6. 72C-John Bartlome;
7. 27K-Ryan Kirkendall;
8. 82-Travis Hoffbauer
A-main (25 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. 49-Coty Runion[2]; 2. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[1]; 3.
71-Bill Kraylek[3]; 4.
O2-Kevin Lee[5];
5. 3J-Bobby Foster[9]; 6. 48S-Andy Shammo[10]; 7. 31-Chad
Gullett[6]; 8. O1-Bryan Sebetto[8]; 9. 36X-Dustin
Keegan[17]; 10. M28-Josh
Muntz[12]; 11. 18-Todd Heuerman[20]; 12. 35-Stuart
Brubaker[18]; 13. 9-Craig
Kays[11]; 14. 5-Dustin Dinan[16]; 15. 25P-Mark
Pridemore[14]; 16. 1A-Matt
Lucius[15]; 17. 40-Bobby Davis[19]; 18. O4-Cap
Henry[7]; 19. 65-Mark
Lang[13]; 20. 66L-Brad Bowman[4]
Fremont Fence & Guardrail Dirt Trucks
Heat 1 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 5-Jim McGrath; 2. 17-Bob Dible; 3. 8H-Art Howey
Jr.; 4. 23M-Brad Mitten;
5. 4X-Brian Sorg; 6. 97-Jim Maglosky; 7. 5W-Ralph
Willey; 8. P51-Paul Brown
Jr.; 9. 96-James McClure; 10. 16-Steve Sabo
Heat 2 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 3R-Chuck Roelle; 2. 8-Steve Endicott; 3. 30-Dave
Gibbs; 4. 28-Shawn
Valenti; 5. 55B-Bill Bruen; 6. 83B-Dave Brewer; 7.
92-Loren Schwochow; 8.
62-David Severs; 9. 17W-Brian Ward
Heat 3 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 18W-Cory Ward; 2. O1-Art Ball; 3. 39-Dwight
Waltermier; 4. 37-Eric
Devanna; 5. 20-Andy Maynard; 6. 8K-Zack Kramer; 7.
56-Alex Wiechman; 8.
7C-Jacob Dick; 9. 34M-Kevin Miller
B2-main (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 97-Jim Maglosky; 2. 83B-Dave Brewer; 3. 8K-Zack
Kramer; 4. 16-Steve Sabo;
5. 92-Loren Schwochow; 6. P51-Paul Brown Jr.; 7.
7C-Jacob Dick; 8. 56-Alex
Wiechman; 9. 5W-Ralph Willey; 10. 34M-Kevin Miller;
11. 96-James McClure;
12. 62-David Severs
A-main (20 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. 18W-Cory Ward[12]; 2. 8-Steve Endicott[4]; 3.
17-Bob Dible[8]; 4. O1-Art
Ball[11]; 5. 5-Jim McGrath[7]; 6. 28-Shawn
Valenti[9]; 7. 23M-Brad
Mitten[2]; 8. 16-Steve Sabo[19]; 9. 37-Eric
Devanna[6]; 10. 8H-Art Howey
Jr.[5]; 11. 3R-Chuck Roelle[3]; 12. 83B-Dave
Brewer[17]; 13. 8K-Zack
Kramer[18]; 14. 30-Dave Gibbs[1]; 15. 4X-Brian
Sorg[13]; 16. 55B-Bill
Bruen[14]; 17. 97-Jim Maglosky[16]; 18. 20-Andy
Maynard[15]; 19. 92-Loren
Schwochow[20]; 20. 39-Dwight Waltermier[10]
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