Andrews gets thrilling FAST Fremont win

Andrews gets thrilling FAST Fremont win
Harrison earns Race of Legends victory; Sabo gets 1st late model win; Roepke tames trucks

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Contact: Brian Liskai
Liskai2x@roadrunner.com

By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio – The Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame Inductions and Second Annual Race of Legends was an emotional, fun and exciting night. Not only was all the pomp and circumstance great, but the night’s racing was worthy of the speedway’s moniker “The Track That Action Built” on Vision Quest Night.

Sandusky, Ohio’s Chris Andrews, who moved to the Mintz Racing team this year in the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints, had struggled as of late. After coming out of the blocks with a win at Fremont on April 18, things hadn’t gone according to plan. But, a new chassis and great communication turned things around Saturday.

Andrews became the third different feature leader of the race on lap 21 and sliced his way through traffic to claim his second win of the season. It was his ninth career win at Fremont.

“It’s been a pretty rough few weeks for us. We got a new GF1 car and it’s rocking and rolling pretty good. Steven and Michael (Linder) have this thing locked down and Andrew (Barman)…they gave me an awesome car. Les Mintz (car owner)…he’s got some patience. We haven’t been running too good here lately and I appreciate everything he’s done for me. Sonnebogen, Real Geese, Lucas Oil, K and N Filters…hates off to them,” said Andrews.

“I started to move around…the middle of the race track was actually pretty good surprisingly. Frankie Kerr was back there helping us…he was there yelling at me for everything I did wrong, but it worked,” added Andrews.

The win keeps Andrews in the hunt for the Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica Sprint Title (FAST) Championship Series Presented by KS Sales and Service title and its $10,000 payday. But, two time FAST Champion Byron Reed would storm from his 15th starting spot to a third place finish to maintain the point lead.

The day started with the 7th Annual Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame induction ceremonies where 11 individuals were enshrined. Later, 16 drivers – a few who were just inducted into the hall of fame and others who haven’t drive a sprint car in decades, competed in 305 sprint cars in the 2nd Annual Race of Legends.

And what a feature it was. The 25-laps went green to checker and in the end, David Harrison, whose late father Daryl is in the hall of fame, would hold off hall-of-famer and inaugural Race of Legends winner Mark Keegan for the popular and emotional win.

“I couldn’t do anything without the Lord’s help on this thing. He’s blessed me here today. I got some people here I want to dedicate this race to. Alex Burkett, my father (Daryl) and Mike Holman. They’ve been very special people in my life. It’s great to come here and win a race in front of all these awesome people at Fremont Speedway. This is my favorite track in the world to be at,” said Harrison.

Daniel Roepke Jr. would make his first start of the season at Fremont a good one in the AAA Ohio Auto Club Dirt Trucks. The Woodville, Ohio driver would drive under Matt Foos on late in the race and then would survive a couple of late race cautions to score his 10th career win.

“I was playing him (Foos) a little bit I knew he was going to slip up sooner or later so when he did I took a chance. After that caution he started showing his nose a little bit so I had to make sure he couldn’t get up under me again. I have to thank Alvin at Vision Quest for sponsoring the show, Crown Battery and everyone….my dad especially and Adam,” said Roepke.

Tim Sabo is a member of the Fremont Speedway Hall of Fame. The Toledo, Ohio driver jumped at the opportunity to continue racing this year when the track started the McCullough Industries 602 Late Model Division. After several near wins, he put it all together Saturday to lead all 15 laps to score his 26th career Fremont win.

“This is fantastic. A lot of those people that went into the hall of fame are good friends of mine and I grew up watching them,” said Tim Sabo. “We’ve been so close this year…feels great to finally get it done.”

In the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature, Dean Jacobs and Australian Jamie Veal would bring the field to green. Jacobs would grab the lead with Veal challenging while Andrews, Todd Heller, Stuart Brubaker and T.J. Michael in tow. Kody Kinser and Dain Naida would bring out the feature’s only caution after a lap was complete.

On the restart Jacobs and Veal would battle for the lead while Heller and Andrews were locked in a similar tussle for third. Jacobs would start to pull away slightly from Veal with Heller doing the same over Andrews for third.

With 12 laps scored, Veal had closed on Jacobs while Heller and Andrews resumed their battle for third with Brubaker, Brock Martin, Reed, Caleb Griffith and Brian Smith in pursuit. On lap 14 as the leaders prepared to enter lapped traffic, Veal would drive around Jacobs for the lead with Andrews grabbing third a circuit later.

Lapped traffic would come into play on lap 16 with Veal leading Jacobs, a closing Andrews, Heller, Brubaker, Reed and Griffith. Andrews would vault into second on lap 17 and methodically closed the game on Veal. Meanwhile Brubaker would drive into third on lap 20.

With 10 laps to go the top five were nose to tail as they entered heavy lapped traffic. Andrews would use two lapped cars that were side-by-side to drive into the lead on lap 21 as Brubaker would use the same to grab second on lap 22. Meanwhile Reed was making up a lot of ground as he drove into fourth on lap 23.

Andrews would pick his way trough the traffic over the final seven laps for the win while Brubaker, Reed – who took third on lap 26 – Veal and Heller would round out the top five.

In the 25 lap non-stop Race of Legends, Harrison and Charlie Fisher would pace the field. Harrison would grab the lead over Fisher, Joe Keegan, Kenny Clark Jr., Benny bowman, John Naida and Eric Rankine. Clark would take third on lap 3 with Rankin moving into the fifth spot on lap 3.

All eyes were on Mark Keegan who took the challenge to start last. The multi-time track champion and hall of fame member started 16th and was up to sixth by lap five.

As the leaders hit lapped traffic by the eighth circuit, Fisher closed on Harrison with Clark, Rankine, Bowman and Mark Keegan in tow. Rankine, another hall of fame driver, would take third on lap 11 and take the runner-up slot on lap 13 with Mark Keegan driving into third…

With 10 laps to go Mark Keegan drove into second and started to close on Harrison with Rankine Fisher, Clark, Joey Keegan and Naida in pursuit.

Harrison picked his way trough the traffic with Mark Keegan continuing to close while Rankine, Fisher and Clark gave chase. As they took the white flag Mark Keegan was within a car length of Harrison. Harrison would slice his way through the lapped cars to take the win over Keegan, Rankine, Fisher and Joey Keegan.

Dana Fry and Matt Foos brought the field to green for the 20-lap dirt truck feature with Foos gaining the upper hand while Cory McCaughey drove into second with Roepke, Fry, Cory Ward and Kent Brewer giving chase.

While Foos pulled away slightly, a tremendous four truck battle ensued for second involving McCaughey, Roepke, Brewer and Fry. Roepke would take second on lap 3 but the caution on lap seven for Brad Keckler would slow the action.

When the green flew Foos had a hard time holding the bottom line and Roepke would pounce on lap 12 with Brewer in third followed by McCaughey, Fry, Jamie Miller and Keith Sorg.

Roepke would drive under Foos for the lead on lap 12. A debris caution on lap 16 followed by another yellow a lap later for a Bradley Stuckey spin would give the fans a three lap shoot out

When the green flew Roepke and Foos ran nose to tail with Brewer and McCaughey also within striking distance. Roepke would hit his marks to take the win over Foos, Brewer, McCaughey and Brad Mitten.

The 15-lap McCullough Industries 602 Late Model feature saw Tim Sabo and Dustin Keegan on the front row. Sabo would gain the upper hand as three time feature winner Dustin Sautter drove into second on lap two and closed on Sabo.

The caution would fly on lap seven for a Chevy Farmer spin. On the next lap Steve Sabo would spin. When the green flew so did Tim Sabo and Sautter as they pulled away from Dale Cole, Chester Fitch, Dustin Keegan and Steve Sabo.

With the white flag in the air, Sautter had caught Sabo and was driving to his inside. Sabo would make his car wide to hold off the assault and would take the win with Fitch taking third followed by Cole and Dustin Keegan.

Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, June 12 for Crown Battery Night. It will be a Kistler Racing Products FAST night for the 410 sprint and a JLH General Contractor FAST 305 Sprint Night. The dirt trucks and late models will also be in action.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com

Fremont Speedway – 6/6/2015
Vision Quest Night

Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints (31 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Qualifying – Fricker’s Restaurant/Callie’s Performance
1. 91-Cale Thomas, 12.690; 2. 19-Chris Andrews, 12.713; 3. 35AU-Jamie Veal, 12.749; 4. 45L-Brian Lay, 12.766; 5. 33M-Caleb Griffith, 12.870; 6. 12-Craig Mintz, 12.883; 7. 16-Stuart Brubaker, 12.892; 8. 14H-Todd Heller, 12.904; 9. 8M-TJ Michael, 12.912; 10. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.922; 11. 97-Dean Jacobs, 12.930; 12. 5AU-Danny Reidy, 12.933; 13. 83M-Broc Martin, 12.955; 14. 2+-Brian Smith, 13.004; 15. 60-Jody Keegan, 13.046; 16. 21-DJ Foos, 13.047; 17. 1ST-Gary Taylor, 13.067; 18. 5-Byron Reed, 13.079; 19. 53-Cap Henry, 13.118; 20. 4K-kody Kinser, 13.137; 21. 77-Dain Naida, 13.234; 22. 40DD-Nate Dussel, 13.300; 23. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.323; 24. 68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.500; 25. 9-John Ivy, 13.588; 26. 55F-Taylor Ferns, 13.841; 27. 96AU-Bruce White, 14.092; 28. 0-Steve Irwin, 14.206; 29. 3T-Tony Beaber, 14.275; 30. 50B-Mike Burns, 99.010; 31. 33K-Kyle Patrick, 132.268

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 1ST-Gary Taylor[2] ; 2. 77-Dain Naida[1] ; 3. 83M-Broc Martin[3] ; 4. 8M-TJ Michael[4] ; 5. 9-John Ivy[7] ; 6. 91-Cale Thomas[6] ; 7. 33M-Caleb Griffith[5] ; 8. 3T-Tony Beaber[8]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5-Byron Reed[2] ; 2. 40DD-Nate Dussel[1] ; 3. 2+-Brian Smith[3] ; 4. 19-Chris Andrews[6] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[4] ; 6. 55F-Taylor Ferns[7] ; 7. 12-Craig Mintz[5] ; 8. 50B-Mike Burns[8]

Heat 3 – Hoosier Racing Tires (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 53-Cap Henry[2] ; 2. 35AU-Jamie Veal[6] ; 3. 16-Stuart Brubaker[5] ; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[4] ; 5. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg[1] ; 6. 33K-Kyle Patrick[8] ; 7. 96AU-Bruce White[7] ; 8. 60-Jody Keegan[3]

Heat 4 – The Computer Man (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 68G-Tyler Gunn[1] ; 2. 4K-kody Kinser[2] ; 3. 21-DJ Foos[3] ; 4. 14H-Todd Heller[5] ; 5. 45L-Brian Lay[6] ; 6. 5AU-Danny Reidy[4] ; 7. 0-Steve Irwin[7]

Dash – Borer Glass & Mirror (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 97-Dean Jacobs[1] ; 2. 35AU-Jamie Veal[6] ; 3. 19-Chris Andrews[4] ; 4. 8M-TJ Michael[2] ; 5. 16-Stuart Brubaker[5] ; 6. 14H-Todd Heller[3]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 91-Cale Thomas[1] ; 2. 45L-Brian Lay[2] ; 3. 33M-Caleb Griffith[3] ; 4. 12-Craig Mintz[4] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5] ; 6. 5AU-Danny Reidy[6] ; 7. 9-John Ivy[9] ; 8. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg[8] ; 9. 60-Jody Keegan[7] ; 10. 33K-Kyle Patrick[15] ; 11. 55F-Taylor Ferns[10] ; 12. 0-Steve Irwin[12] ; 13. 50B-Mike Burns[14] ; 14. 96AU-Bruce White[11] ; 15. 3T-Tony Beaber[13]

A-Main – (30 Laps)
1. 19-Chris Andrews[3]; 2. 16-Stuart Brubaker[5]; 3. 5-Byron Reed[15]; 4. 35AU-Jamie Veal[2]; 5. 33M-Caleb Griffith[13]; 6. 14H-Todd Heller[6]; 7. 53-Cap Henry[16]; 8. 97-Dean Jacobs[1]; 9. 83M-Broc Martin[7]; 10. 21-DJ Foos[9]; 11. 12-Craig Mintz[14]; 12. 2+-Brian Smith[8]; 13. 40DD-Nate Dussel[19]; 14. 1ST-Gary Taylor[10]; 15. 91-Cale Thomas[11]; 16. 45L-Brian Lay[12]; 17. 8M-TJ Michael[4]; 18. 68G-Tyler Gunn[20]; 19. 4K-kody Kinser[17]; 20. 77-Dain Naida[18]
Hard Charger: 5-Byron Reed[+12]

Race of Legends 305 Sprints (16 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 10-David Harrison[2] ; 2. 48-Rick Ungar[6] ; 3. 9-John Naida[1] ; 4. 48F-Charlie Fisher[3] ; 5. 6-Steve Liskai[5] ; 6. 32H-Al Liskai[8] ; 7. 77I-Jim Sipe[7] ; 8. 99-Eric Rankine[4]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. X-Mark Keegan [4] ; 2. 8-Kenny Clark[2] ; 3. 1X-Benny Bowman [3] ; 4. K5-Joe Keegan[5] ; 5. 20I-Lee Potter[6] ; 6. 2N-Brian Neeb[8] ; 7. 16-Jerry Nemire[7] ; 8. 39-Skip Miller[1]

A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 10-David Harrison[1]; 2. X-Mark Keegan [16]; 3. 99-Eric Rankin3[8]; 4. 48F-Charlie Fisher[2]; 5. K5-Joe Keegan[3]; 6. 48-Rick Ungar[7]; 7. 9-John Naida[4]; 8. 20I-Lee Potter[11]; 9. 1X-Benny Bowman [6]; 10. 8-Kenny Clark[5]; 11. 6-Steve Liskai[10]; 12. 16-Jerry Nemire[13]; 13. 39-Skip Miller[9]; 14. 2N-Brian Neeb[15]; 15. 32H-Al Liskai[14]; 16. 77I-Jim Sipe[12]
Hard Charger: X-Mark Keegan [+14]

AAA Auto Club Dirt Trucks (19 Trucks)
[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 8KB-Kent Brewer[1] ; 2. 18W-Cory Ward[6] ; 3. 16-Jamie Miller[2] ; 4. 99X-Gene Portidge[7] ; 5. P51-Brad Keckler[4] ; 6. 17-Steve Endicott[5] ; 7. 79-Andrew Lutman[3]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 2-Matt Foos[5] ; 2. 17X-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 3. 4S-Keith Sorg[3] ; 4. 33-Jeff Ward[6] ; 5. 85S-Bradley Stuckey[4]

Heat 3 – Hoosier Racing Tires (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 36M-Cory McCaughey[4] ; 2. 22-Brandon Leighton[1] ; 3. 88-Danny Roepke[5] ; 4. 7F-Dana Frey[3] ; 5. 23M-Brad Mitten[6] ; 6. 37-Eric Devanna[2]
A-Main – (20 Laps)
1. 88-Danny Roepke[6]; 2. 2-Matt Foos[2]; 3. 8KB-Kent Brewer[5]; 4. 36M-Cory McCaughey[4]; 5. 23M-Brad Mitten[15]; 6. 7F-Dana Frey[1]; 7. 18W-Cory Ward[3]; 8. 16-Jamie Miller[7]; 9. Keith Sorg [8]; 10. 22-Brandon Leighton[9]; 11. 17-Steve Endicott[16]; 12. 17X-Dustin Keegan[11]; 13. 99X-Gene Portidge[10]; 14. 33-Jeff Ward[12]; 15. 37-Eric Devanna[17]; 16. 85S-Bradley Stuckey[14]; 17. P51-Brad Keckler[13]; 18. 79-Andrew Lutman[18]
Hard Charger: 23M-Brad Mitten[+10]

McCullough Industries 602 Late Models (8 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (6 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 23-Dustin Sautter[5] ; 2. 98-Tim Sabo[1] ; 3. 3-Dale Cole[-] ; 4. 17X-Dustin Keegan[4] ; 5. 116-Steve Sabo[3] ; 6. 101-Chester Fitch[6] ; 7. O4-Jeff Hites[8]

A-Main – (15 Laps)
1. 98-Tim Sabo[1]; 2. 23-Dustin Sautter[3]; 3. 101-Chester Fitch[6]; 4. 3-Dale Cole[4]; 5. 17X-Dustin Keegan[2]; 6. 116-Steve Sabo[5]; 7. 1-Chevy Farmer[8]; 8.O4-Jeff Hites [7]
Hard Charger: 101-Chester Fitch[+3]

©2015 – Results Provided by: Computer Man Inc. Fremont, OH