Duncan takes Fremont win, Reed claims 6th track title

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FREMONT, Ohio – Cole Duncan survived a couple of late race restarts and led all 30 laps to claim his third career 410 feature win at Fremont Speedway Saturday on Kistler Racing Products Night. Byron Reed would suffer mechanical woes while running second with just six laps to go, but his 17^th place finish would be enough for him to claim his sixth career track championship in the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints – his third in a row – at “The Track That Action Built.

“We’ve won the past two weeks (also at Atomic Speedway last week). It’s been awesome for us…we needed that…we have some motor rebuilds coming we have to pay for so this helps out,” said Duncan beside his Motorcity Auto Transport, C&B Mushrooms, Wolfden Products, Industrial Special Powdercoating backed #22.

“Lapped traffic was the main thing. You really had to focus. Some guys would go into one corner on the bottom and the next corner on top so you really had to stay on your toes. I feel like we got a little lucky by drawing the pole. But, we haven’t done that all year so I’ll take it. I have to thank Scott Gressman and his family at Gressman Powersports, CnB Mushroom Farms, Factory Kahne Shocks…they’ve really went to work on our shocks this year,” added Duncan.

Reed becomes the first driver to win the Fremont Speedway, Attica Raceway Park and Kistler Racing Products FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) Championship Series titles in the same year.

“This feels real good. There’s a lot of competition and great tracks. It was our goal this year. I would have liked to have had a few more wins but we earned it. We dug pretty hard on a few of those nights when we dug ourselves a hole and came back up and got a good finish. I want to thank my crew, Crown Battery, a local Fremont business. Thank Fremont Speedway for putting a good track each week for us. I want to thank the fans for coming out tonight. It wasn’t a great night weather wise but it shows how resilient these fans are,” said Reed.

John Ivy would lead all 25 laps to score his fourth victory of the season in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints. It was the 50^th career victory at the track for Ivy which puts him sixth on the all-time feature win list.

“This has just been great. The Sipe family gives us great cars and Gressman builds us great motors. Joey, my brother and Jim and Sonny and everyone that helps us out…they have this thing working. It’s nice to start up front on a track like this….especially when you get as old as I am. Lapped traffic was tough. I thought I was going to run my daughter (Kelsey) over…I was on the brakes hard,” said Ivy beside his L&R Farms, Sony’s Machining and Welding, Kear’s Speed Shop, Kistler Racing Products, Adkins Fence and Sanitation backed #77i.

Bobby Clark would finish 7^th and earn his first 305 sprint track championship. He also won the JLH General Contractor FAST 305 Sprint Title for 2015. Clark was the track’s 1992 and 1993 360 sprint champion.

“The track was tough tonight…I was just trying to save my breath. We got going about mid-season. We just kept working and Dave (Foos, crew chief) worked really hard and we communicated well,” said Clark.

Woodville, Ohio’s Daniel Roepke would only lead one lap in the AAA Ohio Auto Club Dirt Truck feature – the final one. He would pass race-long leader Cory McCaughey exiting turn four and drove to his third victory of the season at Fremont Speedway. It was Roepke’s 12 career win at the track.

“I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to go high or low. I really couldn’t get a good run off the bottom. So I just put it to the floor and just held it there and it worked out,” said Roepke.

Fostoria, Ohio’s Kent Brewer would finish fourth and earn his first career Fremont Speedway track championship.

“I have to thank all the people that come out every Saturday night and make Fremont Speedway what it is. If it wasn’t for all the fans and all the competitors that come out and spend their hard earned money at the race track I couldn’t have all this fun. I have to say thanks to my family, my wife, my mother-in-law, my crew, Rich Hummel and Kistler Engines which gives me really great horsepower and Kenny Clark,” said Brewer.

It was also noted Kistler Engines built the engines in all three track championship vehicles in 2015. It was also special that the track actually got the racing in as heavy rains all around the speedway never hit the track. A brief shower caused the cancellation of 410 sprint qualifying, but hard work by the track crew after heavy rains all night Friday and Saturday morning and help by the push trucks had the track in racing shape.

In the 30 lap 410 sprint feature, Duncan and Brandon Matus would bring the field to green but Broc Martin would spin to necessitate another start. When the green flew so did Duncan who powered away from Matus, Reed, Nate Dussel, Jack Sodeman Jr. and Chris Andrews. Duncan set a blistering pace as he raced into lapped traffic by the fifth circuit. The car on the move was Cap Henry who had driven from his 14^th starting position to eighth. Reed would grab second on lap 10 with Matus, Dussel, Sodeman, Andrews, Henry and 20^th starter Stuart Brubaker in tow.

At the halfway point the red would fly when Brubaker’s great run ended up in a big flip on the back stretch. He was taken to the hospital to be checked out but walked to the rescue squad under his own power. The running order was Duncan, Reed, Matus, Sodeman, Henry, Dussel, Andrews, Dean Jacobs. On the restart Rob Chaney would stop on the track. When the green flew again Duncan pulled away slightly from Reed as Henry had a tremendous move into third over Matus, Sodeman, Jacobs and Dussel.

Duncan would again race into lapped traffic with six laps to go with Reed and Henry closing. Reed would then stop with mechanical issues to bring out the caution. After a lap was completed third running Matus would have mechanical issues and bring out another caution. That put Henry right on Duncan’s bumper but the Lockbourne, Ohio driver would pull away the final five laps for the win. Henry would come home second, coming up just short of capturing the track title. Sodeman, Jacobs and Dussel would round out the top five.

In the 25 lap 305 feature, Ivy and Alvin Roepke would bring the field to green but a multi-car pile-up involving Jordan Ryan, T.J. Michael, Steve Rando and Kyle Peters would necessitate another start. When the green flew Ivy gained the advantage over Roepke, Kyle Capodice, Jamie Miller, Kyle Farmer and Luke Griffith.

Capodice would take second from Roepke on lap three as Ivy pulled away. Ivy raced into lapped traffic by the ninth circuit with Capodice, Roepke, Miller, Griffith, Seth Schneider and Farmer in tow. The car on the move was Dustin Stroup who worked his way from the 15^th starting spot to eighth by the half-way point. With 14 laps in Thomas Schinderle and Paul Weaver would get together to bring out the caution. On the restart Ivy would pull away as Miller drove around Capodice into the runner-up spot. However, on lap 17, Miller’s left rear tire would come off the rim, ending his run to the front.

When the green reappeared, Ivy would lead Capodice, Roepke and Stroup. Stroup would power from fourth to second on the next lap when the caution would fly for debris. With a clear track, Ivy would drive away the final six laps for the win with Stroup, Roepke, Capodice and Schneider rounding out the top five.

In the 20 lap dirt truck feature, McCaughey and Brad Mitten brought the field to green but a crash involving Matt Foos and Bryce Black would necessitate another start. On the second attempt Len Benyak would bring out another caution. The third time was the charm ad McCaughey pulled out to a commanding lead over Cory Ward, Mitten, Jim Keegan, Eric Devanna, Jimmy McGrath Jr. and Brewer. Brewer would pick his way to the front, moving into fourth on lap four.

Devanna would bring out the caution with a flat tire on lap eight, wiping out McCaughey’s 3.5 second lead. On the restart McCaughey would lead Ward with 11^th starter Roepke on the move into third. Roepke would grab second from Ward on lap 13 and closed quickly on McCaughey. With five laps to go McCaughey and Roepke were racing side by side for the lead with Ward, Brewer, Mitten and Steve Endicott in tow.

As McCaughey and Roepke raced to the white flag it looked like a lapped truck would come into play on the final lap. McCaughey was on the bottom with Roepke up top and the lapped machine on the bottom. As the pair raced into the final two turns Roepke drove to the outside and inched past McCaughey to steal the win. McCaughey, Ward, Brewer and Mitten would round out the top five.

Next up at Fremont Speedway is the Eighth Annual Jim Ford Classic on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18 and 19 featuring the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions. The 305 sprints and dirt trucks are also in action Friday with the 305 sprints and 602 late models joining the racing card on Saturday. There will be bands entertaining in the campground following the races each night. The Kick-It kick ball tournament to raise funds for childhood cancer research will take placeSaturday morning and the 2016 Fremont Speedway Queens Contest will take place Saturday afternoon.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com

Fremont Speedway – 9/12/2015

Kistler Racing Products Night

Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints (24 Cars)

[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 40DD-Nate Dussel[1] ; 2. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[2] ; 3. 9X-Rob Chaney[5] ; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[4] ; 5. 60-Jody Keegan[8] ; 6. 9Y-Thomas Messeraul[7] ; 7. 50B-Mike Burns[3] ; 8. 10J-Jarrod Delong[6]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 22-Cole Duncan[2] ; 2. 23JR-Jack Sodeman [1] ; 3. 83M-Broc Martin[3] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[4] ; 5. 53-Cap Henry[8] ; 6. O9-Craig Mintz[7] ; 7. 16-Stuart Brubaker[6] ; 8. 8J-Jess Stiger[5]

Heat 3 – Hoosier Racing Tires (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 2+-Brian Smith[2] ; 2. 13-Brandon Matus[1] ; 3. 55-Tyler Gunn[4] ; 4. 19C-Chris Andrews[3] ; 5. 14H-Todd Heller[6] ; 6. 9-Jordan Ryan[5] ; 7. 33-Brent Matus[8] ; 8. 41J-Jeremy Powley[7]

A-Main –  (30 Laps)

1. 22-Cole Duncan[1]; 2. 53-Cap Henry[14]; 3. 23JR-Jack Sodeman [3]; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[10]; 5. 40DD-Nate Dussel[6]; 6. O9-Craig Mintz[17]; 7. 2+-Brian Smith[9]; 8. 55-Tyler Gunn[7]; 9. 9Y-Thomas Messeraul[16]; 10. 19C-Chris Andrews[5]; 11. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[8]; 12. 14H-Todd Heller[15]; 13. 8J-Jess Stiger[23]; 14. 41J-Jeremy Powley[24]; 15. 60-Jody Keegan[13]; 16. 13-Brandon Matus[2]; 17. 5-Byron Reed[4]; 18. 10J-Jarrod Delong[22]; 19. 33-Brent Matus[21]; 20. 16-Stuart Brubaker[20]; 21. 9X-Rob Chaney[12]; 22. 50B-Mike Burns[19]; 23. 83M-Broc Martin[11]; 24. 9-Jordan Ryan[18]

Hard Charger: 53-Cap Henry[+12]

Fremont Federal Credit Untion 305 Sprints (27 Cars)

[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 19R-Steve Rando[2] ; 2. 11G-Luke Griffith[4] ; 3. 99-Alvin Roepke[3] ; 4. 8-Bobby Clark[5] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[1] ; 6. 2-Ricky Peterson[9] ; 7. 1W-Paul Weaver[7] ; 8. 24-Alex Paden[8] ; 9. 18N-Frank Neill[6]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 5R-Jordan Ryan[3] ; 2. 12-Kyle Capodice[2] ; 3. 39-Jamie Miller[5] ; 4. 44-Kyle Farmer[4] ; 5. 94K-Kurt Huber[6] ; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron[8] ; 7. 87-Brian Gibbs[9] ; 8. 75-Jerry Dahms[7]

Heat 3 – Hoosier Racing Tires (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 36-Seth Schneider[2] ; 2. 97-Kyle Peters[1] ; 3. 8M-TJ Michael[4] ; 4. 77I-John Ivy[6] ; 5. 10X-Dustin Stroup[3] ; 6. 7-Thomas Schinderle[8] ; 7. 7M-Brandon Moore[7] ; 8. 37-Austin Ream[9] ; 9. 1X-Dustin Dinan[5]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 2. 22M-Dan McCarron[2] ; 3. 2-Ricky Peterson[1] ; 4. 7-Thomas Schinderle[3] ; 5. 24-Alex Paden[7] ; 6. 7M-Brandon Moore[6] ; 7. 75-Jerry Dahms[8] ; 8. 18N-Frank Neill[10] ; 9. 37-Austin Ream[9] ; 10. 87-Brian Gibbs[5]

A-Main –  (25 Laps)

1. 77I-John Ivy[1]; 2. 10X-Dustin Stroup[15]; 3. 99-Alvin Roepke[2]; 4. 12-Kyle Capodice[3]; 5. 36-Seth Schneider[12]; 6. 11G-Luke Griffith[5]; 7. 8-Bobby Clark[10]; 8. 2-Ricky Peterson[18]; 9. 22M-Dan McCarron[17]; 10. 24-Alex Paden[20]; 11. 97-Kyle Peters[11]; 12. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[13]; 13. 94K-Kurt Huber[14]; 14. 39-Jamie Miller[6]; 15. 44-Kyle Farmer[4]; 16. 1W-Paul Weaver[16]; 17. 7-Thomas Schinderle[19]; 18. 8M-TJ Michael[8]; 19. 19R-Steve Rando[7]; 20. 5R-Jordan Ryan[9]

Hard Charger: 10X-Dustin Stroup[+13]

AAA Auto Club Dirt Trucks (21 Trucks)

[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 36M-Cory McCaughey[1] ; 2. 99X-Gene Portidge[4] ; 3. 17-Steve Endicott[7] ; 4. 85S-Bradley Stuckey[3] ; 5. 22J-Josh Kiser[6] ; 6. 4S-Keith Sorg[2]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 7 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 8KB-Kent Brewer[3] ; 2. 18W-Cory Ward[7] ; 3. 88-Dan Roepke[5] ; 4. 23M-Brad Mitten[2] ; 5. 17X-Dustin Keegan[6] ; 6. 13-Len Benyak[1] ; 7. 2-Matt Foos[4]

Heat 3 – Hoosier Racing Tires (8 Laps – Top 7 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 37-Eric Devanna[1] ; 2. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath [5] ; 3. O-Jim Keegan [3] ; 4. 33-Jeff Ward[7] ; 5. 93-Bryce Black[2] ; 6. P51-Tim Baker[4] ; 7. 7F-Dana Frey[6]

A-Main –  (20 Laps)

1. 88-Dan Roepke[11]; 2. 36M-Cory McCaughey[1]; 3. 18W-Cory Ward[4]; 4. 8KB-Kent Brewer[7]; 5. 23M-Brad Mitten[2]; 6. 17-Steve Endicott[12]; 7. 33-Jeff Ward[10]; 8. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath [8]; 9. O-Jim Keegan [3]; 10. 7F-Dana Frey[18]; 11. 17X-Dustin Keegan[14]; 12. 85S-Bradley Stuckey[5]; 13. 99X-Gene Portidge[9]; 14. 37-Eric Devanna[6]; 15. 13-Len Benyak[17]; 16. P51-Tim Baker[20]; 17. 9-Curt Inks[19]; 18. 22J-Josh Kiser[13]; 19. 4S-Keith Sorg[16]; 20. 93-Bryce Black[15]

Hard Charger: 88-Dan Roepke[+10]