Shaffer holds back Dietrich for Waynesfield Ohio Sprint Speedweek Win

Tim Shaffer holds back Danny Dietrich for Waynesfield Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket victory

Story By: Tyler Altmeyer/ASCOC

Photos By: Vince Vellella & Harry Meeks/RacersGuide.com

WAYNESFIELD, OH (June 21, 2017) – A battle that lasted nearly 15 circuits around the Waynesfield Raceway Park high banks, the “Steel City Outlaw” Tim Shaffer held off Pennsylvania Posse invader Danny Dietrich to earn his second victory in five rounds of Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket, scoring not only a $5,000 top prize, but also solidifying a $500 bonus on behalf of Cometic Gasket.

The victory, a first-ever at Waynesfield Raceway Park during Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions competition, raises Shaffer’s career win total to 58 with “America’s Series.” “Double-D” Danny Dietrich held on to finish second at the conclusion of the 35-lap program, followed by Chad Kemenah, Cole Duncan and Parker Price-Miller.

“I just can’t say enough about this race team. Hats off to all of my guys tonight. They did a great job,” Tim Shaffer explained in victory lane. “I’m surrounded by great people. We are having a lot of fun right now. When we win, it’s even better. This is awesome.”

Tim Shaffer’s campaign at the front of the field commenced on lap 16, finally working around early race leader and Aussie visitor Sammy Walsh. After taking command of the top spot, the Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, native soon entered traffic, eventually tracked down by Danny Dietrich who worked into second by lap 18. Despite Shaffer’s ability to navigate traffic, Dietrich never lost sight of the Rudzik Excavating/Scoville Designs/VRP Shocks/No. 49X, racing within two to three car lengths even while racing through periods of heavy traffic.

By lap 28, traffic intensified and so did the battle for the lead, as Dietrich made several attempts to work underneath Shaffer through both corners of the speedway. After avoiding chaos while racing three wide with a lapped car, Shaffer and Dietrich ended up making contact at the exit of turn four, ultimately ending all of Dietrich’s momentum. Shaffer’s lead quickly opened back up, crossing under the final checkers nearly two seconds ahead of Dietrich.

“I just had to sit up in the seat,” Tim Shaffer said. “The ledge on the race track was really tricky tonight and we had a really tight race car on top of that. We had that delay for the lighting issues, so we used that to talk about how we could make the car better. Cody (Jacobs) made some changes and it felt a lot better. At the end of the day, I got lucky.”

For Danny Dietrich, the runner-up finish increases his top-five streak to two during Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket, all beginning with a fifth place performance on Tuesday evening at Sharon Speedway.

“The car was really fast tonight,” Danny Dietrich stated, pilot of the Tom Buch-owned/Apex Structures/DKW Transport/Sweeney Cars/Racer’s New & Used Parts Warehouse/No. 13D. “I need to thank everyone who has been helping us out all week, especially Tom (Buch) for giving me this opportunity to race. We were good. I was trying to run on the curb and sail it through one and two pretty good. I thought I was going to clear (Tim Shaffer), but I didn’t quite get him. I really didn’t expect him to work back around me and that lapped car, but that is what makes Tim such a good racer; he’s clean and he’s fast.”

For the first time since June 27, 2006, the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will return to the Muskingum County Speedway in Zanesville, Ohio, this time for round six of Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket on Thursday evening, June 22. “America’s Series” has contested 12 separate events at Muskingum County Speedway since their first appearance in 1984. Of the 12 contested events, three drivers were victorious on more than one occasion; Kenny Jacobs, Dale Blaney and Kelly Kinser each own two wins.

Muskingum County Speedway will open pit gates at 3:00pm tomorrow afternoon, June 22. A mandatory drivers meeting will be conducted at 5:45pm, followed by hot laps at 6:30pm. Those seeking additional news and notes should visit Muskingum County Speedway live on the Web at www.muskingumcountyspeedway.com. In addition, The Cushion will be conducting a live, pay-per-view broadcast via www.thecushion.com.

Contingency Awards/Results: Waynesfield Raceway Park -Wednesday, June 21, 2017:
Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 43 Entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Tim Shaffer – 10.414 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Brandon Matus – 10.507 seconds (2nd Quick)
Ford Performance Heat #1: Chris Andrews
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Parker Price-Miller
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Cole Duncan
Daido Engine Bearings Heat #4: Chad Kemenah
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts C-Main: Caleb Helms
JE Pistons Dash #1: Sammy Walsh
Kistler Racing Products Dash #2: Tim Shaffer
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Jared Horstman
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Tim Shaffer
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Carson Macedo (+14)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Parker Price-Miller
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Lee Jacobs
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Stuart Brubaker (16th)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 35s-Stuart Brubaker, 10.47; 2. 13-Brandon Matus, 10.507; 3. 16-Chris Andrews, 10.538; 4. 35-Tyler Esh, 10.565; 5. 17H-Jared Horstman, 10.659; 6. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 10.676; 7. 1080-Jordan Mackison, 10.792; 8. 12-Daniel Harding, 10.879; 9. 45-Trevor Baker, 10.951; 10. 7K-Cale Conley, 10.991; 11. 9-Ryan Linder, 11.738

Group (B)
1. 70-Tanner Thorson, 10.553; 2. 13D-Danny Dietrich, 10.559; 3. 2-Parker Price-Miller, 10.635; 4. 57X-Andrew Palker, 10.748; 5. 23-DJ Foos, 10.796; 6. 59-Ryan Smith, 10.889; 7. 91-Cale Thomas, 10.892; 8. 27Z-Sean Zemunik, 10.939; 9. 9C-Roger Campbell, 11.007; 10. 51-John Garvin, 11.132; 11. 33-Brent Matus, 11.514

Group ( C )
1. 49x-Tim Shaffer, 10.592; 2. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 10.724; 3. 22C-Cole Duncan, 10.744; 4. 33M-Max Stambaugh, 10.775; 5. 99-Brady Bacon, 10.776; 6. 5T-Travis Philo, 10.987; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison, 11.111; 8. 3G-Carson Macedo, 11.175; 9. 97W-Mitchell Wormall, 11.246; 10. 16M-Danny Mumaw, 11.43; 11. 4B-Steve Butler, 11.545

Group (D)
1. 49-Shawn Dancer, 10.847; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs, 10.904; 3. O7-Jacob Wilson, 10.996; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 11.006; 5. 92A-Sammy Walsh, 11.017; 6. 3J-Trey Jacobs, 11.133; 7. 5R-Byron Reed, 11.145; 8. 97-Broc Martin, 11.18; 9. 17-Caleb Helms, 11.184; 10. 8M-TJ Michael, 11.291

Heat #1 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 16-Chris Andrews [2]; 2. 35-Tyler Esh [1]; 3. 35S-Stuart Brubaker [4]; 4. 22-Brandon Spithaler [6]; 5. 12-Daniel Harding [8]; 6. 1080-Jordan Mackison [7]; 7. 7K-Cale Conley [10]; 8. 45-Trevor Baker [9]; 9. 9-Ryan Linder [11]; 10. 13-Brandon Matus [3]; 11. 17H-Jared Horstman [5]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 2-Parker Price-Miller [2]; 2. 13D-Danny Dietrich [3]; 3. 70-Tanner Thorson [4]; 4. 57X-Andrew Palker [1]; 5. 23-DJ Foos [5]; 6. 91-Cale Thomas [7]; 7. 59-Ryan Smith [6]; 8. 51-John Garvin [10]; 9. 9C-Roger Campbell [9]; 10. 27Z-Sean Zemunik [8]; 11. 33-Brent Matus [11]

Heat #3 – Group (C) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 22C-Cole Duncan [2]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 3. 99-Brady Bacon [5]; 4. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [3]; 5. 3G-Carson Macedo [8]; 6. 33M-Max Stambaugh [1]; 7. 5T-Travis Philo [6]; 8. 97W-Mitchell Wormall [9]; 9. 95-Hunter Mackison [7]; 10. 4B-Steve Butler [11]; 11. 16M-Danny Mumaw [10]

Heat #4 – Group (D) (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah [1]; 2. 92A-Sammy Walsh [5]; 3. 81-Lee Jacobs [3]; 4. O7-Jacob Wilson [2]; 5. 3J-Trey Jacobs [6]; 6. 8M-TJ Michael [10]; 7. 97-Broc Martin [8]; 8. 17-Caleb Helms [9]; 9. 49-Shawn Dancer [4]; 10. 5R-Byron Reed [7]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 92A-Sammy Walsh [1]; 2. 13D-Danny Dietrich [3]; 3. 70-Tanner Thorson [2]; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah [4]; 5. 35S-Stuart Brubaker [5]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1]; 2. 22C-Cole Duncan [3]; 3. 16-Chris Andrews [5]; 4. 35-Tyler Esh [2]; 5. 2-Parker Price-Miller [4]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 17-Caleb Helms [3]; 2. 5R-Byron Reed [1]; 3. 97W-Mitchell Wormall [4]; 4. 4B-Steve Butler [8]; 5. 8M-TJ Michael [5]; 6. 33-Brent Matus [7]; 7. 9-Ryan Linder [9]; 8. 97-Broc Martin [2]; 9. 16M-Danny Mumaw [6]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 17H-Jared Horstman [2]; 2. 49-Shawn Dancer [5]; 3. 33M-Max Stambaugh [3]; 4. 91-Cale Thomas [7]; 5. 59-Ryan Smith [6]; 6. 5T-Travis Philo [10]; 7. 7K-Cale Conley [11]; 8. 5R-Byron Reed [16]; 9. 95-Hunter Mackison [13]; 10. 9C-Roger Campbell [12]; 11. 1080-Jordan Mackison [4]; 12. 17-Caleb Helms [15]; 13. 13-Brandon Matus [1]; 14. 27Z-Sean Zemunik [8]; 15. 51-John Garvin [14]; 16. 45-Trevor Baker [9]

A-Main (35 Laps)
1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [2]; 2. 13D-Danny Dietrich [3]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah [7]; 4. 22C-Cole Duncan [4]; 5. 2-Parker Price-Miller [10]; 6. 3G-Carson Macedo [20]; 7. 99-Brady Bacon [11]; 8. 23-DJ Foos [17]; 9. 92A-Sammy Walsh [1]; 10. 81-Lee Jacobs [12]; 11. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [14]; 12. 22-Brandon Spithaler [13]; 13. 91-Cale Thomas [24]; 14. 17H-Jared Horstman [21]; 15. 16-Chris Andrews [6]; 16. 35S-Stuart Brubaker [9]; 17. 33M-Max Stambaugh [23]; 18. 57X-Andrew Palker [15]; 19. 12-Daniel Harding [18]; 20. 3J-Trey Jacobs [19]; 21. O7-Jacob Wilson [16]; 22. 59-Ryan Smith [25]; 23. 49-Shawn Dancer [22]; 24. 35-Tyler Esh [8]; 25. 13-Brandon Matus [26]; 26. 70-Tanner Thorson [5] Lap Leaders: Sammy Walsh [1-15]; Tim Shaffer [16-35]

Current Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket Point Standings (After June 21):
1. Tim Shaffer – 650
2. Chad Kemenah – 646
3. Carson Macedo – 640
4. Cole Duncan – 626
5. Ryan Smith – 602
6. Parker Price-Miller – 584
7. Caleb Helms – 552
8. Andrew Palker – 548
9. Lee Jacobs – 546
10. Cale Conley – 526

Win Bonus Count presented by Cometic Gasket:
Tim Shaffer – 2 – Eldora Speedway, Waynesfield Raceway Park [+500]
Kyle Larson – 2 – Wayne County Speedway, Sharon Speedway [+$500]

Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (June 21, 2017):
1. Chad Kemenah – 2858
2. Ryan Smith – 2604
3. Caleb Armstrong – 2570
4. Caleb Helms – 2534
5. Max Stambaugh – 2370
6. T.J. Michael – 2240
7. Brandon Spithaler – 2099
8. Tim Shaffer – 2098
9. Brandon Matus – 2062
10. Tyler Esh – 2023

About Cometic Gasket:
Cometic Gasket, Inc., is a leading worldwide supplier of gaskets and engine sealing solutions for the Automotive, Powersports, Original Equipment and Remanufactured Engine Industries. Cometic was founded in 1989 and has grown into a global leader and innovator in the highly competitive engine supplier marketplace. Housed in a 70,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing center in Concord, Ohio, Cometic Gasket is family owned and operated, offering over 90,000 SKUs, shipping gaskets and engine sealing solutions across the globe.

Additional Arctic Cat All Star Series Info:
Those seeking additional information regarding the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions should visit its official online home at www.allstarsprint.com. Series updates and breaking news will be posted regularly on the official Twitter account of the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions: https://twitter.com/ASCoC. Find full text results from each and every event, as well as an up-to-date schedule, online at www.allstarsprint.com/schedule/.

About the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first ‘outlaw’ Sprint Car organization of the modern era. After a 10 year stint as owner of the All Stars, Miller passed control of the series to Bert Emick in 1980; a reign that would continue through 2002. Guy Webb then purchased the series from Emick in the summer of 2002 and served as the series President for the next 12 years. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015.

About Arctic Cat:
The Arctic Cat brand is among the most widely recognized and respected in the recreational vehicle industry. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), side-by-sides and snowmobiles, in addition to related parts, garments and accessories under the Arctic Cat® and Motorfist® brand names. Arctic Cat Inc.’s world headquarters is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. More information about Arctic Cat and its products is available at www.ArcticCat.com.