Chad Kemenah Claims Fifth Career Arctic Cat All Star Championship
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR SERIES MEDIA
Photos By: DAN DEMARCO / RACERSUIDE.COM
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -October 22, 2016 – For the fifth time in his career and for the first time since 2005, Alvada, Ohio’s Chad Kemenah is an Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions titlist, earning his fate by finishing eighth during the championship finale at Atomic Speedway on Saturday, October 22. It is a first-ever title for team owner Rob Hunter.
Kemenah, pilot of the Rob Hunter-owned/Seneca Energy Corp/DKW Transport/JRC Transportation/Bonnell’s Rod Shop/ No. 10H entry, started 13th on the main event grid and gently worked his way into a top-ten finishing position; just one position ahead of championship contender and defending titlist Dale Blaney at the final checkers. Blaney, who fell short of a seventh championship by a mere 20 markers, finished second in the final standings, followed by Sheldon Haudenschild, Cap Henry and Kraig Kinser.
“I hope my car owner’s smile is as big as mine right now,” Chad Kemenah said. “I can’t thank Rob Hunter and his wife enough for giving my brother (Brian Kemenah) and I an opportunity with this race team. We didn’t have the season we wanted last year as far as consistency goes, but we were pretty consistent this year. We really take pride in our level of consistency. Sometimes we second guess ourselves, but we just really needed to focus on us and our results and not worry about where others finish. That’s what it takes to win a championship.”
Chad Kemenah ended his 2016 Arctic Cat All Star championship campaign with one victory on the season, occurring at the Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway in Bedford, Pennsylvania. The 2016 Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket champion also earned 33 top-ten finishes in 43 main event starts, 24 of which were inside the top-five.
“We definitely wanted to win more, of course. But to have the amount of top-five finishes that we have, no matter where we raced or who we raced against, says a lot about this race team. Sometimes point racing isn’t fun. Things were getting a little stressful here the last month or so. I’m not sure my car owner would admit that, but it is true. I don’t want this to be the first one for Rob Hunter, so hopefully we can repeat.”
Chad Kemenah won the war, but Sheldon Haudenschild won the battle on Saturday night at Atomic Speedway; scoring $10,000 during the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions season finale over a competitive field of 49 entries. Haudenschild started second on the main event grid and raced in a podium position during the entire 35-lap main event.
The Wooster, Ohio, native took command for the first time on lap 32; surviving accidental contact with race leader Cole Duncan to inherit the top spot over Hunter Schuerenberg and sixth row starter Danny Lasoski. Duncan, the main event pole sitter who led every lap of the feature program until that point, would not return.
Haudenschild, the winningest driver with the Arctic Cat All Stars in 2016, drove ahead to score his ninth victory of season and 15th of his career, keeping, Schuerenberg, Danny Lasoski, Pennsylvania invader Brent Marks, and Spencer Bayston at bay.
“I felt bad about that contact with Cole Duncan. I definitely didn’t intend for that to happen. We were both racing really hard for position and ran out of race track,” Sheldon Haudenschild said. “This has been a really fun season. I can’t thank my team enough for their hard work and effort this year. Every time I get in my car, I know what I am going to get and I know what to expect. This win is pretty special. We’ll take this and move ahead.”
The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will celebrate the 2016 season with the annual awards banquet, scheduled for Friday evening, December 9, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. In conjunction with the Performance Racing Industry (PRI) trade show, the awards banquet will be conducted in rooms 231-233 of the Indiana Convention Center. The evening will begin with cocktails at 6:00 pm, followed by dinner at 7, with the awards ceremony to follow. Additional news and information will be sent via email in the near future.
Contingency Awards/Results: Atomic Speedway – Saturday, October 22, 2016:
Event: Arctic Cat All Star Championship Finale
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 49 Entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Sheldon Haudenschild – 11.573 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Danny Holtgraver – 11.489 (2nd Quick)
Kistler Racing Products Heat #1: Ryan Myers
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Danny Lasoski
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Lee Jacobs
Arctic Cat Heat #4: Tim Shaffer
Classic Ink USA Heat #5: Travis Philo
JE Pistons Dash: Cole Duncan
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Sheldon Haudenschild
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Brent Marks (+16)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Spencer Bayston
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Caleb Helms
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Cole Duncan
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
1.12N-Cole Duncan, 11.282; 2.70-Danny Holtgraver, 11.489; 3.11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.529; 4.57X-Andrew Palker, 11.532; 5.21-Cap Henry, 11.562; 6.2s-Hunter Schuerenberg, 11.568; 7.81-Lee Jacobs, 11.635; 8.40-Caleb Helms, 11.652; 9.93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 11.660; 10.56R-Ryan Myers, 11.696; 11.1-Dale Blaney, 11.703; 12.6M-Jac Haudenschild, 11.709; 13.4X-Jimmy Stinson, 11.717; 14.5T-Travis Philo, 11.740; 15.4-Danny Smith, 11.804; 16.49-Tim Shaffer, 11.821; 17.2-Danny Lasoski, 11.833; 18.8M-TJ Michael, 11.908; 19.22B-Ryan Broughton, 11.916; 20.10H-Chad Kemenah, 11.941; 21.7K-Dallas Hewitt, 11.993; 22.17B-Bill Balog, 12.007; 23.78-Todd Kane, 12.024; 24.97-Broc Martin, 12.047; 25.19m-Brent Marks, 12.057; 26.60-Kory Crabtree, 12.067; 27.19P-Paige Polyak, 12.083; 28.59N-Bryan Nuckles, 12.096; 29.39-Spencer Bayston, 12.150; 30.A97-Cale Conley, 12.167; 31.83X-Nate Reeser, 12.185; 32.A67-Nathan Skaggs, 12.204; 33.83-Adam Cruea, 12.382; 34.40i-Mark Imler, 12.412; 35.59J-Kirk Jeffries, 12.550; 36.22D-Josh Davis, 12.554; 37.45-Mark Coleman, 12.574; 38.3FX-Dean Kester, 12.802; 39.O8-Brandon Conkel, 12.814; 40.A76-RJ Perkins, 12.836; 41.9J-Jessie McCreary, 12.873; 42.7A-Dave Dickson, 12.956; 43.O6-Brandy Bower, 13.166; 44.14-Shawn MIller, 14.070; 45.49H-Bradley Howard, 99.190; 46.80-Lance Webb, 99.290; 47.27-Cody Gallogly, 99.450; 48.7C-Caleb Armstrong, 99.480; 49.35R-Ronnie Blair, 99.500;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 56R-Ryan Myers[3] ; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah[1] ; 4. 17B-Bill Balog[6] ; 5. 97-Broc Martin[7] ; 6. 7K-Dallas Hewitt[5] ; 7. O8-Brandon Conkel[9] ; 8. 8M-TJ Michael[2] ; 9. 14-Shawn MIller[10] ; 10. 19P-Paige Polyak[8]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 2-Danny Lasoski[2] ; 2. 4-Danny Smith[3] ; 3. 1-Dale Blaney[4] ; 4. 39-Spencer Bayston[5] ; 5. A67-Nathan Skaggs[1] ; 6. 83-Adam Cruea[6] ; 7. 59J-Kirk Jeffries[7] ; 8. A76-RJ Perkins[8] ; 9. 7A-Dave Dickson[9]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 81-Lee Jacobs[2] ; 2. 6M-Jac Haudenschild[5] ; 3. 12N-Cole Duncan[4] ; 4. 57X-Andrew Palker[3] ; 5. 60-Kory Crabtree[6] ; 6. 22D-Josh Davis[8] ; 7. 80-Lance Webb[10] ; 8. O6-Brandy Bower[9] ; 9. 40i-Mark Imler[7] ; 10. 40-Caleb Helms[1]
Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps)
1. 49-Tim Shaffer[2] ; 2. 4X-Jimmy Stinson[3] ; 3. 21-Cap Henry[4] ; 4. 19m-Brent Marks[5] ; 5. 78-Todd Kane[1] ; 6. A97-Cale Conley[6] ; 7. 83X-Nate Reeser[7] ; 8. 45-Mark Coleman[8] ; 9. 3FX-Dean Kester[9]
Heat 5, Group E – (8 Laps)
1. 5T-Travis Philo[1] ; 2. 2s-Hunter Schuerenberg[2] ; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser[3] ; 4. 70-Danny Holtgraver[4] ; 5. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[8] ; 6. 22B-Ryan Broughton[5] ; 7. 59N-Bryan Nuckles[6] ; 8. 9J-Jessie McCreary[7]
Dash 1 – (6 Laps)
1. 12N-Cole Duncan[4] ; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[6] ; 3. 56R-Ryan Myers[1] ; 4. 70-Danny Holtgraver[3] ; 5. 2s-Hunter Schuerenberg[8] ; 6. 4X-Jimmy Stinson[7] ; 7. 81-Lee Jacobs[5] ; 8. 6M-Jac Haudenschild[2]
C-Main 1 – (10 Laps)
1. O8-Brandon Conkel[3] ; 2. O6-Brandy Bower[7] ; 3. 3FX-Dean Kester[2] ; 4. 80-Lance Webb[10] ; 5. A76-RJ Perkins[4] ; 6. 14-Shawn MIller[8] ; 7. 9J-Jessie McCreary[5] ; 8. 45-Mark Coleman[1] ; 9. 7A-Dave Dickson[6] ; 10. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[9]
B-Main 1 – (12 Laps)
1. 97-Broc Martin[6] ; 2. 40-Caleb Helms[1] ; 3. 83-Adam Cruea[12] ; 4. 8M-TJ Michael[2] ; 5. A97-Cale Conley[9] ; 6. 40i-Mark Imler[13] ; 7. O8-Brandon Conkel[17] ; 8. 59J-Kirk Jeffries[14] ; 9. 22D-Josh Davis[15] ; 10. O6-Brandy Bower[18] ; 11. 78-Todd Kane[5] ; 12. 59N-Bryan Nuckles[8] ; 13. 60-Kory Crabtree[7] ; 14. 83X-Nate Reeser[10] ; 15. 7K-Dallas Hewitt[4] ; 16. 22B-Ryan Broughton[3] ; 17. A67-Nathan Skaggs[11] ; 18. 19P-Paige Polyak[16]
A-Main 1 – (35 Laps)
1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[2] ; 2. 2s-Hunter Schuerenberg[3] ; 3. 2-Danny Lasoski[12] ; 4. 19m-Brent Marks[20] ; 5. 39-Spencer Bayston[18] ; 6. 17B-Bill Balog[17] ; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser[16] ; 8. 10H-Chad Kemenah[13] ; 9. 1-Dale Blaney[14] ; 10. 40-Caleb Helms[22] ; 11. 97-Broc Martin[21] ; 12. 8M-TJ Michael[24] ; 13. 4X-Jimmy Stinson[6] ; 14. 57X-Andrew Palker[19] ; 15. 12N-Cole Duncan[1] ; 16. 5T-Travis Philo[9] ; 17. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[23] ; 18. 83-Adam Cruea[25] ; 19. 70-Danny Holtgraver[4] ; 20. 49-Tim Shaffer[11] ; 21. 21-Cap Henry[15] ; 22. 4-Danny Smith[10] ; 23. 81-Lee Jacobs[7] ; 24. 6M-Jac Haudenschild[8] ; 25. 56R-Ryan Myers[5]
FINAL Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (October 22, 2016):
1 Chad Kemenah-5238
2 Dale Blaney-5218
3 Sheldon Haudenschild-5178
4 Cap Henry-4896
5 Kraig Kinser-4854
6 Danny Holtgraver-4690
7 T.J. Michael-4602
8 Caleb Helms-4400
9 Andrew Palker-4182
10 Lee Jacobs-4150
Additional Arctic Cat All Star Series Info:
Those seeking additional information regarding the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions should visit their 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.
