6/25/2015
Kears Speed Shop
Greg Wilson wins at Fremont Speedway for speedweek 6/25/15
By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio – Benton Ridge, Ohio’s Greg Wilson took a huge step to claim his first ever Ohio Sprint Speedweek Thursday, leading all 40 laps to claim the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions win at Fremont Speedway on Burns Petroleum Night.
Wilson, who scored the win at Eldora Saturday, came into the seventh of the nine events for the 33rd Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek Presented by Cometic Gasket leading the points. The former two time All Star champion had to hold off a charging Tim Shaffer – the two actually made contact coming to the white flag - to score his third series win of the season. Wilson now has 25 career All Star wins and is tied with Dean Jacobs and Fred Rahmer for 22nd on the series all-time win list. It was his 12 career Fremont victory.
Wilson will look to wrap up the speedweek title when the series comes back to Fremont Saturday (rain date of Sunday) for the $10,000 to win finale.
“I’m pretty emotional….to do it here at Fremont means a hell of a lot to me. A lot of family and friends here tonight. I put a lot of pressure on myself right now….this is pretty damn cool,” said Wilson in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.
“I saw a white nose wing and I figured it was Shaff (Tim Shaffer)…I saw he was third on the board and I knew he came from a long ways… he was really good the last time we were here. I told many people before…the two guys behind me…I was one of their biggest fans. To race with Tim Shaffer and Dale Blaney and to have my wife and kids and all of our sponsors and all the fans….pretty emotional. The good Lord’s been looking out for me. I can’t believe it,” added Wilson beside his Hercules Tire/DNC Hydraulics/Ohio Logistics/Gear Alloy Wheels backed #W20.
Shaffer, who won the $10,000 All Star show at Fremont a month ago, would drive from his 11th starting spot to finish a close second.
“Todd Grace has just given me a great car….this thing was awesome to drive. We had a shot at him there…he left the door open. I probably could have shoved it in there a little bit harder,” said Shaffer beside his Canton Erectors/VRP Shocks/Gressman Powersports backed #45.
“Farmer (Rich, promoter) and the guys did a great job. This is probably one of the best tracks in the country in my eyes because it puts on a great race,” added Shaffer.
Blaney, who has three speedweek wins and needs two more to claim the $25,000 Cometic Gasket bonus, would have to settle for third in his GoMuddy.com/Eyecon Trail Cameras/BadAzz Box Blinds/Xecute Scent Control/Big Game Tree Stands backed #1.
“Those two guys are really good here. I was pretty good until the rubber got down and then I was too tight. I took a shot at Greg in one and two a couple of times. I figured what the heck might as well. We had a good car all night. We will take third. Disappointed for sure but we’ll move on,” said Blaney.
Fremont’s John Ivy would inherit the lead with five laps to go when Ricky Peterson made contact with a lapped car in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprint feature. The former track champion would drive to his second win of the season and the 48th of his career at Fremont.
“I’d rather be lucky than good any time. Ricky was pretty good…I don’t know if I had anything for him or not. I was hoping lapped traffic might give me a shot and then I saw him get into that guy. I’ll take it any way I can get it,” said Ivy beside his Sipe Racing/L&R Farms/Gressman Powersports/Adkins Fence and Sanitation/Sonny’s Machine and Welding/Kear’s Speed shop backed #77i.
Early Tuesday morning Ky Harper purchased a car to compete in the McCullough Industries 602 Late Model Division. It paid off as he scored his first career Fremont win.
“This class is different but it will be a growing class and hopefully we get some more come out and it will be fun. I bought this thing Tuesday and finished it at 4:30 this morning,” said Harper beside his Tiffin Paint and Body, Tiffin Auto Mart, Childress Collision backed #34.
Wilson and Tyler Gunn would bring the field to green for the 40-lap All Star feature. A handful of drivers were put back a row for being late to staging including original front row starter Nate Dussel.
Wilson would take a big lead as Dussel moved into second with Gunn, Brian Lay, Lee Jacobs and Blaney gave chase. Lay would grab third on lap two with Blaney taking fourth by the fourth circuit.
Wilson would catch lapped traffic by the seventh circuit as Dussel, Lay and Blaney battled for second. Blaney would drive into second on lap 10 and started to eat away at Wilson’s lead as Lay ran third followed by Dussel, Gunn, Shaffer and Cap Henry up from 16th.
Wilson methodically picked his way through traffic and kept Blaney at bay while the fastest car on the track was Shaffer who worked his way to fourth by the half-way point and took third on lap 22 as he recorded the fasted lap of the race.
The only caution of the race fell on lap 26 when Roger Crockett stopped on the back stretch. The restart order was Wilson, Blaney, Shaffer, Dussel and Henry. When the green flew Wilson pulled away slightly as Shaffer put the heat on Blaney. Shaffer would take the runner-up spot on lap 29 and started to close on Wilson.
With 10 laps to go Wilson led Shaffer, Blaney, Henry, Dussel, Lay, Gunn and Jacobs. Shaffer stayed glued to Wilson’s rear bumper and with a hand full of laps to go was poking his nose under Wilson. As they raced out of turn four to the white flag Wilson and Shaffer made contact. Wilson was able to pull away slightly and drove to the win. Shaffer, Blaney, Henry and Dussel would round out the top five.
Brandon Moore and Peterson brought the field to green for the 25 lap 305 sprint feature with Peterson gaining the upper hand over a flying Steve Rando, Moore, Ivy, Kyle Capodice, Bobby Clark, Seth Schneider and Dustin Dinan.
Rando would step out of line and try the high line to challenge Peterson as Ivy drove into third bringing Capodice and Clark along. The leaders caught the back of the pack by lap 12 and Rando’s great run would end a lap later as he spin in turn four.
Peterson now led Ivy, Capodice, Clark, Jaime Miller, Dinan, Alvin Roepke and Moore. With 19 laps scored Peterson made contact with a lapped machine, ending his chances of his first Fremont win. Ivy now led Capodice, Miller, Clark, Dinan and Roepke.
Ivy would pull away when the green reappeared but it would be erased with three laps to go when Miller spun. On the restart Roepke would blast around Capodice for the runner up spot but ran out of time to catch Ivy.
Ivy would drive to the win over Roepke, Capodice, Clark and Moore.
Dustin Keegan and Tim Sabo led the field to green for the 15 lap late model feature with Sabo taking the lead over Keegan, Harper, Dustin Sautter and Chester Fitch. Harper would spin after a lap was complete. On the ensuing restart Sabo would lead as Sautter drove into second with Keegan, Fitch, Dale Cole, Steve Sabo and Brandon Perkins giving chase.
Following two quick cautions, Sabo would continue to lead with Fitch taking third on lap five. Harper made his way back toward the front and was running fourth when the caution flew on lap seven for Brian Sabo. A lap and another caution for Fitch with Tim Sabo leading Sautter, Harper, Cole and Perkins.
Harper drove into second on lap nine and immediately challenged Tim Sabo for the lead. Sautter would bring out the final caution with three laps to go. When the green flew Harper was able to drive under Tim Sabo for the lead as the two raced side by side over the next two laps.
Harper would earn the win over Tim Sabo, Cole, Perkins and Steve Sabo.
Prior to the night’s racing 20 drivers and fans had their heads shaved to help raise funds for the Kick-It Organization to help find a cure for childhood cancer. A kick ball tournament with auctions will be held Saturday morning prior to the speedweek finale to help raise additional funds. So far, the Fremont Speedway Kick-It drive has risen over $10,000.
For additional information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com.
Fremont Speedway
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Starting position [*]
UNOH All Star Sprints (40 cars)
Qualifying
1.1-Dale Blaney, 12.921; 2.94-Ryan Smith, 12.946; 3.45-Tim Shaffer, 12.958; 4.83M-Broc Martin, 12.962; 5.W20-Greg Wilson, 12.973; 6.9P-Parker Price-Miller, 13.018; 7.99-Brady Bacon, 13.060; 8.70-Roger Crockett, 13.061; 9.5-Byron Reed, 13.087; 10.10H-Chad Kemenah, 13.101; 11.93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.118; 12.5T-Travis Philo, 13.168; 13.19-Chris Andrews, 13.172; 14.8M-TJ Michael, 13.197; 15.16-Stuart Brubaker, 13.207; 16.68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.215; 17.21-DJ Foos, 13.232; 18.89-Cody Darrah, 13.233; 19.81-Lee Jacobs, 13.265; 20.98H-Dave Blaney, 13.273; 21.40DD-Nate Dussel, 13.296; 22.35AU-Jamie Veal, 13.300; 23.3G-James McFadden, 13.319; 24.40-Caleb Helms, 13.376; 25.1st-Gary Taylor, 13.380; 26.2+-Brian Smith, 13.440; 27.11N-Randy Hannagan, 13.461; 28.91-Cale Thomas, 13.486; 29.60-Jody Keegan, 13.523; 30.53-Cap Henry, 13.525; 31.57X-Andrew Palker, 13.587; 32.45L-Brian Lay, 13.600; 33.97-Dean Jacobs, 13.623; 34.59-Danny Holtgraver, 13.672; 35.4-Danny Smith, 13.710; 36.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.721; 37.9-Jordan Ryan, 13.723; 38.5AU-Danny Reidy, 13.823; 39.17-Josh Baughman, 13.853; 40.96AU-Bruce White, 14.242;
Heat 1, Group A - (10 Laps, top 5 to A)
- 99-Brady Bacon[1] ; 2. W20-Greg Wilson[2] ; 3. 45-Tim Shaffer[4] ; 4. 5T-Travis Philo[8] ; 5. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[7] ; 6. 5-Byron Reed[5] ; 7. 83M-Broc Martin[3] ; 8. 10H-Chad Kemenah[6] ; 9. 2+-Brian Smith[10] ; 10. 98H-Dave Blaney[9]
Heat 2, Group B - (10 Laps, top 5 to A)
- 68G-Tyler Gunn[2] ; 2. 45L-Brian Lay[9] ; 3. 94-Ryan Smith[4] ; 4. 11N-Randy Hannagan[7] ; 5. 89-Cody Darrah[1] ; 6. 3G-James McFadden[6] ; 7. 16-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 8. 35AU-Jamie Veal[5] ; 9. 60-Jody Keegan[8] ; 10. 9-Jordan Ryan[10]
Heat 3, Group C - (10 Laps, top 5 to A)
- 81-Lee Jacobs[1] ; 2. 8M-TJ Michael[2] ; 3. 1-Dale Blaney[4] ; 4. 40-Caleb Helms[5] ; 5. 1st-Gary Taylor[6] ; 6. 5AU-Danny Reidy[8] ; 7. 96AU-Bruce White[10] ; 8. 17-Josh Baughman[9] ; 9. 9P-Parker Price-Miller[3] ; 10. 4-Danny Smith[7]
Heat 4, Group D - (10 Laps, top 5 to A)
- 40DD-Nate Dussel[1] ; 2. 70-Roger Crockett[4] ; 3. 21-DJ Foos[2] ; 4. 53-Cap Henry[6] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[10] ; 6. 59-Danny Holtgraver[9] ; 7. 91-Cale Thomas[5] ; 8. 57X-Andrew Palker[7] ; 9. 97-Dean Jacobs[8] ; 10. 19-Chris Andrews[3]
Dash 1 - (8 Laps, determines first five rows of feature)
- W20-Greg Wilson[2] ; 2. 40DD-Nate Dussel[3] ; 3. 70-Roger Crockett[6] ; 4. 68G-Tyler Gunn[1] ; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs[4] ; 6. 45L-Brian Lay[5] ; 7. 8M-TJ Michael[7] ; 8. 1-Dale Blaney[10] ; 9. 99-Brady Bacon[8] ; 10. 94-Ryan Smith[9]
B-Main 1 - (12 Laps, top 4 to A)
- 83M-Broc Martin[1] ; 2. 5-Byron Reed[3] ; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah[4] ; 4. 19-Chris Andrews[5] ; 5. 16-Stuart Brubaker[6] ; 6. 98H-Dave Blaney[7] ; 7. 3G-James McFadden[9] ; 8. 9P-Parker Price-Miller[2] ; 9. 35AU-Jamie Veal[8] ; 10. 97-Dean Jacobs[13] ; 11. 17-Josh Baughman[18] ; 12. 59-Danny Holtgraver[14] ; 13. 9-Jordan Ryan[16] ; 14. 4-Danny Smith[15] ; 15. 5AU-Danny Reidy[17] ; 16. 57X-Andrew Palker[12] ; 17. 91-Cale Thomas[11] ; 18. 96AU-Bruce White[19] ; 19. 2+-Brian Smith[10] ; 20. 60-Jody Keegan[20]
A-Main 1 - (40 Laps)
- W20-Greg Wilson[1] ; 2. 45-Tim Shaffer[11] ; 3. 1-Dale Blaney[8] ; 4. 53-Cap Henry[16] ; 5. 40DD-Nate Dussel[4] ; 6. 45L-Brian Lay[6] ; 7. 68G-Tyler Gunn[2] ; 8. 81-Lee Jacobs[3] ; 9. 5-Byron Reed[24] ; 10. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[17] ; 11. 89-Cody Darrah[20] ; 12. 5T-Travis Philo[13] ; 13. 10H-Chad Kemenah[23] ; 14. 21-DJ Foos[10] ; 15. 11N-Randy Hannagan[14] ; 16. 8M-TJ Michael[7] ; 17. 99-Brady Bacon[9] ; 18. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[18] ; 19. 94-Ryan Smith[12] ; 20. 9P-Parker Price-Miller[26] ; 21. 83M-Broc Martin[21] ; 22. 40-Caleb Helms[15] ; 23. 59-Danny Holtgraver[25] ; 24. 19-Chris Andrews[22] ; 25. 70-Roger Crockett[5] ; 26. 1st-Gary Taylor[19]
Hard Charger: 5-Byron Reed[+13]
Submitted By: ANN TUSING
