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Kofoid scores exciting 410 win at Fremont

By Brian Liskai (Fremont, OH) -- Michael "Buddy" Kofoid had only raced at Fremont Speedway twice, including Saturday, May 18. But, the 17-year-old Penngrove, California driver looked like a long-time veteran, handling a tricky track surface, passing for the lead late in the 410 sprint feature and holding off a challenger to score his first ever win at "The Track That Action Built" on Kistler Engines Night.

Kofoid, who looked to be heading for his first win in Ohio the previous night at Attica Raceway Park only to suffer a minor issue and finish third, tracked down race long leader Travis Philo with 10 laps to go to take the lead and then held off fast qualifier Justin Peck to score the $4,000 win thanks to Spanky's Pizza of Carey. Kofoid unofficially takes the lead in the point standings in All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series (AFCS) Presented by the Baumann Auto Group.

"That was probably the most physically and mentally tough race I've ever run. I was so determined and I had so much adrenaline and it keeps you going in the seat. My hands are so cramped right now I can barely pull a tear off and pull myself out of my car. Yesterday at Attica we had a lot of speed and probably should have won but had some issues but having that much speed gave me a big momentum boost. I had to sack up and run the rough stuff. I felt like I knew I was making it work in three and four a car width higher than them and a couple of times I tried way to high and almost blew myself into the turn four wall. I figured it out right through the middle above those guys," said an exhausted Kofoid in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.

"I can't thank Ed Neumeister enough for giving me an amazing opportunity for me to fulfill my dream and come out here and race full time. Of course the Linders for all their help and letting me live with them. Also thanks to Gill Construction, CK Plumbing, Linder's Speed Equipment, DMI, AL Driveline, ProShocks...without those guys I wouldn't be standing here," Kofoid added.

Former Fremont Speedway track champion Paul Weaver battled with Luke Griffith throughout the opening half of the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprint feature before grabbing the lead on lap 12 and holding off Jamie Miller for his 48th career victory at the track. Weaver is tied for seventh on the track's all-time win list. The victory puts Weaver in the running for the championship of the KS Sales and Service AFCS presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer sales.

"Running second wasn't bad...your focus was on getting into the lead and you really didn't think about the track. But once you got into the lead then it got really rough. I want to thank Bob Hampshire and Dave Rice for the motor on this deal, my nephew Daniel, Schiets Motorsports, B&B Drain...they just come on board, Russ Adkins come on this year to help out...I can't thank them enough," said Weaver.

While the stat sheet will show Fostoria, Ohio's Shawn Valenti led all 20 laps of the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Truck feature it wasn't easy as former track champion Kent Brewer challenged him the entire distance. But, Valenti was able to hold on for the win, his 48th career victory at the track to tie him with Weaver for seventh on the all-time win list. It was his second victory of the year at Fremont and third overall of 2019 in the truck division, having scored the win at Attica the previous week.

"The track was something else tonight but I know these guys are working on it to make it the best they can be and hopefully now we can get the bad weather behind us and get some racing in. The top looks like the smoothest but Kent stuck his nose down there so I had to go down there. I have to thank the Babcocks for everything they do for me, Craig Miller Trucking, Speedways Bar and Grill out of Bradner, Gressman Powersports, Best Performance Motorsports, A Plus Auto Center and everyone who helps out," said Valenti.

At the drop of the Silver Top Bar and Grill Green Flag for the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint 30-lap A-main outside front row starter Travis Philo jumped into the lead but after a lap was completed a three car tangle involving Jac Haudenschild, Byron Reed and Trey Jacobs slowed the pace. On the restart Philo pulled away from Dale Blaney, Justin Peck, Joey Saldana, Nate Dussel and Kofoid. While Kofoid pulled away, Blaney and Peck battled hard for second with Peck taking the spot on lap six and quickly closed on Philo. That left Blaney to battle Saldana for third with Kofoid joining in on that fun by lap 10.

As Philo and Peck ran nose to tail, Saldana took third on lap 11 with Blaney and Kofoid continuing to apply pressure. The leaders raced into lapped traffic just before the half way point when Kofoid used the middle groove to take third from Saldana three laps latter. With 10 laps to go it was now a three car battle for the lead involving Philo, Kofoid and Peck. Kofoid once again used the middle line to grab the lead on lap 21, with Peck taking second a lap later. Peck tried lap after lap to get around Kofoid but to no avail.

Kofoid took the checkers half a car length over Peck with Philo, Saldana and Nate Dussel rounding out the top five.

In the 305 feature outside front row starter Luke Griffith grabbed the early lead over Jimmy McGrath, Weaver and Seth Schneider. Weaver quickly moved into second but Griffith started to pull away as Schneider took third and Jamie Miller and Tyler Street rounding out the top five. Weaver used lapped traffic to reel Griffith in and took the lead on lap 12 just as the caution flew for a Schneider spin. On the restart Miller drove around Griffith into second and stayed within striking distance of Weaver. The veteran Weaver worked his way through the lapped cars and drove to the win over Miller, Griffith, Street and John Ivy.

Valenti, who started outside the front row, quickly took the lead in the dirt truck feature over Keith Sorg, Brewer and Jim Holcomb. Brewer took second on a restart on lap four and hounded Valenti until a caution slowed the pace with four laps to go. In the shoot out Valenti was able to hold off both Brewer and Holcomb for the win with John Brooks and Sorg rounding out the top five.

Fremont Speedway has a big Memorial Day weekend double-header. It begins Saturday, May 25 as the FAST 410 Series invades along with the 305 sprints. General admission is only $10 for adults. The following night, Sunday, May 26, Tony Stewart's Ollie's Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions Presented by Mobile 1 return to "The Track That Action Built" after a three year absence. The dirt trucks join the card on Sunday.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FremontSpeedway or on Twitter https://twitter.com/FremontSpeedway.

About Kistler Engines – www.kistlerengines.com

Kistler Engines was established in 1993 and builds lightweight, high performance racing engines with a commitment to quality. At Kistlers we pride ourselves in high tech, innovative designs, producing highly competitive engines for sprint cars (410 c.i., 360 c.i. and 305 c.i.), as well as, late models and midgets. Kistler Engines has also earned a great reputation for our service among professional race teams due to our quick turnaround time on engine rebuilds.

Kistlers uses of state-of-the art equipment, the highest standard quality parts and invest in constant research and development. Customers powered by Kistler engines have set numerous quick times, track records and have also won on the local level as well as on national traveling series such as the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, All Star Circuit of Champions and USAC.

Fremont Speedway
Kistler Engines Night
Saturday, May 18, 2019

410 Sprints - Fort Ball Pizza Palace

Qualifying
1.5X-Justin Peck, 13.424; 2.09-Craig Mintz, 13.515; 3.3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.554; 4.11-Dale Blaney, 13.619; 5.19-Paige Polyak, 13.637; 6.6-Joey Saldana, 13.647; 7.83M-Broc Martin, 13.660; 8.4-Cap Henry, 13.699; 9.5T-Travis Philo, 13.703; 10.1-Nate Dussel, 13.709; 11.99-Skylar Gee, 13.743; 12.81-Lee Jacobs, 13.753; 13.5-Byron Reed, 13.758; 14.16-DJ Foos, 13.808; 15.25M-Chris Andrews, 13.808; 16.11N-Buddy Kofoid, 13.811; 17.3J-Trey Jacobs, 13.820; 18.23X-John Ivy, 13.832; 19.68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.855; 20.35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.926; 21.14-Chad Wilson, 13.950; 22.17B-Bill Balog, 13.995; 23.45-Brian Lay, 14.003; 24.70X-Spencer Bayston, 14.008; 25.97-Caleb Helms, 14.013; 26.23-Max Stambaugh, 14.061; 27.8M-TJ Michael, 14.081; 28.20I-Kelsey Ivy, 14.230; 29.9J-Dean Jacobs, 14.254; 30.W20-Greg Wilson, 14.372; 31.2+-Brian Smith, 14.629; 32.88N-Frank Neil, 14.682; 33.11E-Ed Neumeister, 14.720; 34.22B-Ryan Broughton, 14.792; 35.33W-Caleb Griffith, 99.620;

Heat 1 - (8 Laps)

1. 5-Byron Reed[1] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 3. 5X-Justin Peck[4] ; 4. 3J-Trey Jacobs[5] ; 5. 97-Caleb Helms[7] ; 6. 9J-Dean Jacobs[8] ; 7. 14-Chad Wilson[6] ; 8. 11E-Ed Neumeister[9] ; 9. 19-Paige Polyak[3]

Heat 2 - (8 Laps)

1. 16-DJ Foos[1] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[2] ; 3. 6-Joey Saldana[3] ; 4. 09-Craig Mintz[4] ; 5. W20-Greg Wilson[8] ; 6. 17B-Bill Balog[6] ; 7. 22B-Ryan Broughton[9] ; 8. 23-Max Stambaugh[7] ; 9. 23X-John Ivy[5]

Heat 3 - (8 Laps)

1. 99-Skylar Gee[2] ; 2. 25M-Chris Andrews[1] ; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild[4] ; 4. 83M-Broc Martin[3] ; 5. 68G-Tyler Gunn[5] ; 6. 33W-Caleb Griffith[9] ; 7. 8M-TJ Michael[7] ; 8. 45-Brian Lay[6] ; 9. 2+-Brian Smith[8]

Heat 4 - (8 Laps)

1. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[1] ; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs[2] ; 3. 11-Dale Blaney[4] ; 4. 70X-Spencer Bayston[6] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[7] ; 6. 88N-Frank Neil[8] ; 7. 4-Cap Henry[3] ; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker[5]

B-Main 1 - (10 Laps)

1. 97-Caleb Helms[1] ; 2. 17B-Bill Balog[4] ; 3. 9J-Dean Jacobs[3] ; 4. 22B-Ryan Broughton[6] ; 5. 23-Max Stambaugh[8] ; 6. 14-Chad Wilson[5] ; 7. 11E-Ed Neumeister[7] ; 8. W20-Greg Wilson[2] ; 9. 23X-John Ivy[10]

B-Main 2 - (10 Laps)

1. 33W-Caleb Griffith[3] ; 2. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[2] ; 3. 4-Cap Henry[6] ; 4. 68G-Tyler Gunn[1] ; 5. 8M-TJ Michael[5] ; 6. 45-Brian Lay[7] ; 7. 88N-Frank Neil[4] ; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[9]

A-Main 1 - (30 Laps)

1. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[10] ; 2. 5X-Justin Peck[6] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 4. 6-Joey Saldana[3] ; 5. 1-Nate Dussel[1] ; 6. 11-Dale Blaney[4] ; 7. 33W-Caleb Griffith[16] ; 8. 16-DJ Foos[8] ; 9. 09-Craig Mintz[14] ; 10. 99-Skylar Gee[9] ; 11. 17B-Bill Balog[19] ; 12. 83M-Broc Martin[15] ; 13. 97-Caleb Helms[17] ; 14. 25M-Chris Andrews[11] ; 15. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[18] ; 16. 81-Lee Jacobs[12] ; 17. 3-Jac Haudenschild[5] ; 18. 5-Byron Reed[7] ; 19. 3J-Trey Jacobs[13] ; 20. 70X-Spencer Bayston[20]

Hard Charger: 33W-Caleb Griffith +9

305 Sprints - Fremont Federal Credit Union

Qualifying
1.26-Jamie Miller, 14.335; 2.25-Jason Keckler, 14.415; 3.99-Alvin Roepke, 14.503; 4.75-Jerry Dahms, 14.645; 5.4*-Tyler Street, 14.672; 6.1W-Paul Weaver, 14.700; 7.36-Seth Schneider, 14.713; 8.11G-Luke Griffith, 14.840; 9.5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr, 14.864; 10.7-Shawn Valenti, 14.927; 11.7M-Brandon Moore, 14.931; 12.77I-John Ivy, 14.974; 13.21-Larry Kingseed JR, 15.083; 14.9R-Dustin Rall, 15.092; 15.8-Bobby Clark, 15.102; 16.X-Mike Keegan, 15.106; 17.12-Kyle Capodice, 15.127; 18.09-Justin Adams, 15.129; 19.47-Matt Lucius, 15.264; 20.1H-Zeth Sabo, 15.341; 21.3V-Chris Verda, 15.399; 22.3X-Bradon Riehl, 15.473; 23.97-Kyle Peters, 15.689; 24.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 15.716; 25.28-Tad Peck, 15.788; 26.Z10-Kevin Mingus, 99.910;

Heat 1 - (8 Laps)

1. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 36-Seth Schneider[2] ; 3. 7-Shawn Valenti[1] ; 4. 75-Jerry Dahms[3] ; 5. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[5] ; 6. 47-Matt Lucius[7] ; 7. X-Mike Keegan[6] ; 8. 3X-Bradon Riehl[8] ; 9. 28-Tad Peck[9]

Heat 2 - (8 Laps)

1. 7M-Brandon Moore[1] ; 2. 11G-Luke Griffith[2] ; 3. 4*-Tyler Street[3] ; 4. 12-Kyle Capodice[6] ; 5. 25-Jason Keckler[4] ; 6. 97-Kyle Peters[8] ; 7. 9R-Dustin Rall[5] ; 8. 1H-Zeth Sabo[7] ; 9. Z10-Kevin Mingus[9]

Heat 3 - (8 Laps)

1. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[2] ; 2. 77I-John Ivy[1] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[3] ; 4. 8-Bobby Clark[5] ; 5. 99-Alvin Roepke[4] ; 6. 3V-Chris Verda[7] ; 7. X15-Kasey Zieboled8] ; 8. 09-Justin Adams[6]

B-Main 1 - (10 Laps)

1. 97-Kyle Peters[2] ; 2. 3V-Chris Verda[3] ; 3. 1H-Zeth Sabo[8] ; 4. Z10-Kevin Mingus[11] ; 5. 47-Matt Lucius[1] ; 6. X-Mike Keegan[4] ; 7. X15-Kasey Ziebold[6] ; 8. 9R-Dustin Rall[5] ; 9. 28-Tad Peck[10] ; 10. 09-Justin Adams[9] ; 11. 3X-Bradon Riehl[7]

A-Main 1 - (25 Laps)

1. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 2. 26-Jamie Miller[6] ; 3. 11G-Luke Griffith[2] ; 4. 4*-Tyler Street[5] ; 5. 77I-John Ivy[8] ; 6. 99-Alvin Roepke[15] ; 7. 97-Kyle Peters[16] ; 8. 7M-Brandon Moore[7] ; 9. 8-Bobby Clark[12] ; 10. 7-Shawn Valenti[9] ; 11. 12-Kyle Capodice[11] ; 12. 25-Jason Keckler[14] ; 13. 36-Seth Schneider[3] ; 14. 3V-Chris Verda[17] ; 15. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[1] ; 16. 1H-Zeth Sabo[18] ; 17. Z10-Kevin Mingus[19] ; 18. 75-Jerry Dahms[10] ; 19. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[13] ; 20. 47-Matt Lucius[20]

Hard charger: 99-Alvin Roepke +9

Dirt Trucks - Burmeister Trophy

Heat 1 - (8 Laps)

1. 22-Brandon Leighton[1] ; 2. 3X-Brad Keckler[7] ; 3. 9-Curt Inks[4] ; 4. 115-Ben Good[6] ; 5. 8W-Allen White[8] ; 6. 2X-Chris Bitters[2] ; 7. 3-Gaige Slaven[5] ; 8. 5-Jim Mcgrath[3]

Heat 2 - (8 Laps)

1. 16-Jim Holcomb[7] ; 2. 4s-Keith Sorg[6] ; 3. 1-John Brooks[1] ; 4. 23m-Brad Mitten[4] ; 5. 83-Noah Wagner[2] ; 6. 0H-Derek Halka[5] ; 7. 11-Austin Gibson[3] ; 8. 75-Adam Dible[8]

Heat 3 - (8 Laps)

1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[4] ; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[3] ; 3. 0-Andy Keegan[2] ; 4. 911-Mark Kachnmeister[5] ; 5. 37-Eric DeVanna[7] ; 6. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[1] ; 7. 14T-Cody Truman[8]

Heat 4 - (8 Laps)

1. 2-Steve Endicott[4] ; 2. 5s-Brad Stuckey[3] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[6] ; 4. P51-Paul Brown JR[1] ; 5. 26-Kyle Lagrou[8] ; 6. 7X-Dana Frey[2] ; 7. 32-Kevin Phillips[5] ; 8. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath Jr[7]

B-Main 1 - (8 Laps)

1. 26-Kyle Lagrou[4] ; 2. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[7] ; 3. 7X-Dana Frey[8] ; 4. 83-Noah Wagner[2] ; 5. 14T-Cody Truman[11] ; 6. 11-Austin Gibson[10] ; 7. 8W-Allen White[1] ; 8. 5-Jim Mcgrath[13] ; 9. 32-Kevin Phillips[12] ; 10. 2X-Chris Bitters[5] ; 11. 0H-Derek Halka[6] ; 12. 37-Eric DeVanna[3]

A-Main 1 - (20 Laps)

1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[2] ; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[5] ; 3. 16-Jim Holcomb[6] ; 4. 1-John Brooks[12] ; 5. 4s-Keith Sorg[1] ; 6. 23m-Brad Mitten[14] ; 7. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[18] ; 8. 2-Steve Endicott[8] ; 9. 911-Mark Kachnmeister[15] ; 10. 17x-Dustin Keegan[7] ; 11. 3X-Brad Keckler[3] ; 12. 9-Curt Inks[11] ; 13. 7X-Dana Frey[19] ; 14. 115-Ben Good[13] ; 15. 5s-Brad Stuckey[10] ; 16. 83-Noah Wagner[20] ; 17. 22-Brandon Leighton[9] ; 18. 26-Kyle Lagrou[17] ; 19. P51-Paul Brown JR[16] ; 20. 0-Andy Keegan[4]
   Hard charger: 36M-Cory McCaughey +11

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