It is hard to believe some tracks are down to their last 6 weeks of racing for the 2008 season. It seems like just a few weeks ago we was on edge for opening night. There has been some real good racing so far in our region. I see no reason the season will not end that way.

Friday night it was off to Attica Raceway Park for American Power Sports of Findlay and Kears’ Speed Shop night. A stout field of 31 410 sprints and 34 305 sprints were pit side. Many All Star regulars were in the house since they had the night off. Attica always seems to draw a strong field of cars week in and week out. We really our spoiled in our are for local racing. The majority of our local tracks have good facilities, great food, and great racing. A pretty decent crowd was on hand this night. Jeremy Campbell scratched after hot laps with engine woes. Some great heat race action brought some cheers from the crowd. Byron Reed, Chad Blonde, Tim Shaffer, and Brandon Martin won the 410 heats. All were pretty decent races. Heat 3 was the loaded one and the wild one. Phil Gressman started on the pole but spun and went to the tail. Phil charged back to a 3rd place finish for a transfer spot. Loaded, yeah, Greg Wilson, Caleb Griffith, Mark Keegan, and Craig Mintz were the cars that missed the transfer spots. Attica regular Bruce Robenalt did a great job as well, starting 6th and making the transfer with Gressman, Shaffer, and Lee Jacobs. DJ Foos, Nate Dussel, Shawu Valenti, and Coty Runion won the 305 heats. A major point in that, 3 of the 4 heats were won by rookies in the 305 division. That just goes to just how strong the 305 division has became this season. JR Felver flopped over on his side in heat 4. Mike Linder won the loaded 410 B Main. Wilson charged from dead last to 2nd in the B. Caleb Griffith had bad luck streak again as he flipped in the B. Caleb is a good little racer that just seems to have very terrible luck. Chris Lang won the 305 B Main. JR Felver took his 2nd tumble of the night in the B. This one came after contact with Dustin Dinan. Dustin either had real bad timing or was in the wrong place at the wrong time all night after being involved in 3 tangles throughout the night.

Byron Reed and Brian Smith re-drew the front row for the 30 A Main. Reed took the point as the green waved. The track stayed racy as it slicked off during the A. Smith was trying to close in on Reed as a few laps past. Lap 4, John Ivy has a tire go down. Reed gets a good as Shaffer makes his move towards the lead. A the 1/3rd mark, Shaffer shows his nose to Reed. Lap 10, Reed spins off the top of 4. Shaffer is handed the lead. Shaffer has been super strong since taking over the Aaron Call 83 and looks to pocket another $2500 this night. Robenalt spins on the restart. Shaffer gets a great restart and looks like he puts it on cruise control. Smith is still strong as Martin enters the mix as well. Many eyes are shifting to a quick Greg Wilson. Wilson started 18th and is in the top 8 by the half-way mark. Shaffer is staying strong and builds a sizable lead. Shaffer is slowed on lap 23 for a Craig Mintz spin. Wilson is still on the move on the restart but, Shaffer is just too strong. Shaffer takes the win over Wilson, up from 18th, Martin, Smith, and David Harrison. The 25 lap 305 A main was an excellent race. A battle of rookies a few of the other young guns. DJ Foos started on the pole and took the lead. Foos has been getting better and better each week and it is showing. Foos, Runion, Nate Dussel, Todd Heuerman and Brad Haudenschild have a shoot-out a going. 2 and 3 wide battling upfront. Foos is keeping smooth as the laps wind down. Dussel looks the fastest but moves from 4th to 2nd, to 3rd, every other corner. Runion and Heuerman are strongly in the mix. The flagman shows 5 to go, 5 cars have a legit shot at winning this race. Foos is under heavy fire but stays focused. 2 to go, it down to Heuerman and Foos. Todd is just a few feet off DJ’s rear bumper as the white waves. Foos holds strong and takes his first ever sprint car win. Heuerman, Runion, Dussel, and Haudenschild round out the top 5. A great race. DJ’s victory lane interview was excellent. You could truly tell the kid was just overjoyed. He was so funny walking around, lost for words, and so shocked at what just happened. His best line was when he was asked about a repeat victory the next night. DJ stated, ” a guy can only take so much at one time.” A true joy to see someone really appreciate what they had just done in a race car.

After the original plans to work the All Star show in Quincy Michigan fell through due to a rain out, it was off to Waynesfield Motorsports Park. I first visited WMP last season and instantly liked the place. I am ashamed to say this was my first visit to the place in 08. 23 non-wing sprints were pit side. As usually, the action at WMP did not disappoint. This track just seems to produce side by side racing, even in the heats. Mike Miller, Josh Moffatt, and Mike Brecht, in the Peterbuilt of Northwest Ohio car, took the heat wins. Moffatt seemed to be the fastest car on the track during the heats. All Star rookie of the year contender, Lee Stark, found his way too Waynesfield as well and took the B Main win. Brecht and Moffatt make-up the front row for the 20 lap A Main. Moffatt mashed the throttle and took the lead as the green waved. Lap 2, Brandon Ferguson took a wild tumble down the back stretch, off the track by pit exit, and into a tractor sitting by pit lane. Brandon was OK. As the red waved, Shawn Westerfield had some problems and took a tumble. Restart, the battle was on. Moffatt was strong but Brecht, Matt Westfall, in his first sprint car race since a work injury, and Miller was trying to defend their Ohio turf. Moffatt built a decent by the half-way mark. Just past half-way Miller was on the move. 5 to go, Miller is on Moffatt tail tank and Westfall is just a few feet behind. Westfall gets a run but has to fall in line. Coming off 4 to complete lap 17, Miller dives under Moffatt. Josh pinches a little, Miller dives a little, contact, Moffatt spins. Miller is handed the lead. This leaves a 4 lap sprint between Miller and Westfall. Miller gets a great restart, Brecht is still a factor pressuring Westfall. Miller holds on and takes the win. Brecht, Westfall, Kyle Simon, up from 11th, and Aaron McFadden, up from 10th, round out the top 5. Jared Horstman whipped the field of 10 600 cc mini sprints. Jared won the heat by a mile and was in a different time zone in the A Main. A fair crowd was on hand. I still cannot figure out why the place is not packed each week. I have never seen a bad show there and it is the cheapest general admission anywhere around. Maybe its lack of advertising or press. Lets hope we can change that. Last week was the first time there that I have really ever seen and major dust a flying too. Reason, a 15 to 20 minute rain delay and rain all over the area, made track officials to decide lets just get this one in the books and not worry about if the track drys out some. Good effort because the show did get in the books, even with rain within miles of the place at times all night long.

Sunday, for the first time since 1999, it was off to Millstream Speedway in Findlay Ohio. Yes, finally Millstream has a race on the schedule. Thanks to Dean Miracle striking a deal with current owners, Greg and Mary Beth Roe, Millstream was set to open. Not to mention Dean working his butt off the past two months getting things in order at the track. Yes, the Roe’s played a part into getting the track open but, if Dean never stepped in, more than likely we would still be talking about if and when it would ever re-open. A huge crowd of over 7,000 fans packed the joint for the All Star sprints and 360 vs 305 challenge. Fans of all kind were present. Some were old school fans, some new generation fans, some had never seen a race before, and hell there was even late model fans there that could give 2 craps about sprint cars. All came to support the show in hopes of more racing at the once Sunday night mainstay. 43 All Star and 19 360 vs 305 cars were pit side. For a track that hasn’t seen a race in 9 years, it was in excellent condition. Yeah, the show started 40 minutes late but why? 2 reasons, 1) to allow the overflow crowd to still craw through the gates without missing much action. 2) To lay down some extra water on the track to make the surface as good as it could be on a hot windy day. Really not a huge deal on starting a little late. Plus, who knew actually what to expect since the place has not seen action in years. I will be the first to say, the show went 100 times better than I expected. Once the show got a rolling, the only stops were for the many crashes. Plus, the track stayed in great shape all night long. OK, a little dusty towards the end but very racy. I would rather see a dusty racy track any day over a dust-free non-racy track. As the first cars pulled onto the surface for hot laps, the large crowd cheered loudly. The first heat race showed all in attendance why Millstream was a fan favorite in years past. Excellent side by side, plenty of passing, racing action. Greg Wilson, Mike Dussel, Rob Chaney, and Brandon Martin won heat races. Chad Blonde was the first flip victim of the night in heat 1. Chad took a tumble on lap 1 of the heat after contact with Phil Gressman. Mike Brecht and Dain Naida took the 360/305 heat wins. Kenny Jacobs took a very nasty tumble in the Dash after contact with Blake Feese. Thankfully, the catch fence did its job and kept KJ’s ride in bounds, so to speak. A speedy recovery wish goes out to KJ. Kenny has a broken T-6 vertebra in his back. Tim Shaffer won the Dash. Chris Andrews held off Danny Smith to take the stout B Main win. Chad Goff took a ride after climbing a right rear in the B. With just 19 cars and no B, the 360 vs 305 A Main was ran first. David Harrison and Zac Kramer tumbled together off 4 on the start. All were OK. After the restart, it was all Greg Wilson. Wilson started on the pole and
put an all out butt whipping on the others. Greg lead wire to wire and lap all the way up to 6th place in the 20 lap A. Wilson won by a half track lead over Brecht, Tim Allison, Jared Horstman, and Todd Heuerman. Heuerman was the top 305 driver and received an extra $300. For the first time at Millstream since June 28th of 1998, the All Stars were pushing off their 30 lap A Main. Lance DeWease and Blake Feese got the cards to start on the front row of the A. Feese got a good run and took the lead as the green was displayed. Feese was hooked-up and running. Lap 4, Andy Shammo flipped coming off turn 4. Martin and Jamie Miller were collected in the accident. On the restart, it was all Feese. Lap 9, yellow for something on the track surface. Green, Feese opens up his lead as Blaney and Wilson start making their move towards the front. Blaney started 7th and is working into 3rd around the half-way mark. Wilson started 18th and is in the top 10. Lap 17, Butch Schroeder spins. 13 to go, Feese is strong but Blaney and Wilson are thinking otherwise. Tim Shaffer and DeWease are still in the mix as well. Each lap Blaney is getting faster and faster. He was just working the low side but switches to the high side in 3 and 4 and the low rider in 1 and 2. 10 to go, Blaney is on Blake’s rear bumper and they battle nose to tail, side by side. Lap 24, Blaney makes his move off 2 and takes the lead. Many eyes are on Wilson charge into the top 3. The low rider keeps it straight and hangs on for the win. Feese, Wilson, Shaffer, and DeWease rounded out the top 5. A real good race. Wilson from 18th to 3rd, Blaney and Feese fighting it out for the lead. Plenty of passing and good old fashion Millstream slide jobs.

Now what’s next for Millstream? Dean is working on a contract for another race in August. Late Models and stocks, maybe mods too. Whatever it is, lets hope 7000 plus show-up again. Just maybe, that will send a no-brainer signal to the Roe’s and they will get this track open for good. It don’t have to be every weekend. A nice 12 to 15 race schedule would be excellent for next season. I hope that happens but I have my doubts. There is already a laundry list of excuses of things they think they need to do different. Yes, more restrooms and food stands would be nice but hell, its a work in progress. Don’t close again because of stupid reason like that. Hell, how many weekly tracks have little to no restrooms and one food stand? I can think of 3 right now. Plus, 7000 plus fans won’t be there each and every show. If there is, what a problem to have! Count your money, give Dean more than his share, and remember the 7000 reasons to keep it a going. A 12 to 15 race schedule could be just the answer to keep it magical. It could just the right amount not bleed the weekly racers and fans too much and would allow the support to stay strong each race.

Lima Ohio’s Chad Arthur made first 1st ever sprint car start Sunday at Millstream…If everything goes right and it looks like it is, an old hero of our sport will be back behind the wheel of a sprint car this Friday night at Skyline. Could he Dew It Again in the Fenner 34 car? Dean Jacobs was aboard the Fisher Brothers 75 ride at Millstream. Dean has been racing whatever ride he can find since departing the Jessup 7k. Look for Dean to be at I-96 Friday in the Fisher 75 and KC Saturday in the Wood 8H…As reported in my Millstream results Kenny Jacobs broke T-6 in his back Sunday night. Lets hope Kenny has a speedy recovery.

UPCOMING:
Friday:
WOO I-96 MI
SOD Cherry MI

Saturday
WOO KC
SOD Merrit MI
AVSS Auto City MI
HOSS Baer Field IN
USAC Midgets Anderson 400 lap non-points race

Be Safe
Duane