Stevie Smith Claims Attica Ambush; Schlenk Takes 6th UMP Late Model Win; Dible Nabs Trucks
By Brian Liskai
(Attica, OH) Stevie Smith has a lot to smile about. He came into the pits at Attica Raceway Park on the Baumann Auto Group Attica Ambush race on Saturday with a smile on his face, and he left with a smile after taking the 40-lap O'Reilly All Star Circuit of Champion Sprint Car feature event to close out the 2009 season at "Ohio's Finest Racing" speedplant.
"I've got to tell you...these guys have been remarkable to race for this year. They have stepped up their program...I'm not one of the greatest sprint car drivers in the world, but they make me look like that," said Smith of his Zemco Speed Equipment, Zemco Headers backed team. "We started the year strong...they believed in me and have gone above and beyond what anyone could have expected."
Smith benefitted from clear track on several restarts and held off Sam Hafertepe Jr. to claim his fourth career Attica victory.
"I really liked that clear track on those restarts... I don't know how it would have been in traffic...they all would have had to deal with it, but in clean air, this thing was awesome," said Smith.
Jackson, Michigan's Rusty Schlenk is having a dream season at Attica in the Fultz Fabrications and Speed Shop UMP Late Models, and it continued Saturday. It looked like newly crowned track champion Ryan Missler had his fourth victory of the year wrapped up, but mechanical woes sidelined him with three laps to go, civing Schlenk the lead which he held for his sixth feature win of 2009 at Attica.
"I don't know what happed to Ryan... he has us covered but that's how things have been happening for us this year. We're getting ready for the big races at Eldora and we tried some things, but no one was going to beat Ryan," said Schlenk beside his Complete Truck Repair, Main and Company, C.J. Rayburn Race Cars backed late model.
"We've had a horrible year. Things have happened while being up front... parts have broken... just weird stuff. Tonight, I got out front and I was waiting for something bad to happen...but it didn't. Then, I almost screwed up on the cushion, but we finally put it all together," said Dible beside his Bob's Machine Shop, BMS Engines backed truck.
At the drop of the green for the 40-lap All Star feature, Smith grabbed thelead with Hafertepe, Phil Gressman an rookie Daron Clayton in tow. The first of several cautions would fly on lap five with Smith over a great battle for second between Hafertepe, Clayton, Gressman and Craig Mintz. Another yellow would fly on lap nine, with Smith trying to hold off a challenge from Clayton.
Everytime Smith would get mired in traffic, the caution would fly, this one coming on lap 14. On each restart Smith would pull away while Clayton, Hafertepe, Gressman, Chad Kemenah, Byron Red and David Gravel would wage a torrid battle behind. Smith would hit the back-markers by lap 14, allowing Clayton to cloe, but, again, on lap 19 another yellow would fly, this time for Brandon Wimmer. Two laps later, the race would come to a half for a Jimmy Stinson flip on the front stretch.
Newly crowned Attica champion Chris Andrews would bring the action to a halt with a tip-over on lap 25 with the running order Smith, Hafertepe, Clayton, Reed, Gressman, Brock Mayes, Dale Blaney and Chad Kemenah.
The race would go green the rest of the distance as Smith pulled away with a clear track. Meanwhile, Hafertepe, Reed, Clayton, Blaney and Mayes fought hard for the second spot.
The final caution would fly on lap 38, and on the ensuing restart, Blaney would take the third spot from Reed while Smith pulled away fo the win. Hafertepe would grab second while Blaney, Reed and Clayton would round out the top five.
"I screwed up on a couple of those restarts. But, Charlie Fisher's horsepower has turned my year around," said Hafertepe beside his G-H Plumbing, Keiser Wheels backed #15H.
Blaney, who started 12th, was greatful for his late race run.
"I messed up earlier on, but I knew once I got to the feature, I had a good race car," said Blaney beside his Ti22 Performance backed George Fisher Racing backed #2. "We just kept digging all night."
Cautions would slow the action on lap six and nine. Missler would pull away each time on the restart while Schlenk, Markham and Coffman raced hard for second. Back-to-back cautions on lap 16 and 17 would slow the action, but again, each time, Missler would pull away for the lead. Schlenk would take sole possession of second, but had nothing for Missler, as Jason Flory would chage into third while Markham and Coffman rounded out the top five.
With three laps to go, it looked like Missler had his fourth victory, but something would break on his 50Y, sending him to the pits and giving the lead to Schlenk.
Schlenk would go to the victory with Flory charging into second and Markham, Shiels and Dave Hornikel rounding out the top five.
Dible lead all 15 laps of the dirt truck main, but Dan Hennig raced side-by-side with him the last 10 laps. At the checkered, Dible had a truck length advantage over Hennig, Art Ball, Brian Arnold and Alex Weichman.
Attica Raceway Park - 9/5/2009
Attica Ambush: Baumann Auto Group Night
All Star Circuit of Champions
Qualifying -
1. 11B-Brock Mayes, 12.086; 2. 1-Stevie Smith, 12.099; 3. 92-Daron Clayton, 12.111; 4. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.164; 5. 53-Phil Gressman, 12.179; 6. 2-Dale Blaney, 12.241; 7. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.263; 8. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 12.290; 9. 89G-David Gravel, 12.341; 10. 9X-Brandon Martin, 12.344; 11. 15C-Chris Andrews, 12.362; 12. X-Mark Keegan, 12.376; 13. 35-Chad Kemenah, 12.376; 14. 4-Danny Smith, 12.383; 15. 84-Jimmy Stinson, 12.425; 16. O-Brandon Wimmer, 12.453; 17. 78-Todd Kane, 12.458; 18. 1X-Randy Hannagan, 12.465; 19. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.469; 20. 25-Lee Jacobs, 12.476; 21. 1R-Chad Blonde, 12.484; 22. 51-Aaron Higgins, 12.497; 23. 7K-Rob Chaney, 12.500; 24. 12-Caleb Griffith, 12.542; 25. 83-Tim Shaffer, 12.544; 26. 47-Caleb Helms, 12.560; 27. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.610; 28. 15X-Mitch Harble, 12.623; 29. 5T-Travis Philo, 12.624; 30. 6-Bill Rose, 12.657; 31. 60-Jody Keegan, 12.693; 32. 1B-Keith Baxter, 12.702; 33. 312-Mike Linder, 12.733; 34. 14H-Todd Heller, 12.778; 35. 6R-Ryan Bunton, 12.849; 36. O6-Brandy Bower, 13.469; 37. 1K-Josh Keegan, 14.531; 38. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 99.000
Heat 1 - Ultra Schield Race Products (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 89G-David Gravel; 2. 35-Chad Kemenah; 3. 1R-Chad Blonde; 4. 78-Todd Kane; 5. 53-Phil Gressman; 6. 83-Tim Shaffer; 7. 5T-Travis Philo; 8. 1K-Josh Keegan; 9. 11B-Brock Mayes; 10. 312-Mike Linder
Heat 2 - Bell Racing (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 51-Aaron Higgins; 2. 4-Danny Smith; 3. 9X-Brandon Martin; 4. 1-Stevie Smith; 5. 1X-Randy Hannagan; 6. 2-Dale Blaney; 7. 14H-Todd Heller; 8. 6-Bill Rose; 9. 47-Caleb Helms
Heat 3 - Friendship Food Stores (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 15C-Chris Andrews; 2. 7K-Rob Chaney; 3. W20-Greg Wilson; 4. 5R-Byron Reed; 5. 92-Daron Clayton; 6. 6R-Ryan Bunton; 7. 60-Jody Keegan
Heat 4 - Tin Lizzy Collision (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. O-Brandon Wimmer; 2. 12-Caleb Griffith; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.; 4. 25-Lee Jacobs; 5. O9-Craig Mintz; 6. X-Mark Keegan; 7. 15X-Mitch Harble; 8. 1B-Keith Baxter; 9. O6-Brandy Bower
Dash - (6 Laps - Top - Transfer)
1. 92-Daron Clayton; 2. 89G-David Gravel; 3. 1-Stevie Smith; 4. O-Brandon Wimmer; 5. 4-Danny Smith
B-Main - Computer Man Inc. (15 Laps - Top 4 Transfer)
1. 11B-Brock Mayes; 2. 84-Jimmy Stinson; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer; 4. 2-Dale Blaney; 5. 6-Bill Rose; 6. X-Mark Keegan; 7. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 8. 60-Jody Keegan; 9. 15X-Mitch Harble; 10. O6-Brandy Bower; 11. 1K-Josh Keegan; 12. 5T-Travis Philo; 13. 14H-Todd Heller; 14. 1B-Keith Baxter; 15. 47-Caleb Helms; 16. 6R-Ryan Bunton
A-Main - (40 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 1-Stevie Smith[2]; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[1]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[12]; 4. 5R-Byron Reed[5]; 5. 92-Daron Clayton[6]; 6. 83-Tim Shaffer[24]; 7. 11B-Brock Mayes[11]; 8. 35-Chad Kemenah[10]; 9. 53-Phil Gressman[4]; 10. O9-Craig Mintz[3]; 11. 4-Danny Smith[13]; 12. W20-Greg Wilson[18]; 13. 89G-David Gravel[7]; 14. 1X-Randy Hannagan[17]; 15. 15C-Chris Andrews[9]; 16. 51-Aaron Higgins[21]; 17. 7K-Rob Chaney[22]; 18. 84-Jimmy Stinson[14]; 19. 12-Caleb Griffith[23]; 20. O-Brandon Wimmer[15]; 21. 9X-Brandon Martin[8]; 22. 78-Todd Kane[16]; 23. 25-Lee Jacobs[19]; 24. 1R-Chad Blonde[20]
Fultz Fabrications & Speed Shop UMP DIRTcar Late Models
Heat 1 - Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 2C-Clint Coffman; 2. 71-Dave Hornikel; 3. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.; 4. 27-Ken Hahn; 5. 92-Brandon Perkins; 6. 18-Jamie Reed; 7. 12M-Bobby Michaels; 8. 171-Mark Pollack; 9. 1DJ-D.J. Miller
Heat 2 - Bell Racing (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 50Y-Ryan Missler; 2. 92X-J.R. Gentry; 3. 91-Rusty Schlenk; 4. 51-Devin Shiels; 5. 48-John Bores; 6. U2-Kristin Flory; 7. 29-Nate Potts; 8. O3-Jim Gingery; 9. 99-Steve Sabo
Heat 3 - Friendship Food Stores (8 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. 23C-Jeremy Canada; 2. 79-Ryan Markham; 3. O2-Jason Flory; 4. 48B-Mike Marteney; 5. 15B-Mike Bores; 6. 5H-Ernie Haynes; 7. 69-John Mayes Jr.; 8. 92H-Hiram Bachmann; 9. 12-Michael Stiltner
B-Main - Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps - Top 5 Transfer)
1. U2-Kristin Flory; 2. 5H-Ernie Haynes; 3. 69-John Mayes Jr.; 4. 41-Randy Pollock; 5. 12M-Bobby Michaels; 6. O3-Jim Gingery; 7. 92H-Hiram Bachmann; 8. 171-Mark Pollack; 9. 12-Michael Stiltner; 10. 29-Nate Potts; 11. 18-Jamie Reed
A-Main - (25 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 91-Rusty Schlenk[3]; 2. O2-Jason Flory[7]; 3. 79-Ryan Markham[8]; 4. 51-Devin Shiels[2]; 5. 71-Dave Hornikel[5]; 6. U2-Kristin Flory[16]; 7. 27-Ken Hahn[9]; 8. 2C-Clint Coffman[4]; 9. 48-John Bores[14]; 10. 41-Randy Pollock[19]; 11. 5H-Ernie Haynes[17]; 12. 50Y-Ryan Missler[1]; 13. 48B-Mike Marteney[10]; 14. 23C-Jeremy Canada[11]; 15. 92X-J.R. Gentry[12]; 16. 69-John Mayes Jr.[18]; 17. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.[6]; 18. O3-Jim Gingery[20]; 19. 15B-Mike Bores[15]; 20. 92-Brandon Perkins[13]
Computer Man Dirt Trucks
Heat 1 - Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps)
1. P51-Paul Brown Jr.; 2. 32H-Dan Hennig; 3. 33-Brian Arnold; 4. 84-Russ Stahl; 5. 71-Craig Holland; 6. 9-Roger Inks; 7. 5F-Skeeter Fitch; 8. 4S-Keith Sorg; 9. 21R-Dustin Keegan
Heat 2 - Bell Racing (8 Laps)
1. 39-Dwight Waltermier; 2. O1-Art Ball; 3. 17-Bob Dible; 4. 56-Alex Weichman; 5. O-Jim Keegan; 6. 4X-Brian Sorg; 7. 4J-Josh Lozano; 8. 8K-Aaron McClure; 9. 4-Donald Fitch
A-Main - (15 Laps) [#]-Starting Position
1. 17-Bob Dible[1]; 2. 32H-Dan Hennig[3]; 3. O1-Art Ball[4]; 4. 33-Brian Arnold[6]; 5. 56-Alex Weichman[2]; 6. O-Jim Keegan[10]; 7. 4X-Brian Sorg[12]; 8. 8K-Aaron McClure[16]; 9. 71-Craig Holland[9]; 10. 84-Russ Stahl[7]; 11. 9-Roger Inks[11]; 12. 4-Donald Fitch[18]; 13. P51-Paul Brown Jr.[8]; 14. 4S-Keith Sorg[15]; 15. 21R-Dustin Keegan[17]; 16. 39-Dwight Waltermier[5]; 17. 4J-Josh Lozano[14]; 18. 5F-Skeeter Fitch[13]