Babb Makes It Five Summer Nationals Victories In A Row With Attica Win; Foos Gets Second 305 Sprint Win, Ruhlman Scores UMP Modified Victory
By Brian Liskai
(Attica, OH) Shannon Babb and Jeep Van Wormer traded the lead several times over the middle portion of the 40-lap UMP Summer Nationals Lade Model feature Friday at Attica Raceway Park . The two battled each other and lapped traffic in a classic shoot-out, but when the checkered fell, Babb had won his fifth straight “Hell Tour” event. It was the Moweaqua, Illinois driver’s eighth victory during the 22 races that have been run since over the last 29 days.
“That was a hell of a race. I knew Jeep could do it…we raced awesome right there. He was probably a little better than I was…I just got by him early when my tires had good edges on them. I think I was harder on tires and as the track started to get a little crumbs up there I actually started to go away where I couldn’t run the middle. I just kept it on the outside. It’s a pleasure to drive this Victory Circle , Petroff Towing, Donley Trucking car…it was a lot of fun,” said Babb in the Engine Pro Victory Lane .
Babb credited the hard work he and his crew put in over the winter as he races to the $25,000 Hell Tour championship.
“We stayed home this winter and we had to do something. We had to study and learn everything about our car and try to do something to get an edge. Otherwise I was going to have to give it up…my checkbook was running low,” said the “Moweaqua Missile”.
In the DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Summer Nationals event for the UMP Modifieds, Clarklake , Michigan ’s Brian Ruhlman battled hard with Zach Schroeder and Jerry Berwanger before securing the win on Central Ohio Farmers/True Value of Woodville Night at “ Ohio ’s Finest Racing” speedplant.
It wasn’t easy for Ruhlman, as his car lost a brake line early on and he had to continuously pump the brake peddle down the straights in order to have enough to set his car in the corners.
“Once we got the top cleaned off where I could rotate the middle we were pretty good. The 55 car (Schroeder) is one of my customer cars so he ran pretty good. We don’t build very many of these but everyone we have is very dominant. We have a lot of good customers out there,” said Ruhlman beside his Ruhlman Race Cars backed #49. “We actually had a brake line come loose in the staging lane. I had to pump the brakes all the way down the straight away in order to have any brakes to get in the corner so it was kind of a struggle inside the car.”
“I want to thank my crew guy Mark Schneider…he busts his butts. It’s just him and I running two cars (late model and modified)…he makes it possible,” added Ruhlman.
In the Fremont Fence 305 Sprint feature, defending track champion D.J. Foos blasted around early leader Junior Felver on lap four and never looked back as he went on to claim his second win of the season and 10th career victory at Attica.
“I tried to give that away a couple times…I didn’t know how close anyone was and I wanted this one more than anyone else here. I figured I’d just drive the wheels off it until I won or crashed,” said Foos, who, on several occasions jumped the slim top side cushion.
“We’ve been in a dry spell…we haven’t even been running decent here so this is awesome,” added Foos, who won on opening night in his Burger King, Buckshot Farms, Pit Stop Carryout, Level Performance backed #11F.
The battle for the lead heated right back up when the green came back out with Jack Sullivan and Scott James joining Unzicker in applying pressure to Babb and Van Wormer.
By lap 10, Babb had pulled away slightly while Van Wormer had his hands full with Unzicker, Sullivan and James. Babb would encounter lapped traffic by the 16th circuit and this allowed Van Wormer, Unzicker and Scott to close quickly. By the half-way point, Van Wormer was once again racing side-by-side with Babb with Unzicker, Scott and Sullivan right there. With lapped machines racing side-by-side in front of them, Babb, Van Wormer and Unzicker put on a driving clinic, slicing and dicing their way through as they also battled each other.
Van Wormer would use the lapped cars to steal the lead on lap 25 as Babb continued to race to his outside with Unzicker right on the back fender of Van Wormer. Babb would use the cushion to drive back into the lead on lap 29, but Van Wormer and Unzicker didn’t give up, running right inside of the leader. Meanwhile six-time Attica winner Jon Henry was on the move from eighth starting spot, moving into the top five with Dennis Erb Jr following.
With five laps to go Babb, Van Wormer and Unzicker had cleared traffic and Babb pulled away slightly with Sullivan, Henry and Erb in tow. Babb would go on to record his first ever Attica win over Van Wormer, Unzicker, Sullivan, Henry and Urb. James, Matt Miller, Doug Drown and Jason Riggs.
By the fourth circuit, Roberts began racing to Schroeder’s outside for the lead with Gokee moving into third followed by John McClure and ninth-place starter Ruhlman. Griffith would spin again on lap six to bring out the caution. On the restart Schroeder and Roberts would resume their great battle for the lead with Ruhlman moving into third. With eight laps in the books it was now a three car battle for the lead between Schroeder, Roberts and Ruhlman.
Following a lap 10 caution for Bowersox, Ruhlman, who a lap earlier had taken second, would drive around Schroeder for the lead on the restart. But, Schroeder wasn’t about to give up as he fought back on the bottom to regain the lead a lap later. On lap 13, Ruhlman would sling-shot back around Schroeder. Meanwhile Jerry Berwanger, who started 16th, had steadily worked his way through the pack and took third on.
Following the event’s final caution on lap 13 for a Brooks spin, Ruhlman would use the clear track and the middle racing groove to pull away from the tremendous battle for second between Schroeder and Berwanger. As Ruhlman ran comfortably out front, Berwanger would steal second on lap 17 with Schroeder, McClure, Keeler and Hull – who had charged from the rear following his opening lap tangle.
Ruhlman would hit lapped traffic with three laps to go, as Berwanger had a war with Schroeder for second. Ruhlman would pull away for the win with Schroeder regaining second in the last three laps while Berwanger would settle for third. McClure, Hull , Roberts, Gokee, Keeler, Brian Post and Jeff Sayles would round out the top 10.
The caution would fly on lap five for Keegan as Felver stopped on the high side of turn four, ending his great run as he rejoined the field at the tail. On the ensuing restart, Foos would check out as Keckler battled 10th-place starter Stuart Brubaker for second with Kramer, Ferrell and Paige Polyak in pursuit. Jamie Miller would bring out the caution on lap eight. Foos would storm back into the lead on the restart with Brubaker moving into second. Kramer would bring out a caution on lap 11 with the running order Foos, Brubaker, Keckler, Ferrell, Polyak, Steve Rando and Nate Dussel.
Again Foos would pull away in the lead on the restart as Brubaker cruised in second. Meanwhile, Rando and Dussel would blast their way into third and four by lap 14. The final caution would fly on lap 16 for a Nate Reeser spin. Foos would flirt with disaster several times the remaining nine laps, bobbling up against the thin cushion in turns three and four. Rando would take second from Brubaker on lap 18 and closed slightly on Foos as Dussel grabbed third on lap 22. Foos would take the checkered by three car lengths over Rando with Dussel, Brubaker, Polyak, Dustin Dinan, Jimmy Colvin, Josh Muntz, Dan Hammond (up from 17th and Keckler rounding out the top 10.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, July 22 for Bud Light Night with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints, Fultz Fabrications and Speed Shop UMP Late Models, Fremont Fence 305 Sprints and Computer Man Dirt Trucks in action. For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com.
Attica Raceway Park - 7/15/2011
Central Ohio Farmers/ True Value of Woodville Night
UMP DIRTcar Late Models (38 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 - Engine Pro (10 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 24-Ryan Unzicker[1] ; 2. 81-Scott James[3] ; 3. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr.[2] ; 4. 3-Rick DeLong[4] ; 5. WD40-Dusty Moore [5] ; 6. 8-Craig Vosbergen[6] ; 7. 27-Ken Hahn[7] ; 8. 69-John Mayes Jr.[8] ; 9. 5H-Ernie Haynes[9] ; 10. 12M-Ky Harper[10]
Heat 2 - Ultra Schield Race Products (10 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 1S-Jack Sullivan[2] ; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1] ; 3. 51-Matt Furman[3] ; 4. 28S-Rody Schroyer[6] ; 5. 48B-John Bores[5] ; 6. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.[9] ; 7. 12S-Michael Stiltner Jr.[7] ; 8. 77-Steve Kester[8] ; 9. O1-Justin Chance[4]
Heat 3 - Bell Racing (10 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 18-Shannon Babb[2] ; 2. 7M-Matt Miller[1] ; 3. 81JR-Jason Riggs[4] ; 4. 1N-Casey Noonan[3] ; 5. 49-Brian Ruhlman[5] ; 6. 29-Rocky Owens[7] ; 7. 36-Matt Irey[8] ; 8. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[6] ; 9. O6-Kyle Perry[9]
Heat 4 - Friendship Food Stores (10 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 55-Jeep VanWormer[1] ; 2. 15H-John Henry[2] ; 3. 54-Dillon White[6] ; 4. 1JD-Doug Drown[9] ; 5. 50Y-Ryan Missler[5] ; 6. 15B-Mike Bores[3] ; 7. 30-Nate Potts[8] ; 8. 21-Larry Kingseed[7] ; 9. 51S-Devin Shiels[4]
C-Main - Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps - Top 4 finishers transfer to the B-feature)
1. O1-Justin Chance[6] ; 2. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[3] ; 3. 77-Steve Kester[2] ; 4. 51S-Devin Shiels[8] ; 5. 21-Larry Kingseed[4] ; 6. 69-John Mayes Jr.[1] ; 7. 12M-Ky Harper[9] ; 8. O6-Kyle Perry[7] ; 9. 5H-Ernie Haynes[5]
B-Main - Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps - Top 2 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 49-Brian Ruhlman[3] ; 2. WD40-Dusty Moore [1] ; 3. 29-Rocky Owens[7] ; 4. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.[6] ; 5. 77-Steve Kester[15] ; 6. 95J-Jerry Bowersock[14] ; 7. 27-Ken Hahn[9] ; 8. 30-Nate Potts[12] ; 9. 12S-Michael Stiltner Jr.[10] ; 10. 15B-Mike Bores[8] ; 11. O1-Justin Chance[13] ; 12. 36-Matt Irey[11] ; 13. 8-Craig Vosbergen[5] ; 14. 48B-John Bores[2] ; 15. 50Y-Ryan Missler[4]
A-Main - (40 Laps)
1. 18-Shannon Babb[4]; 2. 55-Jeep VanWormer[2]; 3. 24-Ryan Unzicker[1]; 4. 1S-Jack Sullivan[3]; 5. 15H-John Henry[8]; 6. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr.[9]; 7. 81-Scott James[5]; 8. 7M-Matt Miller[7]; 9. 1JD-Doug Drown[14]; 10. 81JR-Jason Riggs[11]; 11. 28S-Rody Schroyer[12]; 12. 1N-Casey Noonan[15]; 13. 54-Dillon White[22]; 14. WD40-Dusty Moore [16]; 15. 50Y-Ryan Missler[21]; 16. 8-Craig Vosbergen[19]; 17. 77-Steve Kester[20]; 18. B5-Brandon Sheppard[6]; 19. 51S-Devin Shiels[18]; 20. 49-Brian Ruhlman[17]; 21. 3-Rick DeLong[13]; 22. 51-Matt Furman[10]
Hard Charger: 54-Dillon White[+9]
Fremont Fence 305 Sprints (24 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 - Engine Pro (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[5] ; 3. 36X-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 4. 25-Jason Keckler[3] ; 5. 8J-Jess Stiger[4] ; 6. 22D-Dan Hammond [6] ; 7. 4M-Jamie Miller[7] ; 8. 55-Jim Cushing[8]
Heat 2 - Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 27-Paige Polyak[3] ; 2. 19R-Steve Rando[4] ; 3. 67M-Matt Ferrell[1] ; 4. 9-Jimmy Colvin[6] ; 5. M28-Josh Muntz[7] ; 6. 83X-Nate Reeser[5] ; 7. 5R-Jordan Ryan[8] ; 8. 1W-Paul Weaver[2]
Heat 3 - Bell Racing (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 11F-D.J. Foos[8] ; 2. 5-Dustin Dinan[2] ; 3. 8K-Zack Kramer[5] ; 4. 13-Junior Felver[4] ; 5. 36-Seth Schneider[1] ; 6. 49-Cody Runion[3] ; 7. 51-Dave Saxer[6] ; 8. 72C-Ross Moore [7]
B-Main - Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 4M-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 22D-Dan Hammond [1] ; 3. 83X-Nate Reeser[2] ; 4. 5R-Jordan Ryan[5] ; 5. 51-Dave Saxer[6] ; 6. 55-Jim Cushing[7] ; 7. 72C-Ross Moore [9] ; 8. 49-Cody Runion[3]
A-Main - (25 Laps)
1. 11F-D.J. Foos[2]; 2. 19R-Steve Rando[6]; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[9]; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[10]; 5. 27-Paige Polyak[12]; 6. 5-Dustin Dinan[8]; 7. 9-Jimmy Colvin[11]; 8. M28-Josh Muntz[14]; 9. 22D-Dan Hammond [17]; 10. 25-Jason Keckler[1]; 11. 36X-Dustin Keegan[7]; 12. 8K-Zack Kramer[3]; 13. 13-Junior Felver[4]; 14. 67M-Matt Ferrell[5]; 15. 51-Dave Saxer[20]; 16. 5R-Jordan Ryan[19]; 17. 36-Seth Schneider[15]; 18. 83X-Nate Reeser[18]; 19. 4M-Jamie Miller[16]; 20. 8J-Jess Stiger[13]
Hard Charger: 22D-Dan Hammond [+8]
UMP Modifieds (27 Modifieds)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 - Engine Pro (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 40-Terry Hull [3] ; 2. 49-Brian Ruhlman[4] ; 3. 55S-Zach Schroeder[5] ; 4. 5X-Jerry Bowersox[8] ; 5. 1M-John McClure[9] ; 6. 6-Dave Sibberson[2] ; 7. 6X-Brad Crose[7]
Heat 2 - Ultra Schield Race Products (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 45P-Brian Post[4] ; 2. O-Brent Hole[1] ; 3. OO-John Brooks[8] ; 4. 73-Rick Gokee[6] ; 5. 31J-Ray Jackson [5] ; 6. 55H-Jeremy Honie[3] ; 7. 29-Gary pope[9] ; 8. 27-Alan Kimberlin[2] ; 9. 1-Brian Przepiora[7]
Heat 3 - Bell Racing (8 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 555-Justin Coulter[1] ; 2. 17-Brad Roberts[2] ; 3. 20K-Bill Keeler[7] ; 4. 1S-Jeff Sayles[4] ; 5. O4-Bill Griffith [3] ; 6. XW-Dustin Wheeler[6] ; 7. OOS-Satch Crispen[9] ; 8. K9-Scott Gerdeman[5] ; 9. X-Jerry Berwanger[8]
B-Main - Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps - Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. X-Jerry Berwanger[10] ; 2. 1-Brian Przepiora[9] ; 3. 55H-Jeremy Honie[2] ; 4. 67-Eddie Shaner[11] ; 5. 6X-Brad Crose[4] ; 6. 6-Dave Sibberson[1] ; 7. 29-Gary pope[5] ; 8. 27-Alan Kimberlin[7] ; 9. XW-Dustin Wheeler[3]
A-Main - (25 Laps)
1. 49-Brian Ruhlman[9]; 2. 55S-Zach Schroeder[1]; 3. X-Jerry Berwanger[16]; 4. 1M-John McClure[13]; 5. 40-Terry Hull [10]; 6. 17-Brad Roberts[3]; 7. 73-Rick Gokee[4]; 8. 20K-Bill Keeler[6]; 9. 45P-Brian Post[12]; 10. 1S-Jeff Sayles[8]; 11. O-Brent Hole[5]; 12. 67-Eddie Shaner[19]; 13. 1-Brian Przepiora[17]; 14. OO-John Brooks[2]; 15. 55H-Jeremy Honie[18]; 16. 6X-Brad Crose[20]; 17. 31J-Ray Jackson [14]; 18. 5X-Jerry Bowersox[11]; 19. O4-Bill Griffith [15]; 20. 555-Justin Coulter[7]
Hard Charger: X-Jerry Berwanger[+13]
©2011 - Results Provided by: Computer Man Inc. Fremont, OH