By Brian Liskai: ATTICA, Ohio – Byron Reed put on a dominating performance at Attica Raceway Park Friday, Aug. 19. The Monclova, Ohio driver lead all 30 laps for his third 410 sprint win of the year at the track.
The win pads Reed’s point lead as he heads into next week’s championship night as he looks to wrap up his eighth title at Attica in the past 14 years. It also increases his lead in the Kistler Racing Products FAST Championship Series presented by KS Sales and Service as he looks to score his fourth such title and its $10,000 payday.
The victory on NBC 24 WNWO/UBS Financial Services Night was the 34th of Reed’s career at Attica and was his fifth FAST win of 2016.
“Other than searching a little bit in one and two to find out where was best. Overall it was a good night. I want to thank Crown Battery and Ken Gill Construction and my crew,” said Reed in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.
Like nearly every racer in the country, Reed expressed his condolences to the family of Bryan Clauson, who died last week from injuries sustained in a racing incident.
“I’m not a big guy on all this social media stuff…I really didn’t know Bryan Clauson but he is a tough one to lose. I got to talk with him quite a bit during speedweek so to hear of his death was gut wrenching. So in his honor I guess I #parkedit to add to that 200 list for him,” Reed added.
Fremont, Ohio’s Matt Foos, who was Attica’s dirt truck champion in 2015, would hold off Nate Dussel in the Fremont Fence 305 sprints to earn his first career sprint car victory. It wasn’t easy for the rookie, who had to survive a restart with seven laps remaining.
“I pull up and look on the big screen and see the 1 behind me…whenever it’s the 1 or the 1W you better be on you’re ‘A’ game. I knew the top was better and I knew if I didn’t let him slide me on that restart I’d be alright. It was just maintain, maintain. This feels as good as my first dirt truck win. I have to thank Farmer (Rich) my car owner and Dennis Level builds a bad ass motor and Automatic Fire Protection. I have my dad working on my car,” said Foos in victory lane.
Paul Weaver would drive from 14th to a seventh place finish to maintain his lead in the JLH General Contractor 305 FAST Series presented by Engine Pro standings.
Wooster, Ohio’s Doug Drown took the lead on lap four of the 25 lap Summit Racing Equipment UMP late Model feature and then held off a charging Ryan Markham to score his sixth win of the year at Attica. His 19th career win at the track was his 14th overall victory of 2016.
“We were really good all night so we put on tires for like Eldora where you can’t do anything to them. I wanted to see how they would work. Gives us a little bit of a feel for what we need to do at Eldora. You have to take advantage of the opportunities to test and that’s what we did tonight. We’re trying to figure some things out so when the big guys come we can compete and represent our area very well,” said Drown beside his Halls Auto Sales; Malcuit Racing Engines; Nationwide Vehicle Protection; Wooster Glass; Kar Konnections backed #240.
“I have to thank Leon Hall for everything and Keith Berner who has been helping me out with the shocks…a very informative guy. Dan, Steve, Scott, Dad and Woody from Australia…he’s been helping me all week. I’ll be sad when I lose him in a few weeks,” added Drown.
Fostoria, Ohio’s Shawn Valenti would take the lead from Matt Foos on lap 11 and drove to his 10th career dirt truck victory at Attica. Valenti now has seven overall dirt truck wins in 2016, having racked up six at Fremont Speedway.
“Jeff Babcock worked hard to put this thing back together after we crashed it a couple of weeks ago. He found some stuff and believe it or not the truck is better,” said Valenti beside his Dave Story Equipment; Craig Miller Trucking; KS Sales & Service; Real Geese Decoys backed machine.
For the 30 lap O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprint feature, Reed and Caleb Griffith brought the field to green with Reed gaining the advantage. The first 20 laps of the feature went caution free which allowed Reed to pull away. Meanwhile Griffith and Broc Martin battled for second with D.J. Foos, Trey Jacobs, Jody Keegan and Travis Philo giving chase.
Reed caught the rear of the field on lap seven but was able to work his way through the lapped traffic to maintain a sizeable lead. Just as Reed was set to encounter heavy lapped traffic the caution flew on lap 20. On the ensuing restart Martin would pounce on Griffith for second as Phil bolted from sixth to fourth.
The second and final caution flew on lap 24 with Reed leading Martin, Philo, Griffith, Chris Andrews (from 18th), Foos, Keegan and Jacobs. When the green flew so did Reed, pulling away for the win. Martin, Philo, Griffith and Andrews rounded out the top five.
Cody Bova and James Taddeo brought the field to green for the 25 lap 305 sprint feature with Bova leading the first circuit over Dustin Dinan, Taddeo, Matt Foos and Tyler Street. Dinan powered into the lead on the second lap with Foos taking over third a lap later.
As Dinan began to pull away, Foos would steal second on lap six with Bova trying to hold off Trevor Baker, Taddeo, Nate Dussel and Street. A caution on lap seven would put Foos right on Dinan’s bumper and when the green flew the two waged a terrific battle for the lead. The car on the move though was Dussel who took fifth on the restart and moved to third by lap 11.
While most of the field utilized the bottom groove Foos rim-rode into the lead on lap 12 and began pulling away. Dussel grabbed the runner-up spot on lap 18 just as the caution came out. On the restart Dussel attempted a slider in turns one and two but Foos was too strong on the high side and maintained the lead.
Foos would pull away slightly from Dussel and drove to the win. Dan McCarron charged from 12th to a third place finish with Dinan and 15th place start Alvin Roepke rounding out the top five.
Rookie Kent Brewer and Brett Miller led the field to green for the 25 lap late model feature but a multi-car tangle necessitated a complete restart. On the next try Brewer gained the advantage over Miller, Drown, Ken Hahn, John Mayes Jr., Cody Scott and Dave Hornikel.
Drown charged into second on the second circuit and immediately pressured Brewer for the lead. Drown finally took the top spot on lap four and pulled away as Brewer had his hands full with Hahn while Scott and 9th starter Ryan Markham battled for fourth. Markham drove from fourth to second on lap eight.
As Drown encountered lapped traffic by lap 11, Markham closed with Hahn, Scott, Hornikel and 13th starter Matt Irey giving chase. The second and last caution flew on lap 17 with Drown leading Markham, Hahn, Scott, Irey and 17th starter Devin Shiels.
When the green reappeared Drown could not shake Markham who ran just off his rear bumper with Hahn and Irey locked in a great battle for third. Drown made no mistakes and drove to the win over Markham, Hahn, Irey and Schiels.
At the drop of the green for the 15 lap dirt truck feature it was outside front row starter Matt Foos grabbing the lead over Keith Sorg, Brad Stuckey, Dustin Keegan and Jeff Ward. The caution flew on lap four with Foos leading Sorg, Stuckey, Keegan and 9th starter Valenti. After a lap was completed after the ensuing restart Sorg would spin, handing second to Stuckey.
Foos would begin to pull away as Stuckey battled with Keegan while Valenti, Ward, Dana Fry and Brian Melnek gave chase. Valenti took third on lap six and drove around Stuckey for second a circuit later. Valenti started taking huge bites out of Foos’ lead and was able to drive under the leader for the top spot on lap 11 just before the caution flew.
When the green reappeared Valenti drove away as Keegan grabbed second. Keegan stayed within striking distance but Valenti was just too strong and took the win. Foos came home third with Stuckey and Ward rounding out the top five. Cory McCaughey had the drive of the night, coming from 19th to a sixth place finish.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action, Friday, Aug. 26 on Kistler Racing Products/Jon Wright’s Custom Chrome Plating presents the Mark Keegan Classic. It is championship night with double points on the line for the 410 and 305 sprints and late models. The dirt trucks will also be in action.
For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com
Attica Raceway Park
Friday, Aug. 19, 2016
WNWO Channel 24/UBS Financial Services Night
Starting position [*]
410 Sprints – O’Reilly Auto Parts
Qualifying
1.73-Chris Andrews, 12.350; 2.5R-Byron Reed, 12.371; 3.23-DJ Foos, 12.517; 4.83M-Broc Martin, 12.552; 5.16-Stuart Brubaker, 12.554; 6.60-Jody Keegan, 12.558; 7.5T-Travis Philo, 12.634; 8.3J-Trey Jacobs, 12.657; 9.17-Jared Horstman, 12.679; 10.33M-Caleb Griffith, 12.686; 11.9X-Cole Duncan, 12.692; 12.09-Craig Mintz, 12.703; 13.97-Dean Jacobs, 12.758; 14.68G-Tyler Gunn, 12.789; 15.7-Shawn Valenti, 12.836; 16.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.941; 17.45L-Brian Lay, 12.956; 18.8J-Jess Stiger, 13.016; 19.9-Jordan Ryan, 13.063; 20.8-Kevin Shelbo, 13.414;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 17-Jared Horstman[1] ; 2. 5R-Byron Reed[3] ; 3. 23-DJ Foos[2] ; 4. 68G-Tyler Gunn[6] ; 5. 9X-Cole Duncan[5] ; 6. 8-Kevin Shelbo[7] ; 7. 73-Chris Andrews[4]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 09-Craig Mintz[1] ; 2. 33M-Caleb Griffith[2] ; 3. 3J-Trey Jacobs[3] ; 4. 60-Jody Keegan[4] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5] ; 6. 9-Jordan Ryan[7] ; 7. 8J-Jess Stiger[6]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 2. 83M-Broc Martin[4] ; 3. 45L-Brian Lay[5] ; 4. 7-Shawn Valenti[6] ; 5. 97-Dean Jacobs[1] ; 6. 16-Stuart Brubaker[3]
A-Main 1 – (30 Laps)
1. 5R-Byron Reed[1] ; 2. 83M-Broc Martin[3] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[10] ; 4. 33M-Caleb Griffith[2] ; 5. 73-Chris Andrews[20] ; 6. 3J-Trey Jacobs[4] ; 7. 23-DJ Foos[6] ; 8. 45L-Brian Lay[8] ; 9. 60-Jody Keegan[5] ; 10. 09-Craig Mintz[7] ; 11. 9-Jordan Ryan[15] ; 12. 16-Stuart Brubaker[19] ; 13. 68G-Tyler Gunn[11] ; 14. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[12] ; 15. 8J-Jess Stiger[18] ; 16. 7-Shawn Valenti[13] ; 17. 17-Jared Horstman[9] ; 18. 8-Kevin Shelbo[17] ; 19. 9X-Cole Duncan[14]
Hard Charger: 73-Chris Andrews +15
305 Sprints – Fremont Fence
Heat 1 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 97-Kyle Peters[1] ; 2. 4*-Tyler Street[2] ; 3. 11G-Luke Griffith[4] ; 4. 12-Kyle Capodice[8] ; 5. 36-Seth Schneider[7] ; 6. 66-Jamie Miller[5] ; 7. 9R-Dustin Rall[3] ; 8. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[6]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 2F-Matt Foos[2] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[4] ; 3. 22M-Dan McCarron[3] ; 4. 1W-Paul Weaver[8] ; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson[5] ; 6. 19R-Steve Rando[7] ; 7. 7K-Matt Karbler[6] ; 8. 99F-Ryan French[1]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 1X-Dustin Dinan[1] ; 2. 4T-James Taddeo[4] ; 3. 47-Matt Lucius[2] ; 4. 99-Alvin Roepke[8] ; 5. 2L-Landon LaLonde[5] ; 6. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[6] ; 7. 94K-Kevin Mingus[3] ; 8. 32H-Dan Hennig[7]
Heat 4 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 20B-Cody Bova[2] ; 2. 77I-John Ivy[3] ; 3. 45-Trevor Baker[4] ; 4. 7M-Brandon Moore[7] ; 5. 10-Josh Harrison[1] ; 6. 25-Jason Keckler[5] ; 7. 1XX-Jordan Ryan[6]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps, top 3 to A)
1. 2-Ricky Peterson[2] ; 2. 36-Seth Schneider[1] ; 3. 19R-Steve Rando[4] ; 4. 66-Jamie Miller[3] ; 5. 7K-Matt Karbler[6] ; 6. 99F-Ryan French[8] ; 7. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[7] ; 8. 9R-Dustin Rall[5]
B-Main 2 – (10 Laps, top 3 to A)
1. 2L-Landon LaLonde[1] ; 2. 25-Jason Keckler[4] ; 3. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[3] ; 4. 1XX-Jordan Ryan[6] ; 5. 32H-Dan Hennig[7] ; 6. 94K-Kevin Mingus[5] ; 7. 10-Josh Harrison[2]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 2F-Matt Foos[4] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[9] ; 3. 22M-Dan McCarron[12] ; 4. 1X-Dustin Dinan[3] ; 5. 99-Alvin Roepke[15] ; 6. 20B-Cody Bova[1] ; 7. 1W-Paul Weaver[14] ; 8. 19R-Steve Rando[21] ; 9. 12-Kyle Capodice[13] ; 10. 7M-Brandon Moore[16] ; 11. 77I-John Ivy[11] ; 12. 2-Ricky Peterson[17] ; 13. 45-Trevor Baker[5] ; 14. 97-Kyle Peters[10] ; 15. 4*-Tyler Street[7] ; 16. 11G-Luke Griffith[8] ; 17. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[22] ; 18. 36-Seth Schneider[19] ; 19. 25-Jason Keckler[20] ; 20. 4T-James Taddeo[2] ; 21. 47-Matt Lucius[6] ; 22. 2L-Landon LaLonde[18]
Hard Charger: 19R-Steve Rando +13
Late Models – Summit Racing Equipment
Heat 1 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 240-Doug Drown[2] ; 2. 27-Ken Hahn[1] ; 3. 15B-Mike Bores[4] ; 4. 36-Matt Irey[5] ; 5. 51-Devin Shiels[7] ; 6. 71S-Drew Smith[3] ; 7. 16-Steve Sabo[6]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 5M-Ryan Markham[7] ; 2. 12-Kent Brewer[3] ; 3. 69-John Mayes Jr.[5] ; 4. 9C-Troy Cattarene[1] ; 5. 42-Bob Mayer[6] ; 6. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr[2] ; 7. 12K-Kyle Dukeshire[4]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 92-Cody Scott[4] ; 2. 59-Larry Bellman[1] ; 3. 00-Mathew Chapman[6] ; 4. 12M-Bobby Michaels[3] ; 5. 69R-Doug Baird[7] ; 6. 17X-Dustin Keegan[5] ; 7. 23J-Mike Hudson[2]
Heat 4 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 71-Dave Hornikel[1] ; 2. 007-Rick Bond[6] ; 3. 97-Brett Miller[5] ; 4. 34-Ky Harper[3] ; 5. 4M-Jamie Miller[4] ; 6. 92W-Kelly Wahl[2]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 51-Devin Shiels[1] ; 2. 42-Bob Mayer[2] ; 3. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr[6] ; 4. 71S-Drew Smith[5] ; 5. 4M-Jamie Miller[4] ; 6. 92W-Kelly Wahl[8] ; 7. 69R-Doug Baird[3] ; 8. 16-Steve Sabo[9] ; 9. 17X-Dustin Keegan[7] ; 10. 12K-Kyle Dukeshire[10]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 240-Doug Drown[4] ; 2. 5M-Ryan Markham[9] ; 3. 27-Ken Hahn[5] ; 4. 36-Matt Irey[13] ; 5. 51-Devin Shiels[17] ; 6. 92-Cody Scott[7] ; 7. 69-John Mayes Jr.[3] ; 8. 12-Kent Brewer[1] ; 9. 71-Dave Hornikel[6] ; 10. 007-Rick Bond[8] ; 11. 59-Larry Bellman[12] ; 12. 34-Ky Harper[16] ; 13. 97-Brett Miller[2] ; 14. 9C-Troy Cattarene[14] ; 15. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr[19] ; 16. 00-Mathew Chapman[11] ; 17. 42-Bob Mayer[18] ; 18. 71S-Drew Smith[20] ; 19. 12M-Bobby Michaels[15] ; 20. 15B-Mike Bores[10]
Hard Charger: 51-Devin Shiels +12
Dirt Trucks –
Heat 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 2F-Matt Foos[2] ; 2. 18W-Cory Ward[3] ; 3. 5S-Brad Stuckey[6] ; 4. 72-Eric Potridge[5] ; 5. 8KB-Kody Brewer[7] ; 6. 26-Kyle Lagrou[1] ; 7. 33-Brian Arnold[4]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps)
1. 7-Shawn Valenti[3] ; 2. 17X-Dustin Keegan[4] ; 3. 0-Andy Keegan[2] ; 4. J7-John Jones[1] ; 5. 13-Len Benyak[5] ; 6. 36M-Cory McCaughey[6]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps)
1. 33W-Jeff Ward[3] ; 2. 4S-Keith Sorg[6] ; 3. 7F-Dana Frey[2] ; 4. 45M-Brian Melneck[4] ; 5. 22-Brandon Leighton[1] ; 6. 9-Curt Inks[5]
A-Main 1 – (15 Laps)
1. 7-Shawn Valenti[9] ; 2. 17X-Dustin Keegan[3] ; 3. 2F-Matt Foos[2] ; 4. 5S-Brad Stuckey[6] ; 5. 33W-Jeff Ward[5] ; 6. 36M-Cory McCaughey[19] ; 7. 4S-Keith Sorg[4] ; 8. 7F-Dana Frey[8] ; 9. 9-Curt Inks[17] ; 10. 33-Brian Arnold[18] ; 11. J7-John Jones[1] ; 12. 8KB-Kody Brewer[13] ; 13. 0-Andy Keegan[12] ; 14. 13-Len Benyak[14] ; 15. 26-Kyle Lagrou[16] ; 16. 45M-Brian Melneck[10] ; 17. 72-Eric Potridge[7] ; 18. 22-Brandon Leighton[15] ; 19. 18W-Cory Ward[11]
Hard Charger: 36M-Cory McCaughey +13