Stenhouse opens Ohio speedweek with Attica win
By Brian Liskai: ATTICA, Ohio (Sunday, June 25, 2006) – What do you get when you mix one part Mississippi teen with one part Ohio mechanic and one part Buckeye tradition?
The answer is a winner, as Olive Branch, Mississippi’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. opened the traditional All Star Circuit of Champions Ohio Sprint Speedweek in victory lane at Attica Raceway Park Sunday night.
“They told me the toughest tracks to win at this week would be Attica and Fremont. We brought an Ohio boy (Andy Potter) in to help us this week…he knows how to get ya’ around these tracks and he proved that tonight,” said the 18-year-old Stenhouse. “I have to thank Pete Grove (from Ohio) and Premier Pallets…he helped us come out here for this. I’ve been looking forward to racing with this deal for a long time.”
It was former Attica street stock track champion Butch Schroeder – who owns the sprint track record at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” venue – who jumped into the lead of the 40-lap feature from his pole starting spot. However, he and Stenhouse would battle for the lead the next two laps, with Schroeder running middle to low on the track and Stenhouse riding the rim.
Stenhouse would grab the lead on lap four and continue to lead when the leaders hit lapped traffice on lap 8. The first of three cautions would slow the pace on lap 10 for a spinning Brandon Wimmer. Stenhouse put a lapped car between himself and Schroeder, with defending Attica champion Bryon Reed, All Star point leader Greg Wilson, quick qualifier Dale Blaney, Bobby Clark and Kelley Kinser in town.
The restart would not stick, as Andrew Palker would stop, but once the green flew again, Stenhouse would set sail around the rim. The battle shaped up for second between Schroeder and Reed, with the later assuming the runner-up position on lap 21 as they had entered lapped traffic again.
Stenhouse would watch a big lead evaporate with just six laps to go as he was mired in lapped traffic, allowing Reed and now third running Wilson to close. Just as the battle for the lead was ready to take place, the yellow would fly on lap 34 for a spinning Mike Linder.
With a clear track ahead, Stenhouse would cruise to the win, with Reed, Wilson, Blaney and Schroeder rounding out the top five.
“I thought we could have made things interesting those last six laps if the yellow hadn’t come out,” said Reed, beside his Reebar Diecasting sprinter. “He had a good mechanic with him (Potter) who knows how to get drivers around this track. I have to thank George Gillespie of ProShocks…he helped us a lot gettin this thing figured out.”
For Wilson, his Warnimont Motorsports crew kept up their strong performance.
“We were just a tick off on set-up. But hey, it’s pretty neat for a kid from Mississippi to come in to Ohio and win. The good Lord gave us great weather and we put on a heck of a race for the fans,” said Wilson. “It was a good points night for us…in the big picture we had a good night.”
In the limited late model feature, Tiffin’s Jeff McCoy drove around Tim Sabo on lap 11 of the 20-lap affair and went on to score his first win of the season and the 18th of his career.
“We lost dad a while back and I just haven’t felt like racing a whole lot without him here,” said an emotional McCoy. “I miss him a lot…this win is for him.”
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, July 7, for “Christmas In July,” as Smith Frosted Family Foods sponsoring the night’s racing with the 410 sprints, 305 sprints, limited late models and dirt trucks in action.
For more information call the track office at 419-426-8911 or log onto www.atticaracewaypark.com
Attica Raceway Park (6-25-06)
All-Star Curcuit of Champions
Qualifying – Huggins Cams
1. 2-Dale Blaney, 12.62; 2. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.67; 3. 4K-Kelly Kinser, 12.78; 4. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.90; 5. 55-Brian Smith, 12.98; 6. 70-Kevin Huntley, 12.98; 7. 8-Bobby Clark, 12.99; 8. 11B-Brock Mayes, 12.99; 9. 98-Bruce Robenalt, 13.02; 10. 40R-Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 13.03; 11. 7K-Butch Schroeder, 13.09; 12. 4-Danny Smith, 13.11; 13. 3L-Mike Linder, 13.15; 14. K-Andrew Palker, 13.15; 15. 20E-Brian Ellenberger, 13.18; 16. 20-Paul McMahon, 13.21; 17. 29-Dean Jacobs, 13.21; 18. 78-Todd Kane, 13.27; 19. 16-Lee Jacobs, 13.32; 20. 4N-Niel Shepard, 13.32; 21. 2H-Tim Hunter, 13.32; 22. 53-John Ivy, 13.34; 23. 18-Scott Reily, 13.40; 24. 14-Jason Meyers, 13.47; 25. 11M-Brandon Martin, 13.50; 26. 8S-Craig Mintz, 13.60; 27. O-Brandon Wimmer, 13.60; 28. 1R-Phil Gressman, 13.60; 29. 9X-Rob Chaney, 13.61; 30. 10S-Roger Shammo, 13.67; 31. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 13.71; 32. 28-Brian Paulus, 13.75; 33. X-Mark Keegan, 13.84; 34. 7B-Jamie Miller, 13.88; 35. 97-Todd King, 13.91; 36. 22B-Ben Gregg, 13.92; 37. 63-Barry Ruble, 13.94; 38. 37Z-Bryan Scott, 13.96; 39. 15M-Jamie Martin, 13.97; 40. 71M-Paul May, 13.99; 41. 10-David Harrison, 14.04; 42. 48-Mike Burkin, 14.20; 43. 12M-James Mosher, 14.24; 44. 5B-Chad Blonde, 14.33; 45. 91-Aaron Middaugh, 14.62; 46. 4B-Tom Busch 47. 45-Brian Grove
Heat 1 – Outwears Pre-Filters (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 2H-Tim Hunter; 2. 29-Dean Jacobs; 3. 3L-Mike Linder; 4. 2-Dale Blaney; 5. 9X-Rob Chaney; 6. 11M-Brandon Martin; 7. X-Mark Keegan; 8. 10-David Harrison; 9. 55-Brian Smith; 10. 98-Bruce Robenalt; 11. 63-Barry Ruble; 12.
91-Aaron Middaugh
Heat 2 – B & B Oval Track Products (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 78-Todd Kane; 2. K-Andrew Palker; 3. 40R-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.; 4. 53-John Ivy; 5. 5R-Byron Reed; 6. 70-Kevin Huntley; 7. 37Z-Bryan Scott; 8. 7B-Jamie Miller; 9. 4B-Tom Busch; 10. 8S-Craig Mintz; 11. 10S-Roger Shammo; 12. 48-Mike Burkin
Heat 3 – Engler Machine & Tool (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 7K-Butch Schroeder; 2. 8-Bobby Clark; 3. 16-Lee Jacobs; 4. O-Brandon Wimmer; 5. 20E-Brian Ellenberger; 6. 4K-Kelly Kinser; 7. 15M-Jamie Martin; 8. 18-Scott Reily; 9. 12M-James Mosher; 10. 11N-Ed Neumeister; 11. 97-Todd King; 12. 45-Brian Grove
Heat 4 – TP Wings (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. W20-Greg Wilson; 2. 1R-Phil Gressman; 3. 14-Jason Meyers; 4. 4N-Niel Shepard; 5. 20-Paul McMahon; 6. 4-Danny Smith; 7. 28-Brian Paulus; 8. 11B-Brock Mayes; 9. 5B-Chad Blonde; 10. 71M-Paul May; 11. 22B-Ben Gregg
Dash 1 – Haulmark (4 laps)
1. 8-Bobby Clark; 2. 5R-Byron Reed; 3. W20-Greg Wilson; 4. 2-Dale Blaney; 5. 7K-Butch Schroeder; 6. 20-Paul McMahon
C-main (10 laps, top 4 transfer to A-main)
1. 37Z-Bryan Scott; 2. 71M-Paul May; 3. 10-David Harrison; 4. 5B-Chad Blonde; 5. 4B-Tom Busch; 6. 15M-Jamie Martin; 7. 45-Brian Grove; 8. 63-Barry Ruble; 9. 48-Mike Burkin; 10. 12M-James Mosher; 11. 91-Aaron Middaugh
B-main – University of NW Ohio (15 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 4K-Kelly Kinser; 2. 55-Brian Smith; 3. 70-Kevin Huntley; 4. 4-Danny Smith; 5. 11B-Brock Mayes; 6. 28-Brian Paulus; 7. 11M-Brandon Martin; 8. 71M-Paul May; 9. 5B-Chad Blonde; 10. 98-Bruce Robenalt; 11. 10-David Harrison; 12. 7B-Jamie Miller; 13. 97-Todd King; 14. 22B-Ben Gregg; 15. 10S-Roger Shammo; 16. 18-Scott Reily; 17. X-Mark Keegan; 18. 37Z-Bryan Scott; 19. 8S-Craig Mintz; 20. 11N-Ed Neumeister
A-main – MSD Ignitions (40 laps) Starting Position []
1. 40R-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.[2]; 2. 5R-Byron Reed[5]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson[4]; 4. 2-Dale Blaney[6]; 5. 7K-Butch Schroeder[1]; 6. 8-Bobby Clark[3]; 7. 4K-Kelly Kinser[7]; 8. 20-Paul McMahon[14]; 9. 14-Jason Meyers[21]; 10. 70-Kevin Huntley[9]; 11. 29-Dean Jacobs[15]; 12. 4-Danny Smith[10]; 13. 16-Lee Jacobs[17]; 14. 1R-Phil Gressman[23]; 15. 53-John Ivy[20]; 16. 3L-Mike Linder[11]; 17. O-Brandon Wimmer[22]; 18. 4N-Niel Shepard[18]; 19. 9X-Rob Chaney[24]; 20. K-Andrew Palker[12]; 21. 55-Brian Smith[8]; 22. 20E-Brian Ellenberger[13]; 23. 78-Todd Kane[16]; 24. 2H-Tim Hunter[19]
Limited Lates
Heat 1 Griff’s Engines/Budweiser (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 101-Chester Fitch; 2. O2-Jeff Mccoy; 3. 5H-Ernie Haynes; 4. C4-Bill Clapp Jr.; 5. 27-Bill Hahn; 6. 99M-John Mayes; 7. O3-Jim Gingery
Heat 2 Tin Lizzy Collision (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 45-Mike Marteney; 2. 48-John Bores; 3. 99-Steve Sabo; 4. O1-Art Ball; 5. 8K-Kevin Koerper; 6. 55-Chuck Hummer; 7. 77C-Craig Corfman
Heat 3 Bell Helmets (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 50-Ryan Missler; 2. 98-Tim Sabo; 3. 21-Larry Kingseed; 4. 92-Brandon Perkins; 5. 12-Michael Stiltner; 6. 30-Nate Potts; 7. 18-Jamie Reed; 8. O14-Paul Brown Jr.
B-Main (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 99M-John Mayes; 2. O3-Jim Gingery; 3. 15B-Mike Bores; 4. 55-Chuck Hummer; 5. 30-Nate Potts; 6. 77C-Craig Corfman; 7. O14-Paul Brown Jr.; 8. 18-Jamie Reed
A-main (20 laps) Starting Position []
1. O2-Jeff Mccoy[4]; 2. 21-Larry Kingseed[8]; 3. 98-Tim Sabo[1]; 4. 50-Ryan Missler[5]; 5. 92-Brandon Perkins[3]; 6. 27-Bill Hahn[13]; 7. 45-Mike Marteney[11]; 8. C4-Bill Clapp Jr.[2]; 9. 101-Chester Fitch[6]; 10. 5H-Ernie Haynes[12]; 11. 99-Steve Sabo[7]; 12. O3-Jim Gingery[17]; 13. 15B-Mike Bores[18]; 14. 99M-John Mayes[16]; 15. 55-Chuck Hummer[19]; 16. 8K-Kevin Koerper[14]; 17. 48-John Bores[10]; 18. 12-Michael Stiltner[15]; 19. O1-Art Ball[9]; 20. 30-Nate Potts[20]