By Brian Liskai
ATTICA, Ohio – It took awhile, but Stuart Brubaker and the Burmeister Racing Team are really gelling. The Gibsonburg, Ohio driver led all 30 laps to claim his second straight 410 sprint feature win at Attica Raceway Park on Summit Racing Equipment/Central Ohio Farmers Night Friday.
And, this late season surge could have Brubaker – a former Attica 305 track champion – contending for that coveted $10,000 Attica title in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints. He came into the night third in the track’s point standings, just 25 back of Dean Jacobs who finished fourth Friday.
Brubaker’s win also garnered him valuable points in the $10,000-to-win Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica Sprint Title (FAST) Championship Series Presented by KS Sales and Service. He came into the night’s competition sitting sixth in the FAST standings.
The only caution of the race – on lap 16 – kept Brubaker out of lapped traffic and made his second career Attica win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints a little less stressful.
“That caution helped me a bunch. I kept seeing – I think it was Cap (Henry) at that time, his nose wing under me. I was like ‘man I don’t know good I am, I’m spinning the tires like crazy coming off of two.’ Mikey (Sommers, crew chief) said don’t give up this time. So I kept into it and changed my line down here (turns one and two) a little bit. I don’t know if Chris (Andrews) got there a little bit at the end…I started to see a little green out of the corner of my eye,” said Brubaker beside his Schiets Tender Touch Car Wash, Dave Story Equipment; Stephen P. Mapus Productive Tools, Randy Beeker Excavating, Adkins Fence and Sanitation, Huffman Tools, Kistler Racing Products, Kistler Engines backed machine.
“This is just unbelievable. Last week we didn’t have my car owners here and this week we have Sharon, Rollie and Mikey…we couldn’t do it without these guys,” continued Brubaker of his Meggit Sandblasting, Advantage Ford, Schiets Motorsports, Burmeister Plowing backed #16.
“I was telling Mikey if we keep working at it and working at it hopefully when some of these guys start falling off a little bit we’ll start picking up and the points will take care of themselves. We’re running pretty well right now. Hats off to my team right now…they are awesome,” concluded Brubaker.
In a thrilling Summit Racing Equipment UMP Late Model feature that saw five lead changes including a last lap pass, “Hammer Down” Doug Drown from Wooster, Ohio, edged – by a bumper – Rocky Owens for his fourth win of the season at Attica.
“He (Owens) found that line way quicker than I did. Hats off to those guys…he was really really good. For us to go around him…I didn’t know if we had enough laps. I kept looking over and I’m thinking ‘I have to figure out a way to get to him quick.’ I didn’t want to pinch him in there too hard cause I know he wanted the win just as bad,” said Drown beside his Hall’s Auto Sales, Malcuit Racing Engines, Nationwide Vehicle Protection, Wooster Glass, Kar Konnections backed #240.
“It was getting after it and trying not to make a mistake that last lap and make sure I squeezed the throttle and not hammer it down like I normally do. Car has been phenomenal. My crew, my dad, Danny, Dave Miller, Roy Hall providing everything we need…everybody that helps me out,” added Drown.
Fremont, Ohio’s Jamie Miller would lead all 25 laps of the Foster’s Auto Body 305 Sprints for his second straight win and third of the season. However, it wasn’t easy for the former track champion as Kyle Capodice and then a late race challenge from Paul Weaver made him earn his 12th career Attica win.
“They told me not to run the top down here (turns one and two) but it felt pretty good to me. I had the preferred line in three and four and I was just trying to hold my own at the other end,” said Miller beside his Advanced Industrial Services, Fostoria Mod Shop, Quarterback Transportation, Western Lake Erie Insulation Industry, Pioneer Quick Lube, Scott’s Lawn Care and Snow Removal backed #39.
“We’re on a really great roll right now. I can’t thank Tim (Merrill) and his wife his enough and all the sponsors,” added Miller.
Henry and Brubaker would bring the field to green for the 30-lap 410 sprint car feature with Brubaker using the high line to grab the lead. Henry, Chad Kemenah, Andrews, Caleb Armstrong, Duane Zablocki, Craig Mintz, Dean Jacobs and Byron Reed gave chance.
While Brubaker blasted away at the cushion, pulling away slightly, Henry and Kemenah battled for second. Kemenah would take the runner-up spot on lap six only to jump the cushion in turns one and two on lap nine, losing several spots.
The leaders hit lapped traffic by the ninth circuit with Brubaker leading Henry, Andrews, Zablocki, Mintz and Jacobs. Brubaker’s lead began to evaporate by lap 13 as the leaders encountered heavy lapped traffic. Henry and Andres were locked in a tremendous battle for second with Mintz moving into fourth followed by Zablocki, Jacobs, Reed and Kemenah. Cale Thomas would tangle with the lapped machine of Bruce White on lap 16, bringing out the feature’s only caution.
Now with a clear track, Brubaker would once again drive to the cushion and pull away as Andrews drove around Henry for second on lap 17. Behind the lead trio, a great race was underway for fourth involving Mintz, Jacobs and Reed. Jacobs would take the fourth spot on lap 21.
With seven laps to go, Andrews began chipping away at Brubaker’s lead while Henry, Jacobs, Mintz, Reed, Zablocki, Nate Dussel and D.J. Foos gave chase. Andrews got to within a car length of Brubaker, who then picked up the pace and drove to the win. Andrews, Henry, Jacobs and Mintz would round out the top five.
In the 25-lap late model feature, George Lee and Ken Hahn comprised the front row, but a caution on the initial start for debris wiped out a tremendous jump by third starter Dusty Moore. On the second green, Lee would take the lead over Moore, Mike Bores, Hahn, Dave Hornikel, Matt Irey, Chris Keller, Drown, Cody Scott and Ryan Markham.
Just as Moore drove under Lee on lap two another caution for debris slowed the race. On the restart Lee, Moore and Bores battled hard for the lead with Hornikel, Hahn, Irey and Keller in pursuit.
The Lee, Moore, Bores battle continued over the next hand full of laps before Moore grabbed the lead on lap six with Bores moving into second a lap later and Hornikel taking third by lap eight. Behind that trio a war was being waged for fourth involving lee, Keller, Drown and 12th place starter Rocky Owens.
The action would halt on lap 11 as Larry Kingseed coasted to a stop on the front stretch. The restart order was Moore, Bores, Hornikel, Owens, Lee, Drown and Keller. On lap 14 Bores slid under Moore for the lead with Owens following suit. Owens would drive to Bores’ outside on lap 15 but the pass was negated for another Kingseed caution.
Bores would get a tremendous restart and pulled away slightly from Owens who had his hands full with Drown with Hornikel, Keller, Markham and Moore battling for fourth. Owens would drive into the lea don lap 17 and after a two lap battle; Drown took second from Bores with Hornikel comfortably in fourth while Keller, Markham, Moore and Irey put on a show for fifth.
With three laps to go Drown was sticking the nose of his car under Owens and the two continued side-by-side racing to the final corner of the last lap. Drown would get a great fun off of turn four and edged Owens by a bumper for the win, his only lead the last five feet of the race.
Owens, Bores, Hornikel and Keller would round out the top five.
Frank Neill and Miller paced the field for the 25 lap 305 sprint feature with Miller blasting into the lead as fourth starter Capodice hugged the bottom to take second over Steve Rando, Neill, Bobby Clark, Jordan Ryan, Dustin Dinan and Paul Weaver.
While Miller, Capodice and Rando stayed close, Clark and Ryan moved into fourth and fifth on lap two while behind them Dinan, Weaver, Neill and John Ivy battled. Clark would grab third on lap six. By the time the leaders caught the back of the field on lap 11, the running order was Miller, Capodice, Clark, Rando, Ryan, Weaver, Ivy, Brandon Moore, Seth Schneider, Tyler Street, Dan McCarron, Jason Keckler and Kelsey Ivy.
The event’s only caution came on lap 13 when Rando’s run came to an end with a flat tire. On the restart Miller blasted to the cushion but Capodice continually pulled beside him utilizing the bottom line. Clark was locked in a battle for third with Weaver and Ryan. With 10 laps to go it was Miller holding a slight advantage over Capodice with Weaver, Ryan and Clark continuing their battle for third.
Weaver would take second on lap 19 and started to close on Miller with Capodice, Ryan, Clark, Moore, Schneider and Ivy in pursuit. Miller was able to hit his marks the last six laps to take the win with Weaver, Capodice, Ryan and Clark rounding out the top five.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, July 17 on Underground Utilities Night with the second night of the Attica-Wayne County Speedway Late Model Challenge Series along with the 305 sprints, dirt trucks and vintage race cars in action.
Fore more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com
Central Ohio Farmers/Summit Racing Equipment
Attica Raceway Park July 10, 2015
Starting position [*]
O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints – 22 cars
Qualifying
1.19-Chris Andrews, 12.442; 2.5R-Byron Reed, 12.462; 3.53-Cap Henry, 12.520; 4.16-Stuart Brubaker, 12.523; 5.22-Cole Duncan, 12.541; 6.97-Dean Jacobs, 12.612; 7.21-DJ Foos, 12.677; 8.83M-Broc Martin, 12.693; 9.10H-Chad Kemenah, 12.719; 10.15H-Mitch Harble, 12.771; 11.40DD-Nate Dussel, 12.789; 12.09-Craig Mintz, 12.807; 13.68G-Tyler Gunn, 12.810; 14.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.845; 15.7C-Caleb Armstrong, 12.887; 16.45L-Brian Lay, 12.936; 17.9-Jordan Ryan, 13.022; 18.60-Jody Keegan, 13.041; 19.91-Cale Thomas, 13.053; 20.AU5-Danny Reidy, 13.114; 21.96AU-Bruce White, 13.613; 22.8M-TJ Michael, 13.871;
Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps, top 8 to A)
1. 16-Stuart Brubaker[1] ; 2. 19-Chris Andrews[4] ; 3. 53-Cap Henry[2] ; 4. 5R-Byron Reed[3] ; 5. 40DD-Nate Dussel[6] ; 6. 60-Jody Keegan[7] ; 7. 83M-Broc Martin[5] ; 8. 96AU-Bruce White[8]
Summit Racing Equipment Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps, top 7 to A)
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 2. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[1] ; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[4] ; 4. 91-Cale Thomas[7] ; 5. 68G-Tyler Gunn[2] ; 6. 9-Jordan Ryan[6] ; 7. 45L-Brian Lay[5]
Ultra Shield Race Products Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps, top 7 to A)
1. 09-Craig Mintz[1] ; 2. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[5] ; 3. 15H-Mitch Harble[2] ; 4. 21-DJ Foos[3] ; 5. 8M-TJ Michael[7] ; 6. AU5-Danny Reidy[6] ; 7. 22-Cole Duncan[4]
A-Main 1 – (30 Laps)
1. 16-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 2. 19-Chris Andrews[4] ; 3. 53-Cap Henry[1] ; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[9] ; 5. 09-Craig Mintz[8] ; 6. 5R-Byron Reed[10] ; 7. 21-DJ Foos[12] ; 8. 40DD-Nate Dussel[13] ; 9. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[7] ; 10. 10H-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 11. 8M-TJ Michael[15] ; 12. 9-Jordan Ryan[17] ; 13. 83M-Broc Martin[19] ; 14. 45L-Brian Lay[20] ; 15. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[6] ; 16. 68G-Tyler Gunn[14] ; 17. AU5-Danny Reidy[18] ; 18. 60-Jody Keegan[16] ; 19. 91-Cale Thomas[11] ; 20. 96AU-Bruce White[22] ; 21. 15H-Mitch Harble[5]
Hard Charger: Brock Martin +6
Foster’s Auto Body 305 Sprints – 29 cars
Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro Heat 1 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 1X-Dustin Dinan[2] ; 2. 77I-John Ivy[6] ; 3. 4T-James Taddeo[1] ; 4. 36-Seth Schneider[3] ; 5. 94K-Kurt Huber[5] ; 6. 39C-Scott Riley[8] ; 7. 6-Sean Hosey[7] ; 8. 87-Brian Gibbs[4]
Summit Racing Equipment Heat 2 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 22M-Dan McCarron[1] ; 2. 8-Bobby Clark[5] ; 3. 18N-Frank Neill[2] ; 4. 27-Cody Gallogly[4] ; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson[6] ; 6. 13-Jeremy Duposki[3] ; 7. 75-Jerry Dahms[7]
Ultra Shield Race Products Heat 3 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 5R-Jordan Ryan[5] ; 2. 39M-Jamie Miller[1] ; 3. 12-Kyle Capodice[4] ; 4. 4*-Tyler Street[3] ; 5. 7S-Thomas Schinderle[6] ; 6. 24-Alex Paden[2] ; 7. 2L-Landon LaLonde[7]
Rock Auto.com Heat 4 – (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[1] ; 2. 7M-Brandon Moore[3] ; 3. 19R-Steve Rando[6] ; 4. 97-Kyle Peters[4] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[7] ; 6. 25-Jason Keckler[5] ; 7. 9R-Dustin Rall[2]
Computer Man B-Main 1 – (12 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 2-Ricky Peterson[2] ; 2. 7S-Thomas Schinderle[3] ; 3. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[4] ; 4. 25-Jason Keckler[8] ; 5. 94K-Kurt Huber[1] ; 6. 39C-Scott Riley[5] ; 7. 13-Jeremy Duposki[6] ; 8. 6-Sean Hosey[9] ; 9. 2L-Landon LaLonde[11] ; 10. 75-Jerry Dahms[10] ; 11. 87-Brian Gibbs[13]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 39M-Jamie Miller[2] ; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[8] ; 3. 12-Kyle Capodice[4] ; 4. 5R-Jordan Ryan[9] ; 5. 8-Bobby Clark[7] ; 6. 7M-Brandon Moore[11] ; 7. 36-Seth Schneider[13] ; 8. 77I-John Ivy[12] ; 9. 4*-Tyler Street[14] ; 10. 2-Ricky Peterson[16] ; 11. 7S-Thomas Schinderle[17] ; 12. 22M-Dan McCarron[10] ; 13. 25-Jason Keckler[19] ; 14. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[18] ; 15. 97-Kyle Peters[15] ; 16. 94K-Kurt Huber[20] ; 17. 19R-Steve Rando[5] ; 18. 1X-Dustin Dinan[6] ; 19. 4T-James Taddeo[1] ; 20. 18N-Frank Neill[3]
Hard Charger: Paul Weaver +6
Summit Racing Equipment Late Models – 25 cars
Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro Heat 1 – (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 5M-Ryan Markham[1] ; 2. 36-Matt Irey[5] ; 3. 27-Ken Hahn[3] ; 4. 71-Dave Hornikel[6] ; 5. 69-John Mayes Jr.[2] ; 6. 79-Brad Malcuit[4] ; 7. 9C-Troy Cattarene[8] ; 8. 69R-Doug Baird[7] ; 9. 43-Louis Kimberlin[9]
Summit Racing Equipment Heat 2 – (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 61-George Lee[2] ; 2. 15B-Mike Bores[7] ; 3. 29-Rocky Owens[6] ; 4. 75-Dusty Moore[8] ; 5. 03-Jim Gingery[4] ; 6. 66-Hutch Hutchins[3] ; 7. 50Y-Ryan Missler[5] ; 8. 53-Steve Sabo[1]
Ultra Shield Race Products Heat 3 – (8 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 240-Doug Drown[1] ; 2. 00-Chris Keller[3] ; 3. 92-Cody Scott[7] ; 4. 48-John Bores[8] ; 5. 21-Larry Kingseed[4] ; 6. 5J-Josh Haynes[5] ; 7. 15-Jon Henry[2] ; 8. 21T-Richey Taylor[6]
Computer Man B-Main 1 – (10 Laps, top 5 to A)
1. 5J-Josh Haynes[3] ; 2. 50Y-Ryan Missler[5] ; 3. 15-Jon Henry[6] ; 4. 79-Brad Malcuit[1] ; 5. 9C-Troy Cattarene[4] ; 6. 66-Hutch Hutchins[2] ; 7. 69R-Doug Baird[7] ; 8. 43-Louis Kimberlin[10] ; 9. 21T-Richey Taylor[9]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 240-Doug Drown[9] ; 2. 29-Rocky Owens[12] ; 3. 15B-Mike Bores[5] ; 4. 71-Dave Hornikel[6] ; 5. 00-Chris Keller[8] ; 6. 36-Matt Irey[7] ; 7. 5M-Ryan Markham[10] ; 8. 75-Dusty Moore[3] ; 9. 61-George Lee[1] ; 10. 50Y-Ryan Missler[17] ; 11. 15-Jon Henry[18] ; 12. 92-Cody Scott[4] ; 13. 48-John Bores[11] ; 14. 03-Jim Gingery[14] ; 15. 27-Ken Hahn[2] ; 16. 79-Brad Malcuit[19] ; 17. 21-Larry Kingseed[15] ; 18. 5J-Josh Haynes[16] ; 19. 9C-Troy Cattarene[20] ; 20. 69-John Mayes Jr.[13]
Hard Charger: Rocky Owens +10