Keegan wins 54th at Attica; Bowman, Missler take first victories; Ward continues hot streak
By Brian Liskai: Attica, Ohio (Saturday, Aug. 26, 2006) – Mark Keegan served notice to the young 410 sprint drivers that he’s still a force to be reckoned with. The Fremont driver who leads all drivers in career feature wins at Attica Raceway Park, picked up his 54th victory Saturday at “Ohio’s Finest Racing Venue.”
While Keegan scored his second victory of the season, Shelby, Ohio’s Benny Bowman and Bellevue’s Ryan Missler took their first career wins in the 305 sprints and limited late models respectively. And, Bellevue’s Cory Ward continued his hot ways, scoring his third straight dirt truck feature win on Baumann Auto Group presents Fan Appreciation Night.
“We couldn’t catch a break the past couple of weeks having to start deep in the pack. We passed a lot of cars, but as tough as this competition is, it’s hard to run down the cars that start up front. We finally got to start up front (third) and the car felt good around the top,” said Keegan beside his Midwest Transportation, Edward Jones Financial Services, Jon Wright Custom Chrome sponsored #X.
Bowman, who has numerous wins in mini-sprint action to his credit, led all 25 laps in the 305 sprint feature, and held off a hard-charging Dustin Keegan at the end for the victory.
“I wasn’t going to let this one get away. We’ve worked so hard for this all year. I saw Dustin get under me those last few laps and I moved down a half of a groove to slow his momentum,” said Bowman beside his Never Compromise.com sponsored #55s.
Missler, last year’s rookie of the year in the limite late model division, held off former track champions Mike Marteney and Larry Kingseed to score his first career victory.
“Our plan was to run the bottom and it worked well. I have to thank my uncle, my dad and my fiancee for all they do for me,” said Missler next to his McElwain Construction, Missler Industries, Henry Motorsports, HMC Limited sponsored #50.
Ward has won the last three dirt truck features he has competed in, including two in a row at Attica, as he took the lead on the white flag lap.
“This thing is just driving so well now. We didn’t have any oil pressure in the heat…I didn’t know if the motor would last, but here we are,” said Ward beside his Excuses Lounge, Budweiser sponsored #18W.
In the 410 sprint feature, Bryan Scott jumped into the lead from his pole starting spot with Caleb Griffith, Keegan and Brock Mayes in tow. Mayes would spin on lap three to slow the action.On the restart, Keegan would move around Griffith to take the runner-up position. Keegan would driver around Scott on lap nine for the lead.
The yellow would slow the action on lap 16 for Niel Shepard who stalled while running fourth. The running order was Keegan, the lapped car of Bruce Robenalt, Scott, Griffith, Byron Reed, 11th starter Mike Linder, Greg Wilson, Todd Heller, Lee Jacobs and Brock Mayes who had worked his way back through the pack.
On the restart, Keegan jumped back into the lead with Scott in tow, as Linder now moved around both Reed and Griffith into third. With five laps to go, Keegan led with Linder now in second, Scott back to third, Reed and Mayes rounding out the top five. As the white flag flew, Keegan held a five car length advantage, as Linder bobbled off turn two allowing Scott to get a run under him. At the checkered it was Keegan, with Linder nipping Scott for second. Mayes would come home fourth with Reed rounding out the top five.
“On that last restart I moved the wing back too far and almost let Bryan Scott get a run under me,” said Keegan.
In the 25-lap 305 sprint feature, Bowman would jump into the lead from his pole starting spot with Dustin Keegan, rookie Chad Gullett, Stuart Brubaker and Ryan Lowe in tow.The first yellow would fly on lap four for Mark Lang. When the green went back out, Bowman continued to lead, but he couldn’t shake Keegan who stayed on his rear bumper.
Another yellow would slow the action on lap 6 with the running order Bowman, Keegan, Brubaker, Gullett and Scott Kraylek. By lap 10, all eyes were on last week’s winner Andy Shammo as he had moved from his 11th starting spot
to 6th.
Bowman would hit lapped traffic by lap 18, allowing Keegan to close. With just two laps remaining Keegan poked the nose of his #17x under Bowman. Bowman would move down the track to stop Keegan’s advance and hang on for the win. Brubaker, back in his own #35 would finish third with Scott Kraylek and Shammo rounding out the top five.
In the 20-lap limited late model feature, Mike Marteney would grab the early lead with Missler, Tim Sabo, Andy Fike and John Bores in tow. Following a lap 2 yellow, Missler began to pressure Marteney for the lead. Missler would drive under Marteney to grab the top spot on lap four. Another yellow would bunch the field up on lap five with the running order Missler, Marteney, Larry Kingseed, 12th starting Chester Fitch, Brandon Perkins and Steve Sabo.
Another yellow would fly on lap 7 and this time the driver on the move was Jeff McCoy who had gone from 11th to fifth. The race would run the remaining 13 laps caution-free, with Missler driving next to the large white tractor tires in the infield as he went on to score the win. Marteney, Kingseed, Fitch and Perkins would round out the top five.
“I was not going to budge from that bottom. I saw Mike (Marteney) a few times up top, but I had to block that out and just hit my marks,” said Missler.
In the 15-lap dirt truck feature, Shawn Valenti jumped into the early lead with Ron Kepling, Loren Schwochow and Ward in tow. The only yellow would fly on lap five with the running order Valenti, Kepling, Ward, Schwocho, 11th starting Paul Dymond and Steve Endicott. Ward would dispose of Kepling on the restart and seemed content to follow Valenti for the next few laps. As the white flag flew, Ward made his move, getting under Valenti exiting turn two. He would take the checkered, with Valenti, Kepling, Dymond and Endicott rounding out the top five.
“I saw just a little room open under him (Valenti) and I got a good run off turn two,” explained Ward of his winning move.
Attica Raceway Park will wrap up its 19th season on Saturday, Sept. 2 on Burger King Championship Night for all four divisions. Gates will open at 4:30 p.m. with racing scheduled to get underway at 7:30 p.m.
For more information log onto www.atticaracewaypark.com
Attica Raceway Park (8-26-06)
410 Super Sprints
Heat 1 – Budweiser (Top 5 transfer to the A-main)
1. W20-Greg Wilson; 2. 4N-Niel Shepard; 3. 37Z-Bryan Scott; 4. 16-Lee Jacobs; 5. 3L-Mike Linder; 6. F1-Jon Finsel; 7. 21-Rodney Morgan; 8. 40-Shane Helms
Heat 2 – Ramsey Trucking (Top 5 transfer to the A-main)
1. X-Mark Keegan; 2. 11B-Brock Mayes; 3. 10-David Harrison; 4. 14H-Todd Heller; 5. 98-Bruce Robenalt; 6. 53-John Ivy; 7. 75-Mike Hogan; 8. 27-Scott Euler
Heat 3 – Bell Helmets (Top 5 transfer to the A-main)
1. 8S-Craig Mintz; 2. 11M-Brandon Martin; 3. 5R-Bryon Reed; 4. 12-Caleb Griffith; 5. 1H-Kyle Cummins; 6. 55-Brian Smith; 7. 10S-Roger Shammo; 8. 2X-Rodney Duncan
B-main – Computer Man Inc. (Top 5 transfer to the A-main)
1. 55-Brian Smith; 2. 2X-Rodney Duncan; 3. 75-Mike Hogan; 4. F1-Jon Finsel; 5. 40-Shane Helms; 6. 10S-Roger Shammo; 7. 53-John Ivy; 8. 21-Rodney Morgan
A-main Starting Position []
1. X-Mark Keegan[3]; 2. 3L-Mike Linder[13]; 3. 37Z-Bryan Scott[1]; 4. 11B-Brock Mayes[5]; 5. 5R-Bryon Reed[6]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson[7]; 7. 12-Caleb Griffith[2]; 8. 8S-Craig Mintz[11]; 9. 11M-Brandon Martin[10]; 10. 14H-Todd Heller[8]; 11. 10-David Harrison[12]; 12. 2X-Rodney Duncan[17]; 13. 75-Mike Hogan[18]; 14. 1H-Kyle Cummins[15]; 15. 55-Brian Smith[16]; 16. 16-Lee Jacobs[9]; 17. 98-Bruce Robenalt[14]; 18. 4N-Niel Shepard[4]; 19. F1-Jon Finsel[19]; 20. 40-Shane Helms[20]
305 Sprints
Heat 1 – Budweiser (Top 5 transfer to the A-main)
1. 15C-Chris Andrews; 2. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 3. 21-Scott Kraylek; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker; 5. 11-Shawn Colvin; 6. 55-Brad Bowman; 7. 3X-Greg Summit; 8. 29-Chris Lang; 9. 44-Matt Karbler; 10. 25-Chris Pifher
Heat 2 – Advanced Limo (Top 5 transfer to the A-main)
1. 48S-Andy Shammo; 2. 27-Bryan Sebetto; 3. 55S-Benny Bowman; 4. 17X-Dustin Keegan; 5. 49-Coty Runion; 6. 65-Mark Lang; 7. 71-Bill Kraylek; 8. O6-Jeremy Aumend; 9. 18-Jim Dunhum
Heat 3 – Bell Helmets (Top 5 transfer to the A-main)
1. 5-Dustin Dinan; 2. 31-Chad Gullett; 3. 66L-Ryan Lowe; 4. O2-Kevin Lee; 5. 15H-Mitchell Harble; 6. 25P-Mark Pridemore; 7. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh; 8. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath; 9. 6-Ryan Dickey
B-main – Computer Man Inc. (Top 5 transfer to the A-main)
1. 55-Brad Bowman; 2. 25P-Mark Pridemore; 3. 65-Mark Lang; 4. 3X-Greg Summit; 5. 71-Bill Kraylek; 6. 29-Chris Lang; 7. 44-Matt Karbler; 8. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh; 9. 6-Ryan Dickey; 10. 25-Chris Pifher; 11. 5JR-Jimmy Mcgrath; 12. O6-Jeremy Aumend
A-main Starting Position []
1. 55S-Benny Bowman[1]; 2. 17X-Dustin Keegan[2]; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4]; 4. 21-Scott Kraylek[7]; 5. 48S-Andy Shammo[11]; 6. 31-Chad Gullett[3]; 7. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[9]; 8. 66L-Ryan Lowe[8]; 9. 15C-Chris Andrews[5]; 10. 71-Bill Kraylek[20]; 11. 5-Dustin Dinan[6]; 12. 55-Brad Bowman[16]; 13. 25P-Mark Pridemore[17]; 14. 11-Shawn Colvin[13]; 15. 3X-Greg Summit[19]; 16. 27-Bryan Sebetto[12]; 17. O2-Kevin Lee[10]; 18. 49-Coty Runion[14]; 19. 65-Mark Lang[18]; 20. 15H-Mitchell Harble[15]
Late Models
Heat 1 – Budweiser & Griff’s Engines
1. 50-Ryan Missler; 2. 98-Tim Sabo; 3. 48-John Bores; 4. 21-Larry Kingseed; 5. 45-Mike Marteney; 6. O2-Jeff Mccoy; 7. 15B-Mike Bores; 8. 77C-Craig Corfman; 9. 12M-Michael Stiltner; 10. 69-John Mayes Jr.
Heat 2 – Tin Lizzy Collision of Tiffin
1. 99M-John Mayes; 2. 99-Steve Sabo; 3. 92-Brandon Perkins; 4. 101-Chester Fitch; 5. 97-Andy Fike; 6. 30-Bill Clapp Jr.; 7. O1-Art Ball; 8. 8K-Kevin Koerper; 9. 23-Ben Elliott
A-main Starting Position []
1. 50-Ryan Missler[3]; 2. 45-Mike Marteney[1]; 3. 21-Larry Kingseed[6]; 4. 101-Chester Fitch[12]; 5. 92-Brandon Perkins[7]; 6. 15B-Mike Bores[13]; 7. 98-Tim Sabo[5]; 8. O2-Jeff Mccoy[11]; 9. 30-Bill Clapp Jr.[10]; 10. 99M-John Mayes[9]; 11. 99-Steve Sabo[8]; 12. 48-John Bores[4]; 13. O1-Art Ball[14]; 14. 69-John Mayes Jr.[19]; 15. 8K-Kevin Koerper[16]; 16. 23-Ben Elliott[18]; 17. 77C-Craig Corfman[15]; 18. 97-Andy Fike[2]; 19. 12M-Michael Stiltner[17]
Dirt Trucks
Heat 1 – Davis Brothers Carpeting
1. 69-Mark Warnick; 2. 18W-Corey Ward; 3. 8-Steve Endicott; 4. O1-Art Ball; 5. 38-Paul Dymond; 6. 2R-Ron Kepling; 7. 22-Todd Keegan; 8. 40-Al Davis; 9. 4X-Brian Sorg; 10. 52-Aaron Schatzinger
Heat 2 – Pepsi
1. 37-Eric Devanna; 2. 28-Shawn Valenti; 3. 17-Bob Dible; 4. 33-Brian Arnold; 5. 92-Loren Schwochow; 6. 3R-Chuck Roelle; 7. 96-Alex Wiechman; 8. O7-Greg Harmon; 9. 30-Dave Gibbs; 10. P51-Willie Keegan
A-main Starting Position []
1. 18W-Corey Ward[5]; 2. 28-Shawn Valenti[2]; 3. 2R-Ron Kepling[1]; 4. 38-Paul Dymond[11]; 5. 8-Steve Endicott[6]; 6. O1-Art Ball[10]; 7. 92-Loren Schwochow[3]; 8. 3R-Chuck Roelle[12]; 9. 37-Eric Devanna[4]; 10. 17-Bob Dible[8]; 11. 22-Todd Keegan[13]; 12. 33-Brian Arnold[7]; 13. 40-Al Davis[15]; 14. 30-Dave Gibbs[18]; 15. 52-Aaron Schatzinger[19]; 16. 96-Alex Wiechman[14]; 17. O7-Greg Harmon[16]; 18. P51-Willie Keegan[20]; 19. 4X-Brian Sorg[17]