Wise opens Ohio Speedweek with thrilling last lap pass for Attica All Star win
By Brian Liskai
ATTICA, Ohio – You couldn’t ask for a more exciting kick-off to the 41st Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket. Angola, Indiana’s Zeb Wise ripped the lip on the last lap to pass Tyler Courtney to claim the $6,000 Bert and Brigitte Emick Classic score at Attica Raceway Park with the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1.
The race – the 139th visit of the All Stars to Attica – saw local driver Jordan Ryan lead laps 1-7 with two-time and defending All Star champion Courtney taking over the top spot from laps 8-21when Wise drove to the point. Wise led until four laps to go when Courtney snuck back by, setting up the final lap, final corner heroics of Wise on Ohio Laborers/Ohio CAT Night. Wise’s margin of victory was just .281 seconds.
“That last lap was definitely win it or wear it. I’m not sure I ran three and four that hard all race until the last lap,” said Wise, ace of the Rudeen Racing/Rayce Rudeen Foundation/No. 26 sprint car. “I kinda made some poor decisions prior to that last lap that put us behind Tyler [Courtney] earlier in the race. I think I was able to move a little bit better than he could. It’s just really rewarding to come here and put it all together, and I owe it all to the guys standing behind me.”
“I don’t know what it is about this place,” Wise added. “I’ve just always been really comfortable here. I’m not sure if it’s the banking or the shape, but I’ve always really enjoyed racing at Attica.”
Courtney admitted he should have moved to the top earlier in the battle with Wise.
“I made the wrong move into three,” Tyler Courtney said. “I just feel it for my guys. I think I gave one away there, but hats off to Zeb and his team. It’s been fun watching him grow up the last few summers. He’s a really good race car driver.”
Ryan, a former 305 sprint champion at Attica, scored his first podium finish with the All Stars.
“I just tried to stay patient but it’s unsettling when you have guys like Tyler and Zeb behind you and Craig (Mintz) pressuring you the last part of the race,” said Ryan.
Mintz and Cole Macedo rounded out the top five.
The Whistle Stop Presents the Dirt Nerds Podcast powered by Propane UMP Late Model feature was also exciting with Justin Chance leading the first five laps before Rusty Schlenk powered to the lead utilizing the high side of the track. Five time track champion Ryan Missler steadily worked his way to the front from his fifth starting spot and after a fantastic side-by-side battle with Schlenk over several laps, took the lead on lap 23 and drove to his second victory of the season. It is Missler’s 20th career late model win at Attica.
It was sort of pay-back for Missler as Schlenk utilized a late race pass of Missler to take a win.
“I didn’t think the car was that good before the first caution by like lap nine. I just decided to drive it harder and I started driving through the middle down in one and two and it worked and it stuck. Schlenk was on the top and you aren’t going to pass him up there so I went to the bottom of three and four. Rusty gave me props last week in his interview. He’s tough…he’s my kryptonite here so if you can beat Schlenk when he’s leading….we’re doing something right,” said Missler beside his Weekley Electric, Jackson Farms, LK Home Improvements, MGX Technologies, Rocket Chassis, Kepling Flooring, Superior Shine & Solutions, Handy Grafix, York Fabrication, Stakt, Napa of Bryan, George Lee Racing, Keizer Wheels, Elite Motorsports, Accuforce, SCS Gearbox, Missler’s Sweets, Maga Lifts backed machine.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, June 23 with the 410 sprints with All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series presented by the Baumann Auto Group, the 305 sprints with the NAPA of Bryan AFCS presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales, and the Oakshade/Attica Late Model Series Challenge.
For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.comor follow the track on Twitter @atticaracewyprk or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/atticaracewaypark and Instagram at attica_raceway_park.
About Ohio Laborers – https://www.liuna.org/
Tonight’s races are brought to you by the Ohio Laborers Halls 480 and 574 and Ohio LECET in conjunction with LIUNA – The Laborers’ International Union of North America. There are 23 Local Union Halls throughout Ohio representing 20,000 union laborers. Laborers build roads, construct buildings, install gas and water lines, clean hazardous waste, and much more. When you see Ohio Laborers working on the roads, please remember to keep them safe, slow down and move over! Check out the website for more information and job and training opportunities!
About Ohio Cat – http://www.ohiocat.com
Ohio CAT is a top Caterpillar dealer, employing over 1,100 people in more than 20 locations. Ohio CAT has received numerous awards for customer service and business accomplishments, as well as being named 2015 leading skid steer loader dealer in the world as well as gaining top sales in excavators and repeated awards leading the Ohio market in skid steer loader sales. With staff nearly doubling since 2010, Ohio Cat completed construction of its renovated Broadview Heights corporate office in 2016 to accommodate recent years of rapid growth.
Attica Raceway Park
Friday, June 9, 2023
All Star Circuit of Champions
Tezos A Feature (35 Laps): 1. 26-Zeb Wise[1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[3]; 3. 25R-Jordan Ryan[2]; 4. 09-Craig Mintz[10]; 5. 29M-Cole Macedo[4]; 6. 55-Michael Kofoid[6]; 7. 9-Trey Jacobs[5]; 8. 45-Tim Shaffer[7]; 9. 4-Chris Windom[19]; 10. 48-Danny Dietrich[13]; 11. W20-Greg Wilson[9]; 12. 5-Byron Reed[21]; 13. 35-Stuart Brubaker[18]; 14. 8M-TJ Michael[17]; 15. 32-Bryce Lucius[14]; 16. 29-Sye Lynch[25]; 17. 97-JJ Hickle[24]; 18. 23-Zeth Sabo[8]; 19. 33W-Cap Henry[11]; 20. 7N-Darin Naida[22]; 21. 71M-Caden Englehart[16]; 22. 4S-Tyler Street[23]; 23. 28M-Conner Morrell[26]; 24. 19-Paige Polyak[20]; 25. 22-Brandon Spithaler[12]; 26. 49X-Cale Thomas[15] LAP LEADERS: Jordan Ryan (1-7), Tyler Courtney (8-21), Zeb Wise (22-30), Tyler Courtney (31-34), Zeb Wise (35)
Classic Ink USA B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 5-Byron Reed[4]; 2. 7N-Darin Naida[3]; 3. 4S-Tyler Street[6]; 4. 97-JJ Hickle[7]; 5. 29-Sye Lynch[5]; 6. 5T-Travis Philo[2]; 7. 28M-Conner Morrell[12]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee[14]; 9. 2L-Logan Forler[13]; 10. 55B-Jake Swanson[15]; 11. 25-Chris Myers[10]; 12. 15C-Chris Andrews[9]; 13. 75-Jerry Dahms[16]; 14. 2-Ricky Peterson[11]; 15. 70-Scotty Thiel[1]; 16. 101-Cody Maroske[8]
Elliotts Custom Trailers and Carts Dash (6 Laps): 1. 26-Zeb Wise[2]; 2. 25R-Jordan Ryan[1]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[8]; 4. 29M-Cole Macedo[3]; 5. 9-Trey Jacobs[5]; 6. 55-Michael Kofoid[6]; 7. 45-Tim Shaffer[4]; 8. 23-Zeth Sabo[7]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 23-Zeth Sabo[1]; 2. 22-Brandon Spithaler[2]; 3. 9-Trey Jacobs[4]; 4. 49X-Cale Thomas[3]; 5. 8M-TJ Michael[5]; 6. 5T-Travis Philo[6]; 7. 97-JJ Hickle[8]; 8. 2-Ricky Peterson[7]; 9. 75-Jerry Dahms[9]
CSI Shocks Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 25R-Jordan Ryan[2]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson[1]; 3. 26-Zeb Wise[4]; 4. 71M-Caden Englehart[5]; 5. 4-Chris Windom[6]; 6. 7N-Darin Naida[7]; 7. 4S-Tyler Street[9]; 8. 25-Chris Myers[3]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee[8]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 2. 09-Craig Mintz[2]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich[3]; 4. 55-Michael Kofoid[4]; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker[8]; 6. 29-Sye Lynch[9]; 7. 70-Scotty Thiel[5]; 8. 15C-Chris Andrews[7]; 9. 2L-Logan Forler[6]
Kistler Racing Products Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 45-Tim Shaffer[2]; 2. 33W-Cap Henry[1]; 3. 32-Bryce Lucius[3]; 4. 29M-Cole Macedo[4]; 5. 19-Paige Polyak[5]; 6. 5-Byron Reed[8]; 7. 101-Cody Maroske[7]; 8. 28M-Conner Morrell[6]; 9. 55B-Jake Swanson[9]
Hercules Tire Qualifying: 1. 55-Michael Kofoid, 00:12.695[21]; 2. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:12.816[11]; 3. 9-Trey Jacobs, 00:12.818[7]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 00:12.870[25]; 5. 29M-Cole Macedo, 00:12.880[35]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson, 00:12.896[14]; 7. 23-Zeth Sabo, 00:12.901[8]; 8. 09-Craig Mintz, 00:12.911[19]; 9. 33W-Cap Henry, 00:12.991[32]; 10. 25R-Jordan Ryan, 00:13.049[16]; 11. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 00:13.057[4]; 12. 48-Danny Dietrich, 00:13.057[22]; 13. 70-Scotty Thiel, 00:13.076[26]; 14. 49X-Cale Thomas, 00:13.081[6]; 15. 8M-TJ Michael, 00:13.108[5]; 16. 5T-Travis Philo, 00:13.153[2]; 17. 2L-Logan Forler, 00:13.162[23]; 18. 15C-Chris Andrews, 00:13.167[20]; 19. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 00:13.184[27]; 20. 45-Tim Shaffer, 00:13.199[28]; 21. 25-Chris Myers, 00:13.233[12]; 22. 71M-Caden Englehart, 00:13.242[13]; 23. 4-Chris Windom, 00:13.273[17]; 24. 7N-Darin Naida, 00:13.284[15]; 25. 32-Bryce Lucius, 00:13.314[36]; 26. 99-Skylar Gee, 00:13.329[18]; 27. 2-Ricky Peterson, 00:13.334[3]; 28. 19-Paige Polyak, 00:13.346[33]; 29. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:13.361[29]; 30. 4S-Tyler Street, 00:13.435[10]; 31. 97-JJ Hickle, 00:13.470[9]; 32. 101-Cody Maroske, 00:13.480[30]; 33. 5-Byron Reed, 00:13.520[34]; 34. 55B-Jake Swanson, 00:13.596[31]; 35. 75-Jerry Dahms, 00:14.013[1]; 36. 29-Sye Lynch, 00:14.726[24]
Late Models – Dirt Nerds Podcast
Qualifying
1.50-Ryan Missler, 14.785; 2.91-Rusty Schlenk, 15.156; 3.92-Justin Chance, 15.184; 4.94-Mike Bores, 15.248; 5.10-Nathon Loney, 15.318; 6.36-Matt Irey, 15.376; 7.74-Jeff Warnick, 15.495; 8.5M-Ryan Markham, 15.523; 9.1*-Kyle Moore, 15.536; 10.51-Devin Shiels, 15.597; 11.28-Kent Brewer, 15.829; 12.101-Chester Fitch, 15.913; 13.2C-Clint Coffman, 16.013; 14.29-Nate Potts, 16.115; 15.27-Ken Hahn, 16.290; 16.53-John Miller, 16.472; 17.69R-Doug Baird, 16.604; 18.23-Scott Fowler , 16.626; 19.4G-Bill Griffith, 16.959; 20.14T-Cody Truman, 17.219; 21.11-Austin Gibson, 18.188;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 10-Nathon Loney[3] ; 2. 50-Ryan Missler[4] ; 3. 27-Ken Hahn[1] ; 4. 29-Nate Potts[6] ; 5. 101-Chester Fitch[2] ; 6. 23-Scott Fowler [5] ; 7. 11-Austin Gibson[7]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 36-Matt Irey[4] ; 2. 5M-Ryan Markham[3] ; 3. 28-Kent Brewer[1] ; 4. 2C-Clint Coffman[5] ; 5. 4G-Bill Griffith[7] ; 6. 53-John Miller[6] ; 7. 1*-Kyle Moore[2]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 94-Mike Bores[2] ; 2. 91-Rusty Schlenk[4] ; 3. 74-Jeff Warnick[1] ; 4. 92-Justin Chance[3] ; 5. 51-Devin Shiels[5] ; 6. 69R-Doug Baird[6] ; 7. 14T-Cody Truman[7]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 50-Ryan Missler[5] ; 2. 91-Rusty Schlenk[6] ; 3. 10-Nathon Loney[4] ; 4. 92-Justin Chance[1] ; 5. 36-Matt Irey[3] ; 6. 94-Mike Bores[7] ; 7. 5M-Ryan Markham[8] ; 8. 51-Devin Shiels[15] ; 9. 74-Jeff Warnick[2] ; 10. 29-Nate Potts[11] ; 11. 2C-Clint Coffman[12] ; 12. 27-Ken Hahn[9] ; 13. 101-Chester Fitch[13] ; 14. 4G-Bill Griffith[14] ; 15. 53-John Miller[17] ; 16. 69R-Doug Baird[18] ; 17. 1*-Kyle Moore[20] ; 18. 28-Kent Brewer[10] ; 19. 14T-Cody Truman[21] ; 20. 11-Austin Gibson[19] ; 21. 23-Scott Fowler [16]