By Tony Veneziano, WoO Sprint Series PR Director
Attica Raceway Park is near and dear to Mean 15 racer Chad Kemenah’s heart. Not only is it right down the road from his home in Findlay, Ohio, but he also has won 18 times in a 410-winged sprint car at the 1/3-mile track. In addition, John Bores, the owner of Kemenah’s long-time sponsor Underground Utilities Inc., also is Attica’s promoter this season.
The stars and cars of the World of Outlaws will take to the high-banked clay oval on Friday, May 12th, to battle some of the toughest weekly 410-sprint car drivers in the country in an event presented by Kistler Engines.
“It’s always good when you go back home,” said Kemenah, the driver of the No. 15K U.U.I. Eagle. “It’s a plus. You have plenty of laps at the place, and the fans are excited to see us race with the Outlaws. We’re really looking forward to going back there.”
Another reason Kemenah is excited to race at Attica is that Bores is calling the shots now. It was kind of by luck the two hooked up in the late 1990s. Now, the No. 15K Chad Kemenah Racing machine is synonymous with Bores’ U.U.I.
“We’ve been together now for eight years,” Kemenah said. “It actually started out as a one-night deal. A guy named Jim Harble, who was a part of the race team for quite awhile, had a racecar and asked me to drive it one night. It was a one-night thing during Ohio Sprint Speedweek, and here we are eight years later. It’s like a dream come true.”
From a sponsor’s standpoint, Bores is excited to see Kemenah racing with the World of Outlaws, knowing how tough the competition is and that the driver is on top of his game. >From a promoter’s standpoint, he is anxiously waiting for the long-time fan favorite to compete at Attica in front of his hometown fans with the other members of the Mean 15. Bores admits the sprint cars are what keeps the fans coming back and packing the stands week in and week out.
“It’s great for us and for the local people to see a local person running at a local track with the World of Outlaws,” said Bores, a former driver turned promoter. “He’s been doing this for so long that I think he’ll just treat it as another race.”
Drivers and car owners are often known for having epic battles with promoters, and vice versa. In many cases, this comes about because neither side knows what the other is going through. Enter Bores, who not only has laps as a driver, but knows what it takes to be a sponsor in racing and a successful businessman. He is using all of his knowledge for the sport and as well as his keen business sense in his maiden voyage into promoting Attica.
“I understand what it takes to fix a car,” Bores said. “Having been out on the track, it helps as a promoter to make the racing more favorable to the drivers and the team owners. Having your own car and sponsoring a car helps you understand the financial aspect of it. As a promoter, I know what is on the other end, having been a car owner and being a sponsor.”
For Kemenah, it is the best of both worlds as he has a sponsor that knows what it takes to help the team stay on the track and keep clicking. He also has a throng of fans that will be waiting in line to buy tickets for the May 12 event to see their local favorite as he takes on drivers from across the country who will be gunning to say they won in his back yard.
“It would be great to the win the Outlaw race,” Kemenah said. “With it being John’s first year as a promoter. He’s helped me out so much. He’s given me the best equipment and the best of everything to go racing with. It would mean quite a bit to win one here for him. We really haven’t talked about the race. We just try to approach every race as a different one.”
Kemenah, who is battling for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award Presented by Maxim Racing and ButlerBuilt, won the World of Outlaws season-opener in February at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.
After doing battle at Attica, Kemenah and the World of Outlaws Mean 15 racers will pack up and travel south in the Buckeye State for the Ohio Challenge II at Jim Nier’s K-C Raceway in Waverly.
For ticket information about the World of Outlaws event presented by Kistler Engines on May 12 at Attica Raceway Park, go to https://arp.kxzjkne0-liquidwebsites.com or call 419-680-5606 or 419-426-8911 during the week of the event.
(Coming Friday, April 28: (on the WoO web site) Jeremy Campbell talks about taking his run for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award Presented By Maxim Racing and ButlerBuilt to high-speed K-C Raceway on May 13 with the World of Outlaws.)