By Brian Liskai ATTICA, Ohio – The new University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions will invade Attica Raceway Park to open “Ohio’s Finest Racing” venue’s 2015 season in the 24th Annual HD Supply Spring Nationals on Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4.

The nation’s oldest winged sprint car touring series has competed at Attica 104 times in the track’s history and will visit the track five times in 2015. It will be the first point’s race for the All Stars though they held five non-points races in Florida during February which saw Kerry Madsen claim three wins with 2014 All Star Eastern Region Champion Greg Hodnett and former World of Outlaws Champion Daryn Pittman claiming the other two wins.

“With it being early in the season we expect some drivers from around the region to show up for the HD Supply Spring Nationals. We usually see some drivers from the Pennsylvania area and hopefully we will see some competitors from the Midwest and Knoxville areas,” said Rex LeJeune, Director of Operations at Attica Raceway Park.

“We will have several Knoxville Fair Board members in attendance for the Spring Nationals and we are confident they will see an entertaining and exciting two nights of racing,” Attica Promoter John Bores.

Five time All Star Champion Dale Blaney, of Hartford, Ohio, has claimed Spring Nationals wins in 1995, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. The last time both nights of the Spring Nationals were competed saw Blaney and two-time Attica Champion Craig Mintz claim victories in 2012. Blaney leads all drivers in career All Star wins at Attica with 15 and has 21 total victories at the track to place him third on the all-time win list. Blaney also sits atop the all-time win list for the All Stars with 115 victories including 16 in 2014.

Things certainly won’t be easy for Blaney as several new teams have joined the All Stars in 2015 including Pennsylvania’s Ryan Smith, who scored a World of Outlaws win in his home state in 2014. He will also have to battle fellow four time All Star champions Tim Shaffer and Chad Kemenah. Of Kemenah’s 20 career wins at Attica (fourth on the all-time list), five are All Star victories of which two have come during the Spring Nationals. Shaffer has recorded 13 career wins at Attica of which five are All Star victories. Greg Wilson, a two-time All Star champion, has 19 career wins at Attica (fifth on the all-time win list) and has seven series wins at the track including Spring National wins in 2002, 2003 and 2006

Attica Raceway Park has also been a favorite track for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Danny Holtgraver. The former Lernerville Speedway champion has two career All Star wins at Attica including one last season.

Danny Smith, who will be inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame later this summer, has three career All Star wins at Attica, his last coming in 2005 during the Spring Nationals. The Chillicothe, Ohio driver has 10 career victories at Attica Raceway Park.

Attica’s tough weekly competitors will also contend for the Spring National victories. Six time Attica champion Byron Reed has 30 career wins at the track (second on all-time win list) of which four are All Star victories including a Spring Nationals win in 2010.

Another former Attica champion Chris Andrews of nearby Sandusky, Ohio, has joined a new team in 2015 and has six career wins at Attica including an All Star win in 2013. Former track champion Dean Jacobs has 10 career wins at Attica including an All Star win in 1998. Former All Star competitor Cap Henry of nearby Bellevue, Ohio, scored two wins at Attica in 2014.

Other possible contenders for Spring Nationals wins include Broken Arrow, Oklahoma’s Stevie Smith, who has two career All Star wins at Attica including a Spring Nationals win in 2005. Iowa’s Terry McCarl, who already has a World of Outlaws win in 2015, has two career wins at Attica including a Spring Nationals win in 2006. Local driver Brandon Martin has three career wins at Attica and will contend for a win as will weekly competitor Brian Lay who has two career Attica wins. Don’t count out Dalton, Ohio’s Lee Jacobs who had a break-out year in 2014, scoring his first two career All Star wins. He has four career wins at Attica.

There is a very strong contingent of rookies scheduled to compete at Attica in 2015 including multi-time 305 sprint champion Nate Dussel, who takes over the seat of the Davis #40DD which carried Caleb Griffith to the track championship last season. Other rookies include T.J. Michael, who scored a 305 sprint win in Texas this season; Jimmy Colvin and Tyler Gunn. Other weekly 410 drivers who will contend include Brian Smith and Travis Philo, who each have two career Attica wins, Duane Zablocki, Jody Keegan, Stuart Brubaker and D.J. Foos (both in new rides in 2015), and Rob Chaney, who has eight career Attica win including an All Star win in 2001.

Other drivers planning to run most if not all of the All Star schedule in 2015 include Caleb Helms, Cole Duncan, Sheldon Haudenschild and Andrew Palker.

Gates will open Friday at 3:30 p.m. with racing underway at 7:45 p.m. Gates will open Saturday at 3:30 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m.
For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com or www.allstarsprint.com

ATTICA, Ohio – The calendar says spring is here. Someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. Very cold temperatures have prompted Attica Raceway Park to pull the plug on the season opener scheduled for Friday, March 27. The track will not utilize the scheduled rain date of Saturday.

“Temperatures are forecasted to be a high in the low 30s and lows in the low 20s both days. We don’t want to subject the fans or put the race teams and their equipment in peril,” said Rex LeJeune, Director of Operations at ARP.

The season opener will now be the two-day HD Supply Spring Nationals featuring the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions on Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4. Gates will open Friday at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7:45 p.m. Gates will open Saturday at 4 p.m. with racing underway at 7 p.m.

For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com

ATTICA, Ohio – In short track racing it used to be once you were lapped it was nearly impossible to gain any positions throughout the rest of the race. That will change at Attica Raceway Park in 2015.

A new rule this season will be the “Lucky Dog” honor. Lapped cars will still be required to go to the tail on a yellow or red flag. However in the A-main only, the lapped cars will receive one Lucky Dog – they will be put back on the lead lap one time providing they did not bring out that yellow or red flag and are not two laps or more down.

“Before, drivers who were lapped realized it was nearly impossible to pick up any positions when the caution came out and many pulled off the track. With the Lucky Dog, it will encourage them to stay out and race as they can gain positions at the end of the feature,” said Rex LeJeune, Attica Raceway Park Director of Operations.

In another rules change, if a driver misses one night or racing they will receive 75 points one time only providing they did not compete at another race on that night.

“It’s a big commitment to race every week and sometimes during the season something out of anyone’s control can come up. We feel these two new rules will help our weekly racers that support us,” said Attica Promoter John Bores.

That point rules change could make a big difference in 2015 as Bores, in celebration of his 10th year of promoting ARP, has put together a $63,000 point fund for the four weekly divisions of 410 and 305 sprints, UMP late models and dirt trucks.

 

Racing fans will get a chance to look at some of the race cars that will be racing at Attica Raceway Park during the 2015 season with 2 upcoming mall shows.

The Bowling Green Mall Show will run from Friday, March 13th until Sunday, March 15th

The Tiffin Mall Show will run from Friday, March 20th until Sunday March 22nd.

The Hoserville Injured Drivers Fund Auction will take place Saturday, March 21st at 2pm.

Fans will have a chance to win an all access package with an All Star Circuit of Champions driver during any All-Star event in the 2015 season at Attica Raceway Park.

The package includes:
Pit Pass
T-Shirt
$20 Gas Card

Winner of the package will be able to choose from the following drivers:
Greg Wilson
Danny Smith
Travis Philo
D.J Foos
Chris Andrews
Caleb Helms
Cole Duncan
Chad Kemenah

Hope to see you there!

By Brian Liskai: (Attica, OH) The 2015 racing season at Attica Raceway Park is shaping up to be the biggest in the track’s 27 year history with BIGGER shows and BIGGER payouts; enough to lure the top dirt track drivers in the United States.

“This is the 10th year that I’ve been Attica Raceway Park’s promoter. I wanted to celebrate and thank all the race teams and wonderful fans who have supported this track and me for so long. This schedule does ALL of that,” said John Bores, ARP Promoter.

Click Here To View 2015 Schedule

“Ohio’s Finest Racing” speedplant will payout over $675,000 in prize money including a $63,000 point fund in 2015.

“We’ve seen NASCAR stars race at Attica before like Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Dave Blaney. With this kind of money on the line our great fans may see the next racing super star,” said Rex LeJeune, ARP Director of Operations.

Attica’s 2015 season has nearly every major touring group on the schedule including the new attitude All Star Circuit of Champions under Stewart’s ownership; the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars; the Lucas Oil Late Model Series; the Kistler Racing Products FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) Championship Series; the American Late Model Series; and the Attica Wayne County Late Model Challenge Series.

“While the specials offer our fans awesome racing, our weekly Friday night events are just as exciting, especially since the teams will be battling for a record point fund this year,” added LeJeune.

The teams will be traveling from all over the country as they fight to get to the top of the season’s points tally. Of course, they will use a reliable auto transport service to ensure their vehicles get to the race in one piece. Many people don’t realize that some of the biggest issues racing teams often face are caused during the transportation process between races!

It all begins on Friday, March 27 (rain date of March 28) with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints, Summit Racing Equipment UMP Late Models and Foster’s Auto Body 305 Sprints to open the season.

The University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions then come calling for the first of five appearances at Attica. The traditional HD Supply Spring Nationals will be held Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4. The nation’s oldest winged sprint car touring series has competed at Attica 104 times in the track’s history.

The next appearance of the UNOH All Stars will be Friday, June 19 to kick off the 33rd Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek which features 9 straight nights of racing across the Buckeye State.

The final events for the UNOH All Stars at Attica is another of the long-time fan favorites, the Attica Ambush on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4 and 5. The event includes the Lucas Oil Late Model Series paying $10,000 to win on Friday.

“The Greatest Show On Dirt,” the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series makes a stop at Attica for the Kistler Engines Classic on Friday, May 29 for the $10,000-to-win affair.

For the seventh season, Attica will play host to the FAST Championship Series with 9 events for the 410 sprint series (Fremont Speedway also has 9 events). At season’s end, the FAST champion will walk away with $10,000.

The JLH General Contractor FAST 305 Sprint Championship Series will also have five events at Attica and five at Fremont and rewards the overall champion with a nice payday at season’s end.

“Attica and Fremont have worked very well together on this great series for our loyal weekly race teams. Rich Farmer (Fremont’s promoter) has worked hard to keep it going after the dedication of Bryan Autullo, Scott Porter and Chris Kettman started and ran it for the first five years,” said Bores.

And while the sprint cars have several big races on tap at Attica in 2015, the late models have their share of special events. Besides the Lucas Oil Late Model Series race, the American Late Model Series will visit Attica on Friday, April 17 and Friday, July 31.

And for the second year in a row, the new Attica-Wayne County Late Model Challenge Series – point races at both Attica and Wayne County Speedway – will be staged with a separate point fund. Attica will host the series on Fridays May 8, July 17, Aug. 7 and Aug. 21.

A change for 2015 will see Attica stick to its traditional Friday night racing following the Attica Fair. In previous year the track switched to Saturday nights following the fair as Fremont was dormant for the Sandusky County Fair. In 2015 races will be held Fridays Aug. 21 and 28 before the season-ending double-header on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4-5.

“Last year we forced a few of our teams to choose between tracks by switching to Saturday night after the fair. That had an implication on some of our championship chases. We’ve always been known as a Friday night track and we will remain that in 2015,” said LeJeune

And while the race teams have a lot of money on the line in 2015, Attica Raceway Park has several events to thank the awesome fans who make it all happen at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” facility.

On May 1, June 5, July 3 and Aug. 7, hot dogs will only cost $1 and the traditional Fan Appreciation Night on July 3 will include four classes of racing for only $10 general admission.

Also, as has always been the case at Attica, kids 10 and under will get in free and Attica will give away a free bicycle during each event.