Philo earns last lap, last corner 410 Attica win; Shiels gets 1st late model victory; Miller dominates 305 sprints

By Brian Liskai

ATTICA, Ohio – While everyone else was running around the bottom, Travis Philo pulled his wing back and blasted away at Attica Raceway Park’s cushion Friday, May 26. The move and adjustments his crew made paid off as the Waterville, Ohio driver blasted around race-long leader Jordan Ryan on the last corner of the last lap to earn his the 410 sprint victory on Steinle Chevrolet Buick of Clyde/Norwalk Concrete Night.

Philo’s margin of victory was .236 seconds and it was his ninth career win at Attica.

Jordan Ryan led the first 29.75 laps. He was challenged the first half of the race by Stuart Brubaker. With just eight laps to go, Ryan had pulled away from the field while Philo got around Brubaker for second. By lap 25, Philo had found the top side of the track and closed quickly on Ryan, setting him up for the last lap excitement.

“I was kicking myself the last five times I tried to run the bottom in three and four. I would get huge runs off of four but it was so hard to get slowed down and hit that bottom right. I knew the top was working…that’s where I passed all my cars coming off of four and getting into one. We tried a little bit different stuff tonight and I have to thank my dad and AJ Havens, Kayden Havens and their entire family. My dad busts his ass for us to be able to do this and I’m extremely appreciative,” said Philo beside his Control Design Solutions, Tire Slick, Banshee Graphics, Columbus Equipment, Bohmer Rentals, Kistler Engines, Berryman Racing Shocks, Classic Ink USA, Maxim Chassis backed #5T.

Devin Shiels, who has won the last three consecutive Dirt Nerds Podcast/Propane.com UMP Late Model track championships at Attica, began the season with a new car and the results were not something the Britton, Michigan driver was used to. Shiels and his team overcame the gremlins Friday at Attica, snatching the lead with just three laps to go to earn his 16th career victory at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” venue.

Canadian Gregg Haskell looked as though he was going to earn his first Attica win, leading the first 21 laps. But, Shiels found something on the top side of turns three and four and took the lead just before a caution with 22 laps complete. Shiels drove away for the win.

“We’ve had some gremlins with this car. We had a right front shut-off for the brake that was sticking on causing me to push and we were trying to chase it with the set-up and didn’t find the brake until last week. We’ve been trying some stuff here and there and the new car seems to be almost like the old car was….maybe a little better,” said Shiels of his Magic Fountain Auto Wash, Rally’s Hamburgers, Dundee Products, Banshee Graphics, Salenbein Trucking & Excavating, Dirt Nerds Podcast, Banshee Graphics backed #51.

Three time Fremont Fence 305 sprint champion Jamie Miller also blasted away at Attica’s high line, charging from his eighth starting spot to the lead by just lap six. The Fremont, Ohio driver earned his second Attica win of 2023 in dominating fashion, taking the checkers by nearly seven seconds for his 37th career victory at the track.

“I don’t know what was going on behind me…all I know is this went to the front pretty fast. This thing was locked down fast. We have a new motor in the car and it’s a real ripper,” said Miller of his Boca Construction, Kenny Kalb Farms, Roberts & Sons Contracting, JLH General Contractor, Tuck Pointing America, Pizza Wheel, Smitty’s Pizza, Queen of Clean, Rohr Total Lawn Care, Crown Battery, Reedtown Tavern, Fostoria Mod Shop, Slade Shock Technology, CA Kustoms, Jamie Miller Trucking, Reliable Spray Foam Insulators, Gill Sawmill backed sprint car.

Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, June 2 for Mid Season Championship Night with double points on the line. It will be an All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series presented by the Baumann Auto Group night paying the Callie’s Performance 410 Sprint feature winner $4,000. The Dirt Nerds/Propane.com UMP Late Models will fight for $2,000 to win while the Napa of Bryan AFCS presented by Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales 305 Sprints will battle for $1,200 to win.

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 Steinle Chevrolet Buick

Steinle Chevrolet Buick is part of the Steinle family of dealerships that have been in existence for nearly 60 years. Located on McPherson Highway in Clyde, Ohio, stop by and check out their big inventory of new and formerly owned vehicles. Check out our inventory at www.steinlechevroletbuick.com

About Norwalk Concrete – https://www.nciprecast.com/

Norwalk Concrete Industries is a family owned business that has been in operation since 1906. Norwalk Concrete is a supplier of precast concrete products and associated services to highway, utility, site development and home construction markets. Products include highway drainage structures, manholes, median barrier, utility vaults, basement foundation systems, electrical pullboxes, septic tanks, cisterns and several specialty products. Norwalk Concrete’s motto, “You Dream it, we’ll cast it” sums up their solution-oriented approach to all applications. Norwalk Concrete services most of the Midwestern United States.

Attica Raceway

Friday, May 26, 2023

410 Sprints – Callie’s Performance Products

Qualifying

1.9-Trey Jacobs, 12.971; 2.32-Bryce Lucius, 13.010; 3.15C-Chris Andrews, 13.071; 4.35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.075; 5.33W-Cap Henry, 13.108; 6.8M-TJ Michael, 13.115; 7.50YR-Ryan Ruhl, 13.211; 8.5T-Travis Philo, 13.256; 9.5-Byron Reed, 13.278; 10.25R-Jordan Ryan, 13.301; 11.5K-Adam Kekich, 13.363; 12.4*-Tyler Street, 13.488; 13.15-Mitch Harble, 13.498; 14.70-Henry Malcuit, 13.502; 15.2-Ricky Peterson, 13.555; 16.83M-Broc Martin, 13.634; 17.38-Leyton Wagner, 13.658; 18.12-Kyle Capodice, 13.679; 19.17-Reece Saldana, 13.686; 20.12J-Kasey Jedrzejek, 13.743; 21.23-Zeth Sabo, 13.996; 22.75-Jerry Dahms, 14.219; 23.98-Robert Robenalt, 14.620;

Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)

1. 25R-Jordan Ryan[2] ; 2. 8M-TJ Michael[4] ; 3. 5K-Adam Kekich[1] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[3] ; 5. 4*-Tyler Street[5] ; 6. 70-Henry Malcuit[7] ; 7. 15-Mitch Harble[6] ; 8. 75-Jerry Dahms[8]

Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)

1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 3. 2-Ricky Peterson[1] ; 4. 33W-Cap Henry[3] ; 5. 12J-Kasey Jedrzejek[8] ; 6. 83M-Broc Martin[5] ; 7. 12-Kyle Capodice[7] ; 8. 38-Leyton Wagner[6]

Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)

1. 15C-Chris Andrews[2] ; 2. 32-Bryce Lucius[3] ; 3. 9-Trey Jacobs[4] ; 4. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl[1] ; 5. 23-Zeth Sabo[6] ; 6. 17-Reece Saldana[5] ; 7. 98-Robert Robenalt[7]

A-Main 1 – (30 Laps)

1. 5T-Travis Philo[6] ; 2. 25R-Jordan Ryan[1] ; 3. 33W-Cap Henry[4] ; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 5. 32-Bryce Lucius[2] ; 6. 5-Byron Reed[11] ; 7. 23-Zeth Sabo[15] ; 8. 12J-Kasey Jedrzejek[14] ; 9. 2-Ricky Peterson[10] ; 10. 9-Trey Jacobs[7] ; 11. 5K-Adam Kekich[9] ; 12. 8M-TJ Michael[5] ; 13. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl[12] ; 14. 4*-Tyler Street[13] ; 15. 15C-Chris Andrews[8] ; 16. 17-Reece Saldana[18] ; 17. 75-Jerry Dahms[22] ; 18. 98-Robert Robenalt[19] ; 19. 12-Kyle Capodice[20] ; 20. 83M-Broc Martin[16] ; 21. 15-Mitch Harble[17] ; 22. 38-Leyton Wagner[21]

305 Sprints – Fremont Fence Co.

Qualifying

1.9R-Logan Riehl, 13.698; 2.3F-Wade Fraley, 14.055; 3.26-Jamie Miller, 14.070; 4.5K-Kasey Jedrzejek, 14.076; 5.19R-Steve Rando, 14.128; 6.1W-Paul Weaver, 14.152; 7.98-Zeth Sabo, 14.223; 8.5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr., 14.245; 9.10X-Dustin Stroup, 14.289; 10.36-Seth Schneider, 14.458; 11.7M-Brandon Moore, 14.528; 12.5M-Mike Moore, 14.598; 13.34-Jud Dickerson, 14.620; 14.10TS-Tyler Schiets, 14.661; 15.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 14.683; 16.2-Brenden Torok, 14.805; 17.5-Kody Brewer, 14.856; 18.3M-Logan Mongeau, 14.900; 19.4X-Blayne Keckler, 14.905; 20.51M-Haldon Miller, 14.919; 21.11TS-Tate Schiets, 15.117; 22.92-Kevin Hawk, 15.146; 23.2S-Jackson Sebetto, 15.197; 24.13-Jeremy Duposki, 15.240; 25.1S-James Saam, 15.586;

Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)

1. 10X-Dustin Stroup[1] ; 2. 98-Zeth Sabo[2] ; 3. 3F-Wade Fraley[4] ; 4. 19R-Steve Rando[3] ; 5. 2-Brenden Torok[7] ; 6. 3M-Logan Mongeau[8] ; 7. 5M-Mike Moore[5] ; 8. 10TS-Tyler Schiets[6] ; 9. 13-Jeremy Duposki[9]

Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)

1. 7M-Brandon Moore[1] ; 2. 36-Seth Schneider[2] ; 3. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[3] ; 4. 5-Kody Brewer[5] ; 5. 9R-Logan Riehl[4] ; 6. 51M-Haldon Miller[7] ; 7. 4X-Blayne Keckler[6] ; 8. 1S-James Saam[8]

Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)

1. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[2] ; 3. 34-Jud Dickerson[1] ; 4. 92-Kevin Hawk[7] ; 5. X15-Kasey Ziebold[5] ; 6. 2S-Jackson Sebetto[8] ; 7. 11TS-Tate Schiets[6] ; 8. 5K-Kasey Jedrzejek[3]

B-Main 1 – (10 Laps)

1. 5K-Kasey Jedrzejek[9] ; 2. 3M-Logan Mongeau[1] ; 3. 5M-Mike Moore[4] ; 4. 10TS-Tyler Schiets[7] ; 5. 51M-Haldon Miller[2] ; 6. 13-Jeremy Duposki[10] ; 7. 4X-Blayne Keckler[5] ; 8. 11TS-Tate Schiets[6] ; 9. 2S-Jackson Sebetto[3] ; 10. 1S-James Saam[8]

A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)

1. 26-Jamie Miller[8] ; 2. 7M-Brandon Moore[4] ; 3. 36-Seth Schneider[3] ; 4. 10X-Dustin Stroup[5] ; 5. 9R-Logan Riehl[7] ; 6. 98-Zeth Sabo[1] ; 7. 5-Kody Brewer[12] ; 8. 5K-Kasey Jedrzejek[16] ; 9. 19R-Steve Rando[11] ; 10. 3F-Wade Fraley[6] ; 11. 5JR-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[9] ; 12. 1W-Paul Weaver[2] ; 13. 2-Brenden Torok[14] ; 14. 92-Kevin Hawk[13] ; 15. 3M-Logan Mongeau[17] ; 16. X15-Kasey Ziebold[15] ; 17. 10TS-Tyler Schiets[19] ; 18. 34-Jud Dickerson[10] ; 19. 51M-Haldon Miller[20] ; 20. 5M-Mike Moore[18]

Late Models – Dirt Nerds Podcast

Qualifying

1.50-Ryan Missler, 15.100; 2.RH21-Gregg Haskell, 15.441; 3.1N-Casey Noonan, 15.446; 4.5M-Ryan Markham, 15.548; 5.92-Justin Chance, 15.721; 6.2C-Clint Coffman, 15.782; 7.101-Chester Fitch, 15.902; 8.44S-Collin Shipley, 16.031; 9.51-Devin Shiels, 16.048; 10.29-Nate Potts, 16.144; 11.74-Jeff Warnick, 16.188; 12.45-Jamie Grochowski, 16.260; 13.56-Brandon Gregory, 16.383; 14.27-Ken Hahn, 16.493; 15.28-Kent Brewer, 16.659; 16.69R-Doug Baird, 16.819; 17.4G-Bill Griffith, 16.845; 18.16-Steve Sabo, 17.095; 19.23-Scott Fowler , 17.423; 20.11-Austin Gibson, 17.908; 21.14T-Cody Truman, 39.320;

Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)

1. RH21-Gregg Haskell[4] ; 2. 56-Brandon Gregory[1] ; 3. 29-Nate Potts[2] ; 4. 44S-Collin Shipley[3] ; 5. 28-Kent Brewer[5] ; 6. 16-Steve Sabo[6] ; 7. 11-Austin Gibson[7]

Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)

1. 92-Justin Chance[3] ; 2. 50-Ryan Missler[4] ; 3. 51-Devin Shiels[1] ; 4. 74-Jeff Warnick[5] ; 5. 2C-Clint Coffman[2] ; 6. 4G-Bill Griffith[7] ; 7. 45-Jamie Grochowski[6]

Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)

1. 5M-Ryan Markham[3] ; 2. 1N-Casey Noonan[4] ; 3. 101-Chester Fitch[2] ; 4. 27-Ken Hahn[1] ; 5. 69R-Doug Baird[5] ; 6. 23-Scott Fowler [6] ; 7. 14T-Cody Truman[7]

A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)

1. 51-Devin Shiels[10] ; 2. RH21-Gregg Haskell[2] ; 3. 1N-Casey Noonan[6] ; 4. 44S-Collin Shipley[11] ; 5. 92-Justin Chance[1] ; 6. 5M-Ryan Markham[7] ; 7. 16-Steve Sabo[17] ; 8. 50-Ryan Missler[4] ; 9. 27-Ken Hahn[13] ; 10. 4G-Bill Griffith[15] ; 11. 74-Jeff Warnick[12] ; 12. 2C-Clint Coffman[3] ; 13. 29-Nate Potts[9] ; 14. 45-Jamie Grochowski[18] ; 15. 69R-Doug Baird[16] ; 16. 101-Chester Fitch[5] ; 17. 56-Brandon Gregory[8] ; 18. 23-Scott Fowler [19] ; 19. 14T-Cody Truman[21] ; 20. 11-Austin Gibson[20] ; 21. 28-Kent Brewer[14]

Schatz gets first World of Outlaws win of 2023 with late race pass!

By Brian Liskai

ATTICA, Ohio – Something you never thought you would hear – “it’s May and Donnie Schatz hasn’t won.” The 10 time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion got the monkey off his back Friday, May 19 at Attica Raceway Park, taking the lead on the white flag lap and earning his first series’ victory of 2023.

Schatz and his CarQuest, Ford Performance, Curb, Sage Fruit, Mad Jax Xseries team have been rolling as of late, posting four podium finishes in the last five World of Outlaw events. The team had to be excited to come to Attica where Schatz has always run very well. His win in the Kistler Engines Classic Friday is the fifth at Attica and the 308th series win of his career.

“I think moving around there is what helped us get there. When we got to lapped traffic it was hard to get through. Everybody is so equal…those lapped cars are pretty good. That’s how we were able to get there. Hats off to these guys. They’ve been digging. We haven’t had the results we’ve wanted….this is a tough game. This is kind of a build back program. It’s good to get a win,” said Schatz.

“One of the guys I grew up racing with, Kenny Woodruff, he used to say ‘man even monkeys fall out of trees,’ so we won a race tonight,” Schatz quipped.

After a multi-car tangle at the start, the action in the 35 lap feature heated up quickly with Rico Abreu taking the lead with Carson Macedo, Schatz, Stuart Brubaker and David Gravel in pursuit. A caution on lap nine kept the leaders out of thick lapped traffic and when the green flew Abreu built up a nearly two second lead over Macedo and Schatz. Behind the lead trio was a fantastic battle between Gravel, Sheldon Haudenschild and Logan Schuchart.

By lap 23 heavy lapped traffic came into play and Macedo closed on Abreu with Schatz staying within striking distance. Schatz, utilizing the very bottom groove where the lapped cars weren’t took second with three laps to go and was side by side with Abreu racing to lap 33. Exiting turn four coming to the white flag, Schatz powered off the bottom into the lead while Macedo threw a slider on Abreu in turns one and two but Abreu drove back under.

Schatz drove to the checkers by .481 seconds over Abreu, Macedo, Haudenschild and Gravel.

“Was really aero dependent there. An incredible job by my guys again. I feel like I let them down a little bit there. But you put yourself in different circumstances when you are leading races and judging your pace off lapped traffic and you can feel the intensity behind you by guys like Donny and Carson and you know they are knocking on the door. If I don’t move around and lose the race then I’m mad at myself for putting myself in that position. I was getting really really tight getting in and when the cars peeled off I was a little bit free getting in. It was just difficult for me to manage lapped traffic at the end. I started to just float around and try to keep my speed up as much as much as I could. It was an unbelievable job by Ricky and Jack and Brady and all our partners. To finish second with the Outlaws and it’s like our ninth or 10th top five finish this year,” said Abreu of his Curb Agajanian Racing, Toste Construction, The Osler Group backed machine

“It felt like we had a shot to win there and we end up running third. All three of us were really going for it. You had to be so patient to run the bottom. I debated on moving down in three and four like Donny was. I felt like when I did move down I didn’t slow down enough and crowd around those tires to get off the corner. It was wild. Lapped traffic really changed the race. This was wild,” said Macedo of his Albaugh Your Alternative, MVT, Tarleton & Son backed #41.

Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, May 26 with the Callie’s Performance Products 410 Sprints, the Dirt Nerds powered by Propane UMP Late Models and the Fremont Fence 305 sprints in action.

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 Kistler Engines

Kistler Engines, located just outside of Fremont, Ohio, was established in 1993 and builds lightweight, high performance racing engines with a commitment to quality. Kistlers pride themselves in high tech, innovative designs, producing highly competitive engines for sprint cars (410 c.i., 360 c.i. & 305 c.i.), as well as, late models and midgets. Kistler Engines has also earned a great reputation for service among professional race teams due to their quick turnaround time on engine rebuilds.

Kistlers uses state-of-the art equipment, the highest standard quality parts and invests in constant research and development. Kistler Engines is setting the standard in the ultra competitive field of dirt track racing today. Customers powered by Kistler engines have set numerous quick times, track records. They have also won on the local level as well as on national traveling series such as the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, All Star Circuit of Champions and USAC.

Attica Raceway Park

Friday, May 19, 2023

World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series

Qualifying Group A – 1. 24-Rico Abreu, 12.513; 2. 41-Carson Macedo, 12.599; 3. 33W-Cap Henry, 12.858; 4. 15C-Chris Andrews, 12.877; 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi, 12.886; 6. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.904; 7. 5-Byron Reed, 12.961; 8. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.022; 9. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.053; 10. 49x-Cale Thomas, 13.079; 11. 3J-Trey Jacobs, 13.161; 12. 1-Nate Dussel, 13.195; 13. 19-Paige Polyak, 13.228; 14. Dale Blaney, 13.311; 15. 7S-Robbie Price, 13.359; 16. 5D-Jacob Dykstra, 13.396; 17. 12-Kyle Capodice, 13.410; 18. 6-Bill Rose, 13.709; 19. 75-Jerry Dahms, 14.275

Qualifying Group B – 1. 5-Spencer Bayston, 12.768; 2. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.931; 3. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.963; 4. 83-James McFadden, 12.975; 5. 2-David Gravel, 12.978; 6. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 12.985; 7. 09-Craig Mintz, 13.202; 8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.231; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 13.240; 10. 32-Bryce Lucius, 13.279; 11. 29-Cole Macedo, 13.290; 12. 91-Tyler Gunn, 13.335; 13. 2X-Ricky Peterson, 13.372; 14. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.374; 15. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.386; 16. 7N-Darin Naida, 13.472; 17. 20G-Noah Gass, 13.511; 18. 5T-Travis Philo, 14.202; 19. 15K-Creed Kemenah, 14.471.

Heat 1 (10 laps, starting spot [x]) – 1. Abreu [1]; 2. Henry [2]; 3. Scelzi [3]; 4. Reed [4];5. Allen [5]; 6. Polyak [7]; 7. Jacobs [6]; 8. Price [8]; 9. Capodice [9]; 10. Dahms [10]

Heat 2 (10 laps, starting spot [x]) – 1. Ca. Macedo [1]; 2. Brubaker [3]; 3. Andrews [2]; 4. Dussel [6]; 5. Sweet [4]; 6. Thomas [5]; 7. Blaney [7]; 8. Rose [9]; 9. Dykstra [8]

Heat 3 (10 laps, starting spot [x]) – 1. Schatz [2]; 2. Gravel [3]; 3. Bayston [1]; 4. Schuchart [5]; 5. Mintz [4]; 6. Co Macedo [6]; 7. Peterson [7]; 8. Gass [9]

Heat 4 (10 laps, starting spot [x]) – 1. Haudenschild [1]; 2. McFadden [2]; 3. Gunn [6]; 4. Spithaler [3]; 5. Zearfoss [4]; 6. Gee [7]; 7. Lucius [5]; 8. Philo [9]; 9. Naida [8]

Dash – 1. Ca Macedo [2]; 2. Abreu [4]; 3. Brubaker [1]; 4. Schatz [5]; 5. Haudenschild [3]; 6. Gravel [6]; 7. Henry [8]; 8. McFadden [7]

Last Chance Showdown (Top 4 to A) – 1. Co. Macedo [4]; 2. Lucius [2]; 3. Jacobs [5]; 4. Peterson [8]; 5. Polyak [3]; 6. Thomas [1]; 7. Philo [12]; 8. Price [9]; 9. Gee [6]; 10. Naida [14]; 11. Rose [11]; 12. Gass [10]; 13. Dykstra [15]; 14. Dahms [16]; 15. Capodice [13]; 16. Blaney [7]; 17. Wilson (DNS); 18. Kemenah (DNS)

A-Main (35 laps) – 1. Schatz [4]; 2. Abreu [2]; 3. Ca Macedo [1]; 4. Haudenschild [5]; 5. Gravel [6]; 6. Henry [7]; 7. Schuchart [14]; 8. Brubaker [3]; 9. Sweet [19]; 10. Bayston [10]; 11. Scelzi [9]; 12. Reed [13]; 13. Zearfoss [20]; 14. Spithaler [16]; 15. McFadden [8]; 16. Allen [17]; 17. Jacobs [23]; 18. Gunn [18]; 19. Co Macedo [21]; 20. Dussel [15]; 21. Andrews [11]; 22. Lucius [22]; 23. Peterson [24]; 24. Mintz [18]