Mintz opens Attica season with last lap, last corner All Star win; Schlenk earns 36th career late model victory

By Brian Liskai

ATTICA, Ohio – Gibsonburg, Ohio’s Craig Mintz executed a last lap last corner pass to score his second career Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions victory to open Attica Raceway Park’s 2023 season and the Core and Main Spring Nationals presented by Construction Equipment and Supply, Advanced Drainage Systems, Erie Blacktop, and Smith Paving. It was the 137th appearance of Tony Stewart’s All Stars at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” speed plant.

Mintz was running fourth when the caution flew with 10 laps to go. The former Attica track champion used the yellow to cool his tires and it paid off. He moved into third on lap 28 and took second with six laps to go and quickly closed on leader Zeb Wise. Entering the final two turns, Mintz drove to the outside of Wise and the drag race to the checkers saw Mintz win by .074 seconds. It was his 16th career win at Attica and his first All Star win since April of 2012.

“We’ve been struggling with bleeders all night. Just couldn’t get going on those long runs. During that caution I was actually trying to cool my tires down. I knew we had a great car and I probably showed my hand a little early. It’s fun to race with Zeb (Wise). We were both really going for it…you could probably measure that win in millimeters,” Mintz said beside his Real Geese Decoys, Modern Woodman of America, KS Sales and Service, NAPA of Fremont backed #09.

“This means so much. My dad, the guys behind me, my wife, my kids…they all bust their butts to give me the chance to race. We’re out here doing it for fun,” Mintz added.

“That was frustrating,” said Wise beside his Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Sundollar Restoration, Hager Realty backed #26. “Hats off to Craig. He drove one heck of a race. I feel like I let my team down there. I really didn’t know where to go in turns one and two.”

“Last week we won with a last lap pass (at Williams Grove Speedway) and tonight we got beat by one. Hopefully tomorrow we can finish it with a win,” added Wise who led laps 28 through 34.

Sikeston, Missouri’s Hunter Schuerenberg led the first 27 laps and held on to finish third, followed by Brent Marks and Parker Price-Miller.

“You are almost a sitting duck on a restart like that. You don’t know if you should stay where you have been running or try a different line and you don’t know what line the guys behind you are running. It didn’t work out for us tonight but we finally put a whole night together. We’ve been fast all year but just haven’t had the results so this is a big step forward,” said Schuerenberg of his TK Concrete, Maxim Trucking, Logan Contractor Supply, Eddie Gilstrap Motors backed #55.

Despite losing his brakes half way through the Dirt Nerds Podcast, Propane.com UMP Late Model A-main, McClure, Ohio’s Rusty Schlenk took the lead from Ryan Missler on lap 18 and drove to his 36th career victory at Attica.

“Normally I run the cushion but it wasn’t there tonight so I had to go to the bottom. I almost forgot how to run down there. After the start of the season we’ve had from engine and transmission issues to problems with the truck and trailer….this is a huge shot in the arm,” said McClure beside his Velocita Firesuits, Buckeye Concrete Coatings, Terry Henricks Chrysler; Tom Finch Auto, VP Fuel, Dominator Race Products, Forbes Construction, All Star Performance, Mullins Engines, Willy’s Carbs backed #91.

Missler jumped out to the early lead in the late model feature as Schlenk, Nathan Loney, Doug Drown and Eric Spangler battled for second. Schlenk drove from third to the lead on lap 18 and after a spirited battle with Missler, pulled away for the win. Spangler, Drown, Loney and Missler rounded out the top five.

Attica Raceway Park will wrap up the Core & Main Spring Nationals Saturday, April 15 with the 305 sprints joining the All Stars.

For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com or follow the track on Twitter @atticaracewyprk or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/atticaracewaypark and Instagram at attica_raceway_park.

About Core & Main:

Core & Main is the Nation’s largest distributor of Waterworks products. Core & Main distributes a complete line of water, sewer, fire protection, and storm drain products to serve the needs of both contractors and municipalities in all aspects of public works and private construction industries.

These products are integral to building, repairing and maintaining water systems and serve as part of the basic municipal infrastructure required to support population and economic growth, and residential and commercial construction.

Did you know? Core & Main’s name was created by a company associate. “Core” references infrastructure, things underground and fundamental structures that must be in place to build. “Main” is a reference to a water main, Main Street and to the primary sources of knowledge and materials.

The nearest Core & Main locations are in Ashland and Amherst!

Find out more at hdswaterworks.com

Attica Raceway Park

Friday, April 14, 2023

All Star Circuit of Champions

Entries 41

C&R Racing Hot Laps:

Dixie Vodka Fast Qualifier: Stuart Brubaker | 12.580

Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat 1 Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg

Competition Suspension Inc Heat 2 Winner: Travis Philo

All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat 3 Winner: Tyler Courtney

Kistler Racing Products Heat 4 Winner: Parker Price Miller

Mobil 1 Heat 5 Winner: Trey Jacobs

Elliott’s Custom Trailers Dash Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg

Classic Ink USA B-main Winner: Stuart Brubaker

Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Sean Rayhall

Tezos A-main Winner: Craig Mintz

Hercules Tires A-Main Hard Charger: JJ Hickle (+10)

Qualifying

Group (A)

1. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.580; 2. 33W-Cap Henry, 12.766; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 12.783; 4. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.873; 5. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 13.053; 6. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl, 13.072; 7. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.076; 8. 28M-Conner Morrell, 14.007; 9. 49X-Cale Thomas, NT

Group (B)

1. 26-Zeb Wise, 12.768; 2. 5T-Travis Philo, 12.925; 3. 4-Chris Windom, 13.005; 4. 32-Bryce Lucius, 13.089; 5. 70-Scotty Thiel, 13.227; 6. 68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.287; 7. 20B-Cody Bova, 13.375; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 14.012

Group (C)

1. 19M-Brent Marks, 12.781; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 12.945; 3. 4T-Tyler Street, 12.991; 4. 19-Sean Rayhall, 13.123; 5. 15k-Creed Kemenah, 13.502; 6. 8M-TJ Michael, 13.544; 7. 42-Sye Lynch, 13.598; 8. 75-Jerry Dahms, 14.234

Group (D)

1. 29-Parker Price Miller, 12.835; 2. 7N-Darin Naida, 13.290; 3. 97-JJ Hickle, 13.304; 4. 23-Zeth Sabo, 13.317; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson, 13.338; 6. 5-Byron Reed, 13.596; 7. 71H-Max Stambaugh, 13.752; 8. 16-DJ Foos, NT

Group (E)

1. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.218; 2. 9-Trey Jacobs, 13.255; 3. 45-Tim Shaffer, 13.270; 4. 15c-Chris Andrews, 13.445; 5. 25R-Jordan Ryan, 13.571; 6. 16C-Tylar Rankin, 13.689; 7. 12-Kyle Capodice, 13.811; 8. 11J-David Kalb Jr., 14.067

Heat 1 (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [2]; 2. 33W-Cap Henry [1]; 3. 99-Skylar Gee [3]; 4. 22-Brandon Spithaler [5]; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker [4]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 7. 49X-Cale Thomas [9]; 8. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl [6]; 9. 28M-Conner Morrell [8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 5T-Travis Philo [1]; 2. 4-Chris Windom [2]; 3. 26-Zeb Wise [4]; 4. 70-Scotty Thiel [5]; 5. 68G-Tyler Gunn [6]; 6. 20B-Cody Bova [7]; 7. 32-Bryce Lucius [3]; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [1]; 2. 4T-Tyler Street [2]; 3. 19M-Brent Marks [4]; 4. 8M-TJ Michael [6]; 5. 19-Sean Rayhall [3]; 6. 15k-Creed Kemenah [5]; 7. 75-Jerry Dahms [8]

Heat 4 (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 29-Parker Price Miller [4]; 2. 7N-Darin Naida [1]; 3. 5-Byron Reed [6]; 4. 97-JJ Hickle [2]; 5. 23-Zeth Sabo [3]; 6. 2-Ricky Peterson [5]; 7. 71H-Max Stambaugh [7]

Heat 5 (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 9-Trey Jacobs [1]; 2. 15c-Chris Andrews [3]; 3. 45-Tim Shaffer [2]; 4. O9-Craig Mintz [4]; 5. 25R-Jordan Ryan [5]; 6. 16C-Tylar Rankin [6]; 7. 12-Kyle Capodice [7]; 8. 11J-David Kalb Jr. [8]

Dash (6 Laps)

1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [2]; 2. 26-Zeb Wise [1]; 3. 19M-Brent Marks [4]; 4. 29-Parker Price Miller [3]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [7]; 6. 33W-Cap Henry [5]; 7. O9-Craig Mintz [8]; 8. 9-Trey Jacobs [6]; 9. 5T-Travis Philo [9]

B-main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer

1. 35-Stuart Brubaker [1]; 2. 25R-Jordan Ryan [6]; 3. 68G-Tyler Gunn [4]; 4. 23-Zeth Sabo [5]; 5. 19-Sean Rayhall [3]; 6. 49X-Cale Thomas [16]; 7. 71H-Max Stambaugh [13]; 8. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl [2]; 9. 15k-Creed Kemenah [10]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 11. 32-Bryce Lucius [12]; 12. 16C-Tylar Rankin [11]; 13. 12-Kyle Capodice [14]; 14. 11J-David Kalb Jr. [18]; 15. 28M-Conner Morrell [19]; 16. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [17]; 17. 75-Jerry Dahms [15]; 18. 2-Ricky Peterson [8]; 19. 20B-Cody Bova [9]

A-main (35 Laps)

1. O9-Craig Mintz [7]; 2. 26-Zeb Wise [2]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 4. 19M-Brent Marks [3]; 5. 29-Parker Price Miller [4]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [5]; 7. 33W-Cap Henry [6]; 8. 5T-Travis Philo [9]; 9. 97-JJ Hickle [19]; 10. 5-Byron Reed [16]; 11. 4-Chris Windom [11]; 12. 9-Trey Jacobs [8]; 13. 99-Skylar Gee [14]; 14. 25R-Jordan Ryan [21]; 15. 35-Stuart Brubaker [23]; 16. 68G-Tyler Gunn [22]; 17. 23-Zeth Sabo [24]; 18. 8M-TJ Michael [20]; 19. 7N-Darin Naida [12]; 20. 70-Scotty Thiel [18]; 21. 28M-Conner Morrell [25]; 22. 45-Tim Shaffer [15]; 23. 4T-Tyler Street [10]; 24. 15c-Chris Andrews [13]; 25. 22-Brandon Spithaler [17]

Late Models – Dirt Nerds Podcast

Qualifying

1.12-Doug Drown, 14.602; 2.91-Rusty Schlenk, 14.895; 3.69-Brandon Thirlby, 14.963; 4.1N-Casey Noonan, 15.120; 5.67-Chris Keller, 15.379; 6.44s-Colin Shipley, 15.398; 7.101-Chester Fitch, 15.454; 8.94-Mike Bores, 15.483; 9.92-Justin Chance, 15.523; 10.27W-Eric Wilson, 15.615; 11.51-Devin Shiels, 15.641; 12.10-Nathon Loney, 15.659; 13.5M-Ryan Markham, 15.666; 14.RH21-Gregg Haskell, 15.703; 15.50-Ryan Missler, 15.737; 16.56-BJ Gregory, 15.757; 17.27S-Eric Spangler, 15.759; 18.74-Jeff Warnick, 15.843; 19.X3-Dan Wallace, 15.890; 20.25-Jim Billett, 16.036; 21.29-Nate Potts, 16.292; 22.0-Cameron Tusing, 16.640; 23.23-Scott Fowler , 16.737; 24.2R-Ryan Davis, 17.231; 25.16-Steve Sabo, 17.470; 26.69R-Doug Baird, 17.813; 27.11-Austin Gibson, 18.095; 28.14T-Cody Truman, 18.519;

Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)

1. 27S-Eric Spangler[1] ; 2. 50-Ryan Missler[2] ; 3. 91-Rusty Schlenk[3] ; 4. 12-Doug Drown[4] ; 5. 29-Nate Potts[5] ; 6. 2R-Ryan Davis[6] ; 7. 69R-Doug Baird[7]

Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)

1. 10-Nathon Loney[3] ; 2. X3-Dan Wallace[2] ; 3. 92-Justin Chance[4] ; 4. 25-Jim Billett[1] ; 5. 0-Cameron Tusing[5] ; 6. 23-Scott Fowler [6] ; 7. 14T-Cody Truman[7]

Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)

1. 27W-Eric Wilson[1] ; 2. 94-Mike Bores[2] ; 3. 67-Chris Keller[3] ; 4. 69-Brandon Thirlby[4] ; 5. 51-Devin Shiels[5] ; 6. 56-BJ Gregory[6] ; 7. 74-Jeff Warnick[7]

Heat 4, Group D – (8 Laps)

1. 5M-Ryan Markham[1] ; 2. 101-Chester Fitch[2] ; 3. 1N-Casey Noonan[4] ; 4. RH21-Gregg Haskell[5] ; 5. 44s-Colin Shipley[3] ; 6. 16-Steve Sabo[6] ; 7. 11-Austin Gibson[7]

B-Main 1 – (10 Laps)

1. 51-Devin Shiels[3] ; 2. 29-Nate Potts[1] ; 3. 2R-Ryan Davis[5] ; 4. 69R-Doug Baird[9] ; 5. 11-Austin Gibson[12] ; 6. 14T-Cody Truman[10] ; 7. 23-Scott Fowler [6] ; 8. 0-Cameron Tusing[2] ; 9. 44s-Colin Shipley[4] ; 10. 56-BJ Gregory[7] ; 11. 74-Jeff Warnick[11] ; 12. 16-Steve Sabo[8]

A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)

1. 91-Rusty Schlenk[2] ; 2. 27S-Eric Spangler[8] ; 3. 12-Doug Drown[6] ; 4. 10-Nathon Loney[4] ; 5. 50-Ryan Missler[1] ; 6. X3-Dan Wallace[5] ; 7. 67-Chris Keller[12] ; 8. 69-Brandon Thirlby[15] ; 9. 1N-Casey Noonan[13] ; 10. 94-Mike Bores[9] ; 11. 51-Devin Shiels[17] ; 12. 5M-Ryan Markham[3] ; 13. 92-Justin Chance[11] ; 14. RH21-Gregg Haskell[16] ; 15. 101-Chester Fitch[7] ; 16. 69R-Doug Baird[20] ; 17. 27W-Eric Wilson[10] ; 18. 2R-Ryan Davis[19] ; 19. 25-Jim Billett[14] ; 20. 29-Nate Potts[18]