Fan Notes from Fremont AFCS plus Results

Fremont Speedway (Highlight Video from SheedShiftTV.com) (Tom Myers) Fremont, Ohio 5-18-19 – The AFCS series (Attica, Fremont Championship Series) held their second event of the weekend Saturday at Fremont Speedway. The beautiful weather, increased winner’s prize of $4,000, and the addition of some All Star racers as well as a few others from around the country heightened the excitement level of the fans and the result was a packed house at the old fairgrounds speedway.

The previous evening, Jac Haudenschild passed Joey Saldana with a few laps remaining to win the AFCS money at Attica, besting a stout field of cars for the $4,000 prize. Saturday promised to be more of the same as 35 racers showed up to do battle. In addition to the always tough Attica/Fremont regulars, notable racers in the pits included Jac Haudenschild, Dale Blaney, Joe Saldana, Greg Wilson, Spencer Bayston, Skylar Gee, Caleb Helms, Lee Jacobs, Justin Peck, Page Polyak and long distance traveler Bill Balog.

I talked with Balog a little bit and was really impressed with him. I had never met him before and I must say that he is a very nice young man….and very fast on the track. As we talked a little, I pointed out how backwards the weekend was because the All Stars were originally to be in his neck of the woods…. and here Bill was racing at Fremont instead because of the rainouts.

Justin Peck I also had the pleasure of meeting Duane Hancock, who runs the AFCS. He was excited because of the car count and big crowd and also because it was a larger paying show than usual. I asked him how the transition has been so far, with the AFCS series being a reboot of the old FAST series that was sold this past winter. He said that so far, it has gone smoother than he expected and then he gave credit to the tracks, and the race teams and everyone who is helping with the AFCS this year. He said they are looking forward to continuing and getting bigger and better. I thanked him for putting the work in and told him it looked like things were going just fine.

There were 20 cars scheduled to start the A main and there were going to be two B-mains on the evening. The track looked good but it soon started to develop ruts in the turns…a problem that the track crew wrestled with all evening. Cars were bouncing through the turns and during time trials and the heats, there were a few who bicycled on two wheels, with Saldana performing a nice one in 3 and 4. Qualifiers were to get only one lap to time.

Bayston lost his transponder during his lap and had to go out again. Justin Peck went out 32nd out of 35 cars and grabbed the quick time. He wasn’t afraid to run right through the ruts. That was where the tacky dirt was and the fastest cars were those who braved driving through the ruts. The top 4 qualifiers were Peck, Mintz, Haudenschild and Blaney.

Bill Balog Wow Wow Wow, the National Anthem was performed by a young man playing an electric guitar. That was different, and there were a few wow, wow, wows in there with the whammy bar. It wasn’t bad, just out of the ordinary and the young man played it in his style and had the courage to play in front of a big crowd, kudos to him. And now it is 7:30 and the four heat races are ready to go.

After some track work, heat one got under way and the winner was Byron Reed, followed by Philo, Peck, and Trey Jacobs. Only the top 4 finishers go to the A-main. Paige Polyak hit the infield tire and spun out of her 4th starting spot at the drop of the green. She did not return the rest of the evening. The track is getting tall ruts again.

Heat 2 starts and Balog gets a great start from the back, goes around the top and passes 3 cars as he exits turn 2…..however, one of the back markers spun forcing a complete restart. Saldana had bicycled through 3 and 4 when the yellow flew. When the race starts again, the winner is Foos, followed by Dussel, Saldana, and Mintz. Greg Wilson punted Balog on the complete restart and that relegated Balog to a 6th place finish since he could not recover. In heat 3, Gee, Andrews and Haudenschild put on a great show as all three raced each other hard through the ruts. That is how they finished with Broc Martin rounding out the top 4.

Travis Philo In heat 4, Bayston, Brubaker and Cap Henry tangle as they wrestled through the ruts. Henry and Bayston returned to action but Brubaker was done for the evening. Kofoid was running at the front with Lee Jacobs second and Blaney 6th at the time but this moves him up to 3rd for the restart. Kofoid, Jacobs, Blaney and Bayston is the order of your finish in the 4th and final heat race.

More track work and then the 305 heats and the Fremont trucks. The top 2 finishers in the 410 B mains transfer. Helms and Balog are your transfers in B-main one. The 2nd B main finish was Griffith and Ivy.

Finally after the B-mains for the 305’s and trucks, and more track work to cut off the ruts, the 410 feature gets started. The lineup is Dussel on the pole alongside Philo, Row 2 is Saldana and Blaney. Row 3 is Haudenschild and Peck. At the start, Dussel fades back as Philo grabs the lead followed by Saldana and Blaney and Peck. Haudenschild gets the rear end hung out at the exit of turn 2 and collect Byron Reed and Trey Jacobs. Only Haud would return and then exit after a few laps.

On the restart, Peck gets a great run and gets past Blaney and Saldana and sets sail after Philo. Peck hounds Philo lap after lap around the bottom but can’t pass. By lap 15, Kofoid is up with the leaders after starting in 10th position. He is riding in the middle through the rough stuff and flying around cars in the process. Kofoid, using the rough middle of the track and bouncing through the turns, gets past low riding Blaney and Saldana and then passes Peck and Philo on lap 20 to take the lead! Wow!

Justin Peck Peck takes note of what just happened and goes around Philo on lap 21 and sets sail for Kofoid. The rest of the way Kofoid and Peck put on a clinic of courage and skill as they race each other hard for the lead. Peck could never quite get by and was a car length back at the checkers.

Wow, that was skilful driving! Kofoid probably felt at home with the tacky ruts because he sees them often in California. Peck told the track announcer before the feature that he liked the rough track and that it was like a rodeo. Well, both young men held onto their broncos and bounced to the podium, outclassing the other drivers on this night. The finish was Kofoid, Peck, Philo and Saldana.

That was a great race. Very exciting and I was very impressed with Kofoid and Peck. These guys, race fans, are the real deal and if you get a chance to watch them race, don’t miss it!

Thank you Fremont and thank you AFCS. See you again soon.

Buddy Kofoid took the AFCS feature Saturday at Fremont (Tom Myers Photo) Results from Brian Liskai...

Fremont Speedway
Kistler Engines Night

Saturday, May 18, 2019

410 Sprints - Fort Ball Pizza Palace

Qualifying
1.5X-Justin Peck, 13.424; 2.09-Craig Mintz, 13.515; 3.3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.554; 4.11-Dale Blaney, 13.619; 5.19-Paige Polyak, 13.637; 6.6-Joey Saldana, 13.647; 7.83M-Broc Martin, 13.660; 8.4-Cap  Henry, 13.699; 9.5T-Travis Philo, 13.703; 10.1-Nate Dussel, 13.709; 11.99-Skylar Gee, 13.743; 12.81-Lee Jacobs, 13.753; 13.5-Byron Reed, 13.758; 14.16-DJ Foos, 13.808; 15.25M-Chris Andrews, 13.808; 16.11N-Buddy Kofoid, 13.811; 17.3J-Trey Jacobs, 13.820; 18.23X-John Ivy, 13.832; 19.68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.855; 20.35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.926; 21.14-Chad Wilson, 13.950; 22.17B-Bill Balog, 13.995; 23.45-Brian Lay, 14.003; 24.70X-Spencer Bayston, 14.008; 25.97-Caleb Helms, 14.013; 26.23-Max Stambaugh, 14.061; 27.8M-TJ Michael, 14.081; 28.20I-Kelsey Ivy, 14.230; 29.9J-Dean Jacobs, 14.254; 30.W20-Greg Wilson, 14.372; 31.2+-Brian Smith, 14.629; 32.88N-Frank Neil, 14.682; 33.11E-Ed Neumeister, 14.720; 34.22B-Ryan Broughton, 14.792; 35.33W-Caleb Griffith, 99.620;

Heat 1 -  (8 Laps)
1. 5-Byron Reed[1] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 3. 5X-Justin Peck[4] ; 4. 3J-Trey Jacobs[5] ; 5. 97-Caleb Helms[7] ; 6. 9J-Dean Jacobs[8] ; 7. 14-Chad Wilson[6] ; 8. 11E-Ed Neumeister[9] ; 9. 19-Paige Polyak[3]

Heat 2 -  (8 Laps)
1. 16-DJ Foos[1] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[2] ; 3. 6-Joey Saldana[3] ; 4. 09-Craig Mintz[4] ; 5. W20-Greg Wilson[8] ; 6. 17B-Bill Balog[6] ; 7. 22B-Ryan Broughton[9] ; 8. 23-Max Stambaugh[7] ; 9. 23X-John Ivy[5]

Heat 3 -  (8 Laps)
1. 99-Skylar Gee[2] ; 2. 25M-Chris Andrews[1] ; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild[4] ; 4. 83M-Broc Martin[3] ; 5. 68G-Tyler Gunn[5] ; 6. 33W-Caleb Griffith[9] ; 7. 8M-TJ Michael[7] ; 8. 45-Brian Lay[6] ; 9. 2+-Brian Smith[8]

Heat 4 -  (8 Laps)
1. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[1] ; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs[2] ; 3. 11-Dale Blaney[4] ; 4. 70X-Spencer Bayston[6] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[7] ; 6. 88N-Frank Neil[8] ; 7. 4-Cap  Henry[3] ; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker[5]

B-Main 1 -  (10 Laps)
1. 97-Caleb Helms[1] ; 2. 17B-Bill Balog[4] ; 3. 9J-Dean Jacobs[3] ; 4. 22B-Ryan Broughton[6] ; 5. 23-Max Stambaugh[8] ; 6. 14-Chad Wilson[5] ; 7. 11E-Ed Neumeister[7] ; 8. W20-Greg Wilson[2] ; 9. 23X-John Ivy[10]

B-Main 2 -  (10 Laps)
1. 33W-Caleb Griffith[3] ; 2. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[2] ; 3. 4-Cap  Henry[6] ; 4. 68G-Tyler Gunn[1] ; 5. 8M-TJ Michael[5] ; 6. 45-Brian Lay[7] ; 7. 88N-Frank Neil[4] ; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[9]

A-Main 1 -  (30 Laps)
1. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[10] ; 2. 5X-Justin Peck[6] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 4. 6-Joey Saldana[3] ; 5. 1-Nate Dussel[1] ; 6. 11-Dale Blaney[4] ; 7. 33W-Caleb Griffith[16] ; 8. 16-DJ Foos[8] ; 9. 09-Craig Mintz[14] ; 10. 99-Skylar Gee[9] ; 11. 17B-Bill Balog[19] ; 12. 83M-Broc Martin[15] ; 13. 97-Caleb Helms[17] ; 14. 25M-Chris Andrews[11] ; 15. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[18] ; 16. 81-Lee Jacobs[12] ; 17. 3-Jac Haudenschild[5] ; 18. 5-Byron Reed[7] ; 19. 3J-Trey Jacobs[13] ; 20. 70X-Spencer Bayston[20]
 
Hard Charger: 33W-Caleb Griffith +9
 
305 Sprints - Fremont Federal Credit Union

Qualifying

1.26-Jamie Miller, 14.335; 2.25-Jason Keckler, 14.415; 3.99-Alvin Roepke, 14.503; 4.75-Jerry Dahms, 14.645; 5.4*-Tyler Street, 14.672; 6.1W-Paul Weaver, 14.700; 7.36-Seth Schneider, 14.713; 8.11G-Luke Griffith, 14.840; 9.5Jr-Jimmy  McGrath Jr, 14.864; 10.7-Shawn Valenti, 14.927; 11.7M-Brandon Moore, 14.931; 12.77I-John Ivy, 14.974; 13.21-Larry Kingseed JR, 15.083; 14.9R-Dustin Rall, 15.092; 15.8-Bobby Clark, 15.102; 16.X-Mike Keegan, 15.106; 17.12-Kyle Capodice, 15.127; 18.09-Justin Adams, 15.129; 19.47-Matt Lucius, 15.264; 20.1H-Zeth Sabo, 15.341; 21.3V-Chris Verda, 15.399; 22.3X-Bradon Riehl, 15.473; 23.97-Kyle Peters, 15.689; 24.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 15.716; 25.28-Tad Peck, 15.788; 26.Z10-Kevin Mingus, 99.910;

Heat 1 -  (8 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 36-Seth Schneider[2] ; 3. 7-Shawn Valenti[1] ; 4. 75-Jerry Dahms[3] ; 5. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[5] ; 6. 47-Matt Lucius[7] ; 7. X-Mike Keegan[6] ; 8. 3X-Bradon Riehl[8] ; 9. 28-Tad Peck[9]

Heat 2 -  (8 Laps)
1. 7M-Brandon Moore[1] ; 2. 11G-Luke Griffith[2] ; 3. 4*-Tyler Street[3] ; 4. 12-Kyle Capodice[6] ; 5. 25-Jason Keckler[4] ; 6. 97-Kyle Peters[8] ; 7. 9R-Dustin Rall[5] ; 8. 1H-Zeth Sabo[7] ; 9. Z10-Kevin Mingus[9]

Heat 3 -  (8 Laps)
1. 5Jr-Jimmy  McGrath Jr[2] ; 2. 77I-John Ivy[1] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[3] ; 4. 8-Bobby Clark[5] ; 5. 99-Alvin Roepke[4] ; 6. 3V-Chris Verda[7] ; 7. X15-Kasey Zieboled8] ; 8. 09-Justin Adams[6]

B-Main 1 -  (10 Laps)
1. 97-Kyle Peters[2] ; 2. 3V-Chris Verda[3] ; 3. 1H-Zeth Sabo[8] ; 4. Z10-Kevin Mingus[11] ; 5. 47-Matt Lucius[1] ; 6. X-Mike Keegan[4] ; 7. X15-Kasey Ziebold[6] ; 8. 9R-Dustin Rall[5] ; 9. 28-Tad Peck[10] ; 10. 09-Justin Adams[9] ; 11. 3X-Bradon Riehl[7]

A-Main 1 -  (25 Laps)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 2. 26-Jamie Miller[6] ; 3. 11G-Luke Griffith[2] ; 4. 4*-Tyler Street[5] ; 5. 77I-John Ivy[8] ; 6. 99-Alvin Roepke[15] ; 7. 97-Kyle Peters[16] ; 8. 7M-Brandon Moore[7] ; 9. 8-Bobby Clark[12] ; 10. 7-Shawn Valenti[9] ; 11. 12-Kyle Capodice[11] ; 12. 25-Jason Keckler[14] ; 13. 36-Seth Schneider[3] ; 14. 3V-Chris Verda[17] ; 15. 5Jr-Jimmy  McGrath Jr[1] ; 16. 1H-Zeth Sabo[18] ; 17. Z10-Kevin Mingus[19] ; 18. 75-Jerry Dahms[10] ; 19. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[13] ; 20. 47-Matt Lucius[20]
 
Hard charger: 99-Alvin Roepke +9