Fan Notes from All Star Attica Ambush Finale

Aaron Reutzel (Tom Myers) Attica, Ohio 9/5/2021- It’s nice to have the All Stars back in Ohio. After the July 11th Sharon race, the travelling series left Ohio and sanctioned races in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania….with 1 race at Waynesfield scheduled at the last minute. Throw in the Kings Royal and the Knoxville Nationals and it’s been a busy month and a half for the racers, and at the same time a bit slow on the racing front locally. Thankfully, after the Attica Ambush, the All Stars have the 4 Crown Nationals at Eldora and the Jim Ford race at Fremont coming up.

We couldn’t make it out to the track Friday but we did make it out early on Saturday for the $10,000 to win final. There were 36 cars in the pits on Saturday. Some big names were on hand to race the All Stars including Jac Haudenschild, Tim Shaffer, Sammy Swindell, Gio Scelzi, Ian Madsen, Marcus Dumesny, and Aaron Reutzel. Reutzel was running only his 2nd race back after his WoO suspension, and with a new team to boot. Aaron will be joining forces with the Ridge and Sons Racing (RSR) No. 8 team that also includes crew chief Tyler Swank. And another thing…..Scelzi is running the Toyota engine this weekend.

The previous evening’s race was a good one with Tim Shaffer running up front in the feature. Tim looked to be on his way to a win after battling Justin Peck in the early stages. However, a hard charging Zeb Wise turned his luck around by passing Shaffer for the lead on lap 28. Shaffer then had a motor let go on lap 30. The rest of the way Zeb held off Jac for the win. Jac brought it home for an impressive 2nd place finish with Skylar Gee landing in the 3rd spot, a good run for him as well.

Attica Raceway Park Tonight’s racing action is starting early because of a threat of rain. Hopefully we can get this one in! Wow, this group of young All Star racers is fun to watch. Kings Royal winner Tyler Courtney has shown that he is a force to be reckoned with in a winged sprint car. Cory Eliason is fast, along with Hunter Schurenburg, Justin Peck, Zeb Wise, Skylar Gee and Spencer Bayston. These guys bring it every night. If not for the bad luck and inconsistency befalling some, the point battle might look a lot different.

Peck obviously has had his share of bad luck this year. Justin is fast and many times has been in contention for wins, but a cut down tire or someone crashing in front of him has derailed a promising season. Wise has had bad luck too, with parts flying off the car at speed and a few violent wrecks while racing at the front. Otherwise Zeb has shown he’s able to wheel a winged sprint car. And Spencer Bayston has shown that he can win..and beat the best, with a consistent ride.

The racing program started around 5:00 pm which was really cool. Maybe we can get home really early tonight! Tyler Courtney turned the fastest time on a tacky track. At 5:30 the first heat was pushing out under an overcast sky. The top 5 would transfer to the A main. In heat 1, the winner was Bayston, followed by Wise, Peck, first starting Dussel and Sammy Swindell. Reutzel and Shaffer miss the transfer. In heat 2, Jac won from the front, followed by Reinhardt, Macedo, Eliason and Spithaler. The track has a little cushion but is slicking off some up around the top. The middle is still tacky with the bottom starting to dry a little. The wind has picked up and that is drying up the track as well. In heat 3 the winner was Scelzi followed by Schuerenburg, Courtney, Polyak and Henry.

Jac Haudenschild Henry and Brubaker waged a torrid battle for the last transfer spot with Henry finally able to wrestle it away from Brubaker at the end. In heat 4 the finish was Mintz, Thomas, Malcuit, Gee and Foos. Gee came up from 6th to 4th to secure an A main start.

Jac wins the first dash from the front and was followed by Wise, Macedo, Peck and Foos. Will this be a repeat of last night, where Jac almost won the feature? We shall see. In the 2nd dash, Mintz won it in exciting style, after a long battle with Scelzi and Courtney. Mintz crosses first at the flag stand on the last lap. He was followed by Scelzi, Courtney, Bayston and Eliason.

So the A main front row was Haud on the pole with Mintz alongside. They were followed in the lineup by Wise and Scelzi, Macedo and Courtney, Peck and Bayston and Foos and Eliason.

The B main finish was Andrews, Shaffer, Brubaker and Wilson. After the B main, the track was slicked off all over. There was still a little moisture at the exit of turns 2 and 4 in the middle and some moisture still at the top of turn 1 and 2 but that was about it. The wind was picking up and I could feel sprinkles of rain on my arms and face. Hurry up guys!

Spencer Bayston won the Attica Ambush Saturday The A main rolled off under threatening skies at 6:45! At the start, Mintz grabbed the lead as Jac struggled to keep up. Jac eventually fell back as he was not hooked up very well on this day. Wise came up to challenge Mintz during the first half of the 40 lap feature. Wise hounded Mintz and they traded the lead a few times before Wise passed him for good on lap 28. The track was dry and getting slicker by the moment and then, as Wise had grabbed the lead, you could see Bayston and Courtney not far behind, battling for the 3rd spot. Bayston was riding up high in turns 1 and 2, kicking his right rear off the little spot of a cushion that was left. This gave him momentum off of turn 2 as he rolled off the turn and down the backstretch. Bayston would then enter turn 3 at the top and diamond down across the turn and exit turn 4 down low. Lap after lap he did this and passed Courtney around lap 26 and Mintz a few laps later. Then Spencer set sail after Wise and passed for the lead going around the top of turn 2. Spencer rode it home for the win on a tough track and earned the big money. That took some patience and searching around for any bit of grip. A great driving job! Spencer won the two biggest events at Attica this year, the Doty and the Ambush! Wise finished 2nd and Courtney wound up 3rd. And the feature was over at 7:30!

A big thank you goes out to Attica Raceway Park and to the All Stars for getting us out of there before the rain and at the same time putting on a great race! Attica has one more race scheduled this year for Friday September 10th. It’s the Season Championship and the Mark Keegan Classic for 410 sprints….and it pays $4,000 to win.

See you at the next race!