Henry Out Duels VanWormer For Attica ALMS Win

By Brian Liskai

ATTICA, Ohio –After an edge-of-your-seat, race-long duel with Jeep VanWormer, Ada, Ohio’s Jon Henry was able to pull away on a couple of late race restarts to take the Sunoco American Late Model Series win at Attica Raceway Park on True Value of Woodville/Merrill Lynch/Columbus Equipment Night.

Not to be outdone, Fremont, Ohio’s Brian Smith, a former Attica 305 sprint champion who runs on a shoe-string budget, passed Byron Reed and Dean Jacobs with seven laps to go and then survived a couple of late race restarts to upset the field for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprint victory on a Kistler Racing Products FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) Championship night.

When early race leader Paul Weaver suffered a flat tire, defending track champion Nate Dussel was there to pounce, driving around Dustin Dinan on a lap 9 restart and cruised to his second win of the season in the Foster’s Auto Body 305 Sprints.

The 30-lap late model main featured a tremendous battle the entire distance between Henry, Brian Ruhlman, Jeep Van Wormer and a charging Matt Miller who stormed from his 18 th starting spot to be a contender at the end.

“I earned that one tonight. I tell you what, this is emotional for me. I have a lot of people supporting me and one individual in particular, Darrell Kirsch…I wanted to win one for him,” said Henry Beside his Mean 15 –individuals and businesses that sponsored his #15 this season. “It’s tough…I’ve been thinking about him and I’m thinking about Kent Robinson, a fellow racer who lost his dad today. I raced that race for them.”

Henry said it was “heart” that got him to victory lane. “I just got up on the wheel and said I’m not letting this one slip away…I let the last one slip away, I’m racing my ass off,” he said. “You’d better be elbows up when Jeep’s around. I knew what I had to do to win this race and it was either wreck or win. I have to thank my dad, John; he busts his ass for me.”

Henry thanked his “Mean 15” sponsors of Fultz Fabrications, Henry Farms, Mike and Sheila Keller, Truman Quarter horses, Lehman & Lehman, Norada Lanes, Associated Plastic, Home Savings and Loan, William H. Bass Trucking, Ron Spencer Real Estate, Jim Weber Motorsports, Automated Transport, In Memory of Darrell Kirsch, Re-Deck of Northwest Ohio, and Fremont Speedway.

In the 30-lap 410 sprint feature, Smith, who races with a very old engine and very little financial backing, used his familiar bottom groove to blast around Reed on a lap 21 restart to take second, and then drove around Dean Jacobs two laps later to take the lead. Smith had to keep cool on two restarts in the last five laps to score his second career 410 sprint feature win at Attica.

“They finally put a cushion up on top to get them yahoos out of my way so I could run my groove,” said Smith, who exited his car and promptly dove in a mud puddle to do ‘snow angels’ in front of the boisterous crowd. “I talked to Brian Kemenah (a five time All Star Circuit of Champions Crew Chief of the Year) yesterday out at Kistlers and we made some decisions on stuff we needed to do with the race car and guess what…he was right.”

“I’ve raced with them guys (Byron Reed and Craig Mintz) long enough to feel like I belong there sometimes and I’m so grateful God was there. I was praying as hard as I’ve ever prayed in my life and when the caution came out with five to go…I was just fortunate he let me win,” continued Smith beside his Grace Community Church/Residential Security Systems/SASS Salon/Henry Motorsports/Gressman Powersports/Crown Battery/Scott’s Lawn Care/Chuck Roelle Racing/Trails end Custom Photography #2+

“I got inside of Byron and then we came off of two and he lifted the front wheels when he picked the throttle back up, so I knew under the caution when we came back down for the green if I could take off real late his car would probably lift up and give me a little bit of a break,” added Smith.

In the 305 sprint feature, once he got into the lead on lap 10, Nate Dussel was never challenged for the win, his seventh at Attica.

“Anyone could have driven this thing tonight it was so damn fast. It’s pretty awesome to be climbing the win list. A lot of the guys I’m passing..I sat in these stands and watch them. Never thought there’d be a day when I’d sit this horse track. This one isn’t about me. These guys had this car unbelievable. It was out for a Sunday cruise,” said Dussel beside his Berrier Fabrication/Kylynn Manufacturing/Conrad Transport/Gressman Powersports/Dussel Welding/Kistler Racing Products backed machine.

Ryan Markham and defending ALMS champion Brian Ruhlman would bring the field to the green in the 30-lap late model event with Ruhlman grabbing the lead. Henry, who started 7 th ,would drive into third by lap two and blast into second on lap three. On lap four, Henry would race inside Ruhlman to take the lead with VanWormer, running third. A caution on lap five for Ryan Missler and John Mayes Jr. would bunch the field up with the running order Henry, Ruhlman, VanWormer, Brandon Thirlby, Markham and Cody Scott.

When the green flew Henry would pull away slightly as Ruhlman and VanWormer raced door to door for second. VanWormer would finally gain the advantage by lap eight and slowly closed on Henry. By lap 12, VanWormer raced to Henry’s outside and the duo raced that way over the next four laps until VanWormer took the lead on the high side on lap 17.

With nine laps to go, Henry moved off the bottom and drove to the outside of VanWormer who was hung up trying to get through lapped traffic. The caution would fly for Chris Keller with Henry leading VanWormer, Ruhlman, Thirlby, Rusty Schlenk and 18 th starter Matt Miller. When the green came back out, Henry would pull away slightly as both Miller and Schlenk drove around Thirlby. With five laps to go, Miller had caught VanWormer as they battled for second, allowing Henry to pull away.

Henry took the checkers about three car lengths ahead of VanWormer, Miller, Schlenk and Ruhlman.

In the 30-lap 410 sprint main, Phil Gressman and Reed would pace the field to the green with Gressman gaining the advantage over Reed, Smith, Jacobs, Mintz and Todd Heller. Gressman, Reed, Smith and Jacobs ran nose to tail over the first four laps until Jacobs used the extreme high groove to vault into third on lap five and second a lap later. Jacobs above the cushion on lap seven to take the lead.

Reed would drive into second on lap 11 as the leaders raced into traffic. Meanwhile Smith drove his consistent laps on the bottom to stay close and on lap 13 moved into third with Craig Mintz taking fourth and Caleb Griffith into fifth. At the half-way point, both Reed and Smith had caught Jacobs who was having difficulty getting around lapped traffic.

The caution would fly for a Bryan Sebetto spin with 10 laps to go, giving Jacobs a clear track. On the restart Jacobs went right to the top while Reed ran the middle, which opened the bottom for Smith to take second. Smith would then drive under Jacobs on lap 23 to take the lead with Reed following. The caution would fly on lap 25 for Stuart Brubaker. On the restart Smith was able to pull away slightly from Reed while Mintz moved into third. A lap and another caution for Bryan Lay, setting up a four lap battle for the finish.

When the green came back out, Smith was able to drive away from Reed who had his hands full with Mintz while 11 th starter Greg Wilson blasted into fourth, bringing Heller into fifth. Smith would drive to the win as Mintz would steal second on the last lap while Reed, Wilson and Heller rounded out the top five.

Paul Weaver and Dustin Dinan would bring the 305 sprint field to the green in their 25 lap affair. Weaver would grab the lead over Dinan, Dan McCarron and Seth Schneider. However, Jeremy Shambaugh would spin after a lap was completed. When the green came back out, Weaver pulled away from Dinan with McCarron, Schneider, Dussel and Jason Keckler giving chase. With five laps in, Schneider would go pit side with mechanical woes and with seven laps recorded, Dussel would move into third.

The caution would fly on lap nine for a Jess Stiger spin, with leader Weaver going to the pits with a flat tire. On the restart Dussel would drive under Dinan to take the lead. Two laps later Keckler would utilize the high groove to take second, though he could not mount a charge on Dussel who was on cruise control.

Dussel would drive away from the field for the win as Dinan would regroup and regain second in the last two laps while Keckler,Jordan Ryan and McCarron would round out the top five.

Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, May 3 for the first ever UNOH 305/360 sprint challenge with the late models and dirt trucks on the racing card. For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com for more info.

Attica Raceway Park – 4/26/2013 True Value of Woodville/ Merrill Lynch/Columbus Equipment Night

O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints (29 Cars) [#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 9X-Brandon Martin[3] ; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[8] ; 3. 5R-Byron Reed[4] ; 4. 55-Brad Bowman[5] ; 5. 81-Greg Dallman[7] ; 6. 10X-Dustin Stroupe[6] ; 7. 69-Scott Curren[1] ; 8. 39M-Matt Merrill[2]

Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. W20-Greg Wilson[1] ; 2. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[4] ; 3. 14H-Todd Heller[2] ; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[3] ; 6. 5T-Travis Philo[5] ; 7. 23D-Devon Dobie[6]

Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 22-Cole Duncan[3] ; 2. 97-Phil Gressman[1] ; 3. 2+-Brian Smith[7] ; 4. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[6] ; 5. 27P-Paige Polyak[5] ; 6. 53-DJ Foos[2] ; 7. 29-Kyle Sauder[4]

Heat 4 – Bell Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 9-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 2. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[6] ; 3. 46AU-Stuart Williams[1] ; 4. 45L-Brian Lay[3] ; 5. 23-Jimmy Light[5] ; 6. 16-Chris Andrews[7] ; 7. 11N-Ed Neumeister[4]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 23-Jimmy Light[4] ; 2. 16-Chris Andrews[8] ; 3. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[2] ; 4. 5T-Travis Philo[6] ; 5. 29-Kyle Sauder[11] ; 6. 53-DJ Foos[7] ; 7. 39M-Matt Merrill[13] ; 8. 10X-Dustin Stroupe[5] ; 9. 11N-Ed Neumeister[12] ; 10. 23D-Devon Dobie[10] ; 11. 81-Greg Dallman[1] ; 12. 69-Scott Curren[9] ; 13. 27P-Paige Polyak[3]

A-Main – (30 Laps) 1. 2+-Brian Smith[4]; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[6]; 3. 5R-Byron Reed[2]; 4. W20-Greg Wilson[11]; 5. 14H-Todd Heller[8]; 6. 55-Brad Bowman[13]; 7. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[12]; 8. 9-Dean Jacobs[3]; 9. 22-Cole Duncan[5]; 10. 9X-Brandon Martin[10]; 11. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[19]; 12. 5T-Travis Philo[20]; 13. 97-Phil Gressman[1]; 14. 16-Chris Andrews[18]; 15. 46AU-Stuart Williams[7]; 16. 23-Jimmy Light[17]; 17. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[9]; 18. 2M-Dallas Hewitt[15]; 19. 35-Stuart Brubaker[14]; 20. 45L-Brian Lay[16] Hard Charger: 9Z-Duane Zablocki[+8]

Summit Racing Equipment Late Models (40 Cars) [#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 5M-Ryan Markham[1] ; 2. 92-Cody Scott[3] ; 3. 1N-Casey Noonan[4] ; 4. 36-Matt Irey[7] ; 5. 27-Ken Hahn[5] ; 6. 45-Kevin Reeve[2] ; 7. 15B-Mike Bores[9] ; 8. 98-Tim Sabo[6] ; 9. 30-Nate Potts[8] ; 10. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.[10]

Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (10 Laps -Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 49-Brian Ruhlman[2] ; 2. OO-Chris Keller[7] ; 3. 69-John Mayes Jr.[3] ; 4. 21-Larry Kingseed[5] ; 5. 11-Ryan Sutter[9] ; 6. 48-John Bores[10] ; 7. 26-Sid Danals[1] ; 8. 77-Coby Bartram[4] ; 9. 12-Bobby Michaels[6] ; 10. RH21-Gregg Haskell[8]

Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (10 Laps -Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. M14-Brandon Thirlby[3] ; 2. 15-Jon Henry[8] ; 3. 50Y-Ryan Missler[9] ; 4. 27S-Eric Spangler[1] ; 5. 75-Dusty Moore[4] ; 6. 50-Scott Phillips[2] ; 7. 88-Andy Reaume[6] ; 8. 15A-Phil Ausra[10] ; 9. 56-B.J. Gregory[7] ; 10. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[5]

Heat 4 – Bell Racing Products (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 55V-Jeep VanWormer[7] ; 2. 91-Rusty Schlenk[4] ; 3. 1C-Wayne Chinn[3] ; 4. 51-Devin Shiels[6] ; 5. 1-Jeff Babcock[9] ; 6. 99-Steve Sabo[1] ; 7. O3-Jim Gingery[5] ; 8. 66-Bobby Hutchins[8] ; 9. 3-Matt Miller[10] ; 10. 5J-Josh Haynes[2]

B-Main #1 – Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 27-Ken Hahn[1] ; 2. 15B-Mike Bores[5] ; 3. 11-Ryan Sutter[2] ; 4. 40-Wayne Maffett Jr.[11] ; 5. 48-John Bores[4] ; 6. 98-Tim Sabo[7] ; 7. 45-Kevin Reeve[3] ; 8. 77-Coby Bartram[8] ; 9. 12-Bobby Michaels[10]

B-Main #2 – Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 3-Matt Miller[10] ; 2. 75-Dusty Moore[1] ; 3. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[11] ; 4. 1-Jeff Babcock[2] ; 5. 88-Andy Reaume[5] ; 6. 50-Scott Phillips[3] ; 7. 15A-Phil Ausra[7] ; 8. 56-B.J. Gregory[9] ; 9. 5J-Josh Haynes[12] ; 10. 99-Steve Sabo[4] ; 11. O3-Jim Gingery[6]

A-Main – (30 Laps) 1. 15-Jon Henry[7]; 2. 55V-Jeep VanWormer[4]; 3. 3-Matt Miller[18]; 4. 91-Rusty Schlenk[8]; 5. 49-Brian Ruhlman[2]; 6. M14-Brandon Thirlby[3]; 7. 1C-Wayne Chinn[12]; 8. 92-Cody Scott[5]; 9. 1N-Casey Noonan[9]; 10. 5M-Ryan Markham[1]; 11. 75-Dusty Moore[20]; 12. 51-Devin Shiels[16]; 13. 36-Matt Irey[13]; 14. 15B-Mike Bores[19]; 15. 15A-Phil Ausra[22]; 16. 21-Larry Kingseed[14]; 17. OO-Chris Keller[6]; 18. 27S-Eric Spangler[15]; 19. 50Y-Ryan Missler[11]; 20. 69-John Mayes Jr.[10]; 21. 27-Ken Hahn[17]; 22. 1-Jeff Babcock[21] Hard Charger: 3-Matt Miller[+15]

Foster Auto Body 305 Sprints (18 Cars) [#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 25-Jason Keckler[2] ; 2. 68G-Tyler Gunn[4] ; 3. 6-Dustin Dinan[5] ; 4. 13D-Jeremy Duposki[8] ; 5. 5R-Jordan Ryan[3] ; 6. 36-Seth Schneider[9] ; 7. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[6] ; 8. 34-Eric Duposki[1]

Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 22M-Dan McCarron[1] ; 2. 9-Jimmy Colvin[3] ; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[4] ; 4. 1W-Paul Weaver[9] ; 5. 83X-Nate Reeser[8] ; 6. 8J-Jess Stiger[5] ; 7. 22D-Dan Hammond[2] ; 8. 26-Bill Griffith[7] ; 9. 2-Ricky Peterson[6]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 560-Ross Moore[1]

A-Main – (25 Laps) 1. 1-Nate Dussel[8]; 2. 6-Dustin Dinan[2]; 3. 25-Jason Keckler[12]; 4. 5R-Jordan Ryan[7]; 5. 22M-Dan McCarron[4]; 6. 68G-Tyler Gunn[6]; 7. 13D-Jeremy Duposki[3]; 8. 22D-Dan Hammond[14]; 9. 2-Ricky Peterson[17]; 10. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[13]; 11. 83X-Nate Reeser[9]; 12. 34-Eric Duposki[15]; 13. 9-Jimmy Colvin[11]; 14. 1W-Paul Weaver[1]; 15. 8J-Jess Stiger[10]; 16. 36-Seth Schneider[5]; 17. 26-Bill Griffith[16] Hard Charger: 25-Jason Keckler[+9]