Dale Blaney Kicks Off Attica Season With All Star Win

By Brian Liskai

ATTICA, Ohio –Saturday was a good day to be a Blaney.

Early on Saturday, Dave “The Buckeye Bullet” Blaney –a regular with the NASCAR Sprint Cup series – scored the win at Port Royal Speedway in Pennsylvania. Not to be outdone, his brother, Dale “The Low Rider” Blaney held off a late race challenge from Sheldon Haudenschild to score his 94 th career University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions victory to open the track’s 25 th anniversary season on HD Supply/Construction Equipment and Supply Spring Nationals.

“I heard Dale got the win at the Port….he needs to race with us more to get his confidence up….but I don’t know if that will be a good thing. He could be a pain to all of us if that happens,” joked Dale Blaney beside his Ti22/GF1 backed machine in victory lane

“Cap (Henry) was strong like he has been here the last few times we’ve run at Attica. But George (Fisher) and Troy (Psurny) gave me a good car…I love racing here…the track is always great,” added Blaney.

“Boy Sheldon just keeps getting better and better. During that red George told me I’d better get going or I was going to get my butt kicked. He made some little adjustments to the car and it was fantastic,” continued Blaney, who now is just four wins away from tying Kenny Jacobs for the UNOH All Stars’ all time win lead.

In the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Late Models, Garrett Krummert, Rusty Schlenk and Matt Miller waged a tremendous battle early in the 25-lap feature before Miller drove into the lead on lap six and held off Schlenk the rest of the way for his 6 th career Attica win.

“We put together a new Rocket car this year and my hats off to the crew. They just kept working on this thing all night. I have to thank Rick DeLong for the opportunity and Mark Richards at Rocket Chassis for all the help,” said Miller beside his Dominator Race Products backed machine.

In the Foster Auto Body 305 Sprints, former Attica 410 champion Alvin Roepke would battle with Bobby Clark through the first half of the feature before taking the lead using his familiar bottom groove on lap 13 and went on to his first career division win.

“Wow….to win the first night out. I complained to the guys this morning I didn’t really want to go racing…I thought it would be too cold,” joked Roepke beside his Level Performance/Perkins Tree Service/Vision Quest backed machine. “I have to thank Charlie and Craig for putting this deal together and my brother Danny for all his help. I haven’t been on the horse track here since winning the All Star race back in 2012. I hope this isn’t the last time.”

In the 40-lap UNOH All Star feature, four time and defending series champion Tim Shaffer and Blaney, a three time series champion and current point leader would bring the field to the green. After a lap was complete Brady Bacon would spin with the running order Blaney, Henry, Caleb Helms, Shaffer and Randy Hannagan. On the restart Henry, the quick qualifier of the night, would rocket past Blaney as Hannagan would drive past Shaffer into fourth.

As Henry prepared to hit the back of the field, Blaney closed with Helms comfortably in third as Hannagan and Shaffer battled four fourth with Danny Smith and Haudenschild in tow. By lap 15, Henry, who nearly took the win at his local track during the Ohio Sprint Speedweek event in 2012, was in heavy lapped traffic, but was picking his way through patiently as Blaney looked for a chance to pounce. At the halfway mark Blaney was now on Henry’s rear bumper with Helms facing a challenge from Haudenschild. Henry and Blaney raced side by side over the next two laps as they tried to negotiate traffic. On lap 23 Blaney would use the lapped machine of Duane Zablocki as a pick and drove around Henry for the lead. Henry tried to make a move in turn two, but he and Zablocki would spin, bringing out the caution.

The restart order was now Blaney, Helms, Haudenschild, Hannagan, Shaffer and Smith. When the green reappeared, Haudenschild wasted little time disposing of Helms and was closing quickly on Blaney when the caution flew on lap 29 for a Jamie Barnes spin. Now with a clear track, Blaney would drive to the bottom on the restart and pulled away slightly from Haudenschild as Hannagan moved into third, bringing Shaffer into fourth with eight laps to go. On the next circuit, Travis Philo would make contact with another car, collapsing the front of his car, and with no where to go, Henry would tag him, flipping on the front stretch. The Bellevue,Ohio driver was okay, but it was another frustrating ending at his home track.

After the open red, the restart order had Blaney over Haudenschild, with a lapped machine in third followed by Hannagan, Shaffer, Helms, Smith, Cole Duncan and 20 th place starter Brandon Martin. Again when the green flew, Blaney drove away on the bottom. With just two laps to go, the battle was for third as Hannagan and Shaffer raced side by side. Now all eyes were on 16 th place starter and defending Attica champion Craig Mintz who came alive the last five laps, racing into fifth.

As the checkered flew Blaney claimed his fifth Spring Nationals victory in the last seven years. It was his 17 th career win at Attica as he sits fifth in the track’s all-time win list. Haudenschild would score his best ever All Star finish with a runner-up performance while Hannagan, Shaffer and Mintz would round out the top five.

“That was a lot of fun. We nearly got a win here late last year before we got tore up. I have to thank my mom and dad and sister for all their support and Ripper for all the hard work tonight,” said Haudenschild beside his Triple X/Wintermyer Auto Salvage backed machine. “I didn’t want to see that red…when you give Dale and George a chance to work on that car, it’s hard to beat them. It just took awhile for the car to get going on restarts. But, I’m really happy with the run….it’s a great way to start the year.”

For Hannagan and his new ride –the Shane Wade Amati Racing Marion Underground Construction team –it was also a great start to the season.

“We couldn’t ask for a better start to the season. We were good all night and the car got better at the end. I’m really excited for what this team can do,” said Hannagan.

In the 25-lap UMP late model main, Garrett Krummert, who swept the Spring Nationals even in 2012, and young up-and-comer Cody Scott would bring the field to the green. Krummert would gain the advantage as a tremendous battle ensued for second with Scott, John Mayes Jr. Russ King and Rusty Schlenk. Mayes’ great run would end on lap four when he spun in turn two while battling with Schlenk for the runner-up spot.

When the green reappeared, Schlenk would apply pressure to Krummert for the lead while eighth starter Matt Miller drove into third. The trio battled side-by-side over the next two laps until Miller used the low line to take the lead on lap six. Schlenk would battle to Miller’s outside lap after lap until the caution flew on lap nine for a Larry Kingseed spin. Matt Irey would loop out his machine on the restart, but once racing got back underway, Miller would pull away from Schlenk while Krummert had his hands full with a closing Dona Marcoullier with King, Eric Spangler and Mike Bores in pursuit

Miller would drive into lapped traffic on lap 16, but Schlenk could not close the distance with Marcoullier closing. Miller would not budge from the bottom and took the victory over Schlenk, Marcoullier, King and Krummert.

Paul Weaver and Bobby Clark would pace the field in the 25-lap 305 sprint main, but it was fourth place starter Dustin Dinan who would lead the first lap. Dinan would slip over the banking in turn two allowing Weaver to take the top spot with Roepke and Clark challenging. Clark would steal the lead away on lap three with Roepke racing to his inside. Clark and Roepke raced side by side over the next five circuits before the caution flew on lap nine for John Ivy who had just moved into third.

When the green came back out, Clark and Roepke again raced side by side, with Roepke gaining the advantage on lap 11. Clark wouldn’t give up as the duo continued to battle. Roepke would start to pull away slightly by lap 15 as Dinan was now challenging Clark for second while Weaver, Jason Keckler and a closing Nate Dussel gave chase.

Roepke would encounter lapped traffic by lap 19 as Dinan drove into second, just two car lengths from Roepke’s rear bumper. Roepke would pick off the traffic one at a time and would drive to the victory over Dinan, Clark,Dussel and Weaver

Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, April 5 on Fisher Performance Night featuring the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints, Summit Racing Equipment UMP Late Models and Foster Auto Body 305 Sprints. There is a rain date for Saturday, April 6.

For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com or like Attica Raceway Park on ******** and follow the track on Twitter.

Attica Raceway Park – 3/30/2013 UNOH Night

All Star Circuit of Champions (32 Cars) [#]-Starting Position

Qualifying – Kistler Engines 1. 54-Cap Henry, 12.705; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.908; 3. 2-Dale Blaney, 12.942; 4. 66-Randy Hannagan, 12.962; 5. 83-Tim Shaffer, 12.974; 6. 29-Cole Duncan, 12.992; 7. 40-Caleb Helms, 12.996; 8. 99-Brady Bacon, 13.023; 9. 4-Danny Smith, 13.082; 10. 97-Phil Gressman, 13.083; 11. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.103; 12. 2M-Dustin Daggett, 13.108; 13. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.141; 14. 9B-Jamie Barnes, 13.165; 15. 53-D.J. Foos, 13.219; 16. 45-Danny Holtgraver, 13.259; 17. O9-Craig Mintz, 13.274; 18. 94-Jack Sodeman Jr., 13.353; 19. O-Justin Henderson, 13.372; 20. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 13.381; 21. 57X-Andrew Palker, 13.381; 22. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.403; 23. 9X-Brandon Martin, 13.429; 24. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.446; 25. 27P-Paige Polyak, 13.467; 26. 40G-Caleb Griffith, 13.483; 27. 7K-Chad Blonde, 13.493; 28. 55-Brad Bowman, 13.539; 29. 80-Trey Gustin, 13.581; 30. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 13.630; 31. 16-Chris Andrews, 13.674; 32. 7-Troy Kigan, 99.999

Heat 1 – Kears Speed Shop (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. O9-Craig Mintz[2] ; 2. 54-Cap Henry[6] ; 3. 83-Tim Shaffer[5] ; 4. 4-Danny Smith[4] ; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[3] ; 6. 80-Trey Gustin[8] ; 7. 27P-Paige Polyak[7] ; 8. 57X-Andrew Palker[1]

Heat 2 – All Pro Aluminum Heads (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 9B-Jamie Barnes[3] ; 2. 97-Phil Gressman[4] ; 3. 40G-Caleb Griffith[7] ; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker[6] ; 5. 5T-Travis Philo[1] ; 6. 46AU-Stuart Williams[8] ; 7. 29-Cole Duncan[5] ; 8. 94-Jack Sodeman Jr.[2]

Heat 3 – Dragon Race Fuel (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. O-Justin Henderson[2] ; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[6] ; 4. 7K-Chad Blonde[7] ; 5. 40-Caleb Helms[5] ; 6. 16-Chris Andrews[8] ; 7. 9X-Brandon Martin[1] ; 8. 53-D.J. Foos[3]

Heat 4 – Kinsler Fuel Injection (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[2] ; 2. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[1] ; 3. 66-Randy Hannagan[6] ; 4. 2M-Dustin Daggett[4] ; 5. 55-Brad Bowman[7] ; 6. 45-Danny Holtgraver[3] ; 7. 99-Brady Bacon[5] ; 8. 7-Troy Kigan[8]

Dash – Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature 1. 83-Tim Shaffer[1] ; 2. 2-Dale Blaney[3] ; 3. 40-Caleb Helms[4] ; 4. 54-Cap Henry[5] ; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 6. 66-Randy Hannagan[6]

B-Main – MSD Ignition (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 99-Brady Bacon[2] ; 2. 29-Cole Duncan[1] ; 3. 45-Danny Holtgraver[4] ; 4. 9X-Brandon Martin[7] ; 5. 27P-Paige Polyak[8] ; 6. 53-D.J. Foos[3] ; 7. 94-Jack Sodeman Jr.[5] ; 8. 16-Chris Andrews[11] ; 9. 46AU-Stuart Williams[10] ; 10. 80-Trey Gustin[9] ; 11. 57X-Andrew Palker[6] ; 12. 7-Troy Kigan[12]

A-Main – University of Northwestern Ohio (40 Laps) 1. 2-Dale Blaney[2]; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[9]; 3. 66-Randy Hannagan[6]; 4. 83-Tim Shaffer[1]; 5. O9-Craig Mintz[16]; 6. 4-Danny Smith[7]; 7. 40-Caleb Helms[3]; 8. 9X-Brandon Martin[20]; 9. 7K-Chad Blonde[23]; 10. 29-Cole Duncan[11]; 11. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[18]; 12. 5R-Byron Reed[13]; 13. 40G-Caleb Griffith[22]; 14. O-Justin Henderson[17]; 15. 45-Danny Holtgraver[15]; 16. 35-Stuart Brubaker[5]; 17. 2M-Dustin Daggett[10]; 18. 55-Brad Bowman[24]; 19. 99-Brady Bacon[12]; 20. 54-Cap Henry[4]; 21. 5T-Travis Philo[19]; 22. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[21]; 23. 9B-Jamie Barnes[14]; 24. 97-Phil Gressman[8] Hard Charger: 7K-Chad Blonde[+14]

Summit Racing Equipment Late Models (27 Cars) [#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 29-Garrett Krummert[2] ; 2. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[3] ; 3. 92-Cody Scott[1] ; 4. 3-Matt Miller[9] ; 5. 5M-Ryan Markham[5] ; 6. 27-Ken Hahn[4] ; 7. O3-Doug Eck[6] ; 8. 99-Steve Sabo[7]

Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 98-Tim Sabo[4] ; 2. 56-Russ King[5] ; 3. 15B-Mike Bores[6] ; 4. 30-Nate Potts[1] ; 5. 21-Larry Kingseed[3] ; 6. 42S-Bob Mayer[2] ; 7. 36-Matt Irey[7] ; 8. 66-Bobby Hutchins[8] ; 9. O3G-Jim Gingery[9]

Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 18R-Chris Ross[3] ; 2. 69-John Mayes Jr.[4] ; 3. 27S-Eric Spangler[5] ; 4. 91-Rusty Schlenk[9] ; 5. 48-John Bores[7] ; 6. 5J-Josh Haynes[2] ; 7. 50Y-Ryan Missler[6] ; 8. 8-Rob Anderzack[1] ; 9. RH21-Gregg Haskell[8]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. O3-Doug Eck[4] ; 2. 27-Ken Hahn[1] ; 3. 36-Matt Irey[5] ; 4. 50Y-Ryan Missler[6] ; 5. 99-Steve Sabo[7] ; 6. 5J-Josh Haynes[3] ; 7. RH21-Gregg Haskell[11] ; 8. 8-Rob Anderzack[9] ; 9. 42S-Bob Mayer[2] ; 10. O3G-Jim Gingery[10] ; 11. 66-Bobby Hutchins[8] ; 12. 1F-Justin Collet[12]

A-Main – (25 Laps) 1. 3-Matt Miller[8]; 2. 91-Rusty Schlenk[6]; 3. 6M-Dona Marcoullier[11]; 4. 56-Russ King[3]; 5. 29-Garrett Krummert[1]; 6. 50Y-Ryan Missler[19]; 7. 27S-Eric Spangler[7]; 8. O3-Doug Eck[16]; 9. 15B-Mike Bores[9]; 10. 18R-Chris Ross[10]; 11. 5M-Ryan Markham[13]; 12. 92-Cody Scott[2]; 13. 69-John Mayes Jr.[4]; 14. 48-John Bores[15]; 15. 99-Steve Sabo[20]; 16. 30-Nate Potts[5]; 17. 21-Larry Kingseed[14]; 18. 98-Tim Sabo[12]; 19. 27-Ken Hahn[17]; 20. 36-Matt Irey[18] Hard Charger: 50Y-Ryan Missler[+13]

Foster Auto Body 305 Sprints (25 Cars) [#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. OO-Alvin Roepke[1] ; 2. 9-Jimmy Colvin[2] ; 3. 36-Seth Schneider[6] ; 4. 1-Nate Dussel[4] ; 5. 10X-Dustin Stroup[8] ; 6. 19R-Steve Rando[7] ; 7. 22D-Dan Hammond[5] ; 8. 34-Eric Daposki[9] ; 9. 36X-Dustin Keegan[3]

Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 8I-John Ivy[1] ; 2. 1W-Paul Weaver[3] ; 3. 68G-Tyler Gunn[6] ; 4. 6-Dustin Dinan[8] ; 5. 8M-T.J Michael[4] ; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron[5] ; 7. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[2] ; 8. 83X-Nate Reeser[7]

Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 25-Jason Keckler[3] ; 2. 4X-Bobby Clark[4] ; 3. 13D-Jeremy Duposky[2] ; 4. 5-Jordan Ryan[6] ; 5. 8J-Jess Stiger[8] ; 6. 26-Bill Griffith[1] ; 7. 10J-CJ Jones[5] ; 8. 2-Ricky Peterson[7]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature) 1. 19R-Steve Rando[1] ; 2. 22D-Dan Hammond[4] ; 3. 10J-CJ Jones[6] ; 4. 22M-Dan McCarron[2] ; 5. 36X-Dustin Keegan[10] ; 6. 2-Ricky Peterson[9] ; 7. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[5] ; 8. 34-Eric Daposki[7] ; 9. 26-Bill Griffith[3] ; 10. 83X-Nate Reeser[8]
R
A-Main – (25 Laps) 1. OO-Alvin Roepke[3]; 2. 6-Dustin Dinan[4]; 3. 4X-Bobby Clark[2]; 4. 1-Nate Dussel[10]; 5. 1W-Paul Weaver[1]; 6. 25-Jason Keckler[6]; 7. 5-Jordan Ryan[12]; 8. 9-Jimmy Colvin[11]; 9. 10X-Dustin Stroup[13]; 10. 68G-Tyler Gunn[8]; 11. 8I-John Ivy[7]; 12. 8J-Jess Stiger[15]; 13. 36-Seth Schneider[5]; 14. 8M-T.J Michael[14]; 15. 36X-Dustin Keegan[20]; 16. 13D-Jeremy Duposky[9]; 17. 19R-Steve Rando[16]; 18. 22D-Dan Hammond[17]; 19. 10J-CJ Jones[18]; 20. 22M-Dan McCarron[19] Hard Charger: 1-Nate Dussel[+6]