World’s Best Sprint Car Drivers To Tackle Fremont Speedway

By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio – Fremont Speedway is one of those tracks where the weekly competitors have a legitimate shot at defeating the drivers in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. That will all play out Saturday, Sept. 28 as Daryn Pittman, Donny Schatz, Steve and Kraig Kinser, Joey Saldana, Paul McMahan, Craig Dollansky, Sammy Swindell, Cody Darrah, Kerry Madsen, Jason Sides, Chad Kemenah and David Gravel visit “The Track That Action Built.”

The Joe Stelter Memorial – honoring the man who began Fremont Speedway as its first promoter in 1951 – will pay the feature winner $10,000 on Kistler Racing Products Night, with racing getting underway at 7 p.m.

Fremont Speedway is working with Eldora Speedway to honor the advanced tickets that were sold for Friday’s World of Outlaw STP Sprint Car Series event that was rained out. Fans that had purchased tickets for the Eldora event can bring them to Fremont Speedway and pay the difference in the ticket prices.

Also, fans are reminded they may not come early and mark seats for Saturday’s event. All tape; blankets etc. that are in place prior to Saturday will be removed. Gates Saturday will open at 4 p.m.

With just a handful of races left in 2013 for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, Pittman has a 70 point lead over five time World of Outlaws champion Schatz who leads series with 20 wins. Pittman has recorded 8 series wins in 2012 while third place point man McMahan has 3 victories. Saldana sits fourth in the standings with one win with Dollansky fifth in points with six wins. Rounding out the top 10 are Swindell (3 wins); Darrah (2 wins), Steve Kinser (2 wins); Madsen (3 wins) and Sides.

“The Greatest Show on Dirt” last visited Fremont Speedway in October 2011 with champion Jason Meyers taking home the victory. According to information from the World of Outlaws, “The Greatest Show on Dirt” has made four other appearances at Fremont Speedway. Prior to the 2011 event, the last time the World of Outlaws competed at Fremont Speedway was May 22, 1993 with Stevie Smith taking the victory. Frankie Kerr, who called Fremont, Ohio home for many years while he campaigned the Stan Shoff #23s machine, won World of Outlaw events at Fremont in August 1992 and August 1991. National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee Doug Wolfgang won the only other World of Outlaw event at Fremont, that coming on May 19, 1990.

During his career, 20-time World of Outlaws Champion Steve Kinser has recorded two wins at Fremont Speedway while Swindell has one career victory at the track.

They will have to battle the tough local competitors including Byron Reed, who has three wins at Fremont this season and wrapped up his fourth track title. Current UNOH All Star point leader Dale Blaney has won all three of Fremont’s $10,000-to-win events this season including recently the Jim Ford Classic. Two-time UNOH All Star champion Greg Wilson also has two wins at Fremont in 2013 with other winners including Chris Andrews, Bryan Sebetto, Tim Shaffer, Cap Henry and Caleb Griffith.

Also, Fremont Speedway will pay for the Dirt membership needed to compete in the World of Outlaw event that is already not a member. Those drivers can have not missed more than one event at the track in 2013.

The Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints and AAA Ohio Auto Club Dirt Trucks will also be in competition as both divisions will run a feature event only. It is open to only the drivers in the track’s final top 20 in points. The line-ups will include a “dirty draw” for those who have competed in every event in 2013.

There were seven drivers who competed in all the 305 sprint events in 2013 that are eligible for the “dirty draw” – where they will draw a number for the top seven starting spots in the 25-lap feature. The order of the draw will be how they finished in points (champion draws first, etc.). Those drivers are John Ivy, Nate Dussel, Alvin Roepke, Jason Keckler, T.J. Michaels, Tyler Gunn and Dan Hammond. The rest of the line-up will be done straight up from points with Jordan Ryan, Dustin Dinan, Paul Weaver, Bobby Clark, Brandon Moore, Seth Schneider, Jimmy Colvin, Jeremy Duposki, Roger Shammo, Jess Stiger, Josh Harrison, Dan McCarron and Steve Rando.

In the dirt trucks there were nine drivers who competed in every event in 2013 that are eligible for the “dirty draw,” including Shawn Valenti, Dan Roepke Jr., Dustin Keegan, Cory Ward, Matt Foos, Ben Good, Keith Sorg, Cory McCaughey and Eric Devanna. The other drivers and how they will be lined up include John Ivy (though champion he missed the Sept. 13 race), Art Ball, Jeff Ward, Brad Mitten, Kent Brewer, Brian Melnek, Jimmy McGrath Junior, Gene Potridge, Dana Fry, Willie Keegan and Steve Sabo.

Reserved tickets for the World of Outlaws event are still available and are $40 each. Adult general admission tickets the day of the event are $35 with teens ages 11-16 $20 and kids 10 and under free. Pit passes are $40 each. To view a seating chart for reserved tickets go to www.fremontohspeedway.com and click on the World of Outlaws banner in the middle of the page.

Fremont Speedway is located in the Sandusky County Fairgrounds at the corner of Rawson Ave. and North Street, just south of Ohio Turnpike Exit 91 and the U.S. 20 bypass.