Ohio Drivers Sweep Outlaws At Attica: Blaney Takes Kistler Engines Classic
8 min read
By Brian Liskai
(Attica, OH) For the first time in 2014, the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series regulars did not finish in the top three. Friday night at Attica Raceway Park Ohio drivers swept the podium on Kistler Engines Classic Night.
Hartford, Ohio’s Dale “The Low Rider” Blaney took the lead from Dean Jacobs on lap 30 and went on to score his third victory of the season at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” speedplant. The victory against the Outlaws is Blaney’s 20th career win at Attica, tying him for third on the track’s all-time win list. Blaney joins Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz as the only drivers to win two World of Outlaws features at Attica.
Defending Attica track champion Craig Mintz would storm from his 13th starting position to finish second while Dean Jacobs, a former Attica track champion who led the first 29 laps, would round out the all-Ohio podium.
“The first five or six laps I thought we were going to be terrible,” said Blaney beside his Tony Kennedy owned machine. “It got better and better as it went. Hats off to Tony Kennedy and George (Fisher) and Donnie and Skippy…they’ve been working hard. We’ve had a great start to the year. Hopefully we can continue it through the summer.”
“Pretty cool to see Craig and Dean up here too. I saw the 09 in third and I know how good he is here. I was happy to see the 97 in second with three to go because I know he (Craig) came from a long way back. For us three to be up here is pretty cool,” added Blaney beside his Kennedy Cattle/Ti22 Performance/Penske Shocks/GF1 Chassis backed #14k. “We’ve had a lot of success here. We’ve been here three times and won all three.”
For Mintz, it seems whenever Blaney is in town for a big show, he runs second. This time it was against the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series drivers as well and his runner-up finish garnered him an additional $500 as the highest placing Attica regular.
“We came here to put on a great show for the fans. Dale was strong. I knew it was going to be tough to get in front of him. We got past the 97 (Jacobs). GF1’s ran pretty good tonight,” said Mintz beside his Real Geese Decoys/Damschroder Roofing/KS Sales and Service/Design Graphics Group backed machine.
“When you run with Dale Blaney and Tim Shaffer and them guys every week it makes you step up your game and it makes you get better,” added Mintz. “We’ve heard a lot of it from the PA Posse but it’s nice to put all Ohio guys on the front stretch.”
For Dean Jacobs late race cautions kept him from winning his second career World of Outlaws feature.
“From what they tell me I just didn’t need the caution flags. I had a pretty good lead from what it sounds like. Everybody was fast. I got up to Chad Kemenah to lap him and he was going pretty fast and was running the same part of the track I was running,” said Jacobs beside his Joe and Diane Seeling owned machine.
“There’s no shame to running behind these two guys. These two guys on a track like this are really fast. They have their program going. It shows you that the local competition is pretty tough around here. I was really shock to see Craig pass me on the high side…that’s not him but he did an awesome job tonight,” said Jacobs about his Northwest Ohio Towing and Recovery/NAPA Truck Center/Blue Beacon/Kistler Engines backed #97.
In the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Late Models, Mansfield, Ohio’s Rocky Owens took the lead on lap three and pulled away for his first career Attica win.
“This means a lot,” said an emotional Owens. “My dad…he does a great job with this car. I can’t thank him and Doug Heath enough. Without them two I probably would be sitting at home right now. There’s no sponsors on this thing. It’s just my dad and Doug and a couple of friends help us out here and there. I’m very fortunate to be able to do this let alone stand here at my favorite race track.”
In the 40-lap Kistler Engines Classic, Jacobs and Joey Saldana would bring the field to the green but Travis Philo and Cap Henry would get together in turn three with both flipping. Both drivers were okay but done for the night. On the second attempt at a green Jacobs would rocket off the bottom to take the lead over Saldana, Cody Darrah, Brad Sweet, Kerry Madsen and Blaney.
Jacobs would pull away from Saldana as Darrah, and Madsen battled for third. Behind them a torrid battle was taking place between Sweet, Daryn Pittman and Blaney. Caleb Griffith would spin on lap six to bring out the caution, wiping out a big lead by Jacobs. When the green flew again so did Jacobs while Saldana had his hands full with Madsen with Darrah, Sweet and Blaney continuing their entertaining battle for fourth.
Jacobs was on a rail as he continued to build his lead over Saldana before catching the rear of the field by lap 19. Meanwhile Saldana, Madsen and Blaney were battling for second. Blaney executed a terrific move, splitting both Madsen and Saldana on lap 25 to grab second and immediately closed on Jacobs. Using the middle of the track in turns one and two while the rest of the field was glued to the bottom, Blaney drove around Jacobs into the lead on lap 30.
Meanwhile Mintz had quietly moved into the top five and when Madsen spun with 10 laps remaining, Mintz sat third. On the ensuing restart Darrah would get upside down in turn three, collecting Brian Lay. When the green flew again so did Blaney on the single-file restart as Mintz applied pressure to Jacobs with Sweet, Greg Wilson, Pittman and Donny Schatz, who started 23rd, in pursuit.
Blaney continued to pull away as the laps ticked off with Mintz driving around Jacobs to take second with two circuits to go. Mintz ran out of laps to catch Blaney as the Low Rider stormed to the victory. Mintz, Jacobs, Sweet and Schatz would round out the top five.
In the 25-lap late models feature Larry Kingseed and Owens brought the field to the green, but Bob Mayer would spin. On the next attempt at a start Brad Malcuit coasted to a stop. The third time was the charm as Kingseed grabbed the lead over Owens, Ryan Markham, Ky Harper and Matt Irey. Owens would drive under Kingseed for the lead on lap three just as the caution flew for a Brandon Perkins spin.
When the green reappeared Owens pulled away from Kingseed while Markham, Harper, Irey and Rusty Schlenk were locked in a tremendous battle for third. Markham grabbed the runner-up spot on lap seven but could not close on Owens until the caution flew on lap 10 for Harper. On the ensuing restart Markham stormed to Owens’ outside but could not make the pass. Meanwhile Schlenk had moved into third and was closing on the top duo.
With the green staying out the final 15 laps, Owens was glued to the bottom and pulled away while the battle behind him was fantastic between Markham, Schlenk, Kingseed, Irey and Jeff Babcock. Schlenk would finally take the second spot on lap 21 but Markham and Irey continued to hound him.
Owens would cruise to the win over Schlenk, Irey, Markham and Babcock.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, June 6th on Croghan Colonial Bank/All Pro Aluminum Heads Night. The O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints will be in competition on a Kistler Racing Products FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) Championship Series points night. The Foster Auto Body 305 Sprints and Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks will also be on the racing card.
For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com
Attica Raceway Park – 5/30/2014
Kistler Engines Night
World of Outlaws STP Sprint Cars (46 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 14K-Dale Blaney, 12.135; 2. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.190; 3. 49-Brad Sweet, 12.225; 4. 71M-Joey Saldana, 12.231; 5. 5T-Travis Philo, 12.290; 6. 83-David Gravel, 12.314; 7. 9-Daryn Pittman, 12.322; 8. 1-Sammy Swindell, 12.322; 9. 4-Cody Darrah, 12.352; 10. 97-Dean Jacobs, 12.394; 11. 45L-Brian Lay, 12.401; 12. 29-Kerry Madsen, 12.448; 13. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.481; 14. 53-Cap Henry, 12.489; 15. 11X-Brandon Martin, 12.490; 16. 9X-Rob Chaney, 12.515; 17. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.524; 18. 77X-Wayne Johnson, 12.527; 19. 3G-James McFadden, 12.538; 20. 81-Lee Jacobs, 12.543; 21. 40DD-Caleb Griffith, 12.545; 22. 63-Chad Kemenah, 12.546; 23. 51-Paul McMahan, 12.586; 24. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 12.599; 25. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.623; 26. 99-Brady Bacon, 12.633; 27. 11-Steve Kinser, 12.637; 28. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.654; 29. 22-Cole Duncan, 12.705; 30. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.716; 31. 11N-Randy Hannagan, 12.720; 32. 9W-Jac Haudenschild, 12.735; 33. 2-Shane Stewart, 12.758; 34. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.794; 35. 55-Brad Bowman, 12.864; 36. 24H-Brandon Wimmer, 12.867; 37. 40-Caleb Helms, 12.878; 38. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 12.886; 39. 10H-Danny Holtgraver, 12.899; 40. 16-Chris Andrews, 12.904; 41. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.013; 42. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.190; 43. 21-Dallas Hewitt, 13.207; 44. 45-Tim Shaffer, 13.327; 45. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.334; 46. 4S-Danny Smith, 13.340
Heat 1 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 4-Cody Darrah[2] ; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[1] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[3] ; 4. 14K-Dale Blaney[4] ; 5. 15-Donny Schatz[7] ; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5] ; 7. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[6] ; 8. 5R-Byron Reed[11] ; 9. 22-Cole Duncan[8] ; 10. 2-Shane Stewart[9] ; 11. 40-Caleb Helms[10] ; 12. 7S-Jason Sides[12]
Heat 2 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 97-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 2. 83-David Gravel[3] ; 3. 53-Cap Henry[1] ; 4. W20-Greg Wilson[4] ; 5. 77X-Wayne Johnson[5] ; 6. 99-Brady Bacon[7] ; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser[8] ; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker[9] ; 9. 63-Chad Kemenah[6] ; 10. 46AU-Stuart Williams[10] ; 11. 1A-Jacob Allen[11] ; 12. 4S-Danny Smith[12]
Heat 3 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 45L-Brian Lay[2] ; 2. 49-Brad Sweet[4] ; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman[3] ; 4. 51-Paul McMahan[6] ; 5. 11-Steve Kinser[7] ; 6. 11N-Randy Hannagan[8] ; 7. 55-Brad Bowman[9] ; 8. 21-Dallas Hewitt[11] ; 9. 3G-James McFadden[5] ; 10. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[10] ; 11. 11X-Brandon Martin[1]
Heat 4 – (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 29-Kerry Madsen[2] ; 2. 71M-Joey Saldana[4] ; 3. 9X-Rob Chaney[1] ; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell[3] ; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs[5] ; 6. 9W-Jac Haudenschild[8] ; 7. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[7] ; 8. 16-Chris Andrews[10] ; 9. 1S-Logan Schuchart[6] ; 10. 24H-Brandon Wimmer[9] ; 11. 45-Tim Shaffer[11]
Dash – (8 Laps, finishing order determined first 8 starting positions of A-feature
1. 97-Dean Jacobs[7] ; 2. 71M-Joey Saldana[4] ; 3. 4-Cody Darrah[6] ; 4. 49-Brad Sweet[3] ; 5. 14K-Dale Blaney[1] ; 6. 29-Kerry Madsen[9] ; 7. 45L-Brian Lay[8] ; 8. W20-Greg Wilson[2]
C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature)
1. 24H-Brandon Wimmer[2] [-]; 2. 16-Chris Andrews[6] [-]; 3. 21-Dallas Hewitt[7] ; 4. 40-Caleb Helms[3] ; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[5] ; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen[8] ; 7. 55-Brad Bowman[1] ; 8. 4S-Danny Smith[12]
B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 11X-Brandon Martin[1] [-]; 2. 63-Chad Kemenah[5] [-]; 3. 3G-James McFadden[3] [-]; 4. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[4] [-]; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[2] ; 6. 99-Brady Bacon[7] ; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart[6] ; 8. 11K-Kraig Kinser[10] ; 9. 2-Shane Stewart[13] ; 10. 11N-Randy Hannagan[11] ; 11. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[8] ; 12. 24H-Brandon Wimmer[15] ; 13. 9W-Jac Haudenschild[12] ; 14. 35-Stuart Brubaker[14] ; 15. 16-Chris Andrews[16] ; 16. 22-Cole Duncan[9]
A-Main – (40 Laps)
1. 14K-Dale Blaney[5]; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[13]; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[1]; 4. 49-Brad Sweet[4]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz[23]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson[8]; 7. 9-Daryn Pittman[11]; 8. 51-Paul McMahan[22]; 9. 81-Lee Jacobs[19]; 10. 83-David Gravel[10]; 11. 1-Sammy Swindell[12]; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser[25]; 13. 29-Kerry Madsen[6]; 14. 11X-Brandon Martin[15]; 15. 77X-Wayne Johnson[17]; 16. 11-Steve Kinser[24]; 17. 63-Chad Kemenah[21]; 18. 71M-Joey Saldana[2]; 19. 9X-Rob Chaney[16]; 20. 45L-Brian Lay[7]; 21. 4-Cody Darrah[3]; 22. 3G-James McFadden[18]; 23. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[20]; 24. 5T-Travis Philo[9]; 25. 53-Cap Henry[14]
Hard Charger: 15-Donny Schatz[+18]
Summit Racing Equipment Late Models (22 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 9 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 21-Larry Kingseed[4] ; 2. 92-Cody Scott[2] ; 3. 29-Rocky Owens[3] ; 4. 34-Ky Harper[5] ; 5. 48-John Bores[8] ; 6. 53-Steve Sabo[7] ; 7. 69R-Doug Baird[6] ; 8. 45-Nate Potts[1]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 9 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 91-Rusty Schlenk[3] ; 2. 79-Brad Malcuit[1] ; 3. 1-Jeff Babcock[6] ; 4. 15B-Mike Bores[4] ; 5. 51-Devin Shiels[5] ; 6. 102D-Curtis Deisenroth[7] ; 7. 88-Brandon Perkins[2]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 9 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5M-Ryan Markham[1] ; 2. OO-Chris Keller[3] ; 3. 36-Matt Irey[5] ; 4. 27-Ken Hahn[6] ; 5. 50Y-Ryan Missler[7] ; 6. 42S-Bob Mayer[2] ; 7. O3-Jim Gingery[4]
A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 29-Rocky Owens[2]; 2. 91-Rusty Schlenk[11]; 3. 36-Matt Irey[9]; 4. 5M-Ryan Markham[4]; 5. 1-Jeff Babcock[12]; 6. 21-Larry Kingseed[1]; 7. 15B-Mike Bores[6]; 8. 27-Ken Hahn[3]; 9. OO-Chris Keller[8]; 10. 48-John Bores[13]; 11. 34-Ky Harper[7]; 12. 50Y-Ryan Missler[15]; 13. O3-Jim Gingery[20]; 14. 53-Steve Sabo[14]; 15. 42S-Bob Mayer[16]; 16. 88-Brandon Perkins[18]; 17. 69R-Doug Baird[19]; 18. 92-Cody Scott[10]; 19. 102D-Curtis Deisenroth[17]; 20. 79-Brad Malcuit[5]
Hard Charger: 91-Rusty Schlenk[+9]
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