Mintz Gets Late Pass For Fremont FAST 410 Win

By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio – With a growing family and business on his plate, Craig Mintz decided to cut back on his racing in 2015. But that hasn’t stopped him from being competitive. The Gibsonburg, Ohio driver passed D.J. Foos with just six laps to go Saturday and drove to his first 410 sprint win of the season at Fremont Speedway on Crown Battery Night.

Mintz, a two time Fremont champion, is chasing the $10,000 Kistler Racing Products Fremont Attica Sprint Title (FAST) Championship Series title. He is trying to become the only three time FAST champion. Mintz came into the event third in the FAST points behind Cap Henry and two time FAST champion Byron Reed. Reed would finish third Saturday while Henry would come home fifth.

“I just threw the wing in the trunk and this Ti22 GF1…it liked that wing in the back. I just tried to tip toe around one and two and get the run down the back stretch and hopefully roll through three and four,” said Mintz in the Engine Pro Victory Lane .

“Lapped traffic was fun. Everyone did a good job…it was just picking your line and trying to surprise them and get them out of the way. We’ve dug ourselves a hole the past couple of races so this is very nice. I’ve got Big Sky Targets here tonight. It’s on the top wing of my car and the 19 car and they helped provide us with some of the things we need to do this with so it’s nice to get him a win,” added Mintz beside his Real Geese Decoys, Erie Shore Propane, Kistler Racing Engines, KS Sales and Service, Design Graphics Group backed machine.

Fremont’s John Ivy would methodically work his way through the pack from his 11th place starting spot and used lapped traffic to his advantage to take the lead from Ricky Peterson with 11 laps to go in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints. Ivy would then maneuver around the lapped cars to drive to his first win of the season at Fremont . Ivy has a win at Attica Raceway Park this year and now has 47 career wins at Fremont and is sixth on the track’s all-time win list.

It was also a JLH General Contractor FAST 305 Sprint Championship point night and Bobby Clark’s great run from 13th to a fourth place finish will tighten up the standings as Jordan Ryan came into the night with only a two point advantage and he would finish ninth.

“Joey and my brother have been busting their butts and I think we finally got this thing figured out. Gressman builds us a great motor. I have to thank Joey, my brother, Sonny and especially the Sipe family. I told them we were going to put them on the front stretch and it’s two weeks in a row. It doesn’t get any better than this,” said Ivy beside his L&R Farms, Gressman Powersports, Sonny’s Machine and Welding, Kear’s Speed Shop, Adkins Fence and Sanitation, Graphics Gone Wild backed machine.

The AAA Ohio Auto Club Dirt Truck feature came down to inches…literally. On the last lap Kent Brewer, Dan Roepke Jr. and Cory McCaughey raced into the final turns with a lapped machine just ahead. As they drove to the checkers they had to make split second decisions with the lapped truck and Roepke would take his second win of the season by just .037 seconds.

“I thought I was just going to hang on and it would be follow the leader the whole race. But, I saw that lapped truck come down from the top. I wasn’t sure who won until they told me on the radio. I want to thank my Dad and Adam, my mom and my girlfriend…everyone who lets us do this every weekend,” said Roepke.

Weston, Ohio’s Dale Cole would wrestle the lead away from Dustin Keegan on lap three and then held off a charge from Tim Sabo and then Dustin Sautter to claim his second win of the season in the McCullough Industries 602 Late Model division.

“Me and Dustin (Sautter) were told we had to finish first and second this week because Rusty Schlenk Racing told us we had to,” said Cole.

Todd Heller and D.J. Foos would bring the field to green in the 30-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint main. The pair would battle for the lead with Dean Jacobs, Mintz, Caleb Griffith and Byron Reed locked in a tremendous war for third. Mintz would finally grab the third spot on lap two as Jacobs, Reed and Griffith continued their battle.

The feature’s only caution would fly on lap six for a stalled Roger Crockett just as Heller had grabbed the lead. Going back to the last fully scored lap, the running order was Foos, Heller, Mintz, Jacobs, Reed, Griffith, Nate Dussel, Broc Martin and Cap Henry. When the green flew Foos pulled away slightly from Heller with Mintz staying close while the battle for fourth was exciting with Jacobs, Reed and Griffith. Reed would drive into fourth on lap eight and closed on Mintz.

With 13 laps scored Reed was challenging Mintz for third while Foos and Heller ran nose to tail. Reed would take third on lap 14 as the leaders prepared to race into heavy lapped traffic. Reed would take second on lap 16 with Heller and Mintz staying close. Mintz would drive into third on lap 18 as Foos had found lapped traffic.

With 11 laps to go Foos, Reed and Mintz ran nose to tail. Mintz took second on lap 21 and closed quickly on Foos. Using the bottom to middle of the track Mintz would drive into the lead on lap 24 with Foos, Reed, Griffith, Heller, Henry, Dussel and Chris Andrews in tow.

Mintz was able to drive through the lapped traffic to take his eighth career Fremont win with Foos, Reed, Griffith and Henry rounding out the top five.

In the 25-lap 305 sprint feature Ricky Peterson and Alvin Roepke paced the field with Peterson gaining the upper hand when the green flew. Peterson and Roepke ran nose to tail with Steve Rando right there while Trey Jacobs, Paul Weaver and John Ivy were locked in a fun battle for fourth.

Roepke would battle with Peterson by lap eight with Rando running third and now closing Ivy up to fourth. By lap 11 Ivy was driving under Roepke for second and as the leaders prepared to hit heavy lapped traffic it became a three car battle for the lead. Ivy would use the lapped cars to take the lead on lap 15 with Roepke in second and Peterson back to third.

Meanwhile the car on the move was 13th starter Bobby Clark as he had raced his way up to fifth with nine laps to go. Ivy was able to move around on the track and that helped him dispose of lapped cars as Roepke, Peterson, Rando, Clark and Weaver gave chase.

Ivy would pull away for the win with Roepke coming home second. After a spirited battle, Peterson would hang on to third over Clark and Rando.

Brad Mitten and Kent Brewer brought the field to green for the 20 lap dirt truck feature and it quickly became a six truck battle. Mitten would lead Brandon Leighton, Brewer, Dustin Keegan, Roepke and Jeff Ward. Brewer took second on lap three with Keegan, Roepke and Leighton challenging.

Disaster struck for Mitten with six laps scored. As he was trying to hold off Brewer, a lapped truck got sideways in turn two and collected Mitten, sending the leader to the tail and handing the lead to Brewer. When the green flew the battle up front resumed with Brewer, Keegan, Roepke, Leighton, Cory McCaughey and Matt Foos involved.

Roepke was able to take second on lap nine and stuck right to Brewer’s rear bumper with Keegan, McCaughey, Foos, Leighton and Cory Ward giving chase. McCaughey took third on lap 11 with Keegan, Foos and Ward staying close. Foos moved into fourth on lap 15.

As they took the white flag Brewer and Roepke were side by side with McCaughey and Foos right there as well. When the lead five trucks hit turn three for the final lap, a lapped truck was on the bottom where Brewer and Roepke were running. As they exited turn four everyone scattered to try and get around the lapped machine.

Roepke would take the narrow win over Brewer, Foos, McCaughey and Ward.

Dustin Keegan and Dale Cole brought the field to green for the 15 lap 602 late model main. Keegan gained the upper hand over Cole, Tim Sabo, Dustin Sautter, Steve Sabo and Chester Fitch. It soon became a four car battle for the lead and Cole took the top spot on lap three with Keegan, Tim Sabo and Sautter staying very close.

Following a lap four caution, Cole would drive away slightly when the green fell. Tim Sabo took second on lap six with Sautter moving into third. Cole and Sabo raced side by side over the next handful of laps with Sautter joining in by lap 9.

Sautter took second on lap 13 and closed on Cole. Cole was smooth though on the bottom and drove to the win over Sautter, Tm Sabo, Keegan and Steve Sabo.

Also, Crown Battery sponsored an Australian Pursuit for the 410 sprint cars in honor of the late Alex Burkett. The top six qualifiers who transferred to the feature through their heat along with a provisional lined up single file for the six lap affair. The rule was simple – when you are passed you are out. Todd Heller would take home the $1,200 top prize for the special race.

Fremont Speedway will host the first ever Johnny Auxter Days on Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20 featuring vintage race cars and tractors. The event honors the hall of famer who competed at the very first race at the speedway in 1951 and is in attendance at each week’s racing today. The vintage cars will perform both days and there will be a vintage tractor pull. For more information on Johnny Auxter Days contact Randy Mapus at 419-684-7314.

Racing resumes at Fremont Speedway on Thursday, June 25th as “The Track That Action Built” plays host to night #7 of the 33rd Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek Presented by Cometic Gasket with the University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions. Fremont will also host the $10,000-to-win speedweek finale on Saturday, June 27th.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com

Fremont Speedway – 6/13/2015
Crown Battery Night

Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints (28 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Qualifying – Fricker’s Restaurant/Callie’s Performance
1. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.598; 2. 97-Dean Jacobs, 12.775; 3. 83M-Broc Martin, 12.831; 4. 33M-Caleb Griffith, 12.924; 5. 16-Stuart Brubaker, 12.942; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.963; 7. 60-Jody Keegan, 12.997; 8. 21-DJ Foos, 13.034; 9. 14H-Todd Heller, 13.059; 10. 5-Byron Reed, 13.077; 11. 40DD-Nate Dussel, 13.087; 12. 9X-Rob Chaney , 13.146; 13. 9H-John Ivy, 13.167; 14. 53-Cap Henry, 13.188; 15. 19-Chris Andrews, 13.239; 16. 5AU-Danny Reidy, 13.294; 17. 68G-Tyler Gunn, 13.306; 18. 33K-Kyle Patrick, 13.339; 19. 77-Dain Naida, 13.464; 20. 45L-Brian Lay, 13.503; 21. 2+-Brian Smith, 13.639; 22. 97X-Sean Zemunik, 13.709; 23. 39M-Matt Merrill, 13.766; 24. 8M-TJ Michael, 13.805; 25. 51-Roger Campbell , 13.829; 26. 96AU-Bruce White, 14.258; 27. 38-Dennis Wagner, 14.319; 28. 70-Roger Crocket, 99.001

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 5AU-Danny Reidy[1] ; 2. 60-Jody Keegan[4] ; 3. 5-Byron Reed[3] ; 4. O9-Craig Mintz[6] ; 5. 33M-Caleb Griffith[5] ; 6. 51-Roger Campbell [9] ; 7. 9H-John Ivy[2] ; 8. 97X-Sean Zemunik[8] ; 9. 77-Dain Naida[7]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 40DD-Nate Dussel[3] ; 2. 53-Cap Henry[2] ; 3. 68G-Tyler Gunn[1] ; 4. 97-Dean Jacobs[6] ; 5. 21-DJ Foos[4] ; 6. 45L-Brian Lay[7] ; 7. 39M-Matt Merrill[8] ; 8. 96AU-Bruce White[9] ; 9. 16-Stuart Brubaker[5]

Heat 3 – Hoosier Racing Tires (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 14H-Todd Heller[4] ; 2. 33K-Kyle Patrick[1] ; 3. 19-Chris Andrews[2] ; 4. 9X-Rob Chaney [3] ; 5. 8M-TJ Michael[8] ; 6. 83M-Broc Martin[6] ; 7. 70-Roger Crocket[10] ; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5] ; 9. 2+-Brian Smith[7] ; 10. 38-Dennis Wagner[9]

Crown Battery Australian Pursuit (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 7 starting positions of A-feature
1. 14H-Todd Heller[1] ; 2. 21-DJ Foos[3] ; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[9] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[13] ; 5. O9-Craig Mintz[11] ; 6. 60-Jody Keegan[5] ; 7. 33M-Caleb Griffith[7]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 2+-Brian Smith[7] ; 2. 83M-Broc Martin[1] ; 3. 45L-Brian Lay[6] ; 4. 70-Roger Crocket[13] ; 5. 9H-John Ivy[4] ; 6. 16-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 7. 39M-Matt Merrill[9] ; 8. 51-Roger Campbell [10] ; 9. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[3] ; 10. 97X-Sean Zemunik[8] ; 11. 38-Dennis Wagner[12] ; 12. 96AU-Bruce White[11] ; 13. 77-Dain Naida[5]

A-Main – (30 Laps)
1. O9-Craig Mintz[4]; 2. 21-DJ Foos[2]; 3. 5-Byron Reed[7]; 4. 33M-Caleb Griffith[6]; 5. 53-Cap Henry[10]; 6. 14H-Todd Heller[1]; 7. 40DD-Nate Dussel[8]; 8. 19-Chris Andrews[13]; 9. 9X-Rob Chaney [9]; 10. 97-Dean Jacobs[3]; 11. 8M-TJ Michael[19]; 12. 83M-Broc Martin[11]; 13. 2+-Brian Smith[18]; 14. 45L-Brian Lay[17]; 15. 5AU-Danny Reidy[14]; 16. 60-Jody Keegan[5]; 17. 68G-Tyler Gunn[15]; 18. 33K-Kyle Patrick[16]; 19. 70-Roger Crocket[20]; 20. 9H-John Ivy[12]
Hard Charger: 8M-TJ Michael[+8]

Fremont Federal Credit Untion 305 Sprints (29 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 19R-Steve Rando[3] ; 2. 3J-Trey Jacobs[5] ; 3. 2-Ricky Peterson[6] ; 4. 1W-Paul Weaver[8] ; 5. 8-Bobby Clark [10] ; 6. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[2] ; 7. 75-Jerry Dahms[1] ; 8. 9R-Dustin Rall[9] ; 9. 20B-Cody Bova[4]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 7M-Brandon Moore[2] ; 2. 25-Jason Keckler[4] ; 3. 11G-Luke Griffith[5] ; 4. 7-Thomas Schinderle[3] ; 5. 5R-Jordan Ryan[8] ; 6. 32H-Dan Hennig[7] ; 7. 24-Alex Paden[1] ; 8. 37-Austin Ream[9] ; 9. 94K-Kurt Huber[10] ; 10. 12-Kyle Capodice[6]

Heat 3 – Hoosier Racing Tires (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 77I-John Ivy[4] ; 2. 99-Alvin Roepke[5] ; 3. 39-Jamie Miller[3] ; 4. 22M-Dan McCarron[2] ; 5. 1X-Dustin Dinan[6] ; 6. 10-Josh Harrison [9] ; 7. 36-Seth Schneider[8] ; 8. 14-Rick Daugherty[1] ; 9. 39C-Scott Riley[7]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[1] ; 2. 10-Josh Harrison [3] ; 3. 12-Kyle Capodice[13] ; 4. 36-Seth Schneider[6] ; 5. 32H-Dan Hennig[2] ; 6. 37-Austin Ream[8] ; 7. 24-Alex Paden[5] ; 8. 14-Rick Daugherty[9] ; 9. 20B-Cody Bova[10] ; 10. 44-Kyle Farmer[14] ; 11. 94K-Kurt Huber[11] ; 12. 75-Jerry Dahms[4] ; 13. 9R-Dustin Rall[7]

A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 77I-John Ivy[11]; 2. 99-Alvin Roepke[2]; 3. 2-Ricky Peterson[1]; 4. 8-Bobby Clark [13]; 5. 19R-Steve Rando[4]; 6. 39-Jamie Miller[9]; 7. 3J-Trey Jacobs[3]; 8. 1W-Paul Weaver[6]; 9. 5R-Jordan Ryan[14]; 10. 7-Thomas Schinderle[8]; 11. 10-Josh Harrison [17]; 12. 22M-Dan McCarron[7]; 13. 36-Seth Schneider[19]; 14. 1X-Dustin Dinan[15]; 15. 12-Kyle Capodice[18]; 16. 11G-Luke Griffith[5]; 17. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[16]; 18. 25-Jason Keckler[12]; 19. 32H-Dan Hennig[20]; 20. 7M-Brandon Moore[10]
Hard Charger: 77I-John Ivy[+10]

AAA Auto Club Dirt Trucks (20 Trucks)
[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 4S-Keith Sorg[6] ; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[4] ; 3. 22-Brandon Leighton[7] ; 4. 85S-Bradley Stuckey[5] ; 5. 16-Steve Sabo[1] ; 6. 18W-Cory Ward[2] ; 7. P51-Tim Baker[3]

Heat 2 – Kistler Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 2-Matt Foos[4] ; 2. 23M-Brad Mitten[3] ; 3. 0-Jim Keegan [6] ; 4. 33-Jeff Ward[2] ; 5. 13-Len Benyak[5] ; 6. 22J-Josh Kiser[7] ; 7. 7F-Dana Frey[1]

Heat 3 – Hoosier Racing Tires (8 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 88-Dan Roepke[2] ; 2. 36M-Cory McCaughey[4] ; 3. 17X-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 4. 3-Andy Earnhart[6] ; 5. 99X-Gene Portidge[3] ; 6. 79-Andrew Lutman[5]

A-Main – (20 Laps)
1. 88-Dan Roepke[3]; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[2]; 3. 2-Matt Foos[12]; 4. 36M-Cory McCaughey[10]; 5. 18W-Cory Ward[16]; 6. 17X-Dustin Keegan[5]; 7. 22-Brandon Leighton[4]; 8. 4S-Keith Sorg[7]; 9. 33-Jeff Ward[6]; 10. 23M-Brad Mitten[1]; 11. 99X-Gene Portidge[15]; 12. 0-Jim Keegan [11]; 13. 85S-Bradley Stuckey[8]; 14. 16-Steve Sabo[13]; 15. 13-Len Benyak[14]; 16. 3-Andy Earnhart[9]; 17. P51-Tim Baker[19]; 18. 25-Tim Baker[-]; 19. 79-Andrew Lutman[18]
Hard Charger: 18W-Cory Ward[+11]

McCullough Industries 602 Late Models (8 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – American Power Sports (6 Laps – Top 10 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 23-Dustin Sautter[2] ; 2. 98-Tim Sabo[7] ; 3. 17X-Dustin Keegan[1] ; 4. 3-Dale Cole[6] ; 5. 101-Chester Fitch[3] ; 6. 116-Steve Sabo[5] ; 7. 1-Chevy Farmer[8] ; 8. O4-Jeff Hites[4]

A-Main – (15 Laps)
1. 3-Dale Cole[2]; 2. 23-Dustin Sautter[4]; 3. 98-Tim Sabo[3]; 4. 17X-Dustin Keegan[1]; 5. 116-Steve Sabo[6]; 6. O4-Jeff Hites[8]; 7. 101-Chester Fitch[5]; 8. 1-Chevy Farmer[7]
Hard Charger: 23-Dustin Sautter[+2]