Brubaker Wins AFCS Thriller At Fremont

By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Oh. – Switching a car or getting one “fixed” often times is just what the doctor ordered for a sprint car driver. Such was the case Saturday at Fremont Speedway on Willie’s Sales & Service Open Wheel Shootout Night. Helena, Ohio’s Stuart Brubaker switched chassis – back to an old car of his – Fremont, Ohio’s Jamie Miller got his car repaired and Pittsboro, Indiana’s Randy Hannagan brought a new car out and all three ended up in victory lane at “The Track That Action Built.”

Brubaker, who won the 410 sprint title at Attica Raceway Park last year, had been struggling in 2019. But, he got an old chassis back from a former car owner and it paid off as he held off a charging Cap Henry for his first win of 2019 in the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints. It was Brubaker’s seventh career win at Fremont Speedway, but his first in a 410 sprint car, the rest coming on board a 305 sprint.

Just as important as the win, Brubaker remains in the hunt for the $10,000 title in the All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series (AFCS) Presented by the Baumann Auto Group.

“We’ve struggled all year…we’ve been horrible all year. We switched cars this week and went back to a Maxim. I have to thank the Burmeisters…it’s actually one of my old cars I used to run. I have to thank everybody who helps, Ron, Teresa, mom, dad and Brendan who busted his ass this week to get this car together. I have to thank my sponsors, Dave Story Equipment, Gary Holland Trucking, Gressman Power Sports, Handy Grafix, KS Sales and Service, Speedway Bar and Grill, G&L Oil and the Juice Garden,” said Brubaker in the Engine Pro Victory lane.

“It’s been hard to keep everyone positive…I think a few of us wanted to quit. Our cars just sucked. I got this and they rolled their eyes and stuck with me and put it together and here we are on the front stretch,” he added.

For Hannagan a new car and paint scheme reinvigorated the veteran driver as he scored his second career win at Fremont; the first coming last year at the track.

“I have to thank Tyson and Dennis and Fritz and my son Mason and everybody that works on this thing. We’ve had second and second and second and we blew a motor and crashed the car; I spun out in front of the whole field at I-96 and took half of them out and I felt terrible. I usually don’t do stuff like that. We had to put a new car together and we’re just getting it underneath us and it’s coming around. That’s the best this car has felt since I’ve sat in it and I think we have a good rocket ship…we’re back to the red rocket. That black car was possessed or something. This type of track makes you drive a race car. By today’s standards and the way sprint cars with technology you have to have a slick race car so you can race…put the driver back into it. We got on something good tonight,” said Hannagan beside his Dennis Yoakum Motorsports/Starke County Co-Op/McDallion/Refinish Systems/SMRS/Kenny’s Components backed machine.

Miller, coming off the best season of his career, has struggled to begin 2019. So the team took the car apart, took the chassis to Tony Beaber in Gibsonburg, Ohio who operates a chassis repair shop, and Miller promptly put the car in victory lane in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints. It’s Miller’s 21st career win at Fremont placing him 29th on the track’s all-time win list.

“This win is due to Tony Beaber. He did an amazing job and it feels like we have our old race car back…like it did last year. I’m hoping you will see me a lot more up here. It was bent in the back and the front was twisted up. We had a pretty bad wreck that last race at Attica last year and it pushed things around and we were struggling with it. It feels pretty good tonight. When you can move around and still pass cars on the slick and get around lapped cars…I could go pretty much any where and had good drive and didn’t spin the tires,” said Miller beside his Pen Monster.com/Brad’s Barbecue/Napa of Attica/Avon by Angie/Griff’s Engines/Color Street by Jaime Hennig/Reedtown Tavern/Fostoria Mod Shop/York Carpet Outlet/Crown Battery/Branham Builders/Imprint Logo/Phil Rister Racing backed machine.

The 30 lap 410 sprint feature was paced by Brubaker and Henry and the duo immediately raced side by side for the lead at the drop of the green with Brian Lay, DJ Foos, Lee Jacobs and Hunter Schuerenberg giving chase. With three laps scored Schuerenberg and Cale Conley would spin and the race would not see another stoppage until there were to laps to go.

When the green reappeared Brubaker, Henry and Foos were locked in a tremendous battle while Jacobs tried to close as AFCS point leader Buddy Kofoid began to move toward the front as well. Foos took second on lap five and stayed within a couple of car lengths of Brubaker as Henry ran comfortably in third while Jacobs and Kofoid battled for fourth.

At the half-way point it was a fantastic three car battle for the lead between Brubaker, Foos and Henry. Five laps later Jacobs and Kofoid joined the fun. Henry was able to retake second on lap 22 but Foos returned the favor a lap later all while pressuring Brubaker. With five laps to go Brubaker was playing defense to hold off Henry and Brubaker while Jacobs, Kofoid and Nate Dussel stayed close.

While battling for the lead with three laps to go, Henry and Foos made contact with Foos spinning for the second caution of the feature. A lap after the restart and Brian Smith had trouble on the front stretch bringing out another caution and setting up a two lap shoot-out. Brubaker was able to hold off Henry for the win with Jacobs, Kofoid and Dussel rounding out the top five.

Jake Brown and Shawn Dancer brought the field to green for the 25 lap NRA feature with Dancer gaining the advantage over Brown, Devin Dobie and Hannagan. Hannagan was on a mission and took second on lap three. Justin Adams stopped to bring out the caution on lap nine which put Hannagan right on Dancer’s rear bumper. Hannagan was able to drive into the lead on lap 11 but Dancer didn’t give up and raced to his inside for several laps while Brown, Dobie and Chase Dunham waged a war for third.

With 10 laps to go Hannagan had pulled away from Dancer while Brown, Dunham and Dobie continued to swap the third spot lap after lap. Todd Heuerman would bring out the second and final caution of the feature on lap 16 which gave the field one final shot at Hannagan. When the green flew so did “the Hurricane” as he drove away for the win over Dancer, Dunham, Dobie and Brown.

Larry Kingseed Jr. and Shawn Valenti brought the field to green for the 25 lap 305 feature but Kingseed would flip on the start ending the night for the rookie driver. It was the only stoppage of the feature.

On the next restart Bobby Clark bolted into the lead over Valenti, Miller, Paul Weaver, Brandon Moore, John Ivy, Tyler Street and Kyle Capodice. Miller moved into second on lap three and stalked Clark until driving into the lead as they raced into lapped traffic on the ninth circuit. Meanwhile Weaver had moved into third while Valenti held off Ivy. Miller steadily pulled away and made great moves in lapped traffic.

Clark stayed within five car lengths but could never catch Miller at the right opportunity. Miller drove to the win over Clark, Weaver, Ivy and Valenti.

Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, July 6 on Crown Battery Sponsor Challenge Night with the AFCS 410 and 305 sprints and dirt trucks in action.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com or on Facebook at Fremont Speedway or on Twitter https://twitter.com/FremontSpeedway

Fremont Speedway
Willie’s Sales and Services
Open Wheel Shootout
Saturday, June 29, 2019

410 Sprints – Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.1-Nate Dussel, 16.381; 2.20I-Kelsey Ivy, 16.417; 3.16-DJ Foos, 16.457; 4.81-Lee Jacobs, 16.645; 5.45-Brian Lay, 16.646; 6.1st-Gary Taylor, 16.695; 7.4-Cap Henry, 16.718; 8.35-Stuart Brubaker, 16.752; 9.33W-Caleb Griffith, 16.806; 10.25M-Chris Andrews, 16.836; 11.11N-Buddy Kofoid, 16.867; 12.23-Hunter Schuerenberg, 16.891; 13.3C-Cale Conley, 16.940; 14.14-Chad Wilson, 17.168; 15.2+-Brian Smith, 17.290; 16.46AU-Stuart Williams, 29.759;

Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 4-Cap Henry[1] ; 2. 45-Brian Lay[2] ; 3. 16-DJ Foos[3] ; 4. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[6] ; 5. 1-Nate Dussel[4] ; 6. 33W-Caleb Griffith[5] ; 7. 3C-Cale Conley[7] ; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 1st-Gary Taylor[2] ; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[1] ; 3. 81-Lee Jacobs[3] ; 4. 23-Hunter Schuerenberg[6] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[4] ; 6. 25M-Chris Andrews[5] ; 7. 46AU-Stuart Williams[8] ; 8. 14-Chad Wilson[7]

A-Main 1 (25 Laps)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[1] ; 2. 4-Cap Henry[2] ; 3. 81-Lee Jacobs[5] ; 4. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[7] ; 5. 1-Nate Dussel[9] ; 6. 45-Brian Lay[4] ; 7. 1st-Gary Taylor[3] ; 8. 33W-Caleb Griffith[11] ; 9. 46AU-Stuart Williams[14] ; 10. 16-DJ [6] ; 11. 3C-Cale Conley[13] ; 12. 23-Hunter Schuerenberg[8] ; 13. 14-Chad Wilson[16] ; 14. 2+-Brian Smith[15] ; 15. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[10] ; 16. 25M-Chris Andrews[12]

Hard Charger: 46AU-Stuart Williams +5

K&L Ready Mix NRA Sprint Invaders
Qualifying
1.22H-Randy Hannagan, 15.586; 2.2-Kyle Sauder, 15.595; 3.66D-Chase Dunham, 15.626; 4.19R-Steve Rando, 15.739; 5.10-Mitch Brown, 15.782; 6.28H-Hud Horton, 15.798; 7.1-10-Jake Brown, 15.977; 8.23-Devon Dobie, 16.049; 9.09-Justin Adams, 16.105; 10.49-Shawn Dancer, 16.145; 11.18-Todd Heuerman, 16.208; 12.29-Rich Farmer, 16.263; 13.3X-Brandon Riehl, 16.346; 14.16B-Ricky Peterson, 16.475; 15.21M-Adam Cruea, 16.559; 16.11A-Tim Allison, 16.888; 17.22M-Dan McCarron, 16.907; 18.14D-Luke Daughtery, 16.961; 19.12-Luke Hall, 17.066; 20.17-Jared Horstman, 17.248; 21.9R-Dustin Rall, 17.378; 22.40-Jeff Wilson, 17.442; 23.14B-Bo Barber, 24.999;

Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 22H-Randy Hannagan[4] ; 2. 11N-Ed Neumeister[2] ; 3. 09-Justin Adams[1] ; 4. 19R-Steve Rando[3] ; 5. 21M-Adam Cruea[6] ; 6. 29-Rich Farmer[5] ; 7. 9R-Dustin Rall[8] ; 8. 14D-Luke Daughtery[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 49-Shawn Dancer[1] ; 2. 1-10-Jake Brown[2] ; 3. 10-Mitch Brown[3] ; 4. 2-Kyle Sauder[4] ; 5. 11A-Tim Allison[6] ; 6. 12-Luke Hall[7] ; 7. 3X-Brandon Riehl[5] ; 8. 40-Jeff Wilson[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps)
1. 18-Todd Heuerman[1] ; 2. 23-Devon Dobie[2] ; 3. 28H-Hud Horton[3] ; 4. 66D-Chase Dunham[4] ; 5. 16B-Ricky Peterson[5] ; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron[6] ; 7. 17-Jared Horstman[7] ; 8. 14B-Bo Barber[8]

B-Main 1 (10 Laps)
1. 29-Rich Farmer[1] ; 2. 17-Jared Horstman[6] ; 3. 22M-Dan McCarron[3] ; 4. 9R-Dustin Rall[4] ; 5. 3X-Brandon Riehl[5] ; 6. 12-Luke Hall[2] ; 7. 14D-Luke Daughtery[7] ; 8. 40-Jeff Wilson[8] ; 9. 14B-Bo Barber[9]

A-Main 1 (20 Laps)
1. 22H-Randy Hannagan[5] ; 2. 49-Shawn Dancer[2] ; 3. 66D-Chase Dunham[12] ; 4. 23-Devon Dobie[3] ; 5. 1-10-Jake Brown[1] ; 6. 19R-Steve Rando[10] ; 7. 16B-Ricky Peterson[15] ; 8. 10-Mitch Brown[8] ; 9. 22M-Dan McCarron[18] ; 10. 9R-Dustin Rall[19] ; 11. 17-Jared Horstman[17] ; 12. 28H-Hud Horton[9] ; 13. 11N-Ed Neumeister[6] ; 14. 2-Kyle Sauder[11] ; 15. 11A-Tim Allison[14] ; 16. 3X-Brandon Riehl[20] ; 17. 21M-Adam Cruea[13] ; 18. 29-Rich Farmer[16] ; 19. 18-Todd Heuerman[4] ; 20. 09-Justin Adams[7]

Hard Charger: 66D-Chase Dunham +9

305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.77I-John Ivy, 16.680; 2.1W-Paul Weaver, 16.695; 3.97-Kyle Peters, 16.836; 4.5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr, 16.891; 5.26-Jamie Miller, 16.942; 6.8-Bobby Clark, 16.985; 7.7-Shawn Valenti, 17.009; 8.21-Larry Kingseed JR, 17.113; 9.4*-Tyler Street, 17.150; 10.12-Kyle Capodice, 17.290; 11.11G-Luke Griffith, 17.330; 12.7M-Brandon Moore, 17.355; 13.1H-Zeth Sabo, 17.360; 14.3V-Chris Verda, 17.455; 15.X-Mike Keegan, 17.541; 16.47-Matt Lucius, 17.841; 17.75-Jerry Dahms, 17.844; 18.28-Tad Peck, 17.991; 19.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 18.231;

Heat 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 77I-John Ivy[4] ; 2. 7-Shawn Valenti[2] ; 3. 12-Kyle Capodice[1] ; 4. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[3] ; 5. 1H-Zeth Sabo[5] ; 6. 47-Matt Lucius[6] ; 7. X15-Kasey Ziebold[7]

Heat 2 – (8 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[3] ; 2. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[2] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 4. 11G-Luke Griffith[1] ; 5. 3V-Chris Verda[5] ; 6. 75-Jerry Dahms[6]

Heat 3 – (8 Laps)
1. 8-Bobby Clark[3] ; 2. 7M-Brandon Moore[1] ; 3. 4*-Tyler Street[2] ; 4. 97-Kyle Peters[4] ; 5. X-Mike Keegan[5] ; 6. 28-Tad Peck[6]

A-Main 1 – (20 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 8-Bobby Clark[3] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[5] ; 4. 77I-John Ivy[6] ; 5. 7-Shawn Valenti[2] ; 6. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[10] ; 7. 7M-Brandon Moore[7] ; 8. 97-Kyle Peters[12] ; 9. 12-Kyle Capodice[8] ; 10. 4*-Tyler Street[9] ; 11. 1H-Zeth Sabo[13] ; 12. 3V-Chris Verda[14] ; 13. 11G-Luke Griffith[11] ; 14. X-Mike Keegan[15] ; 15. X15-Kasey Ziebold[19] ; 16. 75-Jerry Dahms[17] ; 17. 28-Tad Peck[18] ; 18. 47-Matt Lucius[16] ; 19. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[1]

Hard Charger: 5Jr – Jimmy McGrath +4