Mintz Scores FAST Win At Attica

By Brian Liskai

(Attica, OH) Craig Mintz hasn’t finished out of the top three all season at Attica Raceway Park. The Gibsonburg, Ohio driver dominated Friday on Croghan Colonial Bank/All Pro Cylinder Heads Night to score his second win of the season in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints.

For Mintz, the defending Attica track champion, it was his first Kistler Racing Products FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) Championship Series win. Mintz is gunning to repeat as the FAST champion and become the first three time FAST champion. FAST is a separate point fund from that of both Attica and Fremont and pays the champion $10,000 at season’s end.

“These guys behind me know how to put a race car under me…I just drive it. They do a ton of work during the week. Ti22 makes a really good race car and the Pro Shocks Jim Linder gives us are awesome. The pill draw starting up front definitely helps,” said Mintz beside his Real Geese Decoys/Damschroder Roofing/KS Sales and Service/Erie Shore Propane/Story Equipment/Kistler Engines/Design Graphics Group backed machine.

“I actually looked up at the board during one of those cautions and seen the Chad (Kemenah) was second and I knew he started third row so I knew he had to be pretty good. I knew if I ran the top as hard as I could and try to get through lapped cars as fast as I could and make him beat me,” added Mintz who ties Johnny Beaber for 10th on the track’s all-time win list with 11 victories.

Castalia, Ohio’s Jordan Ryan has also had a pretty good season at Attica in the Foster Auto Body 305 Springs though he hadn’t broken into the win column. Ryan’s average finishing position thus far at Attica has been third. Using his signature low line, Ryan drove into the lead on lap 16 and went on to score his first win of 2014 at the track. It was his fourth career Attica win.

“I tried the high line at the beginning and it was pretty cool and then I went to the bottom and passed a couple of cars and I knew I had to stay there. That’s where I’m most comfortable,” said Ryan beside his Village Pizza House/Frosty Frog/J&J Automotive/Kistler Racing Products/Griff’s Engines backed machine.

“Coming out of four on the last lap…man that caution really had to come out? I had to tell myself to stay calm and it worked out alright,” added Ryan. “It’s been a good year so far…barely out of the top five all year. We’ve been really consistent and I have to thank my crew for that.”

There have been three Fremont Fence Dirt Truck features at Attica thus far in 2014 and Risingsun, Ohio’s Shawn Valenti has won all of them. After a tremendous four truck battle in the early stages of the feature, Valenti took the lead on lap eight held off Kent Brewer on a late race restart to score his 7th career Attica win. Valenti also has six feature wins at Fremont.

“You never know who’s behind you so you have to run them as hard as you can. Kent’s been tough all year and I know he’s made some changes to it and he’s definitely coming. He’s going to be one to look out for,” said Valenti beside his Craig Miller Trucking/Best Performance Motorsports/KS Sales and Service/Dave Story Equipment Repair/Day Dream and Memories Crafts and Antiques/Conrad Transport backed truck.

“I have to thank Jeff Babcock and all the guys on this. This thing has been handling like a Cadillac and I’m the lucky guy that gets to drive it,” added Valenti.

Mintz and Caleb Helms would bring the 410 sprint feature to the green for their 30-lap affair but before a lap could be completed DJ Foos would spin with a flat front tire. On the second attempt Mintz would bolt into the lead over Helms, Stuart Brubaker, Chad Kemenah, Byron Reed, Danny Holtgraver, Chris Andrews and Brian Lay. Kemenah would drive into third on lap three as Mintz set a torrid pace.

Mintz would catch the back of the field by lap 7 with Helms comfortably in second while Kemenah, Andrews, Reed and Holtgraver gave chase. Andrews would slide off turn four on lap eight to bring out the caution. When the green flew so did Mintz as he powered away from the field while Helms had his hands full with Kemenah with Reed, Holtgraver and Lay in pursuit.

As Mintz stretched his lead, Kemenah would make contact with Helms and took second on lap 10 with Reed into fourth and lay fifth. At the half-way mark Mintz held a sizeable lead over Kemenah while Helms and Reed battled for third. Again Mintz raced into lapped traffic and Kemenah slowly began to close the gap. Dean Jacobs would stop on the front stretch to bring out the caution with 12 laps to go.

With a clear track Mintz would rocket away from Kemenah while Helms, Reed, Lay, Brubaker and Holtgraver gave chase. With six laps to go Kemenah had closed to within a handful of car lengths away from Mintz with Lay the car on the move as he drove into fourth behind Helms.

Mintz wouldn’t allow Kemenah to gain any more ground as he drove to the win with Lay getting around Helms late for third with Reed rounding out the top five.

In the 25-lap 305 sprint feature Jim Taddeo and Jimmy Colvin brought the field to the green with Colvin gaining the advantage over Taddeo, Mike Linder, Jeremy Duposki and Kyle Capodice. Duposki and Capodice would collide on the front stretch on lap two, collecting Dan McCarron as well.

When the green flew so did Colvin on the high side with Taddeo trying to hold off Linder, Ryan, Nate Dussel, Tyler Gunn and Paul Weaver. Ryan drove into third on lap three and took second a circuit later. Colvin raced into lapped traffic by the 9th circuit just as the caution flew for a McCarron spin.

On the restart Colvin would lead Ryan, Taddeo, Weaver, Dussel and Linder. Weaver drove into third on lap 12. Meanwhile Colvin continued to lead Ryan, but with 11 laps to go Ryan had narrowed the gap. Ryan would drive under Colvin exiting turn four to take the lead on lap 16. Taddeo would spin on lap 17 to close up the field.

Ryan drove away on the restart as Colvin ran comfortably in second followed by Weaver, Dussel, Linder, Bobby Clark, Steve Rando and Seth Schneider. Dan Hennig would spin on lap 19 but again on the restart Ryan was too strong as Weaver was locked in a terrific battle with Clark, Linder and Dussel.

As Ryan and Colvin ran uncontested for the top two spot and Weaver trying to close, Linder and Clark raced side by side for fourth. Just as Ryan could see the white flag, the caution would fly for Gunn, setting up a one-lap battle to the checkered.

Ryan would drive away for the win over Colvin, Weaver, Clark and Linder.

The 15-lap dirt truck feature would see Kyle Cline and Dustin Keegan bring the field to green. Cline would lead the first lap over Steve Endicott, Kent Brewer, Dana Fry, Dustin Keegan and Valenti. By lap two it was a tremendous battle up front between Cline, Endicott, Brewer, and Valenti. Endicott would lead lap three by a bumper over Cline, Valenti and Brewer but Cline regained the top spot on lap five as the caution flew for a Brandon Leighton and Jeff Warnick tangle.

When the green flew Cline had to battle with Valenti, Endicott and Brewer. Valenti would take the lead on lap eight but Cline, Brewer and Endicott were also there to challenge. Brewer drove into second on lap 8 and kept Valenti in his sights before the caution would fly for John Ivy with just two circuits remaining.

When the green reappeared Valenti drove away fro the win over Brewer, Art Ball who came on strong at the end, Cline and Endicott.

Attica Raceway Park will be back in action Friday, June 13 for Burns Electric/Smith Family Foods Mid-Season Championship Night. Double points are on the line for the 410 and 305 sprints, UMP late models and dirt trucks. It is also a Kistler Racing Products FAST Championship Series points night for the 410 sprints and a JLH General Contractor 305 FAST Championship Series points night.

For more information on Attica Raceway Park go to www.atticaracewaypark.com and for more information on FAST go to www.fastondirt.com

Attica Raceway Park – 6/6/2014
Croghan Colonial \ All Pro Aluminum Heads Night

O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints (25 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 5T-Travis Philo, 12.379; 2. 40-Caleb Helms, 12.381; 3. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.397; 4. 16-Chris Andrews, 12.415; 5. 63-Chad Kemenah, 12.489; 6. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.553; 7. 45L-Brian Lay, 12.553; 8. 40DD-Caleb Griffith, 12.559; 9. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.587; 10. 11X-Brandon Martin, 12.628; 11. 15H-Mitch Harble, 12.634; 12. 53-DJ Foos, 12.647; 13. 10H-Danny Holtgraver, 12.653; 14. 9-Dean Jacobs, 12.678; 15. O7X-Dain Naida, 12.703; 16. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.796; 17. 60-Jody Keegan, 12.848; 18. 1-Chad Blonde, 12.871; 19. 45-Tim Shaffer, 12.881; 20. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 12.912; 21. 14H-Todd Heller, 12.981; 22. 4K-Kody Kinser, 13.051; 23. 21-Dallas Hewitt, 13.287; 24. 96AU-Bruce White, 13.522; 25. 5-Jordan Harble, 99.998

Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 11X-Brandon Martin[2] ; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3] ; 3. 16-Chris Andrews[4] ; 4. 1-Chad Blonde[5] ; 5. 45-Tim Shaffer[6] ; 6. O7X-Dain Naida[1] ; 7. 4K-Kody Kinser[8] ; 8. 5-Jordan Harble[9]

Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 45L-Brian Lay[1] ; 2. 63-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 3. 5R-Byron Reed[2] ; 4. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[5] ; 5. 5T-Travis Philo[4] ; 6. 9-Dean Jacobs[7] ; 7. 53-DJ Foos[6] ; 8. 60-Jody Keegan[8]

Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[1] ; 2. O9-Craig Mintz[3] ; 3. 40-Caleb Helms[4] ; 4. 15H-Mitch Harble[2] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5] ; 6. 46AU-Stuart Williams[6] ; 7. 21-Dallas Hewitt[7] ; 8. 96AU-Bruce White[8]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 9-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 2. 53-DJ Foos[5] ; 3. O7X-Dain Naida[1] ; 4. 60-Jody Keegan[8] ; 5. 21-Dallas Hewitt[6] ; 6. 4K-Kody Kinser[4] ; 7. 14H-Todd Heller[10] ; 8. 5-Jordan Harble[7] ; 9. 46AU-Stuart Williams[3]

A-Main – (30 Laps)
1. O9-Craig Mintz[1]; 2. 63-Chad Kemenah[5]; 3. 45L-Brian Lay[9]; 4. 40-Caleb Helms[2]; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[4]; 6. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[6]; 7. 1-Chad Blonde[10]; 8. 16-Chris Andrews[7]; 9. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[11]; 10. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3]; 11. 11X-Brandon Martin[8]; 12. 5T-Travis Philo[14]; 13. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[15]; 14. 60-Jody Keegan[19]; 15. 9-Dean Jacobs[16]; 16. 15H-Mitch Harble[12]; 17. O7X-Dain Naida[18]; 18. 21-Dallas Hewitt[20]; 19. 45-Tim Shaffer[13]; 20. 53-DJ Foos[17]

Hard Charger: 45L-Brian Lay[+6]

Foster Auto Body 305 Sprints (26 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 2-Ricky Peterson[1] ; 2. 4T-Jim Taddeo[2] ; 3. 9-Jimmy Colvin[9] ; 4. 12-Kyle Capodice[4] ; 5. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[3] ; 6. 39C-Scott Riley[8] ; 7. 15-Gary Benjamin[5] ; 8. 94K-Kurt Huber[7]

Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 16-Tyler Gunn[1] ; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[5] ; 3. 13-Jeremy Duposki[2] ; 4. 22M-Dan McCarron[4] ; 5. 36-Seth Schneider[8] ; 6. 19R-Steve Rando[7] ; 7. 32-Dan Hennig[3] ; 8. 22-Tyler Moore[6] ; 9. 29-Chevy Farmer[9]

Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 25-Jason Keckler[2] ; 2. 312-Mike Linder[4] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[7] ; 4. 5R-Jordan Ryan[3] ; 5. 8-Bobby Clark[8] ; 6. 22D-Dan Hammond[5] ; 7. 3J-Trey Jacobs[6] ; 8. 11G-Luke Griffith[1]

B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 5 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 19R-Steve Rando[2] ; 2. 29-John Ivy[10] ; 3. 22D-Dan Hammond[3] ; 4. 32-Dan Hennig[5] ; 5. 11G-Luke Griffith[9] ; 6. 15-Gary Benjamin[4] ; 7. 94K-Kurt Huber[7] ; 8. 39C-Scott Riley[1] ; 9. 3J-Trey Jacobs[6] ; 10. 22-Tyler Moore[8]

A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 5R-Jordan Ryan[8]; 2. 9-Jimmy Colvin[2]; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[12]; 4. 8-Bobby Clark[15]; 5. 312-Mike Linder[4]; 6. 19R-Steve Rando[16]; 7. 36-Seth Schneider[14]; 8. 29-John Ivy[17]; 9. 1-Nate Dussel[10]; 10. 22D-Dan Hammond[18]; 11. 11G-Luke Griffith[20]; 12. 2-Ricky Peterson[11]; 13. 4T-Jim Taddeo[1]; 14. 16-Tyler Gunn[9]; 15. 32-Dan Hennig[19]; 16. 1J-Jeremy Shambaugh[13]; 17. 25-Jason Keckler[7]; 18. 22M-Dan McCarron[5]; 19. 12-Kyle Capodice[6]; 20. 13-Jeremy Duposki[3]

Hard Charger: 8-Bobby Clark[+11]

Fremont Fence Co. Dirt Trucks (17 Trucks)
[#]-Starting Position

Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 33C-Kyle Cline[6] ; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[9] ; 3. D1-Dustin Keegan[2] ; 4. O1-Art Ball[5] ; 5. 4S-Keith Sorg[8] ; 6. 22-Brandon Leighton[4] ; 7. 37-Eric Devanna[1] ; 8. 36M-Cory McCaughey[3] ; 9. 3X-Brad Keckler[7]

Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[2] ; 2. 2-Matt Foos[8] ; 3. 7-Dana Frey[1] ; 4. 17-Steve Endicott[7] ; 5. 85S-Brandon Stuckey[4] ; 6. OO-John Ivy[5] ; 7. 69-Jeff Warnick[6] ; 8. 33-Brian Arnold[3]

A-Main – (15 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[7]; 2. 8KB-Kent Brewer[6]; 3. O1-Art Ball[8]; 4. 33C-Kyle Cline[1]; 5. 17-Steve Endicott[4]; 6. D1-Dustin Keegan[2]; 7. 7-Dana Frey[3]; 8. 4S-Keith Sorg[9]; 9. 37-Eric Devanna[13]; 10. 85S-Brandon Stuckey[10]; 11. 22-Brandon Leighton[11]; 12. OO-John Ivy[12]; 13. 69-Jeff Warnick[14]

Hard Charger: 7B-Shawn Valenti[+6]