By Jacob Hord, @HordRaceWatcher
We got to race Friday night at Attica, and it appears that most everything in Ohio has rained out on Saturday. So for once, the Weekend Recap and Quick Hits aren’t going to be late!
Lucius Gets Win #2 at Attica: After his opening night triumph in March, it’s been up and down for Bryce Lucius. A monster P22->P8 charge last week in his new STP motorsports alliance proved that Lucius was getting back on the right track. Lucius would start on pole of the 30 lap, $4,000 to win feature. He and new crew chief Tyler Swank would have those 30 laps to prove they have what it takes to get back into victory lane. The start of the feature was a bit frantic, as Lucius, Zeth Sabo and Jordan Ryan all battled for the lead, going three wide at the end of lap one. It would quickly go south for Ryan though, as he and Sabo made contact, sending Ryan for a spin on the front stretch. Thankfully, the field was able to avoid him. Lucius got a good restart, but Sabo was able to get a look under Lucius; no dice. Lucius maintained the lead. Cale Thomas then passed his way into the second spot and was tracking down Lucius. Thomas slid Lucius in turns ¾ and looked to have the lead. Unfortunately for Thomas, the red flag came out for Jordan Ryan and Stuart Brubaker flipping on the front stretch. They were OK. Due to the red flag, Lucius got the lead back. Thomas stayed somewhat close to Lucius, but Lucius was able to slowly build a gap as the laps wound down. Heavy lapped traffic allowed Thomas to close back in, but the sand ran out in the hourglass, and Lucius scored his second win of the year at Attica, his third in all. Thomas and Sabo rounded out the podium.
Thomas Podiums Again: In what’s turning into a career season for Cale Thomas, he nabbed his third straight podium, and tenth of the season in 26 potential races. It was his 21st top ten of the season, adding to his percentage in that category. The Indiana native still leads Attica’s and the AFCS points, and with Fremont’s rainout tonight, he’ll remain 12 points back of Kalib Henry in the Fremont points chase. I don’t see Thomas slowing down anytime soon. Even when they have a part failure, they manage to salvage the night, or Thomas power’s through the feature and keeps himself in a good points position. That is how championships are won. The four wins he has this season also helps. Could we see another Triple Crown Champion at the end of 2024?
It’s Been Odd: It certainly hasn’t been the season that guys like DJ Foos, Stuart Brubaker, and Chris Andrews have wanted. They’ve been mainstays at the front of the field in years past, but it’s been a rough go of it for these guys. Five top five finishes and 12 top ten finishes between the three drivers isn’t what we’re used to seeing. It’s not a dig on them, either. Plenty of bad luck has followed these three around; mechanical gremlins, getting caught up in others messes, that’s enough to derail anyone’s season. It could even be a combination of the new Hoosier tires and new surfaces at Attica and Fremont. I hope these three can get their ships righted, because it’ll only make the racing that much better here in northwest Ohio. I hope you still like me, DJ, Chris, and Stuart.
Quick Hits:
-Jamie Miller won his fifth 305 feature of the season Friday at Attica. He’s basically a cheat code at this point.
-Kyle Moore scored his second win of the season at Attica in the Late Models. He bided his time, took the lead with under ten laps left, put his groceries on the conveyer and checked out. I still maintain that if I owned a late model team, Kyle Moore would be my driver.
-Jamie Miller might be dominating the 305 division right now, but don’t sleep on guys like Jimmy McGrath Jr, Dustin Stroup and Brenden Torok. Jimmy has picked up wins at both Attica and Fremont this season, and is constantly up front. Stroup swept a night at Attica in May, and has plenty of top five finishes. Torok is still looking for his first 305 win, but he’s knocking on the door. He’s putting full nights together and he’s found himself on the podium a few times. That first win is imminent.
-A rainout at Fremont means the continuation of the Speedweek Feature is being postponed once again. Tim Shaffer has held the lead for the last 21 days, which is impressive. It’s a bummer though that a local driver isn’t going home with $10,000 tonight with a chance for $4,000 more in the regular show.
-It’s been a while since we’ve had a full-fledged rainout. Unless I’m forgetting something obvious. Which I could be. After a moist start to the season, Mother Nature has cooperated pretty well with racing during the month of June. Let’s hope that continues into July.