by Jacon Hord, @HordRaceWatcher
Gee Triumphs at Attica: As weather looked bad in Knoxville, Skylar Gee made the decision to come to Attica for the AFCS race instead on Friday. It worked out well. Tim Shaffer led early over Dale Blaney, Emerson Axsom and Gee. Gee made his way into second at the halfway point of the feature while the leaders battled heavy lapped traffic. Gee was able to get by Shaffer soon after, but then, Brady Bacon rocketed into second and set his sights on Gee. Gee would have a clear track in front of him thanks to some yellows, and after a great final restart, Gee would go unchallenged to the win, the third of his career at Attica. Bacon, Shaffer, Axsom, and Blaney rounded out the top five.
Cap Henry Rebounds at Fremont: It’s been an up-and-down season for Cap Henry in Ohio. Coming into Saturday’s AFCS race at Fremont, he had a win, and a second place, but also had missed two features, including Friday at Attica. After a lengthy rain delay, Henry found himself starting fourth for the feature. He quickly made his way up to second, and then first on a very fast Fremont track. Henry led by over a second over Travis Philo and DJ Foos, but around the halfway point, Foos had caught Henry for the lead, and was attempting to make the pass for the lead. Foos looked to have the pass made, but the yellow flag would come out, negating the pass. Henry was able to withstand an onslaught of restarts to take the win over Philo and Foos. Cale Thomas and Skylar Gee rounded out the top five.
Dussel Tops FAST Field: In his first FAST series start since his 2022 championship season, Nate Dussel picked up right where he left off, in victory lane. The FAST series resumed their season Saturday at Muskingum County Speedway, where a nice 24 car field would battle for the win. Logan McCandless was leading late, but fell out with about three laps left. That gave Dussel the lead late, and he would go on to score the win. Zane DeVault, Emerson Axsom, Brandon Spithaler, and Dale Blaney rounded out the top five.
Ryan is King of the County: In the third 410 race in Ohio on Saturday, it was Jordan Ryan who found himself in victory lane at Wayne County Speedway. Ryan, who started fourth, took the lead on lap 15 and gapped second place Leyton Wagner by four seconds to cruise to the win, his first of the year. Cody Bova led the first 15 laps, but would finish third. Brayton Phillips and Chris Myers rounded out the top five in Orrville.
305’s Have Two ‘Race of the Year’ Contenders, in One Weekend:
The Attica-Fremont 305’s are some of the toughest races to win, and often some of the most exciting races of the night. This was certainly the case Friday night at Attica, and Saturday night at Fremont. Tyler Shullick took the early lead Friday at Attica, but was tracked down by Steve Rando. Rando and Shullick exchanged sliders for the lead almost every corner from laps 12-19 while slicing and dicing through lapped traffic. A lap 19 restart saw Shullick slip away from Rando, who was now battling Jamie Miller for second. Shullick would go on to win, and take his first career win at Attica.
Saturday night, it was John Ivy’s turn to battle Shullick for the lead. Ivy maintained the lead the whole race, but Shullick was always there to keep Ivy honest. Ivy was able to scoot away from Shullick some late in the race, but a lap 23 caution would give Shullick one last chance to sweep the weekend. With two to go, Shullick got a run on Ivy in turns three and four. With a run down the frontstretch into turns one and two, Shullick dove low. They would be side-by-side down the backstretch and into turns three and four, where they would make contact. It was a drag race to the checkered flag, a race that Ivy won. It was Ivy’s 62nd career win at Fremont.
Mother Nature Certainly Tried: At both Attica on Friday and Fremont on Saturday, Mother Nature tried her best to cancel the races. Right after heat race action was completed on Friday, rain started coming down. After a delay, Attica was able to get the first 410 BMain completed before another rainshower moved in, prompting another delay. Thanks to the efforts of the push truck drivers, the track got ran in efficiently both times, and allowed for racing to continue.
At about 4:45pm on Saturday afternoon, a rogue storm rolled through Fremont, dumping a good bit of rain, and brought enough wind to shake my car. It would’ve been enough for most tracks to pull the plug right away, but the Fremont crew went to work instead. It may have been a late night, but what did look like a sure rainout turned into a great night of racing at the Track that Action Built.
Full Attica Pits and Stands:
Something in the air must’ve told racers and fans alike that Attica was the place to be on Friday. 110 cars in the pits, including 45+ AFCS 410’s made for a very crowded pit area, and the fans showed up as well. It was a very welcome sight to see. Rain may have put a damper on things, but it was safe to say that people are eager to go racing and watch racing.