by Jacob Hord, @HordRaceWatcher
I’m late again and still don’t have enough dollars. Race cars did race car things this weekend, let’s talk about it.
Buddy Steals it at Attica: Buddy Kofoid came to Northwest Ohio a few years ago to get his name out there, much like Carson Macedo did. Kofoid cut his teeth at our local tracks in the Neumeister 11N machine, picking up wins with the All Stars, and a championship at Fremont, among other accomplishments. Now, Kofoid is on the World of Outlaws trail with the Roth 83 team, and coming into Friday night, was looking for his first win of the season. Kofoid led the feature early, before a charging Carson Macedo took the lead on a restart. Macedo got into heavy lapped traffic on lap 20, allowing Kofoid to close in. With five laps left, Kofoid was all over Macedo. The two Linder family “adoptees” battled hard for the win in those closing five laps. They were side-by-side for the lead on the final lap, with Kofoid underneath Macedo. Kofoid won the drag race to the line and scored his first Outlaw win of the season.
Gravel Rebound at Sharon: Friday at Attica wasn’t the night David Gravel, World of Outlaws points leader, envisioned. He failed to make it out of his heat race into the Feature, and would have to go through the BMain, sorry, LCS. He won the LCS and would make his way into P11 when the checkered flag flew. On Saturday, it was a different story. Gravel started on pole of the Feature at Sharon Speedway. He bobbled on the initial start, but a timely caution helped him out. On the restart, it was all Gravel and from there, no one had anything for him. It was his seventh Outlaw win of the season.
Peterson Sweeps Wayne County Again: I was there, read the story here
Sebetto Also Sweeps: in 305 competition, it was Bryan Sebetto’s weekend. Sebetto won both 305 features at Attica and Fremont, making it three wins in a row. At Attica, Sebetto was able to get by polesitter Brenden Torok early. Torok kept Sebetto honest, though, not letting Sebetto drive away. If Sebetto made one mistake, Torok would be there to pounce. After a late restart, it was Sebetto’s to lose, and he didn’t. As for Fremont, I wouldn’t know, because I wasn’t there. I just know Sebetto and Jamie Miller took it to the 360’s. *Shrugs*
Locals Shine at Attica: Let’s take a minute to salute our local racers for Friday night. They wre able to take 5 ⁄ 8 dash spots, and there were two locals in the top five of the feature. Both Brandon Spithaler (fourth) and Kalib Henry (fifth) scored their best career finishes with the Outlaws on Friday night. Tim Shaffer finished sixth, and Zane DeVault was ninth. Stuart Brubaker, Paige Polyak, Skylar Gee, Kasey Jedrzejek, Zeth Sabo, Cale Thomas, TJ Michael, Craig Mintz, Darin Naida, and DJ Foos also made the feature. TJ Michael and Prosser Racing feel like they left a podium on the table after a mechanical issue ended their race while passing Kalib Henry for fourth, and Craig Mintz was fast during the feature, but got upside down trying to avoid a wreck, ending his night early. It was a very strong showing for our locals, and I hope that can continue at Atomic and Fremont this Memorial Day Weekend.
Wayne County, Iowa?: Despite a late-afternoon popup storm, Wayne County Speedway delayed their show by only ten minutes. Hotlaps were advertised for 6pm, and they started at 6:10. Heat races advertised for 7pm, and they were on track at 7:10. Five divisions of heat races later, the first feature, the 410, was pushed out onto the track at around 8:15. I truly felt like I was back at Marshalltown Speedway in Iowa, where they wasted zero time. I was happy to have been in my bed before midnight Saturday night. It seems like that’s been the trend this year at Wayne County as well. It’s refreshing to see a track getting fans out early, or giving them the option to stay and watch all the features and still be home at a decent time. Let me tell you, when I left during the mini stock feature, the parking lot was still ⅔ of the way full.
Sardines in Attica: The crowd at Attica Friday night was absolutely incredible. Definitely the biggest non-Brad Doty Classic crowd I’ve seen there. Even with the threat of weather, the fans packed the stands in a big way, and they were treated to yet another great, mostly dust free show. (It’s a dirt track, there’s going to be a little dust). The raving on social media after the race was well-deserved in my opinion. It’s been a pretty good start to the year for Attica, and I hope that the momentum continues.