By Jacob Hord, @HordRaceWatcher
After a big weekend of Outlaw Racing, Ohio Sprint Car teams had one more weekend to get tuned up for the most grueling week in dirt track racing– Ohio Sprint Speedweek. Here’s the lowdown on what happened, as if I were there and not in Kentucky at a music festival.
Thomas Goes Back-to-Back: Another Friday night at Attica, another win for Cale Thomas and the Jay Kiser 23 car. Cap Henry and Trey Jacobs were on the front row, with Tyler Street and Thomas behind them in row two. Henry jumped out to the early lead, but it didn’t last long as Thomas took over the top spot on lap two. Thomas, Henry, and Jacobs could have a blanket thrown over them as they sliced and diced through lapped traffic, all while battling for those top three spots. Henry was faster on the bottom of the track, while Thomas was still running the top. Eventually, Thomas moved down, and that was the winning move. He gapped Henry, who still had his hands full with Jacobs, by over two seconds and took the win, his second in a row at Attica.
Kalib Henry Gets it Done: On a fast-paced night at Fremont on Saturday, the back half of the AFCS weekend, California-transplant Kalib Henry was the fastest paced of all the 410 drivers. But it didn’t come easy. Henry started in the sixth spot, but was tenth after the first lap. From there, he started picking off drivers one-by-one until he got into the second spot at the halfway point of the race. Henry did take the lead on lap 26, but Zeth Sabo, who had been leading since lap eight, took the lead right back on lap 27. It all came down to the final lap. Sabo looked to have the race in hand, but went to the bottom of turns three and four, allowing Henry to rip the top and drag race to the line. Henry got a whale of a run and used that momentum to blow by Sabo as they crossed the line. It was Henry’s first 410 win since joining the Running Boxer 101 team, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise. That team has been fast all year, with seasoned crew chief Kevin Osmolski turning the wrenches. Henry and Osmolski have been knocking off top fives and top tens against the Outlaws and High Limit all season, and have been in contention in local competition almost every night. Henry has been a great addition to our local scene, and it’s going to be entertaining watching him do battle with our other locals.
Gunn Tops Wayne County: In his second start at Wayne County in 2024, defending track champion Tyler Gunn was one spot better than his first start, and picked up the win. Timing and scoring will show that Gunn led all 25 laps, but things weren’t what they seemed. As Gunn was working through lapped traffic, second running Jordan Ryan was catching Gunn, quick. Gunn was running nearly 18 second laps while Ryan was mostly in the mid 16’s. But a caution with just a few laps left would get Gunn out in clean air, which is exactly what he needed to get the win, his first of the season.
Ryan Smith Conquers Western PA Speedweek at Sharon: In what would be the Western PA Speedweek finale at Sharon Speedway, it was Ryan Smith who bested the massive 46 car field on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border Saturday night. Smith gained the lead after polesitter Zane DeVault made contact with the wall on lap seven. Dave Blaney, who started 12th, was starting to catch Smith late, but ran out of time. This was only Smith’s second or third start of the year (I believe), and he got into Sharon’s victory lane for the second time in his career, earning him $4,000.
Quick Hits:
Cale Thomas leads the Attica points by 37 over Trey Jacobs. Thomas also has a 35 point lead over Zeth Sabo in the AFCS points standings. It is now Kalib Henry who leads the Fremont Speedway points, but just by five over Cap Henry, and nine over Cale Thomas.
-Brock Hallett looked solid in his Attica debut. The Aussie turned a 14.576 second lap, good for seventh overall. He was running third and vying for second in his heat race, but his left front wheel came off on the final lap. Hallett kept his foot on the gas and made it the final lap on three wheels, coming home in fifth, enough for a transfer. He started P14 and finished P16 in the feature, but he definitely turned some heads in my eyes. He would go on to finish P7 at Wayne County on Saturday night.
-Jamie Miller swept the AFCS 305 weekend at Attica and Fremont. Can we really say we’re surprised? He leads the Attica, Fremont, and AFCS points standings as we head into June.
-Kyle Moore snagged the win in the Late Model division at Attica Friday night. Do yourself a favor and watch the replay. An absolute heavyweight slobberknocker of a battle between Moore, who was going for his first Attica win, and Rusty Schlenk. They officially traded the lead five times, but it seemed like every corner they were sliding each other through lapped traffic and swapping the lead. If they weren’t sliding each other, they were side-by-side. Honestly, a race-of-the-year contender.
-Some Numbers: 26 410 features have been completed as of June 3rd in Ohio. 18 different drivers have finished first, with Cale Thomas and David Gravel leading the way with three wins. Cap Henry, Zane DeVault, Ricky Peterson, and Sheldon Haudenschild all have two wins on the season in Ohio. Cale Thomas, Zeth Sabo, and Carson Macedo all have seven top five finishes, and Thomas leads the state in top ten finishes with 13, Zane DeVault is next with ten. Eighty-one different drivers have finished in the top ten so far this season. Numbers are courtesy of OhioDirtTrackStats.com
-Speedweek is on tap, starting Friday night at Attica. Fremont, Waynesfield, Wayne County, Hilltop, Sharon, Muskingum, Millstream, and Atomic round out the nine race schedule.
-I watched Noah Kahan and Hozier perform “Northern Attitude” at the Railbird Festival Saturday night. Core memory downloaded. I hope my new friend, Brendan, found his wife. Sure looked like it after the Red Clay Strays set on Sunday evening. Godspeed, soldier.