by Jacob Hord, @HordRaceWatcher
Sweltering temperatures greeted drivers and fans alike at Attica Raceway Park as teams had one more chance to get tuned up for the prestigious Brad Doty Classic on July 11th. Twenty-three 410’s made the call on fan appreciation night, and the fans were certainly treated to an excellent feature between Zeth Sabo and Bryce Lucius.
When you look at the lap leaders, you’ll see that Zeth “Howdy” Sabo led laps 2-29, with Bryce Lucius leading the first lap. You may also see that and think that it was a walk in the park for Sabo; it was anything but. Lucius, a 410 rookie looking for his first win and Sabo, coming off a podium run at Sharon Speedway on Wednesday, led the field to green for the 30 lap feature. Sliders immediately commenced.
Sabo slid Lucius in turns one and two on lap one, taking the lead down the backstretch. Lucius fought right back, sliding Sabo in turns three and four, retaking the lead as they crossed the line. Sabo again slid Lucius in turns one and two, getting by Lucius down the backstretch, and asserting himself as the leader. Lucius was able to get a run down the backstretch on lap three and took a peek under Sabo in turns three and four, but Sabo held his ground and remained in the lead, with TJ Michael and Tyler Gunn trailing. Sabo increased his lead from .37 seconds on lap three to .864 seconds on lap five as he settled into a groove.
“We took the green and he [Bryce Lucius] set a very good pace, and he was going to be tough. I knew he was, the kid’s on the gas and he’s getting better every week. I knew that if I built some momentum up top, that I’d be all right, and that’s what we did,” said Zeth Sabo.
By lap seven, Sabo found himself in heavy lapped traffic for the first time. His lead shrank from .778 seconds to .524 as Lucius got closer and closer. The top two used the top in the corners to get by lapped cars. On lap nine, both Sabo and Lucius had to dive low in turns one and two, and Lucius got a great run and was able to pull alongside Sabo on the backstretch. Lucius dove under Sabo in turns three and four, and they were side-by-side at the line, with Sabo holding a slight advantage.
Sabo was able to maneuver well through lapped traffic, getting two cars between himself and Lucius on lap eleven, giving Sabo some much-needed breathing room. As Sabo found himself with a somewhat clear track, his lead grew to 1.391 seconds on lap 13, and 1.657 seconds on lap 14 as Lucius had to find a way around the lapped cars that separated him and Sabo. Sabo’s lead was 1.864 seconds at the halfway point of the race, with no lapped cars between himself and Lucius. By the time Sabo reached lapped traffic again on lap 17, his lead was 1.634 seconds, and Lucius was able to cut that in half on lap 18.
“Lapped traffic was really tough. I didn’t know where to be, and I knew the top was kind of dirty. I figured that if I just put my nose there, they would move, and they kind of did. So that’s what I did,” continued Sabo.
Sabo made some great moves through lapped traffic, and Lucius was able to match him as Sabo’s lead was .943 seconds on lap 20. Sabo and Lucius would find themselves working through traffic until lap 23, when the lone caution of the race came out for Ricky Peterson.
On the restart, Sabo went to the top, and Lucius went to the clean air down low in turns one and two. Sabo jumped out to a .436 second lead that grew to .690 seconds as lap 25 started. Sabo had the slightest of bobbles on the exit of turn two, which gave Lucius a shot to go for the lead on the following lap. Lucius went low again in turns one and two and was able to throw a slider for the lead in turns three and four. They were side-by-side at the line once again, both wanting their first Attica 410 win. Sabo was able to hold the lead until the next attack, which came on lap 28. Lucius dove under Sabo once again, but Sabo was just too good on the top, and was able to keep his momentum up and drive away to his first career 410 win at Attica Raceway Park.
“[Lucius] showed his nose going into one and I got tight up on the top and moved the wing back, and I probably shouldn’t have. He slid me going into three and thought that’s where we lost it at. But, I got underneath and got around him and drove as hard as I could from there,” Sabo said about Lucius’ late-race effort.
Sabo has only been racing four or five years in the sprint car ranks, and has progressed quickly driving for Rich Farmer and now Jay Kiser. A maiden Attica 410 win to go along with a 305 win a couple years ago shows said progression for the 20 year old, who started the year on the All Star tour before work took over:
“It feels really good, I can’t thank these guys enough. They do a great job.”
“Racing with them [The All Stars] definitely shows you some things and you come back home better. I think you race harder when you come back because of how hard those guys race. Racing with them was fun, just tough to do with work and stuff like that.”
Something tells me this won’t be the only time we see Sabo and Lucius battling for a win. The future of sprint car racing in northwest Ohio is certainly bright.
Zeth Sabo’s full interview can be found here: Zeth Sabo Post-Win at Attica 6/30/23
Bryce Lucius’ full interview can be found here: Bryce Lucius Post-Race from Attica 6/30/23