Schatz earns 21st World of Outlaws win at Fremont

Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013
By Brian Liskai

FREMONT, Ohio – Donny Schatz scored his 21st World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series win Saturday at Fremont Speedway. But the real story of the night was the showing by the local drivers. Sandusky, Ohio’s Caleb Griffith – who led the first eight laps – would finish second and Fremont, Ohio’s Bryan Sebetto would come home in third.

Schatz would take the lead from Griffith on lap nine and survived several restarts to score his first career Fremont win on Kistler Racing Products Night. Schatz’ 145th career series victory, coupled with Daryn Pittman’s ninth place run tightens the World of Outlaws points heading into the handful of remaining races. Pittman actually rebounded well considering he spun on a lap 14 restart after contact with Sebetto while battling for second and came from the tail.

“I feel like I just won the Fremont 500…man there was a lot of cautions. The guys just have this car rolling so well right now,” said Schatz beside his Tony Stewart Racing STP/Amor All/J&J Auto Racing #15. “It’s tough to come to a place like Fremont where you know the locals have a big advantage. The car just rolled through the middle so well and I was able to move around.”

For Griffith, who scored his first ever Fremont 410 sprint win earlier in the year, the second place run was a career highlight. A year ago Griffith fractured his leg in a sprint car crash at another track and spent the winter rehabbing.

“To come out here and run so competitively with these guys says a lot about our team. The car was good around the top…I just didn’t need all of those restarts. Hey, to run second to Donny Schatz…I can’t complain,” said Griffith beside his Al Davis owned, Crown Battery/JLH General Contractors/McDonald’s Restaurant/Young’s Batter Mix backed #40DD.

Sebetto, in his last night aboard the Hammer Pallets #24h, battled up front throughout the 40-lap feature.

“It was fun racing like that with Caleb. It’s great that local guys did so well against the Outlaws. The car was good around the top of three and four and I struggled a little in one and two, but to finish third against the Outlaws the last two times they have raced at Fremont is pretty cool,” said Sebetto beside his Crown Battery/Gressman Powersports/Meggit Powdercoating/JLH General Contractor backed machine.

The Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints and AAA Ohio Auto Club Dirt Trucks ran in feature events only and rookie T.J. Michael would score his first sprint victory with Shawn Valenti taking his four win of the year in the trucks.

Michael would hold off Nate Dussel for the win while Valenti battled side-by-side with Daniel Roepke throughout the feature before securing his ninth career Fremont win.

“I thought about going up top to try and block Nate but I wasn’t good up there. I let the car drift up on the restarts to block his momentum,” said Michael of Plano, Texas.

“I have to thank Kenny and Karen Clark, Advanced Cast Stone, The Little Bar on the Prairie, B&L Plumbing, Miller Rigging and everyone who helps on this,” added Michael. “I hope to come back and do this again next year.”

“This has been just a fantastic year. I have to thank Jeff Babcock for giving me this opportunity to come out and have fun. To get a win in front of such a huge crowd is pretty awesome,” said Valenti.

Griffith and Pittman would bring the field to green for the 40-lap World of Outlaws feature. But, before a lap could be recorded Cole Duncan would spin in turn four. On the second attempt at a green Steve Kinser would spin in turn three. On the third try Griffith would bolt into the lead over third starting Sebetto with Pittman, Schatz and Christopher Bell in tow. Griffith would pull away slightly as Sebetto and Pittman battled for second.

Just as the leaders were ready to hit lapped traffic on the fourth circuit, Sammy Swindell would coast tot a stop in turn three to bring out the yellow. On the restart attempt Kinser would stop in turn two after making contact with another car. This would necessitate a single file restart rather than the double-file attempt.

Again Griffith would pull away from Sebetto, Pittman, Schatz, Bell and Sheldon Haudenschild. Bell’s fantastic run would come to an end on lap six when he spun in turn three. The restart order was Griffith, Pittman, Sebetto and Schatz. When the green flew Pittman slipped back as Schatz and Sebetto battled hard for second with Sheldon Haudenschild in tow.

Schatz would dive under Griffith in turn three on lap nine to take the lead. The caution would again fly on lap 10 when Byron Reed suffered a flat left rear tire and came to a stop. This would bring about an open red with the running order Schatz, Griffith, Sebetto, Pittman, Sheldon Haudenschild and Greg Wilson.

On the double-file restart, Pittman would blast into second while Griffith and Sebetto were locked in a torrid battle for third with Sheldon Haudenschild, Jac Haudenschild and Paul McMahan in tow. While Schatz ran about three car lengths ahead, Griffith would reel in Pittman for second and would regain the runner-up spot on lap 13 only to see Pittman drive back around the following circuit.

Cap Henry would coast to a stop in turn four on lap 14 and on the ensuing double-file restart Pittman and Sebetto would make contact with Pittman spinning. Now the restart order was Schatz, Griffith, Sebetto, Sheldon Haudenschild, Jac Haudenschild, McMahan, Craig Kinser and Dale Blaney, up from his 15th starting spot.

As the field raced to the half-way mark Schatz held a five car length lead over Griffith who had his hands full with Sebetto, followed by the son and father Haudenschild duo. Just as Schatz started to draw near heavy lapped traffic, which was allowing Griffith and Sebetto to close, the caution would fly for seventh running Kraig Kinser who spun in turn two.

When the green reappeared Sebetto used the double-file restart to blast into second with Sheldon Haudenschild taking third. Griffith would rebound to retake third on lap 25. The car on the move was Blaney who raced into fourth with 15 laps remaining.

Action would grind to a halt on lap 28 when Henry took a tumble in turn two. He was okay but his night was finished.

The restart order was Schatz, Sebetto, Griffith, Blaney, Jac Haudenschild, McMahan, Sheldon Haudenschild and Tim Shaffer, up from his 24th starting spot. The caution would fly a lap later when Jason Sides spun in turn two. On this restart Schatz would pull away slightly as once again Sebetto and Griffith waged war for second with Jac Haudenschild taking fourth from Blaney.

Griffith would take the runner-up spot with nine laps to go but couldn’t hunt down Schatz as Sebetto, Jac Haudenschild and Blaney rounded out the top five. With four laps to go, the battle was for third between Sebetto, Haudenschild and Blaney.

Schatz would catch the back of the back with two laps remaining, but worked his way through perfectly. The Fargo, North Dakota driver would take the checkered over Griffith, Sebetto, Blaney and Jac Haudenschild.

In the 25-lap 305 sprint feature, Tyler Gunn and T.J. Michael would bring the field to green with Michael gaining the upper hand. Nate Dussel, Jordan Ryan, Paul Weaver, Jason Keckler and John Ivy would give chase. Michael would continue to lead Gunn, Dussel, Ryan and Weaver through lap 14 when they would catch lapped traffic.

Dussel would take second on lap 14 and closed on Michael as they battled in traffic. Dussel would drive around Michael for the lead on lap 22 but Steve Rando would take a tumble for the first race stoppage, negating the move. On the ensuing restart Jeremy Duposki would stop in turn one to bring out the caution and on the next green Ivy would make contact with the front stretch wall for another caution.

With Michael back in the point, he would make his machine wide, holding off several challenges from Dussel over the least four laps. Michael would take the checkered over Dussel, Ryan, Gunn and Weaver.

The 20-lap dirt truck main would see Cory McCaughey and Matt Foos bring the field to green with McCaughey leading the first lap over Valenti, Foos and Roepke. Valenti would drive into the lead on lap two with Roepke taking the runner-up spot on lap five.

Art Ball would spin in turn one on lap seven for the only caution of the event. On the restart Valenti pulled away slightly from Roepke while Foos and John Ivy waged a terrific battle for third with Eric Devanna and Cory Ward in tow. Ivy would finally take the third position on lap 15 as Roepke closed on Valenti.

With four laps to go Roepke raced under Valenti but could not make the pass. Valenti and Roepke raced side-by-side the remaining three laps of the feature. Valenti drove to the win over Roepke, Ivy, Foos and Devanna.

Fremont Speedway will close out its 63rd season of racing on Saturday, Oct. 5 for Fort Ball Pizza Palace Night. The BOSS non-wing sprints will be in action as will the 360 verses 305 sprint challenge and the run-what-you-brung for the stocks and trucks and four-cylinders.

For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com

Fremont Speedway – 9/28/2013

Kistler Racing Products Night

World of Outlaw STP Sprint Car Series (46 Cars)

[#]-Starting Position

Qualifying –
1. 6G-David Gravel, 12.154; 2. 22-Cole Duncan, 12.166; 3. 2-Dale Blaney, 12.203; 4. 40-Calen Helms, 12.217; 5. 71M-Joey Saldana, 12.240; 6. 40DD-Caleb Griffith, 12.242; 7. 24H-Bryan Sebetto, 12.269; 8. 11-Steve Kinser, 12.286; 9. 97-Dean Jacobs, 12.309; 10. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.318; 11. 9-Daryn Pittman, 12.328; 12. 51-Paul McMahan, 12.330; 13. 59-Jac Haudenschild, 12.341; 14. 15-Donny Schatz, 12.349; 15. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.352; 16. 3G-Shane Stewart, 12.379; 17. 45-Danny Hotlgraver, 12.392; 18. 60-Jody Keegan, 12.421; 19. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 12.426; 20. 33M-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.437; 21. 9X-Rob Chanery, 12.460; 22. 1-Sammy Swindell, 12.469; 23. 54-Cap Henry, 12.481; 24. 4-Cody Darrah, 12.486; 25. 7-Craig Dollansky, 12.489; 26. 7S-Jason Sides, 12.493; 27. 53-Christopher Bell, 12.507; 28. 9W-Lucas Wolfe, 12.508; 29. 53X-DJ Foos, 12.516; 30. 55-Brad Bowman, 12.516; 31. 5R-Byron Reed, 12.524; 32. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 12.549; 33. 83M-Broc Martin, 12.573; 34. 71-Kevin Swindell, 12.589; 35. 55XM-Tim Shaffer, 12.612; 36. 6-Bill Rose, 12.631; 37. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 12.666; 38. 29-Kerry Madsen, 12.711; 39. 16-Chris Andrews, 12.713; 40. 81-Paige Polyak, 12.745; 41. 80-Trey Gustin, 12.770; 42. 45L-Bryan Lay, 12.780; 43. 63-Chad Kemenah, 12.799; 44. 70-Danny Mumaw, 12.936; 45. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.084; 46. 3F-Rick Fraley, 13.398

Heat 1 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 9-Daryn Pittman[2] ; 2. 3G-Shane Stewart[1] ; 3. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[3] ; 4. 9X-Rob Chanery[5] ; 5. 7S-Jason Sides[6] ; 6. 6G-David Gravel[4] ; 7. 5R-Byron Reed[7] ; 8. 6-Bill Rose[8] ; 9. 3F-Rick Fraley[10] ; 10. 80-Trey Gustin[9]

Heat 2 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 53-Christopher Bell[6] ; 2. 51-Paul McMahan[2] ; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[3] ; 4. 1-Sammy Swindell[5] ; 5. 45-Danny Hotlgraver[1] ; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[8] ; 7. 45L-Bryan Lay[9] ; 8. 22-Cole Duncan[4] ; 9. 35-Stuart Brubaker[7]

Heat 3 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 59-Jac Haudenschild[2] ; 2. 60-Jody Keegan[1] ; 3. 54-Cap Henry[5] ; 4. 11-Steve Kinser[3] ; 5. 29-Kerry Madsen[8] ; 6. 2-Dale Blaney[4] ; 7. 83M-Broc Martin[7] ; 8. 9W-Lucas Wolfe[6] ; 9. 63-Chad Kemenah[9]

Heat 4 – (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 15-Donny Schatz[2] ; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser[1] ; 3. 97-Dean Jacobs[3] ; 4. 4-Cody Darrah[5] ; 5. 40-Calen Helms[4] ; 6. 71-Kevin Swindell[7] ; 7. 53X-DJ Foos[6] ; 8. 70-Danny Mumaw[9]

Heat 5 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. W20-Greg Wilson[2] ; 2. 33M-Sheldon Haudenschild[1] ; 3. 55XM-Tim Shaffer[7] ; 4. 7-Craig Dollansky[5] ; 5. 81-Paige Polyak[8] ; 6. 5T-Travis Philo[9] ; 7. O9-Craig Mintz[3] ; 8. 55-Brad Bowman[6] ; 9. 71M-Joey Saldana[4]

Dash -(8 Laps, finishing order determined first 12 starting positions of A-feature
1. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[4] ; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman[2] ; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[3] ; 4. 51-Paul McMahan[1] ; 5. 53-Christopher Bell[12] ; 6. 15-Donny Schatz[6] ; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser[10] ; 8. W20-Greg Wilson[7] ; 9. 3G-Shane Stewart[8] ; 10. 33M-Sheldon Haudenschild[11] ; 11. 59-Jac Haudenschild[5] ; 12. 60-Jody Keegan[9]

C-Main – (10 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the B-feature)
1. 29-Kerry Madsen[4] [-]; 2. 71-Kevin Swindell[1] [-]; 3. 81-Paige Polyak[5] [$50]; 4. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[3] [$50]; 5. 63-Chad Kemenah[8] [$50]; 6. 45L-Bryan Lay[7] [$50]; 7. 5T-Travis Philo[10] [$50]; 8. 70-Danny Mumaw[9] [$50]; 9. 80-Trey Gustin[6] [$50]; 10. 3F-Rick Fraley[11] [$50]; 11. 6-Bill Rose[2] [$50]

B-Main – (12 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 6G-David Gravel[1] [-]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides[6] [-]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[3] [-]; 4. 22-Cole Duncan[2] [-]; 5. 5R-Byron Reed[10] [-]; 6. 29-Kerry Madsen[15] [-]; 7. 71M-Joey Saldana[5] [$100]; 8. 71-Kevin Swindell[14] [$100]; 9. 40-Calen Helms[4] [$100]; 10. 83M-Broc Martin[12] [$100]; 11. 53X-DJ Foos[8] [$100]; 12. 45-Danny Hotlgraver[7] [$100]; 13. 35-Stuart Brubaker[13] [$100]; 14. 9W-Lucas Wolfe[9] [$100]; 15. 55-Brad Bowman[11] [$100]

A-Main – (40 Laps)
1. 15-Donny Schatz[6]; 2. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[1]; 3. 24H-Bryan Sebetto[3]; 4. 2-Dale Blaney[15]; 5. 59-Jac Haudenschild[11]; 6. 51-Paul McMahan[4]; 7. 1-Sammy Swindell[19]; 8. 55XM-Tim Shaffer[24]; 9. 9-Daryn Pittman[2]; 10. 3G-Shane Stewart[9]; 11. 6G-David Gravel[13]; 12. W20-Greg Wilson[8]; 13. 71M-Joey Saldana[25]; 14. 22-Cole Duncan[14]; 15. 11K-Kraig Kinser[7]; 16. 9X-Rob Chanery[18]; 17. 11-Steve Kinser[16]; 18. 29-Kerry Madsen[27]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides[23]; 20. 97-Dean Jacobs[17]; 21. 7-Craig Dollansky[22]; 22. 33M-Sheldon Haudenschild[10]; 23. 60-Jody Keegan[12]; 24. 53-Christopher Bell[5]; 25. 54-Cap Henry[20]; 26. 53X-DJ Foos[28]; 27. 5R-Byron Reed[26]; 28. 4-Cody Darrah[21]

Hard Charger: 55XM-Tim Shaffer[+16]

Fremont Federal Credit Untion 305 Sprints (14 Cars)

[#]-Starting Position

A-Main – (25 Laps)
1. 8M-T.J Michael[2]; 2. 1-Nate Dussel[4]; 3. 5R-Jordan Ryan[6]; 4. 68G-Tyler Gunn[1]; 5. 1W-Paul Weaver[7]; 6. 25-Jason Keckler[3]; 7. 4X-Bobby Clark[8]; 8. 9-Jimmy Colvin[10]; 9. 10S-Roger Shammo[12]; 10. 7P-Brandon Moore[9]; 11. 22M-Dan McCarron[13]; 12. 8I-John Ivy[5]; 13. 19R-Steve Rando[14]; 14. 13D-Jeremy Duposki[11]

Hard Charger: 5R-Jordan Ryan[+3]

AAA Auto Club Dirt Trucks (17 Trucks)

[#]-Starting Position

A-Main – (20 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[3]; 2. 88-Dan Roepke Jr.[5]; 3. OO-John Ivy[10]; 4. 2-Matt Foos[2]; 5. 37-Eric Devanna[8]; 6. 18W-Cory Ward[6]; 7. 36M-Cory McCaughey[1]; 8. D1-Dustin Keegan[7]; 9. O1-Art Ball[11]; 10. 5-Jimmy McGrath Jr.[15]; 11. 45-Brian Melnek[14]; 12. 7-Dana Frey[17]; 13. 4S-Keith Sorg[9]; 14. 8KB-Kent Brewer[13]; 15. 18-Jeff Ward[12]; 16. 99X-Gene Potridge[16]; 17. 115-Ben Good[4]

Hard Charger: OO-John Ivy[+7]