Bell dominates at Fremont for Ford Classic $10k; Miller takes 305 victory; Valenti earns 9th truck win
By Brian Liskai
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
Contact: Brian Liskai - liskai2x@roadrunner.com
FREMONT, Ohio - Fresh off his 7th Xfinity NASCAR Series win, Norman, Oklahoma's Christopher Bell climbed in his newly purchased sprint car and dominated the second half of the 12th Annual Jim and Joanne Ford Classic at Fremont Speedway to claim the $10,000 prize Saturday, Sept. 21 on Kear's Speed Shop Night.
Bell lapped up to sixth place in the 40-lap feature aboard his Mobile 1, JBC machine to earn his fourth career victory at "The Track That Action Built."
"What an awesome deal to put this together in a week and come to what I consider my home sprint car track and win this big race in front of a huge crowd...wow! Chad Boat and I decided to do this over the week and to get a win in the first night in my own car is unbelievable. The curb was very tricky but it reminded me of the old Fremont when I lived in Tiffin with Rick Ferkel and we came here," said Bell in the Engine Pro Victory Lane.
Bell, who started 13th, took the lead on a restart on lap 18 from 2019 Fremont track champion Buddy Kofoid. Once in the lead, Bell blasted away at the thick ledge around the track which resulted from a shower prior to hot laps earlier in the evening. Bell built up a lead over seven seconds or three quarters of a track as he easily disposed of lapped cars.
A late race move had Travis Philo going in second while Nate Dussel rounded out the podium for the event sanctioned by the FAST 410 Sprint Series.
"Hats off to Christopher and that team. When he passed me it didn't take long and I couldn't even see him. I'm proud of our team, my dad, Keith...everyone. We really got going toward the end of the season and have a lot to build on for next year," said Philo beside his Interior Supply/Control Design Solutions/Columbus Equipment Company/Banshee Graphics/Tire Slick backed #5T.
"I couldn't be more proud of this team. We are essentially a 305 team running with the big boys. We far exceeded all my expectations coming into this season. Other than the All Star race we ran consistently in the top five all year long," said Dussel of his Industrial Movers/Northwest Installation/All Davis Carpet & Laminate/Berrier Fabrication/Real Geese Decoys/Wurtec/Speedway's Bar and Grill/Tackle Box 2 backed #1.
Fremont, Ohio's Jamie Miller took the lead on lap 10 and drove away for his third win of the season in the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 sprint feature. It was his 23rd career win at the track.
"I knew we were good. When we caught up to Johnny (Ivy) and he got hung up. I was able to move around and pretty much run where I wanted to. I wanted to stay up top and keep my momentum up. When we had that yellow and I saw all those lapped cars going around me to get in line...I figured we were pretty good," said Miller of his Phil Rister Racing/Pen Monster.com/Sonic Hauling/Brad's Barbecue/Napa of Attica/Avon by Angie/Griff's Engines/Color Street by Jamie Hennig/Reedtown Tavern/Fostoria Mod Shop/York Carpet Outlet/Crown Batter/Branham Builders/Imprint Logo backed #26.
Fremont Speedway's 2019 track champion Shawn Valenti put an exclamation point on the end of a fantastic season in the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Trucks, claiming his ninth feature win of the season in dominating fashion. It was Valenti's 55th career win at the track, placing him sixth on the all-time win list.
"It's pretty amazing...my whole Fremont career has been pretty awesome. Thanks to the Babcocks for putting me in this thing," said Valenti beside his A Plus Auto Center/Best Performance Motorsports/Craig Miller Trucking/Gressman Powersports/KS Sales & Service backed #7B.
Kofoid, fresh off his first ever midget win in his first ever midget race Friday in Illinois, and Cody Bova brought the field to green for the 40-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature but a tangle involving Duane Zablocki and Paige Polyak necessitated a complete restart. When the green flew Kofoid bolted into the lead over Friday night's winner Tim Shaffer, Bova, Philo, Brad Lamberson and Parker Price-Miller.
Kofoid set a blistering pace, moving out to a 3.8 second lead by lap three while Philo grabbed second over Shaffer and Bova. By the sixth circuit Kofoid was into heavy lapped traffic but still maintained an over three second lead over Philo, Shaffer, Dussel, Price-Miller and 13th starter Bell. Lapped machines allowed Philo to close to within 1.9 seconds by lap 13 but when Price-Miller stopped to bring out the caution on lap 14, Philo, Dussel, Shaffer and Bell were ready to pounce.
With a clear track, Kofoid rocketed away on the restart but a bobble on the turn two cushion on lap 17 allowed Bell to grab the lead but it was nullified when Brandon Long spun, putting Kofoid back to the point. On the restart Bell was not to be denied as he slid in front of Kofoid to take the lead with Philo, Shaffer, Dussel, FAST point leader Cole Duncan, Byron Reed and 18th starter Chad Kemenah giving chase.
Just past the half-way point Reed and Kemenah tangled to bring out the final caution of the race. When the green flew Bell checked out, building a six second lead with 10 laps to go. Shaffer and Philo got around Kofoid when he bobbled once again on the cushion with Philo moving into second on lap 28 with Kofoid rallying to third a few laps later.
Bell kept picking off lapped cars, taking the checkers with the sixth place car in his sights. Philo, Dussel, Kofoid and Duncan rounded out the top five.
Fremont's 2019 305 sprint track champion John Ivy jumped into the lead at the drop of the green for the 25 lap feature from his outside front row starting spot with Brandon Moore, Miller, Matt Foos, Seth Schneider, Jimmy McGrath, Steve Rando, Paul Weaver and Alvin Roepke in tow. Ivy quickly built an over two second lead with just three laps scored and hit the back of the field by lap six as Miller moved into second.
Miller quickly close don Ivy and took the lead on lap 10. Once clear of several lapped cars by lap 13, Miller pulled away from Ivy who had his hands full from Foos. The only caution flew on lap 14 for debris but that didn't slow Miller down as he pulled away on the restart, quickly building a two second advantage over Ivy, Foos, Rando and Schneider.
Miller drove away to the $1,000 win over Ivy, Foos, Rando and Weaver.
Cautions plagued the early going of 20 lap dirt truck feature with Brad Mitten leading the first circuit before eighth starter Valenti assumed control on just the second lap. Once the final caution flew on lap 11, Valenti was able to shake loose from the field and drove to the win as Miller came on strong late in the race to earn a runner-up finish with Kent Brewer charging from 22nd to third with Mitten and Ben Clapp rounding out the top five.
Throughout the night Kear's Speed Shop in Tiffin, Ohio, celebrated their 50th anniversary by handing out over $10,000 of products to all the race teams.
The Board of Directors of Fremont Speedway would like to thank all the fans, race teams, marketing partners, push truck and wrecker operators and track employees for all their support and help in their first year at the help of "The Track That Action Built." Plans are already underway for the 2020 season, the 69th anniversary year for the speedway.
For more information go to www.fremontohspeedway.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FremontSpeedway or on Twitter https://twitter.com/FremontSpeedway.
For more information on the FAST 410 Sprint Car Series go to www.fastondirt.com
Fremont Speedway
Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
12th Annual Jim & Joanne Ford Classic
Kear's Speed Shop Night
[*] indicates starting position
410 Sprints - Fort Ball Pizza Palace
Qualifying
1.3C-Cale Conley, 12.804; 2.02-Brandon Long, 12.985; 3.71P-Parker Price-Miller, 13.034; 4.19-Paige Polyak, 13.052; 5.5T-Travis Philo, 13.074; 6.27K-Brad Lamberson, 13.090; 7.9X-Ricky Peterson, 13.238; 8.G1-Tim Shaffer, 13.247; 9.20B-Cody Bova, 13.248; 10.11N-Buddy Kofoid, 13.260; 11.1-Nate Dussel, 13.323; 12.22-Cole Duncan, 13.326; 13.2L-Landon Lalonde, 13.344; 14.22s-Brandon Spithaler, 13.380; 15.5-Jordan Harble, 13.391; 16.97-Max Stambaugh, 13.418; 17.1st-Gary Taylor, 13.435; 18.9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.439; 19.16-DJ Foos, 13.478; 20.7-Shawn Valenti, 13.488; 21.81-Lee Jacobs, 13.517; 22.09-Craig Mintz, 13.537; 23.5R-Byron Reed, 13.560; 24.13-Brandon Matus, 13.619; 25.21-Christopher Bell, 13.646; 26.22B-Ryan Broughton, 13.665; 27.23J-Hunter Schuerenberg, 13.686; 28.23-Stuart Brubaker, 13.759; 29.14-Chad Wilson, 13.828; 30.J4-John Garvin, 13.871; 31.4-Cap Henry, 13.938; 32.k4-Chad Kemenah, 13.938; 33.20I-Kelsey Ivy, 13.971; 34.33-Brent Matus, 14.235; 35.68G-Tyler Gunn, 14.443;
Heat 1 (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 20B-Cody Bova[2] ; 2. 2L-Landon Lalonde[1] ; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[3] ; 4. 21-Christopher Bell[7] ; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs[6] ; 6. 3C-Cale Conley[4] ; 7. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[9] ; 8. 14-Chad Wilson[8] ; 9. 1st-Gary Taylor[5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[2] ; 2. 22s-Brandon Spithaler[1] ; 3. 27K-Brad Lamberson[3] ; 4. 02-Brandon Long[4] ; 5. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5] ; 6. 09-Craig Mintz[6] ; 7. 22B-Ryan Broughton[7] ; 8. 33-Brent Matus[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 1-Nate Dussel[2] ; 2. 5-Jordan Harble[1] ; 3. 71P-Parker Price-Miller[4] ; 4. 5R-Byron Reed[6] ; 5. 4-Cap Henry[8] ; 6. 16-DJ Foos[5] ; 7. 23J-Hunter Schuerenberg[7] ; 8. 68G-Tyler Gunn[9] ; 9. 9X-Ricky Peterson[3]
Heat 4 (8 Laps, top 4 to A)
1. 22-Cole Duncan[2] ; 2. 97-Max Stambaugh[1] ; 3. G1-Tim Shaffer[3] ; 4. 19-Paige Polyak[4] ; 5. k4-Chad Kemenah[8] ; 6. 7-Shawn Valenti[5] ; 7. 13-Brandon Matus[6] ; 8. 23-Stuart Brubaker[7]
B-Main 1 (10 Laps, top 3 to A)
1. 81-Lee Jacobs[1] ; 2. 4-Cap Henry[2] ; 3. 16-DJ Foos[4] ; 4. 68G-Tyler Gunn[8] ; 5. 20I-Kelsey Ivy[5] ; 6. 14-Chad Wilson[7] ; 7. 23J-Hunter Schuerenberg[6] ; 8. 3C-Cale Conley[3] ; 9. 1st-Gary Taylor[9]
B-Main 2 (10 Laps, top 3 to A)
1. k4-Chad Kemenah[2] ; 2. 09-Craig Mintz[3] ; 3. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[1] ; 4. 7-Shawn Valenti[4] ; 5. 22B-Ryan Broughton[5] ; 6. 33-Brent Matus[7] ; 7. 23-Stuart Brubaker[8] ; 8. 9X-Ricky Peterson[9] ; 9. 13-Brandon Matus[6]
A-Main 1 (0 Laps)
1. 21-Christopher Bell[13] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[5] ; 3. 1-Nate Dussel[7] ; 4. 11N-Buddy Kofoid[1] ; 5. 22-Cole Duncan[8] ; 6. G1-Tim Shaffer[3] ; 7. 16-DJ Foos[21] ; 8. 81-Lee Jacobs[17] ; 9. k4-Chad Kemenah[18] ; 10. 97-Max Stambaugh[12] ; 11. 4-Cap Henry[19] ; 12. 27K-Brad Lamberson[4] ; 13. 20B-Cody Bova[2] ; 14. 2L-Landon Lalonde[9] ; 15. 02-Brandon Long[14] ; 16. 5-Jordan Harble[11] ; 17. 5R-Byron Reed[15] ; 18. 09-Craig Mintz[20] ; 19. 22s-Brandon Spithaler[10] ; 20. 71P-Parker Price-Miller[6] ; 21. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[22] ; 22. 19-Paige Polyak[16]
Hard Charger: 16-DJ Foos +14
305 Sprints - Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.26-Jamie Miller, 13.477; 2.1W-Paul Weaver, 13.572; 3.8C-Matt Foos, 13.617; 4.77I-John Ivy, 13.640; 5.7M-Brandon Moore, 13.690; 6.19R-Steve Rando, 13.770; 7.99-Alvin Roepke, 13.771; 8.X-Mike Keegan, 13.816; 9.2-Ricky Peterson, 13.827; 10.36-Seth Schneider, 13.833; 11.5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr, 13.943; 12.4*-Tyler Street, 13.979; 13.10-Josh Harrison, 13.993; 14.25-Jason Keckler, 13.994; 15.3V-Chris Verda, 14.072; 16.12-Kyle Capodice, 14.076; 17.8-Bobby Clark, 14.138; 18.3X-Brandon Riehl, 14.143; 19.1H-Zeth Sabo, 14.145; 20.21-Larry Kingseed JR, 14.162; 21.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 14.309; 22.9-Logan Riehl, 14.378; 23.09-Justin Adams, 14.439;
Heat 1 - (8 Laps)
1. 36-Seth Schneider[1] ; 2. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 3. 77I-John Ivy[3] ; 4. 99-Alvin Roepke[2] ; 5. 12-Kyle Capodice[6] ; 6. 9-Logan Riehl[8] ; 7. 1H-Zeth Sabo[7] ; 8. 10-Josh Harrison[5]
Heat 2 - (8 Laps)
1. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[1] ; 2. X-Mike Keegan[2] ; 3. 7M-Brandon Moore[3] ; 4. 1W-Paul Weaver[4] ; 5. 25-Jason Keckler[5] ; 6. 09-Justin Adams[8] ; 7. 8-Bobby Clark[6] ; 8. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[7]
Heat 3 - (8 Laps)
1. 4*-Tyler Street[1] ; 2. 19R-Steve Rando[3] ; 3. 8C-Matt Foos[4] ; 4. 2-Ricky Peterson[2] ; 5. 3X-Brandon Riehl[6] ; 6. X15-Kasey Ziebold[7] ; 7. 3V-Chris Verda[5]
A-Main 1 - (20 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 77I-John Ivy[2] ; 3. 8C-Matt Foos[3] ; 4. 19R-Steve Rando[9] ; 5. 1W-Paul Weaver[11] ; 6. 36-Seth Schneider[5] ; 7. 99-Alvin Roepke[10] ; 8. 12-Kyle Capodice[13] ; 9. 7M-Brandon Moore[1] ; 10. 2-Ricky Peterson[12] ; 11. 25-Jason Keckler[14] ; 12. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[6] ; 13. 1H-Zeth Sabo[19] ; 14. X-Mike Keegan[8] ; 15. 4*-Tyler Street[7] ; 16. 3V-Chris Verda[21] ; 17. 21-Larry Kingseed JR[23] ; 18. 3X-Brandon Riehl[15] ; 19. 09-Justin Adams[17] ; 20. 9-Logan Riehl[16] ; 21. X15-Kasey Ziebold[18] ; 22. 8-Bobby Clark[20] ; 23. 10-Josh Harrison[22]
Hard Charger: 1W-Paul Weaver +6
Dirt Trucks - Burmeister Trophy
Heat 1 (8 Laps)
1. 23m-Brad Mitten[4] ; 2. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[3] ; 3. 17x-Dustin Keegan[2] ; 4. 0-Andy Keegan[8] ; 5. 9-Curt Inks[1] ; 6. 25-Bryce Black[6] ; 7. 83-Noah Wagner[5] ; 8. 8KB-Kent Brewer[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps)
1. 33-Jeff Ward[1] ; 2. 67-Ben Clapp[3] ; 3. 16-Jim Holcomb[6] ; 4. 0H-Derek Halka[2] ; 5. 75-Adam Dible[4] ; 6. 99-Gene Potridge[7] ; 7. 20-Caleb Shearn[8] ; 8. 65R-Jeremy Ernsberger[5]
Heat 3 (8 Laps)
1. 1-John Brooks[2] ; 2. 7B-Shawn Valenti[1] ; 3. 5JR-Jamie Miller[3] ; 4. 5-Jim Mcgrath[7] ; 5. 4s-Keith Sorg[6] ; 6. 14T-Cody Truman[4] ; 7. 7X-Mike Hashman[5]
A-Main 1 (20 Laps)
1. 7B-Shawn Valenti[8] ; 2. 5JR-Jamie Miller[11] ; 3. 8KB-Kent Brewer[22] ; 4. 23m-Brad Mitten[2] ; 5. 67-Ben Clapp[3] ; 6. 33-Jeff Ward[9] ; 7. 17x-Dustin Keegan[4] ; 8. 83-Noah Wagner[19] ; 9. 99-Gene Potridge[17] ; 10. 7X-Mike Hashman[21] ; 11. 0H-Derek Halka[10] ; 12. 25-Bryce Black[16] ; 13. 4s-Keith Sorg[15] ; 14. 20-Caleb Shearn[20] ; 15. 1-John Brooks[7] ; 16. 14T-Cody Truman[18] ; 17. 0-Andy Keegan[1] ; 18. 9-Curt Inks[13] ; 19. 36M-Cory Mccaughey[12] ; 20. 16-Jim Holcomb[5] ; 21. 75-Adam Dible[14] ; 22. 5-Jim Mcgrath[6] ; 23. 65R-Jeremy Ernsberger[23]
Hard Charger: 8KB-Kent Brewer +19