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Gressman wins Fremont thriller.
By Brian Liskai
FREMONT, Ohio - Phil Gressman was tired of everyone asking why his new 410
sprint car team was struggling. He put all doubts to rest Saturday at
Fremont Speedway, as the Helena, Ohio driver held off several challenges by
Byron Reed for his 10th career victory at "The Track That Action Built."
"Everyone kept asking me why we were struggling....we weren't struggling,
Mother Nature has kept us from getting much racing done," said Gressman in
the Engine Pro Victory Lane beside his Kistler Racing Engines, South Point
Hotel & Casino, Ray Tech Industries backed #83. "I knew we had put together
a good team, it was just a matter of getting more racing in. I have to thank
Aaron Call who put this deal together last year and brought Brian Kemenah
(crew chief). Everyone workes so hard over the winter in the shop and this
is the payoff."
"When Byron (Reed) got by us early on I just told myself to be patient. I
knew on a fast tight track like this, the key would be lapped traffic,"
added Gressman about his victory on Burns Iron & Metal Night.
Josh Muntz, 22, of New Riegel, in only his second year of racing of any
kind, scored his first career feature win in the Fremont Federal Credit
Union 305 Sprints.Muntz led all 25 laps and held off late race challenges on
restarts for the victory.
"This is what I've dreamt about....wow. First I want to say Happy Mother's
Day to my mom and grandma. Kenny Sutton set this thing up...anyone could
have driven it," said an excited Muntz in the Engine Pro Victory Lane beside
his Tiffin Walmart, Muntz Equipment Rebuild sponsored M28.
In the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks, Bob Dible watched Steve Sabo and Jim
McGrath get together battling for the top spot, and slid under them for the
lead and went on to his seventh career win.
"It got real tight once we hit lapped traffic and it got hectic. We did a
lot of work on this truck over the winter so that we could make adjustments
for a slick track or a heavy one and it paid off tonight," said Dible in the
Engine Pro Victory Lane beside his Bob's Machine Shop, BMS Engines, Endicott
Trucking backed #17.
At the drop of the green for the 30-lap 410 sprint feature, pole-sitter
Caleb Griffth grabbed the initial lead with Gressman, Reed and Troy Vaccaro
in tow. On the tacky, fast track, Griffith hit lapped traffic by the sixth
lap, allowing Gressman and Reed to close. The trio battled hard with
Gressman executing a perfect slide job for the lead exiting turn four.
Reed returned the move on lap 9 to take the top spot. The first yellow would
fly for a stalled Brock Mayes on lap 11 with the running order Reed,
Gressman, David Harrison, Griffith and Mike Linder. Two more yellows would
fly before the half-way mark with Reed still leading over Gressman, Griffith
and Linder.
Reed build a sizeable lead until hitting lapped traffic with 10 laps to go,
allowing Gressman to close. With six laps remaining, Reed got hung up in
lapped traffic allowing Gressman to slide under exiting turn 4 and grab the
lead. Reed would fight back and battle Gressman hard, nearly touching his
rear bumper entering turn one with two laps remaining. However, Griffith
would coast to a stop as Gressman and Reed raced side by side to the white
flag, bringing the action to a half.
Gressman would take the white and green together and held off Reed for the
win. Linder would run a steady race to finish third with rookie Mike Dussell
and Mark Keegan rounding out the top five.
In the 25-lap 305 sprint feature, Muntz grabbed the early lead with Dustin
Keegan, Stuart Brubaker and rookie Zack Kramer following. The fast track
would see wild action, with Muntz holding off Keegan and Brubaker, with the
car on the move the 40 of Bobby Clark who was up to 7th from 17th. However,
Clark would bring out the caution soon after with front end damage. Munt did
a masterful job on the restart and would continue to lead.
Lapped traffic loomed ahead by lap 20, and Muntz made his only mistake of
the feature, bobbling slightly exiting turn four on lap 21, allowing Keegan
to grab the lead at the flag stand. However, the 22-year-old would regain
his composure and drive around Keegan to regain the top spot a lap later and
would survive a restart with two laps to go to take the victory. Keegan
would hang on to second with Brubaker, Duane Zablocki and Kramer rounding
out the top five.
In the 20-lap truck feature, Steve Sabo would grab the early lead with Cory
Ward, Steve Endicott and opening night winner Jim McGrath in tow. Ward would
drop out soon later with mechanical woes, leaving the battle to Sabo,
McGrath and ninth-starter Dible. You could cover the that trio with a
blanket the next 10 laps before McGrath would steal the lead on lap 11. A
lap later, in heavy lapped traffic, Sabo and McGrath would get together,
handing the lead to Dible - McGrath would change a tire and come back to the
action, with Sabo's night ending.
Dible would hold off teammage Endicott for the victory, with Dwight
Waltermeier grabbiing third, Jim McGrath Jr., fourth and Dave Brewer
rounding out the top five.
"The Track That Action Built" will resume the racing action on Saturday, May
17 for Roots Poultry Night featuring the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints,
Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints and the Fremont Fence Dirt Trucks.
Coming Saturday, May 24, the first of three appearances of the O'Reilly All
Star Circuit of Champion Sprints.
For more information log onto www.fremontohspeedway.com
The Fremont Speedway (05-10-08)
Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Super Sprints
Qualifying
1. 10-David Harrison, 12.17; 2. 15C-Chris Andrews, 12.20; 3. 83-Phil
Gressman, 12.23; 4. 20X-Brian Smith, 12.23; 5. X-Mark Keegan, 12.37; 6.
5R-Byron Reed, 12.39; 7. 7T-Troy Vaccaro, 12.40; 8. 12-Caleb Griffith,
12.51; 9. 4K-Kody Kinser, 12.52; 10. 11B-Brock Mayes, 12.53; 11. 312-Mike
Linder, 12.53; 12. 8S-Craig Mintz, 12.56; 13. 6-Mike Dussell (R), 12.58; 14.
16-Lee Jacobs, 12.61; 15. 48-Mike Burkin, 12.63; 16. 48S-Andy Shammo, 12.63;
17. 1W-Paul Weaver, 12.68; 18. 2M-Dustin Daggett, 12.71; 19. 60-Jody Keegan,
12.72; 20. 55-John Ivy, 12.75; 21. 27-Scott Euler, 12.84; 22. 1R-Brian Lay
(R), 12.87; 23. 14H-Todd Heller, 13.16; 24. 1-Doug Berryman, 13.26; 25.
97-Todd King, 13.35; 26. 9-Chad Goff, 13.42; 27. 11-Josh Harrison, 13.50
Heat 1 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 6-Mike Dussell (R); 2. 11B-Brock Mayes; 3. 48S-Andy Shammo; 4. 10-David
Harrison; 5. 7T-Troy Vaccaro; 6. 20X-Brian Smith; 7. 60-Jody Keegan; 8.
97-Todd King; 9. 1R-Brian Lay (R)
Heat 2 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 16-Lee Jacobs; 2. 12-Caleb Griffith; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver; 4. 312-Mike
Linder; 5. 15C-Chris Andrews; 6. 55-John Ivy; 7. X-Mark Keegan; 8. 14H-Todd
Heller; 9. 9-Chad Goff
Heat 3 (8 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 48-Mike Burkin; 2. 5R-Byron Reed; 3. 8S-Craig Mintz; 4. 83-Phil Gressman;
5. 2M-Dustin Daggett; 6. 27-Scott Euler; 7. 11-Josh Harrison; 8. 1-Doug
Berryman; 9. 4K-Kody Kinser
B-main (10 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. X-Mark Keegan; 2. 55-John Ivy; 3. 1R-Brian Lay (R); 4. 14H-Todd Heller;
5. 97-Todd King; 6. 27-Scott Euler; 7. 9-Chad Goff; 8. 11-Josh Harrison; 9.
20X-Brian Smith; 10. 1-Doug Berryman; 11. 4K-Kody Kinser; 12. 60-Jody Keegan
A-main (30 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. 83-Phil Gressman[4]; 2. 5R-Byron Reed[3]; 3. 312-Mike Linder[9]; 4.
6-Mike Dussell (R)[10]; 5. X-Mark Keegan[7]; 6. 7T-Troy Vaccaro[2]; 7.
10-David Harrison[6]; 8. 8S-Craig Mintz[11]; 9. 1W-Paul Weaver[15]; 10.
16-Lee Jacobs[12]; 11. 14H-Todd Heller[19]; 12. 12-Caleb Griffith[1]; 13.
48-Mike Burkin[13]; 14. 97-Todd King[20]; 15. 55-John Ivy[17]; 16. 2M-Dustin
Daggett[16]; 17. 1R-Brian Lay (R)[18]; 18. 48S-Andy Shammo[14]; 19.
15C-Chris Andrews[5]; 20. 11B-Brock Mayes[8]
Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints
Heat 1 (8 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker; 2. 18-Todd Heuerman; 3. 8K-Zack Kramer (R); 4. 1-Nate
Dussel (R); 5. 14-Chad Wilson; 6. 28-Shaun Valenti (R); 7. 24X-Tom Nichols;
8. 24-Josh McAfee; 9. O4-Cap Henry; 10. 55-Benny Bowman
Heat 2 (8 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 36X-Dustin Keegan; 2. 82-Travis Hoffbauer; 3. 3X-Brad Keckler; 4.
11F-D.J. Foos (R); 5. 40-Bobby Clark; 6. 39-Matt Merrill; 7. 19R-Steve
Rando; 8. 65-Mark Lang; 9. 83X-Nate Reeser
Heat 3 (8 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 5-Dustin Dinan; 2. 66L-Brad Bowman; 3. 49-Coty Runion; 4. 9-Jimmy Colvin
(R); 5. 29-Chris Lang; 6. 13-Junior Felver; 7. 22D-Dan Hammond; 8. 80-Jake
Travino (R); 9. 23-Willie Keegan
Heat 4 (8 laps, top 4 transfer to A-Main)
1. 9Z-Duane Zablocki; 2. 10-Brad Haudenschild; 3. M28-Josh Muntz; 4. 71-Bill
Kraylek; 5. O1-Bryan Sebetto; 6. 3J-Kevin Lee; 7. X-Dustin Stroup (R); 8.
25P-Mark Pridemore
B1 Main (10 laps, top 2 transfer to A-main)
1. 40-Bobby Clark; 2. 14-Chad Wilson; 3. 39-Matt Merrill; 4. 19R-Steve
Rando; 5. 28-Shaun Valenti (R); 6. 24X-Tom Nichols; 7. 83X-Nate Reeser; 8.
24-Josh McAfee; 9. 65-Mark Lang
B2 Main (10 laps, top 2 transfer to A-Main)
1. O1-Bryan Sebetto; 2. 3J-Kevin Lee; 3. X-Dustin Stroup (R); 4. 29-Chris
Lang; 5. 80-Jake Trevino (R); 6. 13-Junior Felver; 7. 26-Zack Moore; 8.
22D-Dan Hammond; 9. 25P-Mark Pridemore; 10. 23-Willie Keegan
A-main (25 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. M28-Josh Muntz[1]; 2. 36X-Dustin Keegan[2]; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3]; 4.
9Z-Duane Zablocki[8]; 5. 8K-Zack Kramer (R)[4]; 6. 5-Dustin Dinan[9]; 7.
18-Todd Heuerman[11]; 8. 82-Travis Hoffbauer[10]; 9. O1-Bryan Sebetto[18];
10. 66L-Brad Bowman[7]; 11. 71-Bill Kraylek[16]; 12. 11F-D.J. Foos (R)[14];
13. 9-Jimmy Colvin (R)[15]; 14. 1-Nate Dussel (R)[13]; 15. 3J-Kevin Lee[20];
16. 14-Chad Wilson[19]; 17. 40-Bobby Clark[17]; 18. 49-Coty Runion[12]; 19.
10-Brad Haudenschild[5]; 20. 3X-Brad Keckler[6]
Fremont Fence Co. Dirt Trucks
Heat 1 (7 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 39-Dwight Waltermier; 2. 92-Loren Schwochow; 3. 20-Andy Maynard; 4.
8K-Kent Brewer; 5. 23M-Brad Mitten; 6. 91-Rick Potts; 7. 30-Dave Gibbs; 8.
P51-Paul Brown Jr.
Heat 2 (7 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 18W-Cory Ward; 2. 5-Jim McGrath; 3. 5JR-Jim McGrath Jr.; 4. 88-Dave
Brewer; 5. 2R-Ron Kepling; 6. 6-Linda Sabo; 7. 14-Scott Beard
Heat 3 (7 laps, top 5 transfer to A-Main)
1. 17-Bob Dible; 2. 8-Steve Endicott; 3. O1-Art Ball; 4. 16-Steve Sabo; 5.
4X-Brian Sorg; 6. 19-Jeremy Lazano; 7. 62-Dave Severs
A-main (20 laps) Starting Position [#]
1. 17-Bob Dible[9]; 2. 8-Steve Endicott[4]; 3. 39-Dwight Waltermier[11]; 4.
5JR-Jim McGrath Jr.[5]; 5. 88-Dave Brewer[12]; 6. 20-Andy Maynard[10]; 7.
5-Jim McGrath[6]; 8. 2R-Ron Kepling[14]; 9. 4X-Brian Sorg[15]; 10. 23M-Brad
Mitten[13]; 11. 6-Linda Sabo[17]; 12. 91-Rick Potts[16]; 13. 19-Jeremy
Lazano[18]; 14. O1-Art Ball[7]; 15. 8K-Kent Brewer[8]; 16. 16-Steve Sabo[2];
17. 18W-Cory Ward[3]; 18. 14-Scott Beard[20]
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