(Photo: Ryan Smith in victory lane during Jim Ford Classic finale at Fremont Speedway – DB3 Imaging Photo Credit)
Ryan Smith Takes Jim Ford Classic worth $10,000
First Career Fremont Speedway Victory for PA Native
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer – All Star Circuit of Champions
altmeyer119@gmail.com / 724-954-4915
Fremont, Ohio (September 19, 2015) – Kunkletown, Pennsylvania’s Ryan Smith officially etched himself into Fremont Speedway history on Saturday night, September 19, winning the 8th annual Jim Ford Classic finale worth $10,000. Smith, a former member of the notorious “Pennsylvania Posse” who hit the road with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions in 2015, took advantage of his pole position on Saturday night; leading all but two circuits of the 50-lap main event to secure his third UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions victory of 2015. It was a career-first Fremont Speedway win for the “Kunkletown Kid,” holding off Christopher Bell and Cody Darrah at the checkers.
“I love racing in Ohio” said Ryan Smith, “There are a lot of great fans out here and a lot of great people to race with. We started on the pole so it was my race to lose. The car could really work anywhere tonight, but I chose to race on the bottom. We had a few challenges for the lead and actually lost it for a few laps, so I’m just happy I was able to get it back. I owe it all to these guys that help me. They work hard and it shows.”
After a caution on the initial start involving Cap Henry and Brian Smith, the Jim Ford Classic main event would officially get underway with pole-sitter Ryan Smith taking the early advantage. The “Kunkletown Kid” kept control for the first 16 circuits, chased by fellow Pennsylvania native Cody Darrah. Caution flags waved on lap 17 for a slowing Dale Blaney, erasing Smith’s advantage over Darrah and Sheldon Haudenschild.
Green flag conditions returned allowing Smith to retain his position at the front of the field. By the halfway point, Christopher Bell, driving the Wes Mintz owned, Real Geese Decoys, #09, had made his way into the runner-up position; working around Sheldon Haudenschild just after the lap-17 restart and eventually overtaking second from Cody Darrah on lap 24. Ryan Smith remained on point, keeping command over Bell and Darrah until caution flags reappeared on lap 30 for Cap Henry.
Christopher Bell made a bid for the top spot and succeeded just after the lap 30 caution/fuel stop, officially leading laps 31 and 32 before Smith regained command on lap 33. Bell’s advantage for two laps was the last time Ryan Smith would have to chase any competitor during the Jim Ford Classic main event. Smith, pilot of the familiar Warko Group, HP Engines, #94, survived two more cautions and periods of traffic to secure him in Fremont Speedway victory lane, collecting $10,000 in the process and one more victory against top-notch UNOH All Star and northwestern Ohio competition. Ryan Smith has UNOH All Star victories at Attica Raceway Park (2015 season opener), Mercer Raceway Park and now Fremont Speedway.
Christopher Bell drove home second after starting on the outside of row two. Red Lion, Pennsylvania’s Cody Darrah rounded out the podium finishers on Saturday night after starting third on the 25-car grid. Hunter Racing’s Chad Kemenah crossed the line fourth in the running order, followed by Sheldon Haudenschild. Tim Shaffer was the evening’s “Hard Charger” after 50 laps of action, climbing from 24th to finish sixth.
“It took me a little while to get used to this car” said runner-up Christopher Bell, “We struggled some yesterday, but the more laps that I got, the more comfortable I became. This is frustrating for my guys though. They worked so hard this weekend. We got around Ryan (Smith) and tried to run through the middle and it didn’t really work out. If I could go back and do it again, I would have done things differently. I just want to thank Craig and Wes Mintz for the opportunity. They are a great group of guys.”
The last full weekend of UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions competition will ignite next Saturday evening, September 26, with a visit to the Atomic Speedway near Chillicothe, Ohio. The regional travelers last visited the Atomic highbanks back on Saturday, August 1, 2015. Hartford, Ohio’s Dale Blaney was the victor, winning the Open Wheel Championship worth $10,000.
The final full UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions weekend will continue on Sunday evening, September 27, at Findlay, Ohio’s Millstream Speedway. Cody Darrah is the most recent UNOH All Star winner at the newly reopened half-mile, earning the $5,000 top prize back on Sunday, July 5, 2015. The September 27 visit was originally scheduled for Sunday, May 31, but was claimed by wet weather.
The 2015 UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions season will conclude on Saturday, October 10, at the historic Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. The series finale will headline a trio of open wheel divisions at “The Big E.” UNOH All Star competitors will share the Eldora stage with the NRA “360” Sprint Invaders and the BOSS non-wing sprint cars.
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Contingency Awards/Results – Fremont Speedway – Saturday, September 19, 2015
Entrants: 35
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Cole Duncan – 12.627
Kistler Racing Products Heat #1: Ryan Smith
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Chad Kemenah
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Cody Darrah
Kistler Engines Heat #4: Bryan Sebetto
JE Pistons Dash: Ryan Smith
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Ryan Smith
MSD A-Main 3rd Place Finisher: Cody Darrah
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: DJ Foos
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Tanner Thorson
Qualifying
1.22-Cole Duncan, 12.627; 2.93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.699; 3.33M-Caleb Griffith, 12.702; 4.89-Cody Darrah, 12.732; 5.57X-Andrew Palker, 12.760; 6.O9-Christopher Bell, 12.770; 7.10H-Chad Kemenah, 12.805; 8.94-Ryan Smith, 12.809; 9.1st-Gary Taylor, 12.815; 10.53-Cap Henry, 12.855; 11.5-Byron Reed, 12.889; 12.19-Chris Andrews, 12.912; 13.1-Dale Blaney, 12.926; 14.7C-Caleb Armstrong, 12.991; 15.81-Lee Jacobs, 13.013; 16.5T-Travis Philo, 13.021; 17.9x-Rob Chaney, 13.027; 18.5K-Adam Kekich, 13.061; 19.8-DJ Foos, 13.090; 20.59-Danny Holtgraver, 13.104; 21.97-Dean Jacobs, 13.105; 22.8M-TJ Michael, 13.134; 23.4-Danny Smith, 13.149; 24.9-Jordan Ryan, 13.167; 25.73-Bryan Sebetto, 13.194; 26.2+-Brian Smith, 13.207; 27.49-Tanner Thorson, 13.211; 28.W20-Greg Wilson, 13.220; 29.45-Tim Shaffer, 13.226; 30.40DD-Nate Dussel, 13.284; 31.16-Stuart Brubaker, 13.292; 32.38K-Brad Haudenschild, 13.318; 33.55-Tyler Gunn, 13.326; 34.3J-Trey Jacobs, 13.486; 35.7-Joe Swanson, 13.932;
Heat 1, Group A – (10 Laps)
1. 94-Ryan Smith[1] ; 2. 57X-Andrew Palker[2] ; 3. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 4. 5-Byron Reed[5] ; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs[7] ; 6. 5K-Adam Kekich[9] ; 7. 33M-Caleb Griffith[3] ; 8. 5T-Travis Philo[8] ; 9. 19-Chris Andrews[6]
Heat 2, Group B – (10 Laps)
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah[2] ; 2. 22-Cole Duncan[4] ; 3. 1st-Gary Taylor[1] ; 4. O9-Christopher Bell[3] ; 5. 53-Cap Henry[5] ; 6. 59-Danny Holtgraver[6] ; 7. 16-Stuart Brubaker[8] ; 8. 9-Jordan Ryan[7] ; 9. 7-Joe Swanson[9]
Heat 3, Group C – (10 Laps)
1. 89-Cody Darrah[4] ; 2. 8-DJ Foos[2] ; 3. 4-Danny Smith[5] ; 4. 8M-TJ Michael[1] ; 5. 2+-Brian Smith[6] ; 6. W20-Greg Wilson[7] ; 7. 55-Tyler Gunn[9] ; 8. 40DD-Nate Dussel[8] ; 9. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[3]
Heat 4, Group D – (10 Laps)
1. 73-Bryan Sebetto[1] ; 2. 97-Dean Jacobs[2] ; 3. 9x-Rob Chaney[3] ; 4. 1-Dale Blaney[4] ; 5. 49-Tanner Thorson[5] ; 6. 45-Tim Shaffer[6] ; 7. 3J-Trey Jacobs[8] ; 8. 38K-Brad Haudenschild[7]
Dash 1 – (8 Laps)
1. 94-Ryan Smith[1] ; 2. 8-DJ Foos[3] ; 3. 89-Cody Darrah[4] ; 4. O9-Christopher Bell[8] ; 5. 57X-Andrew Palker[2] ; 6. 10H-Chad Kemenah[5] ; 7. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[9] ; 8. 22-Cole Duncan[6] ; 9. 97-Dean Jacobs[7] ; 10. 73-Bryan Sebetto[10]
B-Main 1 – (12 Laps)
1. 19-Chris Andrews[2] ; 2. 59-Danny Holtgraver[5] ; 3. 33M-Caleb Griffith[1] ; 4. 45-Tim Shaffer[8] ; 5. 40DD-Nate Dussel[9] ; 6. 5T-Travis Philo[3] ; 7. W20-Greg Wilson[7] ; 8. 3J-Trey Jacobs[13] ; 9. 5K-Adam Kekich[4] ; 10. 9-Jordan Ryan[6] ; 11. 55-Tyler Gunn[12] ; 12. 7-Joe Swanson[14] ; 13. 16-Stuart Brubaker[10] ; 14. 38K-Brad Haudenschild[11] ; 15. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[15]
A-Main 1 – (50 Laps)
1. 94-Ryan Smith[1] ; 2. O9-Christopher Bell[4] ; 3. 89-Cody Darrah[3] ; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah[6] ; 5. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[7] ; 6. 45-Tim Shaffer[24] ; 7. 22-Cole Duncan[8] ; 8. 5-Byron Reed[14] ; 9. W20-Greg Wilson[25] ; 10. 8-DJ Foos[2] ; 11. 81-Lee Jacobs[17] ; 12. 59-Danny Holtgraver[22] ; 13. 4-Danny Smith[12] ; 14. 1-Dale Blaney[16] ; 15. 1st-Gary Taylor[11] ; 16. 49-Tanner Thorson[20] ; 17. 53-Cap Henry[18] ; 18. 97-Dean Jacobs[9] ; 19. 19-Chris Andrews[21] ; 20. 8M-TJ Michael[15] ; 21. 73-Bryan Sebetto[10] ; 22. 9x-Rob Chaney[13] ; 23. 33M-Caleb Griffith[23] ; 24. 57X-Andrew Palker[5] ; 25. 2+-Brian Smith[19]
Those seeking additional information regarding the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions should visit the official online home of the UNOH All Stars at www.allstarsprint.com. Series updates and breaking news will be posted regularly on the official Twitter account of the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions: https://twitter.com/ASCoC. Find full text results from each and every UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions event here: www.allstarsprint.com/schedule/.
About the All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first ‘outlaw’ Sprint Car organization of the modern era. After a 10 year stint as owner of the All Stars, Miller passed control of the series to Bert Emick in 1980; a reign that would continue through 2002. Guy Webb then purchased the series from Emick in the summer of 2002 and served as the series President for the next 12 years. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015. The 2015 schedule includes 54 events in Ohio (29), Pennsylvania (14), Florida (5), Michigan (3), Indiana (1), New York (1) and Wisconsin (1).