By Brian Liskai
Image(Attica, OH) Though he had never before seen Attica Raceway Park, Mason Zeigler looked like a seasoned veteran Friday for the 32nd night of the UMP Late Model Summer Nationals Hell Tour. The Chalk Hill, Pennsylvania driver led all 40 non-stop laps to score his second straight Hell Tour victory worth $5,000 on Central Ohio Farmers/Summit Racing Equipment Night.
“I have to thank my crew (James Buckley and Darell Meyers) and my family and everyone who helps me. We’ve tried so hard. It’s taken us seven years to get to this point and we’re finally on the right path. Kevin Rumley and all the guys down there at Longhorn Chassis that have been helping me and getting me in line to be standing here. I praise those guys and thank the Lord every time before I go out on the race track,” said Zeigler beside his Commonwealth Marketing Group/Oldmill Farms/Ohiopyle Vacation Rentals/Insurance Services/Budweiser/Pro Power/Stone House Restaurant backed machine.
“Ever since we got into this car I feel like I can feel the changes I’m making. After last year I worked with Austin Hargrove a little bit and I really started to understand the cars. And at this point now I can actually relate to what the car’s feeling and I can talk to Kevin about it and I can make the car do what I feel it needs to do which may not be the same as Davenport or anyone else in these things but it seems to be working for us,” added Zeigler.
On June 13 Craig Mintz was involved in a multi-car crash in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 sprints feature. The Gibsonburg, Ohio driver had been having a fantastic season up to that point. The crash left him with injuries to his back and sidelined him until this Friday. And he came back with a vengeance, leading all 30 laps for the $3,000 payday.
It wasn’t easy for Mintz, a crash on the last lap set up a one-lap battle for the checkers. Christopher Bell executed a slide job in the final two corners on the restart but Mintz turned back under and drove to his third win of the year at Attica. It was his 12th career victory at Attica and moves him to 10th on the track’s all-time win list.
It was also a Kistler Racing Products FAST (Fremont Attica Sprint Title) Championship Series points event. And when point leader Chris Andrews was involved in a late race crash, the chase to the Kistler Cup will tighten up.
“I had a lot of naysayers saying it’s just a small injury and stuff like that. This proves we can run here with anybody and for them naysayers…we’re on the horse track,” said Mintz beside his Damschroder Roofing/Real Geese Decoys/Dave Story Equipment Repair/Gf1 Chassis/Kistler Engines/KS Sales and Service/Design Graphics Group backed #09.
“He (Bell) is one of the best in the country in anything he gets into. I knew he was coming and he surprised me…if that’s not dirt track excitement I don’t know what is,” added Mintz.
In the Summit Racing Equipment UMP Modified Hell Tour feature, it looked like it would come down to Jeff Babcock and Taylor Cook. But, when the two – who had been battling since the drop of the green – made contact with two laps to go and were sent to the tail, Dave Baker was there to take advantage. The Grand Rapids, Michigan driver would hold off Brad Wilson the final two circuits for his first Attica win.
“We got lucky but hey, we’ll take it,” said Baker beside his Borma-Hamm Insurance/Xtreme Performance Parts/Varney’s Automotive/RAS Automation backed #15B.
Duane Chamberlain and Zeigler would bring the field of 22 to the green for their 40-lap feature. Zeigler served notice early he was the car to beat as he pulled away from Chamberlain, Dan Stone, Brian Shirley and Devin Moran. While Zeigler stretched his lead and Chamberlain ran comfortably in second, the battle for third was phenomenal between Stone, Shirley, Jason Riggs, Moran and Rusty Schlenk.
Zeigler would catch the back of the pack on lap 12 with Chamberlain holding off Shirley and Stone. Action would heat up on lap 15 as Moran drove from fourth to second in one corner with Stone taking third two laps later. At the half-way point Zeigler was picking his way through traffic with Moran closing somewhat while Shirley, Chamberlain and Stone waging a battle for third.
Zeigler, just 21 years old, worked his way through traffic like a seasoned veteran and began pulling away again from Moran with Shirley, Stone, Riggs, Doug Drown, Chamberlain and a closing Ryan Unzicker.
Zeigler would go unchallenged the remaining way, but the battle from second through eighth was entertaining to say the least.
When the checker fell, Zeigler had a 3.6 second lead with Moran, Shirley, Stone and Riggs rounding out the top five. Unzicker would come home sixth followed by 19th place starter Shannon Babb, Drown, Brandon Sheppard and Chamberlain completing the top 10.
Mintz and Sheldon Haudenschild would lead the field of 20 to the green with Mintz gaining the advantage over Cap Henry, Haudenschild, Christopher Bell, Andrews, Caleb Armstrong and James McFadden. Haudenschild would drive back into second on lap two as Henry also stayed close. Andrews would move into fourth on lap six as Mintz pulled away from Haudenschild and Henry.
Mintz set a blistering pace, hitting lapped traffic by just the ninth lap as the traffic allowed Henry to catch Haudenschild. Henry drove into the runner-up spot on lap 10 as Andrews grabbed third. Henry and Andrews would tangle a lap later, as Andrews lost three positions.
The first caution flew on lap 13 for an Armstrong spin. The restart order was Mintz, Henry, Bell, Haudenschild, McFadden and Andrews. When the green flew Mintz pulled away from Henry and Bell as Andrews blasted back into fourth. With 10 laps to go Mintz was comfortably in the lead while Henry and Bell battled for second with Andrews trying to hold off McFadden for fourth with Caleb Griffith, Byron Reed, Dean Jacobs and Travis Philo in tow.
With seven laps to go again Mintz caught lapped traffic and that allowed Henry and Bell to close with Andrews, McFadden, Griffith, Philo and Jacobs giving chase. Bell would move into second on lap 26 with Henry now trying to hold off Andrews for third. It looked like Mintz was on cruise control when he took the white flag as Bell was several car lengths behind. But, Henry and Andrews would tangle once again in turn four with Andrews ending up on his lid with McFadden also involved. Henry was done while Andrews’ crew patched his machine together to restart.
When the green and white flew together, Mintz got through turns one and two well with Bell right on his bumper with Philo, Griffith, Reed and Jacobs in tow. Bell would dive under Mintz in turn three and slide up in front. But, Mintz turned back down and rocketed off the corner to take the win over Bell, Philo, Griffith and Jacobs.
In the 20-lap modified feature, Babcock and Cook brought the field to the green with Babcock having a slight advantage over Cook with Baker, Collin Thirlby and Mark Anderson in tow. Just as Babcock and Cook began racing side by side for the lead, the caution flew for a Dean Taylor spin with two laps recorded. On the ensuing green Cook, who won the Hell Tour race at Attica in 2012, would drive under Babcock for the lead with Baker, Thirlby, Anderson and Brad Wilson in pursuit.
The caution would fly again on lap six for Taylor and Cody Basinger. On the restart Dave Golembrewski would spin. When the green came back out Cook lead with Babcock searching the track for the faster lane with Baker, Thirlby, Anderson, Nathan Loney, Brad Wilson and Jason Kinney in tow. Wilson would blast into fifth on lap 11.
While Cook was glued to the bottom groove, Babock would find the top side to his liking and closed when the caution flew on lap 13 for another Golembrewski spin. On the restart Babcock charged to Cook’s outside as the pair raced side by side with Wilson, Thirlby, Anderson and Kinney giving chase. With two laps to go Babock tried to slide under Cook for the lead in turn one and contact was made with Cook spinning and Babcock continuing. UMP officials put both drivers on the tail and they would both go pit side.
That handed the lead to Baker with Wilson, Thirlby, Kinney, Anderson and Zachary Schroeder giving chase. Baker would hold off Wilson the final two laps for the win with Thirlby, Kinney and Anderson rounding out the top five.
Attica Raceway Park will be back in action on Friday, July 25 on Ohio Logistics Night with the 410 and 305 sprints, late models and dirt trucks in action. It is a FAST point night for both the 410 and 305 sprints.
For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com
Attica Raceway Park – 7/18/2014
Central Ohio Farmers – Summit Racing Equipment Night
O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints (28 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. O9-Craig Mintz, 12.568; 2. 16-Chris Andrews, 12.708; 3. 3G-James McFadden, 12.947; 4. 96AU-Bruce White, 13.725; 5. 8-Kevin Shelbo, 13.788; 6. 60-Jody Keegan, 13.801; 7. 97X-Rodney Hurst, 14.914; 8. 55F-Taylor Ferns, 12.789; 9. 63-Chad Kemenah, 13.040; 10. 53C-Christopher Bell, 13.072; 11. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.167; 12. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.222; 13. O7X-Dain Naida, 13.277; 14. 91-Cale Thomas, 13.355; 15. 45L-Brian Lay, 12.926; 16. 5T-Travis Philo, 12.959; 17. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 13.014; 18. 23-Jimmy Light, 13.110; 19. 40I-Mark Imler, 13.393; 20. 9-Dean Jacobs, 13.419; 21. 25AU-Jack Lee, 13.983; 22. 40-Caleb Helms, 12.858; 23. 40DD-Caleb Griffith, 12.921; 24. 53-Cap Henry, 13.074; 25. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.129; 26. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 13.242; 27. 1-Chad Blonde, 13.317; 28. 46AU-Stuart Williams, 13.932
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. O9-Craig Mintz[4] ; 2. 16-Chris Andrews[3] ; 3. 3G-James McFadden[2] ; 4. 60-Jody Keegan[6] ; 5. 96AU-Bruce White[1] ; 6. 8-Kevin Shelbo[5] ; 7. 97X-Rodney Hurst[7]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[1] ; 2. 53C-Christopher Bell[2] ; 3. 55F-Taylor Ferns[4] ; 4. 63-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker[5] ; 6. 91-Cale Thomas[7] ; 7. O7X-Dain Naida[6]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[2] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[3] ; 3. 23-Jimmy Light[1] ; 4. 9-Dean Jacobs[6] ; 5. 45L-Brian Lay[4] ; 6. 25AU-Jack Lee[7] ; 7. 40I-Mark Imler[5]
Heat 4 – Bell Racing Products (8 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[3] ; 2. 53-Cap Henry[2] ; 3. 5R-Byron Reed[1] ; 4. 46AU-Stuart Williams[7] ; 5. 1-Chad Blonde[6] ; 6. 40-Caleb Helms[4] ; 7. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[5]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[2] ; 2. 45L-Brian Lay[3] ; 3. 91-Cale Thomas[6] ; 4. 1-Chad Blonde[4] ; 5. 40-Caleb Helms[8] ; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[12] ; 7. O7X-Dain Naida[10] ; 8. 25AU-Jack Lee[7] ; 9. 96AU-Bruce White[1] ; 10. 8-Kevin Shelbo[5] ; 11. 40I-Mark Imler[11] ; 12. 97X-Rodney Hurst[9]
A-Main – (30 Laps)
1. O9-Craig Mintz[1]; 2. 53C-Christopher Bell[5]; 3. 5T-Travis Philo[8]; 4. 40DD-Caleb Griffith[7]; 5. 9-Dean Jacobs[15]; 6. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[2]; 7. 5R-Byron Reed[12]; 8. 91-Cale Thomas[19]; 9. 63-Chad Kemenah[14]; 10. 23-Jimmy Light[11]; 11. 3G-James McFadden[9]; 12. 35-Stuart Brubaker[17]; 13. 55F-Taylor Ferns[10]; 14. 16-Chris Andrews[6]; 15. 1-Chad Blonde[20]; 16. 45L-Brian Lay[18]; 17. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[3]; 18. 46AU-Stuart Williams[16]; 19. 53-Cap Henry[4]; 20. 60-Jody Keegan[13]
Hard Charger: 91-Cale Thomas[+11]
Summer Nationals UMP DIRTcar Late Models (37 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 81-Brian Shirley, 14.465; 2. 99M-Devin Moran, 14.592; 3. 18-Shannon Babb, 14.634; 4. 21D-Dan Stone, 14.673; 5. 50Y-Ryan Missler, 14.715; 6. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 14.758; 7. 1B-Jeff Babcock, 14.873; 8. 51S-Devin Shiels, 15.005; 9. 5M-Ryan Markam, 15.076; 10. 29-Rocky Owens, 15.170; 11. 92-Cody Scott, 15.291; 12. 15B-Mike Bores, 15.301; 13. 81JR-Jason Riggs, 15.354; 14. 48B-John Bores, 15.408; 15. 15H-Jon Henry, 15.422; 16. 5J-Josh Haynes, 15.543; 17. 27H-Ken Hahn, 15.624; 18. 45-Nate Potts, 16.119; 19. 16-Steve Sabo, 17.040; 20. 20-Doug Drown, 14.489; 21. 20C-Duane Chamberlain, 14.649; 22. 25Z-Mason Zeigler, 14.700; 23. 21K-Larry Kingseed, 14.701; 24. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 14.728; 25. 11-Rusty Schlenk, 14.899; 26. 55-Jeep Van Wormer, 14.918; 27. 96-Tanner English, 14.932; 28. 51-Jamie Oldfield, 15.088; 29. 32J-Jason Jaggers, 15.341; 30. OO-Chris Keller, 15.361; 31. 77K-Steve Kester, 15.372; 32. 34-Herb Reich, 15.709; 33. 25L-Steve Lance Jr, 15.752; 34. O3-Jim Gingery, 15.877; 35. 42*-Bob Mayer, 15.922; 36. 69R-Doug Baird, 16.998; 37. 36-Matt Irey, 99.000
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 81-Brian Shirley[1] ; 2. 81JR-Jason Riggs[7] ; 3. 50Y-Ryan Missler[3] ; 4. 1B-Jeff Babcock[4] ; 5. 92-Cody Scott[6] ; 6. 15H-Jon Henry[8] ; 7. 27H-Ken Hahn[9] ; 8. 16-Steve Sabo[10] ; 9. 18-Shannon Babb[2] ; 10. 5M-Ryan Markam[5]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 21D-Dan Stone[2] ; 2. 99M-Devin Moran[1] ; 3. 24-Ryan Unzicker[3] ; 4. 51S-Devin Shiels[4] ; 5. 29-Rocky Owens[5] ; 6. 15B-Mike Bores[6] ; 7. 48B-John Bores[7] ; 8. 45-Nate Potts[9] ; 9. 5J-Josh Haynes[8]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2] ; 2. 20-Doug Drown[1] ; 3. 55-Jeep Van Wormer[4] ; 4. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3] ; 5. OO-Chris Keller[6] ; 6. 51-Jamie Oldfield[5] ; 7. 34-Herb Reich[7] ; 8. O3-Jim Gingery[8] ; 9. 69R-Doug Baird[9]
Heat 4 – Bell Racing Products (10 Laps – Top 4 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[1] ; 2. 11-Rusty Schlenk[3] ; 3. 96-Tanner English[4] ; 4. 21K-Larry Kingseed[2] ; 5. 32J-Jason Jaggers[5] ; 6. 36-Matt Irey[9] ; 7. 77K-Steve Kester[6] ; 8. 42*-Bob Mayer[8] ; 9. 25L-Steve Lance Jr[7]
C-Main – Computer Man Inc. (10 Laps – Top 3 finishers transfer to the B-feature)
1. 42*-Bob Mayer[4] ; 2. 5J-Josh Haynes[6] ; 3. O3-Jim Gingery[3] ; 4. 16-Steve Sabo[1] ; 5. 25L-Steve Lance Jr[8] ; 6. 69R-Doug Baird[7] ; 7. 5M-Ryan Markam[9] ; 8. 18-Shannon Babb[5]
B-Main – Computer Man Inc. (12 Laps – Top 2 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 32J-Jason Jaggers[4] ; 2. 29-Rocky Owens[2] ; 3. 36-Matt Irey[8] ; 4. 15B-Mike Bores[6] ; 5. 51-Jamie Oldfield[7] ; 6. 92-Cody Scott[1] ; 7. 27H-Ken Hahn[9] ; 8. 77K-Steve Kester[12] ; 9. OO-Chris Keller[3] ; 10. 48B-John Bores[10] ; 11. 15H-Jon Henry[5] ; 12. 5J-Josh Haynes[14] ; 13. O3-Jim Gingery[15] ; 14. 34-Herb Reich[11] ; 15. 42*-Bob Mayer[13]
A-Main – (40 Laps)
1. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 2. 99M-Devin Moran[6]; 3. 81-Brian Shirley[3]; 4. 21D-Dan Stone[4]; 5. 81JR-Jason Riggs[5]; 6. 24-Ryan Unzicker[10]; 7. 18-Shannon Babb[19]; 8. 20-Doug Drown[7]; 9. B5-Brandon Sheppard[15]; 10. 20C-Duane Chamberlain[1]; 11. 11-Rusty Schlenk[8]; 12. 96-Tanner English[12]; 13. 1B-Jeff Babcock[13]; 14. 29-Rocky Owens[18]; 15. 21K-Larry Kingseed[16]; 16. 25L-Steve Lance Jr[22]; 17. 32J-Jason Jaggers[17]; 18. 5M-Ryan Markam[21]; 19. 51S-Devin Shiels[14]; 20. 55-Jeep Van Wormer[11]; 21. 50Y-Ryan Missler[9]; 22. 77K-Steve Kester[20]
Hard Charger: 18-Shannon Babb[+12]
Summit Racing Equipment UMP DIRTcar Modified Nationals (22 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position
Qualifying – Kistler Engines
1. 21-Taylor Cook, 16.176; 2. 7B-Jeff Babcock, 16.468; 3. 43-Mark Anderson, 16.611; 4. 47C-Collin Thirlby, 16.721; 5. 21W-Brad Wilson, 16.920; 6. 55S-Zachary Schroeder, 16.990; 7. 11JS-Josh Scott, 17.122; 8. 18-Ryan Sutter, 17.176; 9. 15B-Dave Baker, 17.196; 10. 10L-Nathan Loney, 17.198; 11. 8C-Corey Bevard, 17.268; 12. 20K-Bill Keeler, 17.371; 13. 31J-Ray Jackson, 17.511; 14. K9-Scott Gerdeman, 17.514; 15. 15G-Jacob Gamber, 18.075; 16. 6-Dave Golembrewski, 18.280; 17. 5-Dean Taylor, 18.331; 18. 4-Jason Kinney, 18.393; 19. 53-Brad Johnson, 18.520; 20. 66W-Jack Waldfogel, 19.086; 21. 73B-Cody Basinger, 19.338; 22. 55H-Jeremy Hoenie, 20.670
Heat 1 – Nitro Black Performance by Engine Pro (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 7B-Jeff Babcock[2] ; 2. 21-Taylor Cook[1] ; 3. 18-Ryan Sutter[3] ; 4. 4-Jason Kinney[6] ; 5. K9-Scott Gerdeman[4] ; 6. 5-Dean Taylor[5] ; 7. 66W-Jack Waldfogel[7]
Heat 2 – Summit Racing Equipment (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 15B-Dave Baker[3] ; 2. 55S-Zachary Schroeder[2] ; 3. 21W-Brad Wilson[1] ; 4. 20K-Bill Keeler[4] ; 5. 31J-Ray Jackson[5] ; 6. 15G-Jacob Gamber[6] ; 7. 53-Brad Johnson[7]
Heat 3 – Ultra Shield Race Products (8 Laps – Top 8 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 47C-Collin Thirlby[2] ; 2. 43-Mark Anderson[1] ; 3. 10L-Nathan Loney[4] ; 4. 8C-Corey Bevard[5] ; 5. 11JS-Josh Scott[3] ; 6. 6-Dave Golembrewski[6] ; 7. 73B-Cody Basinger[7]
A-Main – (20 Laps)
1. 15B-Dave Baker[2]; 2. 21W-Brad Wilson[8]; 3. 47C-Collin Thirlby[3]; 4. 4-Jason Kinney[10]; 5. 43-Mark Anderson[6]; 6. 55S-Zachary Schroeder[5]; 7. 10L-Nathan Loney[9]; 8. 11JS-Josh Scott[15]; 9. 31J-Ray Jackson[14]; 10. 20K-Bill Keeler[11]; 11. 8C-Corey Bevard[12]; 12. 15G-Jacob Gamber[17]; 13. 66W-Jack Waldfogel[19]; 14. 21-Taylor Cook[4]; 15. 7B-Jeff Babcock[1]; 16. K9-Scott Gerdeman[13]; 17. 73B-Cody Basinger[21]; 18. 6-Dave Golembrewski[18]; 19. 53-Brad Johnson[20]; 20. 5-Dean Taylor[16]; 21. 18-Ryan Sutter[7]
Hard Charger: 11JS-Josh Scott[+7]