Fan Notes from Wayne County $13,000 Pete Jacobs Memorial

(Tom Myers) Orrville, Ohio 9-6-2020 - The Attica Ambush finale on Saturday was a really entertaining race and still on my mind as we pulled up to Wayne County Speedway for the 2020 edition of the Pete Jacobs Memorial. Could we see another good one on Sunday at Orrville? I was hoping so, and with a big payout for the winner and a good field of cars on hand, the odds were that we were gonna see another good show.

We arrived at 3:30…just after the gates opened…and the place was filling up already! A huge crowd filtered in as the afternoon wore on. So the 11n rigs pulls in and right behind is another open trailer with another 11n car on it. In addition to D.J. Netto, the Linder brothers have Buddy Kofoid driving a second car tonight. Sweet! Rico is here. REEEECCOOOOOO! Others on hand were Cole Duncan, Tim Shaffer, Cap Henry, Jac Haudenschild, Cole Macedo, Chad Kemenah, Jack Sodeman Jr., Lee Jacobs, Dean Jacobs, Trey Jacobs, R.J. Jacobs, Cale Conley, Broc Martin, Stewart Brubaker, Ricky Peterson, Jordan Ryan, Danny Mumaw, Chris Myers and Henry Malcuit among a few others. Thirty cars in all….if my count was correct. I expected more cars but a race in Michigan and another at Atomic pulled some cars away from here.

The weather was partly cloudy and cool, with occasional sunshine and not much of a breeze. The track was tacky and it stayed that way all evening. As a matter of fact, the track widened out nicely, as cars raced around the bottom, through the middle and up around the fence, and there was no dust. We got a little dirt during the feature, not much actually, and you could see the action with no problem.

DJ Netto After the Super Stocks, Late Models and Modifieds time trialed, the sprint hot laps and qualifying were up next. Tim Shaffer turned the fastest time trial lap of 14.650 and I think he won $250 for the effort. Netto got 1 lap completed during time trials and then ran into the turn 4 fence on his 2nd lap. Chad Kemenah didn’t time because of a sputtering motor and neither did Jordan Ryan, for the same reason.

There would be 4 heats, each heat was 8 laps, and the top 5 would make the feature, the others going to the B main. The first heat started around 7:00pm and that was pretty good, considering all the cars in the pits. Pole sitter Stuart Brubaker ran away for the win. Brubaker showed some speed and that was impressive because he usually struggles here. The straights are long at Wayne County and the turns are tight and this track seems to favor more horsepower and aggressive driving. Tim Shaffer finished second after holding off Jac Haudenschild. Jac was third followed by Abreu and D.J. Netto. Jordan Ryan, who started last in this heat, flipped in turn 2 on lap 3 and he was okay, but done for the night. I guess there was $100 prize for winning your heat and also a trophy. Every driver who won their heat race stopped on the front stretch to get the trophy…and then went into the crowd and gave it away to a fan or a kid. Lee Jacobs wins heat 2 from the pole. There was no passing in this heat as everyone finished where they started! The finish was Lee Jacobs, Peterson, R.J. Jacobs, Duncan and T.J. Michael.

RJ Jacobs In the 3rd heat, Cap Henry grabs the lead on the first heat with a nifty slide job on Dean Jacobs to go on and take the win. Conley executes a slide job on Jacobs on the last lap to grab the 2nd spot while Jacobs finishes third followed by Martin and Malcuit. In the 4th heat, Tyler Street wins it. Tyler has a nice run and is a surprise winner in my book. I won’t be surprised the next time he races like that, now we know what he can do. Cole Macedo breaks with a lap to go. I think hje was in 4th at the time, not sure. That causes the finish to be Street, Trey Jacobs, Kofoid, Sodeman Jr. and Zimmerman. Kemenah was to start last but still has engine woes.

After the heats, there was a B main and a dash, to determine the final feature lineup. Half way through the B main, the cars were called back to the pits and were told they would all be starting at the back of the feature. I think there were 6 cars and this was cool because every starter in the A main was to get $400. Nice gesture.

Then there was the dash, consisting of the top 2 timers and top 2 heat finishers I think. 6 laps and 10 cars to determine the staring order for the feature. The finish was Lee Jacobs, Tyler Street, Tim Shaffer, Stuart Brubaker, Cap Henry, Jac Haudenschild, Ricky Peterson, Cole Duncan, Trey Jacobs, and Cale Conley. Jac started in the back and passed his way up to 6th and then was mixing it up with Henry.

Cap Henry won the $13,000 Pete Jacobs Memorial at Wayne County Speedway Sunday The feature got under way around 9:00 pm and the track was still really smooth and tacky, yet you could pass on it and throw slide jobs. Pole Starter Lee Jacobs grabs the lead and holds it for the first 8 laps as Henry, who aggressively grabbed the 2nd spot on the first lap followed the leader. Front row starter Street faded as Shaffer passed him for 3rd on lap 3 and Haudenschild was next, coming up to 4th as Street continued to fall back. On lap 6 Trey Jacobs flipped it in turn 2 but he was okay. On the restart, Lee Jacobs kept the lead but was heavily pressured by Henry who executed a slide job or two and passed Lee on lap 9 for the lead. Haudenschild then gets by Shaffer and then Jacobs and sets sail after Henry. Shaffer passes Jacobs and that was as far forward as he would get. There was a caution on lap 17 for Buddy Kofoid, who came to a stop facing the pit entrance in turn 4 and for Zimmerman who was stopped in turn 2. Kofoid returned at the tail when the race resumed. On the restart, Jac tried sliding Henry in turns 1 and 2 but Henry would come back by down the back straight. This happened for a couple opf laps, thrilling the crowd but then Henry started to pull away. Henry wins it as Haudenschild comes up short. Cale Conley came on late to get past Shaffer for third with a few laps to go but then Shaffer roared right back by to keep his third spot. Conley finishes 4th followed by Duncan, Lee Jacobs, Dean Jacobs, Street, Martin, and R.J. Jacobs in 10th.

That was a great race and lots of fun…. and we were leaving at 10:00pm. Thank you Wayne County Speedway and thank you Pete Jacobs, for building this track. Thank you to all the drivers who came out to race. Rumor has it that next year’s race will pay $15,000 to win. Hopefully we will see you next year at the Pete Jacobs Memorial at Wayne County Speedway.