Fan Notes from Attica Spring Nationals, Night 2!

Brandon Spithaler (22) and TJ Michael (8m) in staging at Attica (Tom Myers) Attica, Ohio  4-15-2017 – The second night of the Attica Spring Nationals featured the All Star Circuit of Champions 410 sprint cars. I was looking forward to this race because it would be my first look at the All Star followers for the 2017 season. In addition to the All Star guys, I anticipated the 37 or so racers from the night before and that would mean close to 50 cars would be on hand!

I called my nephew William and he was more than eager to come along for the 1 hour trip west. When I picked him up, he had a brand new Sheldon Haudenschild t-shirt on. I didn’t remember him buying it at the races last year, so I asked him where he got it? He said he went to Wayne County Speedway and bought it and then he commented that he had another one that was just as cool….in the house.  “So you went to the races without me?”  I said in an accusatory tone. “Yep, you are a loser” he replied with an ornery grin and then, right then, I knew I was in for an adventure.

Having navigated the State of Ohio’s Route 224 detour the day before, I had confidence that this trip would be quicker. Never, ever, follow the Ohio detour signs. If you do, you could find yourself 20 miles out of the way. Route 224 is closed just east of the center of Sullivan and I discovered the day before, that you could take county road 391 north and then go west on county road 150. That runs into 58 and when you head south on that you run back into 224. That takes about 5 minutes. Were there any detour signs at this county road, pointing the way to a quick and easy route around the closed road? No.  So, when we were approaching county road 391, it was no wonder that we happened upon a sprint car hauler that had just turned off at the roadblock. Sometimes the GPS won’t show you these small roads and can be just as bad as following the detour signs. They seemed confused so we told them to follow us and they were glad for the help. And we did our part to increase the car count. 

Attica Pushers When we got to the track, and after we got pit passes, my nephew headed straight for the Haudenschild t-shirt trailer as I went to find a seat. When he came to where I was in the stands, he showed me a smart phone cover that had a picture of Sheldon’s sprint car on it. He purchased some other items too and he concealed them in the bag we had our sweatshirts in. I wonder what else he got? 

We then went to the pits. Of the cars that were new in attendance on Saturday, Ryan Smith’s car caught my eye immediately, what a neat paint scheme. We then saw Ryan Linder, Tyler Esh, Brian Nuckles and Brandon Spithaler. Spithaler’s car looked brand new. Then we saw Jordan and Hunter Mackison, Tracy Hines, T.J. Michaels, John Garvin, Shawn Dancer, Caleb Helms, Jac Haudenschild, Caleb Armstrong, Chad Kemenah, Brandon and Brent Matus,  Max Stambaugh, Roger Campbell, Ryan Broughton, and Bradley Howard.  There were 47 winged 410 sprinters on hand, a nice field in size and quality. 

The track was in good shape again, with plenty of moisture. However, the temperature was about 10 degrees warmer than Friday and that, combined with a persistent wind, would work to dry the track out quickly.  The wind was so strong that during hot laps, cars were being pushed off the track at the turn 2 exit….and one car almost tipped over because of it. The wind persisted all evening long and it played a big part influencing the heat race and feature results. 

Tyler Esh had the quick time of the night and Chad Kemenah was second quick. This was Tyler’s first time at Attica so he did a great job. In addition to setting quick time, Tyler also put on a nice wheelie show. On one of his laps, he pulled a wheelie almost the full length of the backstretch….and that roused the crowd. 

Cole Duncan After time trials, the track was re-worked because it was drying and had developed a large shelf along the top of turns 3 and 4. The track crew at Attica always does a great job and they work fast too. The track was ready for the All Star heats pretty quickly. There would be 4 heats, each one had 12 cars and the top 5 finishers would lock into the feature with the top 2 finishers qualifying for the dash. The heat 1 finish was Dancer, Lay, Haudenschild, Stuart Brubaker and Duane Zablocki. It was evident that you had to make your move quickly because if you got behind a few cars, you wouldn’t catch them because the track was tacky again. And don’t get blown off the turn 2 exit and lose 2-3 spots! Some guys had things in hand and then got off the track and that was that. The heat 2 finish was Spencer Bayston, Kemenah, Carson Macedo, Cole Duncan and Broughton. The 3rd heat finish was Jordan Ryan, Tim Shaffer, previous night’s winner D.J. Foos, Dale Blaney and Byron Reed. Heat 4 got us Chris Andrews, Spithaler, Philo, Armstrong and Thomas Meserall. Some good racers missed the transfer spot, including Ryan Smith, Lee and Dean Jacobs, T.J. Michaels, Tyler Esh, Caleb Helms, and Max Stambaugh. 

After the All Star heat races, the 305 sprints were getting ready to push out.  I looked to my left to see what my nephew was doing and he was having a roaring conversation with a guy sitting next to him and at the same time with a young man and his lady friend in the top row behind us. Now, you have to understand that William is a talker….He loves to talk and if you talk with him just a little, he will talk to you a lot! So I ask what all the conversation is about? Evidently, the fellow sitting next to William was from Orrville but now lives in Toledo….so he knew all about Barberton Chicken and William knows his chicken so they were having a conversation about the sweet and sour rice at Milich’s Chicken House and how Whitehouse Chicken was better, etc. etc. Then, all of a sudden, the man sitting next to William says, hey William, have you ever been in a push truck at the racetrack? Would you like to ride in one? William of course says yes, and off the two went heading for the pits. Next thing you see is William hanging out the window of one of the push trucks, waving madly with both arms at the crowd, as he speeds down the front stretch in a push truck….pushing off a sprint car.

I just laughed and laughed. So after pushing off 3 sprinters, I went to the pits to retrieve him. This fellow who hooked William up is a good friend of the Jacobs family evidently and he also knows one of the push truck drivers. He told me his name and I think it was Kyle…..I am terrible remembering names. We talked for a long while and then went over to see Lee Jacobs and William proceeded to tell Lee that we would be at Wayne County the following Saturday. Lee is a school teacher and he said that he has a work commitment that may keep him from getting to the track on time next Saturday. While listening to Lee talk we all commented that the work situation really stinks for Lee…..and then I panicked because with the way things were going, I thought they might offer to put William in Lee’s car to qualify it for him next Saturday! Ha Ha. Anyway, that didn’t and wouldn’t happen obviously but I really was thrilled with the kindness this man and the push truck driver and Lee Jacobs showed towards my nephew. Very classy guys, thank you. William couldn’t stop talking about it on the way home. 

Spencer Bayston The All Stars had 2 dashes…..each with 5 cars. One dash determined the inside row starting order and the other determined the outside row starting order. In the first dash, Kemenah had a front row spot but went off the track at the 2nd turn, handing the spot to Cole Duncan. Macedo won the second dash. Both he and Bayston have looked strong both nights. 

The B main finish was Helms, Jacobs, Stambaugh and Michaels, the top 4 making the feature. Ryan Smith didn’t make it but used a provisional to start the feature. The feature would be 40 laps and that should give someone time to make it up from the back..if they are fast enough and there are enough cautions. 

On the opening lap, Haudenschild and Lee Jacobs have problems and both are done for the night. On the restart, Cole Duncan grabs the lead with Dancer in tow. Another caution on lap 2 as Spithaler stops. After the restart, Duncan leads dancer and Macedo. Dancer gets passed and then Macedo slide jobs Duncan on lap 7 to take the lead and Bayston slides Duncan for second. Dancer goes off the track in turn 3…. At the restart the order is Macedo, Bayston, Duncan, Shaffer and Kemenah. On lap 11, Blaney has worked his way up to 11th from 17th. Macedo stops on lap 14 handing the lead to Bayston. Shaffer is now 2nd with Duncan 3rd. Foos is now out of the race. Ryan Smith is up to 11th now..after starting dead last! Byron Reed is up to 6th from 21st. Bayston races away from the field as Duncan gets back by Shaffer. Ryan Jordan brings out a caution flag on lap 32. On the restart, Bayston gets away from Duncan who is followed by Shaffer and Kemanah and Philo and now Blaney. Smith is now up to 7th from dead last. Kemenah again goes off the track at the turn 2 exit and gives 4th to Blaney. And that is how they would finish…… Bayston, Duncan, Shaffer, Blaney and Kemenah.  Nice job Spencer Bayston, Only his 15th start ever in a winged sprint car! 

Wow, what a fun weekend it has been. Congrats to D.J Foos and Spencer Bayston.  Bayston and Macedo are the kings of mega slide jobs this weekend! Thank you All Stars and Attica Raceway Park and to all the nice people we met at the track this weekend including Orrville Kyle who lives in Toledo now and Kyle and Katie who were the nice young folks sitting behind us. See you at the next race!