Fan Notes from Night #4 of Ohio Speedweek at Wayne County

Tayler Malsam (Tom Myers) 6-20-2016  The 4th race on the All Star Sprint Ohio Speed week schedule for 2016 was held at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio. I feel very fortunate to have a track that hosts 410 sprint car races so near to where I live, taking only 20 minutes to get to the track from my house or from work. It's also very cool that the track facilities, as well as the surface, are being improved upon all of the time. And to top it off, the All Stars have a $10,000 to win show scheduled here later this summer!  

When I arrived at the track at 5:30, there were hardly any parking spots left. The lot was full of cars and campers so I paid $5.00 to park across the street. That afforded me a quick exit onto the road....without having to wait in the traffic jam that always ensues after the races. Earlier in the day, I called a racing buddy that I met at the track and asked if he could save us a seat and I was sure glad he did because there was a very large crowd. Thank you Adam!  

When I got seated, I noticed that the breeze was at my back and that meant the dust wouldn't blow into the stands. I also noticed that the track had been generously watered. As a result, the track stayed tacky all evening and not one speck of dust hit my face. No dust, period. 

Brandon Wimmer was subbing for Brad Haudenschild The current sprint car track champion here, Brad Haudenschild, has recently been stricken with an unknown illness and unfortunately, the doctors are still doing tests to determine what the problem is. So the track and other racers have been raising funds to help with Brad's bills. There were raffles, drawings, donations, t-shirts for sale, etc., all on Brad's behalf. All the cars had a red cross sticker on them with Brad's name and car #38 printed on the sticker. Please pray for Brad's return to health and racing. 

There were 48 cars on hand to do battle, including Brandon Wimmer, who was subbing for Brad Haudenschild, driving Brad's yellow #38 ride. Jamie Veal, driving the Indy Parts #71 car, broke an axle in hot laps and took a tumble in turn 3 as his left rear tire followed along...detached from the car. He would return to finish the program.  Sheldon timed quickest with former track champion Andrew Paulker timing second quick overall. After time trials it was determined that some track work was needed, to fix a bump at the entrance of turn 3. After working the dirt, the track was in pretty darn good shape, probably as nice as I've seen here in a long time. There was grip in the turns, low, middle, and high and the track kept it's moisture all evening. Quite a contrast to the dry, dust bowls we usually have in Ohio.

Josh Baughman Heat 1 finish was Kahne, Macedo, Holtgraver, Clausen and Paulker. Heat 2 finish was Jac, Larson, Sheldon, Kemenah and Reed. Heat 3 finish was Abreu, Lee Jacobs, Veal, Dean Jacobs and Blaney. Heat 4 finish was Harding, Scelzi, Kinser, Thomas and Price-Miller. The racing was pretty good, with the fastest guys winding it up around the top and braving the cushion. There was grip all over but the momentum favored the rim riders. You still had to be careful because the tacky track and the cushion would catch a right rear every so often and upset the car quite a bit. 

In the C main, your top two were Mumaw and Ryan, both transferring to the B main. During the break between the end of the C main and start of the B main, folks were making a mad dash to the concession stand. I decided that I would go get something as well. When I got in the long line, I realized that it wasn't moving...even though there were hot dogs and fries sitting there. I had to ask what everyone was waiting for and the answer was cheeseburgers. A fellow at the front of the line, standing by the perfectly good hot dogs yelled back, cheeseburgers! Evidently, they couldn't keep up with the demand for cheeseburgers!
It's cheeseburgers or nothing! That was the battle cry of the voracious, cheeseburger eating race fans on this night. 

The B main finish was Michaels, Shaffer, Helms and Paul May, who held off Danny Dietrich for the last spot. The dash finish was Abreu, Paulker, Larson, Jac, Macedo, Kahne, Sheldon, and Lee Jacobs. The track is still tacky and there are 3 racing lanes in the turns.

Parker Price-Miller in the A main, Rico gets out to the lead with Paulker, Jac Haudenschild and Kyle Larson trailing close behind. Helms flips in turn 3 on lap 2 to bring out a red. he collects Shaffer, who was able to continue. Helms was done for the night. On the restart, I was thinking about how much I like the single file restarts as opposed to the double file restarts. I hope the All Stars never change this. On lap 4, Reed takes a tumble in turn 4. Sheldon has moved up to 5th from 7th and looks fast. Rico keeps his lead on the restart and starts to pull away. By lap 10, the leaders hit traffic.  Sheldon passed his dad and now starts to pressure Larson for 3rd. On lap 14, Blaney stops in turn 3 with a loose seat belt.  A lap or two after the next restart, Scelzi spins in turn 3, bringing out a caution. Still NO DUST. On the ensuing restart, Rico again pulls away and then 5th running Jac Haudenschild pulls off and Paulker then stops in turn 4. The race officials then decided it was time for a fuel stop. 21 laps were in and 9 laps remained. Now the running order was Abreu, Larson, Sheldon and Danny Holtgraver, quietly up from 11th. After the fuel stop, Abreu just powered away. Larson tried to keep close, but Rico was too fast and furious.  Sheldon finished in 3rd with Holtgraver 4th and Macedo 5th. 

A good race with the throttle mashers pulling away from the field, engines screaming and drivers throwing their cars into turn 1 at breathtaking speeds. This was a welcome change from the slow, snail's pace, tiptoeing around the bottom type of race you see on a dry slick track. 

Thank you All Stars and Wayne County Speedway.