Brian Ruhlman took over sole possession of the American Late Model Series presented by Sunoco points lead over Rusty Schlenk and Aaron Scott with his feature win at Oakshade Raceway Saturday night.

Oakshade was the second stop of a four day Memorial Day weekend for the American Late Model Series. Ruhlman came into the night tied with Aaron Scott for the points lead with Rusty Schlenk just three points back in third.

Ruhlman took command from the start of the 30-lap ALMS feature after starting on the pole. He pulled away from the rest of the field until the first caution flag flew for debris on lap 22.

Schlenk, winner of the past two consecutive Late Model features at Oakshade, had worked his way up to second by lap 14 and with the field closed back up under the caution; he had his first legitimate chance to challenge for the lead.

Although, it turned out to be Rick Delong he had to contend with after the restart as Delong challenged Schlenk for second. Schlenk held off the challenge and reeled in Ruhlman in the final few laps.

Ruhlman came up on the slower car of Dean Anderson and was held up just enough for Schlenk to mount a charge on the final lap. Ruhlman went high and Schlenk dove to the inside as they split by the lapped car, but Ruhlman had the momentum coming off the final corner up high to be first to the checkered flag and to win the $2,000.

Delong held on to finish third with Hillard Miller and Aaron Scott rounding out the top five finishers.

Ray Klawitter grabbed the lead of the Sportsman feature event after starting on the outside of the front row and would never surrender it.

A great battle for second ensued much of the race between Chris Keller, Tim Fisher and Josh Steinacker. Steinacker spun on lap 15, did a 360 and managed to not stop, but Mike Jessen who was running fifth came to a stop to avoid him and brought out the caution forcing Jessen to restart in the rear.

Shortly after that caution, Keller, Fisher and Steinacker were back at it three wide for second. Steinacker was on the inside and made contact with Fisher as they came off turn four. Fisher spun and brought out the caution ending his chances of winning.

Klawitter went on to hold off the Steinacker and Keller who finished second and third respectively. Bruce Stuart took fourth and Evan Myers was fifth.

Much like the first two features of the night, the Bomber A Main featured a flag to flag lead.

Chuck Leininger started on the pole and jumped out to the lead over Gary Domoe. Domoe was able to put limited pressure on Leininger on a couple restarts after cautions, but Leininger held on to win his second A Main of this young season.

Domoe held off Kevin Cole to finish second and Joe Smith crossed the line fourth.

Danny Hogrefe made it four for four in commanding performances in the features in the Bomber B Main, taking the lead from the start and not looking back until the checkered flag flew.

A lot of great racing just behind Hogrefe ended up with Chris Joy taking second away from Shane Stuckey in the end. Karl Spoores finished fourth after occupying the second position for much of the race.

The final race of the night, the Bomber C Main, was marred by a number of cautions. Jesse Burgett and Gene Potridge were involved in one of those incidents when they got together coming off turn two while battling for second on lap two.

Burgett lost control and slammed into the water barrel barrier in front of the light pole which ended his night. Potridge continued on and finished second behind Jeff Potridge.

Dan Shaffer, Terry Dempewolf and Robert Blanton all finished the race in the top five.

Saturday, June 4, Oakshade Raceway returns to action with a regular racing program of UMP Late Models, Sportsman/Trucks and Bombers.

Rusty Schlenk won his second consecutive UMP Late Model feature at Oakshade Raceway on Saturday night.

Bill Hahn led the first handful of laps after starting on the pole of the Late Model feature with the 91 of Schlenk putting the pressure on.

Schlenk had taken the lead from Hahn, but a multi-car wreck involving four cars brought out the yellow flag before the lap could be scored.

Shortly after the restart, Hahn ended up getting into the guardrail at the end of backstretch which ended his night and turned the lead over to Rusty Schlenk.

Schlenk proceeded to build a substantial lead over Scott Fisk and the rest of the field until Roddy Schroyer’s car came to a stop on the high side of turn two. That brought out the yellow flag and allowed Fisk to close right up to Schlenk’s back bumper.

Fisk managed to put some pressure on Schlenk after the restart, but Schlenk was too strong and began to motor away once again.

Schlenk managed to catch a lucky break toward the end of the race. The young driver from Jackson, MI drove into turn one and went up and disappeared over the turn one banking. Schlenk kept his car going and reappeared in turn two just as the yellow came out. Rusty was not charged for the yellow and since the line up reverted to the last scored lap, he retained his position as the leader.

Schlenk went on to easily capture his second feature victory of the year at Oakshade. Scott Fisk finished in the second spot with Kris Patterson getting by Rick Delong to end up third.

For the second week in a row, the Sportsman feature produced another first time feature winner in that division.

Ray Klawitter’s early pass on Chris Keller was the first of many lead changes in the race. Klawitter’s lead was short lived as Keller reassumed the point on the restart after an early caution.

Rob Liaeff spun on lap six to bring out the second caution flag of the feature after running up in the top five.

Josh Steinacker, last week’s Sportsman feature winner, worked the high groove up to second by lap nine and took the lead from Keller on the 13th lap.

A couple late cautions kept the field tight and on the restart after the last caution, Steinacker kissed the front stretch wall which opened the door for Keller to lead for the third time in the race.

Chris Keller went on to win his first Sportsman feature at Oakshade with Tim Fisher finishing second. Steinacker held on to a third place finish ahead of Ray Klawitter and Mike Jessen.

Joe Smith and Dan Dippman started together on the front row of the Bomber A Main and put on a good side by side battle for the first few laps. The two made contact as they completed the second lap and eventually Smith pulled ahead with the lead.

Jarrett Rendel and Kevin Hanford brought the yellow on lap three. While running under caution, leader Joe Smith realized he had a flat left rear and went to the pits. He returned later three laps down.

That turned the lead over to Dan Dippman and it was a lead he would not relinquish. Randy Roseman finished second behind Dippman with Jake Rendel and Todd Silvey third and fourth respectively.

Bob Rendel was in control of the Bomber B Main in the early going but eventually succumbed to the heavy pressure put on by Ted Goetz Jr. by lap four.

The two leaders worked through heavy lapped traffic as Goetz lengthened his lead over Rendel. Rendel got together with Dan Drummond but both drivers continued on with no caution.

Ted Goetz Jr. took the checkered flag well ahead of second place finisher Bob Rendel. Kevin Cole was third with Dave Sibberson and Brad Blonde rounding out the top five.

The Bomber C Main produced the most exciting finish of the night.

Jesse Burgett, Nick Fenner and Shane Stuckey all battled for the lead through most of the race with 14B of Dan Bleikamp closing in from deep in the field.

Stuckey took the lead from Burgett on lap six and started to put some distance between him and the three-car battle for second between Burgett, Fenner and Bleikamp.

Stuckey suddenly slowed coming off turn two on the final lap and the second place battle tried to squeeze by, but Bleikamp caught the side of Stuckey’s car and both crashed on the backstretch as Jesse Burgett fought off Fenner for the race to the checkered flag.

Roger Davenport finished third followed by Rick Dippman and Steve Dempewolf.

Oakshade Raceway will host the first of four American Late Model Series events on Saturday, May 28 paying $2,000 to the UMP Late Model feature winner. Sportsman/Trucks and Bombers will complete the racing bill.

Rusty Schlenk proved he will be a force to be reckoned with this year in the UMP Late Model division at Oakshade Raceway by leading every lap of first Late Model feature of the year.

Approximately 150 racecars showed up for the first Saturday night of competition at Oakshade, 47 of which were Late Models. This meant less than half of the drivers would not make it into the feature in this highly competitive division.

Eighteen year old Rusty Schlenk drew the pole position for the feature and never looked back once the green flag flew.

The first yellow flag flew for the 04 of Tracy Grimes who had trouble while running in the third position.

Kris Patterson, the defending Late Model track champion, ran in the second spot most of the race and could not reel in Schlenk.

Rusty Schlenk takes the win and the Oakshade points lead worth well over $10,000 at the end of the year. Patterson finished second followed by Aaron Scott, Scott Fisk and Tony Marks.

The 2004 Bomber Track Champion Josh Steinacker made the move up to try his hand in the Sportsman division this year and had a very successful opening night.

Ray Klawitter led early on in the event with Tim Fisher, Chris Keller and Steinacker following. Things got real heated for the lead after a handful of cautions in the first half of the race as Klawitter and Fisher weaved through lapped traffic. The two swapped the lead a couple times while navigating four wide at times by the slower traffic.

Fisher then lost it in turn three and brought out the yellow flag ending his chances at a victory.

Steinacker jumped from third to the lead just before the caution for Fisher came out and went on to lead the remaining laps to win the first Sportsman feature he has ever competed in. Klawitter settled for a second place finish with Joe Derbeck, Brian Roop and Brian Fisher rounding out the top five.

Chuck Leininger, Curt Lancaster and Jim Scout battled three wide early in the Bomber A Main. Scout would drop out of that battle and head to the pits after some contact with the 51 of Lancaster.

With Leininger leading, Joe Smith was closing in and was up to third after starting 14th. Then Smith spun in turn three bringing out the yellow and resulting in a finish outside the top 15.

After a huge crash on the front stretch on lap 10, Leininger eventually went on to win the first Bomber A of the year with Troy Wickman ending up in second after coming from the 13th starting spot. Wickman was followed by Jeff Foks Jr., Curt Lancaster and Jarrett Rendel.

Shane Stuckey held off multiple challenges for the lead to take the checkered flag in the Bomber B Main. Brad Blonde was first to mount a challenge but then slipped back.

Next came Karl Spores to put the pressure on and then finally, Craig Dippman mounted a charge after starting way back.

Stuckey managed to hold off the late challenge from Dippman to pick of the victory. Josh Caudill was third with Spores finishing fourth.

The Bomber C Main turned out to be one of the more exciting races of the night with Matt Shipley leading most of the event.

Shipley started on the pole and was well in control until the 17D of Dan Dippman closed in and put the pressure on. The two ran side by side for several laps.

A late caution brought out by Josh Kehle’s spin would set up a two lap shoot out to the finish. Shortly after the restart, Dippman went to the high side and passed Shipley who fell off the pace due to a flat right rear.

Dippman went on to win the race with Chris Joy second. Shipley held on to limp his car to a third place finish on that flat tire followed by Jake Rendel and Dave Sibberson.

The great racing action continues at Oakshade Raceway this coming Saturday with UMP Late Models, Sportsman and Bombers.