1991 Late Model Track Champion Matt Miller was the big winner in Oakshade Raceway’s Butch Wildermuth Memorial American Late Model Series event that featured an incredible night of racing excitement.

Oakshade had its largest Late Model car count of the year so far with 61Late Models all vying for a chance at the $3,000 check going to the winner of the 40-lap Butch Wildermuth ALMS feature.

After three consolation events and two provisionals were taken, the 23-car starting line up was set with Rusty Schlenk and Matt Miller occupying the front row.

Miller initially pulled away from Schlenk in the first couple laps, but Schlenk was able to reel in the 7 car of Miller and began to put the pressure on. The two cars continued a battle for the lead with Miller holding off the challenge from Schlenk even after they caught the tail of the field and began to lap slower cars.

The first caution flag came out on lap 18 when Ron Miller spun in turn two as the leaders were closing in. Rick Delong made made some minor contact with Ron Miller’s car, but continued on.

Once again, Matt Miller was better on the restarts and pulled away from Schlenk until Schlenk could build up some heat in his tires. Schlenk then closed back to within striking distance, but could not snatch the lead away from Miller.

Ronnie Perrine Jr. smacked the front stretch wall and ended up wrecked in turn one just as the white flag was about to fly. The yellow flag came out instead setting up a two lap shootout to the finish with Matt Miller leading Rusty Schlenk and Duane Chamberlain.

Miller was once again dominant on the restart and went on to win with Schlenk settling for second.

The biggest mover in the race was Casey Noonan who started 18th and ended up edging out Duane Chamberlain at the finish for third. Illinois driver Ryan Dauber finished fifth.

Brian Fisher has been strong all year in the UMP Sportsman division, but has been plagued with some bad luck. Fisher finally got that monkey off his back by winning his first Sportsman Feature of the year, but not without a little excitement.

Fisher started on the pole and immediately grabbed the lead. He held off challenges from Tim Bernard and then Ray Klawitter in the first handful of laps.

Billy Ruff drew the first caution flag of the race on lap nine after he spun in turn three. Meanwhile, Rusty Schlenk had closed into the second position behind Fisher for the restart.

Fisher and Schlenk went on to put on a great side by side battle for the lead with Schlenk assuming the lead halfway through the feature by just a nose.

Schlenk was slightly ahead of Fisher on the outside as the two came off turn four on lap 13. Contact was made as Fisher either pushed up into Schlenk or as Schlenk came down across Fisher off the corner. The result of the contact sent Schlenk spinning on the front stretch and Fisher had to check up to keep from getting into Schlenk again. Both drivers continued, but Schlenk had cut down a tire in the incident and limped back to the pits.

Schlenk caught somewhat of a break as Amy Bernard spun and brought out the caution on the same lap. That allowed Schlenk enough time to change the tire and rejoin competition, but he had to restart at the tail of the field with only seven laps to go.

Brian Fisher continued to lead to the finish to become only the third different driver to win a Sportsman Feature so far this year. Josh Steinacker finished second followed by Klawitter, Terry Stratton and Nick Fenner.

Tom Ordway started on the pole of the Bomber A Main and was going for his second consecutive A Main win and started off leading the first part of the race.

Jake Rendel closed in on Ordway after starting sixth and made it three wide to take the lead. Ordway was trying to lap Brett Miller who spun but kept going earlier in the race. Rendel squeezed between those two and took over the lead.

Rendel rebounded after a hard crash the previous week to win his third Bomber A Main of the year. Ordway held on to finish second ahead of Dan Shaffer, Kevin Hanford and Gary Domoe.

Chris Henry and Jim Guinn put on a show in the Bomber B Main. Henry took the lead after starting on the outside of the front row.

Guinn started on the outside of row four and quickly closed on Henry for the lead. Guinn took over the lead on lap 3, but Henry battled back.

On lap seven Chris Henry took the lead back from Guinn who seemed to lose the speed he had earlier in the race. Henry went on to win the caution-free race with Guinn settling for second.

Curt Lancaster finished third ahead of Chris Williams and Jeff Foks.

Brad Blonde won the Bomber C Main after starting deep in the field. Blonde ran down Eric Potridge for the lead. The two exchanged the lead several times making contact on a couple of occasions.

Blonde eventually solidified his advantage and went on to win his first feature of the year. Potridge finished in second and Cody Tredway in his first night ever at Oakshade Raceway, finished an impressive third. Joe Hefner was fourth and Justin Woodruff was fifth.

Oakshade Raceway will host the Howard Miller Memorial on July 1 featuring the UMP Late Model, UMP Sportsman and Bomber divisions. Gate open at 4pm and racing at 7pm.

Duane Chamberlain from Richmond, IN added his name to the prestigious list of winners of the Barney Oldfield Race at Oakshade Raceway on Saturday night.

“Insane Duane” Chamberlain started outside the third row of the 40-lap Barney Oldfield Late Model feature and quickly worked his way toward the front.

Zack Olger jumped out to the early lead over Curtis Roberts, but Roberts closed in and took the lead away by lap three. Roberts began to pull away from Olger and went on to lead most of the race.

Chamberlain moved into the second position on lap 14.

The first of only two cautions in the race came out for Tim Sabo who lost his car off the high side of turns one and two on lap 25. The second caution came out on lap 33 just after Chamberlain made an impressive pass for the lead on Roberts coming through turn four. The caution was a temporary reprieve for Roberts who regained the lead since he was scored as the leader on the last completed green flag lap.

Chamberlain began to mount another charge for the lead in the closing laps of the race and with three laps remaining, dove to the inside of Roberts in turn one and almost had him cleared as he slid up in turn two. The two drivers made contact with Roberts having to check up allowing Chamberlain to take the lead and the eventual victory.

Chamberlain apologized to Roberts after the race for the contact on the track acknowledging he knew the laps were winding down and he had to make his move. Chamberlain was presented with the Barney Oldfield trophy sponsored by Raceway Energy’s and Wyse Excavating of Wauseon and a check for $4,200.

Roberts had to settle for a second place finish. Casey Noonan had challenged for the lead midway through the race, but fell back to finish third ahead of Brian Ruhlman and Rusty Schlenk.

After finishing fifth in the Late Model feature, Rusty Schlenk brought out his Racer’s Connection sponsored 28z UMP Sportsman to try to win his fourth Sportsman feature in a row.

Schlenk started on the outside of the front row with Sportsman rookie Billy Ruff to his inside. Ruff jumped out to the early lead, but Schlenk passed him on lap two.

Tim Fisher and Steve Kester got hooked together going down the backstretch on lap nine causing a melee in turn 3 to bring out the second yellow flag of the race.

After the restart, Josh Steinacker, who is the only other Sportsman driver to win a feature this year, put the pressure on Schlenk for the lead. The two drivers raced side by side for several laps, but Schlenk was too strong and eventually began to pull away.

Schlenk’s dominance in the UMP Sportsman division at Oakshade continued as he won again. Steinacker finished second with Chris Keller finishing third. All three of those drivers also drive in the UMP Late Model division at Oakshade.

Bruce Stuart was the highest finisher of the Sportsman only drivers in fourth with the defending Sportsman Track Champion Ray Klawitter in fifth.

Once again, the Bomber A Main featured one of the best finishes of the night with multiple lead changes on the final lap.
The race was marred by a slew of caution flags, including one that took out Jake Rendel who won last week’s Bomber A Main and was sitting second in points coming into the night’s events.

Rob Anderzack was passed on lap three by Craig Dippman for the lead. Dippman got loose in turn two and Anderzack, Jim Scout and Tom Ordway all got by for the top three positions.

Ordway was on a mission in the closing laps, taking second from Scout with two laps to go. Then on the final lap, Ordway and Anderzack exchanged the lead several times setting up an exciting finish with Ordway just edging out Anderzack for the win. Bomber points leader Jim Scout had the best seat in the house to watch that battle as he finished third just behind the two leaders.

Craig Dippman maintained a fourth place finish with Kyle Light posting a fifth place finish.

The Bomber B Main was also slowed multiple times for caution flags but featured some excitement for the lead. Karl Spoores was leading and began to work through slower traffic at the back of the field. Brian Przepiora was breathing down his neck in second and made a bid for the lead to the inside of a lapped car and Spoores went high to make it three wide.

Soon after the race for the lead began to heat up, a caution came out for BJ Gregory who spun and Brandon Burton piled in hard that would end both drivers nights and put the field back single file for the restart behind Spoores.

Spoores held on to win his second Bomber B Main of the year with Przepiora finishing second. The rest of the top five finishers were Dave Sibberson, Scot Mills, and Chris Williams.

Jerry Signor dominated the Bomber C Main. After taking the lead from Justin Woodruff on lap two, Signor took off and didn’t look back opening up just about a straightaway advantage over the second place finisher Jeff Krotzer.

Dusty Sauter finished third followed by Woodruff and Gene Potridge.

The Butch Wildermuth Memorial takes place on Saturday, June 24 at Oakshade Raceway featuring an American Late Model Series event paying $3,000 to the winner. UMP Sportsman and Bomber divisions will also be in action with gates opening at 4pm and racing at 7pm.

Oakshade Raceway celebrated its 30th year of racing Saturday night under a brightly shining full moon, which is the only way to explain a bizarre series of events in the evening’s feature races.

Rusty Schlenk, the winner of last week’s UMP Late Model feature’s photo finish, started on the pole of the 30 lap 30th Anniversary Feature and jumped out to the early lead over Zack Olger, Rody Schroyer and Kris Patterson.

Ky Harper started at the tail of his consolation race after missing his heat, and drove to a victory to earn a starting spot in the feature. Shortly after a lap three caution, Harper spun and once again had to fall to the tail of the field. Harper would come back through the field to be a factor at the end of the race.

Olger mounted a few charges on Schlenk for the lead in the first half of the race, but Schlenk held off each challenge and began to open up some breathing room.

Justin Paxton, the driver who finished second in last week’s photo finish, started 16th and had worked his way up to third by lap 13. Paxton then moved around Olger for second and began to close on Schlenk for the lead.

Bob Miller slid off the top of turns one and two on lap 22 to bring out the final caution of the race and then a strange set of events began to unfold after the ensuing restart.

The officials on the backstretch ruled that Ky Harper, who had worked his way back up to fourth after spinning earlier in the race, had jumped the restart in which the penalty is to be moved back two positions at the next caution or the conclusion of the race. Unfortunately for Harper, there were no more cautions.

Paxton and Schlenk battled for the lead in the closing laps with Harper getting by Schroyer to be the third car in the running order on the track.

After taking the white flag, the leaders made contact setting up a crazy finish. Schlenk had been running the inside groove most of the race, but stayed up in the high groove going into turn one on the final lap. Paxton had been running that line and got into the back of Schlenk which got Schlenk loose and sent Paxton way up high in turns one and two.

That contact allowed Harper to pass the both leaders and was first to the checkered flag. Schlenk was the second car across the finish line followed by Rody Schroyer.

With Harper having jumped the last restart, Schlenk would have been declared the winner, but some extracurricular activity on the cool down lap with Schlenk hitting the 34 car of Harper a couple of times negated that win. It appeared that Schlenk was retaliating for the contact that Paxton had made on the final lap and Harper was a victim of mistaken identity.

After much debate among Oakshade officials, Rusty Schlenk was disqualified for his unsportsmanlike conduct on the track and since Harper had jumped the restart on lap 22, Rody Schroyer was awarded with the win.

Harper would have been credited with third, but with Schlenk’s disqualification, Harper got second. Zack Olger took third ahead of Ron Perrine and Clint Jamison. Justin Paxton slipped back to finish sixth.

The drama continued into the UMP Sportsman 30-lap feature with Schlenk electing to give up his pole starting position to start at the back of pack after having won four of the last five UMP Sportsman features.

Steven Mills had a great run, leading the first part of the race until Ray Klawitter ran him down and took over the lead on lap four.

Schlenk suffered a close call on lap seven after bouncing off the B4 of Billy Ruff and then into the 94 car of Chris Smith that sent Smith spinning which collected Bruce Stuart to bring out the yellow. Ruff and Schlenk continued on without stopping on the track.

Brian Fisher had another strong run for the second straight week after his second place finish last week. Fisher took the lead from Klawitter by the halfway point in the race.

Schlenk continued his charge to the front by finally taking the lead on lap 23 from Fisher, but Fisher would not give up so easily. The two drivers battled side by side for the final five laps.

Rusty Smith spun with two laps to go setting up a two lap shootout to the finish. Schlenk appeared to get a great restart and opened up some distance on Fisher. Then as the field was coming to the white flag, Fisher slowed even more and retired to the infield after appearing to have the only car that could compete with Schlenk.

The Jackson, Michigan driver went on to win his fifth UMP Sportsman feature of the year. Klawitter finished second and Mike Jessen, after starting deep in the field, was third. Mills finished fourth with Brad Kendall rounding out the top five finishers.

Jerry Signor and Gary Domoe battled for the lead early in the Bomber A Main until Tom Ordway took control on lap three.

Craig Dippman worked his way up to seventh by lap 11, and then had a wheel come off that sent him spinning in turn three which ended his night.

Gary Domoe closed back in on Ordway and got in front of Ordway twice, but each time he took the lead, the yellow flag would come out which would keep Ordway in the lead.

Domoe’s bid for the lead was cut short after a restart when Jake Rendel, who was running third, got into the back of Domoe resulting in Domoe spinning and bringing out the yellow flag.

That allowed Rendel to restart in second behind Ordway and eventually Rendel got around Ordway to take lead and the victory which was his second A Main win of the year. Ordway held on to finish second ahead of Ron Tolles, Randy Roseman and Bomber points leader Jim Scout.

Bob Rendel, John McGeorge and Curt Lancaster put on a good show for the lead in the Bomber B Main. Rendel led early, but by lap eight Lancaster took over the lead and didn’t look back.

After winning the Bomber C Main last week, Lancaster took the checkered flag in the Bomber B Main. McGeorge held on to finish second with Hugh Snell third. Rendel fell back to finish fourth ahead of Dave Sibberson.

Dustin Sauter tried to challenge Chris Henry for the lead in the Bomber C Main and ended up scraping the front stretch wall after coming off turn four a little high. On the same lap, Sauter ended up spinning in turn four to bring out the caution flag.

Henry appeared to be on the way to the easy victory until Roger Davenport took over the lead with two laps to go. Davenport got loose on the next lap down the front stretch as the white flag flew allowing Henry to get back by for the lead and the eventual win.

Davenport held on to finish second ahead of Jared Rohrs, Gary Feldkamp and Chuck Faller.

On Saturday, June 17, the 17th Annual Barney Oldfield Race will take place at Oakshade Raceway paying $4200 to win to the UMP Late Models. The UMP Sportsman and Bomber divisions will also be in action with gates opening at 4pm and racing at 7pm.