Rody Schroyer captured the 2008 Oakshade Raceway Late Model Championship last weekend after a season without a feature win. That changed Saturday night as Schroyer claimed the American Late Model Series Feature win in a spectacular three-wide photo finish.

Kevin Reeve jumped out to the early lead in the 30-lap feature event after starting on the outside of the front row.

Devin Shiels spin on lap four was the first of a series of caution flags that held the race on that lap. Herb Reich’s spin while running second and Rick Delong and Ronnie Perrine Jr. making contact while both drivers were in the top five were just a couple of those numerous cautions.

Ky Harper found himself in second once the green flag flew for another lap, but that was all that could be completed before another yellow when Harper smacked the backstretch wall and broke something in the car resulting in a spin at the end of the backstretch.

That moved Brian Ruhlman, the ALMS point leader up to second behind Reeve. Ruhlman made an initial charge on Reeve for the lead after the restart, but Reeve fought him off. A few laps later Ruhlman once again pressured for the lead on the outside and took command on lap 13. One lap later, Reeve’s hopes of a decent finish were dashed after he spun and brought out another yellow forcing him to restart at the rear.

Finally, after a whole slew of cautions early in the race, a long green flag run began. Rody Schroyer started 16th and worked his way up to second by the second half of the race. Ruhlman had opened up a pretty sizable lead, but Schroyer chipped away at it lap after lap until finally catching him with just a couple laps remaining. Also sneaking up on the leaders was the 18 car of Rusty Seaver who quickly closed in to make it a three-car battle for the lead on the final lap.

Ruhlman, Schroyer and Seaver battled three abreast on that final lap as they came up on some slower traffic coming out of the final corner. Schroyer went down low. Ruhlman found room up high and Seaver was in the middle just looking for a spot to go with the slower traffic ahead. At the line, Schroyer and Ruhlman were almost dead even with Seaver back just a bit, but it was Schroyer finally picking up his first win of the season by no more than an inch or two after starting deep in the field.

A very humble Brian Ruhlman settled for second which will increase his point lead in the ALMS standings with just a couple races remaining over Rusty Schlenk who finished fourth.

Rusty Seaver was a close third with Schlenk and Curtis Roberts rounding out the rest off the top five finishers.

After the race, Schroyer was presented with a check for $2000 for the ALMS Feature win and he announced his possible retirement after this season as he will be without a ride next year even after winning the Oakshade point championship.

A couple other noteworthy UMP Late Model veterans also announced that they were hanging up their racing helmets after this season. No longer will fans see the likes of Kris Patterson and Hillard Miller on a regular basis marking an end of an era at Oakshade Raceway after many great years of racing.

Brian Fisher tried to make it two UMP Sportsman Feature wins in a row on Saturday night after taking the lead from Randy Franks on the second lap.

Oakshade UMP Sportsman point leader Mike Jessen closed in on Fisher and the two drivers put on a heck of a side by side battle for the lead with Jessen finally closing the deal on lap 11.

A late spin by Trevor Buter set up a two-lap race to the finish giving Fisher one last shot at retaking the lead.

Jessen held on to pick the win which slightly padded his point lead over Fisher who finished second.

Matt Lindsey earned the Ruhlman Race Cars Hard Charger Award, gaining nine positions to finish third ahead of Rusty Smith and Bruce Stuart.

A huge pile up marred the start of the UMP Bomber A Main and resulted in a complete restart. Among the cars involved were Billy Brown, Karl Spoores, Ron Bloomfield Jr., Rick Dixon, Jamie Grochowski and Oakshade UMP Bomber point leader Jim Scout.

Once things got going, Danny Hogrefe became the leader after starting on the pole, but had Chris Henry applying some heavy pressure. Henry entered the night just four points behind Scout in the point standings.

Henry tried to get to the inside of Hogrefe coming off turn four and the two drivers made contact. Hogrefe continued on with the lead, but Henry began to fall back.

Henry’s bid to take over the point lead suffered a major set back after he spun and brought a yellow flag that sent him to the rear for the restart.

Hogrefe went on to lead the entire distance and picked up his first UMP Bomber A Main win of the year over Brett Miller, Dustin Sautter, Dan Shaffer and Curt Lancaster.

Three drivers remain alive for the Oakshade UMP Bomber Championship with Chris Henry recovering enough after his spin to take an extremely slim three point lead over Jim Scout into the final weekend of point competition. Brett Miller sits just 38 points back in third.

A terrifying incident in the UMP Hornet Feature brought out a lengthy red flag period on lap seven after 12-year-old Austin Peters’ car got turned toward the infield on the backstretch and then flipped over a couple times landing on its wheels. Peters appeared to be OK, but rescue crews took their time extricating him from the car and took him to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Once racing resumed, Dylan Herman was the leader with Gabe Mueller in second. Mueller appeared to be a little slower coming up to speed on the restart which allowed Herman to open up a big enough advantage to pick up his fourth feature win of the year.

Mueller hung on to finish second followed by Adam Noonan, Curtis Spurgeon and Tyler Line.

Jeff Geis got his first feature win of the year in the UMP Bomber B Main after Jeff Grochowski led much of the race.

Grochowski had opened up a lead over the rest of the field early but a couple of cautions kept the field tight with Geis eventually taking the lead after making the pass on the outside of Grochowski on lap seven.

Grochowski finished second with Matt Rose third. Roscoe Stetton was fourth and Josh Scott who usually runs modifieds found his way to finish fifth.

Tony Tolles led early in the UMP Bomber C Main until Bobby Hutchins took the lead a few laps later and began to pull away. Tolles eventually retired to the pits after falling back through the running order.

Wauseon, Ohio’s Bobby Hutchins went on to the easy victory over Terry Rushlow, Jake Recker, Gregg Detray and Adam Lantz.

Exciting point battles will be decided Saturday, September 6 which will be Season Championship night for the UMP Sportsman, UMP Bomber and UMP Hornet divisions at Oakshade Raceway. Gates open at 4pm with racing at 7pm.

Dona Marcoullier swept down from Houghton Lake, Michigan and left a lasting impression with the Oakshade faithful and the other 43 UMP Late Model competitors, picking up the Season Championship Late Model Feature win in just his second visit to the 3/8 mile high-banked dirt oval. Rody Schroyer finished third and wrapped up his third Oakshade Raceway Late Model Track Championship title.

The main storyline entering the night was whether or not Schroyer would maintain his very slim 12-point lead over Dusty Moore in the final night of point competition for the UMP Late Model division at Oakshade Raceway. Both drivers faired well in their heats with each driver getting the win to earn starting positions in the Season Championship Feature.

Schroyer started three rows ahead of Moore in the feature and suffered a slight scare early on. A few cars bounced off each other on the first lap down the backstretch including Hillard Miller getting into the rear of Schroyer’s. That resulted in a complete restart with a few cars suffering damage, including that of Schroyer.

Ronnie Perrine Jr. gained the initial lead after starting on the outside of the front row. Ky Harper, who was celebrating his 18th birthday, closed up to the second position and the top two drivers pulled away.

Schroyer fell back through the field early in the race with Dusty Moore getting ahead of him by a few positions, but Schroyer would fight back up through traffic before the end of the race.

Dona Marcoullier made his presence known on lap 19 after getting by Harper for second as he began his impressive march to the front.

A top three finish for Herb Reich was negated by getting too early of a restart after a lap 23 caution. Reich’s jump knocked him back to an eighth place finish.

Meanwhile, Marcoullier got by Perrine for the lead late in the race and went on to post his first ever win at Oakshade Raceway. Perrine took second and Schroyer got credit for a third place finish that put him ahead of Dusty Moore by 34 points in the final Oakshade Raceway Late Model point standings. Ky Harper finished fourth and Zac Davis was fifth.

At the awards banquet in December, Schroyer will be presented with a Rocket Chassis and $7,000 courtesy of Ruhlman Race Cars, Wyse Excavating, Matt Mahnke Concrete, Raceway Energy’s, Harold & Sue Holland, Bill Ersham Concrete, Don Williams Excavating, Leo’s Metal & Wood and Oakshade Raceway.

Rusty Smith looked to have the car to beat in the UMP Sportsman Feature event after gaining the early lead over Brad Mills.

A series of caution periods kept the field tight in the first 10 laps of the race, including a pair of Bruce Stuart spins and a spin by Ky Harper after running up in the top five.

Smith lost the lead on a lap eight restart after spinning in turn one in front of the entire field.

Brian Fisher inherited the lead and went on to get his second UMP Sportsman Feature win of the year. Mike Jessen maintained his points lead over Brian and Tim Fisher with his second place finish. Tim Fisher finished third ahead of Brad Mills and Rusty Smith who recovered nicely to finish fifth.

Craig Dippman started on the pole of the UMP Bomber A Main and spun early in turn two and collected the cars of Curt Lancaster and Chuck Leininger.

Chris Henry was celebrating his 22nd birthday and appeared to have the car to beat, leading most of the race by a large margin until just before the white flag. Henry abruptly slowed coming off turn two and limped back to the pits.

B.J. Gregory took over the lead as the white flag waved over the field and went on to earn his first UMP Bomber A Main win of the year. Jeff Foks Jr., Dustin Sautter, Jim Scout and Danny Hogrefe rounded out the rest of the top five finishers.

Jim Scout reclaimed the Oakshade Bomber point lead after Henry’s trouble socked him with a 15th place finish. Scout now leads Henry by just four points with two more weeks of point racing remaining.

Tyler Line led much of the UMP Hornet Feature. Adam Noonan and Dylan Burt tangled behind the leader in turn two, but both drivers managed to sort things out and continued on after dropping back a few positions.

Fourteen-year-old Dylan Herman kept out of trouble and got to the inside of Line on the final lap and won a close one over Line, Gabe Mueller, Derek Morris and Curtis Spurgeon.

Randy Roseman and Rick Dippman duked it out for the early lead in the UMP Bomber B Main. Roseman won that battle until Ron Bloomfield Sr. got by on lap three. Ron Leonard then began to apply the pressure on Bloomfield for the lead.

A wreck with two laps to go involving Marty Bloomer, Jake Reckner and Cody Houston tightened up the field one last time.

Bloomfield went on to capture his second B Main win of the year. Leonard held of Dippman to finish second with Kevin Cole and Terry Rushlow finishing fourth and fifth respectively. Randy Roseman might have had a top five finish, but wrecked in the final corner dropping him to 16th.

Rick McDaniel led at the start of the UMP Bomber C Main until Jon Miller got by in the first couple laps. Miller went on to pick up his first feature win of the year with Chris Howard closing in near the end of the race. Howard had to settle for second with Nate Goodman, Ron Bloomfield Jr. and Jeff Strock the rest of the top five finishers.

The Oakshade UMP Late Model point battle may be over, but those drivers will return next weekend for the final American Late Model Series event of the year which will pay $2000 to the feature winner. The Labor Day weekend action will also feature the UMP Sportsmen, UMP Bombers and UMP Hornets. Gates open at 4pm with racing starting promptly at 7pm.

Only two weeks remain in the UMP Late Model point battle at Oakshade Raceway. On the line is a Rocket Chassis and $7,000 courtesy of Ruhlman Race Cars in Clark Lake, Michigan, Wyse Excavating in Wauseon, Ohio, Raceway Energy’s in Wauseon, Ohio, Harold and Sue Holland in Lyons, Ohio, Bill Ehrsam Concrete in Sylvania, Ohio, Don Williams Excavating in Wauseon, Ohio and Leo’s Metal & Wood in Clayton, Michigan.

Seven drivers remain mathematically alive for the point championship, with the top four separated by less than 100 points.

Rody Schroyer and Dusty Moore have remained in a heated battle atop the UMP Late Model point standings at Oakshade throughout the entire summer. Neither driver has been able to establish much of a point lead and currently Schroyer leads Moore by just 24 points.

Casey Noonan has made his presence known, closing in to just 51 points behind Schroyer after posting his third UMP Late Model Feature win at Oakshade last weekend. Consistent runs for Zach Olger all summer have netted him 81 points back.

With 95 points possible for a feature win, Kevin Reeve, Ronnie Perrine Jr. and Zac Davis all still have a very slim chance at the championship, but would need for the top drivers to experience a lot of bad luck the next two weeks.

The Oakshade Raceway UMP Late Model Champion will be determined the night of Saturday, August 23 so the next couple weekends ought to make for some exciting racing action with such a tight point battle so late in the season.