Saturday’s “Night of Wheels” at Oakshade Raceway was packed full of great racing action, Vintage American Race Cars (VARC) and a lot of happy kids. Rusty Schlenk increased his point lead over Casey Noonan after fending off a very fast Matt Miller to earn his third UMP Late Model feature win of the year. Fans of old-time race cars were treated to the VARC exhibition with all kinds of restored race cars from the past century. Finally, nearly 80 donated bikes, trikes, scooters and more were given away at intermission to a bunch of lucky kids.

UMP Late Model feature front row starters Steve Kester and Kevin Reeve raced side by side the first couple laps of the 25-lap feature. With Kester leading, Schlenk worked his way into second on lap three with Matt Miller following in his tire tracks. The first caution flag came out for Ky Harper’s spin on lap 11. On the ensuing restart, Schlenk charged to the lead. John Bores got turned on the front stretch one lap later which brought out another caution flag. Shortly after that restart, Dona Marcoullier spun in turn two while running in the top five for the final yellow flag of the race.

Miller eventually got around Kester for second and then had a heated battle with Schlenk the final 10 laps of the race. Miller looked high and low trying to find a way around the 91 car of Schlenk, but the Weston, OH driver managed to hold the lead. Miller did manage to get alongside Schlenk and even led lap 23 by a nose, but Schlenk battled his way to a very close and exciting feature win. Brian Ruhlman finished third behind Miller with Jeff Babcock having another impressive run to finish fourth after starting 12^th. Devin Shiels was fifth.

Bruce Stuart took the lead from Richard Patton on the second lap of the UMP Sportsman feature. Matt Lindsey quickly closed in on Stuart and began to challenge for the lead. Lindsey went to the inside of Stuart and took over the race lead for good on lap nine. Lindsey pulled away to win his second feature of the year which leaves him second in the point standings behind last week’s feature winner, Bob Gregory. Mike Jessen sits third in points and finished second in the race with Gregory taking third. Tim Line was fourth with Tim Fisher fifth.

Terry Rushlow and Jeff Foks had won all but one of the UMP Bomber A Mains this year with the vast majority taken by Foks. Those two drivers started on the front row and battled just about the entire race for the lead. Rushlow started on the pole and took the lead at the start. Foks started on the outside and slid up a little high in the first set of corners to slip back to about fifth. Foks recovered back to second by lap two and began to close back in on Rushlow. While battling for fourth Craig Dippman got in the rear of Jim Remley on the front stretch on lap seven sending Remley spinning toward turn one before his wheels dug in. Then Remley’s car rolled over and ended up on his side to bring out the red flag. After the restart, Rushlow and Foks pulled away from the rest of the pack and had their own battle at the front. A late caution for debris on the track set up a two lap race to the finish. Rushlow held off Foks to earn his second feature win of the year. Joe Overmyer finished third with Curt Lancaster climbing to finish fourth after starting 10^th. Jeff Geis was fifth.

William Cundick got turned around in the first corner of the Hornet feature race which resulted in a complete restart after Taylor Dippman got caught up in the incident. “Sparky Marky” Gillingham wasted no time getting in front of Brandon Myers for the lead at the start. Myers pressured Gillingham early, but Gillingham went on to pick up his fifth Hornet feature win of the year. Myers had to settle for second. Devon Bell, Cody Laney and Drew Smith were the rest of the top five finishers.

The competitors in the UMP Sport Compact feature fanned out six-wide at the drop of the green flag. Last week’s winner Trent Delong started last and gained the lead as the field went through the first two corners. He would go on to an easy win. It was Delong’s second feature win. Derek Morris held off Jeff Wells to finish second followed by Regan Ford and Stephanie Miller.

The UMP Bomber B Main had three different leaders the first four laps of the race. Roscoe Stetten led lap one. Justin Gamber held the lead on laps two and three and then Chris Sands took command on lap four. Gamber spun on lap five to bring out the yellow flag. A few more cautions kept the field tight with Dave “Gumby” Golembiewski Jr. right behind Sands. Those two drivers got hooked together going into turn one after a late restart. Sands managed to hold on to the lead and the eventual victory, but Golembiewski slipped up high in turns one and two and fell back a few positions. Richard Riffe finished second while Tony Tolles ended up third after starting at the very back of the field. Satch Crispen was fourth and Golembiewski wound up fifth.

Teri-Lynn Murphy took the lead from Derek Zuver on lap two in the final race of the night, the UMP Bomber C Main. Just after giving up the lead, Zuver spun to bring out the caution flag. Murphy drove a little too high into turn three on lap five which allowed Charles Stuckey to move to the inside and briefly take the lead. Murphy collected herself and got back alongside Stuckey and passed him for the lead. She went on to pick up her first feature win. Stuckey settled for second. Mike Grames finished third followed by Russell Nickoloy and Adam Lantz.

Oakshade Raceway will host a special Fourth of July 200-lap/Two Hour Enduro race on Wednesday afternoon. Gates open at 12pm with the race starting at 2pm. General admission is just $3. Then on Saturday, July 7^th, it is Memorial Race night at Oakshade with lap sponsorships still available for the Late Model, Sportsman and Bomber A Main feature events. Contact the track at (419) 337-6850 for more information. The Hornet and Sport Compact class will also be in action. Gates open at 4pm with racing at 7pm on Saturday.

Matt Miller drove to his third UMP Late Model win this season at Oakshade Raceway in Saturday night’s 40-lap Barney Oldfield feature event to earn himself a check for $4,800.

Brian Ruhlman grabbed the early lead over pole-sitter Jim Scout after starting on the outside of the front row. Last week’s feature winner, Dona Marcoullier, brought out the first caution when he spun in turn two on the second lap. Matt Miller was second on the restart and began to pressure Ruhlman for the lead. Miller went to the outside of Ruhlman and the two drivers raced side by side for several laps until Miller took over for good on lap 12.

Miller proceeded to open up his lead through a long green flag run while lapping a good number of cars at the back of the pack. The only other caution flag came out on lap 33 for Chris Ross who had problems in turn two. That allowed Ruhlman to restart alongside Miller, but Ruhlman couldn’t stay with the Rick Delong Racing number three. Miller went on to pick up the easy victory with Ruhlman finishing in second. Curtis Roberts was third followed by Dan Wallace and an amazing run by Jeff Babcock to end up fifth after starting in the 20^th position.

Bob Gregory padded his Oakshade UMP Sportsman point lead with his third feature win of the year. The race ran flag to flag with no cautions allowing Gregory to open up his advantage over last week’s feature winner, Bruce Stuart, for much of the race. Mike Jessen got by Stuart late to finish second. Stuart slipped back to a third place finish followed by Matt Lindsey and Joe Derbeck.

The 24-car UMP Bomber A Main made up for the lack of yellow flags in the Sportsman feature with multiple cautions that kept the field tight. A caution for Josh Sisty who was running in the top five allowed Terry Rushlow to restart alongside race leader Jeff Foks. Rushlow challenged Foks for the lead, but after a few laps, Foks was able to pull away and picked up his sixth feature win of the year. Amy Bernard had another great run to finish third behind Rushlow after starting 13^th. Chris Sands and Jeff Geis were the rest of the top five finishers.

Taylor Dippman held the early lead in the Hornet feature after Brandon Myers and “Sparky Marky” Gillingham got together at the start. Both drivers were able to continue on without a caution, but lost a lot of ground on the rest of the competitors. Dippman tried to fend off Drew Smith, but Smith got by late in the race to earn his third feature win of the year and reclaimed the point lead by just four over Gillingham. Dippman finished second in the race with William Cundick in third. “Sparky Marky” Gillingham recovered to finish fourth followed by Devon Bell in fifth.

Derek Morris was trying for his sixth UMP Sport Compact feature win of the year as he challenged leader Trent Delong early in the race, but Morris wouldn’t finish. Morris fell off the pace and retired to the pits leaving Delong to pick up his first feature win. Regan Ford finished a distant second followed by Stephanie Miller.

Dave “Gumby” Golembiewski Jr. earned his second UMP Bomber B Main win of the year. Charles Stuckey had a strong top five run cut short when he spun down the front stretch on lap nine. Karl Spoores restarted behind Golembiewski, but was unable to get by on the final three laps. Spoores settled for second followed by Brandon Clark, Joe Heffner and Gary Cole Jr.

Next Saturday, June 30, is the Night of Wheels at Oakshade Raceway. Donated bicycles of all shapes and sizes will be given away to a bunch of lucky kids at intermission. Also, in addition to a full show of UMP Late Models, UMP Sportsmen, UMP Bombers, Hornets and UMP Sport Compacts, the Vintage American Race Cars will be on hand. Gates open at 4pm with racing at 7pm.

Dona Marcoullier and Mike Jessen each picked up their first feature wins of the year on Wallace Racing Products night on Saturday and John Brooks overcame some late race spins to win the 200-lap Enduro race on Sunday afternoon completing an action-packed weekend of racing at Oakshade Raceway.

Houghton Lake, Michigan’s Dona Marcoullier drew the pole starting position for the Wallace Racing Products UMP Late Model feature and took the lead over Devin Shiels at the start. Rusty Schlenk slowly closed in on Marcoullier during a long green flag run while working traffic. Shiels also closed in and knocked Schlenk back to third just before a caution for Casey Noonan’s spin on lap 21. Marcoullier held off Shiels the final four laps to earn the victory. Brian Ruhlman passed Schlenk to finish third and Schlenk’s fourth place finish was good enough to maintain his lead in the Oakshade UMP Late Model point standings. Dusty Moore finished fifth.

The first three laps of the Wallace Racing Products UMP Sportsman feature had three different leaders. Tim Fisher passed Brad Mills to lead lap one. Tim Line then got by to lead the second lap and finally, the 2008 and 2010 track champion, Mike Jessen, took the lead. Jessen began to pull away, but a slew of caution flags kept tightening up the field behind him. In the end, Jessen won easily over Bruce Stuart and Tim Fisher. Bob Gregory improved to finish fourth after starting 13^th which was enough to lead the point standings. Last week’s feature winner, Matt Lindsey, finished fifth.

Terry Rushlow was another driver looking for his first feature win of the year and held the early lead in the Wallace Racing Products UMP Bomber A Main. Garry Domoe was running third when he spun and brought out the caution flag on lap two. Rushlow spun while battling with Jeff Foks for the lead shortly after the restart to bring out another caution period that sent Rushlow to the tail. Foks took command of the race on lap four and never looked back. He led through multiple cautions all the way to the checkered flag to pick up his fifth A Main win of the year. Curt Lancaster started 10^th and ended up finishing second ahead of Tony Tolles. Rushlow worked all the way back through the field to finish a respectable fourth with Jeff Geis ending up fifth.

Brandon Myers started on the pole of the Wallace Racing Products Hornet feature event and led the first four laps until “Sparky Marky” Gillingham closed in and finally took the lead on lap five. Thirteen-year-old Gillingham went on to pick up his third feature win of the year. Myers finished second followed by Drew Smith, Josh Froelich and Maverick Wright.

Next up was the main event for the brand new UMP Sport Compact division. Derek Morris led from flag to flag in the Wallace Racing Products feature with early pressure from Stephanie Miller. That pressure ended after Miller’s car abruptly turn right in turns one and two and flew over the the banking which brought out the only yellow flag in the race. Morris continued on his way to feature win number four on the season. Regan Ford and Rich Fowler had contact on the final lap sending Fowler spinning down the backstretch and giving Ford the second finishing position. Fowler settled for third with Miller ending up fourth.

Rick Dixon held the lead for most of the Wallace Racing Products UMP Bomber B Main until Chris Keller and Danny Hogrefe closed in near the finish. The three drivers raced three-wide for the lead for a couple laps until Keller finally got the lead at the white flag. Keller held off Hogrefe to take the victory. Dixon settled for third followed by Dan Dippman and Jim Remley.

Mike Plotts Jr. in the “Redneck Express” took the final checkered flag of Saturday night in the Wallace Racing Products UMP Bomber C Main. Plotts started on the outside of the front row and immediately gained the lead. Plotts led the entire distance earning his first feature victory. Dylan Hough finished second with Justin Woodruff improving nine positions to finish third. Chad Zuver and Mike Draper rounded out the rest of the top five finishers.

Drivers in Sunday afternoon’s 200-lap Enduro had to contend with changing track conditions, other drivers and steamy temperatures. Mike Plotts Jr., Dan Dippman and Brian Ruhlman each held the lead within the first 25 laps of the race. By lap 50, John Brooks settled in to the top spot which he would not relinquish the rest of the way. Ruhlman had a fast car but kept dealing with oil loss which caused him to make multiple visits to the pits. Nick Fenner had peaked up to the second position by the halfway point in the race, but Chris Williams took that spot away by lap 125.

Williams was unable to make up the distance on Brooks who had a couple scares within the last ten laps of the race. A pair spins almost cost him the race, but Brooks was able to get going after each one. Brooks never stopped in the pits during the race and became the third different Enduro race winner of the year at Oakshade. Williams finished second followed by Fenner and Ruhlman in fourth. Steve Dickman finished fifth.

Saturday, June 16^th is Leupp Outdoor Equipment Night featuring the American Late Model Series paying $2,000 to the winner. UMP Sportsmen, UMP Bombers, Hornets and UMP Sport Compacts will round out the evenings competition with gates opening at 4pm and racing at 7pm.