Thirty-three Sportsman drivers showed up for a chance to compete in the Sportsman Twin 25’s at Oakshade Raceway on Saturday night, but only one driver, Tim Line, would sweep both 25-lap feature events.

Line started seventh in the first feature race and quickly worked his way up to second by lap four. With Joe Derbeck leading, Line was able to get along side to race for the lead. Just as Line made the pass, the caution flag flew for the stopped car of Drew Smith which gave the lead back to Derbeck. Shortly after the restart, Line took command and began to pull away. A few cautions late in the race kept tightening up the field with Derbeck in second, but Line was the class of the field and went on to pick up the victory. Bob Krumm got by Derbeck to post a second place finish with Jim Scout and Bob Gregory rounding out the rest of the top five finishers.

The top six finishers were inverted for the start of the second 25-lap feature which put Line on the outside of the third row. Bob Gregory looked strong at the start of the race and led the first six laps, but Line quickly marched his way toward the front once again. Line climbed back to second by lap five and then briefly took the lead from Gregory on lap seven. Gregory fought back and reclaimed the lead one lap later. Line regrouped and the battle for the lead heated up with some side by side racing. Finally, Line took the lead on lap 17. Bob Krumm came back into the picture late and closed in on Line on the final lap. He dove to the inside of Line in the final corner. It wasn’t enough as Line held on to win for the second time on the night and it was his fifth feature win of the year. Krumm settled for the runner up finish once again. George Lindsey finished third and Bob Gregory slipped back to finish fifth. Mike Jessen started 17^th and ended up fifth.

The top three in Oakshade Raceway UMP Late Model points put on a great show at the front of the UMP Late Model feature race. Rusty Schlenk, second in points to Dona Marcoullier, grabbed the lead at the start after starting inside row two. Marcoullier made an incredible move three-wide between Schlenk and Curtis Deisenroth to take the lead on lap two. Schlenk fought back and got the lead again on the following lap. Ryan Missler, third in points, peaked in the second position on lap five moving Marcoullier back to third.

On lap 16, Schlenk held the lead and was trying to negotiate around Joe Smith who was running at the tail end of the lead lap. Schlenk was having some difficulty getting by Smith which allowed Marcoullier in second to close back in. Finally, Schlenk got to the inside of Smith entering turn three and it appeared there may have been some slight contact as Smith shot up the banking and came to a stop to bring out the yellow flag. Marcoullier took advantage of the double file restart and after a great battle with Schlenk, finally took the lead. Brian Ruhlman made his presence known late in the race as well as he had his car in the mix for the lead. Marcoullier held on to win his third feature of the year and slightly increased his point lead over Schlenk going into the final month of competition. Schlenk settled for second with Ruhlman in third. Missler was fourth and Casey Noonan wound up fifth after starting at the very back of the 22-car field.

Donovan Paskan started on the pole of the Bomber A Main and could only hold off Jeff Foks to lead one lap. Foks snatched the lead away on lap two and then opened up a big lead over the rest of the field to win his fifth A Main in a row and his sixth of the year. Terry Rushlow finished second and Adam Noonan was third. Paskan wound up fourth and Craig Dippman was fifth after starting 10^th.

Matt Brazeau and “Sparky Marky” Gillingham put on a show at the front of the Sport Compact feature. Brazeau led the first two laps until Gillingham got by on lap three. The two drivers had some contact during the race and Brazeau battled back and recaptured the lead from Gillingham as Austin Casteneda started to close in. Unfortunately for Casteneda, he would retire to the pits before the finish. Brazeau was able to hang on to pick up his first Sport Compact feature win over Gillingham, Terry Rushlow Sr., Cory Gumm and Tom Fry.

Cody Laney notched another Hornet feature win over John Anderson Jr. and Breanna Franks.

Multiple cautions marred night’s final two features, the Bomber B and C Mains. Bill Reeves Jr. spun on the first lap of the B Main to bring out the yellow flag and at the same time, Tyler Line lost control in front of most of the field and spun in turn four. Shaun Sharp slammed hard into the rear of line and a few other cars got caught up in the big mess which eventually drew the red flag because the track was just about blocked. After the clean up, Mathew Chapman opened up a bit of lead that was wiped out by another caution flag. Late in the race, Chapman got held up behind Anetta Goodman who was running at the tail end of the lead lap. Ted Hill closed in and got to the inside of Chapman on the final lap, but a spin by Taylor Dippman brought out another yellow to set up a one-lap dash to the checkered flag. Chapman was able to hold of Hill to pick up the victory. Dan Plath finished third followed by Jody Burton and Rick Dippman who had to come back up through the field after being caught up in the Tyler Line accident on lap one.

Attrition was a major factor in the Bomber C Main which only had four cars running at the finish. Nathan Goodman led the whole way and picked up the win over Gabe Mueller. Teri-Lynn Murphy and Maverick Wright had a heated battle for fourth most of the race. The two drivers traded paint and positions several times with a side by side finish at end in which Murphy beat Wright by a nose for the third place position. Henry Wall’s Jr didn’t finish, but was credited with a fifth place finish.

Oakshade Raceway will host the rescheduled 24^th Annual Barney Oldfield Race/American Late Model Series which will pay the winner $4900 on Saturday, August 3. Sportsmen, Bombers, Hornets and Sport Compacts will also be back in competition. Gates open at 4pm with racing at 7pm sharp!

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A huge crowd gathered at Oakshade Raceway to witness Matt Miller’s domination of the 15^th Annual Birthday Race and UMP Summer Nationals ‘Hell Tour’ Finale on Saturday night.

The Summer Nationals series began a little over a month ago on June 12, 2013 at Brownstown Speedway and drivers in this grueling series competed at tracks all over the Midwest almost every night leading up to Saturday’s Birthday Race at Oakshade Raceway where Brandon Sheppard from New Berlin, Illinois, was crowned champion.

Unfortunately for Sheppard, he was unable to finish off the series with a fifth feature win. He suffered mechanical issues on lap 22 of the 60-lap feature event and retired early to the pits already having racked up more than enough points to claim the series championship.

At the start of the 60-lap Birthday Race feature, Casey Noonan and Jeep Van Wormer had an epic battle for the lead with Van Wormer eventually taking the top spot. Matt Miller started ninth and climbed up to third by lap 13. A few laps later on lap 19, Wayne Chinn rolled to a stop in turn two which brought out the first caution with Van Wormer leading Sheppard and Miller. Miller wasted little time in passing Sheppard for second after the restart which is when Sheppard’s problems began, forcing him out of the race.

Miller, the 1991 Oakshade Raceway Late Model Champion, made short work of Van Wormer and proceeded to put on a clinic after taking the lead on lap 23. After getting caught up in a hard crash a week earlier, Miller’s crew had the Rick Delong Racing number 3 hooked up as he dominated the rest of the race. Miller drove smooth through traffic lapping all but the top six cars. Miller earned the $10,000 pay off with his commanding win, which was his second Birthday Race victory. The first of which was in 2008.

Jon Henry posted a second place finish driving the Keith Berner number 18 UMP Late Model for the night. Bobby Pierce from Oakwood, Illinois, finished third in the race and second in the ‘Hell Tour’ final standings. Jeff Babcock ended up fourth and Devin Moran, son of the first ever Birthday Race winner Donnie Moran, finished fifth.

The UMP Summit Racing Modified Nationals also wrapped up their series with some great feature race action. Aurora, Indiana’s Matt Hamilton grabbed the early lead of the 30-lap feature after starting on the outside of the front row with Mark Anderson running second. Anderson spun on lap two and collected Taylor Cook and Hillard Miller who were all running in the top five. That moved Dona Marcoullier up to second, but he was unable to challenge Hamilton for the lead. Jeff Babcock, one of many drivers doing double duty and racing both UMP Late Models and UMP Modifieds, made a bid for second about halfway through the race when he went three-wide on the outside of Steven Books and Marcoullier. Babcock was then able to reel in race leader Matt Hamilton by lap 22 and a few laps later had the lead. Hamilton fought back and reclaimed the lead for a short time on lap 26 while the two drivers negotiated through slower traffic. A caution just before the finish set up a two-lap shootout to the finish with Babcock in the lead and Hamilton running second. It also gave Brian Ruhlman an opportunity after marching his way up to third after starting 15^th. Neither Hamilton nor Ruhlman were able to mount a challenge on Babcock as he went on to pick up the checkered flag. Hamilton was able to fend off Ruhlman for second, with Collin Thirlby and Steven Brooks rounding out the rest of the top five finishers.

The youngsters in the four-cylinder Hornet class finished off the night with their feature event which saw five-time feature winner this season Cody Laney retire from the race early. After some four and five wide racing at the drop of the green flag, Brandon Myers found himself at the point and he went on to an easy victory over Brandon Leighton, Chevy Farmer and Taylor Holland. It was his first feature win of the season.

The Sportsman Twin 25’s are on tap for this coming Saturday, July 27 with two full 25-lap feature events. They will be joined by the UMP Late Models, Bombers, Hornets and Sport Compacts for a full night of racing beginning at 7pm. Gates open at 4pm.

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After three consecutive weekends with rain-outs, Mother Nature blessed Oakshade Raceway with a beautiful Saturday night for some intense racing action and a lot of winners on and off the track. It was a conglomeration of events from the past couple weeks that included Memorial Night lap sponsorships from last week and the Night of Wheels bike giveaways in addition to a full racing program and an exhibition from the Vintage American Race Cars.

Over 50 bikes, scooters, tricycles, etc. were donated by race fans, drivers, businesses and others associated with Oakshade Raceway. Dan Rice, host of the intermission entertainment known as the “Links Zone” organized the event and put smiles on many happy kids’ faces who not only got to see some great racing action, but also got to take home a brand new bike.

After the Night of Wheels bike giveaways, the UMP Late Models hit the track for their 25-lap feature event. Devin Shiels grabbed the lead over Cody Houston at the start after starting on the outside of the front row. A few laps later, Houston spun in turn two. Matt Miller had nowhere to go and slammed hard into him. Both drivers were done for the night. After the restart, Dusty Moore made his presence known by challenging Shiels for the lead. The two drivers battled side by side for several laps with Shiels eventually getting the advantage. Shiels managed to get a little separation from Moore, but both Moore and Dona Marcoullier closed back in late in the race. The three drivers raced three-wide for the lead with Marcoullier in the middle. At the finish, it was Swanton, Ohio’s, Dusty Moore picking up his first feature win of the year with Shiels settling for second. Marcoullier finished third after starting 10^th with Steve Kester and Brian Ruhlman rounding out the rest of the top five finishers.

Jamie Grochowski took the early lead in the Sportsman feature event, but got a bit sideways in turn three on the first lap. Another car got into him and the two cars became hooked together in turn four which cause a huge mess involving multiple vehicles. Rusty Smith took over the race lead after Grochowski’s misfortune, but couldn’t hold off a hard charging Mike Jessen. Jessen claimed the lead on lap four and never looked back. He went on to an easy feature win, his third of the year. Bob Gregory managed a second-place finish with Drew Smith gaining 10 positions to end up third followed by Bruce Stuart and Tim Line.

Jeff Foks racked up his third consecutive Bomber A Main win and his fifth of the year. After a slow start at the beginning of the year, Foks has turned things around with several dominating performances and has closed to within 39 points behind leader Adam Noonan and second-place Terry Rushlow. Chris Sands managed a second-place finish in the A Main ahead of Rushlow who ended up third. Curt Lancaster was fourth and point leader Adam Noonan was fifth.

In combined Sport Compact and Hornet four-cylinder racing action, “Sparky Marky” Gillingham turned things around after a dismal performance in his heat race earlier in the night to win the Sport Compact feature event. “Junior” Jerry Hoot finished second after earning the victory in the heat. He was followed by Matt Brazeau, Regan Ford and Cory Gumm. Cody Laney won his fifth Hornet feature of the year. Brandon Myers finished second followed by Breanna Franks, John Anderson Jr., and Brandon Leighton.

The Bomber B Main was marred with multiple cautions that kept the field tight and the number of green flag runs limited. Dave “Gumby” Golembiewski Jr. survived the event and was able to pick up the checkered flag as time expired on the race. Curt Dickie and Dan Plath finished second and third respectively. Jody Burton and Nathan Goodman were the rest of the top five finishers.

Donovan Paskan climbed to the lead in the Bomber C Main, but just after halfway, Roscoe Stetten, who started deep in the field, took the lead away and went on to pick up his first feature win of the season. Paskan settled for second followed by Derek Morris, Joe Elliot and Henry Walls Jr.

Oakshade Raceway hosts the biggest event of the Summer on Saturday, July 20 with the 15^th Annual Birthday Race/UMP Summer Nationals Hell Tour Finale along with the Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals and Hornets. Gates will open on Friday, July 19^th at 11am for those who wish to come early and camp out Friday night. There will be food and entertainment on Friday night. Everyone entering the grounds on Friday, must purchase a ticket to Saturday’s event. On Saturday morning, gates will open at 10am and the pits will be open to everyone with grandstand admission until 4pm to get autographs and to meet the drivers. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7:45pm.

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