After 20 years of trying, a jubilant Brian Ruhlman finally was able to earn his first Oakshade Raceway UMP Late Model Track Championship with a feature win on Saturday night.

The UMP Late Model Season Championship feature race was action-packed and wasn’t decided until the very end. Steve Kester started on the pole and led most of the 25-lap race. Earlier rain showers had left the track fast and tacky. Ruhlman positioned himself in second by lap four and pursued Kester most of the race. The drivers had to battle through lapped traffic and a couple of close calls. Ruhlman was able to get a nose alongside Kester a few times, but could not complete the pass. Finally, the opportunity Ruhlman was waiting for happened as the pair worked through turn four with the white flag in sight. Kester slipped up high and both Ruhlman and Rusty Schlenk went on by. Ruhlman went on to pick up the checkered flag with Schlenk second and Kester hanging on to finish third. It was the sixth feature win of the year for the Clarklake, Michigan driver and unofficially locked up the 2015 UMP Late Model Oakshade Raceway Track Championship. Dusty Moore and Brad Eitniear were the rest of the top five finishers.

Mathew Chapman continued his incredible rookie season in the UMP Sportsman class with his fifth feature win of the year and is now tied for the Sportsman points lead with Jamie Grochowski. Chapman,out of Tecumseh, Michigan, took the lead at the start and pulled away from the rest of the field. Dan Wallace and Grochowski battled for second much of the race with Wallace coming out on top. Bruce Stuart finished third behind Grochowski and Mike Jessen and Graeme Short were the rest of the top five finishers.

Rayce Price had some issues and was slow at the start of the Bomber A Main that just about stacked the field up behind him. After a complete restart, Adam Noonan, from Toledo, Ohio, jumped out to the lead leaving Scott Robertson to battle with the rest of the field for second. Noonan went on to pick up his first A Main victory of the season and positioned himself to within 7 points of the Bomber point lead. Tim Murphy finished second followed by Chris Henry, Gregg DeTray and Adam Lantz.

Brogan Rehklau from Waldron, Michigan earned his fifth Sport Compact feature win of the year and did so in impressive fashion. He worked the high line to get the lead and then went on unchallenged to take the checkered flag. Randy Murday started on the pole and finished second. John Martis was third followed by Devin Goodman and Jeff Foks Sr.

William Cundick took the lead at the start of the Bomber B Main and led the first four laps. Cundick then suddenly slowed turning the lead and eventual race win over to Amy Clair. Roscoe Stetten passed Dylan Hough near the finish to end up second. Tim Hancock started 13^th and ended up fourth with Dave McMannamy finishing fifth.

Josh McNichol darted out to a big lead in the final race of the night, the Bomber C Main. Kaleb Hinkley was running third, but his night went up in smoke on lap eight as he rolled to a stop on the front stretch. Brenem Mellon restarted in third and had his transmission come apart which locked up his rear end on the restart. Finally, a last lap pass earned Jeff Roberston the victory over McNichol. Abby Burton, Tyson Scaife and Ryder Price survived to round out the rest of the top five finishers.

The American Late Model Series (ALMS) returns to Oakshade Raceway for the final time this year on Saturday, September 5 for a $2,000 to win show. In addition, the UMP Sportsman, Bomber and Sport Compact classes will also be in action. Gates open at 4pm with racing at 7pm.

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With only one more weekend left in the Oakshade Raceway UMP Late Model points chase, Casey Noonan’s feature win on Saturday night moved him 14 points closer to point leader Brian Ruhlman.

It was defending track champion Rusty Schlenk stealing the early thunder in the 25-lap Richmond Gear Weekend Warrior Series Night UMP Late Model feature, grabbing the lead at the drop of the green flag. Back in his familiar number 91 ride after several week’s in Ken Hahn’s 27, Schlenk led the first half of the race. A caution on lap 12 brought Noonan up to Schlenk’s outside for the double-file restart. Noonan seized the opportunity and took the lead on lap 14. No one could catch the Sylvania, Ohio driver and he went on to post his fourth feature win of the season. Schlenk finished second and Brian Ruhlman kept Noonan from gaining too many points on him by finishing third. Brandon Thirlby and Steve Kester were the rest of the top five finishers.

UMP Sportsman rookie Mathew Chapman, from Tecumseh, Michigan, dominated his Richmond Gear Weekend Warrior Series Night feature event. He started on the outside of the front row and led the entire distance. A huge crash involving Donnie Ringman, Tim Fisher, Jack Garland, Chris Williams, Scot Mills, Joe Smith and John Laney brought out the red flag on lap six. Once racing resumed, Chapman once again ran away and picked up his fourth feature win of the year and closed to within just 8 points of the lead in the Oakshade Sportsman point standings. Point leader Jamie Grochowski ended up finishing second with Drew Smith third. Mike Jessen ended his good run with a fourth place finish after starting 11^th and Rich Ruff was fifth.

Gregg DeTray out of Swanton, Ohio was the Bomber Point leader a few weeks back in an extremely tight points race. DeTray was able to hold off Chris Sands to pick up his sixth Bomber A Main win of the year. His Richmond Gear Weekend Warrior Series Night win moved him up to third in points, 7 behind point leader Skeet Reckner. Chris Sands has also been atop the points this season and after some recent bad luck, was back up near the top, finishing in second just behind DeTray. That puts Sands in second in the point standings, one point ahead of DeTray and six back of Reckner. Another point contender, Adam Noonan, finished third which puts him fourth in the points, 17 out of the lead. Reckner’s fourth place finish was good enough to hang on to the Bomber point lead for at least another week and last week’s A Main winner, Craig Dippman, finished fifth.

Toledo, Ohio’s Richard Riffe continued to make his presence known in the Sport Compact class, earning his second consecutive feature win and his fifth of the year. Point leader Brogan Rehklau finished in second. Riffe and Rehklau have been the only Sport Compact feature winners since the July 4^th weekend. John Martis is second in points and finished third in the feature. Aaron Barrick and Jeff Foks Sr. were the rest of the top five finishers.

Rick Dixon out of Grand Ledge, Michigan started on the outside of the third row in the Bomber B Main and drove to his third B Main win of the season. Evan Myers started fifth and posted a second place finish followed by Terry Rump, Teri-Lynn Murphy and Scott Barnhardt.

A crash filled Bomber C Main produced another first time feature winner with Hicksville, Ohio’s Cody Laney taking the checkered flag. Rayce Price started 10^th and finished second. Robert Meinen was third followed by Abby Burton and Tyson Scaife.

Find out if Clarklake Michigan’s Brian Ruhlman can finally secure his first UMP Late Model track championship at Oakshade Raceway on Late Model Season Championship Night Saturday, August 29. UMP Sportsman, Bombers and Sport Compacts will also be in action with gates opening at 4pm and racing at 7pm sharp!

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Brian Ruhlman and Casey Noonan each picked up UMP Late Model feature wins in the Dual Push Truck Challenge at Oakshade Raceway on Saturday night keeping both drivers atop the point standings with Season Championship Night just a couple weeks away.

Devin Shiels jumped out to a big lead at the start of the first of two 25-lap UMP Late Model feature races, but a caution on lap three tightened the field back up for a double-file restart. Casey Noonan took the lead from Shiels on the restart and Brad Eitniear followed him into second. Eitniear had a hard time with a lapped car on lap 10. Kelly Wahl was a lap down and slammed into the side of Eitniear as he attempted to pass on the inside. Eitniear eventually began to fade back before retiring to the pits. Rob Anderzack started eighth and took the lead from Noonan on a lap 12 restart. Anderzack pulled out to a large lead and appeared he might be on his way to his first Oakshade Raceway UMP Late Model win. Clarklake, Michigan’s Brian Ruhlman had other plans. The point leader began to close in on Anderzack and passed him for the lead with just two laps to go. Ruhlman picked up his fifth win of the season and maintains an 84 point advantage over Noonan. Anderzack settled for the runner up position with Noonan third. Chris Keller finished fourth and Shiels was fifth.

The top six finishers in the first UMP Late Model feature were inverted for the start of the second 25-lap feature which meant Swanton, Ohio’s Dusty Moore would start on the pole. He pulled out to a big lead early in the race, but Deven Shiels tracked him down. The two drivers raced side by side until a lap seven caution would slow the field. One lap after the restart, Casey Noonan took command of the race. The Sylvania, Ohio driver pulled away and earned his third checkered flag of the year which keeps him in the points race going into the final two weekends. Shiels finished second with Brian Ruhlman taking third. Chris Keller and Rusty Schlenk were the rest of the top five finishers.

Fresh off his first UMP Sportsman win last week, Graeme Short was on the pole and looking to make it two in a row. Short led the first seven laps, but a caution for a wreck involving Shaun Sharp, Scot Mills, Roger Weirich and Billy Brown would change that. Short was a little slow coming up to speed on the restart which allowed Rusty Smith and Mathew Chapman to get by. Chapman took the lead and drove away from the field. It was the third feature win of the year for the Tecumseh, Michigan driver. Rusty Smith settled for second with Short taking third. Joe Derbeck was fourth and Drew Smith finished fifth.

Craig Dippman won his second consecutive Bomber A Main. The Oregon, Ohio driver started on the pole and led the entire distance. Chris Sands had a terrible night the week before, tumbling from leading the Bomber points down to fourth. His second place finish this week moved him back up to second, tied with Jeff Foks Jr. at being 10 points behind new point leader Skeet Reckner. Adam Lantz finished the A Main in third followed by Adam Noonan and Tim Hancock.

Brogan Rehklau started on the outside of the front row of the Sport Compact feature event and pulled away with the lead at the start. A spin by Cory Gumm would bring out the caution which eliminated Rehklau’s advantage. Richard Riffe from Toledo, Ohio got a good restart and took the lead from Rehklau and went on to pick up the victory. Rehklau settled for a second place finish followed by John Martis, Aaron Barrick and Randy Murday.

Garry Domoe and Richard Riffe battled for the early lead in the Bomber B Main. Domoe would win that battle, but a last lap pass would cost him the win. Gregg DeTray out of Swanton, Ohio took over the points lead last week after both him and Chris Sands had rough nights. DeTray made the last lap pass on Domoe to pick up the B Main win. Despite the feature win, DeTray fell to fourth in points, but is only 15 points behind Reckner in a very tight point battle in which the top five are separated by only 21 points. Domoe took a second place finish in the B Main followed by Riffe, Dylan Hough and Rayce Price.

The final race of the night was the Bomber C Main. Sylvania, Ohio’s Scott Hammer started on the pole and led from flag to flag to pick up his first feature win of the year. Scott Barnhart was challenging Hammer for the lead, but ended up spinning on the final lap. Jason Grames and Brian Barden both got by to finish second and third respectively. Barnhart ended up fourth with Joe Overmyer taking fifth.

A full racing program of UMP Late Models, UMP Sportsman, Bombers and Compacts is slated for Saturday. August 22. Gates open at 4pm with racing at 7pm sharp!

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