WAUSEON, OH – The American Late Model Series (ALMS) present by Sunoco returned to Oakshade Raceway for the first time since 2019 and produced one of the most exciting finishes of the season with Casey Noonan and Jeep Van Wormer duking it out to the checkered flag. In the end, Noonan was able to drive his damaged car to his first victory of the year.

Terry Rushlow started on the pole of the 30-lap ALMS feature event and led the first third of the race. Rusty Schlenk, winner of the last two consecutive Oakshade features, started to close in to challenge for the lead but engine woes forced him to pull out of competition by lap four.

Sylvania, Ohio’s Casey Noonan charged his way toward the front and snatched the lead from Rushlow on lap 11 and then proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field. Multiple caution periods the second half of the race wiped out Noonan’s advantage and helped Jeep Van Wormer work his way up into contention after starting ninth. Late in the race Van Wormer got to the inside of Noonan coming off turn two and the two drivers made contact causing Noonan to do a 360. At the same time, a spin further back in the field would bring out the caution flag. Since Noonan did not stop, he was able to get his position back as the leader with a two-lap shootout to the finish that didn’t disappoint.

Noonan held off Van Wormer until the white flag lap. Van Wormer got to the inside of Noonan in the first set of corners and came off turn two with the lead. Noonan charged back and dove to the inside of Van Wormer going into turn three and made more contact, muscling his way back to the lead. With fans on their feet, Noonan drove off turn four and took the checkered flag. Van Wormer settled for a second-place finish with Oakshade point-leader Devin Shiels third. Colin Shipley posted a fourth-place finish with Dusty Moore fifth.

The UMP Sportsman feature followed with Ian Palmer starting on the pole. Palmer faltered a bit at the drop of the green flag which slowed up the inside lane and allowed outside polesitter Mike Jessen to take the lead.  Jessen would lead the first half of the race until Carter Murday made a strong move around the outside of Jessen on a restart after a caution. Sylvania, Ohio’s Rusty Smith got by Jessen for second a couple laps later. After another caution period, Smith was able to take the lead from Murday after the restart. Murday would retire to the pits soon after with a flat tire. Smith went on to pick up his second feature win of the year with Oakshade point-leader Josh Robertson finishing second ahead of Mike Jessen. Ian Palmer recovered for a fourth-place finish with Joe Smith ending up fifth.

Bomber driver Adam Lantz added $450 to the winners take of the Bomber A Main as part of a benefit for former racer Dwight Gilbert. Lantz and Jeff Foks Jr. battled hard early in the Bomber A Main trading the lead back and forth the first few laps. Lantz finally put his car in front of the field and led for a while. Kolin Schilt caught Lantz and got to his inside to take the lead away. Lantz tried to squeeze back to the inside of Schilt and spun in turn three to bring out the caution. On the restart, Schilt lost control coming off turn two while leading and slammed into the tire barrier on the inside of the track ending his night.  Foks, from Holland, Ohio reassumed the lead and went on to earn his second consecutive Bomber A Main win. Gabe Mueller once again finished in the runner-up position and leads the Bomber point standings. Donnie Ringman held off Justin Gamber to finish third and Dalton Bishop was the fifth-place finisher.

Cory Gumm and Eric Carr battled for the lead early in the Compact feature event with Gumm getting the advantage. Gumm was sent back to third during a midrace caution after he was penalized for jumping an earlier restart. Carr took over as race leader but could not fend off the hard-charging Hillsdale, Michigan, driver. Gumm went on to pick up his second feature win of the season and Carr followed to finish in second and maintain his substantial Oakshade point lead. Ryan Okuley finished third followed by Jason Deshler and Jeff Goodman.

R.J. Cornett was competing for the first time in full-size vehicle racing after experience running go karts. He started on the pole of the Bomber B Main and led the first part of the race. Dylan Herman spun while battling with Brad Eitniear for second to bring out the yellow flag. On the ensuing restart, Eitniear from Wauseon, Ohio, took the lead from Cornett and drove away for the easy win. Cornett finished second followed by Jeff Wells, Chris Bleikamp and Dave McMannamy.

The Dirt Track Truck Series will make its debut at Oakshade Raceway on Saturday, June 5^th. Also in action will be the UMP Late Models, UMP Sportsman and Bombers with gates opening at 4pm and racing at 7pm.

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WAUSEON, OH – Rusty Schlenk became the season’s first repeat UMP Late Model feature winner, notching his second consecutive win Saturday night at Oakshade Raceway.

Colin Shipley, who is third in the track point standings, slowed on the track shortly after the drop of the green flag in the UMP Late Model feature and brought out the only caution flag of the race. Shipley would retire to the pits to finish 23^rd. Once the field returned to racing, Weston, Ohio’s Rusty Schlenk and Adrian, Michigan’s Chris Keller put on a great battle for the lead. The two drivers battled side by side and exchanged the lead a few times. Finally, Schlenk in his Domination Race Car #91 was able to clear Keller and open some breathing room on his way to the checkered flag. Keller fended off point leader Devin Shiels to finish second. Dona Marcoullier had worked his way up to third at one point during the race but slipped back to finish fourth behind Shiels. Casey Noonan finished fifth.

Mike Jessen from Berkey, Ohio, closed the point gap between himself and point leader Josh Robertson just a bit after picking up the victory in the UMP Sportsman feature event. It was the first feature win of the year for the four-time track champion. Josh Robertson minimized the amount of points Jessen was able to gain with a second-place finish. Last week’s feature winner, Rusty Smith, finished third followed by George Lindsey and Ian Palmer.

Adam Lantz charged to the lead on the outside early in the Bomber A Main but would begin to fade halfway through the event. Jeff Foks Jr. from Holland, Ohio, would take over the race lead and go on to pick up his first feature win of the season. Point leader Gabe Mueller held off Brad Eitniear to finish second for the second consecutive week. Donnie Ringman and Justin Gamber were the rest of the top five finishers.

It was the battle of Carrs in the Compact feature event. Wauseon, Ohio’s Joe Carr started on the pole of the feature and went on to pick up his first feature win of the season over point leader Eric Carr.  Eric Carr got to the inside of Joe Car the final few laps, but Joe was able to hang on and pick up the victory in a close finish. Jason Deshler finished third with Ryan Okuley and Jeff Goodman rounding out the rest of the top five finishers.

Bobby Swagger opened a big lead early in the Bomber B Main which was the final race of the evening. Chane Stuckey, out of Toledo, Ohio, quickly ran down Swagger after starting 12^th and took the lead by lap three. The red flag would fly on lap six after Ron Hulbert’s machine caught fire while racing. The fire was quickly extinguished, and Stuckey went on to pick up the easy B Main victory. Swagger finished second followed by Chris Bleikamp and last week’s B Main winner, Jeff Wells. Pole-sitter Ryan Clair slipped back to finish fifth.

The American Late Model Series returns to Oakshade Raceway for the first time since 2019 this weekend along with UMP Sportsman, Bombers and Compacts. Gates open at 4pm with hot laps at 6pm and racing at 7pm this Saturday.

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WAUSEON, OH – Six-time Oakshade Raceway Late Model Champion Rusty Schlenk became the third different UMP Late Model feature winner in as many weeks after picking up the victory Saturday night at Oakshade.

Current point leader and three-time track champion Devin Shiels launched the lead on the first lap of the UMP Late Model feature after starting on the outside of the second row. A big pile up involving Chad Doxsee, Bill Reeves Sr. and Scott Moyer brought out the red flag on lap four to give track crews a little more room to work to clear the nearly blocked track.

McClure, Ohio’s Rusty Schlenk had worked his way up to second by the time of the incident and put on a heck of a battle with Shiels after the restart. The two driver’s battled door to door with Schlenk getting the advantage on lap five. Shiels fought back and regained the lead by a nose the following lap. Finally, after more than a handful of side-by-side racing for the lead, Schlenk was able to clear Shiels on lap 11. Schlenk stretched his lead and went on to take the checkered flag. Shiels was able to close the gap just a bit a couple times while working through slower traffic but had to settle for a second-place finish with Casey Noonan finishing third. Pole-sitter Colin Shipley slipped back to end up fourth with Dusty Moore rounding out the top five.

Rusty Smith out of Sylvania, Ohio, started on the pole of the UMP Sportsman feature and after a couple early race cautions he began to pull away with the lead. Late in the race, Anthony Voyles and Steve Mills got together with Mills slamming hard into the front stretch wall bringing out the red flag with four laps remaining. After the restart, Smith once again pulled away from the field and went on to pick up his first feature win of the season. Carter Murday finished second followed by Mike Jessen and last week’s feature winner, Josh Robertson, who had to start in the back of the field. George Lindsey was fifth.

Things got messy at the start of the Bomber A Main with a multi-car incident on the first lap that brought out the yellow and necessitated a complete restart. Stryker, Ohio’s Kolin Schilt started on the pole and jumped out in front of the field and opened up a decent lead. A late caution wiped out Schilt’s advantage and set up a three-lap dash to the finish with last week’s A Main winner Gabe Mueller and Adam Lantz right behind. Schilt was able to hang on and pick up his first feature win of the season with Mueller and Lantz finishing second and third respectively. Jeff Foks Jr. gained six positions from the start to finish fourth with Donnie Ringman ending up fifth.

Last week’s Compact A Main feature winner, Cory Gumm, started on the pole but steering issues would cut his night short. After an early caution at the start of the race, things got interesting with a four-wide battle for the lead going into turn three. Joe Elliott, Jason Deshler, Charles Hargett and Eric Carr from Wauseon, Ohio, all fought for the top spot with just about each driver leading at least one lap. Carr would fall off the pace after dropping a cylinder. Somehow Carr would persevere and came back to pick up his second win of the season in a close one over Deshler. Hargett would come home third with Todd Drewes and Joe Elliott rounding out the rest of the top five finishers.

Aaron Barrick led the first couple laps of the Bomber B Main until Toledo, Ohio’s Dylan Burt took command on lap three. Craig Turner was running in the top five but contact with Cody Stetten would end up bringing out the yellow flag sending both drivers to the tail. Logan Hough had worked his way up to second despite some early race damage and ended up falling off the pace and retiring to the pits just past the halfway point of the race. More trouble for top five cars came on lap nine when Barrick spun while running in the third position. In the end, Burt was able to fend off Stetten who had worked his way back up to second after his earlier caution. It was Burt’s first feature win of the season. Following Stetten was Ryan Clair in third and Dave McMannamy in fourth. Jason Drummond finished fifth.

In Compact B Main action, Todd Drewes Jr. got by John Hart to lead the first lap and then proceeded to pull away with the lead. Mid race, Drewes slipped up high and then fell off the pace which allowed Chariti Roby from Butler, Indiana, to get by and pick up her second consecutive B Main victory. Matt Stratton finished second followed by Vanessa Goodman and John Hart. Drewes held on to finish fifth.

The Bomber C Main was the final race of the night with former asphalt racer Jeff Wells out of Toledo, Ohio, leading from flag to flag to pick up his first feature win. David Ellis finished second followed by Jeff Clark, Bradley Goad and Seth Baker.

Action continues next Saturday, May 22, with more UMP Late Model, UMP Sportsman, Bomber and Compact racing at Oakshade Raceway. Gates open at 4pm with hot laps at 6pm and racing at 7pm.

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