WAUSEON, OH – A rainy Saturday morning gave way to a pleasant and dry afternoon at Oakshade Raceway. Despite the earlier rain, track officials decided to push forward and host a great racing program which was highlighted by an exhibition by the Vintage American Race Cars (VARC) and Casey Noonan’s second UMP Late Model feature win of the season in an extremely eventful race.
Things got off to a bit of a rocky start in the 25-lap Late Model feature. One car got sideways in turn three and caused a huge pile up on the first lap that involved half of the field. The red flag came out as the track was blocked and would result in a complete restart.
Once the race got going again, pole-sitter Rob Anderzack took off to the lead. Dusty Moore and Sylvania, Ohio’s Casey Noonan duked it out for the second position with Noonan slipping back a bit having to fend off Devin Shiels for third. Noonan then found something on the high side and began marching back toward the front running the high line through the corners.
Near disaster occurred on lap 15 as Moore made contact with Anderzack while battling for the lead. Both drivers got a bit crossed up, but were able to straighten out and continue on. Noonan was not as lucky and ended up spinning to avoid Anderzack and Moore. Noonan was able to continue without stopping but the yellow flag would fly for another car that did come to a stop due to the incident. This was a break for Noonan who would retain his position for the restart.
During the caution period, Anderzack gave up the lead and drove his number 8 car back to pits. Moore took over the top spot with Noonan now second. After the restart, Noonan went back to work on the high side and took the lead for good on lap 18.
One more caution flag would fly on lap 22 after Carter Murday spun while battling with Shiels for third, relegating him to the tail for the restart with just three laps remaining. Noonan would go on to take the checkered flag with Moore earning another runner up finish. Shiels finished third after having to run the last chance race just to make the starting lineup of the feature event. Shiels also took over the point lead after Colin Shipley retired from the race early. Shipley was the point leader at the beginning of the night. Jake Rendel and Chase Burda were the rest of the top five finishers in the race.
Kolin Schilt powered by Jeff Robertson on the outside for the lead at the conclusion of the first lap of the UMP Sportsman feature event. Carter Schlenk out of McClure, Ohio, worked his way up to second by lap seven and took the lead from Schilt on lap nine.
Sportsman point leader Josh Robertson tangled with Jesse Jones to bring out the caution on lap 14 of the 20-lap event. Carter Schlenk went on to pick up his third feature win of the year, matching Robertson’s feature win total this year and closing to within 14 points of the lead in the point standings. After a streak of bad luck with mechanical failures the past few weeks, Schilt was able to finish in the second position with Chris Williams, Jeff Robertson and Scott Robertson the rest of the top five.
Dan Shaffer started on the pole of the Dominator Super Stock A Main and grabbed the early lead over William “Bubba” Cundick. Shaffer would retire to the pits during a lap two caution. Cundick would inherit the lead and keep it all the way to the checkered flag. It was the second A Main win of the season for the driver out of Swanton, Ohio. John Lonabarger had a great run come to an end early. He had moved up to second and was challenging Cundick for the lead when he spun which brought out another late caution flag. Chane Stuckey would end up finishing second with Donovan Paskan third. Justin Gamber climbed 14 spots to finish fourth with Jarrett Rendel fifth.
Eric Carr appeared to have secured his third Compact A Main win of the year until the final lap. Pioneer, Ohio’s Jason Bailey passed Carr for the lead at the white flag. Carr then fell off the pace and dropped out of the top five. It was Bailey’s first A Main win. Jason Deshler took second with Brandon Paskan taking over the point lead with his third-place finish. Craig Jones and Jeff Goodman were the rest of the top five finishers.
Joe Nickloy took the early lead in a wild Dominator Super Stock B Main. Nickloy’s lead was short-lived and Charles Stuckey would take over the point by lap three. Nickloy would spin shortly after knocking him out of contention. Josh McNicol out of Adrian, Michigan, started near the back of the field and got into Derek Zuver while battling for second. Zuver would spin and go to the tail. Stuckey led the majority of the race, but had mechanical issues just short of the finish forcing him to give up the lead and retire to the pits. McNicol suddenly found himself with the lead and held off Grayson Warner to pick up the B Main win. John Young recovered from an earlier spin to finish in the third position with Alex Krall finishing close behind. Zuver ended up fifth.
Toledo, Ohio’s Jeff Wells wasted no time in getting to the lead in the Compact B Main and went on to lead the entire distance. One yellow flag flew on lap five after David Zachrich lost a wheel. Tyson Harper finished second ahead of Geoff Wasnick, Megan Elliott and Chris Rutan.
This coming weekend is the annual $10,000 to win Birthday Race weekend at Oakshade Raceway featuring the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models and the Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds joining the Dominator Super Stocks in action on Saturday night. Gates will open at 10am on Friday, July 14 for those who wish to camp overnight. A pit pass or general admission ticket for Saturday’s event must be purchased for each person that comes in on Friday. Saturday, July 15, gates will once again open at 10am. Pits will be open to everyone until 4pm. After 4pm, you must have a pit pass to remain in the pit area. Racing is schedule to begin at 7:30pm. Adult general admission for this huge event is just $14, ages 6-11 are $5 and kids 5 and under are FREE! Pit passes are $25.