WAUSEON, OH – Rusty Schlenk made history Saturday night at Oakshade Raceway becoming the only five-time winner of the coveted Barney Oldfield Race. It was the second Oakshade UMP Late Model feature win of the season for the McClure, Ohio, driver.
Casey Noonan and Carter Murday, winner of the last two late model feature wins at Oakshade, started on the front row of the 34-lap 34th Annual Barney Oldfield Race feature event. Noonan grabbed the early lead, but Murday would claw back and take the lead a couple laps later.
The first caution flag flew on lap 13 after Ryder Price had mechanical issues and rolled to a stop on the backstretch. By this time, Schlenk had worked his way up to third after starting sixth.
After the ensuing restart, Schlenk and Murday put on a heck of a battle for the race lead running side by side for several laps. Finally, Schlenk was able to complete the pass by lap 17 and then proceeded to pull away from Murday and the rest of the field.
Schlenk went on to the $5,000 pay day after working masterfully through lapped traffic on the way to taking the checkered flag. Oakshade point leader Dusty Moore got by Murday with just two laps remaining to finish second with Murday, Noonan and Colin Shipley the rest of the top five finishers.
Ryan Davis started from the pole of the UMP Sportsman feature and looked to be the car to beat. Davis jumped out to a decent lead until a lap eight caution would tighten the field back up. A few laps later, Josh Robertson would challenge Davis for the race lead and make the pass, but the yellow flag would fly for Braeden Marsh’s stopped car at the same time giving the lead back to Davis.
After the lap 11 restart, Davis slipped high in turns three and four allowing Robertson to take the lead once again. Davis’s car kept pushing way up high in the corners as he fell back through the running order and eventually retired to the pits.
Robertson, out of Defiance, Ohio, went on to pick up his third consecutive feature win with Donnie Ringman finishing second. Jake Gamber took home a third-place finish and Carter Schlenk climbed six positions to end up fourth ahead of Jeff Robertson.
Last week’s Dominator Super Stock A Main winner William “Bubba” Cundick led the majority of Saturday night’s feature event, but Adam Lantz would play spoiler after working his way up to the front from his sixth starting postion. Cundick led from the drop of the green flag after starting on the outside of the front row. Lantz, from Wauseon, Ohio, caught Cundick late in the race and took the lead with just three laps remaining on his way to earn his second A Main win of the year. Cundick settled for second with Justin Gamber finishing third. Chane Stuckey ended up fourth and John Lonabarger climbed six positions from the start to end up fifth.
Hillsdale, Michigan’s Cory Gumm and Wauseon, Ohio’s Eric Carr got to the front early in the Compact A Main with Gumm taking the lead and pulling away. A couple caution periods would allow Carr and the rest of the field to close back in on Gumm, but Gumm powered his way to his third Oakshade feature win of the season. Carr took second ahead of Brett Ireland, Jeff Goodman and Ryan Okuley.
Curt Dickie looked to be the man to beat in the Dominator Super Stock B Main. He pulled out to a big lead over the rest of the field after starting on the outside of the front row. Dickie’s lead would be erased after the caution flag flew with just three laps remaining for a Ryan Clair spin. That allowed Sylvania, Ohio’s Scott Hammer to close in and restart right on Dickie’s rear bumper. Hammer ducked to the inside on the restart and was able to take the lead and eventually the B Main win. Adam Noonan finished second with Grayson Warner third. Dickie slipped back to finish fourth with Josh Overmyer fifth.
Josh Beaver and Mark Prather swapped the lead early in the Compact B Main and the top five drivers ran in a tight pack for much of the race. Brandon Paskan from Morenci, Michigan, fought his way to the front after starting at the rear of the field to pick up his first feature win of the season. Tyson Harper finished second ahead of Gavin Stambaugh. Beaver and Prather fell back to finish fourth and fifth respectively. This Saturday night, Oakshade Raceway hosts the Oakshade/Attica Late Model Challenge Series along with UMP Sportsman, Dominator Super Stocks and Compacts. Gates open at 4pm with hot laps/qualifying at 6pm and racing at 7pm. Adult general admission is just $14, ages 6-11 are $5 and kids 5 and under are FREE! Pit passes are $25.
