Friday night at Toledo Speedway saw the return of the weekly divisions with the running of the Sportsman, Factory Stocks, and 4 Cylinders on Valvoline Instant Oil Change Scout Night. There was a big contingent of Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and their troop leaders in the stands as the track was gracious enough to provide free admission and their enthusiasm was contagious. Track announcer, Gary Lindahl, with urging from the tower, was a good sport in performing the “Chicken Dance” much to the delight of the youngsters.
Terry Jones, of Amherst, Ontario, Canada, was victorious winning the 35 lap Sportsman feature in his jet black No. 30 machine. The front row consisted of Norm Lewallen, and last year’s Rookie of the Year, Tom O’Leary IV. O’Leary, who graduated from High School the day before, was finally able to debut his beautiful new white and green No. 8 machine which had been hampered with engine trouble earlier in the season.
Jones took the lead on lap 5 and led the remainder of the contest for his 2nd win of the season. He had to contend with a strong running Ron Allen glued to his bumper the last 25 laps, but was able to withstand the challenge and pull off the win. Allen made a couple daring attempts to obtain the lead, but was thwarted by lapped traffic and ended up having to settle for 2nd place. The race was very clean with just one caution flag on lap 9 when David Frantz made contact with the turn 1 wall. Terry Jones was followed across the line by Allen, Howard Kelley Jr., Rick Sheppard, Art Rozanne, and O’Leary IV. Defending champion Jim Froling and his crew did an absolutely herculean job getting his car entirely rebuilt after a grinding crash 2 weeks ago. Froling made a strong charge to 2nd place early in the race, but unfortunately was slowed by a pesky fuel delivery problem and faded back through the field.
The Factory Stocks took to the tight inner track for their tough 20 lap A main feature. Landon Schuster made an exciting pass on lap 12 going three wide with Don Cox, and Matt Ringger to take the lead and the win, followed by last week’s winner Cory McCaughey in 2nd, and Dave Arnold Jr. in 3rd. It was Hammer time in the 10 lap B Main as Mike Hammer, in his immaculate blue No. 96, finally captured his first feature win.
The last race on the card was the 4 cylinder 20 lap feature as Matt Brazeau was able to outlast the others in a battle of survival as only 3 cars were able to finish. Last year’s champion, Brad Turner, made a big 3 wide pass on the outside to take the lead on lap 10, but his car was unable to start after a red flag and had to be towed to the pits. Brazeau took the lead on lap 17 and cruised to the win over Michael Marlow and Dave Stadniczuk. Brazeau capped off the exciting night with a “Polish” victory lap.
Friday, June 5 is Wendy’s Family Fun and Autograph Night. Fans can get 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 drinks and a program for just $25! The autograph session allows fans to walk onto the track to meet their favorite drivers. The ARCA Sportsman, Figure 8’s and Factory Stocks will also be in action. ALL tickets go on sale at 5 p.m. when the gates open. Race time is 7:30 p.m.
