Froling Returns to Championship Form at Toledo
Froling Returns to Championship Form at Toledo
TOLEDO, OH: (6-26-09): Defending champ Jim Froling avoided the "big one" and sailed to victory in the 50 lap ARCA Sportsman feature Friday evening at Toledo Speedway. Speedway Tire and Auto, 7-Up and the Destination Toledo Convention and Visitors Bureau sponsored the night of racing at the Glass City oval. Shaun Mills, representing Speedway Tire, presented the trophies in the Glass Bowl Lanes Winner's Circle.
The pack came down for the green in the 50 lap Sportsman contest and didn't make it out of turn 1, as half of the 17 car field piled into each other and the wall. With no laps complete, track officials moved the racing back to the ¼ mile for the 4 Cylinders and Figure 8's while cleanup to the track and repairs to the cars were made. On the second try, Art Rozane jumped into the lead and held the point until lap 10 when Howard Kelley Jr. made a neat move to the inside in turn 3 to grab the lead. Something happened to Kelley's car as he exited the corner, with the #11 spinning to the infield grass. Froling spun to avoid, Kelley went to pit road with more problems and Rozane got the lead back, while Froling got his spot back. Jim wasted no time when the green came back out, taking the lead on lap 11 with Terry Jones in tow. Froling and Jones played cat and mouse for 30 laps until Jones looped his car in the back chute and ended up tagging the concrete blocks on the inside. Froling powered away on the restart to take win number 1 of the season. Ron Allen, with plenty of damage to his car, just made it back out to start and got stronger as the race wore on, came home second. Third was Rozane, fourth was Tom O'Leary IV and fifth went to rookie Kenny McKay Jr., followed by Rick Sheppard, Jones, Scott Lockenour, Norm Lewallen and David Toth. A lap 23 yellow was displayed when Cliff Tholen slammed the turn 4 wall. He was fine but his car was heavily damaged. Jones posted fast time at 17:505.
Jeremy Vanderhoof zipped in and out of lapped traffic the entire 20 laps to notch the victory in the ARCA Figure 8 feature race. Robbie Loving and Dennis Whisman tried to reel in the leader, but Jeremy had built up a sizable lead and used the traffic and some slice and dice moves through the intersection to maintain his advantage. Loving was second, Whisman third, Anthony Terris fourth and Scott Apperson fifth. Rookie Chris Cox, Brice Thomsen, James Rae, Chuck Pankow and Tim Murphy completed the top ten. Terris and Whisman took the heat race wins.
Archie Padgett, in a borrowed car after his primary ride encountered engine trouble, grabbed the lead from early pacesetter Tim Shine on his way to the win in the 20 lap ARCA Speedway Tire and Auto Factory Stock main event. Landon Schuster applied the pressure as he shadowed Padgett to the stripe in the all-green flag contest. A wild incident at the checkered flag saw Ramon Ortiz get sideways right at the stripe, sending Josh Bunting, Mike Hassen and Cory McCaughey into a pile-up, with Bunting getting airborne and breaking his rear axle in the process. Dave Arnold Jr. took third, fourth was Shine and fifth went to Craig Osenbaugh, with Hassen, Bunting, McCaughey, Eric Huston and Matt Ringger next in line to complete the top ten. Padgett's car failed post-race inspection. Track procedure calls for loss of points and winnings for the night.
Alan Bland Jr. appeared to be headed to the win in the 10 lap B Main, only to have his car overheat on the final lap, giving TJ Miller the lead and the win over John Rabideau, Desi Kesler, Mark Davis, Mike Hacker, Dan Gregg, Bland Jr. and Randy Padgett. Huston paced the 28 car field with a lap of 11:797. Schuster, Amanda Bland, Mike Hammer and Miller took the heat race wins. Ryan Beabout led the way to win the last-chance race.
Brad Turner and Michael Marlow ran side by side for 10 lap battling for the lead in the 20 lap ARCA 4 Cylinder main event, with Turner finally gaining control on lap 11 on the way to victory. Marlow was second at the finish, Perry Marlow third, Dave Stadniczuk fourth and Matt Brazeau fifth. Turner took the heat win, with Stadniczuk setting fast time at 12:992. Destination Toledo President and CEO David Nolan ran the heat race with the class as part of the festivities surrounding the Toursim Bureau's night of fun at the track.
In step with Toledo Speedway's 50th Anniversary celebration, the return of the USAC Sprint Cars and Midgets is next up at the track Friday evening, July 3. With sponsorship from local businessman Ron Hemelgarn and his Hemelgarn Racing Team and Super Fitness, USAC will return to Toledo after a 1-year absence. The national-touring series for both open-wheel classes will compete on the big ½ mile paved oval. The pit area opens at 1 p.m., practice begins at 4, time trials are set for 6 and racing begins at 7:30 p.m. The front gates and ticket office will open at 4 p.m. Several vintage race cars will also be on display.
Reserved seating is available by calling the track at 419-727-1100. VISA and Mastercard are accepted for phone orders at 419-727-1100. ALL general admission tickets and children's tickets go on sale at 4 p.m. raceday. The track is located on Benore Road at the I-75/Alexis Road exit on the Michigan-Ohio border.
The pack came down for the green in the 50 lap Sportsman contest and didn't make it out of turn 1, as half of the 17 car field piled into each other and the wall. With no laps complete, track officials moved the racing back to the ¼ mile for the 4 Cylinders and Figure 8's while cleanup to the track and repairs to the cars were made. On the second try, Art Rozane jumped into the lead and held the point until lap 10 when Howard Kelley Jr. made a neat move to the inside in turn 3 to grab the lead. Something happened to Kelley's car as he exited the corner, with the #11 spinning to the infield grass. Froling spun to avoid, Kelley went to pit road with more problems and Rozane got the lead back, while Froling got his spot back. Jim wasted no time when the green came back out, taking the lead on lap 11 with Terry Jones in tow. Froling and Jones played cat and mouse for 30 laps until Jones looped his car in the back chute and ended up tagging the concrete blocks on the inside. Froling powered away on the restart to take win number 1 of the season. Ron Allen, with plenty of damage to his car, just made it back out to start and got stronger as the race wore on, came home second. Third was Rozane, fourth was Tom O'Leary IV and fifth went to rookie Kenny McKay Jr., followed by Rick Sheppard, Jones, Scott Lockenour, Norm Lewallen and David Toth. A lap 23 yellow was displayed when Cliff Tholen slammed the turn 4 wall. He was fine but his car was heavily damaged. Jones posted fast time at 17:505.
Jeremy Vanderhoof zipped in and out of lapped traffic the entire 20 laps to notch the victory in the ARCA Figure 8 feature race. Robbie Loving and Dennis Whisman tried to reel in the leader, but Jeremy had built up a sizable lead and used the traffic and some slice and dice moves through the intersection to maintain his advantage. Loving was second, Whisman third, Anthony Terris fourth and Scott Apperson fifth. Rookie Chris Cox, Brice Thomsen, James Rae, Chuck Pankow and Tim Murphy completed the top ten. Terris and Whisman took the heat race wins.
Archie Padgett, in a borrowed car after his primary ride encountered engine trouble, grabbed the lead from early pacesetter Tim Shine on his way to the win in the 20 lap ARCA Speedway Tire and Auto Factory Stock main event. Landon Schuster applied the pressure as he shadowed Padgett to the stripe in the all-green flag contest. A wild incident at the checkered flag saw Ramon Ortiz get sideways right at the stripe, sending Josh Bunting, Mike Hassen and Cory McCaughey into a pile-up, with Bunting getting airborne and breaking his rear axle in the process. Dave Arnold Jr. took third, fourth was Shine and fifth went to Craig Osenbaugh, with Hassen, Bunting, McCaughey, Eric Huston and Matt Ringger next in line to complete the top ten. Padgett's car failed post-race inspection. Track procedure calls for loss of points and winnings for the night.
Alan Bland Jr. appeared to be headed to the win in the 10 lap B Main, only to have his car overheat on the final lap, giving TJ Miller the lead and the win over John Rabideau, Desi Kesler, Mark Davis, Mike Hacker, Dan Gregg, Bland Jr. and Randy Padgett. Huston paced the 28 car field with a lap of 11:797. Schuster, Amanda Bland, Mike Hammer and Miller took the heat race wins. Ryan Beabout led the way to win the last-chance race.
Brad Turner and Michael Marlow ran side by side for 10 lap battling for the lead in the 20 lap ARCA 4 Cylinder main event, with Turner finally gaining control on lap 11 on the way to victory. Marlow was second at the finish, Perry Marlow third, Dave Stadniczuk fourth and Matt Brazeau fifth. Turner took the heat win, with Stadniczuk setting fast time at 12:992. Destination Toledo President and CEO David Nolan ran the heat race with the class as part of the festivities surrounding the Toursim Bureau's night of fun at the track.
In step with Toledo Speedway's 50th Anniversary celebration, the return of the USAC Sprint Cars and Midgets is next up at the track Friday evening, July 3. With sponsorship from local businessman Ron Hemelgarn and his Hemelgarn Racing Team and Super Fitness, USAC will return to Toledo after a 1-year absence. The national-touring series for both open-wheel classes will compete on the big ½ mile paved oval. The pit area opens at 1 p.m., practice begins at 4, time trials are set for 6 and racing begins at 7:30 p.m. The front gates and ticket office will open at 4 p.m. Several vintage race cars will also be on display.
Reserved seating is available by calling the track at 419-727-1100. VISA and Mastercard are accepted for phone orders at 419-727-1100. ALL general admission tickets and children's tickets go on sale at 4 p.m. raceday. The track is located on Benore Road at the I-75/Alexis Road exit on the Michigan-Ohio border.