Trackside Tidbits by Debi Domby
Trackside Tidbits by Debi Domby
"It's been a really long time since my last win, 1995. Sometimes you wonder if you're ever going to win one. I want to thank Royal Truck and Trailer for sponsoring me. I also want to thank my wife Hilda for her support and my son Harold Jr. and the rest of the crew. Harold (Jr.) and I work on these car together in the shop. I have so much fun racing with my son (Harold Jr.). We've been waiting so many years to get a 1-2 finish. We finished third and fourth earlier this year and a first and third," said the driver from Milan, Mich. The win, his fourth career ARCA win at Toledo, is an early birthday present for the elder Fair, as his 63rd birthday is next month.
"I had a heck of a time racing my dad for the lead. If he would've been a little slower I would've been able to give him a little bump. No not really. I didn't want to wreck him or myself, so second is fine," said Harold Fair Jr., who is also sponsored by Royal Truck and Trailer.
Ron Allen was aboard Butch Giles' #88. The car formerly was driven by Dave Kuhlman. "This is the best finish we've had in a while... My last top three at Toledo might have been back in 2005 or 2006, I know I didn't have one last year. I never saw the car before last night and Jack (Burdette) and I set it up at that time. It ran really great all race long. I'm not sure if I will be in the car for the next Gold Cup race ... I hope my audition went well," said the driver from Lincoln Park, Mich. (Yes, I think you can assume the audition went well).
Justin Schroeder finished fourth in Car #4. He led the first 35 laps before Fair Sr. took over the lead. It was the first laps that Schroeder had ever led at Toledo. (Do you like numerology? Justin qualified 8th on 8-8-08 and finished 4th in car #4 (which adds to 8)).
Brent Jack was unable to take a qualifying lap because of overheating problems, as the crew worked on fixing the car. He only made eight laps before pulling into the pits, ending his night.
Only one car was unable to race. Heather Williams was in the pits and did qualifying but was unable to race because she had a sponsorship meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. Heather had had hoped that the LM race would be first event of the night so she could at least start the feature.
It was a long caution period when Guy Pritchard apparently blew the rear end in his #56. I estimated that the cars circulated around the track for most of the 21 minutes that passed (I was doing lap times for one of the cars and the time between he took the caution and took the green for the restart was 21 minutes). The 21 minutes does include 5-10 minutes where the cars stopped to get their windows cleaned.
Howard Kelley Jr. won the Sportsman feature, his second feature win of the season. Howard is second in career ARCA Sportsman wins with 15 (Ron Allen has a whopping 45). "It took a month to get my car back together after that wreck I had. I want to thank Tom O'Leary IV's crew guys who all helped me tonight... my crew's on vacation. I also want to thank Jimmy Brazeau who spotted for me tonight," said the driver of the Walt's Auto World, King Road Auto Parts, A1 Auto Glass, Rosane Racing #11.
In the Factory Stock we had a first time winner. Gary Cronenwett won his first Factory Stock A main. "This is my first year in a stock car. I've won a heat and a last chance race. I had a good car and we started fourth. I was running third when the leaders tangled and were sent to the rear and I hung on for the win," said the driver of the Cronenwett Racing Graphics #01. And for those of you that recognize the number... yes he is running his dad's, Randy's, number.
Craig Osenbaugh won the B main for the Factory Stocks.