Toledo Speedway

TOLEDO, OH (5-8-09)-- A pleasant day turned into a cloudy and eventually a rainy evening at Toledo Speedway for the first Friday night show of the season. A good crowd sat through the rain that began just after qualifying at 7 p.m. The BCSN/Tim Hortons/Toledo Blade season opener started 20 minutes late and was pushed along as quickly as possible.

Moms were admitted free and received a free carnation, courtesy of the track. Our military personnel were also guests of the track and All Faiths Night was also held at the ½ mile paved oval.

A total of 17 ARCA Sportsman cars made the trip to Toledo. Howard Kelley Jr. set quick time at 17:337. Heat race winners were David Frantz and Art Rozane. The 35 lap feature event saw an inversion of 8, putting Scott Lockenour and Rozane on the front row. Terry Jones had his sights on a win, drove to the bottom of the track on the start, moved quickly into the lead and sailed to the victory. Defending champ Jim Froling stayed with Jones early on, but slipped in turn 3 while going for the lead. Jim slid through the grass, righted his car and continued on. Jones had a big lead and held it the rest of the way for his victory. Howard Kelley Jr. was second, Ron Allen third and Rozane fourth, with fifth spot to Froling. Rick Sheppard, Lou Hill, Tom O’Leary IV, David Frantz and Cliff Tholen completed the top ten finishers.

An all-green flag 20 lap ARCA Speedway Tire and Auto Factory main event was sensational, with 3 different leaders in the last 2 laps. Mike Hassen was in command and held the point for much of the race, wheeling in and out of lapped traffic, but with plenty of company. Jeff Maran stayed glued to Mike’s bumper and patiently waited for his chance. On the white flag, Maran dove under Hassen and took the lead, and took Cory McCaughey with him. Coming out of turn 4, Hassen went up the track, Maran did too and McCaughey slipped low at the stripe for a great win, much to the delight of the crowd. Eric Huston slipped by Hassen for third, Hassen was fourth and Dave Arnold Jr. fifth, followed by Landon Schuster, Josh Bunting, Matt Ringger, Tim Shine and Brian Ringger.

Kevin Little topped the 10 lap B Main field over Dusty Brunt, John Rabideau, Mike Hacker and Dan Gregg. Fast qualifier for the 25 car field was Josh Bunting at 11:792. Heat race winners were Tim Shine, Ryan Beabout, and rookie TJ Miller. Fan favorite Amanda Bland captured the last-chance race.

The 20 lap ARCA 4 Cylinder main event was competitive and entertaining as Matt Brazeau posted the victory over Perry Marlow, Brad Turner, Dave Stadniczuk, Michael Marlow, Darren Koester, David Price and Nick Walentowski. The lead pack battled side by side for much of the contest as Matt notched the victory. Turner set fast time at 12:822, with Perry Marlow posting the heat win.

A big tripleheader weekend is set for Friday-Sunday, May 15-17 at Toledo Speedway. It begins with the All Sport ARCA FanFest in the track parking lot. Music, food, games and displays will be part of the weekend. Friday, May 15 is Western Lake Erie Insulation Industry Kid’s Night. All kids to age 14 will be admitted FREE and will receive a free hot dog, chips and a drink. A big 4 in 1 race card is on tap, with the return of the Buckeye 305 Winged Sprint Cars tackling the ½ mile. The ARCA Sportsman, Factory Stocks and Figure 8’s will also be in action. Gates open at 5, racing begins at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17 is the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care weekend for the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Saturday is practice and qualifying for the superspeedway-style stock cars of the RE/MAX Series, with a 100 lap ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck race also slated for Saturday afternoon. Practice begins at 11:15 a.m., time trials are set for 2:15 and the Truck race gets the green flag at 5 p.m. The race will be sponsored by K-100 Radio. Fans can bring an All Sport label to the ticket window and get in FREE for Saturday’s activity.

Sunday the gates will open 11 a.m., with an on-track autograph session set for the ARCA RE/MAX Series drivers, including NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers Ken Schrader and Paul Menard, both of whom will compete in the 200 lap event. NASCAR’s David Ragan will also sign autographs at the session, which begins at noon. The 200 lap race begins at 2 p.m.