By: Ron Burt
On Friday night Tyler Courtney wrapped up the 2022 Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions title with his first ever Fremont Speedway win Friday, Oct. 7 to open the 15th Annual Jim and Joanne Ford Classic.
Courtney, from Indianapolis, Indiana, led all 35 laps for his eighth All Star 410 Sprint win of 2022 and the 16th series win of his career. He also picked up $6000.00 for the victory. After the race Courtney said, “I just kept moving the wing back and trying to get traction. The track stayed better tonight than it normally does and early in the night we were a little too tight but we didn’t want to free it up because this place just gets slicker as the night goes on. So just trying to stay a step ahead of it is tough. I think before this year and speedweek one of our best finishes here was like eighth or ninth so to come in here at speedweek and run two top fives and then show up here on finale weekend and get a win is just awesome”.
Second place finisher Justin Peck came on strong the last half of the race, but it was a real battle as he tried to find the right racing line and he had good drivers challenging him. Courtney built a sizeable lead until entering heavy lapped traffic on lap 10. That allowed Cap Henry and Cale Thomas to close. The feature’s only caution flew on lap 20 and gave Courtney the clear track he needed as he pulled away to a nearly three second lead while Henry, Thomas and Justin Peck waged a great battle for second.
When the checker finally waved it was Tyler Courtney, Justin Peck, Cap Henry, and Cole Duncan. Local fan favorites had a rough Friday night. Zeth Sabo took 6th, Travis Philo 10th, Greg Wilson 11th and Cole Macedo 18th.
The Dirt Trucks were on hand and ran two features. Each A-main had different drivers. The first feature went to the 2022 track champion, Jamie Miller. Shawn Valent was 2nd and Dan Hennig 3rd. Jeff Babcock won the second feature, with Chester Fitch, and Brad Mitten finishing 2nd and 3rd.
The area still has some good racing left and next week I’ll try to cover and recap the Winchester 400 weekend. Some of you have messaged me and plan on camping out during the four-day festival of speed with several classes in action. Lorain Raceway Park will the running their Halloween Festival of Speed this weekend. Gas City I-69 Speedway will close out their season October 21st and 22nd with the annual Fall Festival of Speed. Non-Wing 410 Sprints will headline the two-night event. Friday will also feature the USAC Thunder Midgets and Micors. Saturday the Sprints will be racing for $3000.00 to win and Modifieds and Sportsman Stocks will be on the show. Until next week, keep your wheels down. Ron out! ohiosportsblitz@yahoo.com
