Wise earns Jim & Joanne Ford Classic win at Fremont and All Star driver’s title
FREMONT, Ohio (Sept. 16, 2023) – Zeb Wise led the last half the 16th Annual Jim and Joanne Ford Classic at Fremont Speedway Saturday and survived a late race challenge from Friday night’s winner and a caution with just two laps to go to score a $10,000 payday and his first ever Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 driver championship.
Wise’s eighth All Star win of 2023 and the 12th of his career with the series, gives his Rudeen Racing team a ton of momentum heading to the season finale at Eldora Speedway next Saturday and the $80,000 team title. Wise, driver of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation/Sundollar Restoration/Hager Realty/Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales No. 26, took the lead from two-time and defending All Star champion Tyler Courtney on lap 20. Wise, who started in the outside-pole position, slipping back to third at the initial start before making his charge to the front on Madison Motors Night.
In an action-packed race that saw the top five slicing through thick lapped traffic while battling side by side and nose to tail for position, the Angola, Indiana, native used traffic to get himself to second on lap 15, then getting by Courtney five circuits later. The next ten circuits would see Wise stretch his advantage to almost three seconds, that until caution flags waved on lap 30.
By that point, Kyle Reinhardt, who had started fifth aboard the Bryan Grove Racing No. 45, had already made his way to the second spot, utilizing some mid-race chaos to get around Tyler Courtney and Kerry Madsen. The Neptune City, New Jersey, native did everything he could to get to Wise in the final few circuits, even banging wheels with the leader on lap 35. Reinhardt had a final shot at Wise when the caution flew with two laps to go but Wise executed a perfect restart and drove away to his third career win at Fremont Speedway.
Reinhardt raced home second, followed by Madsen, Parker Price-Miller, and Cole Duncan.
“Honestly I really didn’t want to see that yellow flag because honestly felt like I was setting a pretty good pace through lapped traffic. I felt like I was getting through there really well. I didn’t know what to do at all once the yellow came out on the restart and the laps after that because the whole race I was never in clean air by myself out front. I didn’t know what to do or where to be,” said Wise. “Hats off to my guys. Tyler said after the dash we didn’t look that good and I didn’t feel that great. But, my guys put their heads down and gave me a great car. How about this Ford motor by the way…everyone says they can’t come to the slick tracks and we just got it done.”
For Reinhardt, it was a fantastic weekend at Fremont with a win and a runner-up finish aboard his Bryan Grove Racing/Canton Erectors/Starrett Service/Premier Pallet/Coors Banquet Beer/Capital Renegade/Baker Transportation backed No. 45.
“I can’t thank my guys enough for working really hard. You can’t ask for much more. We had a good race with Zeb going and I got under him that one time and he did what he had to do and closed the door and broke my momentum enough to let him keep the lead and that’s what pretty much sealed the deal,” said Reinhardt.
For Kerry Madsen of St. Mary’s New South Wales, Australia, a third place finish after challenging for the lead throughout the 40-lap affair, was encouraging.
“It was a good run for Vermeer Motorsports. It was a fun race…it really was. I was being really patient early and we got to traffic everything seemed to equalize. It was a really fun race track tonight,” said Madsen of his TK Concrete/Maxim Trucking/Logan Contractor Supply/Zip Bonds/Smoker’s Choice Cigar Bar No. 55.
Jimmy McGrath Jr. jumped into the early lead of the Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprint feature but a restart on lap six saw last week’s winner John Ivy take over the lead. Jamie Miller used a restart on lap 10 to take the lead and drove away for his third win of the year at Fremont. It’s his 44th career feature victory at the track, placing him 10th on the all-time win list.
Ivy would come home second with 16th starter Paul Weaver finishing third followed by McGrath and Brendon Torok.
“That motor rips. You get some mud on the track and this thing just goes,” said Miller beside his Boca Construction, Kenny Kalb Farms, Roberts & Sons Contracting, JLH General Contractor, Tuck Pointing America, Pizza Wheel, Smitty’s Pizza, Queen of Clean, Rohr Total Lawn Care, Crown Battery, Reedtown Tavern, Fostoria Mod Shop, Slade Shock Technology, CA Kustoms, Jamie Miller Trucking, Reliable Spray Foam Insulators, Gill Sawmill backed No. 26.
Fremont Speedway will be back in action Saturday, Sept. 23 for season championship night with the Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprints, Fremont Federal Credit Union 305 Sprints and the Burmeister Trophy Dirt Trucks in action.
Keep up to date with Fremont Speedway by going to www.fremontohspeedway.com or on Facebook at www.facebook/FremontSpeedway or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/FremontSpeedway.
About Madison Motors – https://madisonmotorservices.com
Russell Dryfuse established Madison Street Garage in 1927, in Tiffin, Ohio. The company was the first towing service in the area. They specialized in towing and mechanical repairs. Louis Seitz, took over leadership of Madison Street Garage from his father in 1955. The company was moved to a different location and thus became Madison Motor Service Inc. Seitz’s son, Rick, became the third generation owner of the company in 1975. Madison Motors is now owned by Steve Pierce.
Madison Motors has continued to grow, and relocated once again to Fremont. Madison Motors became an authorized service for the Ohio Turnpike, providing towing and road service for its patrons. Madison Motor offers 24-hour emergency road and tire service, and local and long-distance towing and heavy-duty towing.
Fremont Speedway
Saturday, Sept. 17, 2023
Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions
Tezos A Feature (40 Laps): 1. 26-Zeb Wise[2]; 2. 45-Kyle Reinhardt[5]; 3. 55-Kerry Madsen[4]; 4. 9P-Parker Price Miller[7]; 5. 22-Cole Duncan[3]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee[10]; 7. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 8. 33W-Cap Henry[12]; 9. 4-Chris Windom[11]; 10. 49X-Tim Shaffer[18]; 11. 23-Cale Thomas[8]; 12. 29X-Zeth Sabo[15]; 13. 70-Kraig Kinser[17]; 14. 50YR-JJ Hickle[13]; 15. 42-Sye Lynch[9]; 16. 5T-Travis Philo[24]; 17. 16-DJ Foos[14]; 18. 32B-Dale Blaney[21]; 19. 29-Carl Bowser[25]; 20. 97-Max Stambaugh[20]; 21. (DNF) 15C-Chris Andrews[16]; 22. (DNF) 5-Byron Reed[23]; 23. (DNF) 32-Bryce Lucius[6]; 24. (DNF) 28M-Conner Morrell[19]; 25. (DNF) 35-Stuart Brubaker[22] LAP LEADERS: Tyler Courtney (1-19), Zeb Wise (20-40)
Classic Ink USA B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 32B-Dale Blaney[2]; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker[3]; 3. 5-Byron Reed[9]; 4. 5T-Travis Philo[4]; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs[8]; 6. 61-Tyler Shullick[13]; 7. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek[5]; 8. 40-Justin Clark[10]; 9. 21-Larry Kingseed Jr[11]; 10. X-Mike Keegan[17]; 11. 8M-TJ Michael[14]; 12. 6-Jimmie Ward Jr[15]; 13. (DNF) 15K-Creed Kemenah[1]; 14. (DNF) 29-Carl Bowser[12]; 15. (DNF) 2+-Brian Smith[16]; 16. (DNF) 1-Nate Dussel[7]; 17. (DNS) 09-Craig Mintz
Computer Man C Feature (6 Laps): 1. 2+-Brian Smith[2]; 2. 4T-Josh Turner[3]; 3. X-Mike Keegan[6]; 4. 75-Jerry Dahms[5]; 5. 98-Robert Robenalt[4]; 6. 90-Jeffrey Neubert[7]; 7. (DNS) 12-Brian Lay
Elliotts Custom Trailers and Carts Dash (6 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 2. 26-Zeb Wise[2]; 3. 22-Cole Duncan[4]; 4. 55-Kerry Madsen[8]; 5. 45-Kyle Reinhardt[5]; 6. 32-Bryce Lucius[6]; 7. 9P-Parker Price Miller[10]; 8. 23-Cale Thomas[3]; 9. 42-Sye Lynch[7]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee[9]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 42-Sye Lynch[2]; 2. 26-Zeb Wise[4]; 3. 50YR-JJ Hickle[1]; 4. 15C-Chris Andrews[3]; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker[5]; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs[6]; 7. 61-Tyler Shullick[9]; 8. 12-Brian Lay[7]; 9. (DNF) X-Mike Keegan[8]
CSI Shocks Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 45-Kyle Reinhardt[1]; 2. 33W-Cap Henry[2]; 3. 23-Cale Thomas[4]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer[3]; 5. 32B-Dale Blaney[5]; 6. 40-Justin Clark[6]; 7. 6-Jimmie Ward Jr[8]; 8. 98-Robert Robenalt[7]; 9. 90-Jeffrey Neubert[9]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 22-Cole Duncan[2]; 2. 9P-Parker Price Miller[4]; 3. 16-DJ Foos[1]; 4. 97-Max Stambaugh[5]; 5. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek[7]; 6. 1-Nate Dussel[3]; 7. 29-Carl Bowser[6]; 8. 75-Jerry Dahms[8]
Kistler Racing Products Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Skylar Gee[3]; 2. 4-Chris Windom[1]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[4]; 4. 28M-Conner Morrell[5]; 5. 15K-Creed Kemenah[2]; 6. 09-Craig Mintz[6]; 7. 8M-TJ Michael[7]; 8. 2+-Brian Smith[8]
Mobil 1 Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 32-Bryce Lucius[2]; 2. 55-Kerry Madsen[4]; 3. 29X-Zeth Sabo[3]; 4. 70-Kraig Kinser[1]; 5. 5T-Travis Philo[6]; 6. 5-Byron Reed[7]; 7. 21-Larry Kingseed Jr[5]; 8. 4T-Josh Turner[8]
Hercules Tire Qualifying: 1. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:12.158[3]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 00:12.193[31]; 3. 50YR-JJ Hickle, 00:12.312[1]; 4. 4-Chris Windom, 00:12.360[29]; 5. 23-Cale Thomas, 00:12.361[14]; 6. 45-Kyle Reinhardt, 00:12.361[16]; 7. 55-Kerry Madsen, 00:12.366[35]; 8. 9P-Parker Price Miller, 00:12.375[20]; 9. 15K-Creed Kemenah, 00:12.379[27]; 10. 42-Sye Lynch, 00:12.433[5]; 11. 15C-Chris Andrews, 00:12.456[4]; 12. 70-Kraig Kinser, 00:12.466[38]; 13. 16-DJ Foos, 00:12.478[23]; 14. 33W-Cap Henry, 00:12.507[18]; 15. 32-Bryce Lucius, 00:12.520[40]; 16. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 00:12.526[17]; 17. 99-Skylar Gee, 00:12.543[33]; 18. 29X-Zeth Sabo, 00:12.575[39]; 19. 22-Cole Duncan, 00:12.587[26]; 20. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:12.587[32]; 21. 32B-Dale Blaney, 00:12.600[15]; 22. 09-Craig Mintz, 00:12.626[30]; 23. 1-Nate Dussel, 00:12.648[22]; 24. 21-Larry Kingseed Jr, 00:12.650[37]; 25. 97-Max Stambaugh, 00:12.657[19]; 26. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 00:12.670[7]; 27. 81-Lee Jacobs, 00:12.699[9]; 28. 5T-Travis Philo, 00:12.715[41]; 29. 29-Carl Bowser, 00:12.746[25]; 30. 11N-Kasey Jedrzejek, 00:12.774[21]; 31. 12-Brian Lay, 00:12.789[2]; 32. 5-Byron Reed, 00:12.806[36]; 33. X-Mike Keegan, 00:12.859[8]; 34. 61-Tyler Shullick, 00:12.882[6]; 35. 8M-TJ Michael, 00:12.934[34]; 36. 2+-Brian Smith, 00:13.035[28]; 37. 40-Justin Clark, 00:13.137[11]; 38. 4T-Josh Turner, 00:13.516[42]; 39. 98-Robert Robenalt, 00:13.867[10]; 40. 6-Jimmie Ward Jr, 00:14.111[12]; 41. 90-Jeffrey Neubert, 00:59.999[13]; 42. 75-Jerry Dahms, 00:59.999[24]
305 Sprints – Fremont Federal Credit Union
Qualifying
1.26-Jamie Miller, 13.295; 2.01-Bryan Sebetto, 13.629; 3.28-Shawn Valenti, 13.718; 4.9R-Logan Riehl, 13.727; 5.2-Brenden Torok, 13.759; 6.X15J-Jody Keegan, 13.806; 7.4x-Dustin Stroup, 13.847; 8.49I-John Ivy, 13.871; 9.16-Lee Sommers, 13.873; 10.X15-Kasey Ziebold, 13.875; 11.34-Jud Dickerson, 13.913; 12.3M-Logan Mongeau, 13.929; 13.5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr, 13.968; 14.78-Austin Black , 13.974; 15.10TS-Tyler Schiets, 14.052; 16.5DD-Dustin Dinan, 14.058; 17.1W-Paul Weaver, 14.150; 18.11TS-Tate Schiets, 14.177; 19.63-Randy Ruble, 14.249; 20.4K-Blayne Keckler, 14.266; 21.36JR-JJ Henes, 14.303; 22.8-Jim Leaser, 14.335; 23.5-Kody Brewer, 14.420; 24.0-Bradley Bateson, 14.435; 25.51M-Haldon Miller, 14.436; 26.71-Joe Coggin, 14.769; 27.98-Dave Hoppes, 15.669;
Heat 1, Group A – (8 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[4] ; 2. 16-Lee Sommers[2] ; 3. 34-Jud Dickerson[1] ; 4. 01-Bryan Sebetto[3] ; 5. 5DD-Dustin Dinan[6] ; 6. 1W-Paul Weaver[7] ; 7. 3M-Logan Mongeau[5] ; 8. 4K-Blayne Keckler[8] ; 9. 8-Jim Leaser[9]
Heat 2, Group B – (8 Laps)
1. 49I-John Ivy[2] ; 2. X15-Kasey Ziebold[1] ; 3. X15J-Jody Keegan[4] ; 4. 4x-Dustin Stroup[3] ; 5. 10TS-Tyler Schiets[6] ; 6. 51M-Haldon Miller[9] ; 7. 0-Bradley Bateson[8] ; 8. 78-Austin Black [5] ; 9. 11TS-Tate Schiets[7]
Heat 3, Group C – (8 Laps)
1. 2-Brenden Torok[2] ; 2. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[1] ; 3. 9R-Logan Riehl[3] ; 4. 28-Shawn Valenti[4] ; 5. 63-Randy Ruble[5] ; 6. 5-Kody Brewer[7] ; 7. 36JR-JJ Henes[6] ; 8. 71-Joe Coggin[8] ; 9. 98-Dave Hoppes[9]
B-Main 1 – (10 Laps)
1. 1W-Paul Weaver[1] ; 2. 5-Kody Brewer[3] ; 3. 51M-Haldon Miller[2] ; 4. 3M-Logan Mongeau[4] ; 5. 4K-Blayne Keckler[7] ; 6. 36JR-JJ Henes[6] ; 7. 0-Bradley Bateson[5] ; 8. 71-Joe Coggin[9] ; 9. 8-Jim Leaser[10] ; 10. 78-Austin Black [8] ; 11. 98-Dave Hoppes[12]
A-Main 1 – (25 Laps)
1. 26-Jamie Miller[8] ; 2. 49I-John Ivy[4] ; 3. 1W-Paul Weaver[16] ; 4. 5Jr-Jimmy McGrath Jr[2] ; 5. 2-Brenden Torok[1] ; 6. 5-Kody Brewer[17] ; 7. X15-Kasey Ziebold[7] ; 8. 28-Shawn Valenti[6] ; 9. 5DD-Dustin Dinan[13] ; 10. 34-Jud Dickerson[9] ; 11. 01-Bryan Sebetto[5] ; 12. X15J-Jody Keegan[10] ; 13. 3M-Logan Mongeau[19] ; 14. 63-Randy Ruble[15] ; 15. 4K-Blayne Keckler[20] ; 16. 9R-Logan Riehl[11] ; 17. 16-Lee Sommers[3] ; 18. 51M-Haldon Miller[18] ; 19. 10TS-Tyler Schiets[14] ; 20. 4x-Dustin Stroup[12]
Sources: Brian Liskai/Fremont Speedway PR