August 9, 2003
All Photos & Captions By Stephen J. Hartzell
Another bicycle waits to be given away to some lucky youngster at Fremont Speedway
Brock Mayes, Bryan Scott & Craig Mintz listen in at the driver's meeting
After a season of disappointments, Bryan Scott was finally able to make his 410 debut in the Burmeister 16 car
Scott did an outstanding job in transferring out of his heat, and finishing 13th in the feature. Bryan will certainly be a Rookie of the Year contender in 2004.
Fremont's flagmen chill with the Linders before the start of the evening's action
After a disasterous time trial, Jimmy Dayton started dead last in his heat race. Dayton worked his way through the field, passing 2 cars on the last lap to earn the transfer.
Findlay's Jason Dukes is still a loyal Fremont runner
Brian Liskai announced Lee Jacobs as "The Snowman" because of his recent tendancy to cause "snow" to fly around due to his close encounters with the softwalls. LJ then mounted a piece of the white foam on his hat, much to the ammusement of the pit dwellers, proving that he is certainly a good sport.
Andy James gave A. J. Sleek a chance to drive his car during Hotlaps. "Sleeker" said that it felt "awesome", and he looked pretty good at that. He may very well be among the 2004 410 rookie class, and it looks to me like he's ready to make the jump.
Banished driver Dustin Keegan turned his ride over to Willie Keegan tonight, and Willie responded with an impressive 6th place feature run.
Scott Kraylek's car owner Scott Kirian put this super-cool "street legal" sprinter together. When asked where the wing is, he said that it doesn't handle well on the open road with a wing. I still think that with the right setup he could get a winged sprinter to hook up on the highway! I must say, it looks a bit strange to see a sprinter start without a push, and shift into reverse!
Brian Sebetto's tail tank blew up in his garage this week for some unknown reason, forcing him to buy this one off of the Kemenahs.
Bob Miller offers words of encouragement
to Phil Gressman prior to hotlaps. Miller will continue to try several
more drivers in the car, including some that may be considered as surprising,
in search of the right driver to run the entire All Star schedule with
in 2004.
"Looks like you're gonna win them both" I said to Byron Reed prior to the start of racing action. He smiled and said, "I'm not gonna say anything", he being unwilling to jinx his chances. Unofficially, he's got Fremont's track championship nailed down, and his sights are now set on duplicating that fete at Attica.
John Ivy pulled out all the stops and tried mightily to do whatever it takes to defend his crown. In the feature his right rear tire went steadily down until it finally shredded into many pieces right in front of the flagstand at the checker. Ivy finished 5 spots ahead of Reed, but it was not enough to preserve his crown.
Brock Mayes and Caleb Griffith sit in the staging area ready to fire their engines. Mayes is at the top of this year's awesome rookie class, and if he has his way Griffith will contend in the 2004 rookie class. This kid has shown maturity well beyond his 15 years, and I think he's ready.
Caleb Griffith's beloved mascot rides along with the young hotshoe on every lap. If you ever want to make Caleb's day, buy him a box of Scooby Snacks.
Craig Mintz sits in a transe-like state as he begins his mental preparation for the feature.
Chris Lang earned a well deserved win after a last lap pass of rookie frontrunner Barry Cole. The win was especially rewarding for Lang after a hard luck season put a drain on his finances. Referring to the slide job that enabled him to take the win, Lang said, "The way I see it, he owes me one now."
Alvin Roepke celebrates another win with pal Brian Liskai. Roepke's dramatic win came by mere inches as he nosed out race-long leader David Harrison in a dragrace at the flagstand. To make the finish even more spectacular, John Ivy's right rear tire exploded right behing the pair, raining rubber down on the whole scene.
A still shell-shocked David Harrison reflects on the dramatic finish as Brian Liskai interviews him on the frontstretch.