Toledo Speedway

Flat Rock, MI  (5-15-10)--  Allen Chevrolet-Cadillac Night at Flat Rock Speedway provided race fans with a great night of action.  Kevin Shirey took top honors in the Buckeye 305 Sprint Car event, while Chad Guinn and Rich Abel were victorious in the DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock features.  Gary Cronenwett won his first-ever ARCA Figure 8 feature, and the duo of Dan Apperson and Dennis Whisman were the winners in the wild Figure 8 Train race.  John Allen and John Ogren from Allen Chevrolet greeted the winners in victory lane.

The Buckeye 305 Winged Sprint Cars made their annual trip to Flat Rock and Mike Sheppard got the night started off by running a lap of 10:443 on the ¼ mile paved oval, setting a new mark for the 305 Sprints and topping the all-time Sprint Car mark, which was 10:526, set by Benny Rapp back in 2000.  A total of 5 cars hit the 10 second bracket in time trials, setting things up for the main event.  The first 22 laps of the 30 lap feature went straight green, allowing Kevin Shirey to build up a comfortable lead over the pack.  Ryan Gillenwater, Brian Buchanan, Danny Shirey and Sheppard started to close the gap until the yellow appeared when Tyler Dunn spun in turn 4.  The yellow seemed to play to Kevin's advantage as he kept about a 5 car lead over Gillenwater on the ensuing restart and sped to his victory.  Gillenwater, Buchanan, Sheppard and Kurt Hubert completed the top 5.  Hubert used the high groove and was impressive in the final 8 laps as he picked up several spots at the finish.  Chris Michael, Talon Stephens, Danny Shirey, Dunn and Tom Kunz completed the top ten.  Michael and Buchanan took the heat race wins.

The ARCA DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stocks had the top 10 qualifiers draw for their starting positions.  Chad Guinn took advantage of the number 1 spot and led all 25 lap en-route to the win in the A Main feature race.  Great pack racing gave Chad a chance to stretch his lead.  Dan Ford Jr., coming from his 7th starting spot, made the most progress as he used the outside lane to get to second spot and ended up in the runner-up position at the checkered flag.  Rob Moore took third, fourth was Jason Shinn, who made up some ground in the late stages, and fifth went to Tim Moore, followed by Clyde McKee, Tadek Stadniczuk, Chris Hebert, David Kind and Jeff Kurzyniec.  Former B Main champ Rich Abel duplicated Guinn's race, leading each lap to win the 15 lap B Main contest.  The race was slowed on lap 11 when Michael Phillips tangled with Nick Bradley, sending Michael into the backstretch wall.  He was ok, his car was not.  James Rae came on strong on the re-start and grabbed second, with Steve Chartrand, Troy Brehmer, Billy Cronce, Harold Davis Jr., Kevin Stepinski, Lonnie York, Jason Burkhart and James Pankow completing the top ten finishers.  Ford Jr. led the 40 car field with a lap of 13:310, while Davis Jr. was the B Main top man at 13:933.  Heat race winners were Rich Frantz, Kurzyniec, Dennis Randall, Abel and York.

Second-generation driver Gary Cronenwett posted his initial victory in the 20 lap ARCA Figure 8 battle.  Dennis Whisman led the first 12 circuits, with plenty of pressure riding right behind him in a pack of 4-6 cars.  Whisman and Cronenwett got together in turn 3 of the Figure 8 course, sending Dennis down into the grass and putting Gary into the number 1 spot.  He held on for his victory, topping Robbie Loving, who made several bids for the win in the final laps.  Gary apologized for getting into Whisman in his post-race interview with track announcer Gary Lindahl.  Fast qualifier Jeremy Vanderhoof (20:498) was third, Greg Studt fourth and Whisman came back to grab fifth.  Billy Earley, Chuck Pankow, Sam Hall, Stephanie Bradley and Troy Herrmann completed the top ten at the stripe.  Earley and Bradley took the heat wins.

It started with 4 Figure 8 Train race teams...and one team didn't make it to the green.  It appeared that the 10 lap Train race, which features 2 cars chained together; the front car with the engine, the back car with the brakes, wouldn't be too interesting...WRONG!!!!  The absolutely hilarious and entertaining event had the fans standing and cheering as the team of Dan Apperson and Dennis Whisman took the win and the $750 top prize.  The story starts with Andy Holly/Ronald Duvall spinning out before the start and breaking their chain, ending their night.  The Whisman/Apperson team had their car stall on the parade laps, and the misfortune of one team became the eventual winner's fortune, as Whisman and Apperson got their car running while the track was cleared, just in time for the green flag.  Scott Apperson/Jeremy Fragassi led at the start, with Jimmy Little/Anthony Camilli in hot pursuit.  Lap 6 may go down as the best laugh of the season!  Apperson and Fragassi spun out all by themselves while leading; Little/Camilli sped by for the lead, with Apperson/Whisman taking charge 50 feet down the track entering turn 3 of the Figure 8 course,  Well, those 2 teams got hooked together, pushed up the track by the wall, allowing Apperson/Fragassi to take the lead again, all in about ½ of a lap!  But on lap 8, Whisman/Apperson zipped by for the lead and the win as they spun across the big white finish line amid the cheers.  Little/Camilli and Apperson/Fragassi took second and third, respectively.

Saturday, May 22 Flat Rock Speedway will host Autograph and Scout Night, sponsored by the UAW Local 3000 and Glass Unlimited.  All scouts in uniform and leaders in uniform or with an ID card will be admitted free.  Fans can walk onto the track and meet the drivers in the Moran Chevrolet Late Model, Figure 8 and DTS Drive Train Specialists Street Stock divisions.  It's also All Faiths Night-bring your church bulletin and get in for just $5 (one person per bulletin).  The autograph session begins at 6:15 and racing starts at 7 p.m.