FREMONT, Ohio – Cale Conley’s eighth-place finish during the second round of Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek wasn’t flashy, but it did bank him some extra cash Saturday at Fremont Speedway.
Conley, as the Attica Fremont Championship Series driver who earned the most Ohio Speedweek points during the first two nights at Attica Raceway Park and Fremont, respectively, earned a $2,000 bonus for his efforts.
The bonus was put up by the Baumann Auto Group, the presenting sponsor of the Attica Fremont Championship Series.
Conley, a former NASCAR driver turned sprint car regular, finished fifth from ninth on Friday at Attica and eighth on Saturday at Fremont, maintaining his starting position through the 35-lap main event.
“Money’s money,” Conley noted. “I’m grateful to be here and grateful to see grandstands full of fans. It was a good race and a nice, slick track. I want to thank Baumann Auto Group for what they do for the sport, because it takes everyone and what they do to keep us out here … the sponsors and everything.”
Conley ranks fifth in Ohio Speedweek points entering Sunday night’s third round of Speedweek.
– Cole Duncan was a pleasant surprise on the podium Saturday at Fremont, coming home third in his familiar No. 22.
The 28-year-old from Lockbourne, Ohio, chased Aaron Reutzel in the closing laps at the third-mile oval before settling for the final step on the podium.
Duncan has won several regional and higher-paying 410 sprint car events in the past, and figures to be a threat during any Ohio Speedweek shows he enters for the remainder of the mini-series.
– Speaking of Reutzel, Saturday night marked the second straight race that Reutzel failed to win with the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions.
Only once this season, when Kyle Larson won three straight and Brock Zearfoss and Danny Dietrich also added wins between June 7 and June 12, has Reutzel gone three or more races without a victory.
He’ll look to keep that statistic the same by winning Sunday night’s Fremont Speedweek stop. Reutzel won the All Star event at Fremont in 2019, but it wasn’t an Ohio Sprint Speedweek race at that point.
– With Dietrich and Zearfoss dropping off the All Star trail as full-timers a week ago, just seven drivers – Reutzel, Cory Eliason, Zeb Wise, Paul McMahan, Greg Wilson, Josh Baughman and Skylar Gee – remain in the hunt for the championship as full-season commitment entries.
The next driver in the standings beyond that group of seven is All Star series owner, team owner and driver Tony Stewart, who ranks eighth and is 474 points back of Reutzel’s leading total.
– It seems likely that a new Ohio Speedweek champion will be crowned this year, but at least one former champion of the Buckeye State tour is reasonably in the hunt for a repeat title.
Wilson, who won his lone Speedweek championship in 2015, ranks third in points through the first two nights and ran fourth from ninth Saturday at the third-mile Fremont dirt track.
The driver of the familiar No. W20 is just 18 markers back of current leader Buddy Kofoid, who isn’t running the full Ohio Speedweek schedule due to midget obligations with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports.
SPEED SPORT’s Ohio Sprint Speedweek coverage is presented by Cometic Gasket Inc., a leading worldwide supplier of gaskets and engine sealing solutions for the automotive performance, powersports, original equipment and remanufactured engine industries. No matter what you ride, Cometic Gasket can seal your machine so you can focus on the finish line.
Since 1989, Cometic has been living, breathing, and eating powersports. As a proud supporters of GNCC, AMA, NASCAR, and other race-teams across the country, Cometic understands what it takes to put everything on the line with one goal in mind. When you earn your living racing at the highest level against the best in the country, engine failures simply aren’t an option. Champions across the world continue to use Cometic Gasket for their engine-sealing solutions. Whether they’re driving a Gen-6 stock car or riding a top fuel motorcycle, Cometic Gaskets are the reliable source in extreme conditions.
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