ATTICA, Ohio – Brandon Spithaler survived a late-race challenge to earn his first Attica Raceway Park 410 sprint car victory on Friday evening on Underground Utilities Inc. Night.
Nate Dussel and Spithaler brought the field to green for the 410 sprint car A-main with Dussel gaining the advantage over Spithaler, Cole Macedo, Cap Henry, Jordan Ryan, Gary Taylor, John Ivy, Stuart Brubaker and Henry Malcuit.
Dussel held a slim advantage over Spithaler while Macedo and Henry battled for third Spithaler got under Dussel for the lead on lap eight but Dussel returned the favor the next circuit as they prepared to race into heavy lapped traffic.
Spithaler used the traffic to retake the lead on lap 10 just before a caution flew for debris. On the restart Dussel encountered some sort of problem and fell back to fourth as Macedo and Henry went by. Dussel regained his composure and moved back into third on lap 13. At the half-way point Spithaler led Macedo, Dussel and Henry while tremendous battle ensued for fifth involving Brubaker, 14th starter Trey Jacobs and Malcuit.
Spithaler was able to put a little distance between himself and Macedo as they raced into lapped traffic with 10 circuits remaining. Spithaler survived a very close call with nine laps to go when a lapped car made contact and spun. When the green waved Spithaler hit the gas, pulling to a commanding lead before a caution for Dussel with three laps to go gave Macedo the opportunity he needed.
On the restart Macedo dove under Spithaler as the two raced side by side to the white flag. Spithaler was able to keep his momentum and drove to the win over Macedo, Henry, Malcuit and Brubaker.
“The last two or three restarts I knew he (Macedo) was back there but I didn’t see his nose until the end,” said Spithaler after his $3,000 victory. “Every restart I tried to take my time and get through one and two smooth. I knew I hung coming out of four the first lap through and I needed to make some speed and sure as shit I saw him. This feels great. We tend…whether it was a good idea or bad idea…we tend to only come here for the All Star shows and never come for a local show. There’s a strong field of cars out here in Ohio.”
For the entire 25 laps of the Propane.com/Dirt Nerds Podcast UMP Late Model feature, Ryan Markham, Rusty Schlenk and Matt Irey battled nose to tail and three wide on several occasions. Markham, the track’s 2018 late model champion, led the first 14 laps before Schlenk edged ahead from laps 15-19 with Markham regaining the lead the final six laps. The final six laps also featured three wide racing for the lead and during the middle stages of the feature the lead trio were slicing and dicing through lapped traffic.
Markham’s win was the 18th of his career at Attica and places him third in the late model division’s all-time win list.
Zeth Sabo, 18, took the lead on lap seven of the 25 lap Fremont Fence 305 Sprints feature and pulled away on several restarts, including a final restart with two laps to go.