FREMONT, Ohio — There were times during the 2024 racing season that Stuart Brubaker probably thought about quitting as his family-owned 410 sprint team struggled with performance and crashes, switching chassis and setups trying to find speed.
But, the veteran didn’t give up and it finally paid off at Fremont Speedway Presented by Gill Construction on Saturday in thrilling fashion.
A three-time Fremont Speedway 305 track champion, Brubaker watched an over four second lead evaporate as he struggled with lapped traffic late in the caution-free 30-lap Fort Ball Pizza Palace 410 Sprint feature.
Brubaker held off a charging Cap Henry to score his first win of the season by just .196 seconds. D.J. Foos, Larry Kingseed and Mike Keegan rounded out the top five. It was Brubaker’s ninth career victory at “The Track That Action Built.”
“I was a little bit faster than the lapped cars but if I moved off the bottom then I opened a lane for him (Henry) and them guys ain’t afraid of crashing,” Brubaker said. “To say we’ve struggled this year is a huge understatement. We’ve tried different cars… we changed everything and this car is the one we started the year with.
“It’s my guys, Bill and Brad and Ron…they never gave up. They have been busting their asses all year trying to get me better.”
With his second place finish Henry, the 2023 All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica Fremont Championship Series presented by the Baumann Auto Group champion, closes the gap on Cale Thomas and Zeth Sabo who entered the night one and two in the series’ standings as Thomas finished 10th and Sabo 13th at Fremont.
Dustin Stroup won the 305 winged sprint event with Shawn Valenti scoring the dirt truck feature.
Feature Finish (30 Laps)
1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[1]; 2. 33W-Cap Henry[5]; 3. 16-DJ Foos[3]; 4. 21-Larry Kingseed Jr[9]; 5. X-Mike Keegan[2]; 6. 9-Trey Jacobs[6]; 7. 101-Kalib Henry[8]; 8. 22M-Dan McCarron[11]; 9. 14-Sean Rayhall[4]; 10. 23-Cale Thomas[7]; 11. 5-Kody Brewer[14]; 12. 19-TJ Michael[13]; 13. 29-Zeth Sabo[17]; 14. 15C-Chris Andrews[16]; 15. 4-Josh Turner[12]; 16. 2+-Brian Smith[18]; 17. 28M-Conner Morrell[15]; 18. 4S-Tyler Street[10]; 19. 7M-Brandon Moore[19]; 20. 13-Van Gurley Jr[20]