COURTESY FREEZE FRAME PHOTOS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
WINNER CIRCLE … #46- Colin Shipley- Winner of the DIRTCAR UMP Late Model Feature.
By: Scott Hammer
WAUSEON – Colin Shipley hung on to win a hard fought, caution-free DIRTcar UMP Late Model feature Saturday night at Oakshade Raceway over his stepfather Rusty Schlenk.
Shipley started on the pole next to Schlenk and got the advantage at the drop of the green flag. The two drivers pulled away from the rest of the competitors and eventually caught the tail end of the field.
Shipley had some tough decisions to make as he approached heavy back marker traffic running side by side in front of him. He surgically began working through that traffic, but Schlenk was able to close right up to Shipley.
Upon clearing the first batch of lapped traffic, the two drivers battled side by side for the race lead with Schlenk trying to make the high side work.
The 25-lap feature race ran straight through with no cautions, meaning no time for Shipley to catch his breath with Schlenk putting the pressure on.
The McClure, Ohio, driver remained laser focused, not making any mistakes to fend off Schlenk to earn the race win. Casey Noonan finished third followed by Carter Murday and Devin Shiels.
Dylan Jessen survived a close call with a lapper in the Speedy Graphics Sportsman feature to become the first (and only) repeat winner this season in any class at Oakshade.
Jessen would take the lead on lap five of the 20-lap race with Dylan Hough following in second.
Just past the halfway point of the race, Jessen had some contact with a slower car while working lapped traffic. The Berkey, Ohio, driver was able to continue without losing the lead.
Josh Robertson started sixth and began working his way toward the front late in the race, taking second on lap 16. Robertson closed in on Jessen in the final few laps but could not catch Jessen who went on to win his second of the year.
The win puts him one point behind the point leader, Josh Robertson, who finished the race in second. Hough slipped back to finish third with Chris Williams climbing nine positions from the start to end up fourth.
Last week’s Sportsman Mods feature winner, Mike Jessen, finished fifth.
A caution-filled Dominator Super Stock A Main was highlighted by numerous lead changes. JR Gooden led the first lap until point-leader Mason Luttrell took command on lap two.
A few laps later, a hard-charging Jake Rendel took the lead away. Jeff Foks Jr. was committed to making the high side work and methodically worked his way to the front taking the lead with just a few laps remaining.
A late caution set up a one-lap race to the checkered flag. Foks, from Holland, Ohio, was able to earn his first feature win of the year.
Luttrell was able to get back by Rendel to finish second with Scott Hammer winding up fourth and Chane Stuckey fifth.
The Compact A Main featured a great battle for the lead between Ryan Okuley and Hillsdale, Michigan’s Cory Gumm.
Okuley took the lead on lap three of the 10-lap main event with Gumm moving up to third after starting 14th. It didn’t take long for Gumm to take second and began to pressure Okuley for the lead.
The two drivers battled hard for several laps until Gumm was able to complete the pass for the lead with just two laps remaining. It was Gumm’s first win of the year.
Okuley, who leads the points, finished second. Last week’s feature winner James Stamper finished third with Wesley Belkofer and Adam Thomas, the rest of the top five finishers.
Oakshade Raceway hosts the first major event of the season this Saturday, June 20 with the 37th running of the Barney Oldfield Race which will be a Valvoline American Late Model Iron Man Series event paying $5,000 to win.
The event will cap off a daylong celebration that will start at the Museum & Welcome Center of Fulton County, just down the road from Oakshade Raceway. They will be hosting Barney Oldfield Day festivities from 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
This free event will feature movies, artifacts, food & drinks, a car show and so much more to celebrate the legacy of Barney Oldfield who was from Wauseon, Ohio.
Also in action at Oakshade next Saturday will be Dominator Super Stocks and Compacts. The Speedy Graphics Sportsman will have the night off.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. with hot laps/qualifying at 6 p.m. and racing at 7:15 p.m.
