ATTICA, Ohio — What do you do when the track conditions are literally changing every lap? If you’re Lance Dewease, you rely on your years of experience and a little bit of luck.
The Pennsylvania driver tamed Attica Raceway Park Saturday to win the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions feature to kick off the track’s 20th anniversary season in front of a huge crowd for the Coors Light Spring Clash.
Heavy rains over the past month made for a heavy, rough race track. Defending Attica champion Byron Reed’s equipment failure gave Dewease the lead with seven laps to go and he went on to the victory and the All Star point lead.
“The track was changing every lap. You’d find a groove and a lap later it would change so you had to adapt. That’s where experience comes in,” said Dewease. “My hat’s off to the track crew here. They could have gave up and called this race, but they kept working at it and we got to put on a show for these great fans.”
Dewease, a multiple track champion on the tough central Pennsylvania curcuit, pulled away at the end, while the battle for second heated up between defending All Star champion Greg Wilson, Dale Blaney and Dean Jacobs.
Blaney took the spot, with Jacobs third and Wilson fourth. Ed Lynch, Jr. romped from 13th to fifth.
“We don’t seem to start so good. We just hung around and tried to keep the car in one piece and finish and here we are in second,” said Blaney.
The summary:
Fast Time: Brian Ellenberger, 12.692 seconds (41 cars).
First Heat: Rob Eyler, Brian Ellenberger, Bruce Robenalt, Randy Hannagan, Phil Gressman, Andy Shammo, Kenny Jacobs, Paul Weaver, Hud Horton, Scott Euler, David Harrison.
Second Heat: Rod George, Greg Wilson, Ed Lynch, Jr., Byron Reed, Lance Dewease, Aaron Middaugh, Aaron Higgins, Lee Stark, Jody Keegan, Ben Rutan.
Third Heat: Caleb Griffith, Paul McMahan, Dale Blaney, Bob Felmlee, Brock Mayes, Brandon Martin, Mark Keegan, Butch Schroeder, Cole Duncan, Tim Hunter.
Fourth Heat: Brian Paulus, Ryan Myers, Rob Chaney, Dean Jacobs, Lee Jacobs, Mike Linder, Mike Dussel, Craig Folmar, Cap Henry, Chris Andrews.
Dash: Felmlee, Ellenberger, Hannagan, Blaney, Dewease, Reed.
B Main: Linder, K. Jacobs, Schroeder, Henry, Andrews, Dussel, J. Keegan, Stark, Higgins, Duncan, Weaver, Martin, M. Keegan, Horton, Hunter, Folmar, Euler, Shammo, Rutan, Harrison.
Feature: Dewease, Blaney, D. Jacobs, Wilson, Lynch, Felmlee, L. Jacobs, Schroeder, Hannagan, McMahan, Chaney, Gressman, Mayes, Myers, Henry, Reed, Griffith, George, Paulus, K. Jacobs, Eyler, Robenalt, Ellenberger, Linder.