SCHEDULE
Friday, June 14: Attica Raceway Park
Saturday, June 15: Eldora Speedway
Sunday, June 16: Muskingum County Speedway
Monday, June 17: Wayne County Speedway
Tuesday, June 18: Sharon Speedway
Wednesday, June 19: Atomic Speedway
Thursday, June 20: Mansfield Motor Speedway
Friday, June 21: Limaland, Motorsports Park
Saturday, June 22: Wayne County Speedway
SPEEDWEEK CHAMPIONS
2018: Paul McMahan. 2017: Tim Shaffer. 2016: Chad Kemenah. 2015: Greg Wilson. 2014: Dale Blaney. 2013: Tim Shaffer. 2012: Stevie Smith. 2011: Tim Shaffer. 2010: David Gravel. 2009: Stevie Smith. 2008: Randy Hannagan. 2007: Shane Stewart. 2006: Dale Blaney. 2005: Kelly Kinser. 2004: Dale Blaney. 2003: Dale Blaney. 2002: Chad Kemenah. 2001: Dean Jacobs. 2000: Kenny Jacobs.
1999: Joey Saldana. 1998: Frankie Kerr. 1997: Joey Saldana. 1996: Frankie Kerr. 1995: Dale Blaney. 1994: Frankie Kerr. 1993: Frankie Kerr. 1992: Kevin Huntley. 1991: Sammy Swindell. 1990: Sammy Swindell. 1989: Dave Blaney. 1988: Jimmy Sills. 1987: Keith Kauffman. 1986: Bobby Allen. 1985: Jack Hewitt. 1984: Steve Kinser. 1983: Bobby Davis Jr.
SPEEDWEEK WIN LIST
31: Dale Blaney. 10: Tim Shaffer, Kevin Huntley, Kenny Jacobs. 9: Bobby Allen, Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser. 8: Joey Saldana, Kyle Larson. 7: Dave Blaney, Doug Wolfgang, Frankie Kerr, Greg Wilson, Kelly Kinser. 6: Chad Kemenah, Jac Haudenschild, Rickey Hood. 5: Byron Reed, Keith Kauffman, Rocky Hodges. 4: Jack Hewitt, Mark Keegan. 3: Danny Smith, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Shane Stewart, Sheldon Haudenschild, Stevie Smith. 2: Brad Sweet, Cole Duncan, Danny Holtgraver, Ed Lynch Jr., Jason Johnson, John Ivy, Paul McMahan, Randy Hannagan.
1: Aaron Reutzel, Brandon Matus, Bryan Clauson, Butch Schroeder, Chad Blonde, Chris Andrews, Christopher Bell, Craig Dollansky, David Graven, David Harrison, Dean Jacobs, Gary Wright, Greg Hodnett, Jeff Shepard, Jimmy Sills, Johnny Mackison Jr., Kyle Sauder, Lee Brewer Jr., Paul May, Phil Gressman, Randy Wolfe, Randy Kinser, Rico Abreu, Rob Chaney, Rod George, Spencer Bayston, Steve Butler, Steve Siegel, Terry McCarl, Terry Shepherd, Tim Green, Tim Kaeding, Todd Kane, Tom Basinger, Travis Rilat, Tyler Walker, Van Gurley Jr., Van May.
FAVORITES
Aaron Reutzel: When you are the All Star Circuit of Champions’ top dog and can win races in droves, you rocket to the top of this list. Reutzel’s had speed all season and is making his second Ohio Speedweek go around. That could mean more checkered flags and a dominating week.
Tim Shaffer: Shaffer is tied for second on the Ohio Speedweek All-Time Win List with 10 and has three championships in the last eight seasons. More glaring is that the team has struggled a bit the last month and is due to get back on track. This is the perfect week to do it.
Gio Scelzi: According to Scelzi’s schedule, he will miss Friday’s opener at Attica Raceway Park but will make the rest of the shows. That’s bad news for the competition. Not only is Scelzi one of the most talented young drivers in the country, he is fast and has the chops to beat anybody on any given night.
Kyle Larson: When Larson shows up at an Ohio Speedweek show, he is the favorite. He has managed two wins in the series in each of the last three seasons and has eight overall. It’s still uncertain what Larson’s schedule looks like, which takes him out of title contention, but he will be a factor in the final outcome.
Christopher Bell: Like Larson, Bell is a title wrecker when it comes to Ohio Speedweek. The only difference is that we know when Bell is going to show up, as he is tentatively scheduled to run the last six shows of the series. I have him down for at least two wins.
DRIVER TO WATCH
Paul McMahan: A year ago, McMahan won the Ohio Speedweek opener at Attica Raceway Park and used it as a springboard to his first title in the series. McMahan times well, is consistent, and doesn’t make mistakes. He is a good pick if you play a fantasy racing pool. Hint, hint.
Buddy Kofoid: Kofoid is one of the most intriguing drivers in the field, something we will discuss in a minute or two in our storylines section. The California Kid joins Scelzi as the best young talents in the country and has adapted well to the Ohio tracks. Don’t be surprised if he steals a win or two.
Brock Zearfoss: Speed hasn’t been a problem for Zearfoss, as much as finishing off races. That might have changed a week ago, when Zearfoss collected the All Star win at Outlaw Speedway and another top-five finish. This week could turn the season around.
Cory Eliason: It’s been feast or famine for Eliason in 2019. He earned an early-season score at Virginia Motor Speedway before struggling a bit win World of Outlaws events. Things started to turn around a week ago, when Eliason beat the Pennsylvania regulars at BAPS Motor Speedway and camped out in the top five in New York. If he gets hot, he can do some damage.
Danny Dietrich: All Dietrich has done this year is beat the All Star Circuit of Champions and World of Outlaws outside of central Pennsylvania. Oh, yeah, he also leads the nation in wins with eight. Dietrich takes a ton of momentum to the Buckeye State and could be tough to handle.
STORYLINES TO FOLLOW
Reutzel against the field: If we were doing rankings — and we will in a few days — Aaron Reutzel would be in the top six or seven guys in the country. He is fast every time he touches the track and the slam-dunk Speedweek favorite. Of course, that was the case last year, and Paul McMahan took the title. The question becomes can Reutzel avoid bad luck, rack up more wins, and lock up his first Speedweek title?
Young stars emerge: There is no denying the talent and future star power of Gio Scelzi and Buddy Kofoid in the 410 Sprint Car ranks. Scelzi has already established himself by beating the World of Outlaws twice, and Kofoid is fast on his way to doing the same with the speed he’s had in Ohio. Speedweek is just another chance for these two California drivers to prove they are the best young drivers in the country.
Bayston’s resurgence: Things were looking dicey for Spencer Bayston through the early part of the 2019 season. Motor trouble popped up in Florida, and bad luck continued through the first 10 races of the season. Bayston has found some speed the last couple of weeks, and results followed with three top-10 finishes in New York, including top-five finishes at Stateline and Weedsport Speedway. Bayston is second in points and is looking for more this week.
NASCAR influence: We mentioned earlier that Aaron Reutzel is the clear-cut favorite to win the Ohio Speedweek title, but a pair of NASCAR standouts could thwart that bid. While Christopher Bell in the potent Swindell SpeedLab entry and Kyle Larson in the Paul Silva-wrenched machine aren’t slated to run the entire series, they can steal key wins and alter the title chase by being in the field. These two drivers, routinely, run up front when they show up, and I expect the same over the nine-race Speedweek stretch.
Don’t sleep on Blaney: Too many people wrote off Dale Blaney coming into the season. While the Hall of Fame driver hasn’t gone on a wining spree, he has shown flashes and seems to be jelling with the McGhee Motorsports team. He won his first All Star race since 2016 last week and is third in points, 56 markers behind Aaron Reutzel. Blaney has the most Ohio Speedweek wins (31) by a landslide and is a five-time champion of the June series. Don’t overlook this guy on the slick.