Flat Rock Speedway

* * * * * August 14 * * * * *

   Steve Cronenwett Jr won his third consecutive race (and fourth of the season) and has made up about 30 points on points leader Eric Lee over the last three races, trailing him now by only 45 markers. “Winning 3 in a row was unbelievable. I’m not sure how many guys have been able to do it but I’m excited to be part of that club. We’ve got one more chance this weekend to try and go for 4 and that’s going to be the goal. If this weekend plays out in our favor we might be the champions but I really feel that is a long shot at this point,” said the driver of the ABC Hauling, SC Weld Fab and GOJO’S Grubhouse #21. The four wins in a season is the most OSLMs wins Cronenwett has ever had, but he did have five wins in a season when he ran Street Stocks in 2006.

   It’s been since 2017/2018 since a OSLM driver put together a three-race win streak when Jimmy Thiel won the last two races of 2017 and opening night 2018. In total since 2006, there’s only been five three race win streaks. Thiel’s in 2017/2018, Justin Schroeder (2017), and Paul Pelletier did it in 2010 and 2012.  As a footnote, Brian Bergakker has won four races in a row, the 100/150 races (he’s won the last two Joy Fair 100s and Stan Yee 150s).

   Two drivers had their career best finishes at Flat Rock in the OSLM division. Veteran Dennis Rederstorf and rookie Bryan Moore finished seventh and eighth, respectively.

   The OSLMs had the BIG ONE during their feature. Frank Jiovani and Chris Benson tangled. Jiovani ended up driver’s side against the wall and he probably wasn’t too bad, but Derrick Sheppard ended up riding the wall with two tires on the top of the retaining wall, he hit Jiovani’s car, coming to rest on his hood. Benson spun towards the infield, clipping Joe Hawes’ car. Joe slammed driver’s side to the wall. Luckily the drivers all came out it in better condition than their cars. Here’s the YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBhEE0l32s4

   OSLM Championship watch

• Eric Lee leads Steve Cronenwett Jr by 45 points and Justin Schroeder by 65.
• Three other drivers have a mathematical chance at the championship, Connor Zbozien, Paul Pelletier and Frank Jiovani are 140, 170, 170 points behind. With the average number of cars running on a weekly basis, it’s just that, mathematical.
• Did you know the six drivers listed above have 12 Flat Rock championships between them: Eric Lee (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011), Steve Cronenwett (2014), Justin Schroeder (2015, 2017), Paul Pelletier (2006, 2010, 2012, 2016), Frank Jiovani (2019) … and Connor Zbozien was co-rookie of the year (with Hayden Sprague) in 2019.

   Greg Studt also scored his fourth Street Stock A division win of the season. “Starting up front is good, especially in this division with the times so close, it’s huge to start up front. I was just glad to see it finish … I was starting to wonder. Yeah, I could see him piled up behind me there, right at my bumper, so I tried to stay low and then take laps off,” said the driver of the Apollo Broach, Budget Tire, Wine Town Party Store, Carl Furniture, Mark Sherrard.

   David Liaeff finished second, his best finish since he won in August 2018. Rookie Lance Lipasek had his career best finish of third.

   Rob Randa won his second Street Stock B division feature of the season, “We thought about putting it on the trailer, but we’re working hard to get this car running right. I want to thank all the fans for being here, my family and crew and sponsors Mount Clemens Transmission and Tire, Tom’s Cabinetry, Doug’s Muffler and Speedway Grafix.”

   Street Stock A division Championship watch

• Greg Studt leads Jeff Metdepenningen by 90 points and Nick Shanks by 95.
• If he holds on, it’ll be Greg Studt’s third Street Stock A division championship (2016, 2019), it would be Jeff Metdepenningen’s and Nick Shank’s first championship at Flat Rock.
• If Greg Studt wins, he’ll join a very select few drivers with three or more SS championships. Dan Ford Jr. has the most Street Stock A division championships (1995, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2010); Rick Knowles (1990, 1992, 1997, 1998), and Regan Ford (Dan’s brother) (2004, 2005, 2007)
• It’ll be Greg Studt’s 11th ARCA championship: 3 Street Stocks, 3 Figure 8s (2001, 2002, 2013), OSLM (2005) along with championships at Toledo, Figure 8 (2001, 2004) and Flat Rock/Toledo combo title and he tied for the OSLM championship (with Dennis Strickland) in 2005.

   Street Stock B division Championship watch

• It’s the battle of the rookies in the Street Stock B division. Bobby Stewart has never raced before the season and is leading Mike Miller (who moved up from the Enduro/Factory Stocks) by 80 points. They’re the only drivers that have competed in every B division feature.
• It’s been 20 years since two rookies finished one-two in the championship in the B division. In 2001 Aram Zadigian beat Greg Stilwell Jr for the championship.

   It was the theme of the night, Billy Earley also won his fourth of the season. “It was an interesting start, just glad we won. She’s a good old girl (the car), she might be old but she gets around there. First got to thank the Good Lord, my family and sponsors,” said the driver of the B&H Race Car Parts #09.

   Figure 8 Championship watch

• Dennis Whisman Jr leads Jakob Lee by 80 points. It will be Whisman’s second consecutive championship, Lee’s first one.
• Did you know in the last 50 years, there’s only been seven drivers in the Figure 8 division that only won one Figure 8 championship at Flat Rock? John Briggs tied with Bob Studt in 1978; Ben Benedict in 1987; Dave Miller, 1993; Ken Ahlgren, 2000; Ricky Kargel, 2003; Jeremy Miller, 2014. Plus Dennis Whisman Jr, who may win his second championship and move him from the one-time group.

   Turns out getting four wins in a season with the three main division is out of the norm. My database goes back to 2006 and there hasn’t been another year where three divisions have had a driver with four wins that season. Been individuals that have had four or even five wins in a season, but not across the top three divisions. Just for the record, it’s unusual for the B division to have a driver with four or more wins… although Rich Abel, 2016, had five wins, and James Rae, 2009, had six wins and in 2007 Ian Jezylo won five C mains (for our younger fans yes they used to run C mains)

   Last time there was there was four wins by one driver in the OSLM was Justin Schroeder in 2017(he actually had five wins that season). For the Street Stock A division it was Landon Schuster in 2015. For the Figure 8 division, it’s a common occurrence, with the last three years that there were races at Flat Rock, a Figure 8 driver has had four wins, and it goes farther back for drivers in the division with three wins.

* * * * * August 7 * * * *

   Steve Cronenwett Jr is making a late season run towards the championship, winning back-to-back for the first time in his late model career (although he did win back to back when he ran in the Street Stock division). The last time a driver won back-to-back OSLM races was Justin Schroeder in 2018 (although Brian Bergakker has a streak of five wins in a row at Flat Rock, he only comes down for our special races). “First and foremost, I really need to thank my wife Samantha and kids Austin, Brody and Cameron for giving me the time it takes to do this. Three feature wins so far this season has been unreal. The field is so competitive and it’s so hard to make passes at Flat Rock. It’s just nice to be competitive again. I’m very thankful to have great supporters like My Dad and Henry Giles. It’s also nice to get our new sponsor Gojo’s Grubhouse some additional recognition from the last two wins.” For those of you keeping count, Steve Jr now has 11 wins, dad has 10 … the 11 wins ties him with Dick Mitchell for 20th on the all-time list and two wins behind Dennis Strickland/Chuck Roumell for 18th.

   Harold Fair Jr had yet another heartbreak run, he led all the laps, except the most important one. He had to settle for second in his Fair Racing Development and Royal Truck and Trailer and Drive Train Specialists #71.

   Ron Allen added to his massive amount of ARCA wins, being victorious in the Toledo Late Model Sportsman race at Flat Rock. “Good night of racing at flat rock last night ..qualified 3rd .finished 2nd in heat race and brought home the win in the feature race ..thanks to my crew and all my supporters as this has been a rough few months with the unexpected loss of my bother. I want to thank my sponsors Fastime Racing Engines & Parts and Churchill Trucking and also my crew ... Jamie, Jimmy and Mike.”

   Jeremy Vanderhoof won his second career Street Stock A division feature. His other win was in July 2015. “Two Figure 8 guys racing for the win … he's always a hard man to race with (second place Gary Cronenwett). He's just so good, like so good. Now he just got his car back together and I'm sure it'll be even better next week. I gotta take my father-in-law (Clyde McDee), for putting me in this car. You know, we weren't very good and start the year. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot but got things figured out. And man, it's pretty fast. I want to thank Arrow Trucks and Parts Co.-Detroit, Blossom Florist - Allen Park, Mac's Towing, Inc. -Taylor, Siegel Chiropractic -Woodhaven and Dan Doyle … My wife, my kids, my uncle and all you fans for coming out and supporting us so we could do this every week. We really appreciate it.” In five races this season, all his finishes have been in the top 10. Jeremy has raced in a dozen Street Stock features and eight have been in the top 10. Also, two drivers have won features in two divisions, Jeremy and Greg Studt, each winning in the Street Stocks and Figure 8s.

   Gary Cronenwett had a hard crash during hot laps for the Street Stock 100 race and he’s been working trying to get his car back in racing condition ever since. He finally returned and finished second. “With it being our first race back there’s still a lot of bugs to work out of the car but it’s a very successful weekend. I tried to do my hardest to hold off (Jeremy) Vanderhoof but I made one mistake and he was right there to capitalize on it. Big congrats to him and (car owner) Clyde McKee and their race team. I want to think my brother, my fiancé and my kids, Limelight motorsports ,Sully speed shop ,B&B chassis and the newest sponsor TMU Local 2051. It’s nice to take the car home in one piece so that’s a win for me and my team. Thank you to all the sponsors at the track the officials. We still got more to prove in the next three races which I don’t think we will disappoint.” Too bad he had the accident because of the six races ran this year, Gary’s average is 3.3 finish.

   Dale Hanna won his first career heat earlier in the evening and followed it up with his first career feature win in the Street Stock B division. “It felt great, honestly really great to win my first feature. This is maybe my fifth race.

   Doug Litigot won his first career A division heat win.

* * * * *  July 31  * * * * *

   Steve Cronenwett Jr won his second race of the season, joining Brian Bergakker as a two time winner this season. “It was awesome to get our second win of the season against such a competitive group of cars. This win ties me with my Dad with 10 career wins at Flat Rock, so it was pretty special. I have to thank my crew guys Henry Giles, Brian Key and my Dad. Also, my sponsors ABC Hauling, SC Weld Fab and GOJO’S Grubhouse in Flat Rock. They were a late addition to the car this year and we’ve had a couple good runs since they came aboard. I’m very thankful to have the support. We are looking forward to finishing this season strong.”

   We had two drivers return to racing at Flat Rock after many seasons. Joe Genise last raced in August 2017. He drove Stan Yee Jr’s 2003 championship car, for now since his car isn’t ready yet. Look for him to finish out the season and return to run regularly in 2022.

   Bob Mikolajczyk made his first start in the OSLM in 15 seasons. The last time he raced in a OSLM was August 2006, although in the years since he has raced in the old ARCA Truck Series. “First time racing Flat Rock in several years. Handling issues, broken universal joint, non-stop work and after just getting back together for the 50-lap feature. I had to pull in after 21 laps with no power steering and being physically exhausted. Thanks to everyone who helped get the car back on the track. Looks like I need to get back in shape! The car is Todd Perkins car. I would thank Todd Perkins, Dick Narker, Howard Kelley, Jeff Stickler, Brandon Benner, Richie Schorling, and my wife for putting up with my racing!”

   Hayden Sprague had an oil line rupture and as he pulled into the pits he had a flash fire in the engine compartment. He said no damage on his FaceBook page, so hopefully we’ll see him this weekend.

   When Brian Bergakker, that ended a streak of different winners at nine. It was the second longest streak for the OSLMs (11 in 2015-2016) since 2006.

   Landon Shuster won his first Street Stock A division since 2016 and his ninth overall. ”Thank you to everyone who has reached out, we parked it in victory lane last night. We finally got some luck to go our way and had a great car. Thank you to my sponsors for your support, we can’t do it without you! I want to thank my sponsors, UA local 50, JL Mechanical, A&D Auto Parts. Joseph's Beverage Center, Reliance Propane, Envirometals Recycling, Sidelines Sports Eatery, Rockys Body shop, And PhotosByKuyoth. Thank you to my dad for all the work he puts into this deal with me, it’s a lot of long hours! Thank you to my wife for holding down the fort and my mom for always supporting me!! And thank you to all of our fans that have cheered us on through it all!! Also thank you Jerry Davis for helping us out when you can, we appreciate you buddy!! 45 (Johnny Rangel) ran a great race, I was a little tight and he was able to get under us at the end, but we were able to make the high side work. He definitely will be winning a race soon, he is a good, smart driver. The high line has definitely not been there this year, I have tried to run it quite a few times, it finally seems to be coming in towards the end of the season and we luckily found some grip up there. Looking forward to the rest of the year now that we got that monkey off our back.”

   Johnny Rangel finished a career high second, narrowly missing his first career win. He battled side by side for laps with eventual winner Landon Shuster. “The car felt really good and I didn’t think I would be able to go for the lead like I was able to. We had the car just right and I want to thank my dad for helping me get the car just right.”

   Johnny’s dad George was also in the race, but dropped out when his car overheated. “The only thing good about dropping out is I got to watch the race.”

   Ian Jezylo won the Street Stock B division feature of the season. The multiple B division champion wrote on his Facebook page. “Brought home the checkered flag in the B feature last night, just want to thank everybody who makes this possible. I have a wonderful group of people who are always there to lend a hand.  Craig Lange , Dillon Zalenski , my "bitty", and especially my wonderful girlfriend Sarah M French who really makes this all possible.”

   From Caleb Barron’s FaceBook page: Just one more turn was all we needed…Last Saturday’s race was about how we expected to start, but not how we expected to finish. We decided to use up what was left of the 50 lap tires, so that meant practice, qualifying, heat and feature on the same set of tires. Practice and qualifying went about as expected, with us qualifying 11th with a 13.654…not bad considering our tire choice. The heat race was uneventful, finishing 5th, although Caleb was prepared for a tangle up front-luckily, it never happened. Starting 11th for the feature, he had worked up to 8th in just a few laps, but a caution put him on the outside row, which sent him back to 12th place to battle for several laps. Yes, on the last lap, in the last turn is where our night ended- a crash into the 44 car has put us with major repairs that will most likely also keep us from competing this week. It’s been a while since we’ve had to make repairs like this, but we will hopefully be back on August 14th. It was the hardest hit for Caleb so far; a bit sore, but he’s ok. We’ll keep you posted on our return.

   Dennis Whisman Jr won his third feature this year at Flat Rock. It’s the first time in his racing career that he’s won multiple wins in a season at Flat Rock. “Thanks to my crew chief. We had an amazing car that night and ended up winning the heat and feature. That feature was probably one of the most intense races of the year. Jeremy Vanderhoof definitely put the pressure on me but we raced hard and clean and that’s how it should be to have fun.”