Race Weekend Central
Danny Holtgraver takes All Star Circuit of Champions race at Butler Motor Speedway Photo by Campbellphoto.com
Danny Holtgraver takes All Star Circuit of Champions race at Butler Motor Speedway
Photo by Campbellphoto.com

By Brian Liskai

Quincy, Mich. (Saturday, June 7, 2014) – There’s an old saying: “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.” Danny Holtgraver was both Saturday at Butler Motor Speedway.

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania driver took advantage of other driver’s miscues and benefitted from timely caution flags and drove to his first University of Northwestern Ohio All Star Circuit of Champions win of 2014. It is Holtgraver’s 7th career All Star victory and he became the 10th different winner in the series out of 11 events in 2014.

“Boy did this team need that…this one is big. We got lucky all night. In the heat the guy ahead of me got moved back a row for jumping the start and that put me in a position to race my way into the dash. Then at the start of the feature the guy ahead of me jumped the start and that moved me to the front row and at Butler track position is huge,” said Holtgraver beside his Golden Flavor Sesame Sticks/Berlin Natural Bakery/Bonnell’s Rod Shop/West View Motors/DKW Transport backed #10h.

“Chad (Kemenah) was better than I was in traffic but the yellows came just when I needed them. It’s been a rough couple of weeks for this team. We’ve been kind of bummed out. It was to the point when we got to the track we were like ‘wonder what the hell is going to go wrong now.’ So this win is a huge shot in the arm,” added Holtgraver.

The weekend was also a shot in the arm for Chad Kemenah’s team. The four time All Star champion has struggled this year but a second place Friday in a non-sanctioned event at Attica followed by a runner-up finish Saturday at Butler is just what the doctor ordered.

“This car handled well on the old Goodyear Tires but the last two years we’ve been beating our heads against the wall. We stripped it down and took it to Tony and Johnny Beaber this week and they lengthened the frame and it a whole different car to drive. I’m getting my confidence back,” said Kemenah of his Hampshire Engines/Lima Auto Mall/Radio Hospital/Champion Oil backed #63.

“I didn’t need all the cautions. I was better than Danny in traffic,” added Kemenah.

Lee Jacobs, the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions only repeat winner in 2014, continued his impressive run of finishes, recording another podium run.

“If you would have told me at the start of the year we would have two wins and come from deep in the pack to get great finishes on a consistent basis…this is just amazing journey this team is on. The Lewis family has given me a fantastic opportunity and my cousin Coty is working his butt off. I feel so blessed,” said Jacobs beside his Simcox Grinding and Steel/Crown Investments/New Leaf Tree Service/HP Engines/OC Shocks/Classic Metal Finishing backed #81.

“It’s so hard to pass at Butler and track position is everything. The guy next to me jumped the start and that put Danny beside me and he got the jump on the start. I knew it was going to be tough to get around him. I tried a bonzai move on a restart in one and two and Chad got around me and after that it was just trying to get through traffic and hope someone screwed up. But Danny and Chad rarely make mistakes so we’ll take third and get ready for Ohio Speedweek,” added Jacobs.

For Holtgraver, Kemenah and Jacobs, the finish helps inch them closer to Dale Blaney in the UNOH All Star’s Ohio Region point standings. That championship may well be determined in a couple of weeks when the 32nd Annual Ohio Sprint Speedweek – 9 straight races in 9 nights – takes place.

The UNOH All Stars will travel east over the next week for three big Eastern Region points battles. It begins Wednesday, June 11th at Canandaigua Motorsports Park nestled in the heart of New York’s picturesque Finger Lakes Region. The series then travels to the heart of PA Posse land Friday, June 13 to take on the ALWAYS tough regulars at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA before wrapping up the swing on Saturday, June 14 at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottsown, PA.

For more information on “America’s Series” go to www.allstarsprint.com

Butler Motor Speedway – 6/7/2014

UNOH Night

All Star Circuit of Champions (23 Cars)

[#]-Starting Position

Qualifying – Kistler Engines

1. 57X-Andrew Palker, 12.251

2. 81-Lee Jacobs, 12.358

3. 1-Chad Blonde, 12.363

4. 40-Caleb Helms, 12.416

5. 9W-Jac Haudenschild, 12.427

6. 10H-Danny Holtgraver, 12.469

7. 14K-Dale Blaney, 12.486

8. 45-Tim Shaffer, 12.556

9. 19-Doug Zimmerman, 12.588

10. 63-Chad Kemenah, 12.696

11. 16-Ryan Ruhl, 12.733

12. 17-Scott Euler, 12.884

13. 97-Dean Jacobs, 12.885

14. 59P-Chris Jones, 13.102

15. 51-Roger Cambell, 13.310

16. 4-Josh Turner, 13.418

17. 5QB-Quentin Blonde, 13.443

18. 9E-Tim Evilsizer, 13.608

19. 11R-Chase Ridenour, 13.611

20. 47-Robert Bulloch, 13.798

21. 21T-Troy Chehowski, 14.074

22. 50B-Mike Burns, 14.377

23. 25M-Kenny Mackey , 99.999

Heat 1 – Kears Speed Shop (8 Laps – Top 9 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 14K-Dale Blaney[2]

2. 63-Chad Kemenah[1]

3. 57X-Andrew Palker[4]

4. 97-Dean Jacobs[5]

5. 4-Josh Turner[6]

6. 11R-Chase Ridenour[7]

7. 40-Caleb Helms[3]

8. 50B-Mike Burns[8]

Heat 2 – All Pro Aluminum Heads (8 Laps – Top 9 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 45-Tim Shaffer[2]

2. 81-Lee Jacobs[4]

3. 9W-Jac Haudenschild[3]

4. 16-Ryan Ruhl[1]

5. 5QB-Quentin Blonde[6]

6. 59P-Chris Jones[5]

7. 47-Robert Bulloch[7]

8. 25M-Kenny Mackey [-]

Heat 3 – Dragon Race Fuel (8 Laps – Top 9 finishers transfer to the A-feature)

1. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[3]

2. 19-Doug Zimmerman[2]

3. 17-Scott Euler[1]

4. 9E-Tim Evilsizer[6]

5. 51-Roger Cambell[5]

6. 21T-Troy Chehowski[7]

7. 1-Chad Blonde[4]

Dash – Jake’s Custom Golf Carts (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature

1. 81-Lee Jacobs[1]

2. 19-Doug Zimmerman[2]

3. 63-Chad Kemenah[4]

4. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[6]

5. 45-Tim Shaffer[3]

6. 14K-Dale Blaney[5]

A-Main – University of Northwestern Ohio (30 Laps)

1. 10H-Danny Holtgraver[4]

2. 63-Chad Kemenah[3]

3. 81-Lee Jacobs[1]

4. 14K-Dale Blaney[6]

5. 40-Caleb Helms[8]

6. 57X-Andrew Palker[7]

7. 97-Dean Jacobs[12]

8. 17-Scott Euler[11]

9. 19-Doug Zimmerman[2]

10. 51-Roger Cambell[14]

11. 4-Josh Turner[15]

12. 59P-Chris Jones[13]

13. 16-Ryan Ruhl[10]

14. 11R-Chase Ridenour[18]

15. 47-Robert Bulloch[19]

16. 45-Tim Shaffer[5]

17. 5QB-Quentin Blonde[16]

18. 50B-Mike Burns[21]

19. 9E-Tim Evilsizer[17]

20. 21T-Troy Chehowski[20]

21. 9W-Jac Haudenschild[9]

Hard Charger: 97-Dean Jacobs[+5]

©2012 – Results Provided by: Computer Man Inc. Fremont, OH

About the author

What is it that Mike Neff doesn’t do? The writer, radio contributor and racetrack announcer coordinates the site’s local short track coverage, hitting up Saturday Night Specials across the country while tracking the sport’s future racing stars. The writer for our signature Cup post-race column, Thinkin’ Out Loud (Mondays) also sits down with Cup crew chiefs to talk shop every Friday with Tech Talk. Mike announces several shows each year for the Good Guys Rod and Custom Association. He also pops up everywhere from PRN Pit Reporters and the Press Box with Alan Smothers to SIRIUS XM Radio. He has announced at tracks all over the Southeast, starting at Millbridge Speedway. He's also announced at East Lincoln Speedway, Concord Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, Caraway Speedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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