Written by Jim Foose
(SOUTH AMHERST, OH) Despite cool temperatures a wet week leading up to Autism Awareness & Remembrance Opening Night at Lorain Raceway Park Powered by Perfection Fabricators & Sliman’s in Amherst, the 2025 season kicked off with a bang. Nearly 80 cars signed in to Lorain Raceway Park for Autism Awareness & Remembrance Night.
First up, the Ohio Pro Compacts opened the festivities with a field of 27 cars on hand, AJ McCall of Elyria, OH set Fast Time. Scott Witten, Hayden Nails and Jayden McCall won the three Heat Races leading into the 25 lap A-Main. In the feature Gavin Roup led four laps before giving way to Wellington, OH’s Ben Watson. Watson would lead the final 21 laps to take the Feature win over Jaden McCall (2nd), Brandon Weigel (3rd), Kenny Betts, Jr. (4th), and Hayden Nails (5th) who completed the top five.
The Perfection Fabricators Grand Nationals followed the Ohio Pro Compact Feature onto the track. Lining up for a 20 lap feature, Dan Smith led the field to the green flag and led all 20 laps to take the victory over Brenton Beal (2nd), Will Yuravak (3rd), Melvin Martin (4th) and Josh Ansell who completed the top five. Smith and rookie, Josh Ansell picked up the Heat Race victories. 2024 Champion, Will Yuravak was the fastest qualifier.
The Ohio Wheelman Super Stock Series opened it’s 2025 campaign at Lorain Raceway Park with a bang. Jason Drummond and Noah Davis led the field to the green flag for the “Sliman’s Fast 40”, Davis would take the lead early, leading six laps before Josh Way took the lead away. Way led the race through a series of mid-race cautions before briefly giving up the lead to Jeremie Wiggins with Way retaking the lead. Contact on a lap 34 restart between Way and Wiggins would lead to Wiggins being retired from the event and Way being sent to the rear for bringing out the caution. Matt Wilson inherited the lead on lap 34 as Way battled back through the field. Way’s run through the field would come to an end with three laps to go as Way and Jeff Kuykendall made contact, Way went up the track to avoid and Blake Lawson launched airborne into the turn 1 wall. On the restart, Wilson was able to get away and drive to victory. Earl Goldy finished second followed by 2024 Ohio Wheelman Super Stock Series Champion Josh Poore in third. Jesse Fischbach (4th) and Eddy Poderzay (5th) completed the top five. Josh Way and Noah Davis won the Heat Races while Blake Lawson won the Fast Dash.
Next to hit Ohio’s Fastest ⅜ mile asphalt oval were the ground pounding Sliman’s of Amherst Modifieds. Austin Berger and Dawson Knaul led the field of 16 to the green flag for 30 laps under the lights. Knaul jumped out to the early lead over Berger, leading four laps before giving way to Brandon Lemmerman. Lemmerman held down the lead for 17 laps, the most of any driver in the 30 lap A-Main. A string of minor cautions would erase Lemmerman’s lead, bringing Nathan Embree to the front row for the restart. Embree would take the lead with 11 laps to go and hold off Lemmerman, who finished second, a hard charging Parker Ennes was third followed by Spencer Stineman (4th) and Rick Groetsch (5th) completed the top five. Ralph Baxer III and Brandon Lemmerman won the Heat Races, TJ Stineman won the Fast Dash and Spencer Stineman was the fastest qualifier.
Rounding out the program was the always entertaining Factory Stocks. Jimmy Phillips was able to hold off Jesse Houghton to pick up the victory in the 15 lap Feature event and complete the clean sweep of being the fastest qualifier, winning the Heat Race and the Feature event.
Next up at Lorain Raceway Park Powered by Perfection Fabricators & Sliman’s in Amherst, the Great Lakes Truck Tour joins “The Fastest Party in Lorain County” on May 10th alongside four other racing divisions and the kid’s Juicebox division will be competing.
Lorain Raceway Park is located in South Amherst, Ohio just 35 minutes west of Cleveland and just minutes away from the Ohio Turnpike (I-80) exit for Ohio Route 58. For 76 years, Lorain Raceway Park has been the “Fastest Party in Lorain County”. With action and activities for all ages, Lorain Raceway Park is your destination for “Fast & Affordable Family Fun”.
Ohio Wheelman Series Street Stocks
A Feature 1 (40 Laps): 1. 48-Matt Wilson[8]; 2. 08-Earl Goldy[13]; 3. 5P-Josh Poore[15]; 4. 4-Jesse Fischbach[9]; 5. 27-Eddy Poderzay[12]; 6. 4G-Tristan Crago[6]; 7. 51-Joshua Way[4]; 8. 77-Jason Drummond[2]; 9. 58-Noah Davis[3]; 10. 1-Tom Joy[5]; 11. 12-Jeff Kuykendall[14]; 12. 55-Josh Way[7]; 13. 5L-Blake Lawson[11]; 14. 24W-Jeremie Wiggins[10]; 15. 22-Dominic Cicconetti[1]
Dash 1 (4 Laps): 1. 5L-Blake Lawson[1]; 2. 27-Eddy Poderzay[2]; 3. 08-Earl Goldy[3]; 4. 12-Jeff Kuykendall[4]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 55-Josh Way[2]; 2. 4G-Tristan Crago[4]; 3. 24W-Jeremie Wiggins[5]; 4. 48-Matt Wilson[3]; 5. 1-Tom Joy[1]; 6. 4-Jesse Fischbach[6]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 58-Noah Davis[3]; 2. 51-Joshua Way[4]; 3. 77-Jason Drummond[2]; 4. 22-Dominic Cicconetti[1]; 5. 5P-Josh Poore[5]
Qualifying 1: 1. 12-Jeff Kuykendall, 00:16.331[9]; 2. 27-Eddy Poderzay, 00:16.369[11]; 3. 08-Earl Goldy, 00:16.369[6]; 4. 5L-Blake Lawson, 00:16.406[10]; 5. 24W-Jeremie Wiggins, 00:16.422[15]; 6. 4G-Tristan Crago, 00:16.437[2]; 7. 48-Matt Wilson, 00:16.490[16]; 8. 55-Josh Way, 00:16.510[13]; 9. 4-Jesse Fischbach, 00:16.621[5]; 10. 1-Tom Joy, 00:16.698[8]; 11. 51-Joshua Way, 00:16.736[14]; 12. 58-Noah Davis, 00:16.819[3]; 13. 77-Jason Drummond, 00:17.191[4]; 14. 5P-Josh Poore, 00:17.281[12]; 15. 22-Dominic Cicconetti, 00:17.542[1]; 16. (DNS) 38-John Haney; 17. (DNS) 15Y-Will Yuravak
Modifieds
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 10-Nathan Embree[10]; 2. 64-Brandon Lemmerman[7]; 3. 07-Parker Ennes[13]; 4. 37-Spencer Stineman[14]; 5. 16-Rick Groetsch[4]; 6. 49-Sam Stout[12]; 7. 86-Zack Miller[8]; 8. 60-Sam Bigham[5]; 9. 16W-Adam White[3]; 10. 3-Austin Berger[1]; 11. 54-James Snyder[15]; 12. 27-Matthew Winningham[9]; 13. 37T-TJ Stineman[11]; 14. 7-Dawson Knaul[2]; 15. 80-Ralph Baxter III[16]; 16. (DNS) 82-Bob Sibila Jr
Dash 1: 1. 37T-TJ Stineman[1]; 2. 07-Parker Ennes[3]; 3. 37-Spencer Stineman[4]; 4. 49-Sam Stout[2]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 80-Ralph Baxter III[1]; 2. 16W-Adam White[5]; 3. 54-James Snyder[2]; 4. 60-Sam Bigham[7]; 5. 3-Austin Berger[3]; 6. 7-Dawson Knaul[4]; 7. 16-Rick Groetsch[6]; 8. 82-Bob Sibila Jr[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 64-Brandon Lemmerman[1]; 2. 86-Zack Miller[2]; 3. 10-Nathan Embree[4]; 4. 27-Matthew Winningham[3]; 5. 37T-TJ Stineman[5]; 6. 37-Spencer Stineman[8]; 7. 07-Parker Ennes[7]; 8. 49-Sam Stout[6]
Qualifying 1: 1. 37-Spencer Stineman, 00:15.161[13]; 2. 07-Parker Ennes, 00:15.302[5]; 3. 49-Sam Stout, 00:15.304[15]; 4. 37T-TJ Stineman, 00:15.338[14]; 5. 10-Nathan Embree, 00:15.345[4]; 6. 27-Matthew Winningham, 00:15.371[17]; 7. 86-Zack Miller, 00:15.387[10]; 8. 64-Brandon Lemmerman, 00:15.471[8]; 9. 82-Bob Sibila Jr, 00:15.471[11]; 10. 60-Sam Bigham, 00:15.483[3]; 11. 16-Rick Groetsch, 00:15.485[6]; 12. 16W-Adam White, 00:15.650[16]; 13. 7-Dawson Knaul, 00:15.673[7]; 14. 3-Austin Berger, 00:15.867[2]; 15. 54-James Snyder, 00:16.059[12]; 16. 80-Ralph Baxter III, 00:16.316[1]; 17. (DNS) 66-Jeremy Menninger
Grand Nationals
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 71-Dan Smith[2]; 2. 79-Brenton Beal[3]; 3. 15-Will Yuravak[5]; 4. 38-Melvin Martin[1]; 5. 320-Josh Ansell[6]; 6. 33-Aaron White[4]; 7. 5-Shane Moyers[9]; 8. 83B-Doug Beall[7]; 9. (DNS) 83-Dan Waltz; 10. (DNS) 58-Jared McCullough
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 320-Josh Ansell[4]; 2. 5-Shane Moyers[1]; 3. 83-Dan Waltz[2]; 4. 83B-Doug Beall[3]; 5. (DNS) 58-Jared McCullough
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 71-Dan Smith[2]; 2. 38-Melvin Martin[1]; 3. 15-Will Yuravak[5]; 4. 79-Brenton Beal[3]; 5. 33-Aaron White[4]
Qualifying 1: 1. 15-Will Yuravak, 00:17.051[10]; 2. 33-Aaron White, 00:17.360[9]; 3. 79-Brenton Beal, 00:17.481[2]; 4. 71-Dan Smith, 00:17.636[7]; 5. 38-Melvin Martin, 00:17.687[4]; 6. 320-Josh Ansell, 00:17.972[1]; 7. 83B-Doug Beall, 00:18.055[3]; 8. 83-Dan Waltz, 00:18.636[8]; 9. 5-Shane Moyers, 00:18.703[6]; 10. (DNS) 58-Jared McCullough
Factory Stocks
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 91-Jimmy Phillips[4]; 2. 9-Jesse Houghton[5]; 3. 24-Shaun Warner[7]; 4. 19-Roy Lowe[3]; 5. 72-Justin Andres[2]; 6. 88-Joshua Fielding[1]; 7. (DNS) 70-Elliot Jayes
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 91-Jimmy Phillips[4]; 2. 9-Jesse Houghton[6]; 3. 19-Roy Lowe[3]; 4. 72-Justin Andres[2]; 5. 24-Shaun Warner[7]; 6. (DNS) 88-Joshua Fielding; 7. (DNS) 70-Elliot Jayes
Qualifying 1: 1. 91-Jimmy Phillips, 00:18.371[3]; 2. 19-Roy Lowe, 00:18.736[2]; 3. 72-Justin Andres, 00:18.787[1]; 4. 88-Joshua Fielding, 00:19.226[5]; 5. (DNS) 24-Shaun Warner
Ohio Pro Compacts
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 18W-Ben Watson[8]; 2. 17-Jaden McCall[5]; 3. 01-Brandon Weigel[7]; 4. 37-Kenny Betts Jr[10]; 5. 07-Hayden Nails[22]; 6. 58-Andrew McCall[11]; 7. 9-Gavin Roup[2]; 8. 87-Doug Sommers[9]; 9. 39-Jason Stanfield[3]; 10. 12-Cody Phillips[4]; 11. 62-Kaeden Scott[1]; 12. 18-Andrew Phillips[14]; 13. 56-Brayden Furbay[13]; 14. 37G-Don Gregory[15]; 15. 3L-Justice Lenarz[16]; 16. 42-AJ Andrews[18]; 17. 84-Scott Witten[17]; 18. 92-Chris Nicastro[12]; 19. 08-Nathan Pérez[21]; 20. 25-Vinny Cicconetti[23]; 21. 47-Erik Johnson[6]; 22. 428-John Cunningham[20]; 23. (DNS) 46-Travis Cosiano
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 84-Scott Witten[4]; 2. 42-AJ Andrews[3]; 3. 3L-Justice Lenarz[5]; 4. 37G-Don Gregory[6]; 5. 428-John Cunningham[2]; 6. (DNS) 08-Nathan Pérez; 7. (DNS) 46-Travis Cosiano
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 07-Hayden Nails[7]; 2. 9-Gavin Roup[5]; 3. 39-Jason Stanfield[6]; 4. 25-Vinny Cicconetti[8]; 5. 62-Kaeden Scott[4]; 6. 56-Brayden Furbay[2]; 7. 92-Chris Nicastro[3]; 8. 18-Andrew Phillips[1]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 17-Jaden McCall[2]; 2. 01-Brandon Weigel[4]; 3. 18W-Ben Watson[5]; 4. 58-Andrew McCall[8]; 5. 37-Kenny Betts Jr[7]; 6. 87-Doug Sommers[6]; 7. 47-Erik Johnson[3]; 8. 12-Cody Phillips[1]
Qualifying 1: 1. 58-Andrew McCall, 00:16.733[12]; 2. 37-Kenny Betts Jr, 00:16.737[2]; 3. 87-Doug Sommers, 00:16.816[22]; 4. 18W-Ben Watson, 00:16.879[24]; 5. 01-Brandon Weigel, 00:16.898[25]; 6. 47-Erik Johnson, 00:16.925[10]; 7. 17-Jaden McCall, 00:16.983[13]; 8. 12-Cody Phillips, 00:17.206[19]; 9. 39-Jason Stanfield, 00:17.271[23]; 10. 25-Vinny Cicconetti, 00:17.390[4]; 11. 9-Gavin Roup, 00:17.589[20]; 12. 62-Kaeden Scott, 00:17.706[21]; 13. 92-Chris Nicastro, 00:17.999[15]; 14. 56-Brayden Furbay, 00:18.252[8]; 15. 18-Andrew Phillips, 00:18.332[18]; 16. 37G-Don Gregory, 00:18.366[9]; 17. 3L-Justice Lenarz, 00:18.477[11]; 18. 84-Scott Witten, 00:18.624[26]; 19. 42-AJ Andrews, 00:18.700[1]; 20. 46-Travis Cosiano, 00:18.804[5]; 21. 428-John Cunningham, 00:18.980[6]; 22. 08-Nathan Pérez, 00:19.991[17]; 23. (DNS) 76-Eric Black; 24. (DNS) 88F-Josh Fielding; 25. (DNS) 07-Hayden Nails; 26. (DNS) 77-Mikey Oldenburgh; 27. (DNS) 88-Seth Yehl
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