BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular

The Rick's Trucks & Equipment BOSS sprint car series' 2016 season comes to a close this Saturday night at the historic Eldora Speedway near Rossburg, Ohio. The "Sprintacular" has become a season ending tradition at the "Big E" featuring the last true outlaws of BOSS along with the All Star winged sprint cars and the NRA winged 360's. For fans of sprint car racing, it doesn't get any better than this. Last year there were 124 cars among the 3 classes and nearly half of those were of the wingless BOSS variety.

The "Guilford Gasser" Shawn Westerfeld of Guilford, Indiana clinched the 2016 championship this past Saturday with a 3rd place run in the feature event. It was a historic moment, as not only did he become the first repeat champion, but he has scored back-to-back titles. He will look to make more history as no driver has ever won more than 3 events in one season and Westerfeld has already won 3. An Eldora win would put an exclamation point on his dominant season.

A pair of youngsters had fine seasons and have secured second and third in the final standings. Cooper Clouse of Ohio City, Ohio won the first two events of the year and appeared to be the driver to beat in 2016, but down the stretch was unable to match strides with the champ. Justin Owen of Harrison, Ohio has locked down third with a very consistent season that saw him find victory lane for the first time in his career. Michael Fischesser of Cincinnati and Chad Wilson of Toledo are still battling over the 4-5 spots. Both have had fine seasons and appear poised to get their first BOSS wins at any time.

The 6th through 15 spots are ALL up for grabs with drivers able to advance or fall several positions at Eldora. Making the main event will be imperative for all of the drivers battling for those final spots in the standings. Cody Gardner, Aaron Middaugh, Steve Little, Stratton Briggs and Andy Feil hold the 6 through 10 spots and have traded positions many times during the season. Rounding out the top 15 in the standings are Dustin Smith, Bob McMillin, Joe Butera, Bobby Distel and Carmen Perigo, all of which will be honored at the banquet in Dayton, Ohio on November 12th.

This Saturday at Eldora will see some special earlier start times. Pit Passes and tickets will go on sale at 12:30 and the gates will open at 1 pm. Registration will take place in the infield media center. Fuel will be sold from 1:00 to 4:00 only, so be sure to get enough methanol prior to hot laps. The BOSS drivers meeting will take place at the BOSS tent or "command center" at 4:05 pm. Engine heat will take place immediately after the All Star winged qualifications. Hot laps will be immediately following NRA 360 hot laps / group qualifying. Racing begins promptly at 6:00 pm. BOSS will run 3rd in the order.

General admission for this event is $20 for adults. Reserved seats are $24. Kids ages 12 and under are free. Pit passé are $25. The minimum age for pit passes is 14. Kids between 14 and 17 years of age will need a parent to sign a minor release form. For teams competing, you will need a yellow transponder. They will be available for rent for $10. Mufflers are NOT required for this event. As always, there are NO FEES with the BOSS tour. All events are run under an "open tire rule". Payout will be at the BOSS tent after the A-Main. All feature teams will be paid by BOSS check and all non transfers will be paid in cash.

The A-Main payout is the standard purse: 1500, 900, 700, 600, 500, 450, 400, 375, 350, 325, 300, 290, 280, 270, 260 and 250 to start. We will start 24 cars in the main event. Heat races also pay the top 4 finishers: 40, 30, 20, 10. There are also 5 bonus awards of $50 each, one bonus award for $25 and free tires from both manufacturers to the highest finisher on all 4 of each brand of tire.

We could not do all the heat race and bonus awards if it were not for our generous sponsors. We thank them for their help and hope you will patronize them when possible. These great BOSS supporters are listed below:

2016 Sprintacular BOSS Heat Race / B-Main Sponsors

Buckeye Machine and Fabrication ; Forest, OH
Lias Tire / American Racer ; Indiana, PA
Hoosier Racing Tire ; Lakeville, IN
Southeast Harley Davidson ; Cleveland, OH
Superior Bearing & Supply ; Bradenton, FL
Cowen Truck Lines ; Perrysville, OH
FAST Signs ; Dayton, OH
Griff's Engines ; Sandusky, OH


Bonus Awards

The Bridge Restaurant ; Sidney, OH (Hard Charger $50)
Apple Metal Polishing ; Eldorodo, OH (Lucky Pill Draw $50)
Hochstetler Truck & Auto Repair ; Ashland, OH (Perseverance Award $50)
J F Construction ; Bucyrus, OH (Hard Luck Award $50)
A Plus Automatic Transmission ; Mansfield, OH (Steel Block Award $50)
McMillin Apiaries ; Wampum, PA (Sweet Move Award $25)
Hoosier Race Tire - Free Tire to highest finisher on all 4 Hoosiers
American Racer Tire - Free Tire to highest finisher on all 4 American Racers

Also a big thank you to Cowen Truck Lines of Perrysville, Ohio for the free water and Gatorade cooler for BOSS drivers and teams!

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

So who else is going. Not wing bashing, But sure wish the NW would run first. We'll see. I'll be sitting down by Turn One. Probably section K again.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

I'll be there around 5:30 after watching grand sons soccer tournament in Celina.If memory serves me correct the nw have run last in past years.

Yes. Boss posted somewhere that they would be running 3rd in the order.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Well Rico, Sammy and Jac will be running All Stars so its not a automatic to Hannigan or Blaney.

Just curious, would you want BOSS to run first so you wouldn't have to sit through the winged races?

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

For Track conditions. The wings tend to do better on the slick anyway.

I'll be there... usually sit in G or H.

I just read Ian Madsen will be there too.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Will be there with some Michigan misfits. Turn 4 terrace unless the dust gets bad.

I wish I could join you folks, but can't make it. I wish you all a great time, looks like the weather will be perfect. Does anyone know what usac regulars might be there and if Rico might be doing 360 & 410?

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Off of www.Race-Monitor.com:

Practice 1
16 Justin Grant, 19.331
14W Chad Wilson
39 Matt Goodnight
320 Bill Rose
76 JJ Hughes
04 Drew Abel
97J Andy Fike
0C Chris Vandewiele

Practice 2
30 CJ Leary, 19.319
57 Shane Cottle
08 Andy Feil
6 Chris Phillips
71 Stratton Briggs
21 Carmen Perigo
18D Bob Distel
11 David Applegate

Practice 3
9N Luke Hall, 19.781
33M Matt Westall
97 Bret Mellenberndt
15 Brandon Whited
4F Michael Fischesser
53 Steve Little
19 Matt Cooley
3 Joe Butera

Practice 4
89 Shawn Westerfeld, 20.096
17N Nick Bilbee
19X Cooper Clouse
7X Logan Hupp
86 Rick Holley
26 John Watson
32M Derek Hastings
13 Ian Hunter

Practice 5
5 Bob McMillan, 19.984
18K Dallas Hewitt
4J Justin Owen
74 Drew Rader
24S Kyle Simon
2DI Dustin Ingle
24 Landon Simon

Practice 6
9X Thomas Meseraull, 20.129
77 Dustin Smith
27 Zach Morrow
91X Aaron Middaugh
97 Scott Hardman
71C Barney Craig
1J Jeremy Shambaugh

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

From the Eldora Speedway Facebook page:

Can't be here? Watch via live online pay-per-view video:

http://live.eldoraspeedway.com/?utm_...ampaign=buffer

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Unofficial results off of www.Race-Monitor.com:

Heat 1
Bill Rose wins by 1.665 seconds over Chad Wilson, Justin Grant, Carmen Perigo, Matt Goodnight, Chris Phillips, Andy Feil & Andy Fike.

Heat 2
CJ Leary wins by 2.188 seconds over Shane Cottle, Matt Cooley, David Applegate, Bob Distel, Stratton Briggs, Chris Vandewiele & Brandon Mans.

Heat 3
Matt Westfall wins by 2.055 seconds over Luke Hall, Michael Fischesser, Brandon Whited, Cooper Clouse, Bret Mellenberndt, Joe Butera & Cody Gardner.

Heat 4
Chris Windom wins by 3.158 seconds over Shawn Westerfeld, Kyle Simon, Drew Rader, Steve Little, John Watson, Ian Hunter & Landon Simon.

Heat 5
Thomas Meseraull wins by 0.407 seconds over Dallas Hewitt, Nick Bilbee, Justin Owen, Bob McMillan, Rick Holley, Aaron Middaugh & Dustin Ingle.

Heat 6
Dustin Smith wins by 4.956 seconds over Logan Hupp, Zach Morrow, Derek Hastings, Drew Abel, Scott Hardman, Jeremy Shambaugh & Barney Craig.

****

JJ Hughes got in the wall during practice breaking his chassis at the jacobs ladder & is a scratch for the night.

Just curious how dusty is it there tonite?

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Unofficial results off of www.Race-Monitor.com:

B Main 1
Brandon Whited wins by 1.714 seconds over Chris Phillips, Cooper Clouse, Bob McMillan, Carmen Perigo, Matt Goodnight, Aaron Middaugh, Dustin Ingle, Andy Feil, Andy Fike, Joe Butera, Justin Owen, Bret Mellenberndt, Rick Holley & Cody Gardner.

B Main 2
Drew Abel wins by 1.051 seconds over Drew Rader, Derek Hastings, Steve Little, Bob Distel, David Applegate, John Watson, Stratton Briggs, Jeremy Shambaugh, Chris Vandewiele, Scott Hardman, Ian Hunter & Barney Craig.

I'm watching on PPV and it doesn't appear to be bad. Very slick track and started to take rubber and narrow during All Stars.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Unofficial results off of www.Race-Monitor.com:

Feature
Chris Windom wins by 1.497 seconds over Thomas Meseraull, Dallas Hewitt, Dustin Smith, Matt Westfall, Shawn Westerfeld, Michael Fischesser, Bill Rose, Justin Grant & Nick Bilbee. Finishing 11th was Brandon Whited then Logan Hupp, Cooper Clouse, Kyle Simon, Chris Phillips, Shane Cottle, Drew Rader, Drew Abel, Matt Cooley, Zach Morrow, Chad Wilson, Derek Hastings, Luke Hall & CJ Leary.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

As always, the results posted by Sandy Lowe are absolutely great! Thank you so much for all the effort it takes, Sandy.

Someone asked about the track. Now I wasn't there so I can't say for sure, but I did see a post of Rico qualifying and they didn't have to scrape lines on the wall. To me as a 3rd party observation, it looked dry. Perhaps anyone in attendance can verify or discount my take on it. I will say this, as I followed on twitter, it seemed like the all star race and the boss race were really good.

I was there, and it was super dry!!!! It was slick and dry from the start, they had it tightly packed, which kept the dust to a minimum. The all star race took rubber and made it one groove, it was still a good race. Didn't see the 360 race. The nw show was by far the best racing, no surprise here, great race. The only track work they did is between each feature they dragged a till across the rubber down spots, which just loosened up a bunch of dry dirt and it made the first 10 laps hard to see due to dust.

It was definitely a very dry and slick track. Good racing throughout the night though. All stars had some entertaining heats. T-Mez came from last to first in his BOSS heat. The all stars feature was a good show. Some close battles throughout the field. It looked like Rico was going to have no competition, but some lap traffic held him up, bringing Blaney and Kemenah to his tail tank. Blaney showed him the nose a couple times but couldn't quite get by, so Rico redeemed that 4-crown slip up. The BOSS feature was one of the best races I've seen this year. The show Hewitt, Windom, T-Mez, and Smith put on was amazing! It seemed like it was slide job, crossover, repeat every lap. Some of those slide jobs were breathtaking as they were cutting it close. Windom finally came out on top after sliding Hewitt after a caution with 5 to go.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Track was crap all night long. Maybe a newbie to eldora wouldn't notice. But I do. Non wing sprints practicing slower than the Eldora Street Stocks used to run. 20 second laps instead of 15.5 laps is noticable, IDC who you are. And winged which ran first were practicing at 16 second vs 13s 14s

They threw the first group of NRA qualifiers out there threw the green and the bottom of one was total slime after they watered. One spun out, Lucky it wasn't worse It was a dangerous situation

The wing heats were freight train except for starts and restarts. The feature was shapeing up to be good but it got locked down in one groove with about ten to go. Rico couldn't pass the lap cars and I doubt second could have passed him a that point.

Before the BOSS feature while they were still pusing the NRA outside the track they ripped and waterd the top a bit. Didn't change the track much other than making it dustyer but it gave em something to grab in the slide fest that commenced.

Like Atomic it became about six drivers throwing everything but the kitchen sink at each other with multiple position changes on every lap. Windom didn't grab the lead till two too go and Tmez got second with one to go. A couple more laps and they'd of throwing sliders at each other again.

I'll be honest, Without Boss being there, I'd of been disappointed. Even if everything in the place has improved for what it once was. It's not the hair raising eldora i remember, there was no mass enthusiasm or applause.

But most stayed for the BOSS , Most loved the five car under a blanket throwing sliders on each other every corner and crossovers. It literally was a crap shoot to see who could get traction the fastest and squirt out ahead. Even the two guys in front of me with their Williams Grove and Knox Nationals hoodies were saying "THAT WAS GREAT"

Congrats to Windom on his win, He really had to earn it, Tmez, Dustin Smith, Dallas Hewitt dukeing it out and leaving it all on the track.

I guess I will go to Millstream next weekend to see it happen one more time. Even if it isn't BOSS. WINTER is a long dry spell :)

Thanks Aaron Fry and his band of Merry Racers for a great season, Caught a majority of the shows and enjoyed every one of them. The biggest suprise for me was Portsmouth. Wow, what a fast joint. Eldora like with no dust and no rubber period.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Holy Slidefest!!!

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Thanks for all the kind comments regarding BOSS. First off I'd like to thank Sandy Lowe for posting the updates!!

I was very proud of our BOSS regulars for running very well against the USAC invaders. Our guys get one race a year at Eldora and it's a monumental task running against the guys with many more laps on that track.

If you enjoyed that race, you really need to catch more of our events. That race probably barely cracked the top 5 in exciting main events of our 16 completed events this year.

I know some people question why we run 6 heats with 8 cars as opposed to 5 heats of 10 or as some groups would do, 4 heats of 12. When you time trial, I suppose you have the right to do that and put the lesser experienced or lesser funded teams to the back at the very beginning.

However, we PILL DRAW to save time on save the track. The pill draw is very tough when you draw a bad pill. But by running smaller fields in the heats, it allows the drivers a chance. Two heat winners came from row 4 and one came from row 3. The bottom line is that my belief is that the majority of fans would prefer to see more RACING and less time trials.

Thanks again for everyone's support in 2016 and we encourage everyone to support the non sanctioned, non wing event at Millstream Speedway this Saturday. See you in 2017!

Aaron Fry
BOSS

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Im agreeing with this more and more. Id rather see one or two more races of smaller yet still tough heats and make the difference between finishing second or third potentially huge, Which means you always have to push forward even if you are in a transfer. Also it has a couple/three doable consi's to still make the show if something happens. The format proved what I've been saying all year. Racers can race but not necessarily have the equipment, new tire etc to lay down a top time in qualifying on a heavy track. Dustin Smith and Dallas Hewitt gave em all they couldn't handle last night. I told the people in front of me, If Dustin gets out front, He's gone, Didn't happen but him Tmez and Windom fought a battle royale over that second spot,

With qualifying, IDK if he'd of started the feature in the top fifteen. He won his heat, Raced his way for the chance to draw a good pill and held his own. Not just held his own, Was threatening for the lead several times and gave Windom and Tmez the race of their lives over second.

I really liked when Kokomo did the format for the BC race.

I like the single car qualifying but I always considered it more of a bonus (Before the show thing) I'd rather see more SHOW.
omi
BOSS has been great for NW racing. Im so glad to be able to see it as much as I can.

Chuck

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

there use to be a dirt track in rossburg ohio. can anyone remember where it was?

Boss is one of the best things going in sprint car racing, wing or non PERIOD

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

With so much rubber on the track, they should rename it Trojan Speedway.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Aaron-I really enjoy the BOSS series and wish you guys could branch out even more into Indiana and the like-don't change the format!! I want to see racing, not qualifications. Six heats didn't bother me at all, nor did the 2 B mains. Your car counts show you are doing something right. Keep it up!!!

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

I think Aaron is doing it the way he should now. I wouldn't change a thing. Take your shows to the places that normally don't see them, and continue to impress new fans.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

Went right to the BOSS portion of the video. WOW, sorry I missed a good one & I had planned on being there but my wife broke her wrist & needed my help in W.Va.. She's a little more important !!!!

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

I prefer qualifications.

Re: BOSS Season Finale Set for Eldora Sprintacular
 

I wish they would head out to n.e. PA. I'd love to see a show at PennCan, a cool 1/4 mile track nestled along the Susquehanna river.
Theres also a number of nice tracks here and in NY that would be perfect for Sprintcars.
Nonwinged 600's are getting big around here I'm sure fans would come out to see the real thing. We live in a sprintcar desert, its terrible if you don't like BB mods or the occasional winged crap.