Weaver's record night opens racing at Sandusky County Fair
Fremont Speedway has existed for 72 years in the Sandusky County Fairgrounds.
It seemed fitting Monday there would be a new driver to sit atop the track's all-time win list on the night the Sandusky County Fair kicked off, as Fremont's Paul Weaver took the 77th feature victory of his career.
Weaver, 56, who lives blocks from Speedway, earned his sixth Fremont victory of the year and fourth in a row on Fremont Fence Night to pass Art Ball.
More: Fremont Speedway Paul Weaver ties hero Art Ball on Fremont all-time win list
DJ Foos, back racing after suffering severe burns in April, led the first 18 laps of the 30-lap feature. Weaver, who started fifth, took command on Lap 19 and had to fend off a late challenge on a restart to claim the win.
"I never thought I would catch Art," Weaver said. "He ran for a long, long time. I don’t know how much longer I can do this. I knew DJ would be good at the end of the race so I just tried to stay behind him and save the tires for something at the end and every time I actually got a good run and he faded the yellow would come out.
"Then I had to fend off the slide jobs from Zeth (Sabo) on a slick track. We kept it in one piece for the end."
Former 410 sprint track champion Bryan Sebetto came on strong to nail down a runner-up finish.
“Our car was really free at the beginning of the race and we backed up," Sebetto said. "The longer we went, the better I was. Even though the last caution let me have a shot at DJ, I actually wished we could have gotten into lapped traffic because I really could go just about anywhere and was good the second half of that race.
"We were really good here the early part of the season and we changed some things looking for more speed."
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Back racing after a lengthy rehabilitation was a win for Foos, as he brought the Bobby Clark-owned machine home in third.
“I’ve done this my whole life and I was pretty much off for 10 months, with the winter," he said. "While I was off I did some thinking and I realized I’ve gotten to drive for some really good car owners, all hall of famers and I got to race with the Clarks for the fair and I got to race with my dad.
"We just got beat [Monday]. I’ll take it to the grave that I got to be behind Paul Weaver for his taking over for most wins ever. I also can’t say enough about all the people in this sport, my wife Bethany, my mom and dad, everyone that chipped in and helped me out through all of this."
Championship night is scheduled for Sept. 9 for the All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads/Kistler Racing Products Attica, Fremont Championship Series for the 410 sprints and the NAPA of Bryan AFCS for the 305 sprints. The dirt trucks will also be in action.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Paul Weaver passes Art Ball atop win list at Fremont Speedway
