The Left Turn
By: Ron Burt
October 4th, the last races of 2025 at Toledo Speedway had a little bit of everything for race fans. The ARCA/Menards Series Owens Corning 200 never disappoints, and the Outlaw Late Models put on a great show.
Max Reaves, a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, set fast time on the high banked, half mile oval for the ARCA/Menards Series 16.174, to win the pole. Reaves was out front most of the race. With 50 laps remaining, series champion Brenden Queen gave the leader a bump and run, which Reaves returned the next lap and led the remaining 50 for the victory. The entire race Reaves always had both Pinnacle Racing Group cars Tristan McKee and Brenden Queen, in his rearview mirror for most of the race but was able to hold both off to win.
Queen and McKee finished second and third, respectively, with both running inside of the top three for the entirety of the race. Queen was crowned the season champion upon taking the green flag at the start of the race, finishing off an impressive season in which he found victory lane eight times. Isabella Robusto won Rookie of the Year with her fourth-place finish, falling just a few positions shy of passing Jason Kitzmiller for third in points. Tyler Reif crossed the line in 5th to round out the top five. Taylor Reimer, Willie Mullins, Julian DaCosta, Kitzmiller and Becca Monopoli rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Conner Zbozien won the 50 lap Valley Truck Centers Outlaw Late Model race followed by Nick Bailey, Paul Pelletier, Scott Hantz and Bob Mikolajczyk. Scott Hantz was the fastest qualifier with a top lap speed of 15,237. Most of these drivers compete at Toledo’s sister track, Flat Rock Speedway south of Detroit.
The paved half mile Sandusky Speedway possibly turned out the lights for the final time, Sunday, October 5th after the annual Cavalcade. This year was the tracks 75th Anniversary. Sandusky Speedway was known as Ohio’s home for Supermodified racing. Families would travel from all over the Tri-State to spend the day at Cedar Point or Lake Erie Shore and end the night at the historic speedway. Ten different classes of cars raced the final day. The only cars missing were the Big Block Supermodifieds. Their last race at the speedway was the Hy-Miler in July. The 350 Outlaw Supermodifieds filled the void for them. UMP Mods, Race Trucks, Ohio Wheelman Stock Cars, Grand Nationals and several economy classes had feature races all afternoon and into the evening. All day drivers and many generations of fans sharing memories of races at the track. Fans buying up what souvenirs were still available and taking pictures and making reels for the internet. Sandusky ran lots of promotions but one of the top draws was Dollar Night. Several times every summer it was $1.00 admission, $1.00 drinks and buck for hotdogs.
Sandusky Speedway is set for auction this week. Some fans are wishing another racetrack promoter will purchase it and keep the track alive. The past few years, age, wear and tear has caught up with this historic venue. It would cost a lot of money to bring this track back to pristine condition. The track sits in the middle of the industrial area of town, surrounded by warehouses, and storage facilities. It’s easy to figure out the value of the land would be worth more than the racetrack. The hard part is policing the speedway property. All week fans have been breaking into the grounds to take anything they can grab to remember the track. Seats have been the main target. Until next week, keep your wheels down. Ron out!
