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Kyle Larson earns second consecutive All Star victory with win at Lawton Speedway
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Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Winner Kyle Larson (Lonnie Wheatley Photo)
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
Kyle Larson earns second consecutive All Star victory with win at Lawton Speedway
LAWTON, Okla. (June 8, 2020) - For the second time in as many nights, Elk Grove, California’s Kyle Larson is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, doing so during Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires competition at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Oklahoma, on Monday, June 8. Accompanied by a $5,000 payay, the Lawton victory required patience and perseverance, once again forced to fend off some of the best in the business, all while navigating a tricky, yet narrow racing groove.
The victory bumped Larson’s All Star win count to three in 2020, simultaneously increasing his overall All Star victory tally to 12.
“To come out here and win two in a row like this says so much about this team and what we have going on,” Kyle Larson said, who was victorious one night prior at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas. “It’s pretty incredible to see so many people out here supporting this deal, especially on a Monday night. It’s exciting to be a part of it.”
Despite a pair of cautions delaying the initial start, Larson was unrattled, utilizing his row two starting spot to get the jump into second before the completion of lap one. Powering ahead from the pole position, two-time and defending All Star champion, Aaron Reutzel, set the early pace, keeping things in check during the first nine circuits.
Traffic came into play for the first time on lap ten giving Larson an opportunity to close the gap on Reutzel. Putting himself in striking distance early, Larson eventually made a bid for the lead on lap 13, executing a perfect slider through turns three and four before out-sprinting Reutzel back to the flagstand.
Although Larson was the sole leader from that point forward, Reutzel did not go down without a fight, nearly reclaiming the top spot on several occasions with aggressive sliders through turns one and two. All of Retuzel’s attempts were eventually denied, as Larson was able to diamond off the corner and retake command before the exit of turn two. In total, three slide job attempts were carried out by Reutzel in hopes of dethroning Larson, but as aforementioned, all three were negated.
Meanwhile, as the front runners diced for positions, Lawton Speedway’s racing real estate started to narrow forcing all feature competitors to move into the rubbered-up racing groove that formed around the middle and bottom of the speedway. Although wide in some spots, the abrasive surface made passing tricky.
After a fuel stop with 29 laps recorded, instigated by another caution and a dissipated fuel window, action resumed with Larson still on the point. Even with Reutzel and Danny Dietrich applying the pressure, Larson hung on the final 11 circuits, maneuvering the abrasive surface carefully and even surviving a final encounter with traffic.
“There’s a lot of strategy that goes into racing on a surface that gets like that. It makes it fun in a way, but it can be really stressful,” Kyle Larson explained, driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Tarlton and Sons/Finley Farms/No. 57 sprint car. “I knew Aaron’s (Reutzel) only shot to get by me was going to be a slider in one of the corners. I was just trying to run easy. I didn’t want to get too close to the guys in front of me, and the track was still really wide at that point. He was almost carrying too much speed when he got by me that he actually slipped up out of the rubber.”
Less than a second back, Aaron Reutzel crossed the line in the runner-up spot, followed by Danny Dietrich, Josh Baughman, and DJ Netto.
What’s Next:
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will continue the 2020 edition of Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires with a return to Outlaw Motor Speedway in Oktaha, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, June 9. The event was originally slated for Saturday, June 6, but Mother Nature stepped-in and ruined the evening just as the second set of warm-ups were hitting the speedway. All Star hot laps are slated to begin at 7:15 p.m. Those seeking additional news and notes pertaining to the event should visit Outlaw Motor Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Outlawmotorspeedway1/.
Online Coverage:
Each and every event on the 2020 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 schedule will be broadcast live exclusively at www.floracing.com. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit www.floracing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. The subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.
Contingency Awards/Results: Lawton Speedway - June 8, 2020:
Event: Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 24
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Kyle Larson - 13.186
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Danny Dietrich - 13.150
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Brock Zearfoss
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Cory Eliason
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Justin Sanders
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash Winner: Aaron Reutzel
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Kyle Larson
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Tony Stewart (+8)
(Lincoln Electric, Hercules Tire, Rayce Rudeen Foundation: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
1. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.150; 2. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.162; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.243; 4. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.268; 5. 17-Josh Baughman, 13.337; 6. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.349; 7. 88N-DJ Netto, 13.361; 8. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.365; 9. 16A-Justin Sanders, 13.376; 10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.483; 11. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.484; 12. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.564; 13. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.578; 14. 41G-Gio Scelzi, 13.582; 15. 70-Justin Peck, 13.631; 16. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.655; 17. 52-Blake Hahn, 13.675; 18. 11-Zeb Wise, 13.770; 19. 14-Tony Stewart, 13.863; 20. 21P-Robbie Price, 13.951; 21. 17w-Harli White, 13.951; 22. 55-Danny Wood, 14.247; 23. 4-Danny Smith, 14.432; 24. 9$-Kyle Clark, 14.624;
Heat #1 (8 Laps) - Top 8 Transfer
1. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 88N-DJ Netto [2]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [5]; 5. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee [3]; 7. 14-Tony Stewart [7]; 8. 55-Danny Wood [8]
Heat #2 (8 Laps) - Top 8 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [2]; 4. 41G-Gio Scelzi [5]; 5. 52-Blake Hahn [6]; 6. 21P-Robbie Price [7]; 7. 4-Danny Smith [8]; 8. 17-Josh Baughman [3]
Heat #3 (8 Laps) - Top 8 Transfer
1. 16A-Justin Sanders [2]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [1]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 4. 11-Zeb Wise [6]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 6. 70-Justin Peck [5]; 7. 17W-Harli White [7]; 8. 9$-Kyle Clark [8]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 2. 17-Josh Baughman [1]; 3. 99-Skylar Gee [3]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 6. 48-Danny Dietrich [6]; 7. 16A-Justin Sanders [7]; 8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [8]
A-Main (40 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich [6]; 4. 17-Josh Baughman [2]; 5. 88N-DJ Netto [9]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 7. 99-Skylar Gee [3]; 8. 41G-Gio Scelzi [13]; 9. 11-Zeb Wise [14]; 10. 18-Ian Madsen [12]; 11. W20-Greg Wilson [10]; 12. 14-Tony Stewart [20]; 13. 13-Paul McMahan [15]; 14. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [16]; 15. 52-Blake Hahn [17]; 16. 70-Justin Peck [18]; 17. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [8]; 18. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [11]; 19. 17W-Harli White [21]; 20. 9$-Kyle Clark [24]; 21. 21P-Robbie Price [19]; 22. 16A-Justin Sanders [7]; 23. 55-Danny Wood [23]; 24. 4-Danny Smith [22]
Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-12), Kyle Larson (13-40)
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of June 8, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel - 898
2. Danny Dietrich - 858
3. Zeb Wise - 856
4. Cory Eliason - 854
5. Brock Zearfoss - 836
6. Tony Stewart - 812
7. Paul McMahan - 808
8. Justin Peck - 794
9. Josh Baughman - 782
10. Skylar Gee - 780
2020 Thunder Through The Plains Driver Standings: (As of June 8, 2020)
1. Kyle Larson - 626
2. Cory Eliason - 606
3. Aaron Reutzel - 602
4. Zeb Wise - 596
5. Danny Dietrich - 588
6. Ian Madsen - 584
7. Greg Wilson - 564
8. Dominic Scelzi - 562
9. Skylar Gee - 562
10. DJ Netto - 560
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/5/2020): Brad Sweet
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/6/2020): Aaron Reutzel
East Bay Raceway Park, Fla. (2/10/2020): Aaron Reutzel (2)
East Bay Raceway Park, Fla. (2/11/2020): Kyle Larson
Park Jefferson International Speedway, S.D. (5/29/2020): Aaron Reutzel (3)
Park Jefferson International Speedway, S.D. (5/30/2020): Austin McCarl
Red Dirt Raceway, Okla. (6/5/2020): Aaron Reutzel (4)
81 Speedway, Kan. (6/7/2020): Kyle Larson (2)
Lawton Speedway, Okla. (6/8/2020): Kyle Larson (3)
About the All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first 'outlaw' Sprint Car organization of the modern era. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015.
About Ollie’s Bargain Outlet:
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Inc., founded in 1982, is one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts and excess inventory, offering real brands at real bargain prices. Famous for its signature catch-phrase Good Stuff Cheap, Ollie’s has a huge variety of famous brand-name merchandise in every department – food, books, housewares, toys, electronics, domestics, clothing, furniture, health and beauty, flooring, seasonal items and so much more – at up to 70 percent off the fancy stores’ prices. You never know what you’ll find at one of Ollie’s 363 “semi-lovely” stores in 25 states. For more information, visit www.ollies.us. Like us on Facebook or find us on Twitter at @OlliesOutlet. Ollie’s is a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol OLLI.
About Mobil 1:
The world's leading synthetic motor oil brand, Mobil 1™ features anti-wear technology that provides performance beyond our conventional motor oils. This technology allows Mobil 1 to meet or exceed the toughest standards of car builders and to provide exceptional protection against engine wear, under normal or even some of the most extreme conditions. Mobil 1 flows quickly in extreme temperatures to protect critical engine parts and is designed to maximize engine performance and help extend engine life.
For more information, visit www.mobiloil.com, on Twitter @Mobil1 and, on Facebook, www.facebook.com/mobil1.
Mobil, Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 Racing are registered trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.
About FloSports:
Founded in 2006, FloSports is a venture-backed subscription video streaming service dedicated to sports, offering live and on-demand access to hundreds of thousands of competition events across 25+ vertical sport categories in the US and abroad. FloSports’ mission is to give underserved sports the love they deserve. With a growing library of more than 300,000 hours of premium content including news, expert commentary, films, documentaries and more, FloSports has established itself as an innovator and leader in sports streaming. Finally, your sport has a home. For more information, please visit: flosports.tv.
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Photo Credit: Lonnie Wheatley
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
Potomac Speedway With The Short Track Super Series
Posted by: | Comments- Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Winner Kyle Larson (Tim Aylwin Photo)
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
Kyle Larson goes wire-to-wire at 81 Speedway for Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires win
PARK CITY, Kan. (June 7, 2020) - For the second time in 2020, and for the 11th time in his career, ‘Yung Money’ Kyle Larson is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, this time during Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires competition at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas. Snagging $5,000 in the process, the wire-to-wire victory was extra satisfying for the Elk Grove, California-native, creating a sense of redemption after finishing second in a wild main event at Red Dirt Raceway on Friday, June 5.
“That was a lot of fun. I just want to thank all of the fans for coming out and supporting this race,” Kyle Larson said, driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Tarlton and Sons/Finley Farms/Durst/No. 57 sprint car. “It definitely feels good to be out here racing sprint cars.”
Larson’s trip to 81 Speedway victory lane commenced from the outside of row one, eventually upgrading his runner-up starting position to the race lead with a slider over Cory Eliason through turns three and four. Although the move would result in abrupt contact with the turn four cushion bringing the familiar No. 57 to a slight wheel stand while exiting the corner, Larson prevailed and crossed under the flagstand with the race lead.
The preferred line around the very topside of the speedway soon moved to the low side, as an abrasive surface forced the entire field, including the race leader, to switch focus to the inside line. By lap ten, the entire field was utilizing 81 Speedway’s bottom groove, already mastered by Angola, Indiana’s Zeb Wise who climbed six spots to find second by lap seven.
Despite countless attempts by Larson to increase his lead in traffic, Wise proved himself to be just as maneuverable through the roadblocks, eventually eradicating all slower cars between himself and the race leader. A caution on lap 18 would give Wise a chance to capitalize, but the opportunity to drive by Larson did not occur until lap 24 of 25.
While hugging the bottom of the speedway, Larson missed his entry into turn one allowing Wise a chance to sneak through. The near-side-by-side battle soon fell into Larson’s favor, driving on to score the $5,000 payday over Wise, Cory Eliason, Dominic Scelzi, and Tony Stewart.
“I knew I needed to be aggressive at the start because it was a shorter race,” Larson continued. “I was able to get the lead on the first lap and then I just followed the cushion. I started to notice that I could make-up a lot of time on entry, but I was either maintaining position, or the lap cars were pulling away from me on exit, so I knew rubber was starting to come into play. Once you get in the rubber, you just try to not make mistakes. I did make a mistake there toward the end and Zeb (Wise) stuck his nose under me. Fortunately, I was able to get back down. At that point, I just needed to calm down and finish it out.”
What’s Next:
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will continue the 2020 edition of Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires with a return to Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Oklahoma, on Monday, June 8. Originally slated for Thursday, June 4, but later postponed due to weather, the All Star visit to Lawton Speedway will be a first-ever for America’s Series, followed-up with a return trip to Outlaw Motor Speedway in Oktaha, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, June 9.
Online Coverage:
Each and every event on the 2020 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 schedule will be broadcast live exclusively at www.floracing.com. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit www.floracing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. The subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.
Contingency Awards/Results: 81 Speedway - Sunday, June 7, 2020:
Event: Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 26
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. - 15.660
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Dominic Scelzi - 15.404
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Cory Eliason
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Jake Bubak
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Tony Stewart
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash Winner: Cory Eliason
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Greg Wilson
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Mitch Harble
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Kyle Larson
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Brian Brown (+8)
(Lincoln Electric, Hercules Tire, Rayce Rudeen Foundation: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
1.41S-Dominic Scelzi, 15.404; 2. 57-Kyle Larson, 15.470; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 15.512; 4. 18-Ian Madsen, 15.621; 5. 11-Zeb Wise, 15.634; 6. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 15.686; 7. 26-Cory Eliason, 15.729; 8. 1X-Jake Bubak, 15.866; 9. 14-Tony Stewart, 15.904; 10. 99-Skylar Gee, 15.920; 11. 17-Josh Baughman, 15.925; 12. 88N-DJ Netto, 15.930; 13. 41G-Gio Scelzi, 15.986; 14. W20-Greg Wilson, 16.068; 15. 16A-Justin Sanders, 16.080; 16. 13-Paul McMahan, 16.200; 17. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.235; 18. 97-Alan Gilbertson, 16.263; 19. 4-Danny Smith, 16.287; 20. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 16.360; 21. 21-Brian Brown, 16.478; 22. 21P-Robbie Price, 16.553; 23. 52-Blake Hahn, 16.617; 24. 70-Justin Peck, 16.837; 25. 88-Michael Woodruff, 16.991; 26. 15-Mitch Harble, 99.110;
Heat #1 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 99-Skylar Gee [1]; 3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [6]; 6. 41G-Gio Scelzi [5]; 7. 21P-Robbie Price [8]; 8. 4-Danny Smith [7]; 9. 88-Michael Woodruff [9]
Heat #2 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 1X-Jake Bubak [2]; 2. 17-Josh Baughman [1]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [6]; 5. 11-Zeb Wise [3]; 6. 52-Blake Hahn [8]; 7. 87-Aaron Reutzel [7]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 9. 15-Mitch Harble [9]
Heat #3 (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 14-Tony Stewart [2]; 2. 88N-DJ Netto [1]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4]; 5. 16A-Justin Sanders [5]; 6. 21-Brian Brown [7]; 7. 70-Justin Peck [8]; 8. 97-Alan Gilbertson [6]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [2]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [5]; 6. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [8]; 7. 1X-Jake Bubak [6]; 8. 11-Zeb Wise [7]
B-Main (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. W20-Greg Wilson [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 3. 97-Alan Gilbertson [2]; 4. 21P-Robbie Price [4]; 5. 70-Justin Peck [5]; 6. 4-Danny Smith [6]; 7. 15-Mitch Harble [8]; 8. 88-Michael Woodruff [7]
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 11-Zeb Wise [8]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [6]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [5]; 6. 18-Ian Madsen [4]; 7. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [3]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [9]; 9. 21-Brian Brown [17]; 10. 17-Josh Baughman [10]; 11. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [12]; 12. 87-Aaron Reutzel [20]; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich [13]; 14. W20-Greg Wilson [19]; 15. 88N-DJ Netto [11]; 16. 1X-Jake Bubak [7]; 17. 41G-Gio Scelzi [16]; 18. 70-Justin Peck [23]; 19. 52-Blake Hahn [18]; 20. 16A-Justin Sanders [14]; 21. 13-Paul McMahan [15]; 22. 97-Alan Gilbertson [21]; 23. 21P-Robbie Price [22]; 24. 4-Danny Smith [24]
Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson (1-25)
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of June 7, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel - 752
2. Zeb Wise - 724
3. Brock Zearfoss - 720
4. Cory Eliason - 716
5. Danny Dietrich - 714
6. Tony Stewart - 686
7. Paul McMahan - 684
8. Justin Peck - 676
9. Greg Wilson - 650
10. Skylar Gee - 644
2020 Thunder Through The Plains Driver Standings: (As of June 7, 2020)
1. Kyle Larson - 476
2. Cory Eliason - 468
3. Zeb Wise - 464
4. Aaron Reutzel - 456
5. Ian Madsen - 454
6. Danny Dietrich - 444
7. Brock Zearfoss - 440
8. Dominic Scelzi - 440
9. Justin Peck - 436
10. Greg Wilson - 436
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/5/2020): Brad Sweet
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/6/2020): Aaron Reutzel
East Bay Raceway Park, Fla. (2/10/2020): Aaron Reutzel (2)
East Bay Raceway Park, Fla. (2/11/2020): Kyle Larson
Park Jefferson International Speedway, S.D. (5/29/2020): Aaron Reutzel (3)
Park Jefferson International Speedway, S.D. (5/30/2020): Austin McCarl
Red Dirt Raceway, Okla. (6/5/2020): Aaron Reutzel (4)
81 Speedway, Kan. (6/7/2020): Kyle Larson (2)
About the All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first 'outlaw' Sprint Car organization of the modern era. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015.
About Ollie’s Bargain Outlet:
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, Inc., founded in 1982, is one of America’s largest retailers of closeouts and excess inventory, offering real brands at real bargain prices. Famous for its signature catch-phrase Good Stuff Cheap, Ollie’s has a huge variety of famous brand-name merchandise in every department – food, books, housewares, toys, electronics, domestics, clothing, furniture, health and beauty, flooring, seasonal items and so much more – at up to 70 percent off the fancy stores’ prices. You never know what you’ll find at one of Ollie’s 363 “semi-lovely” stores in 25 states. For more information, visit www.ollies.us. Like us on Facebook or find us on Twitter at @OlliesOutlet. Ollie’s is a publicly-traded company on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol OLLI.
About Mobil 1:
The world's leading synthetic motor oil brand, Mobil 1™ features anti-wear technology that provides performance beyond our conventional motor oils. This technology allows Mobil 1 to meet or exceed the toughest standards of car builders and to provide exceptional protection against engine wear, under normal or even some of the most extreme conditions. Mobil 1 flows quickly in extreme temperatures to protect critical engine parts and is designed to maximize engine performance and help extend engine life.
For more information, visit www.mobiloil.com, on Twitter @Mobil1 and, on Facebook, www.facebook.com/mobil1.
Mobil, Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 Racing are registered trademarks of Exxon Mobil Corporation or one of its subsidiaries.
About FloSports:
Founded in 2006, FloSports is a venture-backed subscription video streaming service dedicated to sports, offering live and on-demand access to hundreds of thousands of competition events across 25+ vertical sport categories in the US and abroad. FloSports’ mission is to give underserved sports the love they deserve. With a growing library of more than 300,000 hours of premium content including news, expert commentary, films, documentaries and more, FloSports has established itself as an innovator and leader in sports streaming. Finally, your sport has a home. For more information, please visit: flosports.tv.
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Photo Credit: Tim Aylwin
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
Déjà Vu: Grant Completes Weekend Sweep with I-55 Win
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The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Justin Grant was victorious for the second time in as many nights in Sunday's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55.
(Rich Forman Photo)
DÉJÀ VU: GRANT COMPLETES WEEKEND SWEEP WITH I-55 WIN
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
Pevely, Missouri (June 7, 2020).........Less than 24 hours after driving to his first USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory of the season, Justin Grant did the deed again, sweeping the weekend capper Sunday night at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Missouri.
Grant led wire-to-wire on Saturday night at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa after starting from the outside of the front row and leading all 30 laps in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink - TOPP Industries - The Bow Foundation/Maxim/Claxton Chevy. On Sunday, he was once again in the same position, outside the front row in the feature starting lineup.
Grant drew the last pill in the qualifying draw, but the Ione, Calif. native went against the grain, shunning conventional wisdom and instilling the idea within that the track would slow him up just enough to eventually put him on the front row for the feature. He believed it, and that's just how it played out after qualifying third fastest in flight two.
After snaring the lead from polesitter Chase Stockon at the line on the second go-around, Grant led the remainder of the 29 laps to score his 18th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory, moving him past Jerry Coons Jr., Parnelli Jones and Bud Kaeding for sole possession of 30th all-time.
Grant's fountain of confidence in current times is quite apparent, and he readily admits a successful run such as this after mighty struggles on occasions, is pretty sweet.
"When you're hot, you're hot. It's like you can't miss," Grant exclaimed. "Car's always perfect. Everything always works out. It's pretty magical when it's like this. It's not always like this, and I've done this enough to know that it can swing back the other way, but we'll work our butts off to make sure it doesn't for as long as we can."
The two Sprint victories come just two weeks after Grant won back-to-back Midget races over consecutive nights, including the final night of the T-Town Midget Showdown at Tulsa, Oklahoma's Port City Raceway on May 23.
Once Grant took the lead Sunday at I-55, from basically the get-go, the race was just as much a race against the ever-changing preferred line as it was against anybody else in the 22-car field. Grant swapped from top to bottom on both ends of the 1/3-mile dirt oval while Brady Bacon, winner of the first two series races in Ocala, Fla. in February, slotted into second and posted a challenge to Grant.
"Early on, the top was dirty," Grant recalled. "The curb hadn't really formed up yet and there was enough moisture on the bottom in three and four that I was running the top, and thought it's pretty dirty up there and looks pretty wide down there, so I dropped to the bottom. A couple of times, I saw Brady's nose down the back stretch. I ran the bottom in three and four until I felt like it was getting slow. I had to slow a fair bit to get off four. I thought I'd be better off blazing around the fence. I was pretty happy about that because I like blazing around the fence."
While Grant was busy searching for happiness against the fence, Matt Westfall became the unhappy one who found misfortune against the turn two wall on the sixth lap, flipping upside down, an incident from which the Pleasant Hill, Ohio driver walked away unscathed.
'Three and four got pretty ledgy,' Grant continued. 'But you'd make really good time getting into the ledge hard exiting four, but it would get you tight if you weren't careful. I got tight a couple times at the fence off four. That was a lot of fun. That's how sprint cars are supposed to race, cowboy up, banging the fence and trying to keep yourself from crashing.'
(Rich Forman Photo)
Grant and Bacon remained right against the wall, albeit of the inside variety, while Chris Windom and Tyler Courtney clung to the high line to make their surge to the front. And when a caution for a Mitchell Davis spin on lap 16 cleared the traffic and the path for the leaders, Grant took off, while Windom and Courtney, in quick succession on laps 17 and 18, powered around Bacon on the topside for the second and third spot, respectively.
Grant then went back to the top while sliding himself on entry into turns one and two. At one point, with it being slick on entry at the top of turn one, he admitted he about backed it into the fence, so he recalculated and changed up his approach. When his tires held their grip across the center, he thought he'd be hard to beat if that component of the track's surface remained.
"It was kind of sketchy because there was a hole on the bottom of one and two where the moisture was," Grant recalled. "I'd come blazing through there wide open and it'd get to bucking and it would bounce all the way across the slick in the middle of one and two, then bash into the cushion off two. Sometimes it'd blow through and bash into the wall."
"Three and four got pretty ledgy," Grant continued. "But you'd make really good time getting into the ledge hard exiting four, but it would get you tight if you weren't careful. I got tight a couple times at the fence off four. That was a lot of fun. That's how sprint cars are supposed to race, cowboy up, banging the fence and trying to keep yourself from crashing."
After a yellow involving Carson Short on the 19th lap, the top-two of Grant and Windom broke away with Grant jetting out to a 1.824 second advantage that was erased when Logan Seavey slowed with seven laps remaining, a victim of a flat left rear tire.
An outstanding restart from Grant on the lap 24 resumption was the final nail for the rest of the field, though Robert Ballou used the moment to split through the gap in turn three to jump from fifth to third.
All the while, Grant put the race on ice, taking the checkered with a 1.639 second advantage over Windom, Ballou, Tyler Courtney and Dave Darland.
Grant elevated himself to the series point lead with the victory. For Windom, it was his second runner-up finish of the season. He and Grant are the only two with top-five finishes in all four series starts. A third for Ballou equaled his third place run at I-55 from two years prior. Courtney's fourth place run in his season debut with the series came one night after finishing third in Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway's weekly wing sprint car racing program. Dave Darland's fifth-place finish was his best with the series since November 2018 at Arizona Speedway where finished second on the final night of the Western World Championships.
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USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 7, 2020 - Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 - Pevely, Missouri - 1/3-Mile Dirt Oval
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Tyler Courtney, 7BC, Clauson/Marshall/Newman-12.971; 2. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-13.182; 3. Logan Seavey, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-13.241; 4. Dave Darland, 36d, EZR/Curb-Agajanian-13.277; 5. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-13.313; 6. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-13.410; 7. Dustin Clark, 75, Clark-13.476; 8. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin-13.499; 9. Jonathan Vennard, 54, KO-13.535; 10. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-13.558; 11. Dustin Smith, 77, Smith-13.558; 12. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-13.589; 13. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-13.613; 14. Anthony Nicholson, 16, Nicholson-13.704; 15. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio/Parallax-13.729; 16. Blake Vermillion, 73, Vermillion-13.746; 17. Chris Phillips, 6p, Phillips-13.772; 18. Korey Weyant, 99, Weyant-14.446; 19. Patrick Budde, 90, Budde-14.554; 20. Steve Thomas, 27, Thomas-14.611; 21. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-14.723.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-13.430; 2. C.J. Leary, 5K, KO-13.642; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-13.797; 4. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-13.849; 5. Brayden Fox, 53, Fox-14.077; 6. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-14.096; 7. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-14.149; 8. Wyatt Burks, 11w, Burks-14.207; 9. Carson Short, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-14.239; 10. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-14.266; 11. Tyler Kendall, 20, Kendall-14.315; 12. Jesse Vermillion, 5v, Vermillion-14.320; 13. Kory Schudy, 28K, Sawyer-14.322; 14. Kurt Gross, 1x, Gross-14.375; 15. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-14.411; 16. Zach Daum, 57, Artz-14.460; 17. Scotty Weir, 22, Goodnight-14.467; 18. Terry Babb, 88, Babb-14.540; 19. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-14.587; 20. Mitchell Davis, 56, Davis-14.684; 21. Scott Evans, 118, Evans-14.952.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Chase Stockon, 2. Tyler Courtney, 3. Jonathan Vennard, 4. Mario Clouser, 5. Dustin Smith, 6. Anthony D'Alessio, 7. Chris Phillips, 8. Patrick Budde, 9. Robert Bell, 10. Logan Seavey, 11. Dustin Clark. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 2. Anton Hernandez, 3. Robert Ballou, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Dave Darland, 6. Anthony Nicholson, 7. Blake Vermillion, 8. Korey Weyant, 9. Steve Thomas, 10. Isaac Chapple. NT
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Carson Short, 4. Matt Westfall, 5. Kory Schudy, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Scotty Weir, 8. Tyler Kendall, 9. Brayden Fox, 10. Scott Evans, 11. Braydon Cromwell. 1:56.879
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. C.J. Leary, 2. Brandon Mattox, 3. Sterling Cling, 4. Mitchell Davis, 5. Jesse Vermillion, 6. Zach Daum, 7. Wyatt Burks, 8. Terry Babb, 9. Matt Goodnight, 10. Kurt Gross. 1:59.453
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-5 transfer to the semi) 1. Jadon Rogers, 2. Korey Weyant, 3. Zach Daum, 4. Terry Babb, 5. Scotty Weir, 6. Blake Vermillion, 7. Scott Evans, 8. Braydon Cromwell, 9. Chris Phillips, 10. Robert Bell, 11. Steve Thomas, 12. Patrick Budde. 2:29.867 (New Track Record)
INDY METAL FINISHING SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Dave Darland, 2. Logan Seavey, 3. Brayden Fox, 4. Wyatt Burks, 5. Dustin Clark, 6. Dustin Smith, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Isaac Chapple, 9. Anthony D'Alessio, 10. Anthony Nicholson, 11. Tyler Kendall, 12. Zach Daum, 13. Kory Schudy, 14. Jadon Rogers, 15. Scotty Weir, 16. Korey Weyant, 17. Jesse Vermillion, 18. Terry Babb. 2:40.932 (New Track Record)
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. Chris Windom (4), 3. Robert Ballou (11), 4. Tyler Courtney (6), 5. Dave Darland (9), 6. C.J. Leary (3), 7. Brady Bacon (5), 8. Anton Hernandez (15), 9. Kevin Thomas Jr. (7), 10. Mario Clouser (21), 11. Dustin Smith (20), 12. Wyatt Burks (16), 13. Jonathan Vennard (17), 14. Chase Stockon (1), 15. Brandon Mattox (19), 16. Brayden Fox (10), 17. Sterling Cling (12), 18. Dustin Clark (13), 19. Logan Seavey (8), 20. Carson Short (18), 21. Mitchell Davis (22), 22. Matt Westfall (14). NT
**Matt Westfall flipped on lap 6 of the feature.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Chase Stockon, Laps 2-30 Justin Grant.
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Justin Grant-300, 2-Chris Windom-291, 3-Brady Bacon-288, 4-C.J. Leary-273, 5-Logan Seavey-230, 6-Chase Stockon-225, 7-Kevin Thomas Jr.-223, 8-Dave Darland-205, 9-Carson Short-201, 10-Anton Hernandez-173.
NEW OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Andrew Layser-31, 2-Logan Seavey-29, 3-Tanner Thorson-23, 4-Chris Windom-20, 5-Mario Clouser-19, 6-Brady Bacon-18, 7-Daison Pursley-18, 8-Tyler Courtney-16, 9-Tyler Thomas-16, 10-Anton Hernandez-14.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 14, 2020 - Tri-State Speedway - Haubstadt, Indiana - 1/4-Mile Dirt Oval
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Tyler Courtney
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Chase Stockon
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Kevin Thomas Jr.
AutoMeter Third Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: C.J. Leary
Indy Metal Finishing Semi Winner: Dave Darland
KSE Racing Products / American Motor Racing Podcast Hard Charger: Mario Clouser (21st to 10th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Jonathan Vennard
Saldana Racing Products / The Frolic Bar & Grill First Non-Transfer: Matt Goodnight
Lakeland Square Laundry Heat Race Winner Bonus: Chase Stockon, Kevin Thomas Jr., Justin Grant & C.J. Leary
Everything Dirt Racing Hard Luck Award / First Car Out: Matt Westfall
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES NEWS
Posted by: | Comments
Thunder on the Hill
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JUNE 7, 2020
CONTACT: BOB MILLER 443 513 4456
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES
THUNDER ON THE HILL ANTICIPATES GREEN FLAG, 2020 SEASON TO OPEN TUESDAY, JUNE 30 WITH SPEED WEEK 410 SPRINT HODNETT CUP & 358 MODIFIEDS
It has been a long wait, but the NAPA Auto Parts Thunder on the Hill Racing Series should finally open and will showcase one of the premier events of the series, Speed Week for the 410 Sprints plus 358 NASCAR Modifieds, taking place at the Grandview Speedway on Tuesday night, June 30. The show will start at 7:30 PM with gates opening at 5 PM. The 410 sprints will take part in Time Trials, heat race events and a “B” Main leading up to the 35 lap Hodnett Cup feature event. For the 358 NASCAR Modifieds, they’ll be competing under their weekly rules and will qualify through heat race events, a consolation and a 30 lap main event that will carry NASCAR points.
Event sheets and payoff details for both the 410 Sprints and 358 Modifieds are posted on the website at www.thunderonthehillracingseries.com. Grandstand admission for this event is $30 for adults, $10 for children 6 to 11 and kids five and under will be admitted for free. The Pit fee is $40 and a license is not required. For questions on this event please feel free to call 443 513 4456.
The Thunder Series will continue on Tuesday night, August 4 when the USAC National Midgets invade the Hill for the 2nd Annual Ken Brenn Midget Masters also joined by the 358 NASCAR Modifieds with action getting underway at 7:30 PM. On Thursday night, August 27, Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions 410 sprints will bring the party to the Hill with the 358 NASCAR Modifieds being part of this double header on Levan Machine & Truck Night at Grandview.
The Thunder Series will close out 2020 with the Annual October Halloween event on Saturday night, October 17 with the Trick or Treat Triple 20’s for 358 Modifieds joined by the Sportsman with a 6 PM starting time.
The conditions and requirements under the COVID-19 situation are ever changing and we will provide updates as we approach race night. To offer the safest possible conditions for our fans, competitors, officials, safety crew and track employees, we are making the following requests.
Please bring exact change when purchasing general admission tickets or pit passes.
We also advise that you wear a face mask, although not mandatory.
When possible, especially when standing in line, practice social distancing and be consideration of the individuals around you.
Also, as much as we want you to join us, if you are not feeling well, please do not attend.
2020 marks the thirty-first season of the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series at Grandview Speedway. Grandview Speedway is a one-third mile high banked dirt oval located on Passmore Road, just off Route 100 in Bechtelsville, PA.
THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES SCHEDULE
Tuesday, June 30 THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES 7:30 PM
Pennsylvania 410 Sprint Car Speed Week Hodnett Cup & 358 Modifieds*
Tuesday, August 4 THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES 7:30 PM
USAC National Midgets Ken Brenn Midget Masters & 358 Modifieds*
Thursday, August 27 THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES 7:30 PM
Levan Machine & Truck Presents: Tony Stewart's All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprints & 358 Modifieds"
Saturday, October 17 THUNDER ON THE HILL RACING SERIES 6 PM
MODS AT THE MADHOUSE Trick or Treat Triple 20's & Sportsman
Grandview Speedway
GPS USERS: 43 Passmore Road, Bechtelsville, PA 19505
Located less than a mile off Route 100, 10 miles north of Pottstown, PA
Speedway Phone: 610-754-7688
Thunder on the Hill Racing Series Phone: 443-513-4456
Series Website: Track Website: www.grandviewspeedway.com
Twitter/Instagram: @TOTHRACING
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thunderonthehill
About Thunder on the Hill Racing Series
The brainchild of Grandview Speedway owner Bruce Rogers, special events promoter Bob Miller and local driving star Dave Kelly, the Thunder on the Hill Racing Series celebrates 31 years of the most anticipated events of the racing calendar year after year. In 137 events, over $4.8 million dollars has been divvied up among the area's fastest racers. What started as a single 410 Sprint Car event in 1990 has blossomed to feature a variety of racing action including 358 Modifieds, USAC Wingless Sprints, All-Star Circuit of Champions, USAC Midgets, 360 & 410 Sprint Cars, Sportsman, Late Models, Midgets, Legend Cars, DIRTcar and ROC Modified events.
About Grandview Speedway
Grandview Speedway is a high-banked one-third mile clay oval, celebrating their 58th Anniversary season in 2020. The facility offers free parking, quality food at reasonable prices (be sure to try the french fries), a program book, Grandview Speedway and Thunder on the Hill race wear and great viewing from every seat in the house. Race fans may take part in the Inside/Out promotion, where you can sign up (no charge) to watch warm-ups from inside turn four. Race fans are also invited to victory lane following the racing program and, race fans may enter the pits after the races to meet the drivers. Be ready to enjoy the spine-tingling fireworks salute on the feature event parade lap.
Grant Gets Back into the Groove at 34 Raceway USAC Sprint Return
Posted by: | Comments- The United States Auto Club.
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Contact: Richie Murray - USAC Media / richie@usacracing.com
Justin Grant celebrates Saturday's USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. (Brendon Bauman Photo)
GRANT GETS BACK INTO THE GROOVE AT 34 RACEWAY USAC SPRINT RETURN
By: Richie Murray - USAC Media
West Burlington, Iowa (June 6, 2020).........The return to racing has been very kind to Justin Grant over the past two weeks. With a pair of midget wins in recent weeks, a USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car victory was next on the serving tray Saturday night at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa as the Ione, Calif. native led wire-to-wire in the first series event in 112 days.
With his 17th career series victory, Grant moved into a tie for 30th on the all-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car win list alongside Jerry Coons, Jr., Parnelli Jones and Bud Kaeding.
Grant started from the outside of the front row and utilized the top side to surge past C.J. Leary on the initial aborted start. On the second try, Grant rinsed and repeated to get to the point ahead of Leary, who was making his debut in the KO Motorsports No. 5K normally driven by Kent Schmidt.
Leary's intended ride, the family owned No. 30, was heavily damaged in a high-flying, guardrail-clearing crash Friday night in a POWRi WAR Sprint Car race just a little down the road at Lee County Speedway in Donnellson, Iowa. A last-minute deal was struck late Friday night to put Leary in the seat for Saturday.
Grant extended his advantage ahead of Leary to over a second just six laps in as the leaders were already approaching traffic. That allowed Leary to close the gap and get within three-quarters of a second of Grant as they both waded their way through the throng.
Early on, the drivers on the tail end of the lead lap utilized the low line, but by the 10th lap, Grant's torrid pace had brought into the thick of battles for position in the pack, which occupied the lines on both the bottom and middle. As Dakota Jackson and Jonathan Vennard tussled side-by-side for position, Grant got briefly caught behind Vennard, who was making his first USAC National Sprint Car start since 2006, then swung high to get around both as Leary closed to within three car lengths of Grant's rear bumper.
Grant continued the forward march in his TOPP Motorsports/NOS Energy Drink - TOPP Industries - The Bow Foundation/Maxim/Claxton Chevy, sliding by to put Dustin Smith a lap down as the track surface began to take rubber following a hot, sun-baked afternoon. Grant ran his - at the time - fastest lap of the race at midway, pulling away to a 1.5 second lead over Leary once again.
With the heaviest of traffic still lying in wait out in front of him, and using lines top to middle to bottom, Grant found it to be tough sledding finding a spot to find his way into even though he knew he had the car on this night to do whatever he needed it to do. Yet, patience, conservation and more patience was the name of the game.
"I was plenty good enough to get a run to slide a lapper and get back to the rubber," Grant recalled. "But it was gridlock, there was nowhere to slip into. I tried it a couple times and about banged wheels with a guy. You can get your right front to their nerf bar, but you can spin yourself out, so you've got to be careful."
"I figured, just get nose-to-tail and nobody else can slide in, I guess, unless they run in and bash somebody," Grant continued. "So, I settled in and figured I'll just stay tight here, and if a hole opens up, I'll take it. If not, I'll just try to fend off what I can. There's not much you can do in that situation except not beat yourself."
With his 17th career series victory, Grant moved into a tie for 30th on the all-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car win list alongside Jerry Coons, Jr., Parnelli Jones and Bud Kaeding. (Brendon Bauman Photo)
With five to go, Grant entered turn one on the bottom, then drifted up to the middle, allowing Leary to stick a nose to the inside of Grant for the race lead. When Leary became fully beside him, that caught Grant's attention.
"I saw a right front poke up underneath me and thought it's probably not a lapper trying to drive up alongside me."
It certainly wasn't, and Grant was able to fend Leary off, driving back around the outside off turn two to retain the lead. One lap later, the deck was reshuffled when 16th running Brandon Mattox slowed in turn three with a flat right rear tire, setting up a four-lap dash to the finish, albeit now without the throes of traffic.
"Once the yellow came out, it's like okay, let's get the tires cooled down," Grant said. "Then, you want to keep air in them; you've got to keep them cool, but you also got to keep them hot enough so they keep air in them. I'm trying to do that and not wear them out. When it went back green, I smoked two or three hard ones to get the air back up in the tire, and thought, 'let's get a cushion, settle in and start rolling on the right front through the center.' Once it got quiet, I went back into tire conservation mode."
Grant admitted he's usually not too excited being the leader when the track lays rubber and the yellow comes out, but it was fixing to be a dogfight down the stretch, and this time, he didn't have a problem with the stoppage.
"I was glad to see the yellow come out and get us some open track," Grant said. "Rubber's always nerve wracking because a small miss can cost you a half-second, three quarters of a second a lap. It can be locked in here and an inch and a half over, it's dead slick."
Grant found the groove theoretically, figuratively and literally in the last stint, completing the fastest lap of the race on the final circuit, to reign victorious for the first time with the series in 2020 by 0.845 sec. over Leary, Kevin Thomas Jr., Brady Bacon and Chris Windom.
For fourth-place finisher Bacon, it was his 334th career USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car feature start, moving him into the top-ten all-time past 1977-81-82 series champion Sheldon Kinser.
CONTINGENCY AWARD WINNERS:
Fatheadz Eyewear Fast Qualifier: Brady Bacon
Simpson Race Products First Heat Winner: Justin Grant
Competition Suspension, Inc. Second Heat Winner: Carson Short
AutoMeter Third Heat Winner: Logan Seavey
Indy Race Parts Fourth Heat Winner: Robert Ballou
Indy Metal Finishing Semi Winner: Mario Clouser
KSE Racing Products Hard Charger: Kory Schudy (21st to 14th)
Wilwood Brakes 13th Place Finisher: Dave Darland
Saldana Racing Products / The Frolic Bar & Grill First Non-Transfer: Matt Goodnight
Top California Finisher Courtesy of Stephanie Odom: Justin Grant
USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE RESULTS: June 6, 2020 - 34 Raceway - West Burlington, Iowa
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT ONE: 1. Brady Bacon, 69, Dynamics-14.982; 2. Chris Windom, 19, Hayward-15.131; 3. Justin Grant, 4, TOPP-15.198; 4. Chase Stockon, 32, 32 TBI-15.439; 5. Matt Goodnight, 39, Goodnight-15.531; 6. Carson Short, 71p, Daigh/Phillips-15.574; 7. Wyatt Burks, 11w, Burks-15.585; 8. Dustin Smith, 77, Smith-15.663; 9. Brandon Mattox, 28, Mattox-15.751; 10. Slater Helt, 24, Simon-15.808; 11. Jonathan Vennard, 54, KO-15.824; 12. Mitch Wissmiller, 29, RMB-15.831; 13. Terry Babb, 88, Babb-15.920; 14. Dakota Jackson, 17, On The Gass-15.987; 15. Kory Schudy, 28K, Sawyer-15.995; 16. Isaac Chapple, 52, LNR/Chapple-16.193; 17. Blake Vermillion, 73, Vermillion-16.201; 18. Dustin Clark, 75, Clark-16.236; 19. Ben Knight, 16K, Knight-16.296; 20. Braydon Cromwell, 4x, Cromwell-16.348; 21. Steve Thomas, 27, Thomas-17.244.
FATHEADZ EYEWEAR QUALIFYING FLIGHT TWO: 1. Kevin Thomas Jr., 9K, KT-15.229; 2. Robert Ballou, 12, Ballou-15.493; 3. C.J. Leary, 5K, KO-15.611; 4. Dave Darland, 36d, EZR/Curb-Agajanian-15.722; 5. Logan Seavey, 19AZ, Reinbold/Underwood-15.725; 6. Anthony D'Alessio, 01, D'Alessio/Parallax-15.783; 7. Mario Clouser, 6, Clouser-15.923; 8. Jadon Rogers, 14, Rogers-16.042; 9. Matt Westfall, 33m, Marshall-16.134; 10. Mitchell Davis, 56, Davis-16.139; 11. Sterling Cling, 34, Cling-16.165; 12. Scotty Weir, 22, Goodnight-16.238; 13. Anton Hernandez, 5, Baldwin-16.253; 14. Zach Daum, 57, Artz-16.315; 15. Chris Phillips, 6p, Phillips-16.475; 16. Anthony Nicholson, 16, Nicholson-16.548; 17. Terry Richards, 18, TR's Tool Service-16.943; 18. Logan Faucon, 52F, Faucon-16.979; 19. Patrick Budde, 90, Budde-17.115; 20. Jesse Vermillion, 5v, Vermillion-17.487; 21. Robert Bell, 71, Bell-17.710.
SIMPSON RACE PRODUCTS FIRST HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Justin Grant, 2. Brady Bacon, 3. Jonathan Vennard, 4. Brandon Mattox, 5. Wyatt Burks, 6. Matt Goodnight, 7. Kory Schudy, 8. Ben Knight, 9. Terry Babb, 10. Blake Vermillion, 11. Steve Thomas. NT
COMPETITION SUSPENSION (CSI) SECOND HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Carson Short, 2. Dustin Smith, 3. Chase Stockon, 4. Chris Windom, 5. Dakota Jackson, 6. Mitch Wissmiller, 7. Slater Helt, 8. Dustin Clark, 9. Isaac Chapple, 10. Braydon Cromwell. 2:12.911
AUTOMETER THIRD HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Kevin Thomas Jr., 3. Matt Westfall, 4. C.J. Leary, 5. Mario Clouser, 6. Anton Hernandez, 7. Chris Phillips, 8. Terry Richards, 9. Patrick Budde, 10. Robert Bell, 11. Sterling Cling. NT
INDY RACE PARTS FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps, top-4 transfer to the feature) 1. Robert Ballou, 2. Dave Darland, 3. Jadon Rogers, 4. Mitchell Davis, 5. Logan Faucon, 6. Jesse Vermillion, 7. Anthony D'Alessio, 8. Scotty Weir, 9. Anthony Nicholson, 10. Zach Daum. NT
C-MAIN: (10 laps, top-4 transfer to the semi) 1. Anthony Nicholson, 2. Blake Vermillion, 3. Terry Richards, 4. Dustin Clark, 5. Logan Faucon, 6. Jesse Vermillion, 7. Ben Knight, 8. Steve Thomas, 9. Braydon Cromwell, 10. Patrick Budde. NT
INDY METAL FINISHING SEMI: (12 laps, top-6 transfer to the feature) 1. Mario Clouser, 2. Wyatt Burks, 3. Anton Hernandez, 4. Zach Daum, 5. Dakota Jackson, 6. Kory Schudy, 7. Matt Goodnight, 8. Slater Helt, 9. Terry Babb, 10. Chris Phillips, 11. Scotty Weir, 12. Anthony Nicholson, 13. Dustin Clark, 14. Blake Vermillion, 15. Anthony D'Alessio, 16. Isaac Chapple, 17. Terry Richards, 18. Mitch Wissmiller. NT
FEATURE: (30 laps, starting positions in parentheses) 1. Justin Grant (2), 2. C.J. Leary (1), 3. Kevin Thomas Jr. (5), 4. Brady Bacon (6), 5. Chris Windom (4), 6. Logan Seavey (7), 7. Robert Ballou (3), 8. Wyatt Burks (10), 9. Carson Short (8), 10. Chase Stockon (9), 11. Mario Clouser (11), 12. Matt Westfall (16), 13. Dave Darland (14), 14. Kory Schudy (21), 15. Jadon Rogers (13), 16. Zach Daum (20), 17. Mitchell Davis (17), 18. Jonathan Vennard (18), 19. Chris Phillips (22), 20. Matt Goodnight (24), 21. Brandon Mattox (15), 22. Dustin Smith (12), 23. Dakota Jackson (19), 24. Anton Hernandez (23). NT
**Sterling Cling flipped during the third heat.
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-30 Justin Grant.
NEW USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS: 1-Brady Bacon-229, 2-Justin Grant-222, 3-Chris Windom-214, 4-C.J. Leary-210, 5-Logan Seavey-198, 6-Chase Stockon-180, 7-Carson Short-172, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-169, 9-Dave Darland-140, 10-Kyle Cummins-130.
NEW OVERALL PROSOURCE PASSING MASTER POINTS: 1-Andrew Layser-31, 2-Logan Seavey-29, 3-Tanner Thorson-23, 4-Brady Bacon-18, 5-Chris Windom-18, 6-Daison Pursley-18, 7-Tyler Thomas-16, 8-Kevin Thomas Jr.-13, 9-Tyler Courtney-10, 10-Cannon McIntosh-9.
NEXT USAC AMSOIL SPRINT CAR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP RACE: June 7, 2020 - Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 - Pevely, Missouri
Brad Sweet Sweeps Weekend Doubleheader At Beaver Dam Raceway
Posted by: | Comments
World of Outlaws
Contact: Nick Graziano
World of Outlaws PR
ngraziano@dirtcar.com
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Winner Brad Sweet (Trent Gower Photo)
SWEET SWEEP: Brad Sweet dominates Beaver Dam Raceway doubleheader
The reigning champion went back to back at Beaver Dam and reclaimed the points lead
BEAVER DAM, WI – June 6, 2020 – Brad Sweet spent years watching 10-time World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz drive away from him and dominate races.
The roles reversed Saturday night at Beaver Dam Raceway.
“The Big Cat” turned the 1/3-mile track his personal playground for the weekend. He thrilled fans with a last lap pass on Sheldon Haudenschild to win Friday night and then dominated the 40-lap Feature on Saturday to sweep the weekend and take home $16,000 in winnings between the two nights. He led the final 30 laps, lapped up to 10th place and beat Schatz to the line by close to two seconds.
“You don’t know how many times I’d lead a race until 25-30 laps in and he’d (Schatz) go driving by me,” Sweet said after getting a congratulatory handshake from Schatz. “I wouldn’t call him a mentor because he didn’t tell me his secrets, but years and years of studying him is why we’re standing here. I feel like we got a little bit of an edge right now. He’s going to push his team and we’re going to push our team. It’s going to be a heck of a battle this year.”
Sweet’s teammate and car owner Kasey Kahne had one of his best performances of the year, stealing the lead from polesitter Shane Stewart on the opening lap and holding it for the next 10. After Sweet passed him for the lead on Lap 11, he maintained a top-five for the majority of race before fading to ninth.
With the lead in hand, Sweet was untouchable in his Kasey Kahne Racing NAPA Auto Parts #49. His closest competitor was second-place Logan Schuchart, who he gapped by 3.5 seconds before a caution with eight laps to go. On the restart, Schuchart stayed in tow with Sweet before jumping the cushion in Turn 4 and hitting the wall. Schatz then moved into the runner-up spot to take his turn at Sweet.
On the final restart with three laps to go, Sweet spun his tires exiting Turn 4. Knowing Schatz would attack, Sweet stayed low down the front stretch to deny Schatz a lane underneath him. When they got to Turn 1, Sweet went high and Schatz dove low, edging his nose ahead of Sweet. However, Sweet had the better momentum off the corner and launched ahead of Schatz’s CARQUEST Auto Parts #15.
Sweet was then on cruise control with what he called his best car of the year and claimed his fourth win this season – third win in a row at Beaver Dam.
“We’re just here to win races,” said Sweet, of Grass Valley, CA. “When we’re standing here (in Victory Lane) we’re doing our job. I know everybody is working hard on our race team to get better. As the car gets better, we’re going to keep clicking these wins off. We were better tonight than we were last night. Eric (Prutzman, crew chief) keeps fine tuning on this thing. It really came to life about halfway through the race. I was just cruising really. When I get cars like that, it makes my job easy.”
Schatz’s second-place finish was his fourth top-five in a row with his Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing team. And while he’d rather be one spot better, he acknowledged that some nights you’re just going to finish second – especially when you have to compete against Sweet.
“They’ve had a good target to chance for a while,” said Schatz, of Fargo, ND. “It’s time to move that bar again… It is what it is. This is a humbling sport. It’s a humbling game. We’re not hanging our heads. Some nights you’re going to run second. There’s a lot of nights you’re going to run second to that (#49 KKR) car. We just keep digging. That’s what it takes. There’s not been a lot of racing this year. At least we’re getting back going and glad to see people in the stands. That makes this all worth it.”
David Gravel rounded out the podium. Haudenschild had an impressive run from 16th to fourth – earning the KSE Racing Hard Charger award. And Shane Stewart finished fifth – his fifth top-five finish in a row, moving him to fourth in points.
With Schuchart finishing 21st, Sweet reclaimed the points lead – now 28 points ahead of Schatz, who also moved past Schuchart into second. Schuchart fell to third, 36 points behind Sweet.
UP NEXT
The World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series returns to the “Sprint Car Capital of the World” Knoxville Raceway on June 12-13 for the Brownells Big Guns Bash. Tickets for the doubleheader event can be purchased by clicking here. https://mpv.tickets.com/?agency=KNXV_PL_MPV&orgid=54409&packageId=16538&packageListId=16535#/event/PKG/seatmap/?selectBuyers=false&minPrice=64&maxPrice=64&quantity=2&sort=price_desc&ada=false&seatSelection=true&onlyCoupon=true&onlyVoucher=false
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action live on DIRTVision.
Race Results: 6/6/20 – Beaver Dam Raceway
NOS Energy Drink Feature (40 Laps) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [3][$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [4][$5,000]; 3. 41-David Gravel [7][$3,000]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [16][$2,700]; 5. 71-Shane Stewart [1][$2,500]; 6. 5-Brent Marks [14][$2,200]; 7. 2-Carson Macedo [11][$2,000]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [8][$1,800]; 9. 9-Kasey Kahne [2][$1,600]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [6][$1,450]; 11. 7S-Jason Sides [15][$1,300]; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser [9][$1,200]; 13. 17B-Bill Balog [21][$1,100]; 14. 14-Parker Price-Miller [19][$1,000]; 15. 83-Daryn Pittman [13][$950]; 16. 3-Tim Kaeding [17][$900]; 17. 13-Mark Dobmeier [12][$850]; 18. 23-Russel Borland [23][$750]; 19. 9K-Kyle Schuett [24][$725]; 20. 6-Bill Rose [18][$700]; 21. 1S-Logan Schuchart [5][$700]; 22. 73-Jake Blackhurst [20][$700]; 23. 10W-Scotty Thiel [22][$700]; 24. 33M-Mason Daniel [10][$700]; Lap Leaders: Kasey Kahne 1-10, Brad Sweet 11-40; KSE Hard Charger Award: 17-Sheldon Haudenschild[+12]
Qualifying – 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 11.429; 2. 71-Shane Stewart, 11.461; 3. 1A-Jacob Allen, 11.537; 4. 9-Kasey Kahne, 11.615; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.631; 6. 41-David Gravel, 11.641; 7. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 11.647; 8. 15-Donny Schatz, 11.657; 9. 49-Brad Sweet, 11.675; 10. 5-Brent Marks, 11.697; 11. 2-Carson Macedo, 11.717; 12. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild, 11.735; 13. 83-Daryn Pittman, 11.769; 14. 33M-Mason Daniel, 11.833; 15. 14-Parker Price-Miller, 11.835; 16. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 11.835; 17. 10W-Scotty Thiel, 11.843; 18. 23-Russel Borland, 11.856; 19. 7S-Jason Sides, 11.879; 20. 73-Jake Blackhurst, 11.9; 21. 3-Tim Kaeding, 11.938; 22. 6-Bill Rose, 11.952; 23. 2W-Scotty Neitzel, 12.001; 24. 9K-Kyle Schuett, 12.033; 25. 5J-Jeremy Schultz, 12.062; 26. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.078; 27. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 12.125; 28. 68-Dave Uttech, 12.146; 29. 12W-Josh Walter, 12.185; 30. 25-Danny Schlafer, 12.268; 31. 10V-Matt Vandervere, 12.506; 32. 55-Austin DeBlauw, 12.812; 33. 20R-Robbie Pribnow, 13.227; 34. 10S-Jay Steinebach, 13.503; 35. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, NT
DRYDENE Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [3]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman [4]; 5. 3-Tim Kaeding [6]; 6. 10W-Scotty Thiel [5]; 7. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [7]; 8. 12W-Josh Walter [8]; 9. 20R-Robbie Pribnow [9]
DRYDENE Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 71-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 41-David Gravel [2]; 3. 33M-Mason Daniel [4]; 4. 5-Brent Marks [3]; 5. 6-Bill Rose [6]; 6. 17B-Bill Balog [7]; 7. 23-Russel Borland [5]; 8. 25-Danny Schlafer [8]; 9. 10S-Jay Steinebach [9]
DRYDENE Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [2]; 2. 1A-Jacob Allen [1]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 5. 14-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 6. 2C-Wayne Johnson [7]; 7. 10V-Matt Vandervere [8]; 8. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [6]; 9. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [9]
DRYDENE Heat #4 (10 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 2. 9-Kasey Kahne [1]; 3. 13-Mark Dobmeier [4]; 4. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild [3]; 5. 73-Jake Blackhurst [5]; 6. 9K-Kyle Schuett [6]; 7. 68-Dave Uttech [7]; 8. 55-Austin DeBlauw [8]
DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash (8 Laps) – 1. 71-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 9-Kasey Kahne [2]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [6]; 4. 15-Donny Schatz [4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 7. 41-David Gravel [8]; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer – 1. 17B-Bill Balog [3][-]; 2. 10W-Scotty Thiel [1][-]; 3. 23-Russel Borland [2][-]; 4. 9K-Kyle Schuett [5][-]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [4][$300]; 6. 5J-Jeremy Schultz [6][$250]; 7. 25-Danny Schlafer [10][$225]; 8. 10V-Matt Vandervere [7][$200]; 9. 2W-Scotty Neitzel [11][$200]; 10. 68-Dave Uttech [8][$200]; 11. 20R-Robbie Pribnow [13][$200]; 12. 55-Austin DeBlauw [12][$200]; 13. 12W-Josh Walter [9][$200]; 14. 10S-Jay Steinebach [14][$200]; 15. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [15][$200]
