Aaron Reutzel won the All Star stop at Utica-Rome Speedway Friday (Trent Gower Photo) (Video Highlight from SpeedShiftTV.com)
VERNON, N.Y. (July 12, 2019) - Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutzel has been on a tear, officially adding Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York, to his recent success streak that now includes four victories during his last six Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 starts. Impressive enough, Reutzel’s Utica-Rome triumph on Friday night was accomplished from the outside of row two, mastering an uncharacteristic, lightning-fast, Utica-Rome surface while maneuvering around the likes of Justin Peck, Paul McMahan, and three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Tony Stewart.
Utica-Rome’s racing surface was extra saturated due to overnight rain, as well as on and off periods of drizzle that extended through the early afternoon hours.
Reutzel’s All Star victory bumped his season total to six, now with a 22-point advantage over Dale Blaney in the All Star driver title chase.
“Our car was phenomenal tonight,” Aaron Reutzel said in Utica-Rome victory lane, driver of the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports/Folkens Brothers Trucking/Hollywood Coating and Blasting/Fischer Body Shop/No. 87 sprint car. “We had options tonight. We could drive through the middle of turns one and two which really gave us a boost down the backstretch, or we could rip the top. I was a little nervous coming here tonight because I’ve seen so many videos and noticed how slick the surface was. I’m glad Mother Nature stepped-in and gave us this surface tonight because this was one bad ass race track.”
During only the third Utica-Rome Speedway appearance in All Star Circuit of Champions history, the first since 2012, Aaron Reutzel made his efforts look easy. After being forced to maintain patience through a pair of cautions during the initial start, the defending All Star champion achieved the jump that he needed. With just one circuit recorded, Reutzel was second, next setting aim on the tailtank of Tony Stewart. Although Stewart was able to balance the very top-side of the speedway, maintaining a pace well-under the preexisting track record, it was an early dose of lapped traffic that proved to be Smoke’s downfall.
By lap six, it was apparent that slower cars were going to be an issue, it was just a matter of when. As Stewart and Reutzel were racing into turn one to begin lap seven, Stewart choked up, instantly losing momentum while trying to carefully navigate around a slower roadblock. It was during that period that Reutzel made his winning move, actually driving right by Stewart on the bottom of the speedway as the pair raced off of turn two.
Although action was halted yet again on lap 16, there was no match for Reutzel’s pace, instantly opening up his advantage as soon as green flag action returned. Reutzel would eventually cross under the final checkers with an advantage pushing two seconds, keeping Stewart, Justin Peck, Paul McMahan and Cory Eliason in tow.
“That was my fault for being a little too timid in lapped traffic,” Tony Stewart said regarding Reutzel’s move around him early on during the main event. “I really wasn’t sure where some of those lapped cars were going to go. Having a guy like Aaron Reutzel behind you, you really can’t hesitate or wait too long. A guy like that is going to pounce and that’s exactly what he did.”
“Hats off to this entire track prep team here tonight,” Stewart continued. “It took a little extra work to get this place into shape, but they got it done and it made for an exciting race.”
The All Star Circuit of Champions will resume their three-day sweep through the Empire State on Saturday evening, July 13, at the home of the hard clay - Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York. Perhaps the largest oval on the schedule - a sprawling 5/8-mile - the visit to Orange County will be highlighted with a main event purse exceeding $33,000; $10,000 to the main event winner, as well as a minimum of $600 to each feature starter.
Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, New York, will open pit gates at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 13. A mandatory All Star drivers meeting will take shape at 4:30 p.m. with hot laps to follow at 5 p.m., sharp. Those wanting to learn more should visit Orange County live on the Web at www.orangecountyfairspeedway.net.
Contingency Awards/Results: Utica-Rome Speedway - Friday, July 12, 2019:
Event: Turn One LLC and Clinton Tractor presents Tony Stewart’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Entries: 25
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Aaron Reutzel - 14.754
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Dale Blaney - 14.929 *NTR
Ford Performance Heat #1: Dave Franek
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Brock Zearfoss
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Paul McMahan
JE Pistons Dash presented by Fatheadz Eyewear: Tony Stewart
Classic Ink USA B-Main Winner: Matt Tanner
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Aaron Reutzel
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Chad Kemenah [+8]
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Darren Schott
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Aaron Reutzel [7-25]
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 11-Dale Blaney, 14.929; 2. K4-Chad Kemenah, 15.484; 3. J4-John Garvin, 15.573; 4. 28F-Dave Franek, 15.599; 5. 26-Cory Eliason, 15.635; 6. 99-Skylar Gee, 15.661; 7. 91-Scott Holcomb, 16.249; 8. 121-Steve Glover, 16.382; 9. 55-Darren Schott, 17.083
Group (B)
1. 14-Tony Stewart, 15.423; 2. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni, 15.514; 3. OO-Danny Varin, 15.675; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 15.703; 5. W20-Greg Wilson, 15.904; 6. 5-Justin Barger, 16.047; 7. 90x-Matt Tanner, 16.155; 8. 98-Joe Trenca, NT
Group (C)
1. 70X-Justin Peck, 15.461; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15.476; 3. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 15.694; 4. 13-Paul McMahan, 15.697; 5. 40-George Hobaugh, 16.362; 6. 40X-Chris Kurtz, 16.436; 7. 90-Jordan Givler, 16.459; 8. iO7-Mark Coldren, 16.865
Heat #1 - Group (A) (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 28F-Dave Franek [1]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [4]; 3. 99-Skylar Gee [6]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 5. J4-John Garvin [2]; 6. K4-Chad Kemenah [3]; 7. 91-Scott Holcomb [7]; 8. 55-Darren Schott [9]; 9. 121-Steve Glover [8]
Heat #2 - Group (B) (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. OO-Danny Varin [2]; 3. 14-Tony Stewart [4]; 4. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni [3]; 5. 5-Justin Barger [6]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 7. 90X-Matt Tanner [7]; 8. 98-Joe Trenca [8]
Heat #3 - Group (C) (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 13-Paul McMahan [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 3. O7-Gerard McIntyre [2]; 4. 40-George Hobaugh [5]; 5. 70X-Justin Peck [4]; 6. 90-Jordan Givler [7]; 7. IO7-Mark Coldren [8]; 8. 40X-Chris Kurtz [6]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 14-Tony Stewart [1]; 2. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 28F-Dave Franek [4]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [6]; 5. 70X-Justin Peck [3]; 6. OO-Danny Varin [7]; 7. 70-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 8. 11-Dale Blaney [8]
B-Main (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 90X-Matt Tanner [1]; 2. IO7-Mark Coldren [3]; 3. 91-Scott Holcomb [2]; 4. 40X-Chris Kurtz [4]; 5. 98-Joe Trenca [6]; 6. 121-Steve Glover [7]; 7. 55-Darren Schott [5]
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart [1]; 3. 70X-Justin Peck [5]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [12]; 6. 11-Dale Blaney [8]; 7. 99-Skylar Gee [9]; 8. K4-Chad Kemenah [16]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [17]; 10. O7-Gerard McIntyre [10]; 11. 28F-Dave Franek [3]; 12. 40-George Hobaugh [13]; 13. 90X-Matt Tanner [19]; 14. J4-John Garvin [14]; 15. 90-Jordan Givler [18]; 16. 121-Steve Glover [24]; 17. 70-Brock Zearfoss [7]; 18. 98-Joe Trenca [23]; 19. 5-Justin Barger [15]; 20. IO7-Mark Coldren [20]; 21. 40X-Chris Kurtz [22]; 22. OO-Danny Varin [6]; 23. 10C-Paulie Colagiovanni [11]; 24. 91-Scott Holcomb [21] Lap Leaders: Tony Stewart (1-6), Aaron Reutzel (7-25)
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (After 7/12/2019):
1. Aaron Reutzel - 2272
2. Dale Blaney - 2250
3. Cory Eliason - 2178
4. Paul McMahan - 2150
5. Brock Zearfoss - 2090
6. Greg Wilson - 2080
7. Gerard McIntyre - 2026
8. Skylar Gee - 1972
9. George Hobaugh - 1758
10. Spencer Bayston - 1408
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (1/31/2019): Tim Shaffer
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (2/1/2019): Tim Shaffer (2)
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (2/2/2019): Tony Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/6/2019): Shane Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/7/2019): Brad Sweet
Virginia Motor Speedway, Va. (4/11/2019): Cory Eliason
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (4/13/2019): Lance Dewease
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (5/24/2019): Aaron Reutzel
Fremont Speedway, Ohio (5/26/2019): Aaron Reutzel (2)
Outlaw Speedway, N.Y. (6/7/2019): Brock Zearfoss
Stateline Speedway, N.Y. (6/8/2019): Dale Blaney
Weedsport Speedway, N.Y. (6/9/2019): Danny Dietrich
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (6/14/2019): Kyle Larson
Muskingum County Speedway, Ohio (6/16/2019): Dale Blaney (2)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (6/19/2019): Aaron Reutzel (3)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (6/22/2019): Buddy Kofoid
Dirt Oval at Route 66, Ill. (6/29/2019): Aaron Reutzel (4)
Lernerville Speedway, Pa. (7/5/2019): Aaron Reutzel (5)
Sharon Speedway, Ohio (7/6/2019): Dale Blaney (3)
Utica-Rome Speedway, N.Y. (7/12/2019): Aaron Reutzel (6)
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. In 2019, MAVTV Motorsports Network will continue to be the official television home of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and will broadcast ten high-profile events.
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 327 “semi-lovely” stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. 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 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.
#Photo Credit: Trent Gower
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com