Aaron Reutzel won with the All Stars in Plymouth, Indiana Saturday (TJ Slideways Photo)
PLYMOUTH, Ind. (August 18, 2019) - After a frustrating outing one night prior that ultimately resulted in a ‘DNF’ finish, Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutzel redeemed himself completely during his Saturday night stay at Plymouth Speedway in Plymouth, Indiana, and secured his seventh Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory of the 2019 season; his first since Utica-Rome Speedway in mid-July.
A convincing victory to say the least, Reutzel led every lap of the 30-lap program at the Plymouth short track, utilizing patience to maneuver through periods of heavy lapped traffic all while holding off a fast closing Brock Zearfoss, as well as an eighth starting Greg Wilson.
The $5,000 triumph also allowed Reutzel to chop into Dale Blaney’s championship points lead, cutting the advantage down to ten markers. Blaney entered the evening with a 26-point advantage, all of which built from Reutzel’s ‘DNF’ result at I-96 Speedway.
“Top, bottom, middle; we were comfortable all over tonight. That’s something we have been working really hard on,” Aaron Reutzel said in Plymouth Speedway victory lane, driver of the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports/Folkens Brothers Trucking/Fischer Body Shop/Dissolvalloy/No. 87 sprint car. “It was one hell of a team effort tonight. I’m just thankful that my group of guys have stuck behind me.”
Although the Texan was able to control every circuit of the 30-lap main event, Reutzel was never completely on his own. In fact, a blanket could have been thrown over the top four during the midpoint of the main event, a pattern that continued for nearly five circuits. Reutzel eventually escaped into traffic, but Zearfoss, who drove into second from fourth with a bold move through turns one and two on lap nine, remained persistent.
The final four circuits saw the battle between Reutzel and Zearfoss intensify yet again. With slower cars bunching up two and three wide ahead of the leader, Reutzel was forced to check up which allowed Zearfoss to close the gap to a car length by the two-to-go signal.
Solidifying his place on top of the podium, Reutzel perfected a slider through turns one and two to place a slower car between himself and Zearfoss on the final lap. The move worked, allowing Reutzel to cruise home ahead of Zearfoss, Greg Wilson, Gerard McIntryre, and Justin Peck.
“I felt like I was ok through the first set of lapped cars, then I got to a group that I absolutely did not want to have to lap. I was actually praying for a caution so I didn’t have to work around them,” Aaron Reutzel continued. “I was a little timid in traffic tonight, for sure. I didn’t want to get knocked out.”
The All Star Circuit of Champions will continue their 2019 campaign with a four-pack in the Keystone State; four events in four days across much of Posse Country. The four-day invasion of Central Pennsylvania will ignite on Thursday evening, August 22, at the always-racey Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania. Action will move to the historic Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg on Friday, August 23, followed by a visit to the ‘Fabulous’ Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown on Saturday, August 24. The weekend will conclude on Sunday, August 25, at BAPS Motor Speedway near York Haven.
The events at Grandview Speedway, Lincoln Speedway and BAPS Motor Speedway will each award $5,000 top prizes. The format at Williams Grove Speedway will feature twin main events, each awarding $4,000 paydays.
In addition, MAVTV Motorsports Network, the official television home of the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2019, will be on hand to capture action from Grandview, Williams Grove and Lincoln. All three programs will be broadcast via tape-delay on October 13, October 20 and October 27, respectively.
Contingency Awards/Results: Plymouth Speedway - August 17, 2019:
Entries: 26
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Aaron Reutzel - 12.375 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel - 12.233 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Paul McMahan
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Buddy Kofoid
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Justin Peck
JE Pistons Dash presented by Fatheadz Eyewear: Aaron Reutzel
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting B-Main Winner: Chad Boespflug
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Aaron Reutzel
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Tony Stewart (+6)
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Aaron Reutzel (1-30)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Michael Summers
(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, 12.427; 2. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.546; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 12.664; 4. 13-Paul McMahan, 12.791; 5. 21-Brinton Marvel, 12.802; 6. 16c-Gregg Dalman, 13.082; 7. 97-Max Stambaugh, 13.288; 8. 14S-Garrett Saunders, 13.294; 9. 40-George Hobaugh, 13.472
Group (B)
1. 26-Cory Eliason, 12.490; 2. 71P-Parker Price-Miller, 12.510; 3. 11N-Buddy Kofoid, 12.751; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 12.777; 5. 14-Tony Stewart, 12.933; 6. 98-Chad Boespflug, 12.941; 7. 4-Danny Smith, 13.354; 8. 18-Josh Shantz, 13.519; 9. iO7-Mark Coldren, 14.052
Group (C)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12.233; 2. 70X-Justin Peck, 12.387; 3. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.732; 4. 71m-Paul May, 12.828; 5. 49-Shawn Dancer, 12.854; 6. 4K-Kody Kinser, 13.256; 7. 71E-Tyler Esh, 13.570; 8. 18S-Micheal Summers, 13.753
Heat #1 - Group (A) (10 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 13-Paul McMahan [1]; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 3. 99-Skylar Gee [3]; 4. 11-Dale Blaney [4]; 5. 21-Brinton Marvel [5]; 6. 97-Max Stambaugh [7]; 7. 16C-Gregg Dalman [6]; 8. 40-George Hobaugh [9]; 9. 14S-Garrett Saunders [8]
Heat #2 - Group (B) (10 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [2]; 2. O7-Gerard McIntyre [1]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 4. 14-Tony Stewart [5]; 5. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 6. 4-Danny Smith [7]; 7. 98-Chad Boespflug [6]; 8. 18-Josh Shantz [8]; 9. IO7-Mark Coldren [9]
Heat #3 - Group (C) (10 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 70X-Justin Peck [3]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [2]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 4. 71M-Paul May [1]; 5. 49-Shawn Dancer [5]; 6. 71E-Tyler Esh [7]; 7. 18S-Micheal Summers [8]; 8. 4K-Kody Kinser [6]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 2. O7-Gerard McIntyre [1]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [3]; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [5]; 6. 70X-Justin Peck [7]; 7. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [6]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [8]
B-Main (8 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 98-Chad Boespflug [1]; 2. 16C-Gregg Dalman [2]; 3. 40-George Hobaugh [5]; 4. 14S-Garrett Saunders [7]; 5. IO7-Mark Coldren [8]; 6. 18-Josh Shantz [6]; 7. 18S-Micheal Summers [3]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [8]; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre [2]; 5. 70X-Justin Peck [6]; 6. 14-Tony Stewart [12]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [5]; 8. 11-Dale Blaney [3]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee [10]; 10. 26-Cory Eliason [9]; 11. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [7]; 12. 71M-Paul May [11]; 13. 71P-Parker Price-Miller [13]; 14. 97-Max Stambaugh [16]; 15. 49-Shawn Dancer [15]; 16. 4-Danny Smith [17]; 17. 98-Chad Boespflug [19]; 18. 21-Brinton Marvel [14]; 19. 16C-Gregg Dalman [20]; 20. 40-George Hobaugh [21]; 21. 71E-Tyler Esh [18]; 22. 14S-Garrett Saunders [22]; 23. 18-Josh Shantz [24]; 24. IO7-Mark Coldren [23] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-30)
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (After 8/17/2019):
1. Dale Blaney - 3336
2. Aaron Reutzel - 3326
3. Cory Eliason - 3284
4. Paul McMahan - 3206
5. Brock Zearfoss - 3140
6. Greg Wilson - 3106
7. Gerard McIntyre - 3014
8. Skylar Gee - 2934
9. George Hobaugh - 2572
10. Tony Stewart - 1928
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)
Orange County Fair Speedway N.Y. (7/13/2019): Danny Dietrich (2)
Lebanon Valley Speedway N.Y. (7/14/2019): Brock Zearfoss (2)
Plymouth Dirt Track, Wis. (7/25/2019): James McFadden
Jackson Motorplex, Minn. (7/26/2019): James McFadden (2)
Knoxville Raceway, Iowa (7/27/2019): Gio Scelzi
34 Raceway, Iowa (7/28/2019): Tony Stewart (2)
I-96 Speedway, Mich (8/16/2019): Cory Eliason (2)
Plymouth Speedway, Ind. (8/17/2019): Aaron Retuzel (7)
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 330 “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: TJ Slideways
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com