Aaron Reutzel won at Atomic Speedway with the All Stars Saturday (Rick Rarer Photo) (Video Highlight from DirtVision.com)
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (September 14, 2019) - After winning the first two nights of competition at Atomic Speedway, Warrnambool, Australia’s James McFadden was a surefire favorite to claim the historic Saturday night payday and earn the weekend sweep, but defending Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 titleholder, Aaron Reutzel, had something to say.
Just one week after claiming the largest payday of his career, as well as the largest payday in Port Royal Speedway history, Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutzel etched his name in another set of sprint car racing history books, doing so by scoring the second edition of the Dean Knittel Memorial at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio - the largest paying sprint car event in the track’s storied history.
Nearly sweeping the entire evening program at the ‘Fastest 3/8-Mile Dirt Track in the Nation,’ Aaron Reutzel earned his $12,554 score in fantastic fashion, ultimately leading all 30 circuits while holding off charges by current track championship point leader and former Atomic Speedway Ohio Sprint Speedweek feature winner, Cole Duncan.
The victory bumped Reutzel’s All Star season win total to 13, now with 22 on his career. On a side note, despite not winning all three events at Atomic Speedway, Reutzel’s speed was still the topic of conversation, as the Series win leader set ‘quick time’ during all three programs.
“This is really cool,” Aaron Reutzel said in victory lane, driver of the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports/Folkens Brothers Trucking/Fischer Body Shop/Hollywood Blasting and Coating/No. 87 sprint car. “Hats off to the entire Knittel Family for putting up this kind of money for us to race for. From one driver to the next, we really appreciate it.”
Although Reutzel was on the point for all 30 laps, Lockbourne, Ohio’s Cole Duncan did everything he could to drive around the current All Star Circuit of Champions point leader. A quick, but abrasive racing surface did make things difficult for Duncan, but on more than one occasion, the local favorite put himself in position to capitalize.
The main event’s second and final caution, the first being on lap two for Paul McMahan who stopped on the backstretch, set-up Duncan’s eventual late-race surge for the lead. Helping set Duncan’s stage, traffic entered the picture on lap 18 ultimately slowing Reutzel’s pace around the middle and top of the speedway.
By lap 21, Duncan was all over the back bumper of Aaron Reutzel, chasing the Texan as the duo started to enter slower traffic. Despite keeping pace with the defending All Star champion for the next three circuits, Reutzel soon discovered another gear, eventually finding a way to put a lapped car between himself and Duncan. The trend continued on lap 26 when Reutzel found his way around another slower car, now separating himself from Duncan with two lappers. By the time the final checkers flew, Reutzel’s command was nearly two seconds.
“I felt like I was good enough to win the last two nights, but I kinda gave them away,” Reutzel continued. “I got a phone call from the guys at Fischer Body Shop today and they were kinda giving me a hard time. I wanted to make sure I didn’t give this one up.”
Cole Duncan held on to finish second, followed by Jimmy Stinson, Chad Kemenah and Dale Blaney.
It was announced during opening ceremonies that the 2020 edition of the Dean Knittel Memorial will award a $15,554 top prize.
Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions will continue their final month of competition with one last multi-race road trip, and by no surprise considering their latest travel trends, the traveling sprint car wheelmen will hit the Keystone State, ready to invade Williams Grove Speedway and Lincoln Speedway, yet again, on Friday and Saturday, September 20 & 21. On top of that, Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Maryland, will host the All Stars on Sunday, September 22.
Contingency Awards/Results: Atomic Speedway - September 14, 2019:
Event: 2nd Annual Dean Knittel Memorial
Entries: 39
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Cole Duncan - 12.124 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel - 11.663 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Cory Eliason
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Brinton Marvel
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Dale Blaney
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Chad Kemenah
JE Pistons Dash #1: Aaron Reutzel
Fatheadz Eyewear Dash #2: Cole Duncan
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting B-Main Winner: Greg Wilson
Non-Qualifier Event: Gerard McIntyre
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Aaron Reutzel
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Cap Henry (+7)
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Aaron Reutzel (1-30)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Gerard McIntyre
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 11.663; 2. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 11.766; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 11.814; 4. 35-Zach Hampton, 11.903; 5. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.033; 6. A79-Brandon Wimmer, 12.097; 7. 45-Trevor Baker, 12.787; 8. 27-Cody Gallogly, 12.967; 9. J4-John Garvin, 13.030; 10. 44-Charlie Vest, 13.779
Group (B)
1. 9-James McFadden, 11.792; 2. 13-Paul McMahan, 12.004; 3. 4X-Jimmy Stinson, 12.293; 4. 21-Brinton Marvel, 12.340; 5. 2-Nathan Skaggs, 12.382; 6. 40-George Hobaugh, 12.463; 7. 83X-Nate Reeser, 12.807; 8. OOH-Hunter Lynch, 12.908; 9. 15-Mitch Harble, 12.910; 10. 40I-Mark Imler, 13.555
Group (C)
1. 22C-Cole Duncan, 11.720; 2. 14-Tim Shaffer, 11.801; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 11.840; 4. 11-Dale Blaney, 11.920; 5. G1-Cale Thomas, 12.095; 6. 4-Cap Henry, 12.200; 7. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 12.306; 8. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.504; 9. 42-Sye Lynch, 12.531; 10. 9J-Dean Jacobs, 12.635
Group (D)
1. 70X-Justin Peck, 12.042; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs, 12.207; 3. K4-Chad Kemenah, 12.537; 4. 60-Kory Crabtree, 12.650; 5. 35R-Ronnie Blair, 12.653; 6. 54-Danny Smith, 12.887; 7. 4D-Josh Davis, 13.032; 8. 9W-Lance Webb, 13.246; 9. 1B-Keith Baxter, 13.336
Heat #1 - Group (A) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 4. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 5. A79-Brandon Wimmer [6]; 6. 27-Cody Gallogly [8]; 7. 45-Trevor Baker [7]; 8. J4-John Garvin [9]; 9. 44-Charlie Vest [10]; 10. 35-Zach Hampton [1]
Heat #2 - Group (B) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 21-Brinton Marvel [1]; 2. 4X-Jimmy Stinson [2]; 3. 9-James McFadden [4]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. OOH-Hunter Lynch [8]; 6. 15-Mitch Harble [9]; 7. 2-Nathan Skaggs [5]; 8. 83X-Nate Reeser [7]; 9. 40I-Mark Imler [10]; 10. 40-George Hobaugh [6]
Heat #3 - Group (C) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 11-Dale Blaney [1]; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 3. 14-Tim Shaffer [3]; 4. 4-Cap Henry [6]; 5. 22C-Cole Duncan [4]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [8]; 7. O7-Gerard McIntyre [7]; 8. 42-Sye Lynch [9]; 9. 9J-Dean Jacobs [10]; 10. G1-Cale Thomas [5]
Heat #4 - Group (D) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. K4-Chad Kemenah [2]; 2. 60-Kory Crabtree [1]; 3. 81-Lee Jacobs [3]; 4. 1B-Keith Baxter [9]; 5. 70X-Justin Peck [4]; 6. 4D-Josh Davis [7]; 7. 35R-Ronnie Blair [5]; 8. 9W-Lance Webb [8]; 9. 54-Danny Smith [6]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 2. 21-Brinton Marvel [3]; 3. 3-Jac Haudenschild [4]; 4. 4X-Jimmy Stinson [5]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [2]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 22C-Cole Duncan [1]; 2. K4-Chad Kemenah [2]; 3. 60-Kory Crabtree [4]; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 5. 11-Dale Blaney [5]
Non-Qualifiers Event (12 Laps)
1. O7-Gerard McIntyre [1]; 2. 2-Nathan Skaggs [2]; 3. 9J-Dean Jacobs [8]; 4. 42-Sye Lynch [6]; 5. 15-Mitch Harble [7]; 6. J4-John Garvin [5]; 7. 45-Trevor Baker [4]; 8. 83X-Nate Reeser [12]; 9. 9W-Lance Webb [10]; 10. 44-Charlie Vest [11]; 11. 35-Zach Hampton [3]; 12. 40I-Mark Imler [9]
B-Main (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
1. W20-Greg Wilson [3]; 2. 4D-Josh Davis [6]; 3. G1-Cale Thomas [2]; 4. 27-Cody Gallogly [5]; 5. O7-Gerard McIntyre [7]; 6. 2-Nathan Skaggs [8]; 7. 35-Zach Hampton [1]; 8. 45-Trevor Baker [10]; 9. J4-John Garvin [13]; 10. 42-Sye Lynch [11]; 11. 15-Mitch Harble [4]; 12. 9J-Dean Jacobs [15]; 13. 40I-Mark Imler [17]; 14. 9W-Lance Webb [14]; 15. 44-Charlie Vest [18]; 16. 83X-Nate Reeser [12]; 17. 54-Danny Smith [16]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 2. 22C-Cole Duncan [2]; 3. 4X-Jimmy Stinson [7]; 4. K4-Chad Kemenah [4]; 5. 11-Dale Blaney [10]; 6. 9-James McFadden [11]; 7. 3-Jac Haudenschild [5]; 8. 81-Lee Jacobs [13]; 9. 4-Cap Henry [16]; 10. 14-Tim Shaffer [12]; 11. 70-Brock Zearfoss [8]; 12. 60-Kory Crabtree [6]; 13. 70X-Justin Peck [17]; 14. 99-Skylar Gee [15]; 15. A79-Brandon Wimmer [18]; 16. G1-Cale Thomas [23]; 17. W20-Greg Wilson [21]; 18. 54-Danny Smith [25]; 19. 21-Brinton Marvel [3]; 20. 4D-Josh Davis [22]; 21. 13-Paul McMahan [14]; 22. OOH-Hunter Lynch [20]; 23. 1B-Keith Baxter [19]; 24. 27-Cody Gallogly [24]; 25. 26-Cory Eliason [9] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-30)
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (After 9/14/2019):
1. Aaron Reutzel - 5142
2. Dale Blaney - 5088
3. Cory Eliason - 4982
4. Brock Zearfoss - 4868
5. Paul McMahan - 4860
6. Greg Wilson - 4674
7. Gerard McIntyre - 4464
8. Skylar Gee - 4434
9. George Hobaugh - 3804
10. Justin Peck - 3422
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 Reutzel (7)
Grandview Speedway, Pa. (8/22/2019): Aaron Reutzel (8)
Williams Grove Speedway, Pa. (8/23/2019): Aaron Reutzel (9)
Williams Grove Speedway, Pa. (8/23/2019): Lance Dewease (2)
Lincoln Speedway, Pa. (8/24/2019): Skylar Gee
BAPS Motor Speedway, Pa. (8/25/2019): Gerard McIntyre
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (8/30/2019): Aaron Reutzel (10)
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (8/31/2019): Brock Zearfoss (3)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (9/2/2019): Cap Henry
Bedford Speedway, Pa. (9/5/2019): Aaron Reutzel (11)
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (9/6/2019): Trey Starks
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (9/7/2019): Aaron Reutzel (12)
Atomic Speedway, Ohio (9/12/2019): James McFadden (3)
Atomic Speedway, Ohio (9/13/2019): James McFadden (4)
Atomic Speedway, Ohio (9/14/2019): Aaron Reutzel (13)
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 337 “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: Rick Rarer/SprintCarNews.com
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com