Kyle Larson won the All Star stop at Lawton (Lonnie Wheatley Photo) (Video Highlights from FloRacing.com)
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 payday, 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 https://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:
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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