Craig Mintz beat the All Stars at Attica Friday (Wayne Riegle Photo) (Video Highlights from FloRacing.com)
ATTICA, Ohio (April 14, 2023) - It has been over a decade since Craig Mintz last found himself in Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory lane, 11 years and seven days to be exact, but the Gibsonburg, Ohio, native can finally put that drought to rest, as the former two-time Attica Raceway Park track champion scored night one of the Core & Main Spring Nationals for a $6,000 payday.
Mintz, who started seventh on Attica’s A-Main grid, led the only lap that counts, stealing the show from Angola, Indiana’s Zeb Wise with a last lap, last corner takeover. The final margin of victory measured at a mere-seven one-thousands of a second, automatically qualifying the All Star points opener as a “Race of the Year” candidate.
Although not taking command until the final circuit, Mintz, now a 17-time winner at Attica Raceway Park, as well as a two-time All Star winner, was in the hunt the entire 35-lap distance, working his way forward before being forced to pick a fight with Myerstown, Pennsylvania’s Brent Marks and “Hunter Percent” Hunter Schuerenberg. Once on the back bumper of Wise, who took the lead from Schuerenberg on lap 28, it was all Mintz could do to get by the Rudeen Racing No. 26, sliding Wise on lap 34 before making it stick the following circuit.
“We’ve been struggling with bleeders all night. Just couldn’t get going on those long runs. Regardless, I knew we had a great car and I probably showed my hand a little early. It’s fun to race with Zeb (Wise). We were both really going for it,” Craig Mintz said. “This means so much. My dad, the guys behind me, my wife, my kids…they all bust their butts to give me the chance to race. We’re out here doing it for fun.”
“That was frustrating,” Zeb Wise said. “Hats off to Craig. He drove one heck of a race. I feel like I let my team down there. I really didn’t know where to go in turns one and two.”
Hunter Schuerenberg held on to finish third, followed by Brent Marks and Parker Price-Miller.
Attica Raceway Park’s annual Core & Main Spring Nationals will continue tomorrow evening, Saturday, April 15, with another $6,000-to-win main event.
For those who can not witness the All Star Circuit of Champions live and in person, FloRacing.com, the official media partner and broadcast provider of the All Stars, has you covered. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit FloRacing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. Race fans can see all the USAC and dirt late-model action they want in addition to Eldora Speedway’s slate of races and those of the All Star Circuit of Champions. 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. Find subscription here: https://flosports.link/3XJOg5Z
Contingency Awards/Results: Attica Raceway Park | April 14, 2023:
Core & Main Spring Nationals | Night #1
Kistler Racing Products Pill Draw | Entries: 41
Macri Concrete Hot Laps: Parker Price-Miller | 12.700
Hercules Tires Fast Qualifier: Stuart Brubaker | 12.579
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #1 Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg
Competition Suspension Inc Heat #2 Winner: Travis Philo
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #3 Winner: Tyler Courtney
Kistler Racing Products Heat #4 Winner: Parker Price-Miller
Mobil 1 Heat #5 Winner: Trey Jacobs
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting and Embroidery B-Main Winner: Stuart Brubaker
Rayce Rudeen Foundation Contingency Award: Sean Rayhall
Tezos A-Main Winner: Craig Mintz
Tezos A-Main Hard Charger: JJ Hickle (+10)
Carquest Perseverance Award: Conner Morrell
Tezos A Feature (35 Laps): 1. 09-Craig Mintz[7]; 2. 26-Zeb Wise[2]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[1]; 4. 19M-Brent Marks[3]; 5. 29-Parker Price Miller[4]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[5]; 7. 33W-Cap Henry[6]; 8. 5T-Travis Philo[9]; 9. 97-JJ Hickle[19]; 10. 5-Byron Reed[16]; 11. 4-Chris Windom[11]; 12. 9-Trey Jacobs[8]; 13. 99-Skylar Gee[14]; 14. 25R-Jordan Ryan[22]; 15. 35-Stuart Brubaker[21]; 16. 68G-Tyler Gunn[23]; 17. 23-Zeth Sabo[24]; 18. 8M-TJ Michael[20]; 19. 7N-Darin Naida[12]; 20. 70-Scotty Thiel[18]; 21. 28M-Conner Morrell[25]; 22. (DNF) 45-Tim Shaffer[15]; 23. (DNF) 4T-Tyler Street[10]; 24. (DNF) 15C-Chris Andrews[13]; 25. (DNF) 22-Brandon Spithaler[17] Lap Leaders: Hunter Schuerenberg (1-27), Zeb Wise (28-34), Craig Mintz (35)
Classic Ink USA B Feature (12 Laps): 1. 35-Stuart Brubaker[1]; 2. 25R-Jordan Ryan[6]; 3. 68G-Tyler Gunn[4]; 4. 23-Zeth Sabo[5]; 5. 19-Sean Rayhall[3]; 6. 49X-Cale Thomas[16]; 7. 71H-Max Stambaugh[13]; 8. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl[2]; 9. 15K-Creed Kemenah[10]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson[7]; 11. 32-Bryce Lucius[12]; 12. 16C-Tylar Rankin[11]; 13. 12-Kyle Capodice[14]; 14. 11J-David Kalb Jr[18]; 15. 28M-Conner Morrell[19]; 16. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[17]; 17. 75-Jerry Dahms[15]; 18. (DNF) 2-Ricky Peterson[8]; 19. (DNF) 20B-Cody Bova[9]
Elliotts Custom Trailers and Carts Dash (4 Laps): 1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[2]; 2. 26-Zeb Wise[1]; 3. 19M-Brent Marks[4]; 4. 29-Parker Price Miller[3]; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[7]; 6. 33W-Cap Henry[5]; 7. 09-Craig Mintz[8]; 8. 9-Trey Jacobs[6]; 9. 5T-Travis Philo[9]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[2]; 2. 33W-Cap Henry[1]; 3. 99-Skylar Gee[3]; 4. 22-Brandon Spithaler[5]; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker[4]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson[7]; 7. 49X-Cale Thomas[9]; 8. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl[6]; 9. 28M-Conner Morrell[8]
CSI Shocks Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 5T-Travis Philo[1]; 2. 4-Chris Windom[2]; 3. 26-Zeb Wise[4]; 4. 70-Scotty Thiel[5]; 5. 68G-Tyler Gunn[6]; 6. 20B-Cody Bova[7]; 7. 32-Bryce Lucius[3]; 8. 9Z-Duane Zablocki[8]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[1]; 2. 4T-Tyler Street[2]; 3. 19M-Brent Marks[4]; 4. 8M-TJ Michael[6]; 5. 19-Sean Rayhall[3]; 6. 15K-Creed Kemenah[5]; 7. 75-Jerry Dahms[8]; 8. (DNS) 42-Sye Lynch
Kistler Racing Products Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 29-Parker Price Miller[4]; 2. 7N-Darin Naida[1]; 3. 5-Byron Reed[6]; 4. 97-JJ Hickle[2]; 5. 23-Zeth Sabo[3]; 6. 2-Ricky Peterson[5]; 7. 71H-Max Stambaugh[7]; 8. (DNS) 16-DJ Foos
Mobil 1 Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 9-Trey Jacobs[1]; 2. 15C-Chris Andrews[3]; 3. 45-Tim Shaffer[2]; 4. 09-Craig Mintz[4]; 5. 25R-Jordan Ryan[5]; 6. 16C-Tylar Rankin[6]; 7. 12-Kyle Capodice[7]; 8. 11J-David Kalb Jr[8]
Hercules Tire Qualifying: 1. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 00:12.580[5]; 2. 33W-Cap Henry, 00:12.766[8]; 3. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:12.768[12]; 4. 19M-Brent Marks, 00:12.780[24]; 5. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 00:12.783[9]; 6. 29-Parker Price Miller, 00:12.834[26]; 7. 99-Skylar Gee, 00:12.873[6]; 8. 5T-Travis Philo, 00:12.925[10]; 9. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 00:12.945[22]; 10. 4T-Tyler Street, 00:12.991[18]; 11. 4-Chris Windom, 00:13.005[11]; 12. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 00:13.053[3]; 13. 50YR-Ryan Ruhl, 00:13.072[1]; 14. W20-Greg Wilson, 00:13.076[2]; 15. 32-Bryce Lucius, 00:13.089[17]; 16. 19-Sean Rayhall, 00:13.123[21]; 17. 09-Craig Mintz, 00:13.218[39]; 18. 70-Scotty Thiel, 00:13.227[13]; 19. 9-Trey Jacobs, 00:13.255[35]; 20. 45-Tim Shaffer, 00:13.270[38]; 21. 68G-Tyler Gunn, 00:13.287[16]; 22. 7N-Darin Naida, 00:13.290[30]; 23. 97-JJ Hickle, 00:13.304[31]; 24. 23-Zeth Sabo, 00:13.317[29]; 25. 2-Ricky Peterson, 00:13.338[33]; 26. 20B-Cody Bova, 00:13.375[15]; 27. 15C-Chris Andrews, 00:13.445[41]; 28. 15K-Creed Kemenah, 00:13.502[23]; 29. 8M-TJ Michael, 00:13.544[20]; 30. 25R-Jordan Ryan, 00:13.571[40]; 31. 5-Byron Reed, 00:13.596[27]; 32. 42-Sye Lynch, 00:13.598[19]; 33. 16C-Tylar Rankin, 00:13.689[36]; 34. 71H-Max Stambaugh, 00:13.752[32]; 35. 12-Kyle Capodice, 00:13.811[34]; 36. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:14.007[4]; 37. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 00:14.012[14]; 38. 11J-David Kalb Jr, 00:14.067[37]; 39. 75-Jerry Dahms, 00:14.234[25]; 40. 16-DJ Foos, 00:59.999[28]; 41. 49X-Cale Thomas, 00:59.999[7]
2023 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Volusia Speedway Park, FL (February 7): Brad Sweet
Volusia Speedway Park, FL (February 8): Carson Macedo
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 13): Tyler Courtney
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 14): Tyler Courtney (2)
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 14): Craig Mintz
2023 All Star Hercules Tires Fast Timers:
Volusia Speedway Park, FL (February 7): Alex Bowman | 13.453
Volusia Speedway Park, FL (February 8): Carson Macedo | 13.589
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 13): Alex Bowman | 12.746
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 14): Hunter Schuerenberg | 12.850
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 14): Stuart Brubaker | 12.579
2023 All Star Tezos Hard Chargers:
Volusia Speedway Park, FL (February 7): Sheldon Haudenschild | +9
Volusia Speedway Park, FL (February 8): Brad Sweet | +11
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 13): Anthony Macri | +9
East Bay Raceway Park, FL (February 14): Zeb Wise | +17
Attica Raceway Park, OH (April 14): JJ Hickle | +10
2023 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings:
Craig Mintz - 150
Zeb Wise - 146
Hunter Schuerenberg -144
Brent Marks - 142
Parker Price-Miller - 140
Tyler Courtney - 138
Cap Henry - 136
Travis Philo - 134
JJ Hickle - 132
Byron Reed - 130
About Tezos:
Tezos is smart money, redefining what it means to hold and exchange value in a digitally connected world. A self-upgradable and energy-efficient Proof of Stake blockchain with a proven track record, Tezos seamlessly adopts tomorrow’s innovations without network disruptions today. For more information, please visit www.tezos.com.
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.
About FloSports:
Founded in 2006, FloSports is a 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’ vision 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.
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.
#Photo: Wayne Riegle
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com