Kyle Larson Holds Back Carson Macedo and Dave Blaney for Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by C&R Racing Victory at the Big E
ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 16, 2018) – After spending the entire morning and an early portion of the afternoon rebuilding a car in the hotel parking lot, Elk Grove, California’s Kyle Larson rewarded his crew in a big way on Saturday night by claiming round two of Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by C&R Racing at the world-famous Eldora Speedway. Larson’s first-ever Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 triumph at the World’s Greatest Dirt Track was accomplished his fantastic fashion, climbing ahead from eighth on the starting grid, ultimately withstanding a last lap surge by the “Buckeye Bullet” Dave Blaney to score the $5,000 payday.
Fellow California native Carson Macedo would sneak by Blaney in the final two corners to finish second at the final checkers, followed by Blaney, Tim Shaffer, and Clute, Texas, native Aaron Reutzel.
“I’m so happy to get it done here tonight for my guys. Paul Silva and the crew built this car this morning; this is a brand new car from the tires up. We got here just in time to catch the drivers meeting and get in the seat for hot laps,” Kyle Larson said, driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Brandt/Eneos/Finley Farms/Priority Aviation/No. 57 sprinter. “I made a mistake last night and it cost us a car. This really makes up for that. I’ve now won in every kind of car I have ever raced here at Eldora. That’s pretty cool considering I’ve only raced here like ten times.”
Forced to start on the outside of row four by way of dash result, Larson, who was taking advantage of an off-weekend from NASCAR competition to battle with Tony Stewart’s All Stars, wasted little time advancing to the front of the field, boosting himself to fourth as the front-runners raced by the flagstand for the first time.
By lap seven, Larson worked his way to second, now in pursuit of race-long leader, Aaron Reutzel, who owned a commanding lead equalling just over two seconds. Just two circuits later, Larson was on the tail tank of Reutzel, chasing the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports entry through turns one and two on lap ten, eventually utilizing a slingshot move off of the corner to squeeze between Reutzel and a lapped car as the leaders raced down the back straightaway. Larson’s brave move worked, leading Reutzel to the line to officially lead lap ten.
Although impressive, Larson’s first campaign at the front of the field was short-lived as Dave Blaney was able to put the moves on the NASCAR star by using his preferred line through the middle of the speedway. Soon enough, Blaney caught Larson to take command on lap 13.
A pair of cautions on lap 17 and lap 19 gave Larson two opportunities to regain the top spot from the former World of Outlaws champion. Although the first attempt failed, unable to drive by the Premier Motorsports entry as the pair raced through turns one and two on lap 17, the second attempt proved to be more successful, allowing Larson to build enough momentum on the topside of the speedway to chase down Blaney by lap 23. On lap 24, Larson made a perfect bid for the race lead by sticking a textbook slider between turns one and two. Although escaping into traffic, Blaney never gave up, actually tracking down Larson before attempting a last-ditch effort slider in turn one on the final circuit. The slidejob attempt was unsuccessful.
“I actually saw Dave (Blaney) attempt to drive under me at one point there toward the end,” Kyle Larson continued. “Once I got to the top, I could really build some momentum.”
The victory was Larson’s seventh against the All Star Circuit of Champions.
From The Big E to one of Ohio’s most competitive bullrings, Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by C&R Racing will continue on Sunday evening, June 17, with a visit to Waynesfield Raceway Park just south of Lima. Pit gates are scheduled to open at 3:30 p.m., followed by a mandatory All Star drivers meeting at 5:30 p.m. The first session of All Star hop laps is scheduled to hit the speedway at 6:10 p.m., sharp. Those seeking additional news and notes should visit Waynesfield Raceway Park live on the Web at www.waynesfieldmotorsportspark.com.
Contingency Awards/Results: Eldora Speedway – Saturday, June 16, 2018:
36th Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by C&R Racing: Round #2
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 46 entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Paul McMahan – 13.353 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel – 13.074 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Dave Blaney
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Josh Baughman
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Tim Shaffer
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Spencer Bayston
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5: Kasey Kahne
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts C-main: Carl Bowser
JE Pistons Dash #1: Aaron Reutzel
Wix Filters Dash #2: Spencer Bayston
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Tony Stewart
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Kyle Larson
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Jac Haudenschild (+8)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.184; 2. 3G-Carson Macedo, 13.206; 3. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.339; 4. 70-Dave Blaney, 13.414; 5. 22B-Ryan Broughton, 13.493; 6. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 13.568; 7. 11N-Cap Henry, 13.620; 8. 23-DJ Foos, 13.670; 9. 9J-Dean Jacobs, 14.141; 10. 96AU-Bruce White, 14.924
Group (B)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.074; 2. 4-Parker Price-Miller, 13.191; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 13.288; 4. 17b-Josh Baughman, 13.442; 5. 7K-Cale Conley, 13.764; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron, 13.860; 7. 35R-Ronnie Blair, 13.926; 8. 71-Ayrton Olsen, 13.979; 9. 28-Brian Paulus, 14.093
Group (C)
1. 12N-Cole Duncan, 13.219; 2. 49x-Tim Shaffer, 13.232; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.347; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 13.508; 5. 51-John Garvin, 13.844; 6. 99-Jay Waugh, 13.986; 7. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 14.047; 8. 97au-Mitchell Wormall, 14.206; 9. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 99.270
Group (D)
1. G1-Gary Taylor, 13.393; 2. 11-Ryan Smith, 13.538; 3. 71x-Gio Scelzi, 13.592; 4. 39-Spencer Bayston, 13.637; 5. 17-Caleb Helms, 13.688; 6. A79-Brandon Wimmer, 13.714; 7. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.732; 8. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.859; 9. 35-Tyler Esh, 13.907
Group (E)
1. 14-Tony Stewart, 13.320; 2. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.333; 3. 4K-Kasey Kahne, 13.375; 4. 91-Cale Thomas, 13.680; 5. 98-Carl Bowser, 13.706; 6. 49-Shawn Dancer, 13.707; 7. 35s-Stuart Brubaker, 13.720; 8. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 13.743; 9. 45-Trevor Baker, 14.060
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 70-Dave Blaney [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 3. 3G-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 5. 11N-Cap Henry [7]; 6. 22B-Ryan Broughton [5]; 7. 22-Brandon Spithaler [6]; 8. 96AU-Bruce White [10]; 9. 9J-Dean Jacobs [9]; 10. 23-DJ Foos [8]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 17B-Josh Baughman [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 4-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 4. 22M-Dan McCarron [6]; 5. 7K-Cale Conley [5]; 6. 28-Brian Paulus [9]; 7. 35R-Ronnie Blair [7]; 8. 71-Ayrton Olsen [8]; 9. 10H-Chad Kemenah [2]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [2]; 3. O7-Gerard McIntyre [1]; 4. 12N-Cole Duncan [4]; 5. 99-Jay Waugh [6]; 6. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [7]; 7. 97AU-Mitchell Wormall [8]; 8. 51-John Garvin [5]; 9. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [9]
Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 39-Spencer Bayston [1]; 2. A79-Brandon Wimmer [6]; 3. 71X-Gio Scelzi [2]; 4. 11-Ryan Smith [3]; 5. 5T-Travis Philo [8]; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs [7]; 7. 17-Caleb Helms [5]; 8. 35-Tyler Esh [9]; 9. G1-Gary Taylor [4]
Heat #5 – Group (E) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 4K-Kasey Kahne [2]; 2. 91-Cale Thomas [1]; 3. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [8]; 5. 49-Shawn Dancer [6]; 6. 35S-Stuart Brubaker [7]; 7. 14-Tony Stewart [4]; 8. 98-Carl Bowser [5]; 9. 45-Trevor Baker [9]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 3. 3G-Carson Macedo [3]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [2]; 5. 4-Parker Price-Miller [6]; 6. 17B-Josh Baughman [5]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 39-Spencer Bayston [2]; 2. 70-Dave Blaney [1]; 3. 91-Cale Thomas [4]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [5]; 5. 4K-Kasey Kahne [6]; 6. A79-Brandon Wimmer [3]
C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 98-Carl Bowser [1]; 2. 51-John Garvin [2]; 3. 35-Tyler Esh [3]; 4. 96AU-Bruce White [5]; 5. 71-Ayrton Olsen [4]; 6. 45-Trevor Baker [7]; 7. G1-Gary Taylor [6]; 8. 9J-Dean Jacobs [9]; 9. 23-DJ Foos [10]; 10. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [8]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 14-Tony Stewart [2]; 2. 11N-Cap Henry [3]; 3. 5T-Travis Philo [6]; 4. 81-Lee Jacobs [10]; 5. 35S-Stuart Brubaker [9]; 6. 7K-Cale Conley [5]; 7. 28-Brian Paulus [12]; 8. 17-Caleb Helms [14]; 9. 10H-Chad Kemenah [1]; 10. 35R-Ronnie Blair [15]; 11. 22-Brandon Spithaler [13]; 12. 98-Carl Bowser [17]; 13. 99-Jay Waugh [7]; 14. 97AU-Mitchell Wormall [16]; 15. 51-John Garvin [18]; 16. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [11]; 17. 22B-Ryan Broughton [8]; 18. 49-Shawn Dancer [4]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [8]; 2. 3G-Carson Macedo [5]; 3. 70-Dave Blaney [4]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 6. 4-Parker Price-Miller [9]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [13]; 8. 71X-Gio Scelzi [15]; 9. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 10. 24-Rico Abreu [17]; 11. 3-Jac Haudenschild [19]; 12. 91-Cale Thomas [6]; 13. 11-Ryan Smith [18]; 14. 11N-Cap Henry [22]; 15. 12N-Cole Duncan [16]; 16. 14-Tony Stewart [21]; 17. 17B-Josh Baughman [11]; 18. O7-Gerard McIntyre [14]; 19. 81-Lee Jacobs [24]; 20. 4K-Kasey Kahne [10]; 21. 39-Spencer Bayston [2]; 22. A79-Brandon Wimmer [12]; 23. 7K-Cale Conley [26]; 24. 5T-Travis Philo [23]; 25. 22M-Dan McCarron [20]; 26. 10H-Chad Kemenah [25] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-9), Kyle Larson (10-12), Dave Blaney (13-23), Kyle Larson (24-30)
All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (after 6/16/2018)
1. Aaron Reutzel – 1832
2. Carson Macedo – 1832
3. Jac Haudenschild – 1816
4. Chad Kemenah – 1780
5. Parker Price-Miller – 1746
6. Dave Blaney – 1702
7. Paul McMahan – 1610
8. Cale Conley – 1560
9. Carl Bowser – 1520
10. Brandon Spithaler – 1520
Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by C&R Racing Standings: (after 6/16/2018)
1. Paul McMahan – 286
2. Jac Haudenschild – 272
3. Tim Shaffer – 272
4. Cale Thomas – 268
5. Carson Macedo – 268
6. Gio Scelzi – 266
7. Cole Duncan – 258
8. Danny Dietrich – 258
9. Parker Price-Miller – 254
10. Kyle Larson – 254
About Cometic Gasket:
Cometic Gasket is the Official Gasket of the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions. Cometic is a leading worldwide supplier of gaskets and engine sealing solutions for the Automotive Performance, Powersports, Original Equipment and Remanufactured Engine Industries. Cometic gaskets are must-haves for championship-winning teams across the globe. Cometic Gaskets are proudly made in the USA. For more information, log on to www.cometic.com.
About C&R:
Founded in 1988, C&R has built its reputation on providing top-quality cooling components to winning race teams across all major motorsports series. C&R is now part of PWR Advanced Cooling Technology, a global leader in design and production of specialized cooling solutions used by top-tier race teams, high-end automotive manufacturers, and in specialty vehicle applications worldwide. Continuing their drive for excellence, C&R brings new innovation to the development and manufacturing of cooling products within their Indianapolis based facility. Visit the C&R website at CRRacing.com and follow on Instagram at @crracing.
About the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1:
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 2018, MAVTV Motorsports Network will be the official television home of the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and will broadcast eight high-profile events.
About Arctic Cat:
For more than 50 years, the Arctic Cat snowmobile brand has stood as one of the most widely recognized and respected in the industry. Today Arctic Cat’s snowmobile product lines span more than 50 different models, with offerings for every style of riding, from trail-riding with the family, to long-distance touring with friends, to mountain sleds to handle the most severe backcountry conditions. For more information, visit: www.arcticcat.com.
About Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc:
Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of golf cars, utility and personal transportation vehicles, snowmobiles, side-by-sides, all-terrain vehicles, professional turf-care equipment, and ground support equipment. Textron Specialized Vehicles markets products under the E-Z-GO®, Cushman®, Arctic Cat®, Textron Off Road™, Jacobsen®, Dixie Chopper®, Ransomes®, TUG™, Douglas™, Premier™ and Safeaero™ brands. Its vehicles are found in environments ranging from golf courses to factories, airports to planned communities, and theme parks to hunting preserves.
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.
Sources: Tyler Altmeyer/Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 PR
Photo Credit: Vince Vellella