Aaron Reutzel Beats Shaffer and Abreu for Ohio Sprint Speedweek Victory at Wayne County Speedway
ORRVILLE, Ohio (June 19, 2019) – With Mother Nature throwing a curveball in All Star plans to visit Chillicothe’s Atomic Speedway on Wednesday evening, the Series made an early morning venue swap and switched their focus to Wayne County Speedway in Orrville.
The Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Indy Metal Finishing destination change proved to be all the better for Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutzel, ultimately ending his evening at ‘Orrville’s Historic Oval’ $5,000 richer, as well as officially back on top of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 driver championship standings.
Reutzel, the defending All Star champion in addition to being the current Series point leader, led all 30 circuits at Wayne County Speedway on Wednesday evening, forced to outduel the ‘Steel City Outlaw’ Tim Shaffer and St. Helena, California’s Rico Abreu in the process. Joining Kyle Larson and Dale Blaney, Reutzel now owns one Speedweek victory in 2019, adding to his overall All Star wins list that now includes 12 total, three of which occurring in 2019.
“We were fortunate enough to pull the front row for the dash and get a starting spot up front. Capitalizing on a solid pill draw is important, but the guys gave me a great car, as well,” Aaron Reutzel said in Wayne County Speedway victory lane, driver of the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports/Folkens Brothers Trucking/Fischer Body Shop/Hollywood Coating and Blasting/No. 87 sprint car. “Grant, Jim-Bob, Cheeseburger; these guys worked hard all night and gave me a great race car. It was a total team effort.”
Although forced to withstand three cautions during the first seven circuits, one of which a red flag incident just after the initial start, Reutzel remained the class of the field, keeping Tim Shaffer and Rico Abreu in his rearview mirror during the first ten laps. Strong in clean air, it was not until when slower traffic entered the picture for the first time that Shaffer and Abreu were able to chop away at Reutzel’s advantage.
By lap 13, Shaffer was hot on Reutzel’s heels, knocking down the leader’s advantage to a mere-car length. Despite Reutzel’s ability to navigate slower traffic, Shaffer kept the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports entry in check, pressuring the familiar No. 87 for the lead on multiple occasions between laps 15 and 18 while nearly driving under Reutzel at the exit of turn four on lap 17.
Feeling the pressure from Shaffer, Reutzel immediately increased his pace, picking off slower cars one by one while simultaneously growing his command over Shaffer and Abreu.
By the time Reutzel received the five-to-go signal from the flagstand, the race was already over, eventually crossing under the final checkers with a near-straightaway advantage.
“Getting the jump was really important. The last thing I wanted to do was have to drive really hard and have to catch Tim [Shaffer],” Aaron Reutzel continued. “I was able to set my own pace. I did make a mistake here and there which allowed Shaffer to sneak under me, but I was able to get my pace back up again. I don’t think he was as good as I was through traffic.”
Brock Zearfoss finished fourth at Wayne County Speedway, followed by Ohio veteran, Dean Jacobs.
Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Indy Metal Finishing will continue Thursday evening, June 20, at Mansfield Motor Speedway in Mansfield, Ohio. Action will then resume on Friday, June 21, at Limaland Motorsports Park in Lima, Ohio. The 37th edition of Ohio Sprint Speedweek will come to a close on Saturday evening, June 22, back at ‘Orrville’s Historic Oval’ – Wayne County Speedway. The Speedweek finale will award a $10,000 top prize. If weather becomes a factor on Saturday, the Ohio Sprint Speedweek finale will be pushed to Sunday, June 23.
Speed Shift TV, the official online broadcast partner of the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2019, will be conducting live video broadcasts during the next three Ohio Sprint Speedweek programs: Mansfield Motor Speedway – 6/20, Limaland Motorsports Park – 6/21, Wayne County Speedway – 6/22.
Contingency Awards/Results: Wayne County Speedway – Wednesday, June 19, 2019:
Event: 37th Annual Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Indy Metal Finishing
Entries: 37
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: 14.626
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Andrew Palker – 14.691
Ford Performance Heat #1: Tim Shaffer
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Cory Eliason
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Brock Zearfoss
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Aaron Reutzel
JE Pistons Dash #1 Tim Shaffer
Fatheadz Eyewear Dash #2: Aaron Reutzel
Classic Ink USA B-Main Winner: Jac Haudenschild
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Aaron Reutzel
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Jac Haudenschild (+6)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Spencer Bayston
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 57X-Andrew Palker, 14.691; 2. 24-Rico Abreu, 14.748; 3. 13-Paul McMahan, 14.857; 4. 49x-Tim Shaffer, 14.887; 5. 97-Max Stambaugh, 14.943; 6. 45-Trevor Baker, 15.049; 7. 3C-Cale Conley, 15.353; 8. 40-George Hobaugh, 15.560; 9. 29-Steve Butler, 15.879; 10. 21-Brinton Marvel, 15.896
Group (B)
1. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 14.830; 2. 17-Josh Baughman, 14.881; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 14.994; 4. 9-Dean Jacobs, 15.041; 5. 5T-Travis Philo, 15.078; 6. 35-Tyler Esh, 15.170; 7. 16-DJ Foos, 15.178; 8. 81-Lee Jacobs, 15.322; 9. 38K-Clay Riney, 15.346
Group (C)
1. 11N-Buddy Kofoid, 14.869; 2. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 14.908; 3. 11-Dale Blaney, 15.003; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 15.035; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich, 15.052; 6. 8M-TJ Michael, 15.129; 7. 99-Skylar Gee, 15.399; 8. 3J-Trey Jacobs, 15.502; 9. 52AU-Darren Mollenoyux, 15.505
Group (D)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 14.976; 2. 70X-Spencer Bayston, 15.103; 3. W20-Greg Wilson, 15.314; 4. 19-Mitch Harble, 15.372; 5. 16M-Danny Mumaw, 15.494; 6. 2-Ricky Peterson, 15.494; 7. K4-Chad Kemenah, 15.709; 8. 70M-Henry Malcuit, 15.838; 9. OOH-Hunter Lynch, NT
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1]; 2. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 57X-Andrew Palker [4]; 4. 24-Rico Abreu [3]; 5. 97-Max Stambaugh [5]; 6. 45-Trevor Baker [6]; 7. 3C-Cale Conley [7]; 8. 40-George Hobaugh [8]; 9. 21-Brinton Marvel [10]; 10. 29-Steve Butler [9]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 9-Dean Jacobs [1]; 3. O7-Gerard McIntyre [4]; 4. 17-Josh Baughman [3]; 5. 16-DJ Foos [7]; 6. 35-Tyler Esh [6]; 7. 81-Lee Jacobs [8]; 8. 5T-Travis Philo [5]; 9. 38K-Clay Riney [9]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [4]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [2]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [5]; 5. 8M-TJ Michael [6]; 6. 3J-Trey Jacobs [8]; 7. 52AU-Darren Mollenoyux [9]; 8. 3-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee [7]
Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 2. W20-Greg Wilson [2]; 3. 19-Mitch Harble [1]; 4. 16M-Danny Mumaw [5]; 5. K4-Chad Kemenah [7]; 6. 2-Ricky Peterson [6]; 7. 70M-Henry Malcuit [8]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [3]; 2. 9-Dean Jacobs [1]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [5]; 4. W20-Greg Wilson [4]; 5. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [2]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 3. 57X-Andrew Palker [3]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [1]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 3-Jac Haudenschild [1]; 2. 45-Trevor Baker [2]; 3. 2-Ricky Peterson [4]; 4. 81-Lee Jacobs [6]; 5. 70X-Spencer Bayston [16]; 6. 3C-Cale Conley [7]; 7. 21-Brinton Marvel [14]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [13]; 9. 70M-Henry Malcuit [9]; 10. 5T-Travis Philo [10]; 11. 38K-Clay Riney [12]; 12. 40-George Hobaugh [11]; 13. 3J-Trey Jacobs [5]; 14. 52AU-Darren Mollenoyux [8]; 15. 35-Tyler Esh [3]; 16. 29-Steve Butler [15]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [5]; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 5. 9-Dean Jacobs [3]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [8]; 7. 11N-Buddy Kofoid [9]; 8. 57X-Andrew Palker [6]; 9. O7-Gerard McIntyre [11]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 11. 11-Dale Blaney [12]; 12. 13-Paul McMahan [10]; 13. 48-Danny Dietrich [15]; 14. 16M-Danny Mumaw [18]; 15. 3-Jac Haudenschild [21]; 16. 97-Max Stambaugh [16]; 17. 17-Josh Baughman [14]; 18. 8M-TJ Michael [17]; 19. K4-Chad Kemenah [20]; 20. 45-Trevor Baker [22]; 21. 16-DJ Foos [19]; 22. 19-Mitch Harble [13]; 23. 81-Lee Jacobs [23]; 24. 2-Ricky Peterson [24]; 25. 40-George Hobaugh [26]; 26. 70X-Spencer Bayston [25] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-30)
2019 Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Indy Metal Finishing Standings (After 6/19/2019):
1. Dale Blaney – 424
2. Tim Shaffer – 416
3. Brock Zearfoss – 406
4. Cory Eliason – 398
5. Aaron Reutzel – 390
6. Buddy Kofoid – 370
7. Spencer Bayston – 366
8. DJ Foos – 362
9. Greg Wilson – 352
10. Josh Baughman – 338
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (After 6/19/2019):
1. Aaron Reutzel – 1472
1. Dale Blaney – 1450
3. Spencer Bayston – 1408
4. Cory Eliason – 1408
5. Brock Zearfoss – 1388
6. Paul McMahan – 1376
7. Greg Wilson – 1324
8. Gerard McIntyre – 1278
9. Skylar Gee – 1276
10. Tyler Esh – 1136
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Bubba Raceway Park (1/31/2019): Tim Shaffer
Bubba Raceway Park (2/1/2019): Tim Shaffer (2)
Bubba Raceway Park (2/2/2019): Tony Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park (2/6/2019): Shane Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park (2/7/2019): Brad Sweet
Virginia Motor Speedway (4/11/2019): Cory Eliason
Port Royal Speedway (4/13/2019): Lance Dewease
Attica Raceway Park (5/24/2019): Aaron Reutzel
Fremont Speedway (5/26/2019): Aaron Reutzel (2)
Outlaw Speedway (6/7/2019): Brock Zearfoss
Stateline Speedway (6/8/2019): Dale Blaney
Weedsport Speedway (6/9/2019): Danny Dietrich
Attica Raceway Park (6/14/2019): Kyle Larson
Muskingum County Speedway (6/16/2019): Dale Blaney (2)
Wayne County Speedway (6/19/2019): Aaron Reutzel (3)
About Cometic Gasket:
Cometic Gasket is the Official Gasket of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1. 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 Indy Metal Finishing:
Based in Brownsburg, IN, Indy Metal finishing, Inc. provides high quality metal finishing services and is dedicated to customer satisfaction through strict process control and excellent communication during and after job completion. Our mission is to support our customers with an exceptional level of quality and service that sets the bar for the metal finishing industry. To meet our customer’s delivery expectations with unsurpassed customer service and technical support while developing new and innovative ways to meet today’s business dynamics.
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 327 “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.
Sources; Tyler Altmeyer/Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 PR
Photo Credit: Vince Vellella