Aaron Reutzel earns 30th-career All Star victory during visit to Lonestar Speedway
KILGORE, Texas (June 13, 2020) – Performing in true championship form, two-time and defending Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 titlist, Aaron Reutzel, put on an impressive performance on Saturday evening during his visit to Lonestar Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, ultimately capping the Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires program with a main event victory, the 30th Series win of his career and scoring $5,000 in the process. Padding the stat book, the All Star triumph was a first in his home state of Texas, decimating the field after taking command on lap 10 and crossing under the final checkers by a margin of victory just shy of four seconds.
The Lonestar Speedway win resulted in Reutzel’s second trip to victory lane during the Thunder Through The Plains campaign, earning the first over Kyle Larson during a barn burner at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Oklahoma, on Friday, June 5.
“The last couple of starts have been frustrating, I’m not going to lie. It’s really taken a toll on me. I feel like we’ve been good enough to be a podium car every night, we’ve just had a lot of dumb stuff happen. But my guys never gave up and they continue to do a phenomenal job,” Aaron Reutzel said, driver of the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports/Folkens Brothers Trucking/Fischer Body Shop/Hollywood Blasting & Coating/No. 87 sprint car. “I hate to say that only our team works their butts off because every team out here works their butts off. We’ve been at the track every night for the past ten nights. Tonight, it just all finally worked out for us. It certainly wouldn’t be possible with my guys, Jim Bob and Dylan, and all of our great partners.”
Lining up fourth on the 30-lap grid by way of dash result, it did not take long for Reutzel to battle his way toward the front, already powering into second by the time the first two laps were checked off the counter. At the time, Cory Eliason maintained the race lead, utilizing the pole position to earn the top spot after the initial start.
By lap nine, Eliason found himself in traffic, nearly getting caught up with a slower car which allowed Reutzel to close-in on the Rudeen Racing entry. The very next circuit, Reutzel made his move, first pulling even with Eliason through turns one and two, all before driving by his fellow All Star full-timer as the pair raced off of turn four. From that point on, it was the ‘Aaron Reutzel Show,’ picking off slower cars one at a time with ease before earning his fifth All Star Circuit of Champions victory of the 2020 season.
“I’m just trying to represent the great state of Texas the best that I can,” an elated Aaron Reutzel continued, followed by an immediate cheer from the crowd. “To get a win in front of this awesome crowd is phenomenal. I’m glad I could pull it off for my fellow Texans.”
Although Reutzel went on to be unchallenged, Visalia, California’s Cory Eliason was not so fortunate, eventually feeling pressure from third row starter Dominic Scelzi during the closing circuits. Despite failing to get by Eliason, Scelzi certainly made things exciting and fell short of the runner-up spot by less than a ten-thousandths of a second. Refusing to admit he was defeated on-track, Scelzi proceeded to challenge Eliason to a rock-paper-scissors battle in the pit area after the feature was checkered; the result was a tie.
Justin Sanders finished fourth at Lonestar Speedway, followed by the ‘Jonestown Jet’ Brock Zearfoss.
What’s Next:
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will conclude the 2020 edition of Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires with a visit to Chatham Speedway in Chatham, Louisiana, on Sunday, June 14. Those seeking additional information pertaining to the event should visit Chatham Speedway online at www.chathamspeedway.com.
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. To check out exclusive content, visit https://bit.ly/2XR863e.
Contingency Awards/Results: Lonestar Speedway – June 13, 2020:
Event: Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 18
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Cory Eliason – 12.870
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel – 12.709
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Skylar Gee
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Brock Zearfoss
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Justin Sanders
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash Winner: Cory Eliason
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Aaron Reutzel
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Zeb Wise (+5)
Qualifying
1.87-Aaron Reutzel, 12.709; 2. 14-Tony Stewart, 12.842; 3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.894; 4. 26-Cory Eliason, 12.920; 5. 13-Paul McMahan, 12.922; 6. 48-Danny Dietrich, 12.957; 7. 70-Roger Crockett, 12.984; 8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 12.992; 9. 16A-Justin Sanders, 13.016; 10. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.094; 11. 11-Zeb Wise, 13.119; 12. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.168; 13. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.299; 14. 17-Josh Baughman, 13.340; 15. 17g-Channin Tankersley, 13.418; 16. 23B-Brian Bell, 13.590; 17. 4-Danny Smith, 13.651; 18. 4m-Austin Mundie, 14.339;
Heat #1 (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 99-Skylar Gee [1]; 2. 70-Roger Crockett [2]; 3. 23B-Brian Bell [6]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [3]
Heat #2 (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 2. 11-Zeb Wise [1]; 3. 14-Tony Stewart [4]; 4. 17-Josh Baughman [5]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 6. 4-Danny Smith [6]
Heat #3 (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 16A-Justin Sanders [2]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [1]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 5. 17G-Channin Tankersley [5]; 6. 4M-Austin Mundie [6]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 13-Paul McMahan [1]; 3. 16A-Justin Sanders [4]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [8]; 5. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [3]; 6. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 7. 14-Tony Stewart [7]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [6]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [5]; 4. 16A-Justin Sanders [3]; 5. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [6]; 6. 11-Zeb Wise [11]; 7. 14-Tony Stewart [7]; 8. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [12]; 9. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 10. 99-Skylar Gee [8]; 11. 70-Roger Crockett [10]; 12. 48-Danny Dietrich [9]; 13. 17-Josh Baughman [14]; 14. 17G-Channin Tankersley [16]; 15. 23B-Brian Bell [13]; 16. W20-Greg Wilson [15]; 17. 4-Danny Smith [17]; 18. 4M-Austin Mundie [18] Lap Leaders: Cory Eliason (1-9), Aaron Reutzel (10-30)
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of June 13, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel – 1448
2. Cory Eliason – 1430
3. Danny Dietrich – 1408
4. Brock Zearfoss – 1404
5. Zeb Wise – 1382
6. Paul McMahan – 1342
7. Tony Stewart – 1306
8. Skylar Gee – 1280
9. Greg Wilson – 1272
10. Josh Baughman – 1260
2020 Thunder Through The Plains Driver Standings: (As of June 13, 2020)
1. Cory Eliason – 1182
2. Aaron Reutzel – 1152
3. Danny Dietrich – 1138
4. Brock Zearfoss – 1124
5. Zeb Wise – 1122
6. Dominic Scelzi – 1114
7. Paul McMahan – 1074
8. Skylar Gee – 1062
9. Greg Wilson – 1058
10. Sam Hafertepe, Jr. – 1048
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)
Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Texas (6/10/2020): Kyle Larson (4)
Southern Oklahoma Speedway, Okla. (6/11/2020): Brock Zearfoss
Monarch Motor Speedway, Texas (6/12/2020): Danny Dietrich
Lonestar Speedway, Texas (6/13/2020): Aaron Reutzel (5)
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.
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Sources: Tyler Altmeyer/Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 PR
Photo Credit: Serena Dalhamer