Kyle Larson Scores Dean Knittel Memorial Payday at Portsmouth Raceway Park
PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (July 11, 2020) – ‘Yung Money’ Kyle Larson was certainly ‘money’ on Friday night during the annual Dean Knittel Memorial at Portsmouth Raceway Park, not only scoring his second Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires main event win in four tries, but the Elk Grove, California-native secured $15,554 in the process, simultaneously bumping his 2020 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 season win count to six.
Starting from the pole position by way of dash result, Larson was nearly untouchable during the 30-lap contest, escaping to a hefty advantage right from the drop of the green flag. The driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Tarlton and Sons/Lucas Oil/Durst/Finley Farms/No. 57 sprint car reached slower cars by lap five, and although a few near-close calls with lapped traffic may have forced Larson to tap the brake pedal, his momentum never shifted, still placing two to three lapped cars between himself and second-place running Aaron Reutzel.
The main event’s first and only caution, occurring with five laps remaining, did give Reutzel an opportunity to restart on the back bumper of Larson, but it did not matter. The Clute, Texas-native was forced to settle for second, followed by Brock Zearfoss, Shane Stewart, and Cole Duncan.
With all bonuses considered, Kyle Larson collected upwards of $18,000 at Portsmouth, as extra money was awarded for his respective dash victory, as well as his overall fast time during qualifying time trials and for leading lap 15 during the 30-lap feature.
“It doesn’t matter what kind of pace you set, Aaron (Reutzel) seems to find a way to match what you’re doing, so I was trying to go as hard as I could,” Kyle Larson said in Portsmouth victory lane. “It was good to hold on and get another big payday.
“I was hoping we weren’t going to catch traffic again, but we ended up reaching the back anyhow,” Larson said of his restart with five laps remaining. “But what makes these cars fun is that we don’t have mirrors, so it makes you a little nervous of what’s going on behind you. Just another great race car. And thanks to all of you who help out on this car. We certainly couldn’t do it without each and every one of you. And thanks to all of you fans. This place is really neat and I’m glad I got the chance to race here.”
What’s Next:
Tony Stewart’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will conclude the 2020 edition of Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires with a two-day stay at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday, July 11-12. The weekend will kick-off with the annual Lou Blaney Memorial on Saturday, followed by Justin Snyder’s Salute to the Troops on Sunday. For those seeking additional information, please visit Sharon Speedway online at www.sharonspeedway.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: Portsmouth Raceway Park – July 10, 2020:
Event: Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 39
C&R Racing Warm-Ups: Cale Conley – 13.519
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Kyle Larson – 13.646
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Brock Zearfoss
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Jimmy Stinson
Mobil 1 Heat #4 Winner: Cory Eliason
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash #1 Winner: Kyle Larson
Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts Dash #2 Winner: Aaron Reutzel
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Josh Baughman
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Danny Smith
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Kyle Larson
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Gerard McIntyre (+6)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 71-Shane Stewart, 13.691; 2. 12n-Joey Saldana, 13.888; 3. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.896; 4. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.939; 5. 3C-Cale Conley, 13.968; 6. 24-Rico Abreu, 14.154; 7. 4-Cap Henry, 14.253; 8. 81-Lee Jacobs, 14.293; 9. 21-Brinton Marvel, 14.331; 10. 5h-Jordan Harble, 14.533
Group (B)
1. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.646; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.698; 3. 11-Zeb Wise, 14.017; 4. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 14.385; 5. 1B-Keith Baxter, 14.389; 6. 28-Tim Shaffer, 14.439; 7. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.450; 8. 22B-Ryan Broughton, 14.457; 9. 15k-Chad Kemenah, 14.510; 10. 54-Danny Smith, 14.703
Group (C)
1. 22C-Cole Duncan, 14.223; 2. 17-Josh Baughman, 14.303; 3. 99-Skylar Gee, 14.388; 4. 70-Sye Lynch, 14.527; 5. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 14.631; 6. 4X-Jimmy Stinson, 14.760; 7. 59-Bryan Nuckles, 15.178; 8. 21N-Frankie Nervo, 15.392; 9. 40i-Mark Imler, 15.933; 10. 22D-Josh Davis, 99.500
Group (D)
1. 26-Cory Eliason, 14.380; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 14.623; 3. A79-Brandon Wimmer, 14.678; 4. 19R-Jordan Ryan, 14.797; 5. 23-Cole Macedo, 15.248; 6. 83X-Nate Reeser, 15.590; 7. 9W-Lance Webb, 15.609; 8. 1-Jamie Myers, 15.989; 9. 15-Mitch Harble, 99.730
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 71-Shane Stewart [4]; 4. 81-Lee Jacobs [8]; 5. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 6. 12N-Joey Saldana [3]; 7. 5H-Jordan Harble [10]; 8. 4-Cap Henry [7]; 9. 21-Brinton Marvel [9]; 10. 3C-Cale Conley [5]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 3. 11-Zeb Wise [2]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 5. 1B-Keith Baxter [5]; 6. 54-Danny Smith [10]; 7. 15K-Chad Kemenah [9]; 8. 22B-Ryan Broughton [8]; 9. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 10. 28-Tim Shaffer [6]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 4X-Jimmy Stinson [6]; 2. 59-Bryan Nuckles [7]; 3. 99-Skylar Gee [2]; 4. 22C-Cole Duncan [4]; 5. 21N-Frankie Nervo [8]; 6. O7-Gerard McIntyre [5]; 7. 22D-Josh Davis [10]; 8. 17-Josh Baughman [3]; 9. 40I-Mark Imler [9]; 10. 70-Sye Lynch [1]
Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker [3]; 3. 19R-Jordan Ryan [1]; 4. A79-Brandon Wimmer [2]; 5. 23-Cole Macedo [5]; 6. 9W-Lance Webb [7]; 7. 1-Jamie Myers [8]; 8. 83X-Nate Reeser [6]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 2. 71-Shane Stewart [2]; 3. 4X-Jimmy Stinson [5]; 4. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [3]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [4]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 3. 22C-Cole Duncan [5]; 4. 35-Stuart Brubaker [3]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [4]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 17-Josh Baughman [11]; 2. 12N-Joey Saldana [1]; 3. O7-Gerard McIntyre [3]; 4. 15K-Chad Kemenah [6]; 5. 54-Danny Smith [4]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [15]; 7. 22D-Josh Davis [9]; 8. 9W-Lance Webb [5]; 9. 22B-Ryan Broughton [12]; 10. 1-Jamie Myers [8]; 11. 4-Cap Henry [10]; 12. 21-Brinton Marvel [14]; 13. 70-Sye Lynch [18]; 14. 5H-Jordan Harble [7]; 15. 40I-Mark Imler [16]; 16. 83X-Nate Reeser [13]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 3. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 4. 71-Shane Stewart [3]; 5. 22C-Cole Duncan [6]; 6. 4X-Jimmy Stinson [5]; 7. 35-Stuart Brubaker [8]; 8. 11-Zeb Wise [12]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee [13]; 10. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [7]; 11. 13-Paul McMahan [10]; 12. 24-Rico Abreu [17]; 13. 26-Cory Eliason [9]; 14. 19R-Jordan Ryan [14]; 15. 59-Bryan Nuckles [11]; 16. 23-Cole Macedo [19]; 17. O7-Gerard McIntyre [23]; 18. 81-Lee Jacobs [15]; 19. 15K-Chad Kemenah [24]; 20. A79-Brandon Wimmer [16]; 21. 21N-Frankie Nervo [20]; 22. 12N-Joey Saldana [22]; 23. 1B-Keith Baxter [18]; 24. 17-Josh Baughman [21]; 25. 70-Sye Lynch [25]; 26. 54-Danny Smith [26] Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson (1-30)
2020 Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires Standings: (As of July 10, 2020):
1. Aaron Reutzel – 1008
2. Cale Conley – 926
3. Paul McMahan – 926
4. Cory Eliason – 894
5. Zeb Wise – 870
6. Skylar Gee – 862
7. Josh Baughman -836
8. Greg Wilson – 816
9. Tim Shaffer – 812
10. Stuart Brubaker – 792
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of July 10, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel – 2894
2. Cory Eliason – 2728
3. Paul McMahan – 2660
4. Zeb Wise – 2656
5. Skylar Gee – 2494
6. Josh Baughman – 2488
7. Greg Wilson – 2480
8. Brock Zearfoss – 1776
9. Tony Stewart – 1702
10. Danny Dietrich – 1678
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)
Chatham Speedway, Louisiana (6/14/2020): Dominic Scelzi
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (6/24/2020): Anthony Macri
Volunteer Speedway, Tenn. (6/27/2020): Aaron Reutzel (6)
SW: Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (7/3/2020): Cap Henry
SW: Fremont Speedway, Ohio (7/4/2020): Buddy Kofoid
SW: Fremont Speedway, Ohio (7/5/2020): Aaron Reutzel (7)
SW: Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (7/6/2020): Cap Henry (2)
SW: Brushcreek Motorsports Complex, Ohio (7/8/2020): Kyle Larson (5)
SW: Muskingum Co. Speedway, Ohio (7/9/20): Rico Abreu
SW: Portsmouth Raceway Park, Ohio (7/10/20): Kyle Larson (6)
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 366 “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:
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.
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Sources: Tyler Altmeyer/Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 PR
Photo Credit: Paul Arch