Cole Duncan gets by Danny Dietrich in final corner for Fremont Speedweek victory
FREMONT, Ohio (June 12, 2021) – Leading the only lap that matters, Lockbourne, Ohio’s Cole Duncan put FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 fans on their feet Saturday night at Fremont Speedway, capping round two of Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires with a last lap pass, a last corner pass, over race-long leader and Pennsylvania Posse invader, Danny Dietrich. The last-ditch effort not only secured a $6,000 payday for Duncan, pilot of the Helms Construction/Ohio Heating/No. 22C sprint car, but also a fifth-career victory against the Tony Stewart-owned organization, his first at “The Track That Action Built” and his first Series win since 2018.
Impressive enough, Duncan’s Fremont performance also solidified Hercules Tires Hard Charger honors, as his victory march commenced from eighth on the grid.
“That was one hell of a race,” an elated Duncan said in victory lane, who officially passed his father, Rodney, on the all-time All Star wins list; Rodney owns four. “I look up to my dad a lot and to pass him in the win column, in this fashion, is pretty cool. These All Star wins are tough to come by. This is a really tough field of cars and I’m not sure it’s been this tough since my dad raced with the Series in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. As soon as I got the wing back, I knew we were going to be good tonight. I just want to thank all of the fans for coming out. This is one heck of a crowd.”
Despite starting eighth on the 40-lap grid, Duncan proved his winning potential right from the drop of the initial green, powering his way to fifth by lap six before utilizing a pair of back-to-back lap nine cautions to climb his way to third. Monrovia, Indiana’s Justin Peck raced just ahead of Duncan in second with Danny Dietrich holding down the fort at the front of the field.
The main event’s final caution appeared on lap 13 setting up what would ultimately turn into a long-winded, 27-lap battle for the top three positions. For Duncan, it was all about patience, as well as perseverance, working every inch of Fremont Speedway’s wide and slick surface to keep pace with Dietrich and Peck, even as the front runners weaved through traffic which appeared for the first time on lap 20.
Lap after lap, Duncan hounded Peck for second, soon relying on a slingshot move to get by the Buch Motorsports entry, doing so through turns three and four while leaning on a thin and quickly fading cushion. Duncan’s lap 31 move on Peck would come into play one more time before the conclusion of the 40-lapper, but not until the last 50 yards. All over Dietrich at the white flag, Duncan set up his winning move at the exit of turn two, powering down the backstretch before returning to the turn three cushion. Dietrich did his best to block at the exit of turn four, but Duncan found his way through, narrowly escaping contact with the Gettsyburg-native and the turn four wall.
“I’ve never had that much patience in my life,” an exhausted Duncan continued. “I knew I had a run off of two on Danny, and I knew Peck was making the bottom work in three but I was better on the top. I figured if I showed Danny my nose, he was going to block that line, so I said ‘screw it’ and hung it out on top. He raced me clean though coming off of the corner. I don’t think you could have put a piece of paper between our wheels and my wheels and the wall.”
“He was coming,” Danny Dietrich said, driver of the Gary Kauffman Racing No. 48. “I tried to lean on him a little bit to hopefully get him to check up so I could beat him back to the line. Cole is always good here. It’s just a tough one to swallow after leading that many laps. Thank all of you fans for coming out. We love coming to Ohio. Ohio puts on the best racing, in my opinion.”
Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires will continue on Monday, June 14, at the home of “Orrville’s Historic Oval” – Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio. Like the opening rounds, the Wayne County stop will award a $6,000 payday.
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.
Contingency Awards/Results: Fremont Speedway |Saturday, June 12, 2021:
Event: Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 44
C&R Racing Hot Laps: Cap Henry | 13.094
Dixie Vodka Fast Qualifier: Danny Dietrich | 13.121
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Lachlan McHugh
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Justin Peck
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Travis Philo
Mobil 1 Heat #4 Winner: Rico Abreu
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5 Winner: Cap Henry
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash #1 Winner: Danny Dietrich
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash #2 Winner: Zeb Wise
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Greg Wilson
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: T.J. Michael
FloRacing A-Main Winner: Cole Duncan
Hercules Tires A-Main Hard Charger: Cole Duncan (+7)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.121; 2. 16-DJ Foos, 13.131; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 13.200; 4. 101-Lachlan McHugh, 13.349; 5. 27S-John Ivy, 13.407; 6. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.427; 7. 1-Nate Dussel, 13.452; 8. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 13.526; 9. 25R-Jordan Ryan, 13.546
Group (B)
1. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.357; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 13.391; 3. 5-Paul McMahan, 13.468; 4. 13-Justin Peck, 13.520; 5. 23-Chris Andrews, 13.633; 6. 5R-Byron Reed, 13.703; 7. 14-Chad Kemenah, 13.849; 8. 22M-Dan McCarron, 14.009; 9. 9Z-Duane Zablocki, 14.024
Group (C)
1. 22C-Cole Duncan, 13.410; 2. 11N-Harli White, 13.694; 3. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.823; 4. 18T-Tanner Holmes, 13.937; 5. 3C-Cale Conley, 14.055; 6. 55v-CJ Leary, 14.095; 7. 7-Zane DeVault, 14.121; 8. 2+-Brian Smith, 14.326; 9. 21N-Frankie Nervo, —
Group (D)
1. 10-Zeb Wise, 13.744; 2. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.856; 3. 49X-Cale Thomas, 13.877; 4. 24W-Garet Williamson, 13.880; 5. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 14.135; 6. 12-Kyle Capodice, 14.309; 7. 11-Ian Madsen, 14.390; 8. 2-Ricky Peterson, 14.566; 9. 22-Ryan Broughton, —
Group (E)
1. 8M-TJ Michael, 13.878; 2. 4-Cap Henry, 13.938; 3. 19-Brandon Spithaler, 14.067; 4. O7-Skylar Gee, 14.125; 5. 28-Tim Shaffer, 14.225; 6. 17B-Bill Balog, 14.373; 7. 3J-Trey Jacobs, 14.416; 8. 18-Cole Macedo, 14.450
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 101-Lachlan McHugh [1]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 3. 35-Stuart Brubaker [2]; 4. 16-DJ Foos [3]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 6. 1-Nate Dussel [7]; 7. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [8]; 8. 27S-John Ivy [5]; 9. 25R-Jordan Ryan [9]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 13-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 5-Paul McMahan [2]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 4. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [3]; 5. 5R-Byron Reed [6]; 6. 14-Chad Kemenah [7]; 7. 23-Chris Andrews [5]; 8. 22M-Dan McCarron [8]; 9. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [9]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 5T-Travis Philo [2]; 2. 18T-Tanner Holmes [1]; 3. 22C-Cole Duncan [4]; 4. 55V-CJ Leary [6]; 5. 11N-Harli White [3]; 6. 7-Zane DeVault [7]; 7. 3C-Cale Conley [5]; 8. 21N-Frankie Nervo [9]; 9. 2+-Brian Smith [8]
Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 24-Rico Abreu [3]; 2. 10-Zeb Wise [4]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [5]; 4. 49X-Cale Thomas [2]; 5. 11-Ian Madsen [7]; 6. 24W-Garet Williamson [1]; 7. 2-Ricky Peterson [8]; 8. 12-Kyle Capodice [6]; 9. 22-Ryan Broughton [9]
Heat #5 – Group (E) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 4-Cap Henry [3]; 2. 28-Tim Shaffer [5]; 3. O7-Skylar Gee [1]; 4. 19-Brandon Spithaler [2]; 5. 8M-TJ Michael [4]; 6. 3J-Trey Jacobs [7]; 7. 18-Cole Macedo [8]; 8. 17B-Bill Balog [6]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 48-Danny Dietrich [1]; 2. 13-Justin Peck [5]; 3. 5T-Travis Philo [2]; 4. 4-Cap Henry [3]; 5. 24-Rico Abreu [6]; 6. 101-Lachlan McHugh [4]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 10-Zeb Wise [2]; 2. 35-Stuart Brubaker [1]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 4. 22C-Cole Duncan [4]; 5. 16-DJ Foos [5]; 6. 19-Brandon Spithaler [6]
C-Main (8 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 17B-Bill Balog [4]; 2. 22M-Dan McCarron [1]; 3. 21N-Frankie Nervo [2]; 4. 9Z-Duane Zablocki [6]; 5. 12-Kyle Capodice [3]; 6. 2+-Brian Smith [7]; 7. 22-Ryan Broughton [8]; 8. 25R-Jordan Ryan [5]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. W20-Greg Wilson [2]; 2. 27S-John Ivy [1]; 3. 5R-Byron Reed [4]; 4. 1-Nate Dussel [7]; 5. 8M-TJ Michael [5]; 6. 11-Ian Madsen [6]; 7. 11N-Harli White [3]; 8. 18-Cole Macedo [15]; 9. 14-Chad Kemenah [8]; 10. 23-Chris Andrews [13]; 11. 3C-Cale Conley [14]; 12. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [12]; 13. 17B-Bill Balog [17]; 14. 3J-Trey Jacobs [11]; 15. 24W-Garet Williamson [9]; 16. 7-Zane DeVault [10]; 17. 2-Ricky Peterson [16]; 18. 22M-Dan McCarron [18]
A-Main (40 Laps)
1. 22C-Cole Duncan [8]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [1]; 3. 13-Justin Peck [3]; 4. 5T-Travis Philo [5]; 5. 4-Cap Henry [7]; 6. 10-Zeb Wise [2]; 7. 35-Stuart Brubaker [4]; 8. 26-Cory Eliason [6]; 9. 101-Lachlan McHugh [11]; 10. 24-Rico Abreu [9]; 11. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [18]; 12. 28-Tim Shaffer [15]; 13. 5-Paul McMahan [13]; 14. 55V-CJ Leary [20]; 15. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [17]; 16. 49X-Cale Thomas [19]; 17. 1-Nate Dussel [24]; 18. 16-DJ Foos [10]; 19. 11-Ian Madsen [25]; 20. W20-Greg Wilson [21]; 21. O7-Skylar Gee [16]; 22. 5R-Byron Reed [23]; 23. 27S-John Ivy [22]; 24. 18T-Tanner Holmes [14]; 25. 19-Brandon Spithaler [12]; 26. 17B-Bill Balog [26] Lap Leaders: Danny Dietrich (1-39), Cole Duncan (40)
Speedweek Outline:
Sunday, June 13:
Off Day | Rain Date
Monday, June 14:
Wayne County Speedway
Orrville, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 5:45 p.m. | Hot Laps: 6:15 p.m.
$6,000-to-win
Tuesday, June 15:
Sharon Speedway
Hartford, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 5:45 p.m. | Hot Laps: 6:15 p.m.
$6,000-to-win
Wednesday, June 16:
Waynesfield Raceway Park
Waynesfield, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 5:45 p.m. | Hot Laps: 6:15 p.m.
$6,000-to-win
Thursday, June 17:
Muskingum County Speedway
Dresden, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 5:45 p.m. | Hot Laps: 6:15 p.m.
$6,000-to-win
Friday, June 18:
Limaland Motorsports Park
Lima, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 6:15 p.m. | Hot Laps: 7 p.m.
$6,000-to-win
Saturday, June 19:
Portsmouth Raceway Park
Portsmouth, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 6:15 p.m. | Hot Laps: 7 p.m.
$17,554-to-win
*Rain Date set for June 20
2021 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
1. Screven Motor Speedway, Georgia (January 29, 2021): Donny Schatz
2. Screven Motor Speedway, Georgia (January 30, 2021): Aaron Reutzel
3. East Bay Raceway Park, Florida (February 2, 2021): Donny Schatz (2)
4. Volusia Speedway Park, Florida (February 3, 2021): Logan Schuchart
5. Volusia Speedway Park, Florida (February 4, 2021): Carson Macedo
6. Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (April 3, 2021): Justin Peck
7. Virginia Motor Speedway, Virginia (April 15, 2021): Tony Stewart
8. Williams Grove Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 16, 2021): Kyle Larson
9. Port Royal Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 17, 2021): Logan Wagner
10. Bedford Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 18, 2021): Anthony Macri
11. Sharon Speedway, Ohio (May 1, 2021): Justin Peck (2)
12. Tri-City Raceway Park, Pennsylvania (May 2, 2021): Sam Hafertepe Jr.
13. I-96 Speedway, Michigan (May 14, 2021): Tyler Courtney
14. Dirt Oval at Route 66, Illinois (May 15, 2021): Kyle Reinhardt
15. Circle City Raceway, Indiana (May 20, 2021): Tyler Courtney (2)
16. Circle City Raceway, Indiana (May 21, 2021): Tyler Courtney (3)
17. Gas City I-69 Speedway, Indiana (May 22, 2021): Cap Henry
18. Kokomo Speedway, Indiana (May 23, 2021): Zeb Wise
19. Port Royal Speedway, Pennsylvania (May 31, 2021): Lance Dewease
20. Fairbury Speedway, Illinois (June 3, 2021): Tyler Courtney (4)
21. Wilmot Raceway, Wisconsin (June 4, 2021): Tyler Courtney (5)
22. Plymouth Dirt Track, Wisconsin (June 5, 2021): Bill Balog
23. Angell Park Speedway, Wisconsin (June 6, 2021): Bill Balog (2)
24. SW Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (June 11, 2021): Ian Madsen
25. SW Fremont Speedway, Ohio (June 12, 2021): Cole Duncan
2021 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (as of 6/12/21):
1. Tyler Courtney – 2776
2. Ian Madsen – 2678
3. Hunter Schuerenberg – 2626
4. Cory Eliason – 2602
5. Zeb Wise – 2560
6. Bill Balog – 2558
7. Cap Henry – 2528
8. Paul McMahan – 2442
9. Kyle Reinhardt – 2260
10. Rico Abreu – 2210
2021 Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires Standings (as of 6/12/21):
1. Danny Dietrich – 284
2. Cory Eliason – 280
3. Cap Henry – 272
4. Justin Peck – 270
5. Tyler Courtney – 268
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 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’ mission 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 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 Cometic Gasket:
Cometic Gasket is the Official Gasket of the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 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. Cometic Gasket. Sealing championships since 1989.
About Hercules Tires:
Hercules Tires is widely recognized as the industry’s premier value brand with a comprehensive selection of passenger, UHP, light truck, medium truck and specialty tires. Since 1952, independent tire dealers and distributors have trusted Hercules to deliver outstanding quality, exceptional support, and unsurpassed value. Hercules is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Tire Distributors, Inc. American Tire Distributors is one of the largest independent suppliers of tires in the North American replacement tire market. The company offers an unsurpassed breadth and depth of inventory, frequent delivery and value-added services to approximately 80,000 customers across the U.S. and Canada.
Sources: Tyler Altmeyer/FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 PR
Photo: Chad Warner