Aaron Reutzel Snaps All Star Win Drought with Convincing Victory at Plymouth Speedway
PLYMOUTH, Ind. (August 22, 2020) – Scoring his first Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 triumph since Ohio Sprint Speedweek competition at Fremont Speedway on July 5, Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutel marched his way back to All Star victory lane on Saturday night during a visit to Plymouth Speedway in Plymouth, Indiana, doing so by commanding the final 32 laps of the 35-lap contest while fending off the likes of three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Tony Stewart.
The $5,000 triumph, his third in a row at the northern Indiana bullring, was accomplished from the outside of row one, first surviving a slide job battle with fellow front-row starter, Hunter Schuerenberg, only to find himself in a constant mix of slower traffic for the remainder of the 35-lapper.
Despite Schuerenberg’s early attempts, and some hints of pressure from Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Reutzel maintained in control, now on top of the 2020 All Star championship points battle by 84 markers.
Tony Stewart held on to finish second at Plymouth Speedway, followed by Hunter Schuerenberg, a hard-charging Justin Peck, and Shane Stewart.
“That was the longest I’ve ever gone without winning in the last five or so years. Someone had to draw a map for me to even get down to victory lane,” an excited Aaron Reutzel stated, driver of the Folkens Brothers Trucking/Fischer Body Shop/Hollywood Blasting & Coating/Dissolvalloy/No. 87 sprint car. “We’ve had a lot of bad luck. Some of it was self-inflicted, some of it not. It’s not from a lack of effort, I can sure tell you that. We try as hard as we can every single night and I think that’s why you see us get frustrated with each other because we are trying so hard.”
Despite the initial four circuits consisting of a turn-to-turn battle with pole-sitter Hunter Schuerenberg, actually exchanging the lead nearly every corner with Schuerenberg leading laps one and three and Reutzel leading laps two and four, the only other sense of pressure for Reutzel came in the form of Tony Stewart.
Stewart, who started fifth on the feature grid, powered his way to second on lap four, next setting his aim on the tailtank of Aaron Reutzel. The Columbus, Indiana-native kept pace with the two-time and defending All Star champion in traffic initially, but Reutzel’s stride eventually became too much to maintain. By lap 17, Reutzel was beginning to escape through the tail of the field, first utilizing a caution flag on lap ten to build momentum through clean air.
A caution on lap 29 would give Stewart one final chance to sneak by the familiar No. 87, but it was too late.
“Tonight we came in here with some confidence, especially since we haven’t lost here as an All Star,” Reutzel continued. “This is a track that really fits my driving style. It gets wide and the harder you run through the corners, the more speed you can make up. You don’t get that with a lot of tracks. This is definitely a one-of-a-kind racetrack and I really enjoy coming (Plymouth Speedway).”
What’s Next:
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will continue their 2020 campaign with a four-pack in the Keystone State, set to visit Grandview Speedway, Williams Grove Speedway, Lincoln Speedway, and Bedford Speedway on Thursday through Sunday, August 27-30, respectively. Packing a punch, the Pennsylvania quadruple will award prestige and prize money, all of which kicking-off with a $5,000-to-win showcase at Grandview on Thursday. Action will continue with a pair of $4,000-to-win main events at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, followed by the $7,300-to-win Kramer Williamson Klash at Lincoln on Saturday. The weekend will conclude with another $5,000-to-win headliner at Bedford on Sunday.
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: Plymouth Speedway – August 22, 2020:
Event: All Stars visit Plymouth Speedway
Entries: 24
C&R Racing Warm-Ups: Ian Madsen – 11.664
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel – 11.472
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Skylar Gee
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Shane Stewart
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash #1 Winner: Hunter Schuerenberg
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Aaron Reutzel
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Justin Peck (+10)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 11.472; 2. 17-Ian Madsen, 11.578; 3. 14-Tony Stewart, 11.625; 4. 22M-Dan McCarron, 11.717; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 11.832; 6. O2-Brandon Long, 12.034; 7. 21-Brinton Marvel, 12.113; 8. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 12.120; 9. 5r-Ryan Ruhl, 12.121; 10. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 12.136; 11. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.187; 12. 71-Shane Stewart, 12.295; 13. 23-Cole Macedo, 12.308; 14. 11-Zeb Wise, 12.368; 15. 26-Cory Eliason, 12.476; 16. 13-Justin Peck, 12.561; 17. 21N-Frankie Nervo, 12.826; 18. 16c-Chase Ridenour, 12.930; 19. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.935; 20. 14W-Chad Wilson, 12.960; 21. 8M-TJ Michael, 12.978; 22. 10s-Jay Steinebach, 13.313; 23. 27K-Zab Broughman, 13.735; 24. 18S-Micheal Summers, 99.750
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 23-Cole Macedo [5]; 4. 13-Justin Peck [6]; 5. 22M-Dan McCarron [3]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 7. 10S-Jay Steinebach [8]; 8. 21-Brinton Marvel [2]
Heat #2 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 99-Skylar Gee [1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [3]; 3. 11-Zeb Wise [5]; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre [2]; 5. 17-Ian Madsen [4]; 6. 14W-Chad Wilson [7]; 7. 21N-Frankie Nervo [6]; 8. 27K-Zab Broughman [8]
Heat #3 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 71-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart [4]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 4. O2-Brandon Long [3]; 5. 8M-TJ Michael [7]; 6. 16C-Chase Ridenour [6]; 7. 18S-Micheal Summers [8]; 8. 5R-Ryan Ruhl [2]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 3. 17-Ian Madsen [5]; 4. 71-Shane Stewart [8]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [2]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee [4]; 7. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [6]; 8. 22M-Dan McCarron [7]
A-Main (35 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart [5]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 4. 13-Justin Peck [14]; 5. 71-Shane Stewart [4]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [7]; 7. 11-Zeb Wise [10]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [6]; 9. 17-Ian Madsen [3]; 10. 26-Cory Eliason [11]; 11. 22M-Dan McCarron [8]; 12. 8M-TJ Michael [15]; 13. 21-Brinton Marvel [22]; 14. 5R-Ryan Ruhl [23]; 15. 21N-Frankie Nervo [19]; 16. 14W-Chad Wilson [18]; 17. 18S-Micheal Summers [21]; 18. 27K-Zab Broughman [24]; 19. 10S-Jay Steinebach [20]; 20. 16C-Chase Ridenour [16]; 21. W20-Greg Wilson [17]; 22. O2-Brandon Long [12]; 23. 23-Cole Macedo [9]; 24. O7-Gerard McIntyre [13] Lap Leaders: Hunter Schuerenberg (1), Aaron Reutzel (2), Hunter Schuerenberg (3), Aaron Reutzel (4-35)
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of August 22, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel – 4308
2. Cory Eliason – 4224
3. Zeb Wise – 4010
4. Paul McMahan – 3780
5. Skylar Gee – 3744
6. Greg Wilson – 3644
7. Josh Baughman – 3492
8. Kyle Larson – 2642
9. Brock Zearfoss – 2404
10. Danny Dietrich – 2336
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 (7/9/2020): Rico Abreu
SW: Portsmouth Raceway Park, Ohio (7/10/2020): Kyle Larson (6)
SW: Sharon Speedway, Ohio (7/11/2020): Cale Conley
SW: Sharon Speedway, Ohio (7/12/2020): Kyle Larson (7)
Williams Grove Speedway, Pa. (7/17/2020): Kyle Larson (8)
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (7/18/2020): Kyle Larson (9)
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (7/19/2020): Kyle Larson (10)
Plymouth Dirt Track, Wis. (7/30/2020): Kyle Larson (11)
34 Raceway, Iowa (7/31/2020): Kyle Larson (12)
Knoxville Raceway, Iowa (8/1/2020): Kyle Larson (13)
Huset’s Speedway, S.D. (8/2/2020): Cory Eliason
Wilmot Raceway, Wis. (8/21/2020): Cory Eliason (2)
Plymouth Speedway, Ind. (8/22/2020): Aaron Reutzel (8)
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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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.
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Sources: Tyler Altmeyer/Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 PR
Photo Credit: Thomas Barth / Cracked Lens Images