9/29/2019
All Star Circuit of Champions
Aaron Reutzel caps 2019 All Star title run with 4-Crown Nationals triumph at Eldora Speedway
ROSSBURG, Ohio (September 28, 2019) - Aaron Reutzel’s 2019 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 championship campaign could not have ended more appropriately. Not only did the Clute, Texas-native cap his season with a 16th Series victory, his sixth during the month of September, but Reutzel did so during the 38th running of Eldora Speedway’s historic 4-Crown Nationals; a second consecutive victory for the Texan during Eldora’s season-ending program.
Certainly an ongoing trend in 2019, Aaron Reutzel and Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports officially etched their names in All Star Circuit of Champions history books yet again, this time as an All Star champion for a second consecutive season. Although clinching the 2019 title at the conclusion of the evening's pill draw, the 4-Crown Nationals triumph certainly put an exclamation point on their season.
Six-time Series champion, Dale Blaney, wrapped-up his 2019 campaign alongside McGhee Motorsports with a runner-up finish in the final championship standings, followed by a pair of rookie contenders, Cory Eliason and Brock Zearfoss, who finished third and fourth, respectively, and Paul McMahan.
“I can’t thank Mike and Josh Baughman enough for believing in me and believing in what this team can do. I’m blessed to be the guy who gets to wheel this car,” Aaron Reutzel explained, driver of the Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports/Folkens Brothers Trucking/Fischer Body Shop/Nattress Construction/No. 87 sprint car. “It’s unbelievable what we have been able to accomplish since we started.”
Starting sixth on the 4-Crown Nationals grid, Reutzel’s path to the top of the charts required finesse, as well as patience, ultimately forced to battle by a handful of the sport’s finest including Gio Scelzi, Cory Eliason, Cale Conley and Cale Thomas.
After moving ahead one position during the initial start, it took Reutzel until lap five to advance one more, this time driving by West Virginia's Cale Conley to takeover the fourth spot. Meanwhile, Fairland, Indiana’s Cale Thomas was the man in control, utilizing the outside-pole position aboard Ron Gorby’s No. G1 to lead the first six circuits.
Despite a stout pace around Eldora Speedway’s infamous top groove, Thomas’ reign quickly ran out as Cory Eliason made his presence known on lap seven. A diving slider through turns three and four allowed Eliason to gain the top spot, now with Thomas, Gio Scelzi and Reutzel in tow. Unfortunately for Thomas, his run in the top-five ended on lap ten, as incidental contact between himself and Aaron Reutzel led to a 360 degree spin between turns three and four. The spin eventually signaled a caution forcing Thomas to restart at the tail of the field.
With the ensuing single-file restart on his side, it would only take Reutzel one circuit to move his way into the second spot, utilizing the middle line through turns one and two to slingshot around Gio Scelzi.
The main event’s second and final caution appeared on lap 15 setting up a near-identical situation for Retuzel and Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports. Using one lap to set himself up before capitalizing one circuit later, Reutzel’s winning maneuver occurred on lap 16, this time sliding by fellow All Star full-timer, Cory Eliason, with a bold move through turns one and two.
Driving by Thomas early, Eliason had been in command since lap seven.
It was a clear path for Reutzel during his first six circuits in command, but slower traffic soon entered the picture. As lapped cars started to multiply, Eliason seemed to make progress, eventually shrinking Reutzel’s command during their first few laps in traffic. Feeling a sense of pressure, Reutzel quickly found another gear took off, immediately pulling away from the Rudeen Racing entry. By the time the final checkers flew on lap 25, the gap was pushing three seconds.
Gio Scelzi held strong to finish just behind Eliason and Reutzel, followed by Buddy Kofoid and Dale Blaney.
“When I got the lead, I could kinda see the gap I was putting on Cory,” Aaron Reutzel said referring to the Eldora big screen. “I saw when he was getting back to me a little bit, so I kinda searched around and found something else. The big screen definitely helped out here. You can see where other people are and where other people are running. I was way better on the short runs and definitely needed that last caution.”
“I knew [Aaron Reutzel] was going to be there at some stage. We were rolling pretty good. I guess I hung on the wing valve a little too much,” Cory Eliason explained. “I couldn’t figure out why we got so tight at the end. It wasn’t until after the checkers when I looked up and realized what had happened. We were really good really early. I was just trying to pace it and save myself for the end.”
“We didn’t do it from the front row tonight,” Aaron Reutzel continued. “There have been a lot of naysayers the last month or so saying that we’ve only been able to win from of the front row. We drew the worst [dash] pill we could draw tonight. Hopefully that will give them something else to talk about. This has been an absolute dream season. What a way to cap it off.”
Contingency Awards/Results: Eldora Speedway - September 28, 2019:
Event: 38th Annual 4-Crown Nationals
Entries: 42
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Dale Blaney - 13.258 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Gio Scelzi - 13.195 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Greg Wilson
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Cale Conley
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: James McFadden
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Buddy Kofoid
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5: Brock Zearfoss
JE Pistons Dash #1: Cale Conley
Fatheadz Eyewear Dash #2: Cale Thomas
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting B-Main Winner: Lee Jacobs
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Aaron Reutzel
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Mason Daniel (+6)
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Aaron Reutzel (16-25)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Landon Lalonde
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
- 71-Gio Scelzi, 13.195; 2. 99b-Brady Bacon, 13.332; 3. G1-Cale Thomas, 13.432; 4. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.441; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.471; 6. J4-John Garvin, 13.771; 7. 70X-Justin Peck, 13.784; 8. 9j-Dean Jacobs, 14.086; 9. 4X-Bradley Ashford, 14.158
Group (B)
- 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.244; 2. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.545; 3. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.594; 4. 3C-Cale Conley, 13.597; 5. 33M-Mason Daniel, 13.734; 6. 23-Stuart Brubaker, 13.913; 7. 35-Zach Hampton, 14.027; 8. 21N-Frankie Nervo, 14.065; 9. 16c-Ricky Peterson, 14.095
Group (C)
- 11-Dale Blaney, 13.413; 2. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.518; 3. 9-James McFadden, 13.615; 4. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 13.663; 5. 5T-Travis Philo, 13.758; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron, 13.795; 7. 97-Max Stambaugh, 13.855; 8. 5B-Chad Blonde, NT
Group (D)
- 67-Buddy Kofoid, 13.585; 2. 98H-Dave Blaney, 13.714; 3. 45-Trevor Baker, 13.782; 4. 20B-Cody Bova, 13.897; 5. 59N-Bryan Nuckles, 13.906; 6. K4-Chad Kemenah, 13.944; 7. 71m-Paul May, 14.005; 8. 70M-Henry Malcuit, 14.039
Group (E)
- 26-Cory Eliason, 13.402; 2. 12N-Joey Saldana, 13.472; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 13.560; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.784; 5. 2L-Landon Lalonde, 13.815; 6. 40-George Hobaugh, 13.906; 7. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 13.998; 8. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 14.060
Heat #1 - Group (A) (8 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
- W20-Greg Wilson [1]; 2. G1-Cale Thomas [2]; 3. 71-Gio Scelzi [4]; 4. 99B-Brady Bacon [3]; 5. 81-Lee Jacobs [5]; 6. 9J-Dean Jacobs [8]; 7. J4-John Garvin [6]; 8. 4X-Bradley Ashford [9]; 9. 70X-Justin Peck [7]
Heat #2 - Group (B) (8 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
- 3C-Cale Conley [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [3]; 4. 33M-Mason Daniel [5]; 5. 21N-Frankie Nervo [8]; 6. 16C-Ricky Peterson [9]; 7. 23-Stuart Brubaker [6]; 8. 35-Zach Hampton [7]; 9. 99-Skylar Gee [2]
Heat #3 - Group (C) (8 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
- 9-James McFadden [2]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [4]; 3. 49D-Shawn Dancer [1]; 4. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 5. 5T-Travis Philo [5]; 6. 97-Max Stambaugh [7]; 7. 22M-Dan McCarron [6]; 8. 5B-Chad Blonde [8]
Heat #4 - Group (D) (8 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
- 67-Buddy Kofoid [4]; 2. K4-Chad Kemenah [6]; 3. 45-Trevor Baker [2]; 4. 98H-Dave Blaney [3]; 5. 20B-Cody Bova [1]; 6. 59N-Bryan Nuckles [5]; 7. 71M-Paul May [7]; 8. 70M-Henry Malcuit [8]
Heat #5 - Group (E) (8 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
- 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 3. 12N-Joey Saldana [3]; 4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 5. 2C-Wayne Johnson [7]; 6. 2L-Landon Lalonde [5]; 7. 40-George Hobaugh [6]; 8. O7-Gerard McIntyre [8]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
- 3C-Cale Conley [2]; 2. 71-Gio Scelzi [4]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [6]; 4. 9-James McFadden [3]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [1]; 6. 70-Brock Zearfoss [5]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
- G1-Cale Thomas [1]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [6]; 4. 67-Buddy Kofoid [2]; 5. K4-Chad Kemenah [5]; 6. 99B-Brady Bacon [3]
B-Main (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
- 81-Lee Jacobs [1]; 2. 99-Skylar Gee [2]; 3. 2C-Wayne Johnson [5]; 4. 5T-Travis Philo [3]; 5. 9J-Dean Jacobs [10]; 6. 2L-Landon Lalonde [7]; 7. 97-Max Stambaugh [8]; 8. 21N-Frankie Nervo [6]; 9. 22M-Dan McCarron [13]; 10. O7-Gerard McIntyre [19]; 11. 71M-Paul May [16]; 12. 40-George Hobaugh [14]; 13. 59N-Bryan Nuckles [9]; 14. 23-Stuart Brubaker [15]; 15. 35-Zach Hampton [17]; 16. 70M-Henry Malcuit [18]; 17. 4X-Bradley Ashford [20]; 18. 20B-Cody Bova [4]; 19. 16C-Ricky Peterson [11]
A-Main (25 Laps)
- 87-Aaron Reutzel [6]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 3. 71-Gio Scelzi [3]; 4. 67-Buddy Kofoid [8]; 5. 11-Dale Blaney [5]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [9]; 7. 3C-Cale Conley [1]; 8. K4-Chad Kemenah [10]; 9. 24-Rico Abreu [14]; 10. 9-James McFadden [7]; 11. 99B-Brady Bacon [12]; 12. 70-Brock Zearfoss [11]; 13. 33M-Mason Daniel [19]; 14. 13-Paul McMahan [17]; 15. 98H-Dave Blaney [18]; 16. 12N-Joey Saldana [13]; 17. 81-Lee Jacobs [21]; 18. 5T-Travis Philo [24]; 19. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [20]; 20. 2C-Wayne Johnson [23]; 21. 49D-Shawn Dancer [15]; 22. 99-Skylar Gee [22]; 23. G1-Cale Thomas [2]; 24. 40-George Hobaugh [25]; 25. 45-Trevor Baker [16] Lap Leaders: Cale Thomas (1-6), Cory Eliason (7-15), Aaron Reutzel (16-25)
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (FINAL):
- Aaron Reutzel - 5736
- Dale Blaney - 5578
- Cory Eliason - 5524
- Brock Zearfoss - 5388
- Paul McMahan - 5342
- Greg Wilson - 5104
- Gerard McIntyre - 4874
- Skylar Gee - 4874
- George Hobaugh - 4190
- Justin Peck - 3852
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (1/31/2019): Tim Shaffer
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (2/1/2019): Tim Shaffer (2)
Bubba Raceway Park, Fla. (2/2/2019): Tony Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/6/2019): Shane Stewart
Volusia Speedway Park, Fla. (2/7/2019): Brad Sweet
Virginia Motor Speedway, Va. (4/11/2019): Cory Eliason
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (4/13/2019): Lance Dewease
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (5/24/2019): Aaron Reutzel
Fremont Speedway, Ohio (5/26/2019): Aaron Reutzel (2)
Outlaw Speedway, N.Y. (6/7/2019): Brock Zearfoss
Stateline Speedway, N.Y. (6/8/2019): Dale Blaney
Weedsport Speedway, N.Y. (6/9/2019): Danny Dietrich
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (6/14/2019): Kyle Larson
Muskingum County Speedway, Ohio (6/16/2019): Dale Blaney (2)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (6/19/2019): Aaron Reutzel (3)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (6/22/2019): Buddy Kofoid
Dirt Oval at Route 66, Ill. (6/29/2019): Aaron Reutzel (4)
Lernerville Speedway, Pa. (7/5/2019): Aaron Reutzel (5)
Sharon Speedway, Ohio (7/6/2019): Dale Blaney (3)
Utica-Rome Speedway, N.Y. (7/12/2019): Aaron Reutzel (6)
Orange County Fair Speedway N.Y. (7/13/2019): Danny Dietrich (2)
Lebanon Valley Speedway N.Y. (7/14/2019): Brock Zearfoss (2)
Plymouth Dirt Track, Wis. (7/25/2019): James McFadden
Jackson Motorplex, Minn. (7/26/2019): James McFadden (2)
Knoxville Raceway, Iowa (7/27/2019): Gio Scelzi
34 Raceway, Iowa (7/28/2019): Tony Stewart (2)
I-96 Speedway, Mich (8/16/2019): Cory Eliason (2)
Plymouth Speedway, Ind. (8/17/2019): Aaron Reutzel (7)
Grandview Speedway, Pa. (8/22/2019): Aaron Reutzel (8)
Williams Grove Speedway, Pa. (8/23/2019): Aaron Reutzel (9)
Williams Grove Speedway, Pa. (8/23/2019): Lance Dewease (2)
Lincoln Speedway, Pa. (8/24/2019): Skylar Gee
BAPS Motor Speedway, Pa. (8/25/2019): Gerard McIntyre
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (8/30/2019): Aaron Reutzel (10)
Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (8/31/2019): Brock Zearfoss (3)
Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (9/2/2019): Cap Henry
Bedford Speedway, Pa. (9/5/2019): Aaron Reutzel (11)
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (9/6/2019): Trey Starks
Port Royal Speedway, Pa. (9/7/2019): Aaron Reutzel (12)
Atomic Speedway, Ohio (9/12/2019): James McFadden (3)
Atomic Speedway, Ohio (9/13/2019): James McFadden (4)
Atomic Speedway, Ohio (9/14/2019): Aaron Reutzel (13)
Williams Grove Speedway, Pa. (9/20/2019): Aaron Reutzel (14)
Lincoln Speedway, Pa. (9/21/2019): Brian Montieth
Hagerstown Speedway, Md. (9/22/2019): Aaron Reutzel (15)
Eldora Speedway, Ohio (9/28/2019): Aaron Reutzel (16)
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 339 “semi-lovely” stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, 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.
Photo Credit: Wayne Riegle
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
(724) 954-4915, pr@tonystewart.com
Article Credit: Tyler Altmeyer
Submitted By: Tyler Altmeyer
