From Kelly Brown, photo courtesy of Mike Campbell
Camargo, IL – Even though the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions 2009 season is over, the drivers who finished in the top-ten in points with the series are out competing with the best in the 410 sprint car world and are letting their presence be known. Last weekend three drivers carrying the All Star Circuit of Champions banner competed at the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Lowes Motor Speedway and made the main event. Not only did one of them make the main event, but one came close to winning the final night in Charlotte.
After having a wheel break while running third on Friday night, three time All Star Circuit of Champions Champion Dale Blaney won the dash and finished second in the finale of the World Finals after leading the first 15 laps of the race in the Ti-22 Performance Machine. Blaney used a lap-21 restart to get alongside Saldana in turn one, but could not quite make the pass. On the final restart of the night he again dove under Saldana in turns one and two, but Saldana held the lead.
“Any time we come and run with the Outlaws we seem to run good and that makes us feel like we accomplished a little bit,” Blaney said. “We had a great car all weekend and tonight I felt like I made a mistake that cost me the race. We always look forward to running with the Outlaws and it had been a few years since we had been down here. It’s a pretty cool place to come to.”
2009 All Star Circuit of Champions driver Tim Shaffer was also in attendance this weekend and gave his competitors a run for their money. In the final night of the World Finals Shaffer started back in the field in the 21st position, but made a valiant run to the front during the A-Main. During the 30-lap feature Shaffer was able to make a fearless run through traffic to pick up the ninth position and the KSE Hard Charger Award for picking up the most positions during the feature.
Also in attendance was 2009 Rookie-of-the-Year competitor Brandon Wimmer. Both nights the young Hoosier would turn in a consistent effort, transferring to the feature event both nights and picking up a top-20 finish.
For the most up to date information as the All Star Circuit of Champions look forward to the 2010 season, bookmark www.allstarsprint.com on your computer.