From Tyler Altmeyer
BROWNSBURG, Ind. (May 2, 2018) – The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will kick-off the month of May with visits to Lernerville Speedway and Sharon Speedway on Friday and Saturday, May 4-5, respectively. The All Star double will launch a May campaign comprised of seven events in three states, all concluding with a Memorial Day weekend tripleheader in the Buckeye State. The events at Lernerville and Sharon will each award a $5,000 top prize.
The Arctic Cat All Stars presented by Mobil 1 will make just one appearance at the famed Lernerville Speedway during the 2018 season, most recently visiting the historic, Sarver-based, 4/10-mile oval on June 2, 2017. Harrisonville, Pennsylvania’s Logan Wagner earned the trip to All Star victory lane, bettering former Lernerville Speedway champion, Danny Holtgraver, and six-time All Star champion, Chad Kemenah, at the finish. It was Wagner’s first-ever triumph over Tony Stewart’s All Stars, earning $5,000 for his efforts.
Including the upcoming visit on Saturday, May 5, Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, will host the Arctic Cat All Stars presented by Mobil 1 on three occasions in 2018; once more during Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket and again in early July for the 10th Annual Lou Blaney Memorial. A home to All Star Circuit of Champions competition since the Series hit the road for the first time in 1970, Sharon Speedway has hosted the traveling All Stars on 100 separate occasions, reaching the triple-digit mark officially during the 9th Annual Lou Blaney Memorial when rising NASCAR star, Christopher Bell, visited victory lane. It was Bell’s first-ever All Star win at Sharon Speedway and one of three with the Series all-time.
Six-time and defending Series champion, Chad Kemenah, will lead the All Star charge into Western Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon. A 34-time winner with the Series, the driver of the Hunter Racing entry owns a combined five victories between Lernerville and Sharon, but it has been nearly 13 years since Kemenah last stood in either victory lane.
“I like Lernerville and Sharon a lot. They both seem to get better as the night goes on. They each really widen out, and if you have a good car, you are able to move around quite a bit,” Chad Kemenah explained, who owns one All Star victory thus far in 2018. “With the amount of talent that we have on the tour this year, you really have to be on your a-game every night. Starting positions are so critical. You have to take advantage of good starting positions and maintain those positions. We are going to treat this weekend like any other weekend and work towards getting to the front. We’ll take podiums, too, but winning more is the ultimate goal.”
Coming off a runner-up performance during the inaugural Sprint Car World Championship at Mansfield (Ohio) Motor Speedway, Aaron Reutzel will move into the weekend second in the driver championship chase. On top of the standings at one point in 2018, the Clute, Texas, native trails Kemenah by just six markers.
Recent Core & Main Spring Nationals winner at Attica Raceway Park, Wooster, Ohio’s Jac Haudenschild is third in the current All Star championship standings, followed by Kokomo, Indiana’s Parker Price-Miller and the “Buckeye Bullet” Dave Blaney. Currently, only 30 points separate the top-five in the All Star title chase.
Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., will open pit gates at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 4. A mandatory All Star drivers meeting will take shape at 5:30 p.m., followed by hot laps at 6 p.m. Those seeking additional information should visit Lernerville Speedway live on the Web at www.lernerville.com. If needed, Lernerville Speedway will utilize a rain date set for Friday, June 1.
Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, will open pit gates at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. Like Lernerville, a mandatory All Star drivers meeting will take shape at 5:30 p.m., followed by hot laps at 6 p.m. Those seeking additional news and notes should visit Sharon Speedway live on the Web at www.sharonspeedway.com.