From Tyler Altmeyer
WEST LEBANON, N.Y. (July 14, 2019) – For the second time in his career, and for the second time in the state of New York, the ‘Jonestown Jet’ Brock Zearfoss is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, doing so by leading all 25 circuits on Sunday night at Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, New York, and crossing under the final checkers by a margin of victory pushing three seconds.
Impressive enough, Zearfoss, driver of the Premier Motorsports/Moose’s LZ Bar & Grill/Heavy Equipment, Loaders & Parts Inc./BAPS Auto Paint & Supply/Meckley’s Limestone Products/Berkebile Oil Company/River City Wood Products/No. 70 sprint car, nearly swept the entire program at ‘The Valley of Speed,’ first winning his respective heat race, then cruising to a dash victory, each before conquering the half-mile for a $7,000 payday.
Although a dominating performance in Upstate New York, Brock Zearfoss and Premier Motorsports did face a serious challenge; forced to perform an engine change just after heat race competition was completed. As a result, Kevin Zearfoss, Brock’s father, was forced to participate in the evening’s dash redraw while Brock helped his crew swap motors; Kevin pulled the number one.
“I really can’t say enough about this team right now. They work so hard and they never give up. I owe this win all to them,” Brock Zearfoss explained, who is currently fifth in the All Star Circuit of Champions point standings. “All of the pieces fell into place for us tonight and it feels great. There were a few times where I made some mistakes, like trying to get around some of the slower cars. It was tricky trying to figure out where I needed to be to get around them. Regardless, it was a great night and we are excited. I think I need to let my dad do the dash draw for us more often.”
Starting from the pole position, Zearfoss never faced a serious threat. The only real momentum change during the 25-lapper was a pair of stoppages due to red flag incidents, one on lap three and another on lap 16.
In addition, the ‘Jonestown Jet’ did encounter a period of traffic, the catalyst for the second red flag incident involving Aaron Reutzel and Justin Peck; both full-time All Stars who were battling for positions three and four at the time of the incident. Hung up in traffic, the pair made contact in turn four and Reutzel ended his evening upside-down. Peck was also forced to retire. Both drivers were unharmed.
“I really didn’t want to see the red flags open up,” Brock Zearfoss continued. “I knew we had a good car, so I really didn’t think we would change anything anyhow. I just didn’t want anyone to have the opportunity to make changes and gain an advantage. It all worked out in the end.”
Davie Franek ended up chasing Zearfoss to the final checkers, followed by Orange County winner, Danny Dietrich, 2018 Lebanon Valley winner, Gerard McIntyre, and Rudeen Racing’s Cory Eliason.
Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions will take a weekend off before resuming their 2019 campaign on Thursday through Sunday, July 25th-28th. The Series will march through the upper-Midwest during their four-day trek visiting Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wisconsin, Jackson Motorplex in Jackson, Minnesota, Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, and 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, respectively. The weekend will be headlined with the Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race; a $26,000-to-win blockbuster at 34 Raceway.
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 16.497; 2. 14-Tony Stewart, 16.622; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 16.643; 4. 13-Paul McMahan, 16.868; 5. 99-Skylar Gee, 16.980; 6. W20-Greg Wilson, 17.115; 7. 55-Darren Schott, 18.804
Group (B)
1. 70X-Justin Peck, 16.509; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 16.549; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.853; 4. 5-Justin Barger, 17.205; 5. 40-George Hobaugh, 17.749; 6. iO7-Mark Coldren, 17.865; 7. 11-Dale Blaney, NT
Group (C)
1. 26-Cory Eliason, 16.858; 2. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 17.508; 3. 28F-Dave Franek, 17.964; 4. 90-Jordan Givler, 17.970; 5. 91-Scott Holcomb, 18.312; 6. 87jb-Jim Bob, NT
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [2]; 2. 13-Paul McMahan [1]; 3. 14-Tony Stewart [3]; 4. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 6. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [4]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 48-Danny Dietrich [2]; 2. 70X-Justin Peck [4]; 3. 5-Justin Barger [1]; 4. 11-Dale Blaney [6]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 6. IO7-Mark Coldren [5]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 28F-Dave Franek [1]; 2. 40-George Hobaugh [2]; 3. O7-Gerard McIntyre [3]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 5. 90-Jordan Givler [5]; 6. 91-Scott Holcomb [6]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 28F-Dave Franek [2]; 3. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 4. 87-Aaron Reutzel [5]; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 6. 70X-Justin Peck [8]; 7. 14-Tony Stewart [7]; 8. 40-George Hobaugh [6]
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 28F-Dave Franek [2]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich [5]; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre [10]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [11]; 6. 14-Tony Stewart [7]; 7. 5-Justin Barger [9]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [12]; 9. 13-Paul McMahan [3]; 10. 11-Dale Blaney [13]; 11. 90-Jordan Givler [15]; 12. 40-George Hobaugh [8]; 13. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 14. 70X-Justin Peck [6]; 15. IO7-Mark Coldren [17]; 16. 91-Scott Holcomb [18]; 17. 55-Darren Schott [19]; 18. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [16]; 19. 87jb-Jim Bob [20]; 20. 99-Skylar Gee [14]
Lap Leaders: Brock Zearfoss [1-25]
Contingency Awards/Results: Lebanon Valley Speedway – Sunday, July 14, 2019:
Event: Tony Stewart and the All Stars visit Lebanon Valley Speedway
Entries: 19
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Aaron Reutzel – 16.236
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Lucas Wolfe – 16.497
Ford Performance Heat #1: Brock Zearfoss
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Danny Dietrich
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Davie Franek
JE Pistons Dash presented by Fatheadz Eyewear: Brock Zearfoss
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Brock Zearfoss
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Gerard McIntyre [+6]
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Brock Zearfoss [1-25]
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
2019 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (After 7/14/2019):
1. Aaron Reutzel – 2538
2. Dale Blaney – 2526
3. Cory Eliason – 2440
4. Paul McMahan – 2418
5. Brock Zearfoss – 2374
6. Greg Wilson – 2352
7. Gerard McIntyre – 2294
8. Skylar Gee – 2202
9. George Hobaugh – 2012
10. Spencer Bayston – 1408