From Tyler Altmeyer
WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa (July 28, 2019) – It took Tony Stewart nearly six months to earn his second Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory of the 2019 season, but the victory was well worth the wait, scoring the inaugural Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race win at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, worth $26,000.
Forced to outrun some of the best in the business, Smoke took command of the feature field on lap 11, taking advantage of a mishap by race leader, as well as pole-sitter, Rico Abreu. The mishap, a miscue on the cushion which forced Abreu up and over the edge in turns one and two, allowed Smoke to close-in on the California-native and capitalize.
Although Smoke maintained control for the next 19 circuits, a hornets nest assembled behind the Columbus, Indiana-native with Rico Abreu, Christopher Bell and Aaron Reutzel all battling for top-five positions.
After exchanging slide jobs corner after corner with NASCAR Xfinity star, Christopher Bell, for nearly five circuits, Rico Abreu settled into second, followed by Bell, defending All Star champion, Aaron Reutzel, and Cory Eliason at the final checkers.
The 34 Raceway triumph bumps Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions win count to five, his second of the season and his first since February in Ocala, Florida. Adding some extra spark to his five-figure payday, Smoke accomplished his feat with MAVTV Motorsports Network cameras rolling – set to re-air later this year.
“Hats off to Kevin Rudeen and his staff; Natalie Sather and all of Speed Media. Kevin came up to me this winter and had an idea for an event like this. I was happy to be a part of it, but I had no idea I would be in contention to win it. I’m truly honored to win an event that pays tribute to Rayce Rudeen,” Tony Stewart said, driver of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing/Rush Truck Centers/Toco Warranty/Ford Performance/Sage Fruit/No. 14 sprint car. “I was just happy to be in the dash. Winning the dash set us up for all of this.”
Rico Abreu led the first ten circuits on Sunday night, blasting away to a near-straightaway lead by the time the leaders reached traffic for the first time. Unfortunately, Abreu would only face traffic for a single circuit, as the St. Helena, California-native lost the edge of the speedway and slid off the banking which allowed Smoke to drive by and take command.
“Rico [Abreu] has us all covered, there is no doubt in my mind,” Tony Stewart continued. “He had a big lead and I’m not sure we were ever going to catch him. In fact, when he slipped up over the edge, I wasn’t sure I had enough to catch him before he got back up on the track. Luckily for me, I was in a position to capitalize and it all worked out. This team works so hard. Sometimes things don’t go our way, but tonight they did. I’m pretty sure this is the biggest payday I’ve ever won in a sprint car.”
“When you’re driving that hard, you’re bound to make mistakes,” Rico Abreu said. “I had really good cars behind me, so you have no choice but to race as hard as you can. I just over drove, really. That’s why I love sprint car racing so much. It really brings out your driving ability.”
The All Star Circuit of Champions will enjoy a pair of weekends away from scheduled competition before returning to action on Friday and Saturday, August 16 & 17, with a two-race weekend in Michigan and Indiana. The Series will visit I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan, on Friday, August 16, before venturing south to Plymouth Speedway in Plymouth, Indiana, on Saturday, August 17.
Although the All Stars are off, technically, many full-timers will be making the trek to Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, for the coveted Knoxville Nationals on August 7-10.
Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
34 Raceway
Burlington, IA
Sunday July 28, 2019
Qualifying
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12.491[3]
2. 39-Christopher Bell, 12.521[10]
3. 26-Cory Eliason, 12.535[5]
4. 24-Rico Abreu, 12.613[23]
5. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 12.627[7]
6. 2KS-Austin McCarl, 12.660[4]
7. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 12.674[2]
8. 9-James McFadden, 12.685[21]
9. 14-Tony Stewart, 12.725[19]
10. 21-Brian Brown, 12.728[1]
11. 4-Terry McCarl, 12.783[16]
12. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.847[20]
13. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 12.869[32]
14. 11-Dale Blaney, 12.875[12]
15. 83-Lynton Jeffrey, 12.876[18]
16. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, 12.924[8]
17. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.939[25]
18. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 12.941[11]
19. 33M-Mason Daniel, 12.955[6]
20. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, 12.961[14]
21. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, 12.966[24]
22. 70X-Justin Peck, 13.016[30]
23. 44-Chris Martin, 13.018[13]
24. 96-Parker Price-Miller, 13.063[34]
25. 49-Josh Schneiderman, 13.073[22]
26. 17W-Shane Golobic, 13.073[27]
27. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, 13.114[9]
28. A45-Rusty Hickman, 13.154[17]
29. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.193[29]
30. 7S-Jeff Swindell, 13.202[15]
31. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.230[33]
32. 40-George Hobaugh Jr., 13.488[28]
33. 51J-Matt Krieger, 14.287[26]
34. 44S-Trey Starks, [31]
Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 26-Cory Eliason, [3]
2. 2KS-Austin McCarl, [1]
3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [2]
4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [4]
5. 21-Brian Brown, [6]
6. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [7]
7. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, [5]
8. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, [9]
9. 33M-Mason Daniel, [8]
Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 11-Dale Blaney, [2]
2. 39-Christopher Bell, [4]
3. 83-Lynton Jeffrey, [1]
4. 4-Terry McCarl, [3]
5. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [5]
6. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, [6]
7. A45-Rusty Hickman, [8]
8. 44-Chris Martin, [7]
9. 7S-Jeff Swindell, [9]
Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 99-Skylar Gee, [1]
2. 14-Tony Stewart, [2]
3. 9-James McFadden, [3]
4. 24-Rico Abreu, [4]
5. 49-Josh Schneiderman, [7]
6. W20-Greg Wilson, [5]
7. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, [6]
8. (DNF) 51J-Matt Krieger, [8]
Heat Race #4 (8 Laps)
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss, [4]
2. 17W-Shane Golobic, [1]
3. 70X-Justin Peck, [3]
4. 2M-Kerry Madsen, [5]
5. 96-Parker Price-Miller, [2]
6. 44S-Trey Starks, [8]
7. 13-Paul McMahan, [6]
8. 40-George Hobaugh Jr., [7]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 24-Rico Abreu, [2]
2. 11-Dale Blaney, [3]
3. 26-Cory Eliason, [4]
4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [1]
5. 70-Brock Zearfoss, [5]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 14-Tony Stewart, [4]
2. 2KS-Austin McCarl, [2]
3. 99-Skylar Gee, [3]
4. 17W-Shane Golobic, [1]
5. 39-Christopher Bell, [5]
B-Main (12 Laps)
1. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, [1]
2. W20-Greg Wilson, [3]
3. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, [4]
4. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, [6]
5. 2AU-Andrew Scheuerle, [10]
6. 33M-Mason Daniel, [13]
7. 21K-Thomas Kennedy, [2]
8. 40-George Hobaugh Jr., [11]
9. 44-Chris Martin, [9]
10. 51J-Matt Krieger, [12]
11. 7S-Jeff Swindell, [14]
12. A45-Rusty Hickman, [7]
13. 44S-Trey Starks, [5]
14. 13-Paul McMahan, [8]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 14-Tony Stewart, [2]
2. 24-Rico Abreu, [1]
3. 39-Christopher Bell, [10]
4. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [7]
5. 26-Cory Eliason, [5]
6. 9-James McFadden, [12]
7. 11-Dale Blaney, [3]
8. 99-Skylar Gee, [6]
9. 70X-Justin Peck, [14]
10. 2KS-Austin McCarl, [4]
11. 70-Brock Zearfoss, [9]
12. 2M-Kerry Madsen, [16]
13. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, [11]
14. 17W-Shane Golobic, [8]
15. 21-Brian Brown, [17]
16. 96-Parker Price-Miller, [19]
17. 4-Terry McCarl, [15]
18. W20-Greg Wilson, [22]
19. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, [21]
20. 13-Paul McMahan, [25]
21. 83-Lynton Jeffrey, [13]
22. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, [23]
23. 49-Josh Schneiderman, [20]
24. 2C-Wayne Johnson, [18]
25. 14M-Marcus Dumesny, [24]
Contingency Awards/Results: 34 Raceway – July 28, 2019:
Event: Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race
Entries: 34
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Trey Starks – 12.644
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel – 12.491
Ford Performance Heat #1: Cory Eliason
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Dale Blaney
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Skylar Gee
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Brock Zearfoss
JE Pistons Dash #1: Rico Abreu
Fatheadz Eyewear Dash #2: Tony Stewart
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting B-Main Winner: Paul Nienhiser
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Tony Stewart
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Christopher Bell (+7)
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Tony Stewart (11-30)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Andrew Scheuerle
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)