From Tyler Altmeyer
LAWTON, Okla. (June 8, 2020) – For the second time in as many nights, Elk Grove, California’s Kyle Larson is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, doing so during Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires competition at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Oklahoma, on Monday, June 8. Accompanied by a $5,000 payay, the Lawton victory required patience and perseverance, once again forced to fend off some of the best in the business, all while navigating a tricky, yet narrow racing groove.
The victory bumped Larson’s All Star win count to three in 2020, simultaneously increasing his overall All Star victory tally to 12.
“To come out here and win two in a row like this says so much about this team and what we have going on,” Kyle Larson said, who was victorious one night prior at 81 Speedway in Park City, Kansas. “It’s pretty incredible to see so many people out here supporting this deal, especially on a Monday night. It’s exciting to be a part of it.”
Despite a pair of cautions delaying the initial start, Larson was unrattled, utilizing his row two starting spot to get the jump into second before the completion of lap one. Powering ahead from the pole position, two-time and defending All Star champion, Aaron Reutzel, set the early pace, keeping things in check during the first nine circuits.
Traffic came into play for the first time on lap ten giving Larson an opportunity to close the gap on Reutzel. Putting himself in striking distance early, Larson eventually made a bid for the lead on lap 13, executing a perfect slider through turns three and four before out-sprinting Reutzel back to the flagstand.
Although Larson was the sole leader from that point forward, Reutzel did not go down without a fight, nearly reclaiming the top spot on several occasions with aggressive sliders through turns one and two. All of Retuzel’s attempts were eventually denied, as Larson was able to diamond off the corner and retake command before the exit of turn two. In total, three slide job attempts were carried out by Reutzel in hopes of dethroning Larson, but as aforementioned, all three were negated.
Meanwhile, as the front runners diced for positions, Lawton Speedway’s racing real estate started to narrow forcing all feature competitors to move into the rubbered-up racing groove that formed around the middle and bottom of the speedway. Although wide in some spots, the abrasive surface made passing tricky.
After a fuel stop with 29 laps recorded, instigated by another caution and a dissipated fuel window, action resumed with Larson still on the point. Even with Reutzel and Danny Dietrich applying the pressure, Larson hung on the final 11 circuits, maneuvering the abrasive surface carefully and even surviving a final encounter with traffic.
“There’s a lot of strategy that goes into racing on a surface that gets like that. It makes it fun in a way, but it can be really stressful,” Kyle Larson explained, driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Tarlton and Sons/Finley Farms/No. 57 sprint car. “I knew Aaron’s (Reutzel) only shot to get by me was going to be a slider in one of the corners. I was just trying to run easy. I didn’t want to get too close to the guys in front of me, and the track was still really wide at that point. He was almost carrying too much speed when he got by me that he actually slipped up out of the rubber.”
Less than a second back, Aaron Reutzel crossed the line in the runner-up spot, followed by Danny Dietrich, Josh Baughman, and DJ Netto.
Lincoln Electric Qualifying
1. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.150[1]
2. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.162[22]
3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.243[16]
4. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.268[2]
5. 17-Josh Baughman, 13.337[3]
6. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.349[13]
7. 88N-DJ Netto, 13.361[7]
8. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 13.365[14]
9. 16A-Justin Sanders, 13.376[12]
10. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.483[11]
11. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.484[5]
12. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.564[10]
13. 18-Ian Madsen, 13.577[4]
14. 41G-Gio Scelzi, 13.582[9]
15. 70-Justin Peck, 13.631[21]
16. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.655[17]
17. 52-Blake Hahn, 13.675[8]
18. 11-Zeb Wise, 13.770[23]
19. 14-Tony Stewart, 13.863[6]
20. 17W-Harli White, 13.951[15]
21. 21P-Robbie Price, 13.951[20]
22. 55-Danny Wood, 14.247[18]
23. 4-Danny Smith, 14.432[24]
24. 9$-Kyle Clark, 14.624[19]
Kears Speed Shop Dash (6 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel[2]
2. 17-Josh Baughman[1]
3. 99-Skylar Gee[3]
4. 57-Kyle Larson[4]
5. 26-Cory Eliason[5]
6. 48-Danny Dietrich[6]
7. 16A-Justin Sanders[7]
8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[8]
Ford Performance Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[1]
2. 88N-DJ Netto[2]
3. 48-Danny Dietrich[4]
4. 18-Ian Madsen[5]
5. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[6]
6. 99-Skylar Gee[3]
7. 14-Tony Stewart[7]
8. 55-Danny Wood[8]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 26-Cory Eliason[1]
2. 57-Kyle Larson[4]
3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[2]
4. 41G-Gio Scelzi[5]
5. 52-Blake Hahn[6]
6. 21P-Robbie Price[7]
7. 4-Danny Smith[8]
8. 17-Josh Baughman[3]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 16A-Justin Sanders[2]
2. W20-Greg Wilson[1]
3. 87-Aaron Reutzel[4]
4. 11-Zeb Wise[6]
5. 13-Paul McMahan[3]
6. 70-Justin Peck[5]
7. 17W-Harli White[7]
8. 9$-Kyle Clark[8]
Ollies Bargain Outlet A-Main (40 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson[4]
2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[1]
3. 48-Danny Dietrich[6]
4. 17-Josh Baughman[2]
5. 88N-DJ Netto[9]
6. 26-Cory Eliason[5]
7. 99-Skylar Gee[3]
8. 41G-Gio Scelzi[13]
9. 11-Zeb Wise[14]
10. 18-Ian Madsen[12]
11. W20-Greg Wilson[10]
12. 14-Tony Stewart[20]
13. 13-Paul McMahan[15]
14. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[16]
15. 52-Blake Hahn[17]
16. 70-Justin Peck[18]
17. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[8]
18. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[11]
19. 17W-Harli White[21]
20. 9$-Kyle Clark[24]
21. 21P-Robbie Price[19]
22. 16A-Justin Sanders[7]
23. 55-Danny Wood[23]
24. 4-Danny Smith[22]
Contingency Awards/Results: Lawton Speedway – June 8, 2020:
Event: Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 24
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Kyle Larson – 13.186
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Danny Dietrich – 13.150
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Brock Zearfoss
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Cory Eliason
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Justin Sanders
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash Winner: Aaron Reutzel
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Kyle Larson
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Tony Stewart (+8)
(Lincoln Electric, Hercules Tire, Rayce Rudeen Foundation: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)