By Tyler Altmeyer
MESQUITE, Texas (June 11, 2020) – Kyle Larson’s Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires campaign has been more than impressive, not only scoring three consecutive Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victories, but doing so at facilities scattered across three states, this time in the Lone Star State. Impressive enough, Larson kicked-off his four-race Midwest venture with a runner-up finish at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Oklahoma.
Larson, driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Finley Farms/Tarlton and Sons/GSR/No. 57 sprint car, earned his third consecutive All Star victory on Wednesday evening, June 10, at the Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, utilizing the outside-pole position to eventually snag the race lead and another $5,000 top prize. Allowing slower cars to help in his pursuit of the front, Larson took command for the first time on lap 14, ultimately driving underneath race leader, Kasey Kahne, at the exit of turn four and defeating the Washington-native in a drag race back to the flag stand. That drag race, won by a mere-.03 seconds, would be the final time Larson was challenged the entire 25-lap distance, as caution flaps would wave the following circuit creating a restart situation in clean air for the Elk Grove, California-native.
Kasey Kahne held on to finish second at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, followed by an eighth-starting Scott Bogucki, Cory Eliason, and Aaron Reutzel, who advanced six positions to seal his top-five outcome.
“I was trying to be patient, but it got to the point where I told myself ‘it’s only a 25-lap race, so I’m probably being a little too patient.’ It was time to go,” Kyle Larson said, who now owns 13 All Star Circuit of Champions victories, this being the first in Texas. “I ran a few really hard laps there and ended up getting by Kasey (Kahne) just before the caution came out. I felt really good. Honestly, I think the car got better and better every time we hit the track and I feel like we definitely learned a lot tonight. Hopefully we can carry this momentum into the rest of the year.
“A big thanks to Paul Silva and Doug. They’ve been logging a lot of hours up and down the road this week and a lot of late nights and early mornings. We’ve had so many supporters step up and help us out and that means the world to me. To all of the fans, thank you so much for supporting local racing and staying up late to watch us race. It means the world to us.”
What’s Next:
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will continue the 2020 edition of Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires with a visit to Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Oklahoma, on Thursday, June 11. Front gates are scheduled to open at 5 p.m. with racing to follow at 8 p.m., sharp. For those seeking additional news and notes, please visit Southern Oklahoma Speedway online at www.southernoklahomaspeedway.com.
Online Coverage:
Each and every event on the 2020 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 schedule will be broadcast live exclusively at www.floracing.com. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit www.floracing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. The subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.
Contingency Awards/Results: Devil’s Bowl Speedway – June 10, 2020:
Event: Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 24
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Kyle Larson – 14.553
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Kyle Larson – 13.678
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Scott Bogucki
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Skylar Gee
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Paul McMahan
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash Winner: Kasey Kahne
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Kyle Larson
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Dominic Scelzi (+7)
Qualifying
1. 57-Kyle Larson, 13.678; 2. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 13.899; 3. 9-Kasey Kahne, 13.940; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.978; 5. 26-Cory Eliason, 14.040; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 14.104; 7. 11X-John Carney, 14.116; 8. 70-Justin Peck, 14.185; 9. 13-Paul McMahan, 14.206; 10. 28-Scott Bogucki, 14.227; 11. 99-Skylar Gee, 14.275; 12. 23B-Brian Bell, 14.298; 13. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 14.356; 14. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.398; 15. 17-Josh Baughman, 14.401; 16. 11-Zeb Wise, 14.434; 17. 14-Tony Stewart, 14.480; 18. 4-Danny Smith, 14.549; 19. 16A-Justin Sanders, 14.598; 20. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 14.615; 21. 9$-Kyle Clark, 14.628; 22. 52-Blake Hahn, 14.629; 23. 21P-Robbie Price, 14.732; 24. 72-Chris Tarrant, 15.002;
Heat #1 (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 28-Scott Bogucki [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 3. 11X-John Carney [2]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 5. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 6. 16A-Justin Sanders [7]; 7. 11-Zeb Wise [6]; 8. 52-Blake Hahn [8]
Heat #2 (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 99-Skylar Gee [1]; 2. 70-Justin Peck [2]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 6. 14-Tony Stewart [6]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [7]; 8. 21P-Robbie Price [8]
Heat #3 (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 2. 23B-Brian Bell [1]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 4. 17-Josh Baughman [5]; 5. 9-Kasey Kahne [4]; 6. 4-Danny Smith [6]; 7. 72-Chris Tarrant [8]; 8. 9$-Kyle Clark [7]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 9-Kasey Kahne [1]; 2. 57-Kyle Larson [4]; 3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [5]; 4. 99-Skylar Gee [2]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 6. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [8]; 8. 28-Scott Bogucki [6]
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 9-Kasey Kahne [1]; 3. 28-Scott Bogucki [8]; 4. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel [11]; 6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [3]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [7]; 8. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [14]; 9. 70-Justin Peck [9]; 10. 17-Josh Baughman [13]; 11. 48-Danny Dietrich [6]; 12. 23B-Brian Bell [10]; 13. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [20]; 14. 11X-John Carney [12]; 15. W20-Greg Wilson [15]; 16. 14-Tony Stewart [16]; 17. 11-Zeb Wise [19]; 18. 16A-Justin Sanders [18]; 19. 52-Blake Hahn [23]; 20. 99-Skylar Gee [4]; 21. 21P-Robbie Price [24]; 22. 72-Chris Tarrant [21]; 23. 4-Danny Smith [17]; 24. 9$-Kyle Clark [22] Lap Leaders: Kasey Kahne (1-13), Kyle Larson (14-25)
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of June 10, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel – 1038
2. Cory Eliason – 996
3. Danny Dietrich – 986
4. Zeb Wise – 972
5. Brock Zearfoss – 970
6. Paul McMahan – 944
7. Tony Stewart – 930
8. Justin Peck – 926
9. Josh Baughman -912
10. Greg Wilson – 898
2020 Thunder Through The Plains Driver Standings: (As of June 10, 2020)
1. Kyle Larson – 776
2. Cory Eliason – 748
3. Aaron Reutzel – 742
4. Danny Dietrich – 716
5. Zeb Wise -712
6. Brock Zearfoss – 690
7. Josh Baughman – 688
8. Dominic Scelzi – 686
9. Justin Peck – 686
10. Greg Wilson – 684