Zearfoss Wins Thunder Through the Plains Feature at Southern Oklahoma Speedway

Brock Zearfoss (Serena Dalhamer photo)

From Tyler Altmeyer

ARDMORE, Okla. (June 12, 2020) – For the first time in 2020, and for the fourth time in his career, the ‘Jonestown Jet’ Brock Zearfoss is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, this time reigning supreme at Southern Oklahoma Speedway in Ardmore, Oklahoma, during Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires action on June 11. Utilizing the outside-pole position, Zearfoss took command for the first time on lap 15 and never looked back, zinging his preferred line around the very topside of the speedway for a $5,000 top prize.

A bit of sweet redemption for the Jonestown, Pennsylvania-based race team, Zearfoss was forced to overcome a mechanical malfunction during qualifying time trials at Devil’s Bowl Speedway before finishing eighth during main event action. Just 24 hours later, Brock Zearfoss and Brock Zearfoss Racing are standing in victory lane.

“This just goes to show how badass my team is. They never stop digging. Even after getting banged up yesterday during qualifying, they had the spare car down before they even towed me off the track,” Brock Zearfoss said, driver of the Brock Zearfoss Racing/Moose’s LZ Bar & Grill/Heavy Equipment, Loaders & Parts Inc./C&D Rigging Inc./BAPS Auto Paints & Supply/No. 3Z sprint car. “A lot of other teams helped us get ready for that heat race. It was nice to salvage the night for an eighth-place finish, but this feels a lot better.”

Before Zearfoss drove his way to the top spot on lap 15, the battle for the lead was perpetual, first held by pole-sitter and full-time All Star, Skylar Gee, for the first five circuits. A caution on lap six would spell bad news for the Canadian hotshot, eventually losing command to Fresno, California’s Dominic Scelzi. The lap six restart would also spell bad news for Zearfoss, who actually slipped back three spots by the time the frontrunners completed the sixth circuit. Zearfoss was racing in the second spot at the time of the caution.

A trio of upcoming caution periods, including a red flag scenario, would give Zearfoss a chance to recover his slip, ultimately battling back to second by lap 11. The ensuing restart after a lap 15 caution is when the ‘Jonestown Jet’ made his winning move, quickly scooting by Scelzi’s No. 41S to lead the circuit.

Despite another four-pack of caution flags, one of which resulting in an open red to allow teams the opportunity to add fuel, and one with just two circuits remaining, Zearfoss held strong and remained untouchable, quickly escaping to a near-straightaway lead as the white flag waved.

“I was pretty mad at myself early on when I lost those three spots. That red flag gave me some time to stew on things a little bit. I knew I was going to have to get up on the wheel,” Zearfoss continued. “I just can’t say enough about my team. Noisey, Tye, and everyone else involved in this deal; they put their heart and soul into this race team. I’m very blessed to be in the position that I’m in. Hopefully we put on a good show for everyone tonight.”

Danny Dietrich powered home second after starting eighth on the grid, followed by Dominic Scelzi, Cory Eliason, and an 11th-starting Justin Sanders.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Southern Oklahoma Speedway
Ardmore, OK
Thursday June 11, 2020

Lincoln Electric Qualifying
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 13.109[17]
2. 13-Paul McMahan, 13.248[7]
3. 70-Justin Peck, 13.299[11]
4. 26-Cory Eliason, 13.338[5]
5. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.351[16]
6. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.395[15]
7. 11X-John Carney II, 13.430[20]
8. 9-Kasey Kahne, 13.459[1]
9. 16A-Justin Sanders, 13.465[10]
10. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 13.487[3]
11. 17-Josh Baughman, 13.536[6]
12. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.557[18]
13. 23B-Brian Bell, 13.574[21]
14. 11-Zeb Wise, 13.596[2]
15. 28-Scott Bogucki, 13.642[23]
16. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 13.645[19]
17. 52-Blake Hahn, 13.651[14]
18. 14-Tony Stewart, 13.671[24]
19. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.858[13]
20. 4-Danny Smith, 13.977[8]
21. 1X-Jake Bubak, 14.003[12]
22. 17W-Harli White, 14.222[4]
23. 9$-Kyle Clark, 14.367[9]
24. 21P-Robbie Price, 59.999[22]

Ford Performance Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[1]
2. 26-Cory Eliason[3]
3. 87-Aaron Reutzel[4]
4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[6]
5. 23B-Brian Bell[5]
6. 11X-John Carney II[2]
7. W20-Greg Wilson[7]
8. 17W-Harli White[8]

All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 17-Josh Baughman[1]
2. 11-Zeb Wise[5]
3. 13-Paul McMahan[4]
4. 99-Skylar Gee[3]
5. 52-Blake Hahn[6]
6. 9-Kasey Kahne[2]
7. 4-Danny Smith[7]
8. 9$-Kyle Clark[8]

Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[1]
2. 48-Danny Dietrich[3]
3. 16A-Justin Sanders[2]
4. 28-Scott Bogucki[5]
5. 70-Justin Peck[4]
6. 14-Tony Stewart[6]
7. 1X-Jake Bubak[7]
DNS: 21P-Robbie Price

Kears Speed Shop Dash (6 Laps)
1. 99-Skylar Gee[1]
2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[3]
3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[2]
4. 87-Aaron Reutzel[6]
5. 13-Paul McMahan[8]
6. 70-Justin Peck[7]
7. 26-Cory Eliason[4]
8. 17-Josh Baughman[5]

Ollies Bargain Outlet A-Main (40 Laps)
1. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[2]
2. 48-Danny Dietrich[9]
3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[3]
4. 26-Cory Eliason[7]
5. 16A-Justin Sanders[11]
6. 70-Justin Peck[6]
7. 13-Paul McMahan[5]
8. 11-Zeb Wise[12]
9. 87-Aaron Reutzel[4]
10. W20-Greg Wilson[19]
11. 99-Skylar Gee[1]
12. 1X-Jake Bubak[21]
13. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[14]
14. 9-Kasey Kahne[10]
15. 9$-Kyle Clark[23]
16. 17W-Harli White[22]
17. 23B-Brian Bell[15]
18. 28-Scott Bogucki[13]
19. 11X-John Carney II[16]
20. 52-Blake Hahn[17]
21. 4-Danny Smith[20]
22. 14-Tony Stewart[18]
23. 17-Josh Baughman[8]
24. 21P-Robbie Price[24]

Contingency Awards/Results: Southern Oklahoma Speedway – June 11, 2020:
Event: Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 24
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Danny Dietrich – 13.714
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel – 13.109
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Dominic Scelzi
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Josh Baughman
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Brock Zearfoss
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash Winner: Skylar Gee
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Brock Zearfoss
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Greg Wilson (+9)