From Tyler Altmeyer
CHATHAM, La. (June 14, 2020) – Just 24 hours following his near-tie for second-place at Lonestar Speedway in Kilgore, Texas, eventually resolved over a friendly game of rock-paper-scissors with Rudeen Racing’s Cory Eliason, Fresno, California’s Dominic Scelzi did two spots better on Sunday evening and scored a first-ever Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory during the Cometic Gasket Thunder Through The Plains presented by Hercules Tire finale at Chatham Speedway in Chatham, Louisiana.
Including his win, Scelzi ended the eight-race Thunder Through The Plains schedule with five top-five finishes.
“I’ll tell you what man, this is big for me. We’ve really been hitting our strides the last couple of nights and it’s really shown,” Dominic Scelzi said, driver of the SE Inc./Red Rose Transportation/No. 41S sprint car. “Jimmy, Marty, Aaron, Brandon; these guys have really busted their asses this week, going to a bunch of new places we’ve never been to before. I’m not even sure I ever made an All Star dash before this week. For me, this is every bit as big as winning the World Challenge. I have one more mark to add to my resume and that’s an Outlaw win. Hopefully we can do that real soon.”
The $5,000 triumph was accomplished in exciting fashion, first working underneath fellow California-native and race leader, Justin Sanders, at the exit of turn four with eight laps complete, then surviving multiple single-file restarts before holding off two-time All Star champion and Kilgore winner, Aaron Reutzel, in a drag race to the final checkers. The drag race, separated by a mere-.2 seconds, was initiated by a caution and a restart with two circuits remaining.
Justin Sanders, who actually retook command from Scelzi for a single circuit on lap 27, doing so by using the bottom groove to sneak below the familiar No. 41s at the exit of turn four, held on to finish third at Chatham, followed by Zeb Wise and Paul McMahan.
“We were lucky to hang on those last two laps, especially with Aaron (Reutzel) breathing down our neck,” Scelzi continued. “Getting a little love tap at the end from Aaron, and Paul (McMahan) and everyone giving me a thumbs-up, it just goes to show how big of a following and friends I have in this sport. I haven’t won a lot of races, but this is a big one. I just want to thank the big man upstairs. I’m going to get really drunk tonight.”
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Chatham Speedway
Chatham, LA
Friday June 14, 2020
Lincoln Electric Qualifying
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 12.743[11]
2. 26-Cory Eliason, 12.761[5]
3. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 12.778[13]
4. 11-Zeb Wise, 12.782[19]
5. 23B-Brian Bell, 12.832[2]
6. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr, 12.927[8]
7. 17-Josh Baughman, 12.930[1]
8. 13-Paul McMahan, 12.975[9]
9. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 13.007[20]
10. W20-Greg Wilson, 13.012[18]
11. 16A-Justin Sanders, 13.019[12]
12. 17G-Channin Tankersley, 13.024[16]
13. 14-Tony Stewart, 13.057[15]
14. 48-Danny Dietrich, 13.086[4]
15. 99-Skylar Gee, 13.097[6]
16. 70-Roger Crockett, 13.111[3]
17. 10M-Morgan Turpen, 13.221[17]
18. 9-Chase Randall, 13.448[10]
19. 4-Danny Smith, 13.453[14]
20. 10-Terry Gray, 14.105[7]
Ford Performance Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 17-Josh Baughman[2]
2. W20-Greg Wilson[1]
3. 87-Aaron Reutzel[4]
4. 11-Zeb Wise[3]
5. 14-Tony Stewart[5]
6. 70-Roger Crockett[6]
7. 4-Danny Smith[7]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 16A-Justin Sanders[1]
2. 13-Paul McMahan[2]
3. 26-Cory Eliason[4]
4. 48-Danny Dietrich[5]
5. 23B-Brian Bell[3]
6. 10M-Morgan Turpen[6]
7. 10-Terry Gray[7]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 17G-Channin Tankersley[1]
2. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[2]
3. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[3]
4. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[4]
5. 99-Skylar Gee[5]
6. 9-Chase Randall[6]
Kears Speed Shop Dash (6 Laps)
1. 16A-Justin Sanders[1]
2. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[6]
3. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]
4. 17-Josh Baughman[4]
5. 26-Cory Eliason[8]
6. 11-Zeb Wise[7]
7. 23B-Brian Bell[2]
8. 17G-Channin Tankersley[5]
Ollies Bargain Outlet A-Main (40 Laps)
1. 41S-Dominic Scelzi[2]
2. 87-Aaron Reutzel[3]
3. 16A-Justin Sanders[1]
4. 11-Zeb Wise[6]
5. 13-Paul McMahan[9]
6. 23B-Brian Bell[7]
7. 14-Tony Stewart[14]
8. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr[12]
9. W20-Greg Wilson[11]
10. 17G-Channin Tankersley[8]
11. 10M-Morgan Turpen[17]
12. 48-Danny Dietrich[13]
13. 26-Cory Eliason[5]
14. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[10]
15. 9-Chase Randall[18]
16. 17-Josh Baughman[4]
17. 99-Skylar Gee[15]
18. 70-Roger Crockett[16]
19. 4-Danny Smith[19]
20. 10-Terry Gray[20]