By Tyler Altmeyer
PORT ROYAL, Pa. (July 19, 2020) – Officially bumping his 2020 Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 win total into the double digits, Elk Grove, California’s Kyle Larson did almost the impossible on Sunday night at Port Royal Speedway and conquered not only the All Stars and Pennsylvania Posse, but also a stout contingent of full-time World of Outlaws competitors, solidifying his Bob Weikert Memorial sweep. The Sunday night triumph not only awarded a $10,000 top prize, but it also awarded a $5,000 bonus; an extra for earning the overall Bob Weikert Memorial championship.
Larson is undefeated in his last five All Star Circuit of Champions tries, now with ten total victories in 16 Series starts.
“My car was really good again tonight. Hats off to Paul Silva and everyone else that helps make this all possible,” Kyle Larson said in victory lane, driver of the Paul Silva-owned/Finley Farms/Tarlton and Sons/Durst/Lucas Oil/Priority Aviation/No. 57 sprint car. “We had a string of races where we just missed getting the wins and got beat late. It was starting to stress me out, to be honest, but now we’re winning again. Hopefully we can keep it up, especially with some bigger races coming up.”
Starting sixth on the 30-lap grid by virtue of a top-ten redraw, Larson worked his way forward in a hurry, climbing his way to fourth by lap two before driving his way to third just two circuits later. With momentum a clear benefactor, the 2020 PA Sprint Speedweek champion caught the top-two by lap nine, flirting with the outer edge to reel-in two-time All Star champion and current Series point leader, Aaron Reutzel, and race leader, Carson Macedo.
By the completion of lap 10, Larson was the new man in charge, driving by Reutzel and Macedo in the same corner before beating the pair in the drag race back to the flagstand. Larson actually attempted the two-for-one move in turns one and two, but the pair denied his attempt, leaving the door open for another try in turns three and four.
Despite a seemingly effortless charge to the front, Larson was far from in the clear, as Reutzel kept pace with the No. 57, especially after a run-in with slower traffic beginning on lap 16. Lapped traffic only intensified and became an obvious problem by lap 22, allowing Reutzel to close-in and show his nose. A saving grace, so to speak, caution flags would wave for the second time on lap 23 negating any potential move by Reutzel in traffic.
Two final cautions, one on lap 25, an eventual fuel stop, and another on lap 28, would keep Larson in clean air the remaining distance. Even Lance Dewease, a 113-time winner at the Port Royal ‘Speed Palace’ who moved into second just after the restart on lap 23, proved to be no threat to ‘Yung Money.’
“I was honestly a little worried the whole race,” Larson continued. “Reutzel was running really hard the first ten laps, but I felt like I was really good behind him, especially getting through turns three and four. I wasn’t sure how close he would be to me once I got out front, but I felt like I hit my marks good enough that he wouldn’t be able to get back by me. Then when Lance (Dewease) got behind me, I figured he was running a completely different line than I was. I knew if I could just keep my line and not hit the curb too hard, and as long as I didn’t see his nose, I would be ok.”
Lance Dewease held on to finish second, followed by Anthony Macri, Danny Dietrich and Jacob Allen. Aaron Reutzel was forced to retire early due to suspension damage.
What’s Next:
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will enjoy a weekend away from competition before returning to the road on Thursday, July 30, with a visit to Plymouth Dirt Track in Plymouth, Wisconsin. The second-ever Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race will be the main attraction awarding a hefty $26,000 payday. The Plymouth visit will also activate a four-race sweep for the traveling All Stars which will continue with appearances at 34 Raceway, Knoxville Raceway and Huset’s Speedway, respectively.
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. To check out exclusive content, visit https://bit.ly/2XR863e.
Contingency Awards/Results: Port Royal Speedway – July 19, 2020:
Event: Bob Weikert Memorial
Entries: 45
C&R Racing Warm-Ups: Aaron Reutzel – 16.357
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Sheldon Haudenschild – 16.278
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Jacob Allen
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Brent Marks
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Dylan Cisney
Mobil 1 Heat #4 Winner: Steve Buckwalter
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Brock Zearfoss
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Logan Wagner
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Kyle Larson
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Brent Marks (+15)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 17h-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.278; 2. 57-Kyle Larson, 16.357; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.442; 4. 83-Daryn Pittman, 16.448; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen, 16.450; 6. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 16.451; 7. 41-David Gravel, 16.460; 8. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 16.482; 9. 26-Cory Eliason, 16.549; 10. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 16.601; 11. 13-Paul McMahan, 16.641; 12. 29-Danny Dietrich, 16.642; 13. 2-Carson Macedo, 16.648; 14. 9-Kasey Kahne, 16.655; 15. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 16.663; 16. 72-Ryan Smith, 16.674; 17. 69K-Lance Dewease, 16.680; 18. 17-Josh Baughman, 16.684; 19. 25-Tyler Bear, 16.696; 20. 39s-Sammy Swindell, 16.707; 21. 1-Logan Wagner, 16.711; 22. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 16.736; 23. 55K-Robbie Kendall, 16.753; 24. 17B-Steve Buckwalter, 16.775; 25. 55-Mike Wagner, 16.782; 26. 99-Skylar Gee, 16.788; 27. 5C-Dylan Cisney, 16.840; 28. 98-Kyle Reinhardt, 16.840; 29. 11T-TJ Stutts, 16.847; 30. 5-Brent Marks, 16.852; 31. 11-Zeb Wise, 16.854; 32. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 16.862; 33. 35Q-Zach Hampton, 16.907; 34. 35-Tyler Reeser, 16.965; 35. 2C-Wayne Johnson, 16.967; 36. 2f-AJ Flick, 17.019; 37. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 17.030; 38. 17M-Kyle Smith, 17.078; 39. 47K-Kody Lehman, 17.152; 40. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 17.165; 41. 39-Jason Solwold, 17.170; 42. 14T-Tyler Walton, 17.301; 43. 49H-Bradley Howard, 17.485; 44. W20-Greg Wilson, 17.553; 45. 24B-Dustin Baney, 17.759
Heat #1 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 12 Transfer
1. 1A-Jacob Allen [7]; 2. 69K-Lance Dewease [4]; 3. 2-Carson Macedo [5]; 4. 55-Mike Wagner [2]; 5. 11T-TJ Stutts [1]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [6]; 7. 1-Logan Wagner [3]; 8. 17H-Sheldon Haudenschild [8]; 9. O7-Gerard McIntyre [10]; 10. 39-Jason Solwold [11]; 11. 24B-Dustin Baney [12]; 12. 35Q-Zach Hampton [9]
Heat #2 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 12 Transfer
1. 5-Brent Marks [1]; 2. 51-Freddie Rahmer [3]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 4. 99-Skylar Gee [2]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel [7]; 6. 57-Kyle Larson [8]; 7. 17-Josh Baughman [4]; 8. 9-Kasey Kahne [5]; 9. 35-Tyler Reeser [9]; 10. 14T-Tyler Walton [11]; 11. 17M-Kyle Smith [10]
Heat #3 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 12 Transfer
1. 5C-Dylan Cisney [2]; 2. 55K-Robbie Kendall [3]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri [8]; 4. 11-Zeb Wise [1]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [6]; 6. 41-David Gravel [7]; 7. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [5]; 8. 2C-Wayne Johnson [9]; 9. 25-Tyler Bear [4]; 10. 49H-Bradley Howard [11]; 11. 47K-Kody Lehman [10]
Heat #4 – Group (A) (10 Laps) – Top 12 Transfer
1. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [3]; 2. 39S-Sammy Swindell [4]; 3. 24-Lucas Wolfe [1]; 4. 29-Danny Dietrich [6]; 5. 2M-Kerry Madsen [7]; 6. 72-Ryan Smith [5]; 7. 83-Daryn Pittman [8]; 8. 98-Kyle Reinhardt [2]; 9. 3-Jac Haudenschild [10]; 10. W20-Greg Wilson [11]; 11. 2F-AJ Flick [9]
C-Main (8 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 35Q-Zach Hampton [1]; 2. 2f-AJ Flick [2]; 3. 39-Jason Solwold [3]; 4. W20-Greg Wilson [8]; 5. 17M-Kyle Smith [5]; 6. 47K-Kody Lehman [7]; 7. 49H-Bradley Howard [6]; 8. 24B-Dustin Baney [9]; 9. 14T-Tyler Walton [4]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [1]; 2. 5-Brent Marks [2]; 3. 17-Josh Baughman [5]; 4. 9-Kasey Kahne [3]; 5. 1-Logan Wagner [7]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee [6]; 7. 55-Mike Wagner [4]; 8. 25-Tyler Bear [9]; 9. 11T-TJ Stutts [10]; 10. 24-Lucas Wolfe [8]; 11. 98-Kyle Reinhardt [11]; 12. 35Q-Zach Hampton [17]; 13. 2f-AJ Flick [18]; 14. 3-Jac Haudenschild [15]; 15. 35-Tyler Reeser [13]; 16. O7-Gerard McIntyre [14]; 17. 2C-Wayne Johnson [12]; 18. 11-Zeb Wise [16]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [6]; 2. 69K-Lance Dewease [10]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri [9]; 4. 29-Danny Dietrich [5]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [8]; 6. 41-David Gravel [11]; 7. 5-Brent Marks [22]; 8. 83-Daryn Pittman [3]; 9. 72-Ryan Smith [20]; 10. 5C-Dylan Cisney [19]; 11. 1S-Logan Schuchart [7]; 12. 26-Cory Eliason [15]; 13. 51-Freddie Rahmer [17]; 14. 13-Paul McMahan [13]; 15. 17-Josh Baughman [23]; 16. 17h-Sheldon Haudenschild [12]; 17. 55-Mike Wagner [27]; 18. 11-Zeb Wise [25]; 19. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss [21]; 20. 9-Kasey Kahne [24]; 21. 2M-Kerry Madsen [1]; 22. 2-Carson Macedo [2]; 23. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 24. 17B-Steve Buckwalter [16]; 25. 2f-AJ Flick [26]; 26. 55K-Robbie Kendall [18]; 27. 39s-Sammy Swindell [14] Lap Leaders: Carson Macedo (1-9), Kyle Larson (10-30)
2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of July 19, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel – 3514
2. Cory Eliason – 3372
3. Paul McMahan – 3278
4. Zeb Wise – 3258
5. Skylar Gee – 3030
6. Josh Baughman – 3030
7. Greg Wilson – 3010
8. Brock Zearfoss – 2404
9. Danny Dietrich – 2336
10. Kyle Larson – 2102