By Tyler Altmeyer
BEDFORD, Pa. (April 19, 2021) – Just one night following his incredible 19 position rally from 21st to finish second in Port Royal Speedway’s annual Keith Kauffman Classic, Dillsburg, Pennsylvania’s Anthony Macri did one better, literally, and secured his first FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory of the 2021 season, doing so during Bedford Speedway’s Johnny Grum Classic on Sunday, April 18. The victory, earning Macri a $6,000 payday, was accomplished from the outside of row two, utilizing a restart with eight laps remaining to work by race-long leader and California invader, Rico Abreu.
“These guys gave me one hell of a car all weekend long and it finally paid off,” Anthony Macri explained in Bedford victory lane, driver of the Macri Concrete/J&S Fabrication/C&D Rigging, No. 39M sprint car. “I don’t know what to say, I’m out of breath. I just tried to pace myself there at the end and not do anything stupid.”
Abreu, who started on the pole by way of dash victory, led the first 22 circuits of the 30-lap contest. Setting sail around the very topside of the speedway, Abreu seemed uncatchable, but as traffic started to intensify, Abreu’s momentum began to suffer allowing Macri, who found his way to second for the first time on lap 11, to shrink Abreu’s command. Just as a battle for the lead was about to break out, caution flags appeared on lap 13 ultimately eliminating traffic and clearing the path for Abreu.
A similar situation would occur on lap 22, as heavy traffic entered the picture once again for Abreu forcing the driver of the Rico Abreu/Curb Agajanian Racing/Rowdy Energy No. 24 to check up on his speed. Caution flags returned to the speedway on lap 23, and although it rid the speedway of any slower traffic, Macri was more than ready for another opportunity at a single-file restart behind Abreu’s No. 24.
The second try proved to be the charm for the “Concrete Kid,” as the now two-time All Star Circuit of Champions winner dived to the bottom of turn one to drive across in front of Abreu. The move stuck, immediately extending his command to a multi-second advantage.
“I noticed on that first restart that (Abreu) kinda jerks the wheel when he gets ready to take off,” Macri continued. “When he started to turn his wheel again, I got on the gas and got a great run down the frontstretch. I knew that was my chance and I’m glad we were able to capitalize.”
Once claiming the top spot, Macri was untouchable, racing on to secure his place on Bedford Speedway’s victory lane stage. Rico Abreu held on to claim second, followed by Paul McMahan, Cory Eliason, and Kyle Reinhardt.
For those who can not witness the All Star Circuit of Champions live and in person, FloRacing.com, the official media partner and broadcast provider of the All Stars, has you covered. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit FloRacing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. Race fans can see all the USAC and dirt late-model action they want in addition to Eldora Speedway’s slate of races and those of the All Star Circuit of Champions. 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: Bedford Speedway – Sunday, April 18, 2021
Event: Johnny Grum Classic
Entries: 30
C&R Racing Hot Laps: Paul McMahan – 16.390
Dixie Vodka Fast Qualifier: Paul McMahan – 16.199
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Cory Eliason
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Tim Shaffer
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Kyle Reinhardt
Kear’s Speed Shop presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash Winner: Rico Abreu
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Jeff Halligan
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: AJ Flick
FloRacing A-Main Winner: Anthony Macri
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Lucas Wolfe (+9)
Floracing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1
Johnny Grum Classic
Bedford Speedway
Bedford, Pennsylvania
Sunday April 18, 2021
Ford Performance Heat Race #1 (8 Laps)
1. 26-Cory Eliason[1]
2. 17B-Bill Balog[2]
3. 11-Ian Madsen[3]
4. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[5]
5. 23-Paul McMahan[4]
6. 4-Cap Henry[9]
7. 48-Danny Dietrich[8]
8. 35H-Zach Hampton[6]
9. 2-AJ Flick[10]
10. 39-Chase Dietz[7]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat Race #2 (8 Laps)
1. 72-Tim Shaffer[1]
2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[2]
3. 39M-Anthony Macri[4]
4. 5-Brent Marks[5]
5. 55W-Mike Wagner[3]
6. 6-Ryan Smith[8]
7. 45-Jeff Halligan[7]
8. 07-Lucas Wolfe[9]
9. 42-Sye Lynch[6]
10. 8M-TJ Michael[10]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat Race #3 (8 Laps)
1. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[2]
2. 24R-Rico Abreu[4]
3. 13-Justin Peck[5]
4. 24-Kerry Madsen[6]
5. 51-Freddie Rahmer[8]
6. 91F-Anthony Fiore[3]
7. 2C-Dylan Cisney[7]
8. 99M-Kyle Moody[9]
9. 10-Zeb Wise[1]
10. 880-Drew Ritchey[10]
Dixie Vodka Qualifying
1. 23-Paul McMahan, 16.199[15]
2. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.257[21]
3. 24R-Rico Abreu, 16.285[6]
4. 11-Ian Madsen, 16.294[14]
5. 55W-Mike Wagner, 16.333[1]
6. 91F-Anthony Fiore, 16.414[5]
7. 17B-Bill Balog, 16.415[25]
8. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 16.425[27]
9. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 16.425[30]
10. 26-Cory Eliason, 16.431[2]
11. 72-Tim Shaffer, 16.441[17]
12. 10-Zeb Wise, 16.466[4]
13. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 16.472[19]
14. 5-Brent Marks, 16.485[20]
15. 13-Justin Peck, 16.510[8]
16. 35H-Zach Hampton, 16.527[12]
17. 42-Sye Lynch, 16.530[24]
18. 39-Chase Dietz, 16.541[7]
19. 24-Kerry Madsen, 16.541[10]
20. 45-Jeff Halligan, 16.585[11]
21. 2C-Dylan Cisney, 16.596[22]
22. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.607[29]
23. 6-Ryan Smith, 16.643[16]
24. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 16.706[26]
25. 4-Cap Henry, 16.747[3]
26. 07-Lucas Wolfe, 16.759[18]
27. 99M-Kyle Moody, 16.792[23]
28. 2-AJ Flick, 16.827[28]
29. 8M-TJ Michael, 16.859[9]
30. 880-Drew Ritchey, 17.048[13]
Kears Speed Shop Dash (6 Laps)
1. 24R-Rico Abreu[1]
2. 23-Paul McMahan[2]
3. 72-Tim Shaffer[3]
4. 39M-Anthony Macri[4]
5. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[6]
6. 26-Cory Eliason[8]
7. 11-Ian Madsen[7]
8. 55W-Mike Wagner[5]
Classic Ink USA B-Main (10 Laps)
1. 45-Jeff Halligan[2]
2. 48-Danny Dietrich[4]
3. 99M-Kyle Moody[6]
4. 2C-Dylan Cisney[3]
5. 35H-Zach Hampton[1]
6. 07-Lucas Wolfe[5]
7. 2-AJ Flick[8]
8. 39-Chase Dietz[9]
9. 42-Sye Lynch[7]
10. 8M-TJ Michael[10]
11. 10-Zeb Wise[11]
DNS: 880-Drew Ritchey
FloRacing A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 39M-Anthony Macri[4]
2. 24R-Rico Abreu[1]
3. 23-Paul McMahan[2]
4. 26-Cory Eliason[6]
5. 91-Kyle Reinhardt[5]
6. 13-Justin Peck[11]
7. 72-Tim Shaffer[3]
8. 11-Ian Madsen[7]
9. 55W-Mike Wagner[8]
10. 5-Brent Marks[13]
11. 17B-Bill Balog[9]
12. 7BC-Tyler Courtney[10]
13. 24-Kerry Madsen[14]
14. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg[12]
15. 07-Lucas Wolfe[24]
16. 48-Danny Dietrich[20]
17. 2C-Dylan Cisney[22]
18. 4-Cap Henry[18]
19. 91F-Anthony Fiore[16]
20. 10-Zeb Wise[25]
21. 35H-Zach Hampton[23]
22. 51-Freddie Rahmer[15]
23. 45-Jeff Halligan[19]
24. 99M-Kyle Moody[21]
25. 6-Ryan Smith[17]