By Tyler Altmeyer
BENTON, Mo. (July 26, 2023) – For the first time in 15 years, the Tezos All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 made their presence known at Benton Speedway in Benton, Missouri, and it was Marion, Arkansas’ Derek Hagar who claimed the triumph, upsetting “America’s Series” for an $8,000 score and a first-ever Series victory. Hagar, an eight-time 360 sprint car winner before venturing to Benton Speedway, took command of the 30-lap contest on lap 11, utilizing a post-open red flag restart to slide race-long leader and Rudeen Racing ace, Zeb Wise, in turn one. Wise attempted to return the favor the following set of turns, but Hagar was able to defend.
Once taking command, Hagar set sail, eventually switching his focus to the bottom of the speedway just beyond halfway. An abrasive surface led to a bottom dominant groove, and that’s where Hagar stayed, catching the back of the field in the late stages with a quick closing Wise and Corey Day. Day, who got by Wise on lap 27, drove to the back bumper of Hagar in the final two circuits, but time ran thin.
Day raced on to finish second, followed by Wise, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania’s Tim Shaffer, and Vermeer Motorsports’ Kerry Madsen.
“Man, I don’t think this has even sunk in yet,” Hagar, driver of the Sonic No. 44 sprint car, said. “We were OK early on, but that open red after lap 10 allowed us to really tighten this race car up. I was able to get by Zeb and protect the lead from there. Just so tough out there being out front. I kept trying to sneak a look at the scoreboard to see how many laps were left. When I knew the checkered was out, I was fist pumping all the way down the frontstretch.
“This is our first 410 start this year,” Hagar added. “To get my first All Star win here at Benton Speedway is just so special. It’s just an incredible feeling to be standing here as a winner with you guys.”
ON DECK:
Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Missouri, will host the All Star Circuit of Champions and POWRi 410 Sprints for a $6,000-to-win program on Thursday, July 27, followed by an invasion of the state-of-the-art I-70 Motorsports Park in Odessa, Missouri, on Friday, July 28. The final Missouri visit of the season will award an $8,000 payday.
Concluding the Series’ Midwest takeover, the Sprint Car Capital of the World, Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, will host “America’s Series” on Saturday, July 29, welcoming the Tony Stewart-owned organization for the first and only time in 2023. The Saturday night staple will award $8,000, simultaneously giving All Star competitors a taste of Knoxville Raceway prior to the coveted Knoxville Nationals in mid-August.
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. Find subscription here: https://flosports.link/3XJOg5Z
Contingency Awards/Results: Benton Speedway | July 26, 2023:
$8,000-to-win
Kistler Racing Products Pill Draw | Entries: 27
Macri Concrete/Nunzi’s Advertising Hot Laps: Zeb Wise | 13.128
Hercules Tires Fast Qualifier: Corey Day | 13.418
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #1 Winner: Kerry Madsen
Competition Suspension Inc Heat #2 Winner: Tim Shaffer
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #3 Winner: Zeb Wise
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash Winner: Zeb Wise
Classic Ink USA B-Main Winner: Jason Keith
Rayce Rudeen Foundation Contingency Award: Kevin Newton
Tezos A-Main Winner: Derek Hagar
Tezos A-Main Hard Charger: Zach Daum
Carquest Perseverance Award: Ayden Gatewood
Tezos A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 44-Derek Hagar[4]; 2. 14-Corey Day[5]; 3. 26-Zeb Wise[1]; 4. 45-Tim Shaffer[2]; 5. 55-Kerry Madsen[6]; 6. 21T-Cole Macedo[3]; 7. 51B-Joe B Miller[7]; 8. 31-Zach Daum[20]; 9. 97-JJ Hickle[16]; 10. 101-Cody Maroske[10]; 11. 18T-Tanner Holmes[17]; 12. 28M-Conner Morrell[12]; 13. 4-Chris Windom[13]; 14. 13-Chase Howard[18]; 15. 29-Sye Lynch[15]; 16. 37-Ayden Gatewood[23]; 17. 28-Jason Keith[19]; 18. 19-Ayrton Gennetten[22]; 19. 7BC-Anthony Macri[11]; 20. 6-Mario Clouser[24]; 21. (DNF) W20-Greg Wilson[21]; 22. (DNF) 16TH-Parker Price Miller[8]; 23. (DNF) 50K-Kyle Bellm[14]; 24. (DNF) 17AU-Jamie Veal[9] LAP LEADERS: Zeb Wise (1-10), Derek Hagar (11-30)
Classic Ink USA B Feature (8 Laps): 1. 28-Jason Keith[1]; 2. 31-Zach Daum[2]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson[3]; 4. 19-Ayrton Gennetten[4]; 5. 37-Ayden Gatewood[5]; 6. 6-Mario Clouser[7]; 7. 16THH-Kevin Newton[9]; 8. 88-Brad Cookson[6]; 9. (DNS) 23B-Brian Bell
Elliotts Custom Trailers and Carts Dash (6 Laps): 1. 26-Zeb Wise[1]; 2. 45-Tim Shaffer[2]; 3. 21T-Cole Macedo[3]; 4. 44-Derek Hagar[5]; 5. 14-Corey Day[6]; 6. 55-Kerry Madsen[4]
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 55-Kerry Madsen[3]; 2. 51B-Joe B Miller[2]; 3. 17AU-Jamie Veal[1]; 4. 7BC-Anthony Macri[6]; 5. 29-Sye Lynch[7]; 6. 14-Corey Day[4]; 7. 31-Zach Daum[5]; 8. 37-Ayden Gatewood[9]; 9. 6-Mario Clouser[8]
CSI Shocks Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 45-Tim Shaffer[1]; 2. 44-Derek Hagar[4]; 3. 101-Cody Maroske[2]; 4. 28M-Conner Morrell[6]; 5. 97-JJ Hickle[7]; 6. 18T-Tanner Holmes[5]; 7. 19-Ayrton Gennetten[8]; 8. 28-Jason Keith[3]; 9. 16THH-Kevin Newton[9]
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 26-Zeb Wise[1]; 2. 16TH-Parker Price Miller[3]; 3. 21T-Cole Macedo[4]; 4. 4-Chris Windom[6]; 5. 50K-Kyle Bellm[2]; 6. 13-Chase Howard[5]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson[7]; 8. 88-Brad Cookson[9]; 9. (DNF) 23B-Brian Bell[8]
Hercules Tire Qualifying: 1. 14-Corey Day, 00:13.418[2]; 2. 44-Derek Hagar, 00:13.480[3]; 3. 21T-Cole Macedo, 00:13.580[9]; 4. 17AU-Jamie Veal, 00:13.593[10]; 5. 45-Tim Shaffer, 00:13.776[7]; 6. 26-Zeb Wise, 00:13.786[8]; 7. 51B-Joe B Miller, 00:13.829[4]; 8. 101-Cody Maroske, 00:13.873[5]; 9. 50K-Kyle Bellm, 00:13.882[1]; 10. 55-Kerry Madsen, 00:14.031[16]; 11. 28-Jason Keith, 00:14.032[6]; 12. 16TH-Parker Price Miller, 00:14.035[13]; 13. 31-Zach Daum, 00:14.052[22]; 14. 18T-Tanner Holmes, 00:14.100[11]; 15. 13-Chase Howard, 00:14.196[18]; 16. 7BC-Anthony Macri, 00:14.211[15]; 17. 28M-Conner Morrell, 00:14.335[21]; 18. 4-Chris Windom, 00:14.362[23]; 19. 29-Sye Lynch, 00:14.363[25]; 20. 97-JJ Hickle, 00:14.390[24]; 21. W20-Greg Wilson, 00:14.521[20]; 22. 6-Mario Clouser, 00:14.542[14]; 23. 19-Ayrton Gennetten, 00:14.616[19]; 24. 23B-Brian Bell, 00:14.729[27]; 25. 37-Ayden Gatewood, 00:14.875[26]; 26. 16THH-Kevin Newton, 00:14.913[12]; 27. 88-Brad Cookson, 00:15.463[17]
2023 All Star Circuit of Champions OWNER Standings (As of 7/26):
Clauson Marshall Racing – 3442
Rudeen Racing – 3434
Vermeer Motorsports – 3338
Lane Racing – 3284
Bryan Grove Racing – 3222
Seeling Motorsports – 3074
Bill McCandless Ford – 2984
D3 Motorsports Group – 2748
Premier Motorsports – 2224
2023 All Star Circuit of Champions DRIVER Standings (As of 7/26):
Zeb Wise – 3324
Chris Windom – 3284
Tim Shaffer – 3222
J.J. Hickle – 3074
Tyler Courtney – 3023
Conner Morrell – 2748
Sye Lynch – 2656
Scotty Thiel – 2114
Parker Price-Miller – 1956
Brent Marks – 1742