JAMAICA, VA (By Tyler Altmeyer and Dave Seay) – Earning a first-ever Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory is certainly special, but to accomplish that feat in front of a packed-house makes the trip to victory lane all the sweeter. Not to mention, the triumph was worth $10,000.
Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions kicked off their 2019 championship points season, officially, with a Thursday night visit to Virginia Motor Speedway in Jamaica, Virginia. Cory Eliason, driver of the ever-familiar Rudeen Racing/Hagar Realty Service/Rayce Rudeen Foundation/No. 26 sprint car, proved to be the class of the field during the Thursday Night Thunder program at VMS, leading laps seven through 30 to clinch the $10,000 payday.
Despite leading the majority of the 30-lap program, Eliason was under immense pressure, ultimately forced to hold back one of the best in the country, Gettysburg’s Danny Dietrich, to clinch his first-ever trip to All Star victory lane.
“My guys gave me a great race car. We kinda struggled during qualifying, but we came out swinging for the heat race, dash and feature, and came out with a win,” Cory Eliason explained in Virginia Motor Speedway victory lane. “We did this for our car owner’s son, Rayce, who passed away. His birthday is tomorrow. This is a great honor to him.”
In other action David Stremme got by Michael Altobelli on the final lap to claim the $3000 Dirt Cup Challenge UMP Modified feature.
The ‘Buckeye Bullet’ Dave Blaney and Danny Dietrich shared the front row for the start of the main event, but it was Gary Kauffman Racing’s Danny Dietrich who earned the initial jump, taking command and leading the first six circuits unchallenged.
Although Eliason slipped into second from third after the drop of the green, it was not until lap seven that the Visalia, California-native was able to apply pressure on Dietrich with a bold move around the top in turns three and four. Lapped traffic was the key, allowing Eliason to capitalize and blast around Dietrich on the cushion. Dietrich’s preferred line around the bottom was blocked with slower cars.
Despite being forced to endure a red flag stop and a pair of cautions between laps eight and 13, Eliason’s campaign at the front of the field was relatively uncontested, that until slower traffic returned to the picture just beyond the midpoint of the 30-lap program.
By lap 24, things started to heat up immensely. Eliason’s pace was starting to slow as traffic intensified allowing Dietrich and Premier Motorsports’ Brock Zearfoss to enter the frame. By that point, Dietrich and Zearfoss already exchanged positions twice, as Zearfoss powered into second on lap 21, only to lose the spot back to Dietrich on lap 22.
On lap 27, Dietrich attempted to earn the lead back with a slider between turns one and two; the try failed allowing Eliason to once again slip away in traffic. A caution on lap 29 was Eliason’s saving grace, ultimately giving the Rudeen Racing ace a clear track and clean air the final two circuits.
“It’s tough racing in traffic because one side of you wants to just slide in there and force the lapped cars to lift, but the other side of you is telling you to be patient and wait for them to make a mistake,” Eliason continued. “We’re racing for points this year, so that kinda forces you to pick and choose your battles. Everything worked out and the luck fell our way. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.”
Despite a fierce battle with Jonestown’s Brock Zearfoss in the closing circuits, Danny Dietrich held on to finish second, followed by Zearfoss, Cale Conley, and a 22nd-starting Aaron Reutzel, the evening’s hard charger.
“I did not need that last yellow flag,” Danny Dietrich said, “Man, we were rolling pretty good on the bottom. I think we had a little bit of a steering gear issue tonight, but once I figured out it wasn’t going to fail, I could concentrate on racing. Hopefully we stay dry at Williams Grove Speedway and we’ll get to try again.”
In the Dirt Cup Challenge UMP Modified feature Michael Altobelli and Andy Boahn led the 26 car field to green with Boahn taking the lead from the outside. By lap 15 of the 40 lap affair the battle for the lead had become three wide with David Stremme joining Boahn and Altobelli in a battle for the lead.
On lap 18 the trio once again went three wide this time with Altobelli taking over the lead with a pass out of turn three. Caution fell for the fourth time on the following circuit with a spin in t4. On the restart Stremme jumped inside Boahn to take over second.
The two raced nose to tail until lap 24 when Stremme dove inside Altobelli in turn 1 only to have Altobelli power back around him in turn 2. The two raced side by side on several laps with Altobelli being able to hold off Stremme’s advances, that is until lap 38 when Stremme ducked under Altobelli out of turn 4 to grab the lead. His lead was short lived as Altobelli stayed to his outside in turn 1 and taking the lead back with a stronger move out of turn 2.
With the two side by side at the white flag and lapped traffic just ahead Stremme kept his position on the bottom as the two entered turn one allowing Stremme to pin Altobelli behind a lapped car allowing Stremme to take the lead. Caution and checkers would be displayed with Stremme the winner followed by Altobelli, Austin Holcombe, Ryan Ayers and David Taylor.
The speedway will now host the Ultimate Super Late Model Series sanctioned King of the Commonwealth on Saturday, April 20th featuring a $20,000 to win feature for super late models and a $3000 to win feature for FASTRAK Pro Late Models. For more info visit www.vamotorspeedway.com.
COMPLETE RESULTS FOR THURSDAY NIGHT THUNDER APRIL 11, 2019 –
All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Car Series
A Feature 1 – 1. 26-Cory Eliason, 30:36.841[3]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich, 30:38.192[2]; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 30:38.811[5]; 4. 7K-Cale Conley, 30:39.840[10]; 5. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 30:40.056[22]; 6. 14-Tony Stewart, 30:40.190[6]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan, 30:41.282[9]; 8. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, 30:41.956[7]; 9. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 30:42.004[14]; 10. 70X-Spencer Bayston, 30:42.208[15]; 11. 99-Skylar Gee, 30:42.731[4]; 12. 72-Ryan Smith, 30:42.820[13]; 13. W20-Greg Wilson, 30:43.738[11]; 14. 35-Tyler Esh, 30:43.821[12]; 15. 11-Dale Blaney, 30:45.001[17]; 16. 49-Mallie Shuster, 30:45.153[20]; 17. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 28:45.493[8]; 18. 91Q-David Quackenbush, 30:46.287[21]; 19. 40-George Hobaugh Jr., 27:18.752[18]; 20. 91-Anthony Fiore, 25:21.458[16]; 21. 5-Dylan Cisney, 25:02.908[19]; 22. 98H-Dave Blaney, 07:10.144[1]; 23. 40X-Rick Elliott, 05:58.048[23]; 24. 35X-Dalton Dietrich, [24]
Dash 1 – 1. 98H-Dave Blaney, 03:18.460[2]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich, 03:19.363[1]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 03:20.006[3]; 4. 99-Skylar Gee, 03:21.528[4]; 5. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 03:22.052[6]; 6. 14-Tony Stewart, 03:22.714[7]; 7. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, 03:25.807[8]; 8. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 02:52.904[5]
Heat 1 – 1. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 04:42.450[3]; 2. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, 04:46.658[1]; 3. 13-Paul McMahan, 04:48.304[6]; 4. 99-Skylar Gee, 04:49.832[2]; 5. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 04:50.124[7]; 6. 11-Dale Blaney, 04:51.478[8]; 7. 5-Dylan Cisney, 04:52.393[5]; 8. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 04:33.315[4]
Heat 2 – 1. 98H-Dave Blaney, 06:12.227[2]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason, 06:12.511[4]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson, 06:15.436[1]; 4. 35-Tyler Esh, 06:16.721[6]; 5. 72-Ryan Smith, 06:17.886[3]; 6. 40-George Hobaugh Jr., 06:19.419[5]; 7. 91Q-David Quackenbush, 06:21.763[7]; (DNS) 35X-Dalton Dietrich, 06:21.763
Heat 3 – 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 08:26.158[4]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart, 08:29.595[1]; 3. 7K-Cale Conley, 08:30.350[5]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich, 08:31.462[3]; 5. 70X-Spencer Bayston, 08:31.917[8]; 6. 91-Anthony Fiore, 08:34.762[2]; 7. 49-Mallie Shuster, 08:35.705[6]; (DNS) 40X-Rick Elliott, 05:01.936
Qualifying – 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 14.390 (New Track Record)[18]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, [17]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich, [7]; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss, [24]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee, [12]; 6. 07-Gerard McIntyre Jr, [14]; 7. 5-Dylan Cisney, [4]; 8. 13-Paul McMahan, [15]; 9. 26-Cory Eliason, [8]; 10. 91-Anthony Fiore, [11]; 11. 72-Ryan Smith, [20]; 12. 14-Tony Stewart, [21]; 13. 24-Lucas Wolfe, [23]; 14. 7K-Cale Conley, [5]; 15. 98H-Dave Blaney, [3]; 16. 11-Dale Blaney, [2]; 17. W20-Greg Wilson, [22]; 18. 40-George Hobaugh Jr., [13]; 19. 35-Tyler Esh, [10]; 20. 49-Mallie Shuster, [19]; 21. 91Q-David Quackenbush, [16]; 22. 40X-Rick Elliott, [9]; 23. 35X-Dalton Dietrich, [6]; 24. 70X-Spencer Bayston, [1]
Dirt Cup Challenge UMP Modifieds
A Feature 1 – 1. 35-David Stremme, 42:33.808[5]; 2. 95-Michael Altobelli, 42:49.124[1]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 42:52.209[7]; 4. 6-Ryan Ayers, 42:54.014[10]; 5. 14D-David Taylor, 42:57.391[11]; 6. 33-Hunter McClendon, 42:58.881[12]; 7. 11H-Justin Haley, 42:58.887[4]; 8. 84-Ryan Toole, 43:01.880[17]; 9. 14J-Jordan Taylor, 31:54.513[24]; 10. 51-Joey Polevoy, 43:01.976[14]; 11. 90-Ray Kable, 43:09.109[18]; 12. 48-Lance Grady, 43:10.069[19]; 13. 36G-Brandon Galloway, 43:11.245[21]; 14. 21C-Davey Conley, 43:23.339[23]; 15. (DNF) 26X-James Sparks, 41:07.238[26]; 16. (DNF) 61-Eric Hill, 42:36.544[15]; 17. (DNF) 40-Rick Hulson, 31:49.960[6]; 18. (DNF) 99W-Chris Arnold, 31:50.979[3]; 19. (DNF) 82-Gary Dillon, 27:38.155[13]; 20. (DNF) 55-Alyssa Rowe, 22:43.955[22]; 21. (DNF) 27-Mark Schools, 11:43.360[20]; 22. (DNF) 01-Francis Jarrelle III, 11:16.516[9]; 23. (DNF) 45-Will Long, 10:42.210[25]; 24. (DNF) 7-Christian Thomas, 04:59.292[8]; 25. (DNF) 00-Booper Bare, 04:59.316[16]; (DQ) 66-Andy Boahn, 42:50.294[2]
B Feature 1 – 1. 84-Ryan Toole, [2]; 2. 90-Ray Kable, [1]; 3. 48-Lance Grady, [6]; 4. 27-Mark Schools, [15]; 5. 36G-Brandon Galloway, [10]; 6. 55-Alyssa Rowe, [7]; 7. 21C-Davey Conley, [8]; 8. 14J-Jordan Taylor, [12]; (DNS) 11-Chase Butler, ; (DNS) 68-Adam Hoegerl, ; (DNS) 99-Charlie Hubbard, ; (DNS) 45-Will Long, ; (DNS) 21J-Curtis Mason, ; (DNS) 15-Rick Potter, ; (DNS) 26X-James Sparks,
Heat 1 – 1. 95-Michael Altobelli, 10:58.752[1]; 2. 35-David Stremme, 11:01.591[3]; 3. 01-Francis Jarrelle III, 11:05.936[4]; 4. 82-Gary Dillon, 11:08.806[2]; 5. 90-Ray Kable, 11:12.460[7]; 6. (DNF) 68-Adam Hoegerl, 05:47.109[8]; 7. (DNF) 99-Charlie Hubbard, 05:47.815[5]; 8. (DNF) 15-Rick Potter, 00:41.975[6]
Heat 2 – 1. 66-Andy Boahn, 03:57.646[1]; 2. 40-Rick Hulson, 04:01.371[2]; 3. 6-Ryan Ayers, 04:02.762[4]; 4. 51-Joey Polevoy, 04:03.970[3]; 5. 84-Ryan Toole, 04:07.430[6]; 6. 48-Lance Grady, 04:16.458[7]; 7. 36G-Brandon Galloway, 04:16.789[5]; (DNS) 21J-Curtis Mason, 04:16.789
Heat 3 – 1. 99W-Chris Arnold, 07:46.336[2]; 2. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 07:46.479[1]; 3. 14D-David Taylor, 07:51.526[3]; 4. 61-Eric Hill, 07:54.157[5]; 5. 11-Chase Butler, 07:54.360[4]; 6. 55-Alyssa Rowe, 08:02.485[7]; 7. (DNF) 26X-James Sparks, 06:58.036[6]; (DNS) 27-Mark Schools, 00:41.038
Heat 4 – 1. 11H-Justin Haley, 07:19.516[1]; 2. 7-Christian Thomas, 07:23.006[3]; 3. 33-Hunter McClendon, 07:25.681[5]; 4. 00-Booper Bare, 07:26.589[2]; 5. 45-Will Long, 07:30.595[4]; 6. 21C-Davey Conley, 07:39.028[7]; (DNS) 14J-Jordan Taylor, 00:43.200
Qualifying – 1. 95-Michael Altobelli, 00:19.045[31]; 2. 66-Andy Boahn, 00:19.186[27]; 3. 8A-Austin Holcombe, 00:19.232[20]; 4. 11H-Justin Haley, 00:19.311[22]; 5. 82-Gary Dillon, 00:19.378[4]; 6. 40-Rick Hulson, 00:19.402[1]; 7. 99W-Chris Arnold, 00:19.431[14]; 8. 00-Booper Bare, 00:19.454[24]; 9. 35-David Stremme, 00:19.455[9]; 10. 51-Joey Polevoy, 00:19.568[18]; 11. 14D-David Taylor, 00:19.600[17]; 12. 7-Christian Thomas, 00:19.607[10]; 13. 01-Francis Jarrelle III, 00:19.631[11]; 14. 6-Ryan Ayers, 00:19.693[23]; 15. 11-Chase Butler, 00:19.783[7]; 16. 45-Will Long, 00:19.873[6]; 17. 99-Charlie Hubbard, 00:19.879[30]; 18. 36G-Brandon Galloway, 00:19.889[5]; 19. 61-Eric Hill, 00:20.059[21]; 20. 33-Hunter McClendon, 00:20.080[8]; 21. 15-Rick Potter, 00:20.206[2]; 22. 84-Ryan Toole, 00:20.217[26]; 23. 26X-James Sparks, 00:20.379[28]; 24. 14J-Jordan Taylor, 00:20.387[25]; 25. 90-Ray Kable, 00:20.469[29]; 26. 48-Lance Grady, 00:20.685[12]; 27. 55-Alyssa Rowe, 00:20.895[16]; 28. 21C-Davey Conley, 00:21.891[19]; 29. 68-Adam Hoegerl, 00:21.891[15]; 30. 21J-Curtis Mason, 00:21.891[13]; 31. 27-Mark Schools, 00:21.891[3]
