Aaron Reutzel Gets Fourth All Star Victory Of Season During Plymouth Speedway Visit

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – PLYMOUTH, IN – Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutzel made the most of his pole position on Friday night, leading all 41 circuits at Plymouth Speedway in Plymouth, Indiana, to earn his fourth Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory of the 2018 season, solidly on top of the Series’ season win count.

The main event, originally scheduled to go 35 laps in distance, was adjusted to 41 laps to honor the late, great Jason Johnson.

“This is a special win for me and my team. To win a 41-lap race in honor of Jason Johnson is very special, and really emotional, ” said Aaron Reutzel in victory lane, driver Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports/Folkens Brothers Trucking/Fischer Body Shop/No. 87 sprint car. “I’ve known Jason a long time. I watched him race a lot in the area where I am from, and when I started to build a race team, he helped me out a lot. My car actually had a fuel line come off tonight, but I was too stubborn to stop. I wanted to win this one.”

Reutzel’s campaign at the front of the field was nearly flawless. After withstanding a trio of cautions during the first 11 circuits, one of which resulting in open red flag conditions due to a lengthy caution clean up effort, it was smooth sailing for the former ASCS national champion, ultimately sneaking away just enough in traffic to keep anywhere between a half-straightaway and a full straightaway between himself and second place running Jac Haudenschild.

Although escaping unscathed, Reutzel’s only close call of the 41-lap program occurred on lap 29 when the Texan caught a trio of lapped cars at once, forcing Reutzel to take evasive action and split all three competitors. With clearer lanes ahead, especially his preferred lane around the topside of the speedway, Reutzel drove on to score the $5,000 payday by a margin of victory equalling 1.34 seconds.

Chasing Reutzel most of the way, Jac Haudenschild finished second at Plymouth Speedway, and although he was able to keep Reutzel within two seconds at the final checkers, the “Wild Child” was never in any position to take the top spot from Reutzel. Lemoore, California’s Carson Macedo finished third from tenth on the grid, followed by Brady Bacon and Chad Kemenah.

Continuing on down the highway, the Dirt Oval at Route 66 in Joliet, Ill., will welcome the All Star Circuit of Champions for the second time in Series history on Saturday, June 30. Joining the stars and cars of the IRA Outlaw Sprint Series, the “Summer Slash” event at the state-of-the-art motorsports complex, the first and only All Star visit to the Land of Lincoln in 2018, will be a “must see” experience for any open wheel enthusiast. The All Star Circuit of Champions will face-off against many of the IRA’s best including multi-time IRA champion, Bill Balog; current Series point leader and two-time winner, Scotty Thiel; 2018 championship contenders, Jake Blackhurst and Jeremy Schultz; and 2018 IRA opening night winner, Steve Meyer.

MAVTV Motorsports Network, the official television home of the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2018, will be on hand to capture all of the action from the Dirt Oval at Route 66 on Saturday evening. The entire program will be recorded for a tape-delay broadcast set for later in the year. An updated MAVTV/All Star broadcast schedule will be published later this summer.

Dirt Oval at Route 66 will open pit gates at 12 p.m. with the All Star drivers meeting to follow at 6 p.m. Hot laps will hit the speedway at 7 p.m., sharp. Those seeking additional information should visit Dirt Oval at Route 66 at www.dirtoval66.com.

Contingency Awards/Results: Plymouth Speedway – Friday, June 29, 2018
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 23 entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Dave Blaney – 11.472 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Jac Haudenschild – 11.250 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Paul McMahan
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Brady Bacon
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Chad Kemenah
JE Pistons Dash: Aaron Reutzel
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Aaron Reutzel
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Kevin Thomas, Jr. (+8)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 3-Jac Haudenschild, 11.250; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 11.593; 3. 13-Paul McMahan, 11.674; 4. 7J-Joe Swanson, 11.745; 5. 7K-Cale Conley, 11.775; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs, 11.980; 7. 35-Tyler Esh, 11.981; 8. 17B-Bill Balog, 12.061

Group (B)
1. 39-Spencer Bayston, 11.610; 2. 4-Parker Price-Miller, 11.804; 3. 4K-Kody Kinser, 11.810; 4. 99-Brady Bacon, 11.896; 5. 70-Dave Blaney, 12.043; 6. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer, 12.045; 7. 73-Ben Schmidt, 12.198; 8. 21-Brinton Marvel, 12.397

Group (C)
1. 63-Kevin Thomas Jr., 11.878; 2. 14-Tony Stewart, 11.969; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 11.971; 4. 11-Gary Taylor, 11.990; 5. 3G-Carson Macedo, 12.053; 6. 98-Carl Bowser, 12.062; 7. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 12.092

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 13-Paul McMahan [2]; 2. 3-Jac Haudenschild [4]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 4. 17B-Bill Balog [8]; 5. 7K-Cale Conley [5]; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs [6]; 7. 35-Tyler Esh [7]; 8. 7J-Joe Swanson [1]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 99-Brady Bacon [1]; 2. 4-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 3. 4K-Kody Kinser [2]; 4. 39-Spencer Bayston [4]; 5. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer [6]; 6. 70-Dave Blaney [5]; 7. 73-Ben Schmidt [7]; 8. 21-Brinton Marvel [8]

Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah [2]; 2. 11-Gary Taylor [1]; 3. 3G-Carson Macedo [5]; 4. 14-Tony Stewart [3]; 5. 63-Kevin Thomas Jr. [4]; 6. 22-Brandon Spithaler [7]; 7. 98-Carl Bowser [6]

Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 2. 4-Parker Price-Miller [2]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah [1]; 4. 3-Jac Haudenschild [3]; 5. 99-Brady Bacon [5]; 6. 39-Spencer Bayston [8]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [6]; 8. 11-Gary Taylor [7]

A-Main (41 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 2. 3-Jac Haudenschild [4]; 3. 3G-Carson Macedo [10]; 4. 99-Brady Bacon [5]; 5. 10H-Chad Kemenah [3]; 6. 63-Kevin Thomas Jr. [14]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [7]; 8. 7K-Cale Conley [13]; 9. 7TW-Brandon Wimmer [15]; 10. 14-Tony Stewart [11]; 11. 81-Lee Jacobs [16]; 12. 11-Gary Taylor [8]; 13. 39-Spencer Bayston [6]; 14. 4K-Kody Kinser [9]; 15. 98-Carl Bowser [20]; 16. 17B-Bill Balog [12]; 17. 35-Tyler Esh [19]; 18. 73-Ben Schmidt [21]; 19. 7J-Joe Swanson [22]; 20. 21-Brinton Marvel [23]; 21. 4-Parker Price-Miller [2]; 22. 70-Dave Blaney [17]; 23. 22-Brandon Spithaler [18] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-41)