Trey Starks Earns Second-Ever All Star Win During Port Royal’s Night Before The 50

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – PORT ROYAL, PA – After spending much of his 2019 campaign focused on weekly competition at the famed Knoxville Raceway, Puyallup, Washington’s Trey Starks made his way ‘home’ to Central Pennsylvania and found success right from the start, winning an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event in just his second attempt in the Keystone State since temporarily moving team headquarters to the Midwest.

The victory, a second-ever for Starks during All Star Circuit of Champions competition, was accomplished during Port Royal Speedway’s Night Before The Tuscarora 50; a preamble to the historic, yet unprecedented, $52,000-to-win Tuscarora 50, which will takeover Port Royal headlines on Saturday evening, September 7.

Starting from the outside-pole position, Starks took command for the first time on lap 13, taking advantage of Aaron Reutzel’s misfortune that occurred in the form of a flat left-rear tire. Although Kasey Kahne Racing’s James McFadden, who was battling in the runner-up spot at the time of Reutzel’s troubles, inherited the top spot, officially, Starks quickly proved he was stronger, utilizing the ensuing restart to drive under McFadden by the exit turn four.

McFadden held on to finish second at the ‘Speed Palace,’ followed by Brian Brown, Gio Scelzi and Anthony Macri.

“This feels awesome,” Trey Starks said, driver of the Central Pennsylvania-based, Scott Gobrecht-owned, E-Z-GO/Golf Cart Services/No. 44 sprint car. “It feels like the first part of this year nothing could go our way. We had tons of bad luck. As the year winds down, we are starting to get some luck. We had a fast race car last night (Bedford Speedway), and we had a fast race car again tonight. We’re really happy to be back here in Pennsylvania and to be able to put on a show for all of the fans.”

Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutzel earned the early advantage from the pole position. The defending All Star champion led the first seven laps unscathed before reaching the back of the field for the first time on lap eight.

Despite Reutzel’s ability to open up to an impressive command that stretched to nearly a full straightaway, Starks displayed early signs of speed and quickly closed-in on the familiar No. 87.

Things started to heat up for the first time on lap nine, as Reutzel found himself trapped behind slower cars at the entrance of turn one. Forced to check-up with the intent to drive around traffic, the momentum shift proved to be too damaging for Reutzel which allowed Starks to close the gap completely. Unfortunately for Starks, caution flags on lap 10 erased all potential for a battle in traffic allowing Reutzel the opportunity to restart in clean air.

In a quick turn of events, the next caution on lap 13 was for race leader, Aaron Reutzel, who pulled to a stop with a flat left-rear tire. The caution allowed James McFadden to inherit the top spot, who gained the runner-up position over Starks on lap 11.

Although McFadden was in charge during the ensuing restart, he would not lead a lap, as Starks was able to power under McFadden and slide the Australia-native through turns three and four. Starks was now in charge and that is where he stayed.

McFadden did show signs of strength during the final four circuits, but Starks’ pace was too tough to tame.

“I couldn’t quite get the start I needed to get around Aaron (Reutzel),” Starks continued. “I knew he was going to set a really fast pace. But I did feel like, before that first caution, that we were running him down a little bit. Once I got to the lead, I told myself I was going to run as hard as I could and not worry about my tires.”

Fans will have the opportunity to relive Trey Starks’ Night Before The 50 victory on MAVTV Motorsports Network in November.

Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions will conclude their three-day sweep of the Keystone State with the highest paying program on the 2019 All Star schedule: the 52nd running of the Tuscarora 50. The Port Royal Speedway showstopper will go 50 laps in distance and award a $52,000 top prize.

MAVTV Motorsports Network, the official television home of the All Star Circuit of Champions in 2019, will be on hand to capture action from Port Royal Speedway’s Tuscarora 50. The 50-lap Tuscarora 50 finale will be aired on MAVTV Motorsports Network via tape-delay broadcast on November 10.

Contingency Awards/Results: Port Royal Speedway – September 6, 2019:
Event: The Night Before The Tuscarora 50
Entries: 58
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: TJ Stutts – 16.301 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel – 15.957 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Gio Scelzi
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: James McFadden
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Brian Brown
Mobil 1 Heat #4: Tony Stewart
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5: Anthony Macri
Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts C-Main: Alan Krimes
JE Pistons Dash #1: Aaron Reutzel
Fatheadz Eyewear Dash #2: Trey Starks
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting B-Main Winner: Lance Dewease
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Trey Starks
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Ryan Smith (+10)
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Trey Starks (13-30)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Greg Wilson
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 15.958; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 15.987; 3. 44-Trey Starks, 16.032; 4. 71-Gio Scelzi, 16.105; 5. K4-Chad Kemenah, 16.546; 6. 21-Brian Montieth, 16.557; 7. 29P-Dan Shetler, 16.581; 8. 55K-Robbie Kendall, 16.586; 9. 10-Tyler Bear, 16.592; 10. 20-Ryan Taylor, 16.602; 11. 11B-Carl Bowser, 16.738; 12. 14T-Tyler Walton, 16.836

Group (B)
1. 72-Ryan Smith, 16.130; 2. 98H-Dave Blaney, 16.166; 3. 2-AJ Flick, 16.220; 4. 9-James McFadden, 16.292; 5. 33-Jared Esh, 16.298; 6. 69K-Lance Dewease, 16.316; 7. 12-Blane Heimbach, 16.340; 8. 1-Logan Wagner, 16.466; 9. J4-John Garvin, 16.598; 10. 17M-Kyle Smith, 16.704; 11. 57J-Jeff MIller, 16.768; 12. 13-Paul McMahan, 17.374

Group (C)
1. 21b-Brian Brown, 16.083; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich, 16.190; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 16.194; 4. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 16.283; 5. 5-Dylan Cisney, 16.306; 6. 42-Sye Lynch, 16.501; 7. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 16.555; 8. 87K-Alan Krimes, 16.648; 9. 3J-Tim Shaffer, 16.670; 10. 99-Skylar Gee, 16.683; 11. 29-Jason Shultz, 16.800; 12. O-Rick Lafferty, 16.834

Group (D)
1. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 16.217; 2. 11S-TJ Stutts, 16.273; 3. 83-Lynton Jeffrey, 16.312; 4. 14-Tony Stewart, 16.409; 5. 39-Cory Haas, 16.513; 6. 75-Chase Dietz, 16.714; 7. 35-Tyler Reeser, 16.718; 8. 73B-Brett Michalski, 16.918; 9. 75b-Nicole Bower, 16.965; 10. 24B-Dustin Baney, 17.481; 11. 12w-Troy Fraker, 18.467

Group (E)
1. 11-Dale Blaney, 16.000; 2. 17-Josh Baughman, 16.104; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.185; 4. 70X-Justin Peck, 16.499; 5. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 16.503; 6. W20-Greg Wilson, 16.545; 7. 55-Mike Wagner, 16.575; 8. 67W-Justin Whittall, 16.840; 9. 40-George Hobaugh, 16.917; 10. 19M-Landon Myers, 17.044; 11. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 28.602

Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 71-Gio Scelzi [1]; 2. 44-Trey Starks [2]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 5. 21-Brian Montieth [6]; 6. 29P-Dan Shetler [7]; 7. 20-Ryan Taylor [10]; 8. 55K-Robbie Kendall [8]; 9. 14T-Tyler Walton [12]; 10. K4-Chad Kemenah [5]; 11. 10-Tyler Bear [9]; 12. 11B-Carl Bowser [11]

Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 9-James McFadden [1]; 2. 2-AJ Flick [2]; 3. 33-Jared Esh [5]; 4. 72-Ryan Smith [4]; 5. 12-Blane Heimbach [7]; 6. 69K-Lance Dewease [6]; 7. 13-Paul McMahan [12]; 8. 98H-Dave Blaney [3]; 9. J4-John Garvin [9]; 10. 1-Logan Wagner [8]; 11. 17M-Kyle Smith [10]; 12. 57J-Jeff MIller [11]

Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 21B-Brian Brown [4]; 2. 51-Freddie Rahmer [1]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 5. 5-Dylan Cisney [5]; 6. 42-Sye Lynch [6]; 7. 3J-Tim Shaffer [9]; 8. O7-Gerard McIntyre [7]; 9. 87K-Alan Krimes [8]; 10. O-Rick Lafferty [12]; 11. 99-Skylar Gee [10]; 12. 29-Jason Shultz [11]

Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 14-Tony Stewart [1]; 2. 11S-TJ Stutts [3]; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss [4]; 4. 83-Lynton Jeffrey [2]; 5. 39-Cory Haas [5]; 6. 35-Tyler Reeser [7]; 7. 75-Chase Dietz [6]; 8. 73B-Brett Michalski [8]; 9. 24B-Dustin Baney [10]; 10. 75B-Nicole Bower [9]; 11. 12W-Troy Fraker [11]

Heat #5 – Group (E) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 39M-Anthony Macri [2]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [4]; 3. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [5]; 4. 70X-Justin Peck [1]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 6. 55-Mike Wagner [7]; 7. 19M-Landon Myers [10]; 8. 40-George Hobaugh [9]; 9. 17-Josh Baughman [3]; 10. 67W-Justin Whittall [8]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart [1]; 3. 11-Dale Blaney [4]; 4. 21B-Brian Brown [3]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri [6]; 6. 71-Gio Scelzi [5]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 44-Trey Starks [1]; 2. 9-James McFadden [4]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [2]; 4. 51-Freddie Rahmer [3]; 5. 2-AJ Flick [6]; 6. 11S-TJ Stutts [5]

C-Main (10 Laps) – Top 2 Transfer
1. 87K-Alan Krimes [2]; 2. K4-Chad Kemenah [5]; 3. 99-Skylar Gee [9]; 4. 14T-Tyler Walton [3]; 5. O-Rick Lafferty [6]; 6. 75B-Nicole Bower [7]; 7. 17M-Kyle Smith [10]; 8. 24B-Dustin Baney [4]

B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 69K-Lance Dewease [8]; 2. 17-Josh Baughman [1]; 3. 5-Dylan Cisney [3]; 4. 12-Blane Heimbach [4]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 6. 35-Tyler Reeser [12]; 7. 20-Ryan Taylor [13]; 8. 29P-Dan Shetler [11]; 9. 3J-Tim Shaffer [14]; 10. 13-Paul McMahan [17]; 11. O7-Gerard McIntyre [18]; 12. 75-Chase Dietz [15]; 13. 73B-Brett Michalski [21]; 14. 42-Sye Lynch [9]; 15. K4-Chad Kemenah [23]; 16. 98H-Dave Blaney [2]; 17. 21-Brian Montieth [7]; 18. 39-Cory Haas [5]; 19. 19M-Landon Myers [16]; 20. 55-Mike Wagner [10]; 21. 55K-Robbie Kendall [19]

A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 44-Trey Starks [2]; 2. 9-James McFadden [4]; 3. 21B-Brian Brown [7]; 4. 71-Gio Scelzi [11]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri [9]; 6. 70-Brock Zearfoss [13]; 7. 72-Ryan Smith [17]; 8. 51-Freddie Rahmer [8]; 9. 87-Aaron Reutzel [1]; 10. 26-Cory Eliason [12]; 11. 48-Danny Dietrich [18]; 12. 14-Tony Stewart [3]; 13. 5-Dylan Cisney [23]; 14. 33-Jared Esh [15]; 15. 11-Dale Blaney [5]; 16. 12-Blane Heimbach [26]; 17. 2-AJ Flick [10]; 18. 83-Lynton Jeffrey [19]; 19. 70X-Justin Peck [20]; 20. 2M-Kerry Madsen [6]; 21. 11S-TJ Stutts [14]; 22. 13-Paul McMahan [24]; 23. 17-Josh Baughman [22]; 24. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [16]; 25. 69K-Lance Dewease [21]; 26. 35-Tyler Reeser [25] Lap Leaders: Aaron Reutzel (1-12), Trey Starks (13-30)