Final Corner Pass Nets Tony Stewart $12,000 All Star Sprint Payday At Virginia Motor Speedway

Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – JAMAICA, VA – Just as Monrovia, Indiana’s Justin Peck was about to secure a second consecutive FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory, a mere 100 yards from Virginia Motor Speedway’s flagstand, disaster struck in the form of a flat right rear tire forcing the Attica Spring Nationals champion to surrender the point to three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, and now six-time All Star main event winner, Tony Stewart.

The victory, Stewart’s first with “America’s Series” in 2021 and his first at the Virginia speedplant, earned the Columbus, Indiana-native a $12,000 payday; his first Series triumph since his $26,000 Rayce Rudeen Foundation Race score at 34 Raceway in 2019.

Stewart, who started eighth on the feature grid by way of heat race victory, and an eventual eighth-place dash finish, not only took advantage of Peck’s misfortune by being in the right place at the right time, but the pilot of the Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing No. 14 sprint car also survived a 30-lap battle with tire wear, as an abrasive racing surface made navigating Virginia Motor Speedway’s high-paced oval plenty risky. Adding to the drama, the final lap of the race was conducted in green-checkered fashion, as a caution on the final circuit forced the field to restack for a final lunge toward the finish.

Kerry Madsen, who started 12th, followed Stewart by Peck to secure the runner-up spot just before the flagstand. Peck ultimately limped across the line to finish third, blown tire still intact, followed by Chase Dietz and Paul McMahan, who each advanced 12 positions over the 30-lap contest.

“We weren’t the fastest car by any means. We kinda figured out early that it was going to be a tricky surface and ultimately a challenge for tires. I just tried to run my car straighter than those guys ahead of me,” Tony Stewart said, who now owns All Star victories at six different facilities. “We could see that (Justin Peck’s) tire was getting pretty worn. I could see the cords so I told myself if he can run the car that hard and make it work, good for him. Being second while trying to save tires was going to be a good night for us.”

Although Stewart and Peck were the focal point for the final lap dash, Cory Eliason was the man in charge for much of the main event and led the first 25 circuits before a cut right rear tire forced the Rudeen Racing entry to go to the work area. As aforementioned, the top spot was inherited by Peck, who had battled his way to second from sixth around the likes of Antony Macri and Ian Madsen, just to name a few. Before Eliason’s misfortune, and on several occasions, Peck pressured Eliason’s back bumper, making a few attempts to dive below Eliason’s No. 26 in turns three and four.

“I got to second and that is when I knew I was as good as Cory (Eliason). I thought maybe I could get a run on him, but then he had that tire go down so we really didn’t get the opportunity to really race for the lead” Justin Peck explained, who remains in control of the current All Star Circuit of Champions title chase. “My team really had me hooked up tonight. That allowed me to do what I needed to do.”

The All Star Circuit of Champions will continue their Mid-Atlantic takeover with three consecutive stops in Pennsylvania, kicking things off with the Tommy Hinnershitz Classic at the world-famous Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg on Friday, April 16. Action will continue on Saturday, April 17, with the $10,000-to-win Keith Kauffman Classic at Port Royal Speedway, followed by the Johnny Grum Classic at Bedford Speedway on Sunday, April 18.

Contingency Awards/Results: Virginia Motor Speedway – Thursday, April 15, 2021
Event: Thursday Night Thriller
Entries: 27
C&R Racing Hot Laps: Brent Marks – 15.414
Dixie Vodka Fast Qualifier: Danny Dietrich – 15.299
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Tony Stewart
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Bill Balog
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Justin Peck
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash presented by Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Winner: Cory Eliason
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: CJ Leary
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: T.J. Michael
FloRacing A-Main Winner: Tony Stewart
Hercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Kyle Reinhardt (+15)

Qualifying

Group (A)
1. 48-Danny Dietrich, 15.299; 2. 26-Cory Eliason, 15.338; 3. 11-Ian Madsen, 15.390; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri, 15.425; 5. 10-Zeb Wise, 15.436; 6. 5-Brent Marks, 15.445; 7. 55v-CJ Leary, 15.476; 8. 17B-Bill Balog, 15.479; 9. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 15.609; 10. 14-Tony Stewart, 15.612; 11. O7-Lucas Wolfe, 15.665; 12. 13-Justin Peck, 15.722; 13. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 15.782; 14. 1X-Chad Trout, 15.815; 15. 39-Chase Dietz, 15.830; 16. 35H-Zach Hampton, 15.846; 17. 23-Paul McMahan, 15.857; 18. 24-Kerry Madsen, 15.877; 19. 15B-Lynton Jeffrey, 15.907; 20. 95-Hunter Mackison, 16.034; 21. 8M-TJ Michael, 16.107; 22. 35-Tyler Esh, 16.119; 23. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 16.145; 24. 91f-Tony Fiore, 16.309; 25. 4-Cap Henry, 16.351; 26. 1080-Jordan Mackison, 22.054; 27. 24R-Rico Abreu, NT

Heat #1 (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 14-Tony Stewart [1]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri [3]; 4. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [5]; 5. 35H-Zach Hampton [6]; 6. 4-Cap Henry [9]; 7. 55V-CJ Leary [2]; 8. 15B-Lynton Jeffrey [7]; 9. 35-Tyler Esh [8]

Heat #2 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 17B-Bill Balog [2]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 3. O7-Lucas Wolfe [1]; 4. 10-Zeb Wise [3]; 5. 1X-Chad Trout [5]; 6. 23-Paul McMahan [6]; 7. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [8]; 8. 1080-Jordan Mackison [9]; 9. 95-Hunter Mackison [7]

Heat #3 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 13-Justin Peck [1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [2]; 3. 11-Ian Madsen [4]; 4. 24-Kerry Madsen [6]; 5. 5-Brent Marks [3]; 6. 39-Chase Dietz [5]; 7. 24R-Rico Abreu [9]; 8. 91F-Tony Fiore [8]; 9. 8M-TJ Michael [7]

Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 2. 11-Ian Madsen [2]; 3. 39M-Anthony Macri [4]; 4. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 5. 17B-Bill Balog [8]; 6. 13-Justin Peck [6]; 7. 10-Zeb Wise [7]; 8. 14-Tony Stewart [5]

B-Main (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 55V-CJ Leary [1]; 2. 15B-Lynton Jeffrey [2]; 3. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [3]; 4. 24R-Rico Abreu [4]; 5. 91F-Tony Fiore [5]; 6. 35-Tyler Esh [9]; 7. 8M-TJ Michael [8]; 8. 95-Hunter Mackison [7]; 9. 1080-Jordan Mackison [6]

A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 14-Tony Stewart [8]; 2. 24-Kerry Madsen [12]; 3. 13-Justin Peck [6]; 4. 39-Chase Dietz [16]; 5. 23-Paul McMahan [17]; 6. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [21]; 7. 4-Cap Henry [18]; 8. 10-Zeb Wise [7]; 9. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [9]; 10. 5-Brent Marks [13]; 11. O7-Lucas Wolfe [10]; 12. 1X-Chad Trout [14]; 13. 35-Tyler Esh [24]; 14. 35H-Zach Hampton [15]; 15. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [11]; 16. 24R-Rico Abreu [22]; 17. 11-Ian Madsen [2]; 18. 55V-CJ Leary [19]; 19. 26-Cory Eliason [1]; 20. 39M-Anthony Macri [3]; 21. 48-Danny Dietrich [4]; 22. 17B-Bill Balog [5]; 23. 15B-Lynton Jeffrey [20]; 24. 91F-Tony Fiore [23] Lap Leaders: Cory Eliason (1-25), Justin Peck (26-29), Tony Stewart (30)