Aaron Reutzel snaps All Star win drought with convincing victory at Plymouth Speedway

Aaron Reutzel snaps All Star win drought with convincing victory at Plymouth Speedway

PLYMOUTH, Ind. (August 22, 2020) – Scoring his first Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 triumph since Ohio Sprint Speedweek competition at Fremont Speedway on July 5, Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutel marched his way back to All Star victory lane on Saturday night during a visit to Plymouth Speedway in Plymouth, Indiana, doing so by commanding the final 32 laps of the 35-lap contest while fending off the likes of three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Tony Stewart.

The $5,000 triumph, his third in a row at the northern Indiana bullring, was accomplished from the outside of row one, first surviving a slide job battle with fellow front row starter, Hunter Schuerenberg, only to find himself in a constant mix of slower traffic for the remainder of the 35-lapper.

Despite Schuerenberg’s early attempts, and some hints of pressure from Tony Stewart/Curb-Agajanian Racing, Reutzel maintained in control, now on top of the 2020 All Star championship points battle by 84 markers.

Tony Stewart held on to finish second at Plymouth Speedway, followed by Hunter Schuerenberg, a hard-charging Justin Peck, and Shane Stewart.

“That was the longest I’ve ever gone without winning in the last five or so years. Someone had to draw a map for me to even get down to victory lane,” an excited Aaron Reutzel stated, driver of the Folkens Brothers Trucking/Fischer Body Shop/Hollywood Blasting & Coating/Dissolvalloy/No. 87 sprint car. “We’ve had a lot of bad luck. Some of it was self inflicted, some of it not. It’s not from a lack of effort, I can sure tell you that. We try as hard as we can every single night and I think that’s why you see us get frustrated with each other because we are trying so hard.”

Despite the initial four circuits consisting of a turn-to-turn battle with pole sitter Hunter Schuerenberg, actually exchanging the lead nearly every corner with Schuerenberg leading laps one and three and Reutzel leading laps two and four, the only other sense of pressure for Reutzel came in the form of Tony Stewart.

Stewart, who started fifth on the feature grid, powered his way to second on lap four, next setting his aim on the tailtank of Aaron Reutzel. The Columbus, Indiana-native kept pace with the two-time and defending All Star champion in traffic initially, but Reutzel’s stride eventually became too much to maintain. By lap 17, Reutzel was beginning to escape through the tail of the field, first utilizing a caution flag on lap ten to build momentum through clean air.

A caution on lap 29 would give Stewart one final chance to sneak by the familiar No. 87, but it was too late. “Tonight we came in here with some confidence, especially since we haven’t lost here as an All Star,” Reutzel continued.

“This is a track that really fits my driving style. It gets wide and the harder you run through the corners, the more speed you can make up. You don’t get that with a lot of tracks. This is definitely a one-of-a-kind racetrack and I really enjoy coming (Plymouth Speedway).” 

What’s Next:
The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will continue their 2020 campaign with a four-pack in the Keystone State, set to visit Grandview Speedway, Williams Grove Speedway, Lincoln Speedway, and Bedford Speedway on Thursday through Sunday, August 27-30, respectively. Packing a punch, the Pennsylvania quadruple will award prestige and prize money, all of which kicking-off with a $5,000-to-win showcase at Grandview on Thursday. Action will continue with a pair of $4,000-to-win main events at Williams Grove Speedway on Friday, followed by the $7,300-to-win Kramer Williamson Klash at Lincoln on Saturday. The weekend will conclude with another $5,000-to-win headliner at Bedford on Sunday.

Contingency Awards/Results: Plymouth Speedway – August 22, 2020:
Event: All Stars visit Plymouth Speedway
Entries: 24
C&R Racing Warm-Ups: Ian Madsen – 11.664Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Aaron Reutzel – 11.472Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Hunter SchuerenbergAll Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Skylar GeeHunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Shane Stewart
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash #1 Winner: Hunter SchuerenbergOllie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Aaron ReutzelHercules Tire A-Main Hard Charger: Justin Peck (+10)

Qualifying Group (A)1. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 11.472; 2. 17-Ian Madsen, 11.578; 3. 14-Tony Stewart, 11.625; 4. 22M-Dan McCarron, 11.717; 5. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 11.832; 6. O2-Brandon Long, 12.034; 7. 21-Brinton Marvel, 12.113; 8. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 12.120; 9. 5r-Ryan Ruhl, 12.121; 10. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 12.136; 11. 99-Skylar Gee, 12.187; 12. 71-Shane Stewart, 12.295; 13. 23-Cole Macedo, 12.308; 14. 11-Zeb Wise, 12.368; 15. 26-Cory Eliason, 12.476; 16. 13-Justin Peck, 12.561; 17. 21N-Frankie Nervo, 12.826; 18. 16c-Chase Ridenour, 12.930; 19. W20-Greg Wilson, 12.935; 20. 14W-Chad Wilson, 12.960; 21. 8M-TJ Michael, 12.978; 22. 10s-Jay Steinebach, 13.313; 23. 27K-Zab Broughman, 13.735; 24. 18S-Micheal Summers, 99.750 Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [4]; 3. 23-Cole Macedo [5]; 4. 13-Justin Peck [6]; 5. 22M-Dan McCarron [3]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [7]; 7. 10S-Jay Steinebach [8]; 8. 21-Brinton Marvel [2] Heat #2 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer1. 99-Skylar Gee [1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [3]; 3. 11-Zeb Wise [5]; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre [2]; 5. 17-Ian Madsen [4]; 6. 14W-Chad Wilson [7]; 7. 21N-Frankie Nervo [6]; 8. 27K-Zab Broughman [8] Heat #3 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 8 Transfer1. 71-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart [4]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [5]; 4. O2-Brandon Long [3]; 5. 8M-TJ Michael [7]; 6. 16C-Chase Ridenour [6]; 7. 18S-Micheal Summers [8]; 8. 5R-Ryan Ruhl [2] Dash #1 (6 Laps)1. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 2. 87-Aaron Reutzel [3]; 3. 17-Ian Madsen [5]; 4. 71-Shane Stewart [8]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [2]; 6. 99-Skylar Gee [4]; 7. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [6]; 8. 22M-Dan McCarron [7] A-Main (35 Laps)1. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart [5]; 3. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [1]; 4. 13-Justin Peck [14]; 5. 71-Shane Stewart [4]; 6. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [7]; 7. 11-Zeb Wise [10]; 8. 99-Skylar Gee [6]; 9. 17-Ian Madsen [3]; 10. 26-Cory Eliason [11]; 11. 22M-Dan McCarron [8]; 12. 8M-TJ Michael [15]; 13. 21-Brinton Marvel [22]; 14. 5R-Ryan Ruhl [23]; 15. 21N-Frankie Nervo [19]; 16. 14W-Chad Wilson [18]; 17. 18S-Micheal Summers [21]; 18. 27K-Zab Broughman [24]; 19. 10S-Jay Steinebach [20]; 20. 16C-Chase Ridenour [16]; 21. W20-Greg Wilson [17]; 22. O2-Brandon Long [12]; 23. 23-Cole Macedo [9]; 24. O7-Gerard McIntyre [13] Lap Leaders: Hunter Schuerenberg (1), Aaron Reutzel (2), Hunter Schuerenberg (3), Aaron Reutzel (4-35) 2020 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings: (As of August 22, 2020)
1. Aaron Reutzel – 4308
2. Cory Eliason – 4224
3. Zeb Wise – 4010
4. Paul McMahan – 3780
5. Skylar Gee – 3744
6. Greg Wilson – 3644
7. Josh Baughman – 3492
8. Kyle Larson – 2642
9. Brock Zearfoss – 2404
10. Danny Dietrich – 2336