Leads all 40 laps to Score Third Arctic Cat All Star Victory of the Season at Brownstown Speedway
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR SERIES MEDIA
Photos By: PAUL ARCH / RACERSGUIDE.COM
BROWNSTOWN, IN -August 27, 2016 – “Downtown” Danny Holtgraver nearly dominated Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions competition on Saturday night at the Brownstown Speedway in Brownstown, Indiana, leading all 40 circuits to capture his third Arctic Cat All Star victory of the 2016 season, as well as the first Arctic Cat All Star victory at Brownstown Speedway since June of 1999. Holtgraver, pilot of Pete Grove’s Premier Motorsports/Premier Pallets/Bonnell’s Rod Shop/DKW Transport/No. 70 entry, started from the outside-pole position at the quarter-mile bullring, eventually holding off charges by Dale Blaney, Randy Hannagan, and Sheldon Haudenschild to score the $5,000 top prize.
“Man, I can’t thank my guys enough for all that they do for me,” Danny Holtgraver said in victory lane. “Pete Grove gave me a great opportunity this year. I can’t thank him enough for that. He allows me to come out here and do what I love to do each and every weekend. Cody Jacobs, my dad, Mike, Al; they all bust their butts and I truly appreciate it. We needed another one of these. The last few weeks haven’t been too great for us for a number of reasons. We’ll celebrate this one and get ready to try again tomorrow.”
Holtgraver wasted no time getting to the front of the feature field, taking control after the initial green flag to lead lap one over Kraig Kinser and Arctic Cat All Star point leader Chad Kemenah. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native relied on Brownstown Speedway’s heavy curb for momentum, racing on top undistracted by a near-two second margin until traffic came into play, easing the pace for the first time on lap six.
Even as traffic intensified, Holtgraver kept his composure; using momentum to keep a lengthy advantage while negotiating lapped cars. Meanwhile, Chad Kemenah, Dale Blaney, and Sheldon Haudenschild created a three-car battle for positions two through four, a battle that would last for nearly 15 circuits. After multiple slide jobs and crossovers, Blaney eventually settled into second, followed by Sheldon Haudenschild and Chad Kemenah.
A caution on lap 18, and a late red flag incident on lap 35, proved to be no distraction for Danny Holtgraver, ultimately racing on to park himself in Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions victory lane for the 12th time in his career. Dale Blaney, aboard his familiar GoMuddy.com/Big Game Treestands/CH Motorsports/No. 1, finished second after starting fifth, followed by Randy Hannagan, who climbed from the outside of row five to earn his podium performance. The “Hurricane” made his first appearance in a podium position on lap 33, driving under the familiar No. 93 of Sheldon Haudenschild in traffic.
“I just felt really comfortable from the start. Cody and the guys had this thing exactly where it needed to be,” Holtgraver said. “The top was where I felt the strongest. It started to get pretty tricky; not a lot left toward the end of the race. You kinda had to tip-toe your way around there and make sure you didn’t get sucked over the edge. Traffic was tough at times, but we were able to get through it pretty well without too many hiccups. I’m just really happy to be back in this position. We’ll try to double-up on the weekend tomorrow night at Millstream.”
The 2016 Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions title chase continues to make headlines, as only 70 points separate the top three competitors in the current championship standings. Using his runner-up finish at Brownstown Speedway, Dale Blaney has chipped away Chad Kemenah’s advantage to just six points with only nine events remaining in 2016. Sheldon Haudenschild finds himself third in the championship standings, just 70 points out of the top spot. Cap Henry and Danny Holtgraver round-out the top-five, respectively.
The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will officially end the month of August with a visit to the Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio, on Sunday night, August 28. It will be the second and final Millstream appearance of the 2016 season for “America’s Series,” the 55th overall appearance by the traveling circuit since their first visit in 1982. Dale Blaney is the most recent Arctic Cat All Star winner at the Findlay half-mile, holding back Chad Kemenah and Kyle Larson during Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket on June 19. The victory, the fourth of Blaney’s Arctic Cat All Star career at Millstream Speedway, was worth $5,000.
Millstream Speedway in Findlay, Ohio, will allow pit access beginning at 3:00 pm on Sunday afternoon, August 28. A mandatory drivers meeting will be conducted at 5:30, followed by hot laps at 6:30. More news and updates can be found online at www.millstreamspeedway.net.
Contingency Awards/Results: Brownstown Speedway – Saturday, August 27, 2016:
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 30 Entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Andrew Palker – 11.378 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Dale Blaney – 11.318 seconds (*NTR)
Kistler Racing Products Heat #1: Kraig Kinser
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Cole Duncan
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Chad Kemenah
JE Pistons Dash: Kraig Kinser
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Danny Holtgraver
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Cap Henry (+15)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Cap Henry
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: T.J. Michael (11th)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Caleb Armstrong (16th)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
1.1-Dale Blaney, 11.318; 2.67-Carson Macedo, 11.331; 3.21-Cap Henry, 11.418; 4.71-Jac Haudenschild, 11.497; 5.4K-Kody Kinser, 11.507; 6.10H-Chad Kemenah, 11.566; 7.11K-Kraig Kinser, 11.571; 8.8M-TJ Michael, 11.635; 9.40-Caleb Helms, 11.646; 10.70-Danny Holtgraver, 11.654; 11.21C-Carson Short, 11.672; 12.93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 11.687; 13.56R-Ryan Myers, 11.738; 14.81-Lee Jacobs, 11.751; 15.22-Cole Duncan, 11.759; 16.11N-Randy Hannagan, 11.817; 17.57X-Andrew Palker, 11.858; 18.85-Mike Terry, 11.868; 19.7C-Caleb Armstrong, 11.875; 20.22B-Ryan Broughton, 11.876; 21.1080-Jordan Mackison, 11.879; 22.71m-Paul May, 11.965; 23.4-Danny Smith, 12.008; 24.3-Dakota Jackson, 12.180; 25.95-Hunter Mackison, 12.238; 26.60-Kory Crabtree, 12.493; 27.83-Adam Cruea, 12.592; 28.10P-Jim Perricone, 13.292; 29.49H-Bradley Howard, 99.140; 30.4B-Tom Busch, 99.990;
Heat 1, Group A – (10 Laps)
1. 11K-Kraig Kinser[2] ; 2. 40-Caleb Helms[5] ; 3. 8M-TJ Michael[1] ; 4. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[7] ; 5. 21C-Carson Short[6] ; 6. 85-Mike Terry[8] ; 7. 3-Dakota Jackson[9] ; 8. 71-Jac Haudenschild[3] ; 9. 21-Cap Henry[4]
Heat 2, Group B – (10 Laps)
1. 22-Cole Duncan[1] ; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs[2] ; 3. 1-Dale Blaney[4] ; 4. 11N-Randy Hannagan[5] ; 5. 4K-Kody Kinser[3] ; 6. 71m-Paul May[7] ; 7. 4-Danny Smith[8] ; 8. 95-Hunter Mackison[9] ; 9. 1080-Jordan Mackison[6] ; 10. 83-Adam Cruea[10]
Heat 3, Group C – (10 Laps)
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 2. 70-Danny Holtgraver[2] ; 3. 67-Carson Macedo[4] ; 4. 22B-Ryan Broughton[7] ; 5. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[6] ; 6. 57X-Andrew Palker[5] ; 7. 60-Kory Crabtree[8] ; 8. 56R-Ryan Myers[1] ; 9. 10P-Jim Perricone[9]
Dash 1 – (6 Laps)
1. 11K-Kraig Kinser[1] ; 2. 70-Danny Holtgraver[2] ; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah[5] ; 4. 8M-TJ Michael[3] ; 5. 1-Dale Blaney[6] ; 6. 4K-Kody Kinser[4] ; 7. 40-Caleb Helms[7] ; 8. 67-Carson Macedo[8]
B-Main 1 – (40 Laps)
1. 71-Jac Haudenschild[2] ; 2. 21-Cap Henry[1] ; 3. 56R-Ryan Myers[3] ; 4. 4-Danny Smith[5] ; 5. 60-Kory Crabtree[8] ; 6. 1080-Jordan Mackison[4] ; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison[7] ; 8. 10P-Jim Perricone[10] ; 9. 3-Dakota Jackson[6] ; 10. 83-Adam Cruea[9] ; 11. 49H-Bradley Howard[11]
A-Main 1 – (12 Laps)
1. 70-Danny Holtgraver[2] ; 2. 1-Dale Blaney[5] ; 3. 11N-Randy Hannagan[12] ; 4. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[11] ; 5. 21-Cap Henry[20] ; 6. 10H-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser[1] ; 8. 22-Cole Duncan[10] ; 9. 71-Jac Haudenschild[19] ; 10. 71m-Paul May[17] ; 11. 8M-TJ Michael[4] ; 12. 40-Caleb Helms[7] ; 13. 81-Lee Jacobs[9] ; 14. 4K-Kody Kinser[6] ; 15. 67-Carson Macedo[8] ; 16. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[15] ; 17. 21C-Carson Short[14] ; 18. 57X-Andrew Palker[18] ; 19. 60-Kory Crabtree[23] ; 20. 85-Mike Terry[16] ; 21. 4-Danny Smith[22] ; 22. 56R-Ryan Myers[21] ; 23. 1080-Jordan Mackison[24] ; 24. 22B-Ryan Broughton[13]
Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (August 27, 2016):
1. Chad Kemenah: 4188
2. Dale Blaney: 4182
3. Sheldon Haudenschild: 4118
4. Cap Henry: 3940
5. Danny Holtgraver: 3914
6. Kraig Kinser: 3848
7. T.J. Michael: 3720
8. Caleb Helms: 3608
9. Lee Jacobs: 3422
10. Andrew Palker: 3376
Additional Arctic Cat All Star Series Info:
Those seeking additional information regarding the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions ?should visit their official online home at www.allstarsprint.com. Series updates and breaking news will be posted regularly on the official Twitter account of the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions: https://twitter.com/ASCoC. Find full text results from each and every event, as well as an up-to-date schedule, online at www.allstarsprint.com/schedule/.
About the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing. Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first ‘outlaw’ Sprint Car organization of the modern era. After a 10 year stint as owner of the All Stars, Miller passed control of the series to Bert Emick in 1980; a reign that would continue through 2002. Guy Webb then purchased the series from Emick in the summer of 2002 and served as the series President for the next 12 years. Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015.
