Trey Starks Takes Command For Bedford Speedway All Star Series Victory
Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR SERIES MEDIA
Photos By: VINCE VELLELLA / PAUL ARCH / RACERSGUIDE.COM
BEDFORD, PA -May 1, 2017 – For the first time in his young career, Trey Starks is an Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions main event winner, outrunning Dale Blaney and Lucas Wolfe for the Roy Morral Tribute title at the Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway in Bedford, Pennsylvania. Starks, pilot of the Scott Gobrecht-owned/Textron Off Road/No. 44, took command officially on lap three and never looked back, crossing under the final checkers 2.2 seconds ahead of the competition. The $5,000 victory was Starks’ first in Central Pennsylvania.
“I don’t even know what to say right now. This is amazing,” Trey Starks said in victory lane. “This is such a humbling sport. We finished 18th last night at Lincoln Speedway, and now we are in victory lane with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions. This is a dream come true.”
Pole sitter Lucas Wolfe and New Castle, Indiana’s Caleb Armstrong led the 26 starters to green on Sunday night at Bedford Speedway. Wolfe grabbed the early advantage and led the first two circuits before the main event’s first caution appeared on lap three. It was on the restart when Trey Starks made his bid for the top spot, driving under Lucas Wolfe to officially take command for the first time.
A pair of cautions on lap six, one of which resulting in red flag conditions, halted the field once again, but neither created any distraction for Starks. The Puyallup, Washington, native brought the field back to life and returned to a demanding lead, eventually reaching the tail of the field just before the midpoint of the 25-lap program.
While Starks ran away in traffic, a battle for the second position soon commenced between Lucas Wolfe and Dale Blaney. Blaney, who started sixth on the main event grid, chased Wolfe nearly nose-to-tail in traffic for five circuits, eventually taking away the runner-up spot on lap 20. Despite Blaney’s attempt to chase down the top spot, Starks’ lead had increased to nearly four seconds, only cutting the advantage to just over two seconds by the time the final checkers flew. Lucas Wolfe held on to finish third aboard the Mike Barshinger-owned/No. 24, followed by Tim Shaffer and Johnstown’s Dan Shetler.
“When you’re out in front like that, especially ahead of a guy like Dale Blaney, every move in traffic is probably the wrong move,” Trey Starks explained. “I was just trying to get through traffic as quickly as I could. We’ve been having such a tough start to the year. I’m so glad to get one for my team.”
With three rounds of Central Pennsylvania competition complete, the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will move forward and continue their 2017 campaign with a return to The Keystone State, this time spending a weekend on the western edge of Pennsylvania with visits to Lernerville Speedway and Mercer Raceway Park on Friday and Saturday, May 5-6, respectively. “America’s Series” will visit Lernerville Speedway and Mercer Raceway Park only once in 2017, each awarding $5,000 top prizes.
Those seeking additional news and notes regarding Lernerville Speedway and Mercer Raceway Park should visit each facility live on the Web at www.lernerville.com and www.mercerracewaypark.com.
Contingency Awards/Results: Bedford Fairgrounds Speedway – Sunday, April 30, 2017:
Roy Morral Tribute
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 36 entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Dan Shetler – 17.958 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Tim Shaffer – 18.141 seconds (2nd Quick)
Ford Performance Heat #1: Dan Shetler
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Lucas Wolfe
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Logan Wagner
Daido Engine Bearings Heat #4: Trey Starks
Elliott’s Custom Trailers & Carts C-Main: N/A
JE Pistons Dash #1: Lucas Wolfe
Kistler Racing Products Dash #2: Caleb Armstrong
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Carl Bowser
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Tim Shaffer (4th)
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Tyler Esh (+7)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Dan Shetler
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Greg Hodnett
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Brandon Spithaler
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 49x-Tim Shaffer, 18.141; 2. 11-TJ Stutts, 18.158; 3. 8-Billy Dietrich, 18.258; 4. 7K-Dan Shetler, 18.299; 5. 19-Cale Grubb, 18.589; 6. OO-Dane Lorenc, 18.816; 7. 13-Brandon Matus, 19.029; 8. 17G-George Streaker, 99.004; 9. 33-Brent Matus, 99.008
Group (B)
1. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 18.22; 2. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 18.314; 3. 24-Lucas Wolfe, 18.324; 4. 22C-Cole Duncan, 18.384; 5. 98-Carl Bowser, 18.572; 6. 35-Tyler Esh, 18.665; 7. 55-Mike Wagner, 18.674; 8. 33M-Max Stambaugh, 18.793; 9. 95-Hunter Mackison, 19.269
Group (C)
1. 17-Caleb Helms, 18.347; 2. 94-Ryan Smith, 18.398; 3. 7W-Logan Wagner, 18.655; 4. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 18.804; 5. 49H-Bradley Howard, 18.82; 6. 40-George Hobaugh, 18.856; 7. 9-Ryan Linder, 19.04; 8. 51-John Garvin, 19.462; 9. 1080-Jordan Mackison, 19.473
Group (D)
1. 1Z-Dale Blaney, 18.044; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich, 18.295; 3. 44-Trey Starks, 18.307; 4. 17b-Josh Baughman, 18.596; 5. 27-Greg Hodnett, 18.771; 6. 8M-TJ Michael, 18.868; 7. M1-Mark Smith, 18.915; 8. 14-Coleman Gulick, 19.084; 9. 9C-Roger Campbell, 19.169
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 7K-Dan Shetler [1]; 2. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 3. 8-Billy Dietrich [2]; 4. 11-TJ Stutts [3]; 5. OO-Dane Lorenc [6]; 6. 13-Brandon Matus [7]; 7. 33-Brent Matus [9]; 8. 19-Cale Grubb [5]; 9. 17G-George Streaker [8]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 24-Lucas Wolfe [2]; 2. 22C-Cole Duncan [1]; 3. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [4]; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah [3]; 5. 33M-Max Stambaugh [8]; 6. 35-Tyler Esh [6]; 7. 98-Carl Bowser [5]; 8. 55-Mike Wagner [7]; 9. 95-Hunter Mackison [9]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 7W-Logan Wagner [2]; 2. 17-Caleb Helms [4]; 3. 94-Ryan Smith [3]; 4. 22-Brandon Spithaler [1]; 5. 40-George Hobaugh [6]; 6. 51-John Garvin [8]; 7. 49H-Bradley Howard [5]; 8. 9-Ryan Linder [7]; 9. 1080-Jordan Mackison [9]
Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 5 Transfer
1. 44-Trey Starks [2]; 2. 1Z-Dale Blaney [4]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 4. 17B-Josh Baughman [1]; 5. 27-Greg Hodnett [5]; 6. M1-Mark Smith [7]; 7. 14-Coleman Gulick [8]; 8. 8M-TJ Michael [6]; 9. 9C-Roger Campbell [9]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 24-Lucas Wolfe [1]; 2. 44-Trey Starks [2]; 3. 49X-Tim Shaffer [4]; 4. 22C-Cole Duncan [3]; 5. 11-TJ Stutts [5]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [1]; 2. 7K-Dan Shetler [2]; 3. 1Z-Dale Blaney [3]; 4. 17-Caleb Helms [4]; 5. 7W-Logan Wagner [5]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 98-Carl Bowser [1]; 2. 55-Mike Wagner [4]; 3. M1-Mark Smith [7]; 4. 35-Tyler Esh [3]; 5. 8M-TJ Michael [6]; 6. 14-Coleman Gulick [10]; 7. 9C-Roger Campbell [11]; 8. 33-Brent Matus [15]; 9. 49H-Bradley Howard [5]; 10. 13-Brandon Matus [8]; 11. 51-John Garvin [13]; 12. 9-Ryan Linder [9]; 13. 1080-Jordan Mackison [14]; 14. 19-Cale Grubb [2]; 15. 95-Hunter Mackison [12]
A-Main (25 Laps)
1. 44-Trey Starks [3]; 2. 1Z-Dale Blaney [6]; 3. 24-Lucas Wolfe [1]; 4. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5]; 5. 7K-Dan Shetler [4]; 6. 22C-Cole Duncan [7]; 7. 17-Caleb Helms [8]; 8. 17B-Josh Baughman [15]; 9. 8-Billy Dietrich [11]; 10. 27-Greg Hodnett [17]; 11. M1-Mark Smith [23]; 12. 7W-Logan Wagner [10]; 13. 33M-Max Stambaugh [18]; 14. 55-Mike Wagner [22]; 15. 22-Brandon Spithaler [16]; 16. 98-Carl Bowser [21]; 17. 35-Tyler Esh [24]; 18. 10H-Chad Kemenah [14]; 19. 1080-Jordan Mackison [25]; 20. 9C-Roger Campbell [26]; 21. OO-Dane Lorenc [19]; 22. 40-George Hobaugh [20]; 23. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [2]; 24. 48-Danny Dietrich [12]; 25. 11-TJ Stutts [9]; 26. 94-Ryan Smith [13] Lap Leaders: Lucas Wolfe [1-2]; Trey Starks [3-25]
Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (April 30, 2017):
1. Chad Kemenah: 1480
2. Caleb Armstrong: 1362
3. Caleb Helms: 1332
4. Ryan Smith: 1284
5. Tim Shaffer: 1254
6. Max Stambaugh: 1160
7. T.J. Michael: 1128
8. Brandon Matus: 1046
9. Greg Hodnett: 1016
10. Brent Matus: 1014
Additional Arctic Cat All Star Series Info:
Those seeking additional information regarding the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions should visit its 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.
About Arctic Cat:
The Arctic Cat brand is among the most widely recognized and respected in the recreational vehicle industry. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), side-by-sides and snowmobiles, in addition to related parts, garments and accessories under the Arctic Cat® and Motorfist® brand names. Arctic Cat Inc.’s world headquarters is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. More information about Arctic Cat and its products is available at www.ArcticCat.com.
