Camargo, IL (6-17-09) – By Kelly Brown – All Star Public Relations Director – With the start of the 27th edition of Ohio Speedweek less than a few days away, the fans and competitors alike are ready to begin the demanding event which features eight races in just nine days. This season Attica Raceway Park will be the first step that the drivers of the O’Reilly Circuit of Champions will have to take in the Ohio Speedweek marathon. 

Even with Ohio Speedweek being an event that challenges the mindset and equipment of drivers, it is still a date that the All Stars circle on their calendar. There are many reasons that the drivers of the O’Reilly All Stars Circuit of Champions enjoy and look forward to Ohio Speedweek, for Greg Wilson, who hails from Benton Ridge, Ohio it is a chance to race close to home.

“The best part of Ohio Speedweek for me is that I get to go home almost after every race and sleep in my own bed,” Wilson commented. “Being on the road and racing so many times in a week can wear on you, especially if you get on a roll of not doing well, so after a night like that the best thing is to be able to go home and reset for the next event. That plus you are able to have a lot of friends and family around, since you are racing at home.”

For others like 2008 Rookie-of-the-Year Ryan Myers it is all about the competition.

“Last year we did not have the best of luck during Speedweek, but that does not mean I am not looking forward to this year,” Myers said with a smile on his face. “It is a great event and it means a lot to me, because I know I am going to the track and racing each night with the best drivers out there.”

Being a rookie on the 2009 All Star Circuit of Champions can be challenging, but it helps if you are looking forward to a track on the Speedweek schedule, especially if it is one that you got your best All Star finish at the last time you walked in the gates of the track.

“I cannot wait for the race at Fremont,” said 2009 Rookie-of-the-Year hopeful Ryan Bunton, with a huge smile. “I ran well there in May, so to be able to go back there so soon is great. I am really looking forward to competing at that track and all one ones on the Speedweek schedule.”

Going into Ohio Speedweek Tim Shaffer holds the All Star points lead, but Ohio Speedweek is a time that can change everything with such a demanding schedule. The rookie point standings are also starting to close up with Ryan Bunton leading with Daron Clayton on his heels. Will Clayton be able to catch him during Ohio Speedweek? Will there be a new All Star Circuit of Champions point leader when the dust settles? It will be a week that definitely fans of the series will not want to miss.

Attica Raceway Park – Friday, June 19

The gates will open at 4:00 pm and racing action is slated to begin at 7:45 pm. Tickets for the event start at $22 for adults, $20 for seniors, ages 15-11 are $10, while ages 10 and under are free. Pit Passes for the event will run $30. For more information on the event you can call the track office at (419) 680-5606 or visit www.atticaracewaypark.com. 

Eldora Speedway – Saturday, June 20

Hot laps will take the track at 6:00 pm and racing action is slated to begin at 7:30 pm. Tickets for the event start at $18 for adults, ages 15 – 12 are $8, ages 11-7 are $4 and ages 6 and under are free. Pit Passes for the event run $25. For more information on the event you can call the track office at (937) 338-3815 or visit www.eldoraspeedway.com.  

Millstream Speedway – Sunday, June 21

The gates will open at 3:00 pm and racing action is slated to begin at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the event start at $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, ages 16 – 11 are $15, while ages 10 and under are free. Pit Passes for the event will run $30. For more information on the event you can call the track office at (419) 420-1900 or visit www.millstreamspeedway.com. 

Wayne County Speedway – Monday, June 22

The gates will open at 3:00 pm and racing action is slated to begin at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the event start at $22 for adults, $20 for seniors, ages 14 –6 are $10, while ages 5 and under are free. Pit Passes for the event will run $30. For more information on the event you can call the track office at (419) 522-8761 or visit www.waynecountyspeedway.com. 

Hilltop Speedway – Tuesday, June 23

The pit gates will open at 4:00 pm and the grandstands gates will open at 5:00 while racing action is slated to begin at 8:00 pm. Grandstand tickets are $20 for adults. . For more information on the event you can call the track office at (740) 502-7650 or visit www.waynecountyspeedway.com. 

Waynesfield Raceway Park – Wednesday, June 24

The gates will open at 4:00 pm and racing action is slated to begin at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the event start at $20 for adults, ages 16 – 11 are $15, while ages 10 and under are free. Pit Passes for the event will run $30. For more information on the event you can call the track office at (419) 568-3201 or visit www.hilltopspeedway.org. 

Limaland Motorsports Park – Friday, June 26

The gates will open at 4:00 pm with hot laps slated to begin at 6:30 pm. Tickets for the event start at $22 for adults, ages 11 – 16 are $11, while ages 10 and under are free. Pit Passes for the event will run $30. For more information on the event you can call the track office at (419) 339-6249 or visit www.limaland.com. 

Fremont Speedway – Saturday, June 27

The gates will open at 4:00 pm and racing action is slated to begin at 7:00 pm. Tickets for the event start at $25 for adults, $15 for seniors, ages 16-11 are $10, while ages 10 and under are free. Pit Passes for the event will run $30. For more information on the event you can call the track office at (419) 333-0476 or visit www.fremontohspeedway.com. 

For those who cannot make it to all the events on the demanding schedule, four of the events will be broadcast on BAS Radio Network with radio and racing announcing veteran DC Bash on the microphone. Attica Raceway Park on June 19, Eldora Speedway June 20, Hilltop Speedway on June 23, and Waynesfield Raceway Park on June 24, can all be can be listened to on the internet at www.racecastlive.com. 

Ohio Speedweek will no doubt be another exciting fight to see who emerges from the event with not only the Ohio Speedweek title, but the All Star Circuit of Champions point standings when the Checkered Flag flies on the final night at Fremont Speedway. Don’t miss a minute of Ohio Speedweek Action. Keep yourself updated by visiting both www.allstarsprint.com and www.ohiospeedweek.com.

Camargo, IL (6-15-09) – By Kelly Brown – All Star Public Relations Director –Last year the Ohio Speedweek competition came down to a one night shootout between O’Reilly All Star Champion Dale Blaney and Randy Hannagan. Once the dust settled on the final night at Eldora it was Hannagan who took the 2008 title. It may have happened a year ago, but it is still fresh on the minds of the two competitors that fought for the crown.

Last year the story of Ohio Speedweek was the weather as three out of the seven night scheduled were cancelled due to rain.

“I think the biggest factor to last year’s Speedweek Championship was rain,” Dale Blaney commented. “This year hopefully the rain will stay away and we will be able to get more nights in. Last year it really made hard if you had one off night. Losing three races really played a big part in the championship.”

With the first two Ohio Speedweek races falling victim to rain, the first event took the green flag at Hilltop Speedway. Starting from the pole position was Randy Hannagan, but when the Green Flag flew Mark Keegan took the lead and looked to run away with the event, until he slid to miss a car that was stopped on track. At the point Hannagan inherited the lead and never looked back recording his first win of the season.

The second night of Speedweek was at Skyline Speedway and Jimmy Nier started the event on the pole. He would pace the field early, before Hannagan would steal the lead away from him on Lap 8. For the next ten laps The Hurricane was on point, until Dale Blaney took the wind out of his sails. Blaney would go on to win night two.

The next stop on the schedule was Fremont Speedway, and it was a quite night for a local hometown hero. David Harrison jumped into the lead as soon as the starter gave the field the go. Harrison benefitted from yellow flags when he was mired in heavy lapped traffic, and picked his way through the back markers with precise skill to hold off Randy Hannagan for the win. Mother Nature would win the event at Limaland Motorsports Park unfortunately, so the next stop was Eldora Speedway. 

On the final night of Ohio Speedweek the stage was set to crown a champion. The top two in the battle still remember the night as if it was yesterday. The 30 lap A-main went wire-to-wire as Ed Lynch Jr. jumped out to an early lead, and Blaney chased him through the high banks with Brock Mayes hot on Blaney’s tail.  Mayes and Blaney were both eventually able to get past Lynch. On lap 24 Mayes bobbled and Blaney was able to get around him. Blaney would cross the finish line first. Randy Hannagan took the 2008 Ohio Speedweek championship for being one of the most consistent finishers of the week of the 79 drivers who participated over the 7 day stretch.

“Looking back the most memorable part of Speedweek last year had to be first win at Hilltop,” stated Hannagan. “I had my dad there with me which meant a lot, then also to have him there when I won the championship at Eldora. This year he will not be there, but both of those are great memories to have and I look to continue on making memories like that.”

“I have to say the most memorable part of Speedweek last year was that final night at Eldora,” said Blaney. “Going into the night I knew I had to win to take the Championship. We did everything we had to, but came up just a little bit short. It is things like that stick with you and push you to do better the next season.”

One of the biggest factors to becoming Ohio Speedweek champion is clearly momentum. As most athletes can tell you once you get on a roll you ride it, whether it is good or bad luck.

“The fact of the matter is that you are only as good as your car is on that night,” commented Hannagan. “The first two race tracks, Attica and Eldora are ones we run well at, so if you can get a good start to the week it is definitely a psychological boost. If you get on a roll you have to do it then and then keep on rolling.”

Camargo, IL (6-14-09) by Kelly Brown - Public Relations Director – At the beginning of the three race stretch in Pennsylvania for the O’Reilly All Stars, someone may have predicted that we would see someone new in Victory Lane, but almost no one would have probably guessed that at the end of the triple headed there would be three new race winners in the All Star record books. On night one it was Cody Darrah, followed by Brian Montieth last night. Tonight it was Chad Layton’s turn as he collected his first career All Star victory.

Not only was it the first win for Layton, it was also the first time he had ever competed at Central PA Speedway. Lining up for tonight’s feature event it was the 7 of Layton and 0x of Andy McKisson on the front row of the event. When the Green Flag flew Layton would get the jump taking the lead going into Turn 1. McKisson would fall in line, with Mark Smith, Greg Hodnett and Tim Shaffer in his tracks.

By Lap 5 Hodnett had made his way around McKission and began working on Layton. Over the following laps of the event, Layton and Hodnett would battle for the top position. Hodnett would try every move his could on Layton to no avail. It seemed as if Hodnett could get close to Layton, but sliding past him was more difficult that it looked.

The first Yellow Flag of the night came out early in the event for Daron Clayton. The 92 of Clayton went over the cushion in 1 and 2 and came to a stop stalling his racing machine. When the Green Flag flew again Layton and Hodnett picked up where they picked up, playing a game of cat and mouse.

The second break in racing action happened on Lap 14 when the 7au of Roddy Bellbowen came to a stop between Turns 3 and 4.  When the green flag came out again Layton and Hodnett continued their battle until the Yellow Flag waved again on Lap 21 for debris on the race course.

When racing action resumed Layton, Hodnett, Daryn Pittman, Mark Smith and Dale Blaney were in the top-five. As Layton and Hodnett raced side-by-side for the lead on the restart, the rest of the field fell behind them. On Lap 26 the yellow banner would wave again as Dale Blaney came to a stop on the race surface.

A Red Flag came out with two laps to go for a fuel and air stop only, setting up a green-white-checker finish. When the Green Flag did fly it was a chaotic dash for positions, but Layton did not wavier, taking the Checkered Flag first. He was followed to the finish line by Pittman, Mark Smith, Tim Shaffer, and Fred Rahmer.

This may have been Layton’s first All Star victory, but over all it was his 73 career win. Some notable finishes were the w20 of Greg Wilson who started in the 21st position and finished in 6th. Rookie-of-the-Year competitor Brandon Wimmer was the top rookie and another hard charger starting 17th and finishing 7th. Fellow rookie Daron Clayton came back to collect his first top-ten finish in All Star competition coming home in the 9th position.

Camargo, IL (6-13-09) by Kelly Brown - Public Relations Director – When you have a defending track champion in the field, drivers know that they have their work set out for them. Tonight the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions went head-to-head with Lincoln Speedway track champion Brian Montieth, who showed he definitely knows his way around the course as he put an exclamation point on his championship by claiming his first O’Reilly All Star victory.

Lining up for tonight’s main event was reigning O’Reilly All Star Champion Dale Blaney and last night’s winner at Williams Grove Cody Darrah. Darrah picked up where he did the night before claiming the lead on lap one, but Blaney battled back. Blaney and Montieth would fight tooth and nail swapping second and third the battle the first thirteen laps of the race. It seemed as if the duo were trying to out do each other each lap. For three laps straight Blaney and Montieth ran side-by-side for the lead, before Montieth was able to get the edge.

Montieth then set his sights on Darrah. Running in lapped traffic Montieth quickly closed the gap between himself and the leading 89 car. The duo dove in and out of lapped traffic trading positions for five laps before the Yellow Flag silenced their battle.  The caution period was for Doug Esh whose 39 car came to a stop on the back stretch.

On the restart Darrah and Montieth continued their battle up front while Jim Siegel improved his running position when he got around Dale Blaney for the third position. Blaney’s strong run came to an abrupt halt on Lap 26. Blaney, who had a tire going down made contact with the outside wall between Turns 3 and 4.

On the restart it was an all out drag race to the Checkered Flag as Montieth and Darrah swapped the lead several times a lap. At the end it was Montieth who put an end to the manic event as he claimed the win, after getting a good run coming off the fourth turn on the final lap. Darrah would cross the finish line in second with Siegel, Alan Krimes, and Tim Shaffer rounding out the top-five.

Over Montieth’s career at Lincoln the track champion now has 13 wins and 58 top fives. The top All Star of the night was Tim Shaffer who padded his points lead for the second night in the row. The other All Star of thatstood out at Lincoln Speedway was Daron Clayton who finished in the eleventh position, scoring his best All Star finish to date.

The All Star Circuit of Champions is back in action tomorrow night to cap off their weekend in Pennsylvania at Central PA Speedway. For the most up to date information on the All Star Circuit of Champions bookmark www.allstarsprint.com on your computer.  

Winner’s Quote

Camargo, IL (6-12-09) by Kelly Brown - Public Relations Director – Cody Darrah is may be one of the youngest members of the PA Posse, but that does not mean he is not a quick learner. Tonight Darrah scored his first O’Reilly All Star win at Williams Grove Speedway, kicking off the three night battle between the All Stars and Posse this weekend.

When the green banner flew over tonight’s main event, it was Brian Leppo and Darrah starting their night on the front row. On the start, Leppo was able to get a jump going into Turn 1 and established himself in the top spot with Darrah, Stevie Smith, and Todd Shaffer in tow.

In the early laps of the event the young gun was sizing up Leppo, stalking him in every corner. He followed him with the patience of a jungle cat following its prey, getting ready to pounce. Darrah made his move on Lap 9 as he went low in Turn 2 and muscled his way down the back stretch leaving Leppo to defend the second position.

The first caution period of the night would begin on Lap 16 when the 89g of David Gravel slowed and came to a stop on the course. He would get restarted and join the field at the back. When the Green Flag flew Darrah would get the jump on the field with Todd Shaffer, Leppo and Tim Shaffer in close pursuit.

The racing action would be slowed again on Lap 21 when the 21 of Brian Montieth looped his car around in Turn 4 after his left front tire lost pressure. Taking evasive action to avoid contact with the 21 machine, David Gravel spun without anywhere else to go. On the restart it was Darrah, Todd Shaffer, and All Star points leader Tim Shaffer guiding the field to the Green Flag.  

When the race resumed, Todd Shaffer was now the one pursing the young racer, but Darrah was able to hold him off. Throughout the latter stages of the races Darrah and Shaffer were locked together in a thrilling battle for the win.

With the Checkered Flag looming in the distance, it was Darrah who picked up his first All Star win and his second career win at Williams Grove. He was followed to the finish line by Todd Shaffer, Greg Hodnett who got around Tim Shaffer for third with just a few laps to go and Alan Krimes.

Some of the drivers turning in great performances tonight included, Dale Blaney who was able to finish in the eighth position after starting the feature in 20th. Chad Layton also followed Blaney through out the event as he started one spot behind him and finished in the ninth position.

The O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions will be back in action tomorrow night as the series continues its PA triple header. Next in line is Lincoln Speedway, before the All Stars cap off the weekend at Central PA Speedway. For the most up to date information on the All Star Circuit of Champions bookmark www.allstarsprint.com on your computer.

Camargo, IL (6-11-09) – By Kelly Brown – All Star Public Relations Director – One of the most sought after titles in O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions competition is that of Ohio Speedweek Champion. It is a grueling event that features eight nights of exhilarating racing action in just nine days.

Ohio Speedweek has been a staple on the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions schedule since 1983 and this year the race will be in its 27th edition. Ohio Speedweek is the oldest and longest running sprint car Speedweek in the United States. The inaugural Ohio Speedweek title was won by Bobby Davis Jr. and the winner’s list consists of some of the most notable drivers in sprint car racing. Some of those include: Jack Hewitt, Steve Kinser, Dave Blaney, Kenny Jacobs, and Bobby Allen.

There have been two drivers that stand out as the kings of Ohio Speedweek as both Dale Blaney and Frankie Kerr both have four Ohio Speedweek titles to their credit. The next closest competitors are Sammy Swindell and Joey Saldana who each have two titles to their credit.

Last year Randy Hannagan won his first Ohio Speedweek title, by a few points over Dale Blaney. In the event’s history only three drivers have won back-to-back titles during Ohio Speedweek, they include: Sammy Swindell, Frankie Kerr and Dale Blaney.

Mark your calendars Ohio Speedweek begins on Friday, June 19th at Attica Raceway Park, before moving on to Eldora on Saturday night, June 20th, then on to Millstream Speedway on Sunday, June 21st. Just because Monday is the first day of the week doesn’t mean that the All Stars will get a day off as they race at Wayne County Speedway on Monday, June 22nd, then off to Hilltop Speedway on Tuesday, June 23rd, and Waynesfield Speedway on Wednesday, June 24th. The drivers of the All Star series will get one day to rest on Thursday before Ohio Speedweek builds to its peak on Friday, June 26th at Limaland Motorsports Park. The finale will take place at Fremont Speedway on Saturday night, June 27th.

The 2009 edition of Ohio Speedweek will no doubt be another barn burning fight to see who can be the last one standing on the final night of competition. Don’t miss a minute of Ohio Speedweek Action. Keep yourself updated by visiting both www.allstarsprint.com and www.ohiospeedweek.com.

Camargo, IL (6-8-09) – By Kelly Brown – All Star Public Relations Director – This weekend the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions will be tripling their fun in Pennsylvania. PA is well known as a hotbed of winged spring car racing and whenever any outsiders are coming into the state to race, they are sure to be met by opposition from the legendary PA Posse.  The Posse and All Stars will be contending for racing dominance Friday night June 12 at Williams Grove Speedway, before moving on to Lincoln Speedway on Saturday, June 13, and the weekend will end with a  showdown at Central PA Speedway on Sunday, June 14.

Williams Grove

The last time the All Stars faced off with the Posse at the Grove, it was Posse member Todd Shaffer walking away with the Checkered Flag after a dominant night.  Shaffer and Lance Dewease battled lap after lap in an exciting event that saw the lead swapped back and forth several times. The top All Star of the evening was Tim Shaffer, who will be one the Posse will have to contend with after scoring two victories last weekend.  Going into this weekend Tim Shaffer holds on to the All Star Series points lead with a hard charging Dale Blaney on his tail.

Located in Mechanicsburg, PA, Williams Grove has a storied history, especially with the All Star Series.  The All Stars ran their first race at the track that known as just “The Grove” in 1981 with the win going to George Ferguson Jr. Since then the half-mile oval has been on the All Star schedule almost every season hosting 18 events.

Ticket Information

On Friday racing action will begin at 7:45 pm. Adult tickets are $18 for the event with student tickets running 9:00. To purchase tickets or get more info, please call the speedway office at 717-697-5000 or visit www.williamsgrove.com.

Lincoln Speedway

A little over a month ago when the All Stars visited Lincoln Speedway a 3/8-mile semi-banked oval, Fred Rahmer picked up his 500th career win. Rahmer did not have an easy night as he had to contend with Brian Leppo and Doug Esh for the win. Just breaking into the top-five, the top All Star finisher was Dale Blaney. With precious points on the line, Blaney will be looking to get back into championship form at Lincoln.  

This weekend will be the 26th time that the All Stars appeared at Lincoln Speedway in Abbottstown, PA. Interestingly enough the All Stars have yet to have an event at the track cancelled due to rain. The first All Star race at the Pennsylvania track was in 1981 and Jimmy Horton won the event.

Ticket Information

On Saturday the gates will open for fans at 5pm, with qualifying beginning at 7pm. Adult tickets are $20 for the event and $25 for a pit pass with discount tickets available for students and children. To purchase tickets or get more info, please call the speedway office at 717-624-2755 or visit www.lincolnspeedway.com.

Central PA Speedway

For the third night of racing competition the All Stars will be making their way to Central PA Speedway, also known as “The Big Bear.” Last year was the first time the O’Reilly All Stars had raced at the facility and the first time in 30 years that 410 sprint cars had run at the speedway. The last time the All Stars were there Paul McMahon established the track record with a lap of 13.968 around the 3/8-mile oval.

When the Green Flag flew on racing action Paul McMahon jetted out to an early lead, but disaster would hit on Lap 20 when his car broke while leading. This handed the lead over to Greg Hodnett, but second place running Mark Smith would get a great restart on the final caution of the night and take the win. Smith took home the track’s unique trophy, a carved bear reflecting the track’s nickname.

Ticket Information

Sunday night the pit gate will open to teams at 3:00 pm, with the stands opening to fans at 4:00 pm. Hot laps will begin at 5:30 with racing commencing shortly after. General admission this year has been lowered to $18 for the event, with ages 6-15 being $10, and those 5 and under are free. For more information on the event visit www.centralpaspeedway.com or call 814-768-3524.

Camargo, IL (6-6-09) by Kelly Brown - Public Relations Director – On a night when the drivers of the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions were paying respect to one of the greats in West Virginia racing history, Gene Tallman, it was a night in which youth was served. All Star veteran Tim Shaffer may have taken the win with three plugs holding together his right rear tire, but one of the leading stories of the night was several drivers recording their career best finishes.

With sophomore driver Ryan Myers starting from the pole for the first time in his career and Rookie-of-the-Year title contender Brandon Wimmer lined up in second, the young guns of the series started the night out front ready to fire when the Green Flag flew. On the start it was Wimmer who got the early jump, with Myers and Shaffer in his tire tracks.

In the early laps Shaffer was on the move. He spent a few orbits of the course sizing Myers up before pulling underneath him to take the second position on Lap 9. With ten laps in the books the top-five was consisted of: Wimmer, Shaffer, Myers, Daron Clayton, and Dale Blaney.  Justin Henderson did sneak into the top-five for a short time, as he battled Blaney for the fifth position.

At this time fellow Rookie-of-the-Year contender Daron Clayton decided to make a charge to the front diving under Myers on Lap 15, then went to work on the 83 car. Feeling the heat, Shaffer made a move on Wimmer stealing the lead for a split second. Wimmer battled back though retaking the lead, but it was Shaffer with a stiff upper hand establishing himself in the top spot with a move under the 0 car with ten laps to go.

With the laps winding down, Clayton could hear the clock ticking and began to make his presence known sliding his way into the second position, but it was short lived as he got into the 7au of Roddy Bellbowen, who was not on the lead lap. Both cars went spinning and flipping, causing a Red Flag. The restart order was: Shaffer, Wimmer, Henderson, Myers, and Blaney.

When the field saw the Green Flag again it was Doug Esh who was on the move. On the restart he got a good jump picking up four positions, moving from eighth to fourth in the final laps of the event. With the Checkered Flag flying in the air it would be Shaffer picking up his second All Star race win in 24 hours. He was followed by Wimmer, Henderson, Esh, Blaney and Myers.

This was Shaffer’s third victory of the season; his first came in the season opener at Ocala Speedway in Florida and his second came last night at his home track of Lernerville Speedway. This is his fourteenth All Star career win.  

Drivers turning in career best finishes tonight included: Wimmer who recorded his first runner up finish, Justin Henderson who appeared in the top-three for the first time, Ryan Myers tying his best career finish of sixth, and David Gravel with his first career top-ten finish.

The All Star Circuit of Champions will make a return visit to Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania on Friday night June 12, for a showdown against the PA Posse. For the most up to date information on the All Star Circuit of Champions bookmark www.allstarsprint.com on your computer.  

Camargo, IL (6-5-09) by Kelly Brown - Public Relations Director – As the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions veterans, and Lernerville Speedway pros assessed the track tonight, one word kept coming up and that was fast. Prior to the feature ,tonight’s winner and 1993 Lernerville track champion Tim Shaffer was quoted saying it was the fastest he had seen the track in at least 15 years. In fact in qualifying Ed Lynch Jr. was just a few tenths off of the track record. With all of the high speed action throughout the night it made for some exhilarating race action when the Green Flag fell on tonight’s main event.

On the restart with 10 laps recorded, it was Shaffer, Hodnett, Felmlee, Kasey Kahne, and Fred Rahmer crossing over the start line in the top-five. The green flag was short lived though as the yellow flew almost immediately when the 25 of Justin Henderson spun in Turn 2. When the Green Flag was unfurled again Shaffer shot out to the lead, but Kahne got a jump and waged quite a battle with Felmlee and Hodnett as they traded second, third and fourth several times. When the dust settled Felmlee regained the second position with Hodnett and Kahne in tow.

Lap 16 saw the Yellow Flag fly for the third time of the evening when Doug Esh’s 39 sprint slowed on the backstretch and came to a stop. When the field took the green again it was Hodnett who got a jump and re-took the second position. The Red Flag would bring racing action to a stop when a promising night for Rookie-of-the-Year points leader Ryan Bunton came to an end as his racing machine got airborne. It halted what looked to be a strong night for the Midwest All Star graduate, as he had made a last lap slide job in the B-main just to make it to the feature event. He would walk away from the incident.

When racing action resumed, Shaffer did not miss a beat, leaping out into the lead. The battle for third was on with Kahne and Felmlee trading the spot back and forth several times. With the laps running down Greg Hodnett made a daring move past Shaffer to take the lead using lapped traffic to his advantage. As the duo darted in and out of traffic, it was a dog fight to see who would win the event.

With three laps remaining Shaffer saw his final chance to take the victory at his home track. Shaffer deviated from the high line he had run all night, threading the needle in a bonsai move between two lapped cars to retake the lead.  Hodnett tried to battle back, but it was too late. With the Checkered Flag unfurled it was Shaffer taking it first with Hodnett, Felmlee, Fred Rahmer, and Mark Smith rounding out the top-five.

This was Shaffer’s second victory of the season; his first came in the season opener at Ocala Speedway in Florida. This is his thirteenth All Star career win. This was also his second All Star win at Lernerville Speedway and his eighth win in a 410 sprint car at his home track.

The All Star Circuit of Champions is back in action tomorrow night at for a landmark first trip to Elkins Speedway in West Virginia. For the most up to date information on the All Star Circuit of Champions bookmark www.allstarsprint.com on your computer.  

Top Three Quotes

Winner Tim Shaffer – “It was one of those deals at the end, do or die. I had to make something happen. I made it though and the rest is history.”

Second Place Greg Hodnett – “We just got into traffic. I got by Tim once and then he got back around me. It was a clean race, nobody ran into each other or anything. We were just hoping to be one spot further ahead… We were in a good position there to get the lead. Unfortunately I screwed up in two, Tim got by me, and I could not chase him down.”

Third Place Bob Felmlee – “It was an awesome night. Hodnett slid by me, I slid him back. Then Kasey slid by me and I got him back. Everyone did a great job with the car tonight, I have to thank everyone involved with the team…I am happy to run up front. It has been a tough year and this almost like a win here. We hope we can keep going this way. Our goal is to do better at bigger shows, so tonight was a good night.”