10/8/2016
All Star Circuit of Champions
Rico Abreu takes non-stop Sprintacular!
(Photo: Rico Abreu celebrating on the Eldora Speedway victory lane stage - Arctic Cat All Star Media Photo Credit)
Rico Abreu takes non-stop Sprintacular!
Dale Blaney cuts Kemenah’s point lead to 18
ROSSBURG, Ohio (October 8, 2016) - St. Helena, California’s Rico Abreu secured his fourth Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions victory of the 2016 season on Saturday night at Eldora Speedway; leading all 30 circuits of the non-stop, Sprintacular main event to officially solidify his position on top of the feature podium. For Abreu, the Eldora Speedway victory was the second of his career at The Big E during Arctic Cat All Star competition, holding back a pair of Arctic Cat All Star championship point contenders, Dale Blaney and Chad Kemenah, for a cool $5,000. Blaney would cross under the final checkers just behind Abreu, followed by Chad Kemenah, a hard-charging Cap Henry, and Cole Duncan.
“Hats off to Eldora Speedway and the entire staff. There are a lot of cars here between all three of the divisions (118). That is definitely not easy,” Rico Abreu explained. “I especially want to thank all of you fans for sticking this out through the cold weather here tonight. I’m not real used to this. I’m used to California weather. This is so much fun, though. I enjoy getting to come here and being a part of everything at Eldora Speedway.”
Rico Abreu started third on the feature grid, taking command before the completion of lap one over Dale Baney and Sheldon Haudenschild. The California native wasted no time and began to stretch his advantage right from the drop of the green flag; extending his lead to nearly three seconds by lap three. Dale Blaney eventually settled into second, followed by Chad Kemenah and Sheldon Haudenschild.
Abreu, Blaney and Kemenah raced-on unshuffled, hitting their first obstacle in the form of traffic with just ten laps in the books. Rubber started to come into play by the mid-point of the 30-lap program, allowing the racing surface to narrow which ultimately shrunk Abreu’s racing lane and advantage. Abreu’s two to three second lead shrunk to less than one second over Blaney and Kemenah by lap 25, with all three eventually racing single file and nose to tail on a thin lane of rubbered-up racing surface. Abreu held on, earning a sixth career victory against the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions, equaling that of Kerry Madsen and Kasey Kahne on the all-time win list.
“I knew Dale (Blaney) was getting close. I probably shouldn’t have, but I looked up at the big screen a few times and saw he was behind me,” Rico Abreu explained. “You just have to stay patient with the lapped cars. It was taking rubber and the racing line kept getting narrower and narrower. I was able to get around the lapped cars that I needed to. By that time, the lapped cars that were ahead of me weren’t passing anybody. I just had to make sure to hit my marks and stay patient.”
Dale Blaney’s runner-up finish allowed the “Low Rider” to snip away at Chad Kemenah’s Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions point advantage. Kemenah, a former four-time Arctic Cat All Star point champion, will lead Dale Blaney into the Atomic Speedway season finale with an 18-point margin. The Alvada, Ohio, native led Blaney by 20 points entering the Sprintacular at Eldora Speedway.
“Overall, it was a really good run for us tonight,” Dale Blaney explained. “Second is tough to take here. I mean, Rico runs really good here so I can’t take that away from him or us. We really started to get single file there, especially in three and four, which made things really difficult in terms of passing. I’m happy with second. Things are going to be interesting at Atomic.”
The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will wrap up the 2016 season with a two-day visit to the Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday, October 21-22. All Star championship weekend will feature a full, Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions program during the two-day visit, complete with qualifying time trials and heat races on Friday, followed by consolations, dash and a $20,000-to-win main event on Saturday.
As an added bonus, a “Race of Champions” will be contested during the Friday night portion of the All Star championship weekend at Atomic Speedway. Sprint car track champions, as well as series champions, from coast to coast are invited to participate, all battling for a $2,000 top prize. Those seeking additional information should visit Atomic Speedway live on the Web at www.atomicspeedway.net.
Contingency Awards/Results: Eldora Speedway - Saturday, October 8, 2016:
Event: The Sprintacular
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 40 entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Kraig Kinser - 14.218
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Ian Madsen - 14.193
Kistler Racing Products Heat #1: Shawn Dancer
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Ian Madsen
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Rico Abreu
EMi Heat #4: Chad Kemenah
JE Pistons Dash: Chad Kemenah
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Rico Abreu
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Cap Henry (+15)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Sheldon Haudenschild (6th)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Danny Holtgraver (12th)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Caleb Armstrong
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
1.18-Ian Madsen, 14.193; 2.24-Rico Abreu, 14.267; 3.11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.282; 4.93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 14.322; 5.57X-Andrew Palker, 14.358; 6.5T-Travis Philo, 14.410; 7.12N-Cole Duncan, 14.419; 8.1-Dale Blaney, 14.426; 9.10H-Chad Kemenah, 14.453; 10.6M-Jac Haudenschild, 14.508; 11.81-Lee Jacobs, 14.514; 12.82-Sammy Swindell, 14.533; 13.17B-Bill Balog, 14.559; 14.23c-Tyler Courtney, 14.565; 15.7C-Caleb Armstrong, 14.567; 16.70-Danny Holtgraver, 14.613; 17.2M-Dustin Daggett, 14.619; 18.3Z-Brock Zearfoss, 14.664; 19.49D-Shawn Dancer, 14.718; 20.21-Cap Henry, 14.754; 21.97-Aaron Reutzel, 14.821; 22.5M-Max Stambaugh, 14.887; 23.40-Caleb Helms, 14.897; 24.71m-Paul May, 14.933; 25.7-Joe Swanson, 14.978; 26.8M-TJ Michael, 15.148; 27.A97-Cale Conley, 15.209; 28.4-Danny Smith, 15.300; 29.60-Kory Crabtree, 15.346; 30.13-Brandon Matus, 15.367; 31.49H-Bradley Howard, 15.389; 32.21K-Kyle Pruitt, 15.718; 33.O7-Jacob Wilson, 15.788; 34.5J-Jeremy Schultz, 15.832; 35.59N-Bryan Nuckles, 15.887; 36.3FX-Dean Kester, 16.234; 37.7K-Dallas Hewitt, 16.243; 38.16M-Danny Mumaw, 16.264; 39.83-Adam Cruea, 16.499; 40.11-Brian Benson, 16.685;
Heat 1, Group A - (8 Laps)
- 49D-Shawn Dancer[1] ; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 3. 17B-Bill Balog[3] ; 4. 2M-Dustin Daggett[2] ; 5. 8M-TJ Michael[6] ; 6. 60-Kory Crabtree[7] ; 7. 71m-Paul May[5] ; 8. 59N-Bryan Nuckles[10] ; 9. 21K-Kyle Pruitt[8] ; 10. O7-Jacob Wilson[9]
Heat 2, Group B - (8 Laps)
- 18-Ian Madsen[4] ; 2. 5T-Travis Philo[2] ; 3. 81-Lee Jacobs[1] ; 4. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[5] ; 5. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[6] ; 6. A97-Cale Conley[9] ; 7. 5M-Max Stambaugh[7] ; 8. 7-Joe Swanson[8] ; 9. 3FX-Dean Kester[10] ; 10. 57X-Andrew Palker[3]
Heat 3, Group C - (8 Laps)
- 24-Rico Abreu[4] ; 2. 1-Dale Blaney[2] ; 3. 82-Sammy Swindell[5] ; 4. 12N-Cole Duncan[3] ; 5. 21-Cap Henry[8] ; 6. 23c-Tyler Courtney[6] ; 7. 70-Danny Holtgraver[7] ; 8. 6M-Jac Haudenschild[1] ; 9. 97-Aaron Reutzel[9] ; 10. 40-Caleb Helms[10]
Heat 4, Group D - (8 Laps)
- 10H-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 2. 13-Brandon Matus[1] ; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser[4] ; 4. 4-Danny Smith[2] ; 5. 7K-Dallas Hewitt[7] ; 6. 5J-Jeremy Schultz[6] ; 7. 16M-Danny Mumaw[8] ; 8. 83-Adam Cruea[9] ; 9. 11-Brian Benson[10] ; 10. 49H-Bradley Howard[5]
Dash 1 - (6 Laps)
- 10H-Chad Kemenah[1] ; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[2] ; 3. 24-Rico Abreu[4] ; 4. 11K-Kraig Kinser[3] ; 5. 1-Dale Blaney[8] ; 6. 18-Ian Madsen[6] ; 7. 12N-Cole Duncan[5] ; 8. 5T-Travis Philo[7]
B-Main 1 - (12 Laps)
- 97-Aaron Reutzel[5] ; 2. 23c-Tyler Courtney[3] ; 3. 70-Danny Holtgraver[4] ; 4. 6M-Jac Haudenschild[2] ; 5. 60-Kory Crabtree[11] ; 6. 71m-Paul May[8] ; 7. 40-Caleb Helms[7] ; 8. O7-Jacob Wilson[14] ; 9. A97-Cale Conley[10] ; 10. 16M-Danny Mumaw[18] ; 11. 59N-Bryan Nuckles[16] ; 12. 49H-Bradley Howard[12] ; 13. 21K-Kyle Pruitt[13] ; 14. 83-Adam Cruea[19] ; 15. 11-Brian Benson[20] ; 16. 5J-Jeremy Schultz[15] ; 17. 3FX-Dean Kester[17] ; 18. 5M-Max Stambaugh[6] ; 19. 7-Joe Swanson[9] ; 20. 57X-Andrew Palker[1]
A-Main 1 - (30 Laps)
- 24-Rico Abreu[3] ; 2. 1-Dale Blaney[5] ; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah[1] ; 4. 21-Cap Henry[19] ; 5. 12N-Cole Duncan[7] ; 6. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[2] ; 7. 18-Ian Madsen[6] ; 8. 5T-Travis Philo[8] ; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser[4] ; 10. 97-Aaron Reutzel[21] ; 11. 82-Sammy Swindell[13] ; 12. 70-Danny Holtgraver[23] ; 13. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss[18] ; 14. 49D-Shawn Dancer[9] ; 15. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[15] ; 16. 23c-Tyler Courtney[22] ; 17. 6M-Jac Haudenschild[24] ; 18. 2M-Dustin Daggett[14] ; 19. 17B-Bill Balog[11] ; 20. 81-Lee Jacobs[12] ; 21. 7K-Dallas Hewitt[20] ; 22. 8M-TJ Michael[17] ; 23. 60-Kory Crabtree[25] ; 24. 4-Danny Smith[16] ; 25. 13-Brandon Matus[10]
Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (October 8, 2016):
- Chad Kemenah - 5104
- Dale Blaney - 5086
- Sheldon Haudenschild - 5028
- Cap Henry - 4788
- Kraig Kinser - 4718
- Danny Holtgraver - 4706
- T.J. Michael - 4476
- Caleb Helms - 4270
- Lee Jacobs - 4152
- Andrew Palker - 4060
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.
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. Its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “ACAT.” More information about Arctic Cat and its products is available at www.ArcticCat.com.
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
(724) 954-4915
altmeyer119@gmail.com
tyler@tonystewart.com
Article Credit: Tyler Altmeyer
Submitted By: Blake Anderson
