MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – In August, Aaron Reutzel became the first All Star Circuit of Champions regular to win a sanctioned event at Williams Grove Speedway.
Reutzel backed up that win with another one Friday night, as the driver from Clute, Texas, scored the Tommy Hinnershitz Classic for the All Stars, earning $6,000.
“We’ve been working really hard on getting good when it’s slick … and 20-second lap times around this place is unreal hard,” Reutzel said. “The car was really good. We hit on something.”
Reutzel and Gio Scelzi won the twin dashes and shared the front row to start the 30-lap main event.
Reutzel grabbed the early lead, while James McFadden raced by Scelzi and into second. Fifth starter Lance Dewease passed Brian Montieth taking fourth, before an inside move by Scelzi in turn four moved Dewease into third.
McFadden closed on the leader as they caught the rear of the field, but the yellow flew with eight laps completed, giving Reutzel clean air again.
The top three used three different grooves on the restart with Reutzel blasting the top, Dewease in the middle and McFadden on the bottom.
Dewease caught McFadden for second and tried a frontstretch pass. They made contact and nearly did again racing into turn three. Meanwhile, Reutzel pulled away to a comfortable lead, staying on the outside as he began lapping cars.
McFadden put the pressure back on, but Reutzel dropped to the inside groove.
“I saw a lapped car start running the bottom and he kind of pulled me one lap, but I missed the top,” Reutzel explained. “I tried to run it harder the next lap to give it one more chance. I saw him pull me and McFadden get under me at the same time, so I knew it was time to sit on the bottom.”
McFadden and Dewease stayed close. McFadden took a shot on the top in three and four, but slipped over the cushion, allowing Dewease and Scelzi to both drive by.
Reutzel, the current All Star point leader and defending champion, controlled the final laps winning his second Grove feature in the past month and 14th on the season with the All Stars.
“I figured there wasn’t too much going on, but then I saw Dewease move into second,” Reutzel said. “I could hear someone back there. I was trying to run a little harder, but at the same time, I didn’t want to catch those lapped cars.”
Dewease, Scelzi, McFadden and Brian Montieth completed the top five.
“I wish I could have cleared (McFadden) because I think I could have done something with Aaron,” Dewease said. “I could race the middle and I found a good lane in three and four, but that’s all part of it.”
Kerry Madsen, Cory Eliason, Brock Zearfoss, Danny Dietrich and Brian Brown rounded out the top 10.
Scelzi set quick time over the 37-car field with a lap of 16.718. Zearfoss, Madsen, Reutzel and Eliason won the heat races. Freddie Rahmer won the B-main.
Teenager Dylan Norris won the 20-lap main event for the 358 sprints over Doug Hammaker, Matt Findley, Todd Rittenhouse and Wyatt Hinkle.
Norris led every lap for his first career Grove win.
In the 25-lap Summer Series make-up feature for the 358 sprints from Aug. 2, second starter Chris Frank controlled the race and earned $1,500 for the victory.
Brett Wanner, Dylan Norris, Chad Criswell and Glenndon Forsythe completed the top five.
Hammaker was the 358 sprint car track champion.
The finish:
1. Aaron Reutzel, 2. Lance Dewease, 3. Gio Scelzi, 4. James McFadden, 5. Brian Montieth, 6. Kerry Madsen, 7. Cory Eliason, 8. Brock Zearfoss, 9. Danny Dietrich, 10. Brian Brown, 11. Freddie Rahmer, 12. Ryan Smith, 13. Kyle Moody, 14. Cory Haas, 15. Matt Campbell, 16. Parker Price-Miller, 17. Anthony Macri, 18. Paul McMahan, 19. Steve Buckwalter, 20. Justin Peck, 21. Chad Trout, 22. Dale Blaney, 23. Skylar Gee, 24. Chris Arnold, 25. Trey Starks, 26. T.J. Stutts, 27. Landon Myers.