Story By: TYLER ALTMEYER / ALL STAR CIRCUIT OF CHAMPIONS – YORK HAVEN, PA – Utilizing ‘home field advantage,’ New Oxford, Pennsylvania’s Gerard McIntrye capped an incredible weekend for the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 and earned the ‘Salute to the Troops’ victory at BAPS Motor Speedway on Sunday evening, August 25, eventually leading all 30 circuits of the $5,000-to-win program and securing his first Series victory of the 2019 season.
The win, a second-ever during All Star competition for the pilot of the Northeast Foundation and Concrete/Water Treatment By Design/No. 07 sprint car, did not come without a challenge, forced with withstand nearly 20 laps of constant pressure from six-time Series champion and all-time Series win leader, Dale Blaney.
On an even bigger note for All Star enthusiasts, the BAPS Motor Speedway triumph bumped the weekend score to 4-1 in favor of Tony Stewart’s All Star Circuit of Champions; Grandview Speedway, the first Williams Grove Speedway ‘Jack Gunn Memorial’ feature, Lincoln Speedway, and BAPS Motor Speedway all accomplished by full-time All Stars.
“The guys did a great job tonight. I just did what I needed to do to get this thing to victory lane,” said Gerard McIntrye in BAPS Motor Speedway victory lane. “A big thanks to all of those guys for running me clean. I could hear Dale (Blaney) on the outside of me a couple of times. I tried to change my line up a few times so those guys didn’t know where I was going. It all worked out and I’m glad to be here.”
A red flag incident involving pole-sitter, Justin Peck, on the opening circuit, followed by multiple rule infractions resulting in the disqualification of Danny Dietrich, Anthony Macri, Lance Dewease, Ryan Smith and Skylar Gee, allowed McIntyre the opportunity to restart on the front row. The opportunity played into McIntyre’s favor, jumping to an early lead with Cory Eliason, Dale Blaney, Aaron Reutzel and Tony Stewart in tow.
With G-Mac in command, it was Blaney who was making the early moves. The Hartford, Ohio-native slipped into second by lap five, next setting aim on the familiar No. 07 of McIntyre. Lap after lap, Blaney attempted to drive by G-Mac, only to be denied at the exit of each corner. A trio of cautions, including a second red flag incident for Series point leader, Aaron Reutzel, on lap 19, halted the feature pace, and although Blaney restarted well, G-Mac survived and continued to lead the way.
In an attempt to execute a perfect last-ditch effort, Blaney chased McIntyre beyond the flagstand and drove into turn one as hard as he could, nearly pulling even as the pair reached the apex of the corner. A drag race down the backstretch ensued, followed by McIntrye diving into turn three and Blaney returning to the topside. Despite the bold attempt, Blaney did not have enough, losing by a margin of victory equalling .0183 seconds.
“Gerard ran a really great race,” Dale Blaney said, driver of the McGhee Motorsports No. 11 who is now back in charge of the Series’ championship standings. “The guys gave me a great car. A second the last two nights in Central PA isn’t bad. I would have liked to get one of these out here though.”
Freddie Rahmer, who won the evening’s B-main, blasted ahead 16 positions to secure a third place finish at the final checkers, followed by Brock Zearfoss and Paul McMahan.
Tony Stewart’s All Stars will now turn their attention back to the Buckeye State, ready to headline four events in four days at two different facilities. Action will launch with two nights at Attica Raceway Park in Attica on Friday and Saturday, August 30 & 31, followed by back-to-back appearances at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville on Sunday and Monday, September 1 & 2.
Competition will be high, but so will the paydays, as Attica Raceway Park will award a total winner’s share equalling $15,000 over the course of the two-day visit; $5,000 on Friday, followed by the $10,000-to-win Brad Doty Classic on Saturday.
Wayne County Speedway will also award hefty top prizes over Labor Day weekend beginning with the $12,000-to-win Pete Jacobs Memorial on Sunday, followed by the Rick Susong Memorial worth $5,000 on Monday.
Additional news and notes will be posted in the near future. For the time being, fans are encouraged to visit Attica Raceway Park and Wayne County Speedway online at www.atticaracewaypark.com and www.waynecountyspeedway.com, respectively.
Contingency Awards/Results: BAPS Motor Speedway – August 25, 2019:
Event: Justin Snyder’s Salute to the Troops
Entries: 28
C&R Racing All Star Warm-Ups: Danny Dietrich – 15.924 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Lance Dewease – 15.853 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Ryan Smith
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Gerard McIntyre
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Anthony Macri
JE Pistons presented by Fatheadz Eyewear Dash: Justin Peck
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting B-Main Winner: Freddie Rahmer
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet A-Main Winner: Gerard McIntyre
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Freddie Rahmer (+16)
Cometic Gasket Most A-Main Laps Led: Gerard McIntyre (1-30)
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Jay Galloway
(Lincoln Electric, MSD Performance, Fatheadz Eyewear, Rayce Rudeen Foundation, Cometic Gasket: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 69K-Lance Dewease, 15.853; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich, 15.943; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel, 16.198; 4. 72-Ryan Smith, 16.268; 5. 99-Skylar Gee, 16.417; 6. W20-Greg Wilson, 16.551; 7. 40-George Hobaugh, 16.570; 8. 73B-Brett Michalski, 16.682; 9. 91F-Anthony Fiore, 17.053; 10. 67-Justin Whittall, 17.178
Group (B)
1. 26-Cory Eliason, 16.161; 2. 11-Dale Blaney, 16.280; 3. 21-Brian Montieth, 16.539; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre, 16.555; 5. 7k-Dan Shetler, 16.786; 6. 8-Billy Dietrich, 16.859; 7. 5-Jeff Halligan, 17.146; 8. 99M-Kyle Moody, 17.217; 9. 90-Jordan Givler, 17.278
Group (C)
1. 14-Tony Stewart, 16.244; 2. 70-Brock Zearfoss, 16.246; 3. 70X-Justin Peck, 16.446; 4. 39M-Anthony Macri, 16.540; 5. 13-Paul McMahan, 16.547; 6. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 16.562; 7. 44-Dylan Norris, 16.815; 8. 51-Freddie Rahmer, 16.946; 9. 27G-Jay Galloway, 17.568
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 72-Ryan Smith [1]; 2. 48-Danny Dietrich [3]; 3. 87-Aaron Reutzel [2]; 4. 69K-Lance Dewease [4]; 5. 99-Skylar Gee [5]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 7. 73B-Brett Michalski [8]; 8. 67-Justin Whittall [10]; 9. 91F-Anthony Fiore [9]; 10. 40-George Hobaugh [7]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. O7-Gerard McIntyre [1]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [3]; 3. 26-Cory Eliason [4]; 4. 21-Brian Montieth [2]; 5. 99M-Kyle Moody [8]; 6. 90-Jordan Givler [9]; 7. 5-Jeff Halligan [7]; 8. 7K-Dan Shetler [5]; 9. 8-Billy Dietrich [6]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 39M-Anthony Macri [1]; 2. 70X-Justin Peck [2]; 3. 70-Brock Zearfoss [3]; 4. 14-Tony Stewart [4]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [5]; 6. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [6]; 7. 51-Freddie Rahmer [8]; 8. 44-Dylan Norris [7]; 9. 27G-Jay Galloway [9]
Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 70X-Justin Peck [2]; 2. 26-Cory Eliason [3]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich [6]; 4. O7-Gerard McIntyre [1]; 5. 39M-Anthony Macri [4]; 6. 11-Dale Blaney [5]; 7. 69K-Lance Dewease [7]; 8. 72-Ryan Smith [8]
B-Main (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer
1. 51-Freddie Rahmer [3]; 2. 5-Jeff Halligan [4]; 3. 73B-Brett Michalski [2]; 4. 44-Dylan Norris [6]; 5. 7K-Dan Shetler [5]; 6. 40-George Hobaugh [1]; 7. 27G-Jay Galloway [10]; 8. 67-Justin Whittall [7]; 9. 8-Billy Dietrich [8]; 10. 91F-Anthony Fiore [9]
A-Main (30 Laps)
1. O7-Gerard McIntyre [4]; 2. 11-Dale Blaney [6]; 3. 51-Freddie Rahmer [19]; 4. 70-Brock Zearfoss [10]; 5. 13-Paul McMahan [14]; 6. 99M-Kyle Moody [15]; 7. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 8. W20-Greg Wilson [16]; 9. 21-Brian Montieth [12]; 10. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [17]; 11. 14-Tony Stewart [11]; 12. 5-Jeff Halligan [20]; 13. 73B-Brett Michalski [21]; 14. 44-Dylan Norris [22]; 15. 90-Jordan Givler [18]; 16. 87-Aaron Reutzel [9]; 17. 7K-Dan Shetler [23]; 18. 40-George Hobaugh [24]; 19. 70X-Justin Peck [1]; 20. 39M-Anthony Macri [5]; 21. 69K-Lance Dewease [7]; 22. 72-Ryan Smith [8]; 23. 99-Skylar Gee [13]; 24. 48-Danny Dietrich [3] Lap Leaders: Gerard McIntyre (1-30)