WAYNESFIELD, Ohio (June 16, 2021) – For the second time in three tries, Elk Grove, California’s Kyle Larson is a Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires main event winner, scoring his second $6,000 payday of the last 48 hours during action at the highbanks of Waynesfield Raceway Park in Waynesfield, Ohio, on Wednesday, June 16.
Leading all but one circuit of the 35-lapper to solidify a 26th-career FloRacing All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 victory, Larson’s Waynesfield triumph was a first-ever, forced to fend off mid-race challenges by fellow California-native and second row starter, Rico Abreu. In all, Larson now owns three All Star Circuit of Champions victories in 2021, the first occurring at Williams Grove Speedway during the annual Hinnershitz Classic on April 16, followed by his Speedweek win at Wayne County on Monday. In addition, Larson is the first repeat winner of the 39th running of Ohio Sprint Speedweek.
Rico Abreu held on to finish second at Waynesfield Raceway Park, followed by Tyler Courtney, Parker Price-Miller, and Zeb Wise.
“Really cool to get another win. A huge thanks to all of our partners at Folkens Brothers Trucking, MAVTV, Durst, Tarlton and Sons, JVI Group, Finley Farms, Glenn Styres Racing; there’s a lot of people that help out Paul (Silva) and we appreciate their support,” Kyle Larson said in victory lane. “Rico made me earn that one. What an awesome race track. I love Waynesfield. This is definitely my favorite Ohio track. I think this is my first wing win here. I think I finished second a couple of times with a wing on and once without a wing. We’re going to head to Nashville now and try to get a win on Sunday.”
Utilizing the outside-pole position to earn the early advantage, Larson jumped to a comfortable lead almost immediately, ripping the cushion at both ends of the speedway before gaping his fellow frontrunners by a near-straightaway. Larson’s quick pace found the back of the field by lap seven, but a caution on lap ten would ultimately negate his dealings with lapped traffic. Meanwhile, Abreu had already powered himself to second, taking the position officially with a slider over Cale Thomas on lap three.
The ensuing restart allowed Larson to return to his comfortable pace around the very top of the speedway, testing the grip at the bottom of turn two occasionally. By lap 15, Abreu was on the move, using every inch of the speedway to drive himself to the back bumper of Larson. The St. Helena, California-native made his move the following lap, using a run off of turn two to power under Larson by the exit of turn four.
Not deterred by the move, Larson returned the favor the following circuit, using a slider through turns three and four to reclaim command by the time the pair made it back to the flagstand. By that time, the leaders had already found themselves in heavy traffic, which ultimately worked in Larson’s favor. Within a handful of circuits, Larson was able to place two to three lapped cars between himself and Abreu.
A caution on lap 29 would reset the field creating clean air and an open track for Larson; he would go on unchallenged.
“That was fun racing; a fun track and a great crowd,” said Rico Abreu, driver of the Rico Abreu/Curb Agajanian Racing/Rowdy Energy/Curb Records/Lucas Oil Products/Self Made/No. 24 sprint car. “I felt like I was respectful everywhere and I could make up some time on Larson in three and four when I would hit it right. You had to run that seam and catch the moisture coming off and not get too high up where the track shelved off really bad. Hats off to my guys. They’ve been busting their butts.”
With his third-place finish, “Sunshine” Tyler Courtney claims the Ohio Sprint Speedweek championship points lead, earning a 16-point advantage over Gettysburg, Pennsylvania-native and Sharon Speedway winner, Danny Dietrich; Dietrich finished 17th in the Waynesfield main.
Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires will continue on Thursday evening, June 17, at Muskingum County Speedway in Dresden, Ohio. The event will award a $6,000 payday.
For those who can not witness the All Star Circuit of Champions live and in person, FloRacing.com, the official media partner and broadcast provider of the All Stars, has you covered. To access live and on-demand racing action from the All Star Circuit of Champions, visit FloRacing.com and become an annual PRO subscriber. Race fans can see all the USAC and dirt late-model action they want in addition to Eldora Speedway’s slate of races and those of the All Star Circuit of Champions. The subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch the events across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.
Contingency Awards/Results: Waynesfield Raceway Park | Wednesday, June 16, 2021:
Event: Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires
Entries: 42
C&R Racing Hot Laps: Kyle Larson | 10.444
Dixie Vodka Fast Qualifier: Sam Hafertepe, Jr. | 10.056
Ford Performance Heat #1 Winner: Sam Hafertepe, Jr.
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2 Winner: Parker Price-Miller
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3 Winner: Cale Thomas
Mobil 1 Heat #4 Winner: Cory Eliason
Kistler Racing Products Heat #5 Winner: Bill Balog
Kear’s Speed Shop Dash #1 Winner: Cale Thomas
Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts Dash #2 Winner: Kyle Larson
Classic Ink USA Screenprinting & Embroidery B-Main Winner: Cale Conley
Rayce Rudeen Foundation First Non-Transfer: Ricky Peterson
FloRacing A-Main Winner: Kyle Larson
Hercules Tires A-Main Hard Charger: Tim Shaffer (+10)
Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr., 10.056; 2. 57-Kyle Larson, 10.124; 3. 22H-Jac Haudenschild, 10.312; 4. 24-Rico Abreu, 10.343; 5. 3C-Cale Conley, 10.352; 6. 101-Lachlan McHugh, 10.398; 7. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg, 10.467; 8. 11N-Harli White, 10.483; 9. W20-Greg Wilson, 10.673
Group (B)
1. 5-Paul McMahan, 10.216; 2. 4-Cap Henry, 10.369; 3. 22C-Cole Duncan, 10.415; 4. 19-Parker Price-Miller, 10.427; 5. 5M-Max Stambaugh, 10.431; 6. 28-Tim Shaffer, 10.548; 7. 5T-Travis Philo, 10.742; 8. 21BP-Brinton Marvel, 10.826; 9. 23-Chris Andrews, NT
Group (C)
1. 7BC-Tyler Courtney, 10.245; 2. 91-Kyle Reinhardt, 10.352; 3. 16-DJ Foos, 10.414; 4. 49X-Cale Thomas, 10.441; 5. 48-Danny Dietrich, 10.487; 6. 25R-Jordan Ryan, 10.511; 7. A79-Brandon Wimmer, 10.685; 8. 18T-Tanner Holmes, 10.844
Group (D)
1. 10-Zeb Wise, 10.323; 2. 11-Spencer Bayston, 10.429; 3. 26-Cory Eliason, 10.545; 4. 18-Cole Macedo, 10.606; 5. 35-Stuart Brubaker, 10.615; 6. 24W-Garet Williamson, 10.730; 7. O7-Skylar Gee, 10.897; 8. 12-Kyle Capodice, 11.101
Group (E)
1. 97-Craig Mintz, 10.427; 2. 13-Justin Peck, 10.449; 3. 17B-Bill Balog, 10.538; 4. 1-Nate Dussel, 10.578; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson, 10.588; 6. 14W-Chad Wilson, 10.896; 7. 9W-Lance Webb, 10.986; 8. 8M-TJ Michael, NT
Heat #1 – Group (A) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [4]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [1]; 3. 57-Kyle Larson [3]; 4. 22H-Jac Haudenschild [2]; 5. 3C-Cale Conley [5]; 6. 101-Lachlan McHugh [6]; 7. W20-Greg Wilson [9]; 8. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [7]; 9. 11N-Harli White [8]
Heat #2 – Group (B) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 19-Parker Price-Miller [1]; 2. 4-Cap Henry [3]; 3. 22C-Cole Duncan [2]; 4. 5-Paul McMahan [4]; 5. 28-Tim Shaffer [6]; 6. 5T-Travis Philo [7]; 7. 21BP-Brinton Marvel [8]; 8. 5M-Max Stambaugh [5]
Heat #3 – Group (C) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 49X-Cale Thomas [1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [4]; 3. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [3]; 4. 16-DJ Foos [2]; 5. A79-Brandon Wimmer [7]; 6. 48-Danny Dietrich [5]; 7. 18T-Tanner Holmes [8]; 8. 25R-Jordan Ryan [6]
Heat #4 – Group (D) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 26-Cory Eliason [2]; 2. 18-Cole Macedo [1]; 3. 11-Spencer Bayston [3]; 4. 10-Zeb Wise [4]; 5. O7-Skylar Gee [7]; 6. 24W-Garet Williamson [6]; 7. 12-Kyle Capodice [8]; 8. 35-Stuart Brubaker [5]
Heat #5 – Group (E) (8 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 17B-Bill Balog [2]; 2. 13-Justin Peck [3]; 3. 1-Nate Dussel [1]; 4. 97-Craig Mintz [4]; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson [5]; 6. 9W-Lance Webb [7]; 7. 14W-Chad Wilson [6]
Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 49X-Cale Thomas [1]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [2]; 3. 10-Zeb Wise [3]; 4. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [5]; 5. 26-Cory Eliason [6]; 6. 22H-Jac Haudenschild [4]
Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [1]; 2. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [6]; 3. 17B-Bill Balog [2]; 4. 19-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 5. 97-Craig Mintz [4]; 6. 5-Paul McMahan [5]
B-Main (12 Laps) – Top 4 Transfer
1. 3C-Cale Conley [1]; 2. 101-Lachlan McHugh [2]; 3. 48-Danny Dietrich [7]; 4. 28-Tim Shaffer [3]; 5. 2-Ricky Peterson [4]; 6. A79-Brandon Wimmer [5]; 7. 5T-Travis Philo [9]; 8. 24W-Garet Williamson [8]; 9. O7-Skylar Gee [6]; 10. 21BP-Brinton Marvel [12]; 11. 11N-Harli White [20]; 12. 18T-Tanner Holmes [13]; 13. W20-Greg Wilson [11]; 14. 9W-Lance Webb [10]; 15. 12-Kyle Capodice [15]; 16. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [17]; 17. 23-Chris Andrews [21]
A-Main (35 Laps)
1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 24-Rico Abreu [3]; 3. 7BC-Tyler Courtney [4]; 4. 19-Parker Price-Miller [8]; 5. 10-Zeb Wise [5]; 6. 26-Cory Eliason [9]; 7. 13-Justin Peck [14]; 8. 49X-Cale Thomas [1]; 9. 5-Paul McMahan [12]; 10. 4-Cap Henry [13]; 11. 97-Craig Mintz [10]; 12. 22C-Cole Duncan [17]; 13. 22H-Jac Haudenschild [11]; 14. 28-Tim Shaffer [24]; 15. 11-Spencer Bayston [18]; 16. 18-Cole Macedo [15]; 17. 48-Danny Dietrich [23]; 18. 17B-Bill Balog [6]; 19. 91-Kyle Reinhardt [16]; 20. 16-DJ Foos [19]; 21. 101-Lachlan McHugh [22]; 22. 3C-Cale Conley [20]; 23. 1-Nate Dussel [21]; 24. 55-Hunter Schuerenberg [25]; 25. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. [7] Lap Leaders: Kyle Larson (1-15), Rico Abreu (16), Kyle Larson (17-35)
Speedweek Outline:
Thursday, June 17:
Muskingum County Speedway
Dresden, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 5:45 p.m. | Hot Laps: 6:15 p.m.
$6,000-to-win
Friday, June 18:
Limaland Motorsports Park
Lima, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 6:15 p.m. | Hot Laps: 7 p.m.
$6,000-to-win
Saturday, June 19:
Portsmouth Raceway Park
Portsmouth, Ohio
Driver’s Meeting: 6:15 p.m. | Hot Laps: 7 p.m.
$17,554-to-win
*Rain Date set for June 20
2021 All Star Circuit of Champions Winners:
1. Screven Motor Speedway, Georgia (January 29, 2021): Donny Schatz
2. Screven Motor Speedway, Georgia (January 30, 2021): Aaron Reutzel
3. East Bay Raceway Park, Florida (February 2, 2021): Donny Schatz (2)
4. Volusia Speedway Park, Florida (February 3, 2021): Logan Schuchart
5. Volusia Speedway Park, Florida (February 4, 2021): Carson Macedo
6. Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (April 3, 2021): Justin Peck
7. Virginia Motor Speedway, Virginia (April 15, 2021): Tony Stewart
8. Williams Grove Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 16, 2021): Kyle Larson
9. Port Royal Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 17, 2021): Logan Wagner
10. Bedford Speedway, Pennsylvania (April 18, 2021): Anthony Macri
11. Sharon Speedway, Ohio (May 1, 2021): Justin Peck (2)
12. Tri-City Raceway Park, Pennsylvania (May 2, 2021): Sam Hafertepe Jr.
13. I-96 Speedway, Michigan (May 14, 2021): Tyler Courtney
14. Dirt Oval at Route 66, Illinois (May 15, 2021): Kyle Reinhardt
15. Circle City Raceway, Indiana (May 20, 2021): Tyler Courtney (2)
16. Circle City Raceway, Indiana (May 21, 2021): Tyler Courtney (3)
17. Gas City I-69 Speedway, Indiana (May 22, 2021): Cap Henry
18. Kokomo Speedway, Indiana (May 23, 2021): Zeb Wise
19. Port Royal Speedway, Pennsylvania (May 31, 2021): Lance Dewease
20. Fairbury Speedway, Illinois (June 3, 2021): Tyler Courtney (4)
21. Wilmot Raceway, Wisconsin (June 4, 2021): Tyler Courtney (5)
22. Plymouth Dirt Track, Wisconsin (June 5, 2021): Bill Balog
23. Angell Park Speedway, Wisconsin (June 6, 2021): Bill Balog (2)
24. SW Attica Raceway Park, Ohio (June 11, 2021): Ian Madsen
25. SW Fremont Speedway, Ohio (June 12, 2021): Cole Duncan
26. SW Wayne County Speedway, Ohio (June 14, 2021): Kyle Larson (2)
27. SW Sharon Speedway, Ohio (June 15, 2021): Danny Dietrich
28. SW Waynesfield Raceway Park, Ohio (June 16, 2021): Kyle Larson (3)
2021 All Star Circuit of Champions Driver Standings (as of 6/16/21):
1. Tyler Courtney – 3202
2. Cory Eliason – 2990
3. Hunter Schuerenberg – 2982
4. Zeb Wise – 2960
5. Ian Madsen – 2926
6. Bill Balog – 2922
7. Cap Henry – 2894
8. Paul McMahan – 2842
9. Kyle Reinhardt – 2608
10. Rico Abreu – 2584
2021 Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Hercules Tires Standings (as of 6/16/21):
1. Tyler Courtney – 694
2. Danny Dietrich – 678
3. Cory Eliason – 668
4. Zeb Wise – 658
5. Justin Peck – 656