Camargo, IL (10-14-09) – By Kelly Brown – As the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions reflects on another season in the record books it is time to look back at the month of May. For those who are well versed in racing the month of May reminds them of a certain race in Indiana, but the All Stars did not have time to worry about just one race as they had six races spanning two states to run. As the All Stars moved into PA to take on the “Posse” and on to Ohio to take on their best drivers, there was a host of familiar names in Victory Lane including one that recorded a landmark win in his career.

The start of May in PA

May would begin with Freddie Rahmer scoring his 500th career victory, which is unheard of in almost any type of racing. Rahmer’s night began with pole sitter Brian Leppo by his side. On the drop of the Green Flag Leppo jumped out into the early lead and would set the pace for the first 13 laps of the event. Rahmer would fall in line with three time All Star Champion Dale Blaney following in the fray. When the field took the Green Flag, Rahmer blocked a charge by Esh and set his sights on the lead. Rahmer stalked Leppo in the bottom groove, until Lap 14. At that point Leppo’s car was clearly tight on the bottom and Rahmer was able to get around him in the second turn.  Rahmer did not drive away from the pack through once in the lead. He had to deal with lapped traffic and in the final laps he fought off advances by Leppo, Esh, and Alan Krimes, but Rahmer had number 500 in his grasps and did not let it go. At the finish line it would be Rahmer with Leppo, Esh, Krimes and Blaney rounding out the top-five.

The second race of the month would take the Green Flag at the famed Williams Grove Speedway. When the Green Flag flew on tonight’s match, Lance Dewease and Alan Krimes had a front-row seat, but not for long; going into the first turn Todd Shaffer grabbed the lead after starting in the fourth position.

Throughout the early laps of the race Dewease and Shaffer played a game of cat and mouse where Dewease would reel Shaffer in, but each and every time the wily veteran out ran Dewease. With five laps to go the top-five could have been thrown under a blanket as the positions changed in the final dash for the checkers. First Brian Montieth got past Layton to take over the fourth position while, Hodnett closed on Dewease and a skirmish ensued for the second position. With the Checkered Flag looming in the air Todd Shaffer captured his eighth All Star Circuit of Champions win. Dwease just edged out Hodnett for second, while Montieth and Layton rounded out the top-five.

The third and races of May would take the All Stars to Port Royal Speedway for the Bob Weikert Memorial. On the night before the main event at the drop of the Green Flag Mike Erdley and Todd Shaffer went side-by-side into the fist turn. By the end of the first lap Shaffer got an edge over Erdley and settled into the lead. In an event that went Green to Checkered Flag with non-stop action at every turn of the track you could have thrown a blanket over second to fourth for most of the event. As the event went on Erdley, Alan Cole and Stevie Smith traded second, third and fourth several times. Shaffer had a sizable lead over the battling trio until he encountered lapped traffic. It was an encounter that Shaffer had with the lapped car of Daron Clayton that allowed Smith to close in on the lead. Once the leader was in sight Smith settled into the high groove and began working on Shaffer. With the laps in the event winding down Smith and Shaffer traded the lead back and fourth several times. In the end, it was Smith who had the edge with the Checkered Flag looming in the distance, as he recorded his eighth All Star Circuit of Champions win. Behind Smith it was Shaffer, Erdley, Cole and Lance Dewease rounding out the top-five. 

On the night of the Bob Weikert Memorial Stevie Smith seemed to be on a mission, although there was a All Star veteran that tried every move he could to keep Smith out of Victory Lane. Smith dashed into the first corner with Blaney in his tracks, but Smith was able to put some distance between his 1 and Blaney’s 2 car. It was déjà vu on Lap 14 when the yellow banner was unfurled again as Cannon looped the 17 car around in Turn 2. Although this time Ryan Bunton got caught up in the incident and it ended both of their nights. When the race resumed Smith continued to hold on to the top spot until there was another pause in the racing action a few laps later. In Turn 4, the 88 of Todd Shaffer and 22 of Greg Hodnett made contact and the 15 of Adam Wilt spun to miss the tangled cars.  This ended the night for Hodnett, but Shaffer and Wilt continued at the back of the field.In the closing laps of the event, Smith and Blaney continued their rivalry: PA Posse versus All Star. Blaney was able to close in on Smith several times, but at the end lapped traffic was a factor. With the Checkered Flag flying in the air it was Smith who passed under it first by several car lengths over Blaney.

Rounding out May in Ohio

On paper it may seem as if Danny Smith had an easy night after recording quick time and starting from the pole position at Fremont Speedway, but the truth is it was a hard fought win for the 410 sprint car veteran. For him it took all the experience he had to maneuver through the traffic and the challenges he encountered tonight. On the drop of the Green Flag Smith took control of the event with Dave Harrison and Jody Keegan in his tire tracks. Lee Jacobs would move into third on lap three, while Mayes stayed right on Smith's rear bumper . Smith and Jacobs would race side-by-side, making bold moves in traffic over the next portion of the race. Mayes would get to Smith's rear bumper by the 23rd lap as the two raced hard among the lapped machines. The final caution period of the night happened with 5 laps to goWhen the Green Flag was unfurled again it was Smith with Mayes, Tim Shaffer, and Lee Jacobs battling for position. At that point Jacobs changed his line and went to the top. This turned out to be an imperative move as he was able to make his way up to second before the Checkered Flag flew. It was Smith who would take it first with Jacobs, Mayes, Shaffer, and Dale Blaney rounding out the top-five. 

At Eldora Speedway the All Stars went wire-to-wire without a single caution period. It was a night when lapped traffic almost decided the feature event. Starting on the front row when the Green Flag fell was the 7k of Rob Chaney and 83 of Tim Shaffer, as they zoomed into the first turn it was Chaney with the early advantage. Then by the second turn Shaffer edged ahead bringing Ed Lynch Jr. along with him into second. It took until shortly after half-way point of the event for Dale Blaney to make his presence known on track. The Ohio native began to make his move on Lap 18 getting around Shaffer with a slide job in Turn 4 and began to cut into Wilson’s lead.  While dodging in and out of lapped cars Blaney and Wilson swapped the lead back and forth several times, before Blaney took the top spot on lap 23. Wilson fought back as they sliced in and out of lapped cars. The duo spent several laps side-by-side before Blaney edged ahead. It was short lived though as Blaney made slight contact with a lapped car, which let Wilson close again. Wilson was able to get around Blaney for a split second, but Blaney fought back. With the Checkered Flag looming in the distance Blaney got the edge and recorded his 69th career All Star victory. In a close second it was Wilson, who described the race as one of the best races he had ever been in. Rounding out the top five were: Shaffer, Randy Hannagan and Lynch.

What would happen during June to the All Stars leading up to historic Ohio Speedweek? How would they fare in June as they made a second trip to PA to take on the Posse? Who would win in the series inaugural event at Elkins Speedway in West Virginia? Stay tuned as the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions look back on another fast and furious season of racing action. For the most up to date information on the All Star Circuit of Champions, bookmark www.allstarsprint.com on your computer.