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| O'Reilly All Stars Prepare to Invade Lernerville and Eldora | CAMARGO, IL (4/19/08) by Scott Porter - Black Swamp Media Group
The O'Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions will disperse across the sprint car racing scene this weekend while they enjoy an off-week from intense All Star competition. A handful of stars like Blaney, Wilson, Mayes, Stark, Hunter, Andrews, and Martin were found in the pits at Attica on Friday night. Brian Ellenberger and Paul McMahan were off giving the Lernerville regulars fits. Some will head to Fremont's season opener on Saturday depending on the weather and some will venture into Outlaw country on Saturday night to try to claim some of the loot at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, IN. Current O'Reilly All Star Points Leader, Lance Dewease, and his #30C was back in Central Pennsylvania, deep in PA Posse territory where he resides.
The All Stars will reconvene their 2008 season at Don Martin's Lernerville Speedway on Friday, April 25th. Last season Danny Smith captured the first visit by the All Stars at the tough Western PA speedplant. Invader Stevie Smith aboard his #19 RAACE Foundation sprint car kept the $5,000 check in the state of Pennsylvania when the series came back in August. Two-time All Star Champion Dale Blaney aboard the George Fisher Racing sprint car was the most consistent competitor in 2007 at Lernerville where he posted top-finishes in both events and finished 2nd to Stevie Smith in August. The All Stars will have their work cut out for them, however, as tough Lernerville regulars like Ed Lynch Jr., Bob Felmlee, and Rod George will try to rain on their parade.
The series will then make the 3-hour tow back across the state of Ohio to Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway to compete on Saturday, April 26th for their first visit of the 2008 season. Last year the historic 1/2-mile clay oval played host to one of the most memorable Ohio Speedweek finales in recent memory as Dale Blaney had a chance at winning an extra $50,000 in bonus money. Track Promoters and the All Stars put up the extra $50K to any driver who could win 4 events during one of the most grueling weeks of racing in the United States. Going into the finale, Blaney had captured three checkered flags and was looking to claim one more. However tire problems wiped out any chance of him making history as he finished in seventh place. Ed Lynch Jr. went on to claim his first win at Eldora. Earlier in the 2007 season Shane Stewart led wire-to-wire to claim the April event. Brain Paulus and Dean Jacobs were both able to pilot their cars to Top-10 finishes at both events in 2007.
This season will be slightly different as the competition on the tour has gotten a lot tougher with several quality rides deciding to follow the O'Reilly All Star tour. Paul McMahan, driving for famous car owner Rick Ferkel in the #0, grabbed a 7th-place finish earlier this month at Eldora with the World of Outlaws. This was the highest finish for Ferkel at Eldora as a car owner in an Outlaw A-Main since he was driving the car himself. PA Posse Legend Lance Dewease, who picked up his first All Star win of the season at Attica, and the return of "The Hurricane" Randy Hannagan will only add to the excitement for the fans in the stands.
Log onto www.lernerville.com for more information or call the track office at 724-353-1511. For ticket information at Eldora Speedway, visit www.eldoraspeedway.com. Follow all the All Star action at www.allstarsprint.com throughout the season.
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