Chad Kemenah gets Arctic Cat All Star win number 33 at 34 Raceway

BURLINGTON, IA (June 11, 2017) - Wrapping up a Midwest road trip that resulted in three consecutive podium finishes with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions, Alvada, Ohio’s Chad Kemenah is now a three-time Series winner in 2017, this time holding off charges by the “North Pole Nightmare” Bill Balog and the “Madman” Kerry Madsen to claim $5,000 in Burlington, Iowa.

Raising his career win total to 33 with “America’s Series,” Kemenah led all but four circuits during the 30-lap main event on Sunday evening at 34 Raceway, surrendering the top spot to only Bill Balog before regaining command less than five laps later. Balog held on to finish second, followed by Kerry Madsen, Brian Brown and Paul Nienhiser.

“I have to keep winning if I want to keep my son from catching me,” Chad Kemenah said in victory lane regarding his son’s go-kart career. “He’s going to be coming for my job here pretty soon. But really - I can’t say enough about this team. Things are going really well right now and we are all having fun. I have so many people to thank, my brother included. He does a phenomenal job with this car. It’s just him and I out here this weekend, so we’ll definitely be celebrating the entire way home.”

Despite an opening lap caution that halted the Arctic Cat All Star main event, the result of a multiple car incident in turns one and two, as well as a car getting upside-down in turns three and four, Chad Kemenah would go on to lead the feature field to green from the pole position, wasting no time opening his command to nearly a half-straightaway by lap three. Utilizing the very bottom of the 3/8-mile oval, Kemenah reached the back of the running order by lap six, which in turn allowed Ryan Smith and Kerry Madsen to keep the Hunter Racing/DKW Transport/Bonnell’s Rod Shop/No. 10H in reach.

By lap 15, traffic started to intensify for Kemenah, with most of the field that was racing directly in front of him also working the bottom edge of the speedway. Meanwhile, Bill Balog, who restarted sixth on the feature grid after the opening lap tangle, was beginning to make moves all alone on the topside of the speedway; capturing third on lap 14, second on lap 15, and eventually taking command from Kemenah on lap 20, ending a two-lap, side-by-side battle on laps 18 and 19.

Despite Balog’s impressive march forward on the cushion, his command was short-lived, surrendering the lead back to Chad Kemenah on lap 24. The defending Arctic Cat All Star champion went the remaining distance undisturbed, crossing under the final checkers nearly three seconds ahead of Balog and Kerry Madsen.

“I tried not to screw up, but the bottom was just so good tonight,” Bill Balog explained. “We can’t be disappointed with this one. We’ve been running pretty well. We’ll take this and move forward.”

Kemenah’s weekend podium sweep ignited with a third place performance on Friday evening, June 9, at Lincoln (IL) Speedway, followed by a second consecutive third place performance at Macon (IL) Speedway on June 10. The current Series point leader will enter Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket with a 180-point cushion.

“This is a perfect momentum boost for us heading into Ohio Sprint Speedweek,” Chad Kemenah stated. “When you head into Speedweek on a good note, you’re bound to have good things happen to you. We’re all pretty excited to get started.”

Celebrating 35 years in 2017, Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket is next to take center stage on the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions campaign trail, complete with eight events over a nine day stretch beginning with competition at Attica Raceway Park on Friday, June 16. “America’s Series” will visit eight different facilities throughout all four corners of The Buckeye State during the eight-race stretch, each awarding $5,000 top prizes, as well as full points toward the 2017 Arctic Cat All Star championship. A $3,000 point fund will also be distributed amongst the top-ten finishers in the Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket standings.

As an added bonus to race fans who can not attend Ohio Sprint Speedweek presented by Cometic Gasket, six of the eight events will be broadcast live via www.onthecushion.com beginning Friday night at Attica Raceway Park.

Those seeking additional news and notes regarding Ohio Sprint Speedweek should stay tuned online at www.allstarsprint.com. A full preview will be posted in the coming days.

Contingency Awards/Results: 34 Raceway - Sunday, June 11, 2017:
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 35 entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Kerry Madsen - 12.922 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Caleb Armstrong - 12.792 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Chad Kemenah
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Tony Stewart
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Danny Lasoski
Daido Engine Bearings Heat #4: Bill Balog
JE Pistons Dash #1: Chad Kemenah
Kistler Racing Products Dash #2: Ian Madsen
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Tayler Malsam
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Chad Kemenah
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Dominic Scelzi (+5)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Paul Nienhiser
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Caleb Armstrong (13th)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Max Stambaugh
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 12.792; 2. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 12.912; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 12.996; 4. 59-Ryan Smith, 13.145; 5. 8M-TJ Michael, 13.208; 6. 17-Caleb Helms, 13.253; 7. 9C-Roger Campbell, 13.352; 8. 33-Brent Matus, 14.237; 9. 50P-Harold Pohren, NT

Group (B)
1. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 12.84; 2. 21-Brian Brown, 12.878; 3. 35-Tyler Esh, 12.96; 4. 14-Tony Stewart, 12.978; 5. 26-Tayler Malsam, 13.021; 6. 82-Cap Henry, 13.071; 7. 65-Jordan Goldesberry, 13.228; 8. 12-Daniel Harding, 13.388; 9. 9-Ryan Linder, 13.835

Group ( C )
1. 41X-Dominic Scelzi, 12.966; 2. 18-Ian Madsen, 12.999; 3. 1M-Danny Lasoski, 13.009; 4. 13-Brandon Matus, 13.294; 5. 15-Bobby Mincer, 13.298; 6. 25-Jake Blackhurst, 13.435; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison, 13.573; 8. 44-Chris Martin, 13.662; 9. 51-John Garvin, 22.513

Group (D)
1. 33M-Max Stambaugh, 13.061; 2. 55-Brooke Tatnell, 13.184; 3. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 13.186; 4. 17B-Bill Balog, 13.206; 5. 2KS-Austin McCarl, 13.275; 6. 3-Tim Kaeding, 13.359; 7. 49-Josh Schneiderman, 13.433; 8. 1080-Jordan Mackison, 14.12

Heat #1 - Group (A) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah [2]; 2. 59-Ryan Smith [1]; 3. 22-Brandon Spithaler [3]; 4. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [4]; 5. 17-Caleb Helms [6]; 6. 8M-TJ Michael [5]; 7. 9C-Roger Campbell [7]; 8. 33-Brent Matus [8]

Heat #2 - Group (B) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 14-Tony Stewart [1]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 82-Cap Henry [6]; 5. 35-Tyler Esh [2]; 6. 12-Daniel Harding [8]; 7. 26-Tayler Malsam [5]; 8. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [7]; 9. 9-Ryan Linder [9]

Heat #3 - Group (C) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 1M-Danny Lasoski [2]; 2. 18-Ian Madsen [3]; 3. 41X-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 4. 13-Brandon Matus [1]; 5. 25-Jake Blackhurst [6]; 6. 15-Bobby Mincer [5]; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison [7]; 8. 44-Chris Martin [8]; 9. 51-John Garvin [9]

Heat #4 - Group (D) (8 Laps) - Top 5 Transfer
1. 17B-Bill Balog [1]; 2. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [2]; 3. 55-Brooke Tatnell [3]; 4. 33M-Max Stambaugh [4]; 5. 3-Tim Kaeding [6]; 6. 2KS-Austin McCarl [5]; 7. 49-Josh Schneiderman [7]; 8. 1080-Jordan Mackison [8]

Dash #1 (4 Laps)
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [1]; 3. 14-Tony Stewart [4]; 4. 17B-Bill Balog [3]; 5. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [5]

Dash #2 (4 Laps)
1. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 2. 59-Ryan Smith [3]; 3. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [4]; 4. 2M-Kerry Madsen [5]; 5. 1M-Danny Lasoski [1]

B-Main (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer
1. 26-Tayler Malsam [1]; 2. 2KS-Austin McCarl [4]; 3. 49-Josh Schneiderman [8]; 4. 8M-TJ Michael [2]; 5. 65-Jordan Goldesberry [3]; 6. 95-Hunter Mackison [9]; 7. 9-Ryan Linder [11]; 8. 1080-Jordan Mackison [12]; 9. 44-Chris Martin [10]; 10. 33-Brent Matus [13]; 11. 51-John Garvin [14]; 12. 15-Bobby Mincer [5]; 13. 12-Daniel Harding [7]; 14. 9C-Roger Campbell [6]

A-Main (30 Laps)
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah [1]; 2. 17B-Bill Balog [7]; 3. 2M-Kerry Madsen [8]; 4. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 5. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [6]; 6. 1M-Danny Lasoski [10]; 7. 41X-Dominic Scelzi [12]; 8. 59-Ryan Smith [4]; 9. 14-Tony Stewart [5]; 10. 55-Brooke Tatnell [13]; 11. 82-Cap Henry [15]; 12. 3-Tim Kaeding [19]; 13. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [9]; 14. 22-Brandon Spithaler [11]; 15. 33M-Max Stambaugh [14]; 16. 2KS-Austin McCarl [22]; 17. 18-Ian Madsen [2]; 18. 17-Caleb Helms [18]; 19. 8M-TJ Michael [24]; 20. 26-Tayler Malsam [21]; 21. 25-Jake Blackhurst [20]; 22. 35-Tyler Esh [17]; 23. 49-Josh Schneiderman [23]; 24. 13-Brandon Matus [16] Lap Leaders: Chad Kemenah [1-19, 24-30], Bill Balog [20-23]

Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (June 11, 2017):
1. Chad Kemenah - 2302
2. Caleb Armstrong - 2122
3. Ryan Smith - 2092
4. Caleb Helms - 2072
5. Max Stambaugh - 1900
6. T.J. Michael - 1810
7. Brandon Spithaler - 1687
8. Brandon Matus - 1676
9. John Garvin - 1602
10. Tyler Esh - 1595


Justin Peck masters mighty Macon Speedway for Arctic Cat All Star victory

MACON, IL (June 10, 2017) - Becoming the eighth different driver to stand in Macon (IL) Speedway victory lane during Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions competition, Justin Peck is now an Arctic Cat All Star winner, ultimately leading 37 of 40 laps to score a first-ever Series victory and the largest payday of his young career. The Monrovia, Indiana, native, who recently graduated from high school, started sixth on the feature grid and was within striking distance of the top spot by lap three. Impressively enough, Peck earned his way into the Arctic Cat All Star main event by winning his respective heat race - without a nose wing.

“Honestly, this is kind of a shock,” Justin Peck said during his victory lane interview, driver of the Duracoat/Axalta Coatings/Pro Shocks/DRC/No. 5X. “I owe this all to my crew; everyone that is involved with this team. This is such an awesome feeling.”

Paul Nienhiser and Chad Kemenah led the 24 feature starters to green on Saturday night at the “World’s Fastest 1/5-Mile Clay Oval.” Kemenah jumped to the early advantage, followed to the infield flagstand for the first time by Nienhiser and Justin Peck. Despite getting the early jump, Kemenah’s tenure at the top of the running order was short-lived, soon tracked down by Peck. The 18-year-old worked his way into the runner-up position by lap three, eventually driving around Kemenah with a high side hustle move through turns one and two on the following circuit.

Peck maintained his position at the top of the running order for the remaining 36 laps, surviving a total of eight cautions, two of which resulting in red flag conditions, to claim his $5,000 share.

Nienhiser, who battled inside the top-three during much of the 40-lap program, eventually had the opportunity to use traffic as a pick, soon driving under Chad Kemenah at the entrance of turns three and four to take over the runner-up position on lap 24. It was a second consecutive Arctic Cat All Star runner-up finish for the for the Chapin, Illinois, native. Kemenah held on to finish third, followed by Friday night winner Carson Macedo and former NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart.

“You know, I thought we were really good there at the beginning,” Peck explained. “But once the track started to take a little bit of rubber, that’s when I started to get nervous. When you are out in front like that, you obviously can’t tell what is going on behind you. Paul (Nienhiser) showed me his nose there toward the end, so I had to adjust my line a little bit and move down the track. All you can do is try to run in the rubber where you think it’s the best. It all worked out tonight.”

For the first time since 1998, the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will invade 34 Raceway in Burlington, Iowa; the third and final Midwest event of the weekend for “America’s Series,” as well as the first and only visit to The Hawkeye State in 2017. Holmesville, Ohio’s Kenny Jacobs scored the 34 Raceway victory during the Series’ first visit in 1998, one of 98 total Arctic Cat All Star victories for the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame inductee.

34 Raceway will open pit gates at 2:00pm on Sunday, June 11. General admission gates will open to the public at 4:00pm, with racing scheduled to hit the speedway at 7:15pm, sharp. Those seeking additional information pertaining to ticket sales and reserved seating should contact 34 Raceway live on the Web at www.34raceway.com.

Contingency Awards/Results: Macon Speedway - Saturday, June 10, 2017:
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 31 entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Brandon Spithaler - 10.251 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Chad Kemenah - 9.540 seconds
Ford Performance Heat #1: Parker Price-Miller
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Justin Peck
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Max Stambaugh
JE Pistons Dash #1: Paul Nienhiser
Classic Ink USA B-Main: Jimmy Hurley
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Paul Nienhiser (2nd)
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Ryan Smith (+9)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Tony Stewart
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Brandon Spithaler
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: John Garvin (16th)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse: Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying
Group (A)
1. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 9.54; 2. 7C-Caleb Armstrong, 9.632; 3. 2-Parker Price-Miller, 9.843; 4. 8M-TJ Michael, 9.869; 5. 17-Caleb Helms, 9.883; 6. 13-Brandon Matus, 9.8934; 7. 1M-Jim Moughan, 9.973; 8. 88-Terry Babb, 10.054; 9. 95-Hunter Mackison, 10.058; 10. 9C-Roger Campbell, 10.386; 11. 9T-Dylan Tuxhorn, 10.727

Group (B)
1. 9X-Paul Nienhiser, 9.552; 2. 1080-Jordan Mackison, 9.773; 3. 14-Tony Stewart, 9.795; 4. 59-Ryan Smith, 9.906; 5. 5X-Justin Peck, 9.947; 6. 52F-Logan  Faucon, 10.09; 7. 4K-Kody Kinser, 10.11; 8. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg, 10.152; 9. 9-Ryan Linder, 10.267; 10. 51-John Garvin, 10.907

Group ( C )
1. 3G-Carson Macedo, 9.65; 2. 35-Tyler Esh, 9.893; 3. 47-Jimmy Hurley, 9.9064; 4. 33M-Max Stambaugh, 10.015; 5. 44-AJ Bruns, 10.037; 6. 77U-Chris Urish, 10.094; 7. 22-Brandon Spithaler, 10.162; 8. 12-Daniel Harding, 10.236; 9. 33-Brent Matus, 11.745; 10. 1T-Tyler Shoemaker, 12.071

Heat #1 - Group (A) (10 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 2-Parker Price-Miller [2]; 2. 8M-TJ Michael [1]; 3. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [3]; 4. 1M-Jim Moughan [7]; 5. 10H-Chad Kemenah [4]; 6. 17-Caleb Helms [5]; 7. 95-Hunter Mackison [9]; 8. 9C-Roger Campbell [10]; 9. 13-Brandon Matus [6]; 10. 9T-Dylan Tuxhorn [11]; 11. 88-Terry Babb [8]

Heat #2 - Group (B) (10 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 5X-Justin Peck [5]; 2. 14-Tony Stewart [2]; 3. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg [8]; 4. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [4]; 5. 51-John Garvin [10]; 6. 52F-Logan  Faucon [6]; 7. 1080-Jordan Mackison [3]; 8. 59-Ryan Smith [1]; 9. 9-Ryan Linder [9]; 10. 4K-Kody Kinser [7]

Heat #3 - Group ( C ) (10 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 33M-Max Stambaugh [1]; 2. 3G-Carson Macedo [4]; 3. 77U-Chris Urish [6]; 4. 35-Tyler Esh [3]; 5. 22-Brandon Spithaler [7]; 6. 12-Daniel Harding [8]; 7. 44-AJ Bruns [5]; 8. 33-Brent Matus [9]; 9. 1T-Tyler Shoemaker [10]; 10. 47-Jimmy Hurley [2]

Dash #1 (6 Laps)
1. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [3]; 2. 10H-Chad Kemenah [2]; 3. 2-Parker Price-Miller [4]; 4. 5X-Justin Peck [5]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [8]; 6. 3G-Carson Macedo [6]; 7. 8M-TJ Michael [1]; 8. 33M-Max Stambaugh [7]

B-Main (12 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer
1. 47-Jimmy Hurley [4]; 2. 59-Ryan Smith [3]; 3. 88-Terry Babb [6]; 4. 44-AJ Bruns [5]; 5. 4K-Kody Kinser [8]; 6. 13-Brandon Matus [2]; 7. 1080-Jordan Mackison [1]; 8. 95-Hunter Mackison [7]; 9. 33-Brent Matus [12]; 10. 1T-Tyler Shoemaker [13]; 11. 9T-Dylan Tuxhorn [11]; 12. 9C-Roger Campbell [10]; 13. 9-Ryan Linder [9]

A-Main (40 Laps)
1. 5X-Justin Peck [4]; 2. 9X-Paul Nienhiser [1]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah [2]; 4. 3G-Carson Macedo [6]; 5. 14-Tony Stewart [5]; 6. 7C-Caleb Armstrong [9]; 7. 20N-Hunter Schuerenberg [11]; 8. 8M-TJ Michael [7]; 9. 33M-Max Stambaugh [8]; 10. 22-Brandon Spithaler [14]; 11. 59-Ryan Smith [20]; 12. 47-Jimmy Hurley [19]; 13. 2-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 14. 12-Daniel Harding [18]; 15. 44-AJ Bruns [22]; 16. 51-John Garvin [15]; 17. 17-Caleb Helms [16]; 18. 1M-Jim Moughan [13]; 19. 4K-Kody Kinser [23]; 20. 52F-Logan  Faucon [17]; 21. 35-Tyler Esh [12]; 22. 13-Brandon Matus [24]; 23. 77U-Chris Urish [10]; 24. 88-Terry Babb [21]Lap Leaders: Chad Kemenah [1-3]; Justin Peck [4-40]

Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (June 10, 2017):
1. Chad Kemenah -2152
2. Caleb Armstrong - 1998
3. Caleb Helms - 1958
4. Ryan Smith - 1958
5. Max Stambaugh - 1780
6. T.J. Michael - 1698
7. Brandon Matus - 1574
8. Brandon Spithaler - 1565
9. Tim Shaffer - 1538
10. John Garvin - 1512