Macri Takes Kauffman Classic For First All Star Win
Macri Takes Kauffman Classic For First All Star Win
For the first time in his young career, PA's Anthony Macri is an All Star Circuit of Champions main event winner.
For the first time in his young career, Dillsburg, Pennsylvania’s Anthony Macri is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, doing so, in unbelievable form, during Port Royal Speedway’s annual Keith Kauffman Classic on Wednesday, June 24. The victory, earning Macri $6,000 in the process, was accomplished in flawless fashion, eventually outrunning the entire field, including a late-charging Kyle Larson, by just under four seconds.
Watch the feature from Port Royal:
Macri started from the pole position and led every circuit of the 30-lap main event, navigating through waves of intense traffic with ease, and in certain periods, separated himself from the field by upwards of four lapped cars.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Anthony Macri said in victory lane, driver of the Macri Concrete/J&S Fabrication/No. 39M sprint car. “We threw some stuff at (the car) for the dash and we weren’t even sure it was going to work, but clearly it showed that it worked in the dash. So all we did was add some fuel and let her eat in the feature.”
Watch full coverage from the Keith Kauffman Classic at Port Royal
Although imposing no threat on Macri, Kyle Larson, Danny Dietrich, Aaron Reutzel, Brent Marks, and Brock Zearfoss all battled within the top-five over the course of the Keith Kauffman contest, swapping positions on several occasions. It was not until a caution on lap 22, brought out for a slowing Zearfoss, that allowed a few of the teams to find their true finishing potential. In fact, the ensuing restart propelled Larson from fourth to second, banging the boards on the top edge of the speedway to drive around Dietrich and Reutzel on laps 24 and 25, respectively.
A final lap maneuver by Dietrich to get around Reutzel allowed the Gettysburg-native to claim third at the line, followed by Reutzel and Brent Marks.
The All Star triumph included, Macri has now won three-in-a-row at the Port Royal ‘Speed Palace.’
Hear from Anthony Macri and the rest of the podium after the Keith Kauffman Classic:
“My team has given me a great car over the last few weeks. I could put the car wherever I wanted,” Macri continued, who earned his pole position by way of dash victory; he started fifth. “I know the fast lane is normally the top of turns one and two, and it normally cleans off in turns three and four on the bottom. After about 15 laps, I pretty much killed my tires. I was actually on defensive mode for a little while just hoping they weren’t going to blow by me. I was trying to push hard through traffic, but I was happy to see the yellows just so I could have some clean air. I knew I could drive the car as hard as I could.
“The month we spent out on the road this year really changed me as a driver. I came back here and I’m ready to win.”
What’s Next:
Diving deep into the heart of Dixie, the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will continue their 2020 championship campaign with a doubleheader on the highbanks of Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee, on Saturday and Sunday, June 27-28. Dubbed the Food City presents the Tennessee Sprint Car Nationals, the Bulls Gap invasion will feature back-to-back $5,000-to-win main events, also awarding points toward the season-ending championship purse.
Watch the All Stars at Volunteer Speedway LIVE on FloRacing
Although the Tennessee Sprint Car Nationals visit will be a first during Tony Stewart’s tenure as owner of the All Stars, it is certainly not the first stop in Series history, most recently invading the northern Tennessee facility on March 19-20, 2010, with Joey Saldana and Jason Meyers each earning feature wins.