Stewart Wins Battle at the Bullring at Plymouth

By T.J. Buffenbarger

Plymouth, IN – (August 18, 2012) – Tony Stewart won Saturday night’s Engine Pro Battle at the Bullring presented by Hastings Manufacturing, Mahle/Clevite, and Melling Engine Parts with the Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP at Plymouth Speedway.

Stewart led all 30-laps of the feature event on his way to victory, but the last five laps were side by side swapping lines with Ryan Grubaugh. On the final lap Stewart protected the bottom while Grubaugh motored to the top, shooting off the end of the track onto the larger paved oval. Grubaugh salvaged a fourth place finish.

“I was a little worried I gave that one away,” said Stewart in victory lane. “I could see (Grubaugh) down there and was getting a little worried I opened up the door for him.”

Steve Irwin and Stewart started on the front row of the 30 lap main event. Stewart took the lead from the start while current ASCS SOD point leader Gregg Dalman moved into second spot around Irwin. Dalman stayed close to Stewart through the first portion of the race when Nate Bostrum spun in turn two with four laps in.

Stewart was able to pull away during the restart and open up a sizeable advantage. This is when Grubaugh began his charge from 12th starting position after having to run the B-Main event after failing to go to the scales following his heat race event. Grubaugh started motoring around the top side of the 1/5th mile oval and broke into the top five by 12 and was up to fourth position on lap fourteen when the caution flew for Jay Steinbach spinning off turn three.
The caution helped close the gap Stewart had opened up vanished for the restart. Grubaugh went right to the top and took over third on lap 17 from Irwin and then battled with Dalman for the second spot. Grubaugh passed Dalman on lap 20 and began his pursuit of Stewart.

Meanwhile Stewart was mired in heavy lapped traffic. It was the opportunity Grubaugh needed as he closed quickly on the 2011 NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion. With three laps to go Grubaugh made his move and got the bottom away from Stewart in turns one and two. Stewart managed to hold onto the lead as the duo exchanged lines racing side by side over the final two laps.

On the final lap Stewart held the bottom while Grubaugh went to the top line he had used so well throughout the race. Going into turn three Grubaugh banged the cushion and drove off the end of the race track. Stewart went on to win while Dalman and Irwin claimed second and third position. Grubaugh and Ryan Ruhl rounded out the top five.

Dalman, Brett Mann, and Stewart won the heat race events, Andrew Chehowski won the Dash, and Grubaugh won the B-Main event.

Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt presented by ARP Results
Engine Pro Battle at the Bullring presented by Hastings Manufacturing, Mahle/Clevite, and Melling Engine Parts
Plymouth Speedway – Plymouth, IN
Saturday August 18, 2012

Heat Race Events (Top 12 in passing points transferred to the “A” Feature)

Engler Machine and Tool Heat Race #1 Heat Race #1 (10 Laps): 1. Gregg Dalman, , 2. Trey Smith, 3. Troy Chewhowski, 4. Dustin Shriver,5. Ryan Ruhl, 6. Jay Steinbach, 7. Eric Smith.

Allstar Performance & Comp Cams Heat Race Heat Race #2 (10 Laps): 1. Brett Mann, 2. Steve Irwin, 3. Greg Wheeler, 4. Don Bostum, 5. Nate Bostrum, 6. Ryan Grubaugh. (Grubaugh scored last after failing to go to the scales after the heat race event)

Butlerbuilt Seats Heat Race Heat Race #3 (10 Laps): 1. Tony Stewart, 2. Andy Teunessen, 3. Robert Huisken, 4. Andy Chehowski, 5. Joe Geibe, 6. D.J. Lamance.

Brodix Heads Fast Car Dash (4 Laps): 1. Andy Chewhowski, 2. Dustin Shriver, 3. Robert Huisken, 4. Don Bostrum (Finish determined starting positions 9-12 in the “A” Feature)
“B” Feature (15 Laps): 1. Ryan Grubaugh, 2. Ryan Ruhl, 3. NateBostrum, 4. Jay Steinbach, 5. Joe Geibe, 6. Eric Smith, 7. D.J. Lamance (First four finishers transferred to the “A” Feature)

A-Main (30-Laps); 1. Tony Stewart, 2. Gregg Dalman, 3. Steve Irwin, 4. Ryan Grubaugh, 5. Ryan Ruhl, 6. Andy Teunessen, 7. Trey Smith, 8. Troy Chehowski, 9. Greg Wheeler, 10, Dustin Shriver, 11. Brett Mann, 12. Nate Bostrum, 13. Robert Huisken, 14. Andy Chehowski, 15. Jay Steinbach, 16. Don Bostrum.

Lap Leaders: Stewart 1-30

Engine Pro Lucky Dog: Andy Chehowski