The All Star Circuit of Champions (abbreviated ASCoC) was an American motorsports sanctioning body of winged sprint car racing. It was founded in 1970 and purchased by Tony Stewart in the winter of 2015.[1] High Limit Racing acquired the series from Stewart at the conclusion of their 2023 season.
 | |
| Sport | Sprint car racing |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction |  United States |
| Abbreviation | ASCoC |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Regional affiliation | United States |
| Headquarters | Brownsburg, Indiana |
| President | Tony Stewart |
| Closure date | 2023 |
| Official website | |
| www | |
 | |
History edit
The ASCoC was founded by Bud Miller in 1970 after a failed venture by himself, Chris Economaki, and Wellman Lehman, to build a new race track near Youngstown, OH. Through the meetings about building the track the idea was conceived to create a touring sprint car series in the area. The idea of the All Star Circuit of Champions was then born in 1970 and began operating that year. The series would cease operations after just 3 years in 1973, when the 1973 oil crisis triggered fuel price increases and shortages.[2]
The series would reform in 1979 with new owner, Bert Emick. Emick lost the rights to the MOSS sanctioning body in the Ohio area. He brought back the All Star name in 1980. Emick would run the series until 2002 when Guy Webb took over.[3]
Joey Saldana set a series record with 18 wins in 1995 piloting the Art Wendt 77w.
Guy Webb took over as owner in 2002, running the series for 12 years. In January 2015, Webb sold the series to former NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.[4]
Stewart took sole ownership of the ASCoC in 2015 after an organization called Renegade Sprints competed with Webb's group. Stewart brought the two groups back together in under the All Star banner.[5]
In January 2016 it was announced that the series gained Arctic Cat as the series title sponsor.[6]
The series had 29 different winners in 2017. Chad Kemenah would control the 2017 season and back up the 2016 championship with his 6th championship in 2017, tying Dale Blaney for most titles in series history. 19 different drivers won in 2018. Aaron Reutzel from Clute, TX took on the series full-time and was crowned champion after a 9 win season.
In December 2018, MAVTV announced they had acquired the rights to broadcast the highlights of select events.[7] Starting in 2020, all races are broadcast live in full on FloSports.[8]
Ollie's Bargain Outlet took over title sponsorship of the series beginning in 2019, sharing naming rights with Mobil 1.[9] FloRacing became the title sponsor for the 2021 season. The following season, Tezos assumed naming rights on a three-year deal.[10]
On October 23, 2023, High Limit Racing announced the acquisition of the All Star Circuit of Champions.[11]
Champions edit
| Year | Driver | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Bobby Allen | 6 |
| 1981 | Lee Osborne | 4 |
| 1982 | Lee Osborne | 6 |
| 1983 | Lee Osborne | 5 |
| 1984 | Fred Linder | 1 |
| 1985 | Jack Hewitt | 12 |
| 1986 | Fred Linder | 0 |
| 1987 | Joe Gaerte | 4 |
| 1988 | Joe Gaerte | 6 |
| 1989 | Robbie Stanley | 3 |
| 1990 | Terry Shepherd | 0 |
| 1991 | Frankie Kerr | 5 |
| 1992 | Kevin Huntley | 14 |
| 1993 | Kevin Huntley/Frankie Kerr | 6/5 |
| 1994 | Frankie Kerr | 12 |
| 1995 | Dale Blaney | 12 |
| 1996 | Dale Blaney | 17 |
| 1997 | Frankie Kerr | 4 |
| 1998 | Kenny Jacobs | 11 |
| 1999 | Kenny Jacobs | 7 |
| 2000 | Kenny Jacobs | 6 |
| 2001 | Kenny Jacobs | 5 |
| 2002 | Chad Kemenah | 2 |
| 2003 | Chad Kemenah | 5 |
| 2004 | Chad Kemenah | 6 |
| 2005 | Chad Kemenah | 8 |
| 2006 | Greg Wilson | 1 |
| 2007 | Greg Wilson | 1 |
| 2008 | Dale Blaney | 9 |
| 2009 | Tim Shaffer | 8 |
| 2010 | Tim Shaffer | 16 |
| 2011 | Tim Shaffer | 10 |
| 2012 | Tim Shaffer | 6 |
| 2013 | Dale Blaney | 6 |
| 2014 | Dale Blaney | 16 |
| 2015 | Dale Blaney | 12 |
| 2016 | Chad Kemenah | 1 |
| 2017 | Chad Kemenah | 3 |
| 2018 | Aaron Reutzel | 9 |
| 2019 | Aaron Reutzel | 16 |
| 2020 | Aaron Reutzel[12] | 11 |
Notable drivers edit
- Dale Blaney, 137 wins, 6 championships
- Kenny Jacobs, 98 wins, 4 championships
- Joey Saldana, 74 wins
- Tim Shaffer, 58 wins, 4 championships
- Jack Hewitt, 56 wins, 1 championship
- Frankie Kerr, 53 wins, 4 championships
- Dave Blaney, 48 wins
- Bobby Allen, 46 wins, 1 championship
- Kevin Huntley, 44 wins
- Kelly Kinser, 42 wins
- Jeff Shepard, 40 wins
- Steve Kinser, 37 wins
- Doug Wolfgang, 37 wins
- Danny Lasoski, 37 wins
- Chad Kemenah, 33 wins, 6 championships
- Aaron Reutzel, 25 wins, 3 championships
- Lee Osborne, 17 wins, 3 championships
Series owners edit
- C.H. "Bud" Miller (1970–1973)
- Bert Emick (1980–2002)
- Guy Webb (2002–2015)
- Tony Stewart (2015–2023)
- Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet (2023-)
References edit
- ^ Estrada, Chris (2015-01-28). "Tony Stewart buys All-Star Circuit of Champions sprint car series". MotorSportsTalk | NBC Sports. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ^ "All Stars - Then and Now".
- ^ "Bert Emick". National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
- ^ "All Star Circuit of Champions".
- ^ Steven Cole Smith (2015-02-08). "Not everybody in the sprint car world is happy with Tony Stewart".
- ^ "Arctic Cat Becomes Title Sponsor of All Star Circuit of Champions". Business Wire. 2016-01-11. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
- ^ "MAVTV | MAVTV Motorsports Network to broadcast ten All Star Circuit of Champions events in 2019". www.mavtv.com. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
- ^ "Tony Stewart Awards Streaming Rights To FloSports". www.floracing.com. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
- ^ Altmeyer, Tyler (November 20, 2018). "All Star Circuit of Champions welcomes Ollie's Bargain Outlet as title sponsor for 2019" (Press release). All Star Circuit of Champions. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
- ^ Altmeyer, Tyler (March 8, 2022). "All Star Circuit of Champions welcomes Tezos as Series Title Sponsor through 2024" (Press release). All Star Circuit of Champions. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
- ^ https://www.floracing.com/articles/11345545-high-limit-sprint-car-series-acquires-all-star-circuit-of-champions
- ^ "Reutzel Secures Third All Star Title With Fremont Win". SPEED SPORT. 11 October 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2020.