9/4/2024
American All-Star Series
Justin Williams Dominates Big Field at Natural Bridge; John Ruggiero Jr. Hold Off Late Race Charge to Claim Pro Late Nationals
The 6th Annual Crystal Cup looked to be in danger of a whole weekend washout, but Friday came and it was an absolutely perfect night for racing at Natural Bridge Speedway. Forty-one of America's Best Pro Late Models signed in for competition to chase the $5,000 prize!
Split into two groups, BHR Fabrication Qualifying Group A saw Justin Williams set the fast time at a 15.429 which was fast time overall. Jeremey Steele would go second quick at a 15.524 while Trevor Sise went third quick at a 15.641. Double Nickle Race Cars Qualifying Group B would go to Logan Roberson at a 15.486. Dillon Brown went second quick at a 15.582 while Tyler Bare turned a time of 15.636.
In the ATC Bolts & Fasteners Dash Justin Williams would grab the victory over Logan Roberson and Dillon Brown. Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet Heat 1 would be won by Walker Arthur with Hayden Cardwell and Joey Love picking up the final transfer spots. Outside Groove Heat 2 went to Zach Sise over Henry Hornsby III and Billy Beachler. PPM Racing Products Heat Three would be won by the AAS Weekend Warrior Jack Brown over Mack McCarter and Josh Dietz. American Racer Heat 4 went to Kyle Hardy over Joe Leavell and AJ Hicks. The two b-mains would see two cars a piece transfer. Dirt Rich TV B-Main 1 would go to Samuel Bryant over BJ Mongold. Gasko Gaskets B-Main 2 would go to first time series entrant Carl Currin over series regular Baillie Lowe.
The first night of the Crystal Cup was set and Justin Williams was ready to defend his home turf. Justin Williams jumped to the lead with Logan Roberson hot in pursuit. Roberson had won the last four AAS events at Natural Bridge straight. A caution would fly at one point during the event when Roberson was chasing Williams for another incident and Roberson would come to a stop with his car dead. It would not re-fire and it would end his winning streak at NBS with the series. When racing resumed Dillon Brown and Jeremy Steele were hot in pursuit of Williams. Swapping spots back and fourth between the two. Justin Williams would hold on in dominating fashion to pick up the victory. Jeremy Steele would grab second will Dillon Brown crossing the line third. Tyler Bare would take fourth with Kyle Hardy moving up five spots from where he started to finish fifth. Mack McCarter gained six spots in the race to finish sixth with Zach Sise taking seventh. Walker Arthur, Hayden Cardwell, and the Hyperco Hard Charger Samuel Bryan would round out the top ten.
The Mini-All Stars Presented by VP Racing Fuels saw Brayden Mills take the victory over Stephen Lusher.
After two days of rainouts, we were able to at least make up the Pro Late Model Nationals Portion of the 6th Annual Crystal Cup at Wythe Raceway on Monday. Thirty cars signed in and the track said START THEM ALL, making it the biggest starting field in series history!
BHR Fabrication saw John Ruggiero Jr. go quick time at a 18.066. Brandon Umberger would go second quick at a 18.074 while Tyler Arrington grabbed the third fastest time of the day at a 18.108. Logan Roberson would go fourth quick at an 18.114 while Jake Jackson in his first career AAS start turned the fifth quick time at a 18.197.
Ruggiero Jr. would take the victory in the ATC Bolts & Fasteners Dash with Brandon Umberger taking second and Tyler Arrington taking third. Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet Heat 1, for the second event in a row, would be won by Walker Arthur over Layton Sullivan and Colby Quick. Outside Groove Heat 2 would go to Dillon Brown over Jesse Lowe and "The Newton Ninja," Ricky Greene. PPM Racing Products Heat 3 would go to Mack McCarter over David Watts and Ross White.
The 53 lap Pro Late Model National Field was set with Ruggiero leading the field to the green. Lap one saw the biggest action of the night at Jake Jackson spun off of turn four in front of the whole field, collecting the majority of the cars. In a shocking twist, all cars were able to continue in the event. Ruggiero went back to work with many cars coming after him at different points in the event, but noone able to catch him. As the race began to wind down over the last few laps Layton Sullivan closed in in the Rambo #2. Sullivan would get close, but could not make the pass and Ruggiero would go on for his first career AAS victory and his first career Pro Late Model Nationals victory. Layton Sullivan would take second with Hayden Cardwell having a strong run to finish third. The Hyperco Hard Charger Jeremy Steele gained fifteen spots to finish fourth with Dillon Brown taking fifth. David Watts had a great run to finish sixth with Logan Roberson taking seventh. Colby Quick, Walker Arthur, and Tyler Arrington would round out the top ten.
The AAS would like to thank Amanda and the whole NBS staff, as well as, the Brown Family and the whole Wythe Raceway staff for two great race tracks and events over the Labor Day Weekend.
We'd also like to thank all the partners who help us for the 2024 season: PPM Racing Products, American Racer: "The Official Tire of the AAS," Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet, Chevrolet Performance: Vehicles, Parts, Racing, Daytona 1: "The Official Lubricant of the AAS," O'Reilly Auto Parts: "The Official Auto Parts Store of the AAS," Mahle Motorsport, Wieland: "The Official Aluminum of the AAS," Pro Fabrication: "The Official Header of the AAS," Save-A-Lot: "The Official Grocery Store of the AAS," Gasko Gaskets, BHR Fabrication, Double Nickle Race Cars, Outside Groove, Smash-It, VP Racing Fuels: "The Official Fuel of the AAS," ATC Bolts & Fasteners, Rocky Top Family Medicine, Beckley Motor Speedway, Burgess Motorsport Consulting, ML Performance Midwest, Dirt Rich TV, Fast Fab, Hyperco, Massey Powersports, MD3, Popbit, Peeping Dragon Photography, Dirt Track Racers Recovery for Christ, Terror Race Cars, QA1, Warrior Race Cars, WV Fireworks Outlet, and XS Power Batteries.
Article Credit: Joseph Rush
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