Danny Holtgraver Captures First Arctic Cat All Star Win of 2016 at Wilmot Raceway;
Ends Blaney’s Wisconsin winning streak

WILMOT, Wis. (May 22, 2016) - With television cameras rolling, “Downtown” Danny Holtgraver earned his first Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions victory of the 2016 season on Saturday night, capturing the IRA/All Star Sprint Challenge at Wilmot Raceway in Wilmot, Wisconsin, over Sheldon Haudenschild and Dale Blaney. For Holtgraver, the $5,000 victory ended a recent dry spell for the Pittsburgh native during Arctic Cat All Star competition, his first trip to victory lane with the series since 2014. The pilot of Pete Grove’s Premier Motorsports/Premier Pallets/Bonnell’s Rod Shop/J&J/No. 70 now has ten career main event victories with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions, with Saturday’s win being his first in the "Badger State."

“We’ve really stepped it up the last few weeks and it feels amazing,” explained Danny Holtgraver. “We kinda struggled there during that first part of the season, but like any new team, it takes time to adjust and connect with the people that you are working with. I just can’t thank my sponsors and supporters enough for standing behind us. We have a long list of people to thank and they definitely know who they are; Pete, Janet, Cody, my dad, Mikey, Alex, and Ben. Hopefully we can keep this momentum rolling and do it again next weekend in Ohio.”

Danny Holtgraver started on the outside of the front row on Saturday evening and battled with pole sitter Jeremy Schultz during the first few circuits, eventually taking sole command by lap five. Despite a few slide attempts by Sheldon Haudenschild, Holtgraver was able to maintain the top spot unscathed; driving back underneath the Southern Pacific Farms/No. 93 during each takeover attempt. Haudenschild, who started sixth on the grid, chased Holtgraver to the final checkers, followed by Dale Blaney, Brandon Wimmer, and Kory Crabtree.

“We were racing side-by-side with Jeremy Schultz those first few laps. It was a lot of fun. I couldn’t even tell you who was winning during those first couple of laps,” explained Holtgraver. “We finally got to the front and was able to stay there. I figured Sheldon (Haudenschild) and Dale (Blaney) would be coming. Those guys are good and it’s tough to be comfortable out front when those guys are racing behind you. I felt some pressure by Sheldon (Haudenschild) a few times, but I was able to turn the car back under him and keep the lead. This was just an awesome weekend. Really glad to be in victory lane. Cody Jacobs gave me a great car. I’m excited to get back in it next weekend.”

The IRA/All Star Sprint Challenge at Wilmot Raceway will be replayed on the American Sports Network at a later date. Time and channel information will be posted in the near future.

The Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions will now turn their attention toward a pair of programs in the state of Ohio on Friday and Saturday, May 27-28. The 2016 season will resume on Friday night, May 27, at the Attica Raceway Park in Attica, Ohio, followed by an appearance back at the Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, on Saturday, May 28.

Contingency Awards/Results - Wilmot Raceway - Saturday, May 21, 2016
IRA/All Star Sprint Challenge
EMi Driver’s Meeting: 44 Entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Dale Blaney - 13.456 Seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Dale Blaney - 13.376 Seconds
Kistler Racing Products Heat #1: Sheldon Haudenschild
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Brandon Wimmer
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Lee Jacobs
Kistler Racing Products Heat #4: Danny Holtgraver
JE Pistons Dash: Jeremy Schultz
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Danny Holtgraver
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Scott Thiel (+13)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Kory Crabtree
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Kraig Kinser
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: Caleb Armstrong (16th)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse; Need decal to qualify for contingency award)

Qualifying
1.1-Dale Blaney, 13.376; 2.2-Parker Price-Miller, 13.477; 3.7C-Caleb Armstrong, 13.631; 4.70-Danny Holtgraver, 13.652; 5.19-Todd Daun, 13.699; 6.1MM-Jim Moughan, 13.749; 7.5J-Jeremy Schultz, 13.772; 8.60-Kory Crabtree, 13.781; 9.93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.814; 10.1M-Phillip Mock, 13.815; 11.8M-TJ Michael, 13.826; 12.65-Jordan Goldesberry, 13.831; 13.21-Cap Henry, 13.835; 14.95-Hunter Mackison, 13.874; 15.11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.887; 16.10H-Chad Kemenah, 13.899; 17.40-Caleb Helms, 13.903; 18.48-Brandon Wimmer, 13.905; 19.81-Lee Jacobs, 13.915; 20.41-Dennis Spitz, 13.969; 21.99-Kyle Martin, 13.979; 22.14AJ-Wayne Modjeski, 14.030; 23.2W-Scotty Neitzel, 14.033; 24.10V-Matt Vandervere, 14.079; 25.50-Rusty Egan, 14.087; 26.68-Dave Uttech, 14.098; 27.94R-Robbie Pribnow, 14.101; 28.64-Scotty Thiel, 14.137; 29.14X-Ben Schmidt, 14.146; 30.43-Jereme Schroeder, 14.153; 31.7-Scott Uttech, 14.157; 32.53W-Bill Wirth, 14.169; 33.57X-Andrew Palker, 14.180; 34.70H-Raymond Hensley, 14.198; 35.4K-Kris Spitz, 14.206; 36.23-Russel Borland, 14.221; 37.56-Ryan Irwin, 14.270; 38.12-Mike Decker, 14.282; 39.4B-Scott Biertzer, 14.422; 40.2B-Jimmy Sivia, 14.426; 41.12W-Josh Walter, 14.560; 42.O1-Chris Dodd, 14.792; 43.79-Blake Nimee, 22.045; 44.49H-Bradley Howard, 99.280;

Heat 1 -  (10 Laps)
1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 2. 40-Caleb Helms[2] ; 3. 1-Dale Blaney[6] ; 4. 99-Kyle Martin[1] ; 5. 21-Cap Henry[3] ; 6. 19-Todd Daun[5] ; 7. 12W-Josh Walter[11] ; 8. 56-Ryan Irwin[10] ; 9. 50-Rusty Egan[7] ; 10. 14X-Ben Schmidt[8] ; 11. 57X-Andrew Palker[9]

Heat 2 -  (10 Laps)
1. 48-Brandon Wimmer[2] ; 2. 1M-Phillip Mock[4] ; 3. 2-Parker Price-Miller[6] ; 4. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[1] ; 5. 68-Dave Uttech[7] ; 6. 70H-Raymond Hensley[9] ; 7. 1MM-Jim Moughan[5] ; 8. 95-Hunter Mackison[3] ; 9. 43-Jereme Schroeder[8] ; 10. 12-Mike Decker[10] ; 11. O1-Chris Dodd[11]

Heat 3 -  (10 Laps)
1. 81-Lee Jacobs[2] ; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser[3] ; 3. 2W-Scotty Neitzel[1] ; 4. 5J-Jeremy Schultz[5] ; 5. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[6] ; 6. 8M-TJ Michael[4] ; 7. 79-Blake Nimee[11] ; 8. 94R-Robbie Pribnow[7] ; 9. 4B-Scott Biertzer[10] ; 10. 4K-Kris Spitz[9] ; 11. 7-Scott Uttech[8]

Heat 4 -  (10 Laps)
1. 70-Danny Holtgraver[6] ; 2. 64-Scotty Thiel[7] ; 3. 60-Kory Crabtree[5] ; 4. 10H-Chad Kemenah[3] ; 5. 10V-Matt Vandervere[1] ; 6. 23-Russel Borland[9] ; 7. 49H-Bradley Howard[11] ; 8. 53W-Bill Wirth[8] ; 9. 41-Dennis Spitz[2] ; 10. 2B-Jimmy Sivia[10] ; 11. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[4]

Dash 1 -  (8 Laps)
1. 5J-Jeremy Schultz[3] ; 2. 70-Danny Holtgraver[2] ; 3. 2-Parker Price-Miller[1] ; 4. 1-Dale Blaney[5] ; 5. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[6] ; 6. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4] ; 7. 60-Kory Crabtree[8] ; 8. 1M-Phillip Mock[7]

C-Main 1 -  (0 Laps)
1. 4K-Kris Spitz[1] ; 2. 4B-Scott Biertzer[5] ; 3. 23-Russel Borland[2] ; 4. 56-Ryan Irwin[3] ; 5. 79-Blake Nimee[9] ; 6. 2B-Jimmy Sivia[6] ; 7. O1-Chris Dodd[8] ; 8. 49H-Bradley Howard[10] ; 9. 12-Mike Decker[4] ; 10. 12W-Josh Walter[7]

B-Main 1 -  (0 Laps)
1. 8M-TJ Michael[3] ; 2. 19-Todd Daun[1] ; 3. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[4] ; 4. 1MM-Jim Moughan[2] ; 5. 94R-Robbie Pribnow[8] ; 6. 7-Scott Uttech[11] ; 7. 41-Dennis Spitz[6] ; 8. 4B-Scott Biertzer[16] ; 9. 53W-Bill Wirth[12] ; 10. 50-Rusty Egan[7] ; 11. 70H-Raymond Hensley[14] ; 12. 43-Jereme Schroeder[10] ; 13. 4K-Kris Spitz[15] ; 14. 95-Hunter Mackison[5] ; 15. 14X-Ben Schmidt[9] ; 16. 57X-Andrew Palker[13]

A-Main 1 -  (35 Laps)
1. 70-Danny Holtgraver[2] ; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[6] ; 3. 1-Dale Blaney[4] ; 4. 48-Brandon Wimmer[9] ; 5. 60-Kory Crabtree[7] ; 6. 21-Cap Henry[13] ; 7. 10H-Chad Kemenah[15] ; 8. 2-Parker Price-Miller[3] ; 9. 64-Scotty Thiel[22] ; 10. 11K-Kraig Kinser[14] ; 11. 5J-Jeremy Schultz[1] ; 12. 2W-Scotty Neitzel[19] ; 13. 81-Lee Jacobs[10] ; 14. 40-Caleb Helms[16] ; 15. 19-Todd Daun[11] ; 16. 7C-Caleb Armstrong[5] ; 17. 99-Kyle Martin[17] ; 18. 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[18] ; 19. 10V-Matt Vandervere[20] ; 20. 1M-Phillip Mock[8] ; 21. 68-Dave Uttech[21] ; 22. 8M-TJ Michael[12] ; 23. 65-Jordan Goldesberry[23] ; 24. 1MM-Jim Moughan[24]

Current Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions Standings (5/22/2016):

1. Dale Blaney: 1074
2. Chad Kemenah: 1052
3. Sheldon Haudenschild: 1024
4. Cap Henry: 986
5. T.J. Michael: 950
6. Danny Holtgraver: 932
7. Lee Jacobs: 908
8. Caleb Helms: 866
9. Kraig Kinser: 838
10. Caleb Armstrong: 832

Additional Arctic Cat All Star Series Info:
Those seeking additional information regarding the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions should visit their official online home at www.allstarsprint.com. Series updates and breaking news will be posted regularly on the official Twitter account of the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions: https://twitter.com/ASCoC. Find full text results from each and every event, as well as an up-to-date schedule, online at www.allstarsprint.com/schedule/.
About the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions:
All Star Enterprises, LLC, wholly owned by Tony Stewart, d/b/a the All Star Circuit of Champions, is a winged sprint car series. The All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Series is one of the oldest traveling 410 sprint car organizations and is a staple of grassroots, open-wheel racing.  Formed in 1970 by Bud Miller, the series has largely been considered the first 'outlaw' Sprint Car organization of the modern era. After a 10 year stint as owner of the All Stars, Miller passed control of the series to Bert Emick in 1980; a reign that would continue through 2002. Guy Webb then purchased the series from Emick in the summer of 2002 and served as the series President for the next 12 years.  Motorsports entrepreneur Tony Stewart agreed to terms with Guy Webb to become the sole owner of the original winged sprint car tour in January of 2015.
About Arctic Cat:
The Arctic Cat brand is among the most widely recognized and respected in the recreational vehicle industry. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), side-by-sides and snowmobiles, in addition to related parts, garments and accessories under the Arctic Cat® and Motorfist® brand names. Arctic Cat Inc.’s world headquarters is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “ACAT.” More information about Arctic Cat and its products is available at www.ArcticCat.com.
Contact: Tyler Altmeyer
Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
(724) 954-4915 / altmeyer119@gmail.com