Cory Eliason earns fifth-career All Star win in Tuscarora Weekend opener

PORT ROYAL, Pa. (September 10, 2020) - For the fifth time in his career, and for the first time in Pennsylvania, Visalia, California’s Cory Eliason is an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 main event winner, doing so during night one of the 53rd running of the Tuscarora 50 at Port Royal Speedway. The 2019 All Star Rookie of the Year is now a three-time Series winner in 2020, accumulating all three since August 2 when the driver of the Rudeen Racing entry secured $20,000 during the Huset’s Speedway grand reopening. The Port Royal Speedway victory earned Eliason a $6,000 top prize.

“They don’t call this place the ‘Speed Palace’ no nothing,” Cory Eliason said in victory lane, driver of the Rudeen Racing/Hagar Realty/Rayce Rudeen Foundation/No. 26 sprint car. “It was a blast here tonight. Definitely a lot different than what we saw on Monday during the Labor Day Classic. The kind of track we had here tonight is kinda my forte. Hats off to this entire team. They work hard and continue to work hard day in and day out. We were fast right out of the gate tonight and it really showed. All we can do is come back tomorrow and try to do this again.”

Lining-up third on the main event grid, Eliason was an obvious threat right from the start. Although forced to withstand a pair of red flag incidents which halted action before a single lap could be completed, and fading one position to fourth when the race finally commenced, Eliason was quick on his feet, eventually regaining third from Kerry Madson on lap two, then sneaking by Brian Brown to capture second with only three laps in the books. Meanwhile, feature pole sitter Tony Stewart was the man in charge, maintaining command over the field while Eliason moved through the top five.

By lap six, Eliason was all over Tony Stewart for the race lead, actually pulling even with the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion as the pair raced into turn one to begin lap seven. Unfortunately for Eliason, caution flags would wave, negating Eliason’s bid for the lead. Eliason would be forced to restart second with Kerry Madsen and Brian Brown in tow.

Despite the ensuing restart not giving Eliason the jump that he needed, it was only a matter of time, as the 2020 All Star championship contender put himself back within striking distance by lap 12. In much similar fashion as lap seven, Eliason dove to the bottom of turn one to begin lap 13 and slid across the nose of Stewart, securing control for the California hotshoe for the first time.

Once in command, it was smooth sailing for Eiason, and although faced with a number of cautions, one of which inducing a green-white-checkered finish, and a few glimpses of slower traffic, on top of the field is where Eliason stayed. Kerry Madsen battled home to finish second, followed by Tony Stewart, Gio Scelzi and Tyler Courtney.

“We worked on a few things tonight, but nothing major,” Eliason said. “We were fortunate enough to find the curb which allowed us to make up a lot of ground in three and four. I really didn’t have to adjust my driving style much to determine how the car was going to act. I’ve always wanted to stand up here in Port Royal’s new victory lane, and now here we are. Just an awesome night all around.”

In addition, the preliminary victory secured Eliason a spot in Saturday’s 50-lap, $53,000-to-win main event.