Domination In The Circle City; 18-Year-Old Dominique Van Wieringen Wins First Career JEGS/CRA All-Stars

Tour Race

Winchester Speedway during Winchester 400 Weekend to close out Points Season (Special from DuroByte Motorsports)

October 3, 2013

Corunna, Michigan (October 3, 2013) – Just one race, that's all Dominique Van Wieringen

wanted. One race to prove that when everything comes together perfectly that the 18-year-

old Canadian teenager would show the motorsports racing world how talented she really

is. On September 22nd, the rest of the motorsports industry found out exactly what her

and the DuroByte Motorsports Team knew all along.

Van Wieringen took the checkered flag first after a dominating performance in the JEGS/

CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance portion of the CRA Fall Brawl

2013 at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, Indiana in the P.A.D.D. (People Against

Distracted Driving) 100 Presented by Chevrolet Performance & T.J. Racing Lubricants. For

Van Wieringen, a Freshman at the University of North Carolina / Charlotte, it was her first

career Win in JEGS/CRA and in scoring the victory; she made a lot of history in the

process.

Van Wieringen became the first female winner in JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour History and

second overall in Champion Racing Association (CRA) Powered by JEGS' 17-year history,

joining Kenzie Ruston who won an ARCA/CRA Super Series race also at LOR, in 2011. In

addition, she also was the first Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year title contender

to win a JEGS/CRA point's race in series history.

"I can't believe this. What a race and what a car. This is a result of all of the hard work and sacrifice my family, my crew chief (Jimmy D. Smith), and this entire team has put in all season long and this is for them all never ever giving up on me," The emotional Van Wieringen relayed to the vocal crowd on hand who gave her a rousing ovation after she climbed from her #5 DuroByte Incorporated / Ford. "The car was just perfect all day long. I could go anywhere I wanted too and it would stick. We've all fought against bad luck all year and now it's finally turned around." She added.

She's also the first driver from outside of the United States to score a triumph in JEGS/CRA history and first Canadian to win a CRA sanctioned event since fellow Amherstburg native, Terry Jones won two CRA Late Model Sportsman Series events in 2009 with the most recent on September 7th of that year. Prior to that, the legendary Junior Hanley won the last of his 18 career victories on July 17, 2004 in an ARCA/CRA Super Series race.

"We headed into Indianapolis with a clean slate to where we only wanted to finish the race. When we started out, I stayed on (Points Leader) Cody's (Coughlin) bumper all the way to get around Chad (Finley) and Corey (Deuser). I then stayed behind Cody and then the first and only caution came out." She continued. "I was a little worried about the restart as Jimmy and I knew that we would start on the inside and that was not a favorable position. So when we started, I did my very best to stay side by side before falling in behind him." she added.

Coughlin paced the field for the first 27 laps while feeling constant pressure from Van Wieringen. "I stayed behind him to pull away from the cars behind us and at one point hit Cody in the bumper by accident. I let him regroup but stayed after him. A few laps later, I made the pass around Cody and drove away." She smiled. "I kept driving until I made it through a bunch of lapped traffic. At one point I scared Jimmy as I made it three wide out of four, it was fun and I knew I could make it work, so I did." The Amherstburg, Ontario rookie added.

"I was worried about getting caught up in lapped cars and losing my position. About 30 laps later, we made it to the end of the race with no more cautions. The crew and I were so happy. We fought against bad luck all year and now it's finally turned around." She appreciatively stated. "I have to thank the team, my family and all my sponsors and support; it all got me to the position today. We continue on with the last race with our heads high and smiles on our faces." she ended.

The final points race of the 2013 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour season will highlight Day I of the 42nd running of the Winchester 400 Weekend on Friday October 11th at the legendary 1/2 (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval of Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana, the site of her first career top 10 in JEGS/CRA back on September 1st that led to a string of strong finishes highlighted by the win at LOR.

Going into the final JEGS/CRA point's race, Van Wieringen is sitting a solid third in the chase for the Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year title in JEGS/CRA. While mathematically not able to secure the freshman title, she can still grab the runner-up spot there as well as garner a top five finish in the overall point's standings as she only 16 points outside of the overall top five. The Win at LOR also accounts for her lone top five finish as she also has three top 10 showings.

For the remainder of the 2013 racing season, Van Wieringen’s popular Black #5 Ford Fusion, a Howe Racing Enterprises chassis fitted with a Phil Harper Motorsports Ford crate motor, as well as her White #95 Outlaw Super Late Model and her 15-year-old brother, Tristan Van Wieringen's Black #81 open-wheeled Modified all will carry sponsorship decals on the side of the each machine from primary sponsor: DuroByte Incorporated as well as Nalett Trucking, R-R Salvage, Mert's Specialty Meats and M.P.H. Promotions 

To find out more about Dominique Van Wieringen and to inquire about additional sponsorship opportunities for the rest of the 2013 racing season as well as looking ahead to the 2014 campaign, visit the team website at: www.dominiqueracing.com You can also follow her on the teams’ Facebook Fan Page as well by going to:  www.facebook.com/dominiqueracing