Travis Braden Returns To JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Action; Kicks Off Winchester 400 Weekend With A Win
Dan Leeck Wins 2014 JEGS/CRA Title; 15-Year-Old Grant Quinlan is the Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year
Winchester, Indiana (October 10, 2014) – The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented
by Chevrolet Performance kicked off the 43rd running of the Winchester 400
Weekend at the famed 1/2 (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval of Winchester
Speedway. The Winchester 100 Presented by JEGS.com at the famed facility,
located west of the Indiana / Ohio state line and east of Muncie in Winchester,
Indiana would see both the 2014 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion and 2014
Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year be officially crowned at the conclusion of
the race.
The legendary high-banks have hosted the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour more times
than any other track in the Tours' four-year history with seven events. In the eighth
race in series history, a three hour and 45 minute rain delay in addition to time
constraints forced Series & Track Officials to cut the race down to 75 laps. In the
shortened event, Travis Braden, who won this event in 2011, came back to the
series for the first time in 2014 and would take the lead on lap 41. The 2013 ARCA/
CRA Super Series Champion, who would later in the weekend repeat that feat,
would fight off a hard-charging rookie, Dalton Armstrong to claim his third career
JEGS/CRA win.
“Earlier in this day, I never thought we would have won this race. We were so
focused on the Super Late Model for the 400 that we really never paid much
attention to this (Pro Late Model) car." Explained the 20-year-old driver of the #01
West Virginia University / Braden's A-1 Towing & Collision / Chevrolet. "We did all
we could to get this car fast and it was just wasn’t fast enough, or so we thought. It
drove great in the race though. I thought everyone ran a smart race, a really clean
race. So we had fun. I had a blast." The Wheeling, West Virginia driver added.
Points Leader coming into the night, Dan Leeck finished 12th in the race which was
good enough to secure the 2014 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Championship for the
Birch Run, Michigan driver. The 24-year-old in his #12 Bridge Lake Auto & Truck
Repair / Mr. Asphalt / Chevrolet didn't win a race in 2014, but his consistency and
steady finishes, including an impressive eight top five finishes, three of those runner-
up showings, kept the Great Lakes State driver on top of the standings for most of
the season. It paid off with the first career Championship of any kind.
“This morning I was sick to my stomach thinking about it. It wasn’t a good race for
us as I was just being conservative. That’s all I could think about doing." Explained
the newly crowned JEGS/CRA Champion. "Then I saw the 28 (Grant Quinlan) had
issues so I tried to go, but the clutch was going out of it. I couldn’t even do victory
burnouts after the race to celebrate. But I tell you what, these guys have worked all
year long, they’ve worked their butts off. (Crew Chief) Neil May, everybody on this
team, I couldn’t have done it without them. I’d like to dedicate this to my mom.
She’s been to all my races and she couldn’t make it to this one today." The
emotional driver added.
15-year-old Grant Quinlan, who was still mathematically alive for the overall title
going into the night, broke a hub during the event, ending his night early. But the
Harrison, Michigan teenager, a two-time event winner in 2014, the most of any
Rookie driver in series history, didn't leave Winchester, Indiana empty-handed. The
driver of the #28 Quinlan Incorporated / International Tool & Mold / Chevrolet clinched
the 2014 Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year title by merely taking the Green
Flag to start the race.
As for the race, another rookie, 17-year-old Cole Rouse and Josh Nelms, who was
also mathematically alive in the title chase, brought the 24-car field down to the
green flag after Boyne Machine Company Fast Qualifier, 15-year-old Rookie; J.J.
Haley drew the maximum of a 10 for an invert. Nelms beat Rouse heading into the
treacherous first corner to take the early lead as the rest of the field settled in behind him. 14-year-old Harrison Burton, in his first ever Winchester appearance, drove around Nelms on lap 10 to grab the lead. The son of NASCAR on NBC Broadcaster and former driver, Jeff Burton then set a torrid pace around the 1/2 mile high-banks as the first 40 laps went caution free.
Trouble ensued on lap 40 when several cars suddenly went spinning due to fluid being laid down on the track. Amongst those who spun was Burton who slid and slammed the turn two wall ending his night. This handed the lead to Braden who had worked his way up to second from his sixth starting spot. He brought rookie, Dalton Armstrong with him and the battle was on for the rest of the race. Braden was up to the challenge though and the West Virginia University Engineering student would be able to fend off Armstrong to score the victory. He also earned the D.T.S. Drive Train Specialists Halfway Leader Award as well.
Armstrong finished a career high second in his #4 Winfield Solutions / Ford. The 20-year-old open-wheeled graduate, who's been racing for 2012 Championship Winning Car Owner and Crew Chief, Scott Neal, would also finish in the runner-up position in the Final Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year title chase. The New Castle, Indiana freshman also collected the FLUIDYNE High Performance Cool Under Pressure Award as well as the Howe Racing Enterprises Rookie of the Race Award.
Labor Day Weekend World Stock Car Festival Winner in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, Trent Snyder earned a hard-fought third place finish in his #88 Great Deals Savings Magazine / Chevrolet. The 30-year-old started in the middle of the field in 15th and would pick up the Hedman Hedders Husler Award after fighting his way through traffic and surviving a late race clash with defending race winner, Corey Deuser, who crashed with three laps to go. Snyder, from Glen Ellyn, Illinois would then hang on to a podium finish.
Jon Beach started back in 22nd and would earn the Five Star Racecar Bodies Hard-Charger Award as well as the first Great Lakes Tire / Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award with a tying fourth place showing. The 24-year-old Watervliet, Michigan competitor in his #1 Allstar Performance / Chevrolet finished third in his only other JEGS/CRA outing, also at Winchester over the Labor Day Weekend. Veteran Jack Smith in his #128 Urbine Machine / Ford scored a season high fifth place finish. The 40-year-old former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver from Clyde, Ohio and Beach battled at the very end for the fourth and fifth place spots before Beach emerged with the position.
Nelms would finish sixth and with Quinlan dropping out, he would claim the 2014 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Runner-Up for the season by just two points. Colin Nickolai was seventh ahead of Haley while 16-year-old Hunter Baize scored the second Great Lakes Tire / Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award with his 23rd to ninth place run. Veteran Mike Stacy completed the top 10. In addition to the Championship, Leeck also picked up the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award while Quinlan also picked up the VDL Fuel Systems Hot Lap of the Race Award.
Earlier in the afternoon in Boyne Machine Company Qualifying, Haley, who scored one victory this season in JEGS/CRA competition at Springport Motor Speedway (MI) back on May 4th. won his first career Fast Qualifier Award with a 15.914 which measures out to an impressive 113.108mph. 2012 Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year, Anderson Bowen still holds the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Track Record he set back on October 12, 2012 when he went a 15.731.
There is still one event remaining which will officially conclude the 2014 racing season; the 2014 Champion Racing Association (CRA) Powered by JEGS Awards Banquet. On Saturday, January 3, 2015 the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown at Union Station located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana will host the gala event. The event will honor the top 10 teams in 2014 points from the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance, Vore’s Welding CRA Late Model Sportsman Series Powered by JEGS and the Stealth Trailers CRA Street Stocks Series Powered by JEGS.
More information about the 2014 CRA Awards Banquet will be released soon. For more information about all four touring series’ within Champion Racing Association Powered by JEGS, please go to the series website at: www.cra-racing.comYou can also follow along with all of CRA's touring series' all season long on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ChampionRacingAssociation and on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/CRAracing
