Greg Van Alst Wins First Ever Feature After 17 Years Of Trying; Leads All 100 Laps In Motion Motors 100
Signature event for the Vore's Welding CRA Late Model Sportsman Series Powered by JEGS for 2014
Anderson, Indiana (June 13, 2014) – The prestigious Stoops Freightliner Redbud 300
Weekend kicked off at Anderson Speedway in Anderson, Indiana on Friday, June 13th.
The Vore's Welding CRA Late Model Sportsman Series Powered by JEGS started things
off with the biggest and richest paying event of their 10th anniversary 2014 racing season;
the Motion Motors 100. The longest distance race of the season would see the teams go
head to head with the tracks weekly McGunegill Engine Performance Late Models
division and pay out a cool $2,000 to the winner. The victor enjoyed more than just the
paycheck at the end of the century distance race.
Anderson, Indiana native, Greg Van Alst started on the pole of the 100-lap main on the
fast 1/4 (0.250) mile high-banked paved oval. When all was said and done, a triumph 17-
years in the making finally became reality for the driver of his own #35 Top Choice Fence
& Deck / McGunegill Engine Performance / Ford as Van Alst would go the distance in
leading all 100 laps to not only score his first career CRA Late Model Sportsman Series
win, it was also the first ever Feature Win of his 17-year career anywhere.
"Oh wow, this is unbelievable. We've been trying for 17 years to get here and we did it.
We finally did it," An emotional Van Alst remarked in victory lane after winning his first
ever Feature. "We've been working so hard on this car and we made a commitment this
season to follow the entire CRA Late Model Sportsman Series. Now we've got one of
these wins under our belts and I just can't be happier. My family is here, my friends are
here and we got it done at the home track. This can't get any better." The 32-year-old
added.
Allstar Performance Fast Qualifier, Dustin Burge, the 2013 CRA Street Stock Series
Champion making his CRA LMS debut, drew the maximum of a 10 for an inversion. That
placed Van Alst and reigning CRA LMS Champion, Mark Lambert on the front row for the
Motion Motors 100. As Van Alst and Lambert brought the 22-car field down to Chief
Starter, Scott Menlen's green flag, Van Alst was able to edge out Lambert after a brief
side by side dual to lead the opening lap. As the rest of the field jockeyed for position,
Van Alst and Lambert sorted themselves out and began clicking off laps in a hurry.
As Van Alst set a torrid early pace, there were battles going on throughout the entire field.
All the while though, Van Alst continued to lead the way as the first 62 laps went green.
The only two cautions of the race both flew on lap 62. In the first caution, current points
leader, 14-year-old Chris Hacker went sideways and slid up into the turns three and four
wall collecting Burge as well as 17-year-old Trey Craig, the CRA LMS event winner at the
only other track that has hosted a series race other than Anderson Speedway; Lucas Oil
Raceway back on April 6th. Burge was the only one to continue.
The second caution on the same lap waved when Burge was again involved as he spun and collecting a pair of rookies, Jon Watson and 19-year-old J.P. Crabtree as well as Joe Woodring. All four were able to continue. The green waved again and 18-year-old rookie, Quinnton Bear began his charge towards the front. With 15 laps to go, Bear went around the outside of Lambert and began chasing down the race long leader, Van Alst. However, Bear would run out of time as Van Alst sliced and diced through lapped traffic and would keep Bear at a safe distance behind him en route to the win.
"I needed that first caution just to get refocused again. Man that was a long stretch we ran. Longest I can remember going in a long time," The jubilant winner added surrounded by his crew as well as a plethora of family and friends. "I just can't believe that this has finally happened and on Redbud Weekend of all the times to finally get one. I just can't thank everyone enough for everything. We've been fighting for so long to get a feature win and tonight we finally got one. This is so great." Van Alst ended.
Bear finished a career high second in his #94 Advance Auto Sales / Chevrolet. Prior to this event, Bear hadn't finished better than 11th in three previous starts during his freshman season. The Avon, Indiana teenage earned the Racing Electronics Second to None Award for his career high finish. He would also collect the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award for his daring outside lane pass for second on Lambert and his valiant effort in trying to chase down Van Alst for the win. Also with the finish, Bear moves up to third in the 2014 Rookie of the Year title chase.
The 2013 CRA Late Model Sportsman Series Champion, Mark Lambert posted a season high finish of a third in his #18 AAA Insurance / Chevrolet. The 21-year-old driver from Noblesville, Indiana, who is running a partial schedule in the series in 2014, started next to Van Alst and kept the eventual winner within reach throughout most of the race before losing the runner-up position to Bear and settling for third. With the finish, Lambert stays in fourth all-time in career top fives and also moves into sole possession of third place all-time in career top 10 finishes.
New Overall Points Leader, 15-year-old Jack Dossey III, who came into the weekend as the Rookie of the Year points leader, added the overall lead after scoring a career high fourth place finish. The Indianapolis, Indiana teenager in his #20 Hart's Auto Service / Chevrolet hasn't finished worse than ninth in four races so far in 2014. Finishing off the top five was Alexandria, Indiana's Kent Baledge in his #32 Campbell Brothers Concrete / Chevrolet. The 53-year-olds' finish, after starting 16th, was a career high in CRA LMS competition for the former ARCA/CRA Super Series competitor.
2012 Rookie of the Year, Robert Amos Jr., earned the Racing Electronics Hard-Charger Award with his 18th to sixth place run while Burge recovered from being involved in both caution flags to record a seventh place showing. Bret Miles Jr., posted an eighth place finish in his first start of the season while Jeff Marcum picked up a ninth place finish. Crabtree also recovered from the earlier caution flag to round out the top 10.
Earlier in the day in Allstar Performance Qualifying, Burge made the most of his CRA Late Model Sportsman Series debut as he went a 12.969 which measured out to 69.396mph in winning the Allstar Performance Fast Qualifier Award over the 22-car field. The CRA LMS Track Record at Anderson was set last month on May 10th when Billy Van Meter went an impressive 12.883.
The CRA Late Model Sportsman Series teams will celebrate the Fourth of July holiday weekend at their adopted home track. For the fourth time in five events so far in 2014, the teams return to the fast 1/4 (0.250) mile high-banked paved oval of Anderson Speedway in Anderson, Indiana on Saturday, July 5th for the Anderson 75. This will be the fourth of five appearances at the historic Central Indiana oval for the CRA LMS teams in 2014. Chris Hacker, Danny Trent and now Greg Van Alst all have victories in Central Indiana this season while in 26 all-time appearances; Jason Atkinson leads the way with five triumphs
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' on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ChampionRacingAssociation as well as on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CRAracing Finally for more information about Anderson Speedway, the host facility for the fifth race of the 10th anniversary 2014 racing season for the Vore's Welding CRA Late Model Sportsman Series Powered by JEGS, go to the track website, which can be found at: www.andersonspeedway.com
