Travis Braden Extends ARCA/CRA Super Series Points Lead With Win In The 7-Up 125 At Flat Rock Speedway Defending Series Champion also clinches Inaugural Boyne Machine Company Michigan Challenge Series title
Flat Rock, Michigan (August 16, 2014) – The ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS
wrapped up their extended stay in the state of Michigan after racing at Kalamazoo
Speedway on August 13th. The teams headed East to the fast 1/4 (0.250) mile semi-
banked paved oval of Flat Rock Speedway, located south of Detroit and north of Toledo,
Ohio in Flat Rock, Michigan who hosted the 7-Up 125 on Saturday, August 16th. This
event was the third straight appearance in three seasons to the Southeast corner of the
Great Lakes State.
In two previous races, three-time series champion, Scott Hantz has recorded the wins
and was looking to 'three-peat' on this night in Southeast Michigan. NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series star, David Ragan was one of several drivers looking to end Hantz's domination at
Flat Rock and when all was said and done, Defending ARCA/CRA Super Series
Champion and Current Points Leader, Travis Braden withstood a lengthy battle with 2013
Rookie of the Year, Ali Kern and later Steve Dorer. Through it all, Braden overcame the
consistent challenges from both drivers as well as a bout of exhaustion and fatigue to
score his second victory of the season.
"Man the car was a handful tonight. Ali (Kern) was so strong all night long. I honestly
wasn't sure if I could hold her off or not," The exhausted driver of the #01 West Virginia
University / Braden's A-1 Towing & Collision / Chevrolet stated after the race. After
climbing out of the car, the 20-year-old was treated by paramedics on the front stretch. "I
just got a little over-exhausted and overheated after the race, but I'm just fine now. Just
had trouble getting enough oxygen in the cockpit all night and I barely hung on from that
last restart until the end of the race." He added.
The field was brought down to the green flag by Matt Hall and 2010 Rookie of the Year,
Nick Gullatta and as the field dove into the first corner, Hall edged out ahead of Gullatta to
lead his first career laps in ARCA/CRA Super Series competition. Two quick yellows
occurred on lap three and then on lap four with the second one the most serious of the
night. 14-year-old Todd Gilliland, the son of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, David
Gilliland, who earlier in the day scored the VanDoorn Racing Development Fastest
Practice Lap Award, checked up to avoid a spinning car and was tagged from behind
sending him hard into the turn three wall. He also collected multi-time track champion,
Dennis Strickland who was making his first ARCA/CRA Super Series start. Both drivers
were ok, but done for the evening.
On the restart, Travis Braden, who started fifth, had worked his way into second and
pulled up next to Hall. Braden briefly took the lead on the ensuing lap only to see Hall
recoil and retake the lead back a lap later. Hall would try to get away from the defending
series champion, setting the VDL Fuel Systems Hot Lap of the Race in the process, but
Braden would regroup and take the lead back on lap 15. Soon Ali Kern would also skate
past Hall to claim second and began charging after Braden. On lap 57, Kern briefly pulled
out ahead of Braden only to lose the lead back to him a lap later.
As the laps continued to click off, Braden tried to lose Kern in lapped traffic, but the 2013
overall runner-up and freshman title winner never let Braden stray too far out in front. On a
restart on lap 91, Kern maneuvered her way out in front to retake the lead once again only
to lose it on another restart on lap 94 which proved to be the winning pass as Braden
fought to stay out in front, Steve Dorer added his machine to the fight for the lead as he
and Kern battled side by side for the rest of the race, which allowed Braden to inch out ahead and close out the race with the hard fought victory.
"I did everything I could to fight off Ali. Man she was so strong tonight. She's really got a great team now with her crew and Scott Neal Racing joining forces," Braden offered after the race. "She was having the same problems we were early in the season with the electrical issues. We got ours fixed and we've been real good ever since. She seems to have those problems sorted out now too. I tell you though, we've got a great team here and (Crew Chief) Gary St. Amant has been wonderful for us, keeping our spirits high. We've got four races left and I just love the tracks we're going to in defending our title. Winchester, Kil-Kare, Lucas Oil and Winchester again for the 400. We're in good shape." He smiled.
In addition to his second victory of the season and extended his points lead in the chase for the 2014 ARCA/CRA Super Series Championship, Braden also clinched the Inaugural Boyne Machine Company Michigan Challenge Series title. He only needed to finish 15th or better in the series within a series to secure the championship. The Boyne Machine series consisted of the four events scheduled in the state of Michigan at Berlin Raceway on May 31st and July 19th, Kalamazoo Speedway on August 13th and Flat Rock. Braden won the title by 42 points over Ross Kenseth (396-354). Wes Griffith Jr. (334), finished third with Ali Kern (331) and Nick Gullatta (308) completing the final top five in the Boyne Standings.
Also, along-with the mini-series title, Braden also left Flat Rock, Michigan with the VanDoorn Racing Development Lap Leader Award as he was out in front for 108 of the 125-lap distance. He will head into the next race at the famed high-banks of Winchester Speedway on Sunday-Monday, August 31-September 1st for the headlining event of the Labor Day Weekend World Stock Car Festival; the Winchester 100 with an 18 point cushion over second place Ross Kenseth in his bid to repeat as champion. If Braden hangs on, he would become the second driver in ARCA/CRA Super Series' 18-year history to repeat in back to back years joining Johnny VanDoorn (2010 & 2009) as the only other competitor to do so.
Since joining forces with 2011 championship winning crew chief, Scott Neal, Kern has bounced back from the dreaded 'sophomore slump' as the 21-year-old driver of the #28 Crown Battery / Ford tied her career high finish with a runner-up showing. The Fremont, Ohio driver has finished second three times now in her brief two-year ARCA/CRA Super Series career with two of those runner-ups coming at Flat Rock. She would score the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award for her pass, for the second time, for the lead on Braden on lap 91 and she also collected the FLUIDYNE High Performance Cool Under Pressure Award for her efforts.
Veteran Steve Dorer overcame a lap three spin to claw his way back to the podium and finish in third in his #10 Racecar Engineering / Chevrolet. The 44-year-old driver originally from near-by Coldwater, Michigan sorted through the field and put himself in position to challenge Kern and Braden for the top two spots late in the race. The now Lakeland, Florida resident didn't leave the fast 1/4 mile empty-handed as he did pick up the first Hoosier Racing Tire Performance award for his 10th to third place run.
Senneker Performance Rookie of the Race, 17-year-old Paul Shafer Jr., scored an ARCA/CRA Super Series career high finish of a fourth in his #7 Southlake Body / Chevrolet. The 2013 Illiana Motor Speedway (IN) Super Late Model Track Champion finally broke through for his first career top five finish as the Portage, Indiana freshman also closed the gap in the chase for the 2014 Rookie of the Year title with Wes Griffith Jr., who finished 11th. Four-Time Flat Rock Speedway Outlaw Super Late Model Track Champion, Eric Lee finished off the top five in his #5 Action Drywall / Chevrolet. The 38-year-old from near-by Macomb, Michigan was coming off his first career CRA victory a week before in a JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance event at Auto City Speedway (MI).
EDCO Welding Fast Qualifier, Ross Kenseth overcame a slowly deflating tire and going a lap down in the process to earn himself a sixth place showing to stay within reach of Braden in the chase for the 2014 championship. Kenseth scored the Hedman Hedders Husler Award for his efforts. Jason Dietsch finished in seventh ahead of Rick Turner who broke the all-time career starts mark with 224 and would go on to finish eighth. 15-year-old J.J. Haley picked up an ARCA/CRA career high finish of ninth.
Two-time Flat Rock Speedway Street Stock Track Champion, Ron Allen, who filled in for Stan Yee Jr., who, after qualifying, had to leave on an emergency, earned the C.V. Racing Products Hard-Charger Award as well as the second Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award with his 21st to 10th place run after turning his first laps in the car when the green flag flew for the 7-Up 125. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star, David Ragan was credited with an 18th place finish after his car went up in smoke on lap 51 when the rear end of his machine broke, ending his night.
Earlier in the day in EDCO Welding Qualifying, Ross Kenseth won his first award of the season and only second of his career when he turned in a 12.226 around the 1/4 mile over the 21-car field on the property. His lap measured out to 73.614mph. The ARCA/CRA Super Series Track Record in Flat Rock, Michigan remains a 12.034 set back on September 8th, 2012 by Travis Braden.
Champion Racing Association (CRA) Powered by JEGS will take a well deserved weekend off for the last full weekend in August. The next event for all four divisions within CRA will see all teams converge over to the legendary 1/2 (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval of Winchester Speedway, located just west of the Indiana / Ohio state line in Winchester, Indiana to be a part of the prestigious Labor Day Weekend World Stock Car Festival on Sunday-Monday, August 31st-September 1st.
The Winchester 100 Presented by JEGS.com for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance highlights the Sunday, August 31st portion of the weekend while the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, Vore's Welding CRA Late Model Sportsman Series Powered by JEGS and Stealth Trailers CRA Street Stock Series Powered by JEGS will Qualify and run Preliminary events.
Then on Labor Day Monday, September1st, the ARCA/CRA Super Series headlines the afternoon of racing with the running of the Winchester 100. This will be the 39th all-time appearance by the premier series within CRA as three-time ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion, Johnny VanDoorn leads the way with four victories while another three-time series champion, Scott Hantz and two-time series champion, Brian Ross, as well as Bull Baker all have three triumphs apiece. Junior Hanley, Tommy St. John, Jeff Fultz and Ross Kenseth each have two wins while a whopping 17 other competitors all have a single victory.
The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour counterparts within Champion Racing Association (CRA) Powered by JEGS in the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, Vore's Welding CRA Late Model Sportsman Series Powered by JEGS and Stealth Trailers CRA Street Stock Series Powered by JEGS will also be on the grounds over the weekend. All three will run their main events on Labor Day Monday, September 1st. The Top Speed ICAR Modifieds Tour is also a part of the show both days and the Vore's Compact Touring Series joins the JEGS/CRA teams on August 31st.
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 Finally for more information about Winchester Speedway, the host facility for the 11th race within the 18th season of ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS racing, go to the track website located at: www.winchesterspeedway.com
Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in four professional touring series and local weekly events including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards as well as the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, the ARCA Midwest Tour and the ARCA Trucks Series. In addition, weekly racing is held at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
