Outlaw Super Late Model Standout, Eric Lee Rallies Back For Win At Auto City Speedway
Tricky Egg-Shaped Oval provides plenty of action for fans of East Michigan
Clio, Michigan (August 9, 2014) – The cars and stars of the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour
Presented by Chevrolet Performance made the trip to the farthest northern destination of
the 2014 racing season. The unique 0.393 semi-banked, egg-shaped paved oval of Auto
City Speedway, located north of Flint in Clio, Michigan was the next stop on the tour on
Saturday, August 9th with the running of the Auto City 100 Presented by JEGS.com. In
two previous JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour former track champion, Robbie Johnson was the
winner in 2013 while 2012 Tour Champion, Daniel Hemric scored one of his eighth
triumphs that year on the unique layout.
As for the 2014 version of the race, a strong field of 31 competitors made the long haul to
Eastern Michigan, and at the end of the century grind around the tricky speed plant, it
would be Outlaw Super Late Model standout, Eric Lee the last man standing. The 38-
year-old Lee, who was making only his sixth ever start in a template bodied machine,
inherited the lead with 30 laps to go and from there, Lee, who earlier in the season won
an Outlaw SLM event at the same track, would steer his #5 Action Drywall / Arrow
Uniform Rental / Ford into victory lane, after starting 19th, for his first ever win aboard a
template bodied, crate powered entry.
"After all we've been through over the past couple of weeks, with destroying our primary
Outlaw car last weekend up the road (Dixie Motor Speedway in Birch Run, Michigan, just eight miles north of Auto City) and trying to get this template car figured out, we'll take it." The four-time Outlaw SLM Track Champion at near-by Flat Rock Speedway (MI) stated. "We tried some different things with this car earlier and we qualified pretty bad, but made the show at least. Then we were just trying to survive. Got caught up in a couple of deals there, but we kept on going." The Macomb, Michigan veteran added.
After Boyne Machine Company Fast Qualifier and New Track Record Holder, Chad Finley drew a seven for an inversion, defending race winner, Robbie Johnson and the last JEGS/CRA event winner two weekends ago in Anderson, Indiana, Steve Dorer would bring the field to the green flag. Dorer would get the jump on Johnson, the 2012 Track Champion, heading into the first corner to take the early lead. Finley, who started on the inside of the fourth row, had worked his way up to second by lap 20 and began stalking the race leader, Dorer.
Attrition played a vital role in the outcome of the race as two red flags were thrown for two incidents that completely blocked the track. The first came out after a battle between reigning JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion, 18-year-old Cody Coughlin and 2010 Track Champion, Kyle Hayden. They collided on lap 26, resulting in several cars checking up behind them, causing several to spin or stop with the field tightly bunched together. The second red came after Finley lost power coming down the front stretch on a lap 44 restart and as a result, the field bottle-necked behind him resulting in a chain reaction incident involving several cars.
Through it all, Dorer maintained the top spot until a restart on lap 70 when he and Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year points leader, 15-year-old Grant Quinlan collided going into turn one. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the field and Coughlin, who had worked his way back towards the front, would take over the lead. He wouldn't lead a single lap though as on the next restart, a right front tire went down on Coughlin's car just as the 10th, and final caution of the race flew. Coughlin pitted and rolled back out and this would temporarily give the lead to current points leader, Dan Leeck who had Eric Lee restart next to him.
On what would be the final restart of the race with 30 laps to go, Lee, who was involved in both red flags, but was able to survive both ordeals with minimal damage, kept pace with Leeck on the restart. By the time the teams were coming out of turn two, Lee had edged out ahead of Leeck. For the remainder of the event, Lee's machine would continue to pull away from Leeck and the rest of the field. He would continually place lapped traffic between himself and Leeck to keep the second place car at bay the rest of the race en route to his first career JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour victory.
"We brought the car down pit road a couple of times and kept making adjustments and all of a sudden it just came to life big time." Lee continued during his victory lane interview. "That says a lot about this crew, no one ever gave up. This template stuff is new to us. We've been in Outlaw stuff for so long, then a couple of years ago we bought a template car and made some starts trying to learn. This year the car has gotten better and I knew we were fast. It was just a matter of setting it up for the race. Biggest thing is, we never gave up and now we've got one of these trophies." He ended.
In addition to his first ever template bodied stock car victory, the check and the trophy, Lee would also collect a few more awards to take back to suburban Detroit with him. Amongst those awards Lee is taking back home includes the Five Star Racecar Bodies Hard-Charger Award for his 19th to the checkered run. He also scored the first Great Lakes Tire / Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award as well.
After pitting multiple times to fix an ailing and ill-handling car, points leader coming into the weekend, Dan Leeck was still able to extend the margin in the quest for the 2014 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Championship with his third runner-up showing of the year. The driver from near-by Birch Run, Michigan in his #12 Mr. Asphalt / Chevrolet started 17th and was in the pits a total of nine times during the course of the event before rallying to also score the Hedman Hedders Husler Award for his efforts. The 24-year-old also won the FLUIDYNE High Performance Cool Under Pressure Award.
Another driving forced to pit on multiple occasions due to the carnage on the track, but was able to rally for a strong finish was 16-year-old Hunter Baize. The Bremen, Kentucky sophomore in his #13 Mountaineer Firewood / Ford actually started the race in ninth, but was involved in one of the multiple caution flags that hindered the event. Despite several pit stops throughout the race, Baize rebounded by working his way back through the pack and in the end, the Blue Grass State teenager would end up posting a podium finish.
Also rallying back to score a fourth place effort after leading the first 70 laps would be Dorer in his #10 Racecar Engineering / Chevrolet. The 44-year-old from Lakeland, Florida charged his way back through the field and got up to fourth, earning the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award for his efforts, after going to the back of the pack with Quinlan. As for Quinlan, he would complete the top five in his #28 Quinlan Incorporated / Ford as he would trail Dorer as the duo heading back up towards the front after their mishap. The Harrison, Michigan teenager did win his third straight Howe Racing Enterprises Rookie of the Race Award to extend his lead in the chase for the Lettow Memorial Rookie title.
Coughlin recovered to finish sixth over Hayden while 19-year-old rookie Dalton Armstrong continued his recent string of top 10s with an eighth place showing while earning the second Great Lakes Tire / Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award after starting 20th. Josh Nelms celebrated his milestone of tying the all-time career starts mark at 37 with a ninth place effort as 16-year-old Corey Deuser, the 2013 Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year, completed the top 10. Despite dropping out of the event, Finley earned the VDL Fuel Systems Hot Lap of the Race Award.
Earlier in the afternoon in Boyne Machine Company Qualifying, Finley broke the JEGS/CRA Track Record by winning his third career JEGS/CRA Fast Qualifier Award with a lap measured at a 15.438 which equals out to 91.644mph. Finley's lap broke the previous record by 0.038 seconds as 2012 Tour Champion, Daniel Hemric held the old mark which was a 15.476 that was set back on August 16th, 2012. 2011 Track Champion, Jeff Owens won the 15-Lap Last Chance Race over Brandon Hermiller while Joe Morisette Jr., and Marc Jacobs also transferred into the 100-lap main.
After 10 races overall including two non-points events in 2014, the JEGS/CRA teams will take a well deserved vacation for a couple of weeks to regroup and get ready for the final stretch run of the season. The next event will be held as part of the prestigious Labor Day Weekend World Stock Car Festival at 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.
The Winchester 100 Presented by JEGS.com highlights the Sunday, August 31st portion of the weekend. In six all-time appearances on the ultra-fast high-banks in Eastern Indiana, Chase Elliott, now a standout competitor in the NASCAR Nationwide Series leads the way with two victories. Travis Braden, Kyle Benjamin, Trent Snyder and Corey Deuser all have single triumphs apiece.
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 eighth points race of the 2014 season for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance, go to the track website at: www.winchesterspeedway.com
