18-Year-Old Cody Coughlin Wins First Career ARCA/CRA Race; Scores Labor Day World Stock Car Festival
ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS headlines traditional Labor Day Weekend of racing at the famed high-banks
Winchester, Indiana (September 1, 2014) – The premier tour within Champion Racing
Association (CRA) Powered by JEGS; the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS
headlined the prestigious Labor Day Weekend World Stock Car Festival. The legendary
1/2 (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval of Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana
on Sunday-Monday, August 31-September 1st hosted the Winchester 100 as the ARCA/
CRA Super Series Super Late Models were making their 39th all-time appearance on the
famed Eastern Indiana oval.
The 100-lap main event also served as the lone tune-up for one of the biggest races in the
country; the 43rd Running of the Winchester 400 which is set for October 10-12th in
Winchester, Indiana. The ARCA/CRA teams were joined by their counterparts within the
JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance, the Vore's Welding CRA
Late Model Sportsman Series and Stealth Trailers CRA Street Stock Series Powered by
JEGS. As for the main event under bright sunny skies, 18-year-old Cody Coughlin, the
2013 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion and 2011 Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the
Year took the next step up the racing ladder with his first career win in a Super Late
Model.
"This is so exciting. Everyone on the Team JEGS car works so hard. They put up with
me and it’s awesome to be able to get them the win." The emotional driver of the #1
JEGS.com / Team JEGS Racing / Toyota stated in victory lane moments after climbing
from the car. "Man, Rick (Turner) was so strong. Every single restart he was right there
with me. We had to work hard for this one. I am truly thankful for such a great day and at
this place of all the tracks I get to race at. This one is pretty special." The Delaware, Ohio
driver added.
It would be veteran Rick Turner, who was honored for breaking the all-time career starts
mark in ARCA/CRA Super Series competition with his 224th career green flag in the
previous event at Flat Rock Speedway (MI) back on August 16th, starting on the pole.
Flanking his outside would be Coughlin and at the drop of the green flag, the two drivers
drag raced to the first corner and entered the high banks for the first time. Coughlin would
maintain the high lane to take the early lead when the first and perhaps most pivotal
caution came out after the first lap was completed.
EDCO Welding Fast Qualifier, 16-year-old Anderson Bowen was entering turn four when a
right front suspension piece broke. This resulted in Bowen shooting up into the turn four
wall and collecting Ross Kenseth, who came into the weekend second place in the
points, as well as Terry Fisher Jr., and Nick Gullatta in the process. All three cars were
down for the day while Kenseth was able to continue on with minimal damage. On the
restart, Coughlin would edge out ahead of Turner, but the crafty veteran stayed glued to
Coughlin's back bumper throughout the race, never letting the Buckeye State teenager
relax.
Throughout the remainder of the race, amidst five more cautions flags, Coughlin and Turner were the class of the field as Turner stayed in Coughlin's tire tracks all over the wicked fast 1/2 mile. As the race reached the 3/4s mark though, Coughlin's Toyota would slowly begin pulling away from Turner and the Joe Gibbs Racing Development Driver, who is actually eligible for the 2014 ARCA/CRA Super Series Rookie of the Year title, became the first freshman in 2014 to claim a victory in the premier tour within Champion Racing Association as he would lead all 100 laps en route to the triumph.
"I owe it all to everyone on this team, my family, everyone who has a hand in this entire operation." The appreciative driver continued during post-race ceremonies. "We've raced a lot this season in the ARCA Racing Series, but it still feels really good, like coming back home, racing with CRA. I never expected to win my first Super Late Model race here though, that's for sure." He added. In addition to his victory, Coughlin also scored the Senneker Performance Rookie of the Race Award as well as the VanDoorn Racing Development Lap Leader Award for leading the most laps.
The 56-year-old Turner scored a season high second place showing in his #26 McGunegill Engine Performance / Ford. The Yorktown, Indiana veteran, after being honored for setting the all-time career starts mark in the previous event, made his 225th career start memorable with a nearly race long battle with eventual winner, Coughlin. Turner didn't leave his home track empty-handed however as he left with the FLUIDYNE High Performance Cool Under Pressure Award as well as the VDL Fuel Systems Hot Lap of the Race Award for his efforts.
Bringing home a third place finish would be three-time ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion, Scott Hantz in his #72 Great Lakes Helicopter / Chevrolet. The Angola, Indiana veteran, who has been running primarily an Outlaw Super Late Model in recent seasons, returned to the famed high-banks and after making a pit stop just before the halfway mark after running as high as third, the 51-year-old charged his way back towards the front and made it back to where he was before in third spot. For his efforts, Hantz earned the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award. Also for Hantz, it was his 117th career top five and 150th career top 10 showing, both are first all-time in series history.
Newport, Michigan driver, Matt Hall picked up a career high finish of fourth in his 14th career start spread over the past four seasons in his #04 Schall Automotive / Chevrolet. The 21-year-old driver, who won the last ever race for the now defunct Super Pro Late Model Series at Winchester back in 2010 as a 17-year-old, picked up his best career finish to date behind the wheel of an ARCA/CRA Super Series Super Late Model.
Current Points Leader and Defending Series Champion, Travis Braden completed the top five and extended his points lead in the process. The 20-year-old Wheeling, West Virginia driver, behind the wheel of his #01 West Virginia University / Chevrolet had to swap out motors the previous night and made multiple pit stops for adjustments to bring home his eighth consecutive top five finish after starting 14th. Braden would collect the Hedman Hedders Husler Award as well as the first Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award.
Brandon Oakley finished the race in the sixth position ahead of Kenseth who recovered from his lap one incident to post a seventh place showing and stay within striking distance of Braden in the chase for the 2014 championship. 2013 Rookie of the Year, Ali Kern fought hard for an eighth place finish while Rookie of the Year Points Leader, Wes Griffith Jr., finished ninth after starting in 20th in a back-up car after crashing in practice the day before. Jon Beach made the most of his ARCA/CRA Super Series debut by winning the C.V. Racing Products Hard-Charger Award as well as the second Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award for his shotgun start, 22nd to 10th place run.
The previous day in EDCO Welding Qualifying, Bowen became the 12th different driver in 12 ARCA/CRA Super Series events in 2014 to win the Fast Qualifier Award. Bowen's lap was a fast 15.545 which measures out to an impressive 115.793mph. The all-time Track Record for the premier tour within CRA remains a blistering 14.935 set back on October 17th, 2009 when 2007 series champion, Chris Gabehart toured the 1/2 mile at a wicked fast 120.522mph.
The ARCA/CRA Super Series teams head into the homestretch in the chase for the 2014 championship beginning with the next race on the schedule. The Buckminn's D&D Harley Davidson / Oakley Blacktop 125, which is set for a special Sunday afternoon, September 14th at the unique 3/8s (0.375) mile semi-banked paved oval of Kil-Kare Speedway, located southeast of Dayton in Xenia, Ohio. Kil-Kare will serve as hosts of the premier CRA tour for only the second time in track history.
In the series only other appearance at the tricky layout in Central Ohio, defending series champion and current points leader, Travis Braden overcame an early race accident and roared back through the field to win at one of the two Buckeye State facilities he started his Late Model career at back in 2011.
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 Kil-Kare Speedway, the host facility for the 13th race of the 2014 racing season for the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, go to the track website at: www.kilkare.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.
