Score One For The Hometown Teams Against JEGS/CRA; Robbie Johnson Wins At Auto City Speedway
2012 Super Stocks Track Champions Fights Off Traveling Invaders to Score Upset Victory
Clio, Michigan (August 10, 2013) – In 2012 when the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance made their first ever appearance at the tricky 7/16s (0.437) mile semi-banked paved oval of Auto City Speedway, located north of Flint in Clio, Michigan, weekly competitors finished third through fifth behind two JEGS/CRA invaders. Fast Forward to Saturday, August 10th, 2013 and this time around, it was the weekly competitors who showed the traveling stars the quick way around the uniquely shaped speed plant.
2012 Super Stocks Track Champion, Robbie Johnson pulled off the upset victory after taking the lead on lap 86 when race long leader, David McManus, another weekly competitor at the East Michigan track, and 2012 Championship Winning Car Owner and Crew Chief, Scott Neal, who was making his JEGS/CRA debut behind the wheel, made contact with 15 laps to go. Both were sent to the rear of the field and gave the lead to Johnson who then fought off the challenges of JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Points Leader, 17-year-old Cody Coughlin and third place in points going into the night, Dan Leeck to score his first career JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Win.
"I was watching them guys in front of me and I figured something was going to happen as hard as they were racing," the jubilant driver of the #21 Bus Stop Inn / Showcase Auto Sales / Ford said in victory lane after the race surrounded by family and friends. "Once I got the lead I knew Cody (Coughlin) would be there. He's leading the points and we're here to win, so I was going to do all I could to fight him off. Luckily we got away from him and got the win. This is the biggest one of my career. This is awesome." The 28-year-old added.
Neal, who earned the Boyne Machine Company Fast Qualifier Award in his first outing in JEGS/CRA competition, becoming the first driver ever to appear in all four current Champion Racing Association (CRA) Powered by JEGS divisions, drew a four for an inversion which placed McManus and Brandon Hermiller on the front row for the Silver Bullet 100 Presented by Coors Light & JEGS.com. McManus would beat Hermiller and the rest of the field to take the early lead while everyone behind him jockeyed for position.
After a complete restart, the caution flew on lap three as a major pile-up involving four cars knocked out local favorites in 17-year-old Kyle Crump, Jimmy Novak and Pat Zorn while Phillip Smalley, making his JEGS/CRA debut was also sidelined as a result of the crash. After an extensive clean-up, racing resumed. Only a lap later though, 2010 Super Stocks Track Champion, Kyle Hayden was involved in an incident with 15-year-old Rookie Points Leader, Corey Deuser and Hayden's night was over as well. Deuser returned to the back of the field.
Once the field settled down, McManus again jumped out to the lead and paced the field with Coughlin closing the gap from his fifth starting spot. Both had Neal on their back bumpers as well and the trio would pull away from the rest of the field. Neal would skate past Coughlin on lap 37 and set his sights on McManus who continued to show the way on his home track. When another caution flew on lap 53, it set up a side by side dual between the two drivers.
For the next 32 laps, Neal would search high and low, trying to figure out a way around McManus who was hanging tough in the lead. As the crossed flags signal was given, McManus collected the D.T.S. Drive Train Specialists Halfway Leader Award and as the race wore on, the two drivers bumped and banged several times and raced side by side with McManus barely hanging on to the lead each and every lap.
With the crowd on their feet cheering on McManus against the veteran Hoosier State driver, things finally came to a head on lap 85 when the two drivers collided one more time, but this time the contact between the two hard-charging competitors sent McManus around bringing out the caution flag once again. Both drivers were sent to the rear of the field giving the lead to Johnson with Coughlin flanking his outside on the restart.
It was Coughlin's turn to try to get out of the runner-up spot, but Johnson was up to the challenge and despite three more caution flags for spins and having Coughlin next to him on each double-file restart, Johnson would inch away from him each time and on the final restart, Johnson began pulling away from the two-time event winner in 2013. As the checkered flag flew, Johnson would be the first to cross the stripe to the roar and approval of the partisan home track crowd, victorious.
"This is a result of all of the hard work by this entire team. We never give up. My Wife Ashley, my Parents, Ted and Terri Johnson, my entire family, my crew, also John Leonard, everyone on this whole team." The emotional driver continued during post-race ceremonies. "We're not a high dollar team by any stretch of the imagination. We don't have the big double stacker toter home to haul a bunch of racecars around. This is the only car we have and to win against these high dollar teams, this is something I won't forget for a long time." He ended.
Finishing in second place and extending his points lead in the chase for the 2013 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Championship was 17-year-old Cody Coughlin who collected the FLUIDYNE Cool Under Pressure Award after his battle with Johnson for the Win. “We had a solid night. Auto City is a unique track and it can be hard to pass." Coughlin explained. "Thankfully we're coming up on some favorable tracks for us on the schedule and we've got a little bit of a cushion on second place in points now. It'll be a battle to the end for the title that's for sure." Added the Delaware, Ohio driver.
Scoring a career high third place finish was Dan Leeck in his #12 Mr. Asphalt / Chevrolet as the Birch Run, Michigan driver moved back into second place in the points and earned the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award after pitting with just 35 laps to go and roaring back to a podium finish. "I'm pretty excited we finished third, but I was really hoping for more." The 23-year-old remarked after the race. "We fought a extremely tight race car all day but my guys kept working and we managed a good finish. I have to thank my crew, my parents, my uncle Tom and my sponsors. We're staying with Cody (Coughlin) and hopefully we can get a little closer to him in some of the upcoming races." He added.
Deuser, the current Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year Presented by Howe Racing Enterprises Points Leader, recovered from his early incident and posted a fourth place showing to earn the Howe Racing Enterprises and VDL Fuel Systems Rookie of the Race Awards. He also collected the VDL Fuels Systems Hot Lap of the Race Award while Jason Dietsch collected the first Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award as well as the Hedman Hedders Husler Award for his 18th to fifth place run, completing the top five in the process.
15-year-old Rookie, Kody Evans finished in sixth place ahead of another Rookie, Marc Jacobs who advanced 18 positions from the final starting position (25th) to finish a career high Seventh and Win the Five Star Racecar Bodies and Racing Electronics Hard-Charger Awards as well as the second Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award for his efforts. Veteran Jay Sommers finished eighth after starting 21st while 15-year-old Hunter Baize advanced 13 spots as well to post a ninth place effort. 14-year-old Rookie, Jake Griffin finished off the top 10.
Neal won the Boyne Machine Company Fast Qualifier Award over the 25-car field in his first ever JEGS/CRA start as he turned in a 15.545 which measures out to 101.435mph around the Clio, Michigan speed plants' tricky 7/16s mile layout. Finally, Phillip Smalley, in his JEGS/CRA Debut, picked up the Hinchman Racing Uniforms Hard-Luck Award as he was out on lap three as part of the first incident of the night and was credited with a 25th place finish.
The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance will take a couple of well deserved weekends off before embarking on the biggest and most important stretch of the 2013 racing season. A four races in four weekends stretch of races, that will play a vital role in the outcome of the 2013 Championship begins on Sunday, September 1st as the famed 1/2 (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval of Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana hosts the Winchester 100 Presented by JEGS.com which is a part of the tracks prestigious Labor Day Weekend World Stock Car Festival.
After Winchester, the JEGS/CRA teams will then spend two consecutive weekends in Michigan starting with Owosso Speedway in Ovid, Michigan on Saturday, September 7th followed by the rescheduled race from the April 28th rainout at Springport Motor Speedway in Springport, Michigan on Saturday, September 14th Then it's back to the Hoosier State and the 2013 Fall Brawl, which ends the four races in four weekends jaunt on Saturday-Sunday, September 21-22nd at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, Indiana.
For more information about all four touring series’ within Champion Racing Association Powered by JEGS, go to the CRA website at: www.cra-racing.com You can also follow along with CRA on Facebook at: www.facebook.com and search for "Champion Racing Association" as well as on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CRAracing Finally for more information about Winchester Speedway, the host facility for the ninth race of the 2013 season for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance, go to the track website at: www.winchesterspeedway.com
