18-Year-Old Dominique Van Wieringen Dominates En Route To Historic JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Win
Canadian Teenager sets a Myriad of Milestones at Lucas Oil Raceway with Her First Career Victory
Clermont, Indiana (September 22, 2013) – When 18-year-old Dominique Van Wieringen
made her JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance debut back in
May at Lebanon (MO) I-44 Speedway, she came into the series as one of the pre-season
favorites for the Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year title after having won the 2012
Outlaw Super Late Model Track Championship at Springport (MI) Motor Speedway. A
rough start to the season coupled with the adjustment from Outlaw to Template Bodied
machines was a work in progress throughout the year.
At Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, Indiana on September 22nd in the P.A.D.D. (People
Against Distracted Driving) 100 Presented by Chevrolet Performance & T.J. Racing
Lubricants, Van Wieringen left little doubt as to how talented she really is and how well
she has acclimated herself as the Amherstburg, Ontario teenager drove around current
points leader, Cody Coughlin, who started on the outside of the front row, on lap 28 and
from there, Van Wieringen put on a driving clinic en route to her first career JEGS/CRA
All-Stars Tour victory during the McGunegill Engine Performance CRA Fall Brawl 2013
Presented by P.A.D.D.
With the dominating victory, Van Wieringen became the first female winner in JEGS/CRA
All-Stars Tour History and third overall in Champion Racing Association (CRA)
Powered by JEGS' 17-year history, joining Kenzie Ruston who won an ARCA/CRA Super
Series race also at LOR, in 2011 and Katie Jackson who was the first female ever in CRA History to Win an Event when she scored a CRA Street Stocks Series triumph at Anderson Speeday in 2008. In addition, Van Wieringen is also is the first Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year title contender to win a JEGS/CRA point's race in series history.
She's also the first driver from outside of the United States to score a triumph in JEGS/CRA history and first Canadian to win a CRA sanctioned event since fellow Amherstburg native, Terry Jones won two CRA Late Model Sportsman Series events in 2009 with the most recent on September 7th of that year. Prior to that, the legendary Junior Hanley won the last of his 18 career victories on July 17, 2004 in an ARCA/CRA Super Series race.
"I can't believe this. What a race and what a car. This is a result of all of the hard work and sacrifice my family, my crew chief, Jimmy D. Smith, and this entire team has put in all season long and this is for them all never ever giving up on me," The emotional Van Wieringen relayed to the vocal crowd on hand who gave her a rousing ovation after she climbed from her #5 DuroByte Incorporated / Ford. "The car was just perfect all day long. I could go anywhere I wanted too and it would stick. We've all fought against bad luck all year and now it's finally turned around." She added.
Coughlin did all he could to fight off Van Wieringen for the first 27 laps as they touched several times before Van Wieringen backed off to let the points leader straighten himself back out. On lap 28, Van Wieringen drove around the outside of him to take the lead and in turn led laps for the first time in her JEGS/CRA career. "I made the pass around Cody and drove away as fast as I could. I kept driving until I made it through a bunch of lapped traffic." She continued.
Twice during the race, which went caution free the last 94 laps, Van Wieringen made a bold three-wide pass around two sets of lapped cars in order to put more real estate between her and the rest of the field. "It was fun and I knew I could make it work, so I did." She explained. "I just kept going and we made it to the end of the race with no more cautions. The crew and I are so happy. I have to thank the team, my family and all my sponsors and support. Everything we've been through has got us to the where we are today." She ended.
In addition to her historic win, she also collected a plethora of contingency awards including the first Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award, the VDL Fuels Systems Hot Lap of the Race Award, the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award for her daring passes through lapped traffic, the D.T.S. Drive Train Specialists Halfway Leader Award and she also swept the Howe Racing Enterprises and VDL Fuel Systems Rookie of the Race Awards also.
Coughlin finished second in the race, but the day was not a total loss for the driver of the #1 JEGS.com / Chevrolet as the Delaware, Ohio garnered enough points in this event so that he simply has to pull his rig into the pits at the final points race of the season on October 11th at Winchester Speedway and Coughlin, the 2011 Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year will add the 2013 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance Championship to his trophy case. He also collected the FLUIDYNE Cool Under Pressure Award for his efforts.
Making a rare Template Bodied / Crate Motored start was Joliet, Illinois veteran, Boris Jurkovic, a former Winchester 400 winner who won the Boyne Machine Company Fast Qualifier Award the previous day, came home with a podium finish of third in his #53 Widow Wax / Chevrolet while Chad Finley, the winner the previous weekend at Springport (MI), finished fourth in his #42 AutoParts2020.com / Chevrolet.
Kouts, Indiana driver, Jeff Cannon completed the top five in his #33 Govert Auto Body / Chevrolet while finishing sixth was Jimmy Novak, who was making his second start of the season for 2012 Championship Winning Car Owner and Crew Chief, Scott Neal, picked up the Hedman Hedders Husler Award for his 16th to sixth place run after swapping out motors the day before prior to Boyne Machine Company Qualifying.
Phil Bozell, who won the biggest Outlaw Run What You Brung special event in the country, the Call of the Wild one weekend ago at his home track of Kalamazoo (MI) Speedway, finished in seventh over pole-sitter and current Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year points leader, 15-year-old Corey Deuser who slipped back to eighth, but is second overall in the points standings and garnered enough points to where he'll simply need to start in the final points race at Winchester on October 11th and he will clinch the 2013 Rookie of the Year title.
15-year-old rookie, Kody Evans made his way up to ninth after starting 23rd and picked up the second Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award as well as the Five Star Racecar Bodies Hard-Charger Award for his run while Chris Koslek, who started 18th, completed the top 10. 14-year-old Jake Griffin struggled all weekend long and was the first car out of the event, picking up the Hinchman Racing Uniforms Hard-Luck Award. Jurkovic's Boyne Machine Company Fast Qualifier Award winning time was a 22.115 which equals out to 111.671mph.
The final points race of the 2013 racing season for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance will officially kick off the 42nd running of the Winchester 400 Weekend on Friday, October 11th as the JEGS/CRA teams will highlight Day I of the prestigious weekend at the legendary 1/2 (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval of Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana for the running of the Winchester 100 Presented by JEGS.com.
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.com You can also follow CRA on Facebook at: www.facebook.com and search for "Champion Racing Association" as well as Twitter at www.twitter.com/CRAracing Finally for more information about Winchester Speedway, the host facility for the 12th and final points 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
