Erik Jones held off a hard charging Chase Elliott to score the victory in Sunday’s Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway. Photo courtesy CRA Media
When 17-year-old Erik Jones signed the deal to become a development driver for Kyle Busch Motorsports, it was widely assumed that it would only be a matter of time before Jones, the 2012 Snowball Derby Winner who beat Busch in that race, would soon be steering Busch’s familiar #51 in select Super Late Model events throughout the country and would be a major player in the outcome of the major high-profile events within the short track racing world.
Driving the car Busch had driven to victory lane in several events before him, Jones took the lead for good on lap 352 thanks to a clutch pit stop by his Kyle Busch Motorsports over the wall team and from there, the Byron, MI driver added a Winchester Rifle to his collection of trophies by winning Sunday’s Winchester 400 at the legendary 1/2 mile Winchester Speedway in Winchester, IN on Sunday.
“This is a pretty special race and to be able to take the rifle back home is really something special,” Jones said in victory lane. “I’ve always wanted to win here at Winchester and to be able to do so in one of the most prestigious races in the country, man I can’t tell you how happy I am. I can’t thank everyone at Kyle Busch Motorsports enough for this opportunity. This is a strong car and I had a little pressure on me since the ‘boss man’ has won so many times before, including this race (2009). I’m having the time of my life right now.”
In a race that featured a record 14 lead changes, Jones led four different times for a total of 143 laps, the most of anyone and would fight off fellow 17-year-old Chase Elliott over the last 30 laps to secure the Win in front of a standing room only crowd.
Despite dropping out on lap 355 due to a broken rear end, 19-year-old Travis Braden was officially crowned the 2013 ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS Champion. The Wheeling, WV driver scored four Wins during his championship season, as the 2012 Rookie of the Year has already clinched the title when he took the Green Flag on September 22nd at Lucas Oil Raceway in Clermont, IN, an event he won.
“We had a great run today until the rear end let go. That’s the second one this weekend,” Braden remarked. “But man I can’t be any happier than I am right now. We’re the Champions of the top Super Late Model series in the country. This is all for my team, for my Dad (Donald Braden), Gary Estes (car owner and crew chief), everyone on this team and everyone who has supported us throughout the year, especially everyone at WVU for their support. This is for everyone who has been on our side all year long.”
Settling for second was Elliott, the 2010 Winchester 400 Winner.
“We just came up a little short today,” explained the Dawsonville, GA driver. “That left rear tire going down there (on lap 151) really put us behind and I certainly didn’t want to spin. Luckily we didn’t hit anything, but we went a lap down and had to fight our way back to the front the rest of the day. Really am proud of this team, they never gave up all day.”
Eighteen year old Mason Mingus overcame ignition problems to finish on the podium in third. Augie Grill would bring home a fourth place finish and led the race on four different occasions for a total of 131 laps. Daniel Hemric wrapped up the top five.
ARCA CRA Super Series
Winchester Speedway – Winchester, IN
Winchester 400 – Oct. 13, 2013
1. 51J Erik Jones
2. 9 Chase Elliott
3. 98 Mason Mingus
4. 112 Augie Grill
5. 98H Daniel Hemric
6. 29T Austin Theriault
7. 1 Cody Coughlin
8. 61 Johnny VanDoorn
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10. 25 Derrick Griffin
11. 29 Anderson Bowen
12. 67 Jeff Fultz
13. 2W Donnie Wilson
14. 71 Kyle Benjamin
15. 41 T.J. Reaid
16. 2 Kenny Tweedy
17. 26 Rick Turner
18. 29S Tommy St.John
19. 23 Eddie Van Meter
20. 84 Jay Niewiek
21. 28 Ali Kern
22. 7 Jason Dietsch
23. 128 Justin Alsip
24. 01 Travis Braden
25. 17 Scott Neal
26. 84Q Martin Latulippe
27. 51 Brandon Oakley
28. 261 Preston Peltier
29. 81 Terry Fisher, Jr.
30. 5 Brett Robinson
31. 56 Evan Jackson
32. 6 Brandon Hermiller
33. 25K Ross Kenseth
34. 131 Nick Gullatta
35. 51N Stephen Nasse
36. 21 Joe Beaver
37. 49 Colin Nickolai
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