Butcher Emerges Late For ASA Stars Redbud 400 Win

Cole Butcher waves as he takes the checkered flag to win Saturday’s Redbud 400 for the ASA STARS National Tour at Anderson Speedway. Photo: ASA STARS National Tour

Cole Butcher took his first-career ASA STARS National Tour win in the Saturday night’s Redbud 400 at Indiana’s Anderson Speedway.

Butcher took the lead from teammate Gio Ruggiero with 93 laps to go and drove away in the caution-free final stage en route to the victory.

Ty Majeski was the class of the field for the first three-quarters of the race, taking the lead from the green flag and leading over 280 laps to start the race. However, pit stops just before the final stage would be his undoing, losing the lead to Ruggiero just before the lap 300 mark and would ultimately finish third in his first start in the event.

Not only was it Butcher’s first win with the series, it was also his first win with Wilson Motorsports as part of a 1-2 finish for the team. By virtue of his victory, the Porter’s Lake, Nova Scotia native becomes just the third Canadian to win an ASA-sanctioned race, joining Junior Hanley and John Cadman. Butcher is the first to do so since Cadman won a race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in 1992. He also is the second Canadian to win the Redbud following Hanley’s win in 2004.

“It’s finally nice to get my first Super Late Model win, especially being here,”
Butcher said. “We have tracks at home just like this so it feels extra special. Happy Birthday to my Father, this one’s for him. Me and Donnie Wilson, we’ve been together six or seven years now, and it’s time.”

The top-five was rounded out by a pair of former Redbud winners – Kyle Crump and Dalton Armstrong.

The ASA STARS National Tour heads back to the Badger State for the third and final time on Tuesday, August 1 at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. For more information, visit https://starsnationaltour.com.

ASA STARS National Tour
Anderson Speedway – Anderson, IN
Redbud 400* – July 15, 2023

1. Cole Butcher
2. Gio Ruggiero
3. Ty Majeski
4. Kyle Crump
5. Dalton Armstrong
6. Stephen Nasse
7. Billy VanMeter
8. Austin Nason
9. Blake Rowe
10. Chase Burda
11. Albert Francis
12. Dakota Stroup
13. Michael Hinde
14. Bubba Pollard
15. Jaren Crabtree
16. Scotty Tomasik
17. Logan Bearden
18. Cassten Everidge