Entry List Continues to Grow With Top Drivers
Salem, IN (October 3, 2017) – The ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS will conclude its 21st season of competition with this Sunday’s running of the prestigious 46th Annual Winchester 400 on the famous High Banks of Winchester Speedway. This will be the 13th Winchester 400 that the ARCA/CRA Super Series has sanctioned since the 2003 season at Winchester Speedway.
2017 was the first season the CRA has used a Championship Chase format to crown their Champions in all four of its series. Five drivers were locked into the final four ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion Chase events. After three of those events, one driver was eliminated, giving four drivers a shot to win the 2017 series Championship. The four include Johnny VanDoorn, Dalton Armstrong, Logan Runyon and Wes Griffith Jr., the driver finishing the highest in Sunday’s Winchester 400 will be crowned the 2017 Champion.
The three time series Champion VanDoorn is looking to make history by becoming the first driver to win four ARCA/CRA Super Series Championships. VanDoorn is currently tied with Scott Hantz with three series Championships a piece. VanDoorn won the Championship Chase event at Toledo Speedway on September 16th to lock himself into the final, which was the series last event. That victory gives him three series victories so far this season. VanDoorn is also looking to win his first ever Winchester 400 on Sunday.
Armstrong hopes to claim his first ARCA/CRA Super Series Championship after finishing second to Cody Coughlin in last season’s 
Championship. Armstrong was the series 2016 Senneker Performance Rookie of the Year and was the 2015 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Drivers Champion. Armstrong locked himself into the final four with a victory at Winchester Speedway on Labor Day Weekend. Armstrong looks to also win his first Winchester 400, and has high hopes after having a dominating car on Labor Day.
Senneker Performance Rookie of the Year candidate Runyon looks to try and become the fourth driver to win both the rookie of the year and series Championship in the same season, joining the likes of Hantz, Derrick Griffin and Grant Quinlan. Runyon is currently tied with rookie Hunter Jack for the lead in the Senneker Performance Rookie of the Year standings. Jack was the Chase driver that was eliminated from the final four after Toledo, but still looks to battle Runyon for the top Rookie honors at Winchester Sunday.
Veteran CRA competitor Griffith Jr. is looking to win his first series Championship, after finishing third in series Championship points in 2016 and 2014 and fourth in 2015. He was the 2014 series rookie of the year. His best ever ARCA/CRA Super Series finish was a second in the 2016 Redbud 300 at Anderson Speedway, Griffith Jr. looks to get his first series win and his first Championship on Sunday.
The Winchester 400 is the final leg in the JEGS/CRA $100,000 Super Late Model Triple Crown, which would have paid a driver $100,000 bonus if the same driver won the Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway, the Battle at Berlin 251 and the 46th Annual Winchester 400 at Winchester Speedway. Steve Wallace won the Redbud 400, but he is not eligible for the $100,000 and $10,000 bonuses, because he raced full-time for several seasons in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, so there will be no $100,000 bonus paid out in 2017. Brian Campbell won the Battle at Berlin 251, but is not eligible for the $10,000 bonus because he didn’t race in the Redbud 400 and is not entered to race in the Winchester 400, so there will be no $10,000 bonus paid out this season.
The driver who accumulates the most points during the three Triple Crown events will receive a $5,000 bonus and the title of Champion of the JEGS/CRA $100,000 Super Late Model Triple Crown with no $100,000 or $10,000 bonuses paid out. VanDoorn is highest in Triple Crown points of drivers entered for the 400, Rapheal Lessard is two points behind him. Steven Wallace is next, he is 16 points behind Lessard. Logan Runyon is next, he is 12 points behind Wallace. Armstrong, the 2016 Triple Crown points Champion, is next, he is 12 points behind Runyon. Lessard and Wallace are also both entered for Sunday’s 400.
The entry list has continued to grow for Sunday’s 46th Annual Winchester 400, there are 36 drivers entered to date, topped by 2016 event winner Travis Braden, he is the only previous event winner entered. Other top drivers entered include 2017 All American 400 winner Donnie Wilson, 2017 NASCAR K & N Pro East Series Champion Harrison Burton, 2016 Snowball Derby winner Christian Eckes, 2017 Southern Super Series Champion Stephen Nasse, NASCAR Camping World Truck competitor Noah Gragson and his teammate 2017 CARS Super Late Model Tour Champion Cole Rouse, both driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
2017 Winchester 400 – Entry List
The Winchester 400 is 400 laps counting cautions and is a 12 tire race. For the first time ever the event will feature Controlled Cautions in an effort to save teams the cost of bringing in professional pit crews. When a yellow comes out teams will have two laps to service their race car without losing laps or positions on pit road. Those cars will then line up behind the cars that did not pit at that yellow. Teams not getting out of the pits in the two laps will have to fall to the tail of the field and will risk losing laps. As in the past, teams will only be allowed to change a max of two tires per yellow.
The Winchester 400 will now pay $16,000 to win plus bonuses, which includes $10,000 in lap leader money, which is $25 per lap led. There will be bonuses of $1000, $600 and $400 to the top three finishing traveling non-regular CRA teams. There is a $1000 bonus to the highest finishing Crate Engine car and another $1000 to the highest finishing driver who has never raced in the Winchester 400 before. In addition EDCO Welding will pay a $400 bonus to the events Fast Qualifier and Hamner Racing Engines will pay a $200 bonus to the driver who advances the most positions.
Activities begin for the Winchester 400 Weekend with an optional load in, hauler parking and pit pass purchases on Thursday, October 5th from 3 to 7pm. Pits open on Friday, October 6th at 9am with rotating practice for all divisions beginning at 1pm. The ARCA/CRA Super Series teams will have a one hour practice session at 2pm and a 45 minute practice session at 4:40pm on Friday. Pits open on Saturday, October 7th at 8:30am, rotating practice for all divisions will begin at 11am. The ARCA/CRA Super Series teams will have a 45 minute practice session beginning at 11am and a 45 minute final practice session at 1:15pm on Saturday. EDCO Welding Pole Qualifying for the Winchester 400 for the ARCA/CRA Super Series will begin at 4:15pm on Saturday.
On Sunday, October 8th the pits will open at 9am. There will be an on track autograph session with all the Winchester 400 drivers starting at 12:30. Opening ceremonies will begin at 1:30 pm with the 46th Annual Winchester 400 taking the green flag at 2pm.
For those fans that cannot attend the Winchester 400 Weekend events, 51 TV Pay-Per-View will broadcast all the racing events on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Winchester 400 Weekend. Purchase the live Winchester 400 Weekend broadcast now at Speed51.com.
Additional track and event information can be found at www.winchesterspeedway.com.
More information on the ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS is available at www.cra-racing.com.
