Salem, IN (June 28, 2021) – New Castle, Indiana driver Jason Atkinson used the right tire management strategy to capture the Tom Wood Auto Group 150 Van Hoy Oil CRA Street Stocks Powered by JEGS Four Crown event at Anderson Speedway night.
On Knapp Supply Night Saturday, Atkinson was the Allstar Performance Fast Qualifier and as a result of the invert, started ninth in the 20-car field.
Andrew Teepe took the lead from the pole position at the drop of the green flag for the 150-lap event.
Atkinson moved into the top five after 20 laps behind Teepe, Brett Hudson, Chuck Barnes Jr. and Dale Harper.
Hudson took the lead on lap 42 with an inside pass of Teepe on the front stretch with Barnes and Atkinson slipping into the second and third spots just before the lap 75 ten-minute break.
On the restart after the break Atkinson began his battle with the top two from his third place position. Following the second caution period of the night, Atkinson passed Barnes on the front straight for second and closed on Hudson.
The final caution flag waved on lap 111 when Chad Pendleton made contact with the turn three retaining wall while running in the top five and racing hard with Mark Eads Jr.
Atkinson took advantage on the restart to pass Hudson with an outside move on the front straight and went on to win by 1.6-seconds over Hudson with Barnes, Harper and Eads Jr. rounding out the top five.
“It was real hot tonight, but it always feels better when you get a win”, remarked Atkinson in victory lane. “The car has been running great, we’ve had a lot of good luck so far this season, things have just been going are way. I want to thank my car owner Danny Acrey and the whole team for their help and our sponsors for their support.”
The win was Atkinson’s third win in the 2021 Four Crown Series and fifth overall series win in the six points events so far this season. For his great passes of Barnes Jr. and Hudson, Atkinson picked up KRJ Race Products Sweet Move of the Race Award. Harper earned the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award after having to make a pit stop for a flat tire in the second half of the race and coming back to get his fourth-place finish.
The Van Hoy Oil CRA Street Stocks will have a month off before their next event on July 25th at Kil-Kare Raceway in Xenia, Ohio. More information on all the CRA series is available at www.cra-racing.com.
Story – Ken de la Bastide
Photo – John Lund
