ANDERSON, IN – Canadian Cole Butcher led the final 78 laps to capture the 59th running of the CB Fabricating Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway.
Butcher, the current point lead with the ASA National Tour, won the Redbud 400 for the second time having accomplished the feat in 2023.
The team used the right strategy of taking tires late in the race to secure the win.
Butcher battled over the final 105 laps with Austin Nason, who faded in the final laps and made a late pit stop in the hope of scoring the victory. Nason finished second in 2024 to Canadian Kyle Steckley.
Butcher took the lead for the final time on lap 322 following a caution period for debris by getting inside of Nason on the back straight.
Gavan Boschele survived a crash on lap 93 to finish second with Steckley coming home in third followed by Carson Brown and Steven Ulman, who started 17th in the 20 car field.
Butcher said at the start of the day the car was not very fast qualifying 12th in the 20-car field.
“Our strategy was not to take tires early in the race,” he said. “I’m grateful we were able to hang in the top five on old rubber.”
Butcher moved into the top five by the 90th lap and ran in the top three the remainder of the night.
He took the lead for the first of three times on the night on lap 141.
Boschele said he got caught up in the wreck early in the race and the crew continued to work on the car.
“We had a fast car,” he said.
Steckly started fourth and said the car was pretty loose the entire race.
“We kind of fought a loose in and tight middle in the corners,” he said. “We tried to fix both, which is pretty hard to do during pit stops.”
Wisconsin driver Derek Kraus set a new track record during qualifying capturing the Corvette Parts fast time award of $1,000.
By lap 280 Kraus, Carson Hocevar and Stephen Nasse were all out of the event with a variety of mechanical woes.
The red flag was displayed on lap 93 for a multiple-car accident on the front straight.
The incident started when Billy VanMeter got loose coming off the fourth corner and was collected by the car of the Dakota Armstrong and collected the cars of Gavan Boschele and Derek Thorn. Thorn and Armstrong could not continue.
