Salem, IN (January 22, 2019) – Champion Racing Association Powered by JEGS will be heading South for CRA SpeedFest 2019 this weekend to kick off its 2019 racing season at beautiful Crisp Motorsports Park, the home of Watermelon Capital Speedway in Cordele, Georgia. This will be the 15th straight year CRA has sanctioned the SpeedFest event. USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Florida hosted the event from 2005 through 2008, it was contested at Lanier National Speedway in Brazelton, Georgia from 2009 through 2011 and has been at Watermelon Capital Speedway since the 2012 season.
CRA SpeedFest 2019 will consist of a $10,000 to win 200 lap ARCA/CRA Super Series Super Late Model special non-points event and a $5000 to win 125 lap JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Pro Late Model special non-points event. The 200-lap ARCA/CRA Super Series event will be an eight-tire max event that will count yellow flag laps up to lap 175. The 125-lap JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour event will be a four-tire only event that will count yellow flag laps up to lap 100. In addition, there will be a 50-lap Southern Pro Truck feature and a 50-lap Wheelman Sportsman Feature on Friday night. Legends and Bandolero’s will have features on Saturday afternoon.
The 200-lap ARCA/CRA Super Series Super Late Model event will feature Controlled Cautions again this year, with slight changes to improve the pace of the race, assist in scoring, and ease of race management for racers, fans and officials alike. In the updated version of controlled cautions, teams may only change tires during a controlled caution and only the first caution period after each scheduled 25 laps of the event will be a controlled caution. (i.e.: first caution after lap 25, first caution after lap 50, first caution after lap 75 and so on…). Race Laps will not count for anyone under a controlled caution. When a team pits under a Controlled Caution they will not lose a lap as long as they return to the track in the designated 3-Lap grace period. That 3-lap grace period is only the first three laps that pit road is open after the cars have been brought to pit road. After the grace period, cars will lose positions and laps. Once cars enter pit road the first time by, scoring will stop counting laps. Scoring will not count laps the first three times the pace car passes the finish line. The fourth time by, scoring will be again counting laps and all cars should be on the track by then to be scored without going a lap down. When pitting under a Controlled Caution, the cars that pit will return to the track in the same order they entered the pits, relative to the other cars that pitted, and will line up behind the cars that did not pit, as long as they return to the track within the stated 3 lap window.
The event will see some of the best racers in the country competing in the 325 laps of late model feature racing action. Some of the top entries for this weekend’s events include NASCAR Star Kyle Busch, a three-time SpeedFest winner, two-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin, NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series competitor and 2017 SpeedFest Super Late winner Harrison Burton, son of NASCAR great Jeff Burton, 2016 SpeedFest Super Late and 2018 SpeedFest Pro Late winner Bubba Pollard and 2018 SpeedFest Pro Late winner Casey Roderick.
Other top late model drivers entered to compete at CRA SpeedFest 2019 include 2018 ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion Josh Brock, Brian Campbell, Stephen Nasse, Jeff Fultz, Rich Bickle, Chris Dilbeck, Kyle Plott, Steve Dorer, Willie Allen, Michael House, Justin South and Brandon Oakley.
Pits will open on Friday at 8:00am, Late Model Open Practice will go from 10:30am until 2:30pm, with alternating 30-minute sessions for the Pro’s and Supers. There will be a 30-minute Pro Late Model Happy Half Hour Session at 3pm, and a 30-minute Super Late Model Happy Half Hour Session at 3:30pm. JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Pro Late Model qualifying for the SpeedFest 125 will begin at 5:30pm. ARCA/CRA Super Series Super Late Model qualifying for the SpeedFest 200 will follow immediately after Pro Late Model Qualifying.
Pits will open at 7am on Saturday. All haulers must be removed from inside the track by 9:30am. All the drivers competing in CRA SpeedFest 2019 will be part of an on-track autograph session beginning at 12noon, open to all the fans attending Sunday’s event. Driver’s introductions will begin at 1:00pm. The racing will start off at 1:30pm with the Legends and Bandolero features, followed by the SpeedFest 125 for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Pro Late Models, and then the SpeedFest 200 for the ARCA/CRA Super Series Super Late Models will hit the track for the final event of the afternoon.
For those fans who cannot attend, a live pay-per-view broadcast of all the CRA SpeedFest 2019 events will be available on Speed 51 TV. Order your pay-per-view ticket today by visiting Speed51.com.
Track and CRA SpeedFest 2019 information, including purchasing advance tickets, can be found at www.crispmotorsportspark.com.
Information on all the CRA Series can be found at www.cra-racing.com.
