Qualifying Results – OFFICIAL Race Results
JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour invades Auto City Speedway
Clio, Michigan (Saturday, August 8, 2015): The Fifth Anniversary 2015 racing season for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance continued with a trip across the Great Lakes State for the JEGS/CRA contingent after a successful race on the west side of the state the previous week. The uniquely shaped 0.393 mile semi-banked paved oval of Auto City Speedway, located north of Flint in Clio, Michigan hosted the Dog Days of Summer 100 Presented by JEGS.com. This event marked the fourth all-time appearance at the historic Eastern Michigan speed plant.
In the three previous events at the Buick City oval, there have been three different winners making the trip to victory lane. In the fourth race held at the egg-shaped layout, it would see a fourth different winner as New Castle, Indiana’s Dalton Armstrong took his second win of the 2015 campaign.
“I felt like we should have had another win by now as good as we have been all year, but it feels good to get back here in victory lane,” Armstrong said in victory lane, “Scott Neal continues to just get this car better and better each week. I was starting to get worried because I kept feeling Trevor (Berry) getting closer to me, but we were lucky to hold him off.”
In the early stages of the event, it was Joe Gibbs Racing Driver Development and 2013 JEGS/CRA All Stars Tour Champion, Cody Coughlin taking the lead from his outside front row starting spot. The 19-year-old driver would stretch his margin throughout the event despite a series of restarts that slowed the event. The most severe of which coming at lap 38 which saw five cars involved, severely damaging Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of The Year contender, 15-year-old Austin Kunert as well as David McManus, Jack Smith and Pat Zorn in the mishap. Only Kunert was able to continue.
After a yellow flag flew at lap 60 for a tangle between Kyle Crump, 17-year-old Tristan Van Wieringen, and Joe Morisette, Jr., Dalton Armstrong would line up on the outside of race leader Coughlin and make the top groove work around the 0.393 mile oval, taking the lead and setting sail.
The final caution flag would come with just five laps to go as Coughlin would go for a spin, but would soldier on to finish the event 16th. On the lap 95 restart, Dalton Armstrong would duke it out with hometown hero, Trevor Berry, but Armstrong would make the bottom groove work and take the checkered flag.
Trevor Berry came home a career high second in front of the hometown crowd for the Clio, Michigan native and says he will be back in action at Owosso Speedway in just a couple of weeks. Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year points leader, 19-year-old Quinnton Bear came home a solid third after battling all race long with the likes of Kyle Hayden and Berry. Bear will continue on his title, and rookie of the year quest as well on August 29th at Owosso Speedway.
Lockport, Illinois veteran, and winner at Columbus Motor Speedway from back on Memorial Day weekend, Josh Nelms would finish a solid fourth while another Clio, Michigan driver Kyle Hayden would come home with a solid fifth place. Hayden has competed infrequently throughout the season, but also looks to make a start at Owosso Speedway as well.
Phil Bozell would end his night in a sixth, Travis Braden started right where he started the night in seventh after rolling a seven on the inversion for setting fast time, Travis Eddy came across the line eighth, Dixie Motor Speedway event winner Dan Leeck would finish ninth, and Jaxson Jacobs comes from starting 23rd to round out the top 10.
Earlier in the day in Boyne Machine Company Qualifying, 2-time ARCA/CRA Super Series champion Travis Braden topped the charts with a new track record, timing in with 15.379. The top four qualifiers broke the old track record which was set one year ago by Chad Finley with a 15.438.
After a three-week break in the schedule, the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance will begin a hectic stretch of events that will see the teams embark on a five races in seven weekends stretch to end the 2015 racing season. It all begins on Saturday, August 29th with a trip back to the Wolverine State and the fast 3/8s (0.375) mile high-banked paved oval of Owosso Speedway, located northeast of Lansing in Ovid, Michigan for the running of the Big ‘O’ Classic 100 Presented by JEGS.com.
In three previous races at the famed Central Michigan speed plant, there have been three different winners as Chad Finley, from near-by DeWitt, Michigan went to victory lane in 2014 after breaking the Track Record in Qualifying. The 2013 edition of the event was rained out while in 2012 Brian Campbell scored the victory in dominating fashion. In the Tours’ inaugural appearance in 2011, another home track hero and NASCAR Xfinity Series event winner as well as five-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series winner and 2015 title contender, Erik Jones, who at 16 years old at the time, made the home track fans happy with his triumph on his way to the inaugural JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Championship.
For more information about the remainder of the 2015 racing season for all four touring series’ within Champion Racing Association Powered by JEGS, go to the series website at: www.cra-racing.com You can also follow along with all of CRA’s touring series’ all season long on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ChampionRacingAssociation and on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/CRAracing Finally for more information about Owosso Speedway, the host track for the eighth race of the 2015 racing season for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, go to the track website at: www.owossospeedway.com.
