Gio Ruggiero claimed his first Winchester 400 win in historic, walk-off fashion on Sunday afternoon at Winchester Speedway.
In a race that featured 18 lead changes, the Massachusetts teenager took the lead from Stephen Nasse on the final restart with ten laps to go and won the Winchester 400, claiming the ASA/CRA Super Series championship in the process. It was his second win of the ASA STARS National Tour season and third Super Late Model win of the year overall.
It was a race of firsts for Ruggiero Sunday afternoon. He became the first CRA regular to the Winchester 400 and first to win the race and championship at the same time since Scott Hantz, while also becoming the first driver to win both the Southern Super Series and ASA/CRA Super Series championships in the same year since Scott Hantz in 2006. Additionally, Ruggiero is the first driver to win the Winchester 400 in his first try since Ryan Lawler did so in his first and only start in 2007.
It was a highly competitive Winchester 400, which saw a record 18 lead changes over the course of the 400-lap race among eight drivers. Cole Butcher and Nasse took stage wins, while Butcher led the most laps.
Ty Majeski’s points lead has shrunk even more. The Wisconsin driver fell out after just 26 laps due to an engine failure and finished 21, while Butcher finished second after leading the most laps and winning a stage. Unofficially, Majeski’s lead over Butcher will be down to just 20 points going into the season finale.
The ASA STARS National Tour now heads to Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway for the All American 400 on Friday-Sunday, November 3-5. It will be the season finale for the series.
For the full ASA STARS National Tour schedule, plus Super Late Model rules and other information, please visit the series website at starsnationaltour.com, or be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: STARS National Series | Twitter: @racewithstars | IG: @starsnational).
ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour debuted in March 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced in October 2022, many of the best drivers in America will compete in the ten-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team will be guaranteed $25,000.
The ASA STARS National Tour is made up of three races from each of the regional pavement Super Late Model Series under the Track Enterprises banner – the ASA/CRA Super Series, the ASA Midwest Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.
The Team Construction Winner’s Circle program has been announced as a part of the ASA STARS National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program provides additional financial incentives to those teams who support the series.
Track Enterprises, a racing promotions company based in Illinois, will operate the ASA STARS National Tour. It announced the acquisition of Champion Racing Association (CRA) in January 2022 and followed that up with the purchase of the Midwest Tour in July. In October, Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent announced a partnership with the Southern Super Series, which set the table for the formation of the ASA STARS National Tour.
Unofficial Results from the 52nd Winchester 400
| FIN | NO | DRIVER | LAPS | DIFF |
| 1 | 22 | Gio Ruggiero | 400 | — |
| 2 | 28 | Cole Butcher | 400 | 0.921 |
| 3 | 51N | Stephen Nasse | 400 | 1.170 |
| 4 | 2 | William Sawalich | 400 | 1.707 |
| 5 | 47 | Dakota Stroup | 400 | 2.634 |
| 6 | 66 | Logan Bearden | 400 | 4.328 |
| 7 | 18 | Chase Burda | 400 | 4.936 |
| 8 | 14 | Austin Nason | 400 | 5.202 |
| 9 | 51F | Jake Finch | 400 | 5.937 |
| 10 | 40 | Jordan Miller | 399 | 1 Lap |
| 11 | 35 | Jake Garcia | 399 | 1 Lap |
| 12 | 42 | Jaden Cretacci | 382 | 18 Laps |
| 13 | 5D | Andrik Dimyauga | 379 | 21 Laps |
| 14 | 77 | Brandon Varney | 376 | 24 Laps |
| 15 | 30 | Noah Gragson | 346 | 54 Laps |
| 16 | 33F | Albert Francis | 310 | 90 Laps |
| 17 | 23 | Billy VanMeter | 294 | 106 Laps |
| 18 | 131 | Blake Rowe | 291 | 109 Laps |
| 19 | 5A | Dalton Armstrong | 173 | 227 Laps |
| 20 | 69 | Michael Hinde | 58 | 342 Laps |
| 21 | 91 | Ty Majeski | 26 | 374 Laps |
| 22 | 3 | Chris Munson | 15 | 385 Laps |
| 23 | 1 | Jon Beach | 13 | 387 Laps |
| 24 | 61 | Evan Varney | 8 | 392 Laps |
| 25 | 42C | J.P. Crabtree | DNS |
