Winchester, IN - The final points-paying event of the 2024 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance season unfolded Friday night at Winchester Speedway to kick off the 53rd Winchester 400 weekend. Carson Brown and Stephen Nasse were the class of the field for over 90 laps, but Kyle Crump won his second-consecutive JEGS Tour event of the season and Blake Rowe locked down his first career JEGS Tour Championship.
The field was led the green by Michigan natives Austin Hull and Evan Varney. The younger Varney brother got the advantage down the backstretch and led the opening 9 laps before disaster struck down the backstretch. An apparent failure in the rear suspension turned Varney’s No.16 machine hard into the outside wall ending his night with 91 laps to go. That handed the top spot over to Hull, but not for long as Brown, Nasse, and Crump were hot on his heels to set the pace around Winchester.
Hull spent four laps at the front of the field before Brown dove to his inside in turns three and four and came out the other side with the top spot. Four caution flags throughout the event, including a competition caution with just over 20 laps to go didn’t bother Brown who continued to keep his No.81 at the top of the scoring pylon. Nasse, however, pressured Brown many times and made it known his No.51 had something for the young North Carolina native.
With three laps to go, Brown got loose going into turn one which opened the door for Nasse to take the lead going into turn three. The next lap, coming to the white flag, Brown crossed Nasse over and was set up to the inside of the Florida veteran and drove in deep to the third turn when he lost the nose of his Anthony Campi Racing Chevrolet and pushed up toward Nasse. The pair made slight contact - so slight that some argue they may not have touched, and Nasse spun down the front stretch. Race Control determined that contact from Brown caused Nasse to spin, and both drivers were sent to the tail with just two laps of racing to go.
That handed the top spot over to Kyle Crump in the EDCO Racing No.23. Crump, who hadn’t raced a Pro Late Model at Winchester in nearly a decade, held off charges from JEGS Tour Championship Contenders Blake Rowe and Chase Pinsonneault to become the first back-to-back winner on the JEGS Tour in 2024.
As for the JEGS Tour Championship battle, after Qualifying Pinsonneault trailed Rowe by 27 points, meaning that if Pinsonneault were to win the race, Rowe could finish no worse than 13th to secure the title. Attrition played a factor in the race, and just after halfway, Keegan Sobilo, who was running in the 14th spot, pulled down pit lane with a race-ending problem, securing the title for Rowe and the TK Racing No.71. The Championship is Rowe’s first Touring Series title and first in a Template Late Model.
A third-place finish, directly behind Rowe who followed Crump across the line as runner-up, locked Pinsonneault into the second spot in the Championship battle, 30 points back of Rowe. The Ontario, Canada driver didn’t go home empty-handed, however, grabbing Rookie of the Year honors with the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance in his Carson Hocevar Racing No.14.
“Nothing can go wrong this season,” Crump said of winning back-to-back JEGS Tour events. “You never get this in racing - this is insane,” he said.
“This one is pretty emotional, honestly,” said Crump when asked where the Winchester 100 win ranks on his list. “I always get to watch the JEGS race on Friday and it’s always so entertaining and I just never had a shot at it; thankfully Ed and Donna VanMeter let me get in the car tonight and things just fell my way.”
Pinsonneault said he felt he had a chance to win the race on the final restart, but made one mistake that cost him the win.
“It was a ton of fun,” said Pinsonneault on the front stretch. “I just got a little bit free coming off of two I just wish I would of rushed the throttle a little bit less there [and] I would have had a chance going into three.”
As for JEGS Tour Champion, Blake Rowe said this moment felt like it was out of reach at the beginning of his career.
“[I’m] just appreciative,” Rowe said on wrapping up the Championship. “For a guy that grew up racing Street Stocks and Modifieds out of my parent's garage, an opportunity like this felt a little bit out of reach for a long time. To get to race for guys like Tom Kmak, [Stan and Judy Rosen], John VanDoorn, the whole group - it takes a village to do these types of things [and] I hope we can keep this deal rolling into 2025.”
Rowe, Pinsonneault, and all the eligible drivers on the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance will officially receive their awards during the Championship Awards Banquet held the first weekend in January alongside all CRA divisions. Additional details will be announced soon.
The next event for the JEGS Tour is a non-points event at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway during the All American 400 weekend. The Nashville Pro Late Models will go head-to-head with the JEGS Tour on Saturday night of All American weekend to close out the 2024 season.
For more information on the JEGS Tour or Champion Racing Association, log onto CRA-Racing.com. Find CRA: Champion Racing Association on Facebook and follow @CRARacing on X.
Photo - Koty Geyer, KG Media
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