Brian Campbell Scores 2015 ARCA/CRA Super Series Season Opening Victory In 7-UP 100 At Toledo Speedway
Qualifying Results – Race Results
Champion Racing Association’s premier series officially kicks off 19th season of competition and chase for the title
Toledo, Ohio (Saturday, April 11, 2015): The ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS officially kicked off their 19th season of competition and the start of the 2015 Championship title chase on Saturday, April 11th at Toledo Speedway (OH). The fast 1/2 (0.500) mile high-banked paved oval located south of the Michigan / Ohio state line in Toledo, Ohio served as hosts of the 7-Up 100 Presented by Royal Truck & Trailer Sales. The ARCA/CRA contingent was joined by their counterparts within the ARCA Midwest Tour and a stellar field of cars gave the strong crowd on hand a great show.
In the 100-lap main event of the afternoon, Brian Campbell took the lead from 19-year-old Cody Coughlin on lap 26 of the century distance event. From there, the pilot of the #47 Merritt Speedway / Enterprise Iron & Metal / Ford would set a torrid pace the rest of the way in the first ever caution free points race in the ARCA/CRA Super Series’ 19-year history. Campbell would cross the stripe first to score his 15th career win to move him into sole possession of fifth all-time on the career wins list
“I was just waiting for something dumb to happen whether it was us or someone else. When the yellow flag never came out, that was pretty awesome and here we are back in victory lane at one of my favorite race tracks around, Toledo Speedway.” Smiled the 36-year-old driver from Wyoming, Michigan after climbing from his winning machine. “I’ve been coming here forever since my Dad (Fred Campbell) raced in the old Iceman Super Car Series and we’ve been fortunate to win a few times. I just really love to race here.
After EDCO Welding/Miller Electric Welders Fast Qualifier, Boris Jurkovic drew the minimum of a five for an inversion; it would be Coughlin and Eddie Hoffman leading the 26-car field down to chief starter, Brian Duncan’s green flag to officially begin the 2015 ARCA/CRA Super Series Championship title chase. Coughlin edged Hoffman going into turns one and two to take the lead and pace the field in the early going.
Campbell, the two-time and defending race winner of the 7-UP 100 started in eighth and would quickly and methodically charge his way towards the front. Once Campbell got up to Coughlin’s back bumper he wasted no time searching for a way around the 2013 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Champion. On lap 26, Campbell made what would be the winning pass for the lead and immediately disappeared from the rest of the field.
Terry Senneker Jr., an accomplished driver in the Outlaw bodied Super Late Models division throughout the Midwest, was also patiently working his way towards the front and soon found himself in second position. However, Campbell had built up a sizable lead and as hard as Senneker Jr., tried to reel in Campbell, the caution free race proved to be beneficial to Campbell who would be able to keep enough real estate between himself and his West Michigan counterpart to cross the start/finish line first to open the 2015 racing season.
For his efforts, Campbell would head back north with a slew of contingency awards including the AR Bodies Cool Move of the Race Award for his winning pass on Coughlin. In addition, he also scored the VanDoorn Racing Development Lap Leader Award for leading 75 of the 100 laps conducted.
Senneker Jr., tied his career high ARCA/CRA Super Series finish in the race by securing the runner-up spot in his #36 Senneker Performance / Chevrolet. After starting in 12th, the 35-year-old picked up the C.V. Racing Products Hard-Charger Award as well as the first Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award. The Wayland, Michigan standout would also finish second in the companion ARCA Gold Cup Royal Truck & Trailer Sales Outlaw Super Late Model Series main, which was part of the 7-UP Twin 100s.
The highest finishing Senneker Performance Rookie of the Year title contender finished off the podium positions as 16-year-old Grant Quinlan brought home an impressive third place finish. The Harrison, Michigan teenager, the 2014 Howie Lettow Memorial Rookie of the Year in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, would also score the FLUIDYNE High Performance Cool Under Pressure Award as he never left the top five throughout the entire 100 laps en route to finishing a career high third in only his second ever start in CRA’s premier tour. In addition, with bonus points earned in qualifying, Quinlan is actually the overall and rookie points’ leader going into the next event at Anderson Speedway on April 25th.
Two-Time Defending ARCA/CRA Super Series Champion, Travis Braden continued his impressive string of consecutive top five finishes dating back to the 2014 racing season as the 21-year-old finished fourth. Since May 31st, 2014 the 21-year-old Wheeling, West Virginia star in his #01 West Virginia University / Chevrolet has grabbed a top five finish in 12 straight races. One race away from tying the all-time record of 13 set by Fred Campbell spanning over three seasons and in limited appearances between 2001-2003.
Rounding out the top five was Jurkovic in his #53 Reliable Recovery Services / Ford. The Joliet, Illinois veteran earlier in the day picked up his seventh career Fast Qualifier Award to move him into a four-way tie for 10th all-time with 2002 Series Champion, Joel Kauffman as well as Matt Hagans and Rick Turner. The 45-year-old driver was making his first appearance behind the wheel of a racecar since Memorial Day Weekend 2014 at Illiana Motor Speedway (IN) when a practice crash sidelined him.
Hoffman would finish in the sixth position over a second Senneker Performance Rookie of the Year title contender, 17-year-old Hunter Baize who scored a career high seventh place showing. Coughlin would fall back to eighth at the end of the race as 2014 ARCA/CRA Super Series Rookie of the Year, Wes Griffith Jr., who was ninth and collected the second Hoosier Racing Tire Performance Award after starting 17th. Joey Miller, who was making his first appearance since the 2011 racing season, completed the top 10.
Matt Hall picked up the Hedman Hedders Husler Award after losing a motor the day before in Practice. Then after Qualifying in the 13th spot, he would fall to the rear of the field after pulling his car out of impound. Hall would then work his way up towards the middle of the pack to finish where he would’ve originally started in 13th.
Earlier in the afternoon in EDCO Welding/Miller Electric Welders Qualifying, Boris Jurkovic out-qualified the stout 26-car field with a 15.484 which measures out to an impressive 116.249mph. The ARCA/CRA Super Series Track Record at Toledo Speedway remains in the possession of Three-Time Series Champion, Johnny VanDoorn who turned in a 15.197 back on April 20th, 2013.
The second race of the 2015 racing season for the ARCA/CRA Super Series will be at the track that has hosted the most events in series history: The fast 1/4 (0.250) mile high-banked paved oval of Anderson Speedway (IN) in Anderson, Indiana on Saturday, April 25th. The Madison County Community Health Center 125 is part of the tracks prestigious Glen Niebel Classic for United States Speed Association (USSA) Sprint Cars. In addition, the 125-lap main for the ARCA/CRA Super Series will also serve as the only tune-up for the prestigious Redbud 300 to be held on July 18th. The second race of the JEGS/CRA $100,000 Super Late Model Triple Crown.
This event will be the 57th all-time appearance at the track. Two-time series champion, Brian Ross leads the way with nine career triumphs at the fast 1/4 mile while 1997 series champion, Kenny Tweedy, Canadian legend, Junior Hanley and three-time series champion, Johnny VanDoorn all have four victories each. Another three-time series champion, Scott Hantz has three wins at Anderson and is tied with 2003 series champion, Bobby Parsley, 2005 series champion, Jeff Lane and T.J. Reaid who also have three. Jim Cooper is next with two wins as 21 other drivers have one career CRA win in Central Indiana including Daniel Hemric, who won the last event, the 2014 Redbud 300 back on June 14th, 2014.
For more information about the 2015 racing season for all four touring series’ within Champion Racing Association Powered by JEGS, go to the new and improved series website located at: www.cra-racing.com You can also follow along with all of CRA’s touring series’ on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/ChampionRacingAssociation and on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/CRAracing Finally, for more information about Anderson Speedway, the host track for the second race of the year for the ARCA/CRA Super Series, go to the track website at: www.andersonspeedway.com
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 100 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.
