Campbell Continues White-Hot Streak at Baer Field
Special from Speed51.com –
It was a different track, series, and car for the Champion Racing Association (CRA) on Saturday afternoon, but it was the same domination from Brian Campbell as he drove to victory lane in the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour event at the Baer Field Motorsports Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
It was an encore performance for the Wyoming, Michigan native following Friday night’s ARCA/CRA Super Series race at Toledo Speedway (OH).
Campbell set fast time in qualifying and had worked his way into the lead by lap 30, setting sail on the field on another scorching day that saw heat indexes in the triple digits, just like he did at Toledo just one night previous. The weekend sweep comes just three weeks after spoiling Bubba Pollard’s potential weekend sweep at the Money in the Bank 150 at Berlin Raceway.
“It was hot. Even for a Michigan boy, this is hot weather,” Campbell told Speed51.com. “It went well. The car was good from practice, to qualifying, to the race, just like it was yesterday. Two different cars, two different race tracks, same result. That’s a testement to Senneker; Progressive Engines yesterday, Phil Harper Engines today, and Lakeshore Motorsports and all our sponsors.
“It’s cool. It feels good. It’s the first time I’ve ever done this at two different tracks, so it feels good to do that and kick off the bucket list. Now we just gotta move on to the next one.”
A 68-lap green flag run started the 100-lap event, which saw Campbell build a six second lead over the field. From there, nobody was able to touch the Lakeshore Motorsports No. 47.
While he and runner-up Robbie Pyle had the top two positions covered, the battle for the final podium spot was an absolute barnburner. 2017 series champion Jack Dossey III and ARCA/CRA Super Series regular Hunter Jack raced side by side over the last 30 laps. Dossey finished just ahead of Jack in the third position, but both drivers were happy with the battle.
“I can’t thank him enough for running me so clean,” Dossey said. “He gave me plenty of room and I tried to do the same for him. It’s real tight down there in three and four but we both made it work. We never touched or anything. That’s real hard to do at a track like this, especially when it’s so hot. It was fun and I hope the fans enjoyed it.”
“We got a flat (tire) in qualifying and it kind of put me down to start but I knew we had a good car,” Jack said. “I saw the 5 car (Clancy) and the 20 car (Dossey) battling and I reeled him in. His car was pushing real bad and my car was rolling awesome, and I kept losing grip. But that was awesome. He raced me clean the whole time and it was an awesome battle.”
Michael Clancy Jr rounded out the top five.
Race fans can find 0n-demand photos and updates from Saturday’s race by visiting Speed51.com’s Trackside Now.
The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour have a little time off before they go to the tricky Kil-Kare Raceway on July 21.
-Story by Koty Geyer, Speed51.com State Editor (IN & MI)
-Photo credit: Speed51.com
