Burda Recovers from Late Race Restart, Pull off Last Corner Pass For Winchester Win; Second Consecutive JEGS Win

Winchester, IN – The second night of racing at Winchester Speedway for the World Stock Car Festival featured 100 laps for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance. While the numbers were light, the action on the track was intense and a boisterous crowd ended the night on their feet as the current JEGS Tour Championship Points leader, Chase Burda went toe-to-toe with Florida’s Michael Hinde in a five-lap shootout to the finish.

The first 50 laps went green consecutively with Burda jumping out to the early race lead over Brandon Varney and Hinde. Varney was pushing the envelope early trying to see if he could force Burda into an early mistake. Meanwhile, Hinde allowed the two Michigan drivers to pull away in the early goings. Battles throughout the field included a strong contest between Dylan Stovall and JP Crabtree for the final spot inside the top five. Drivers held their lines and brought home the halfway mark without incident, drawing a competition caution.

On the restart, Burda found company with Varney trying to get himself to the front of the field. The pair raced feverishly, even making contact with one another and the outside wall in separate incidents. The competition ended for Varney when he lost the top of the race track and hit the outside wall in turn two. Shortly after that, the first caution for incident waved when Dylan Stovall and JP Crabtree made slight contact into turn one resulting in Stovall spinning to the inside of the race track. Another caution waved with five laps to go setting up an unforgettable finish.

On the restart, Hinde got a good jump running even with Burda at the line. Into one, Hinde slid in front of Burda forcing his way to the front of the field, officially taking the lead on lap 96. Burda, though wasn’t about to lay over. For two laps the 18-year-old tried to find a way to get his No.18 to stick on the unpreferred bottom of the race track. With the white flag in the air, the gloves came off and Burda drove to Hinde’s inside in turn one. Slight contact forced Hinde’s car to get loose, pairing them up perfectly into turn three. As Burda dove to the bottom, Hinde continued to try and roll momentum on the top. Coming out of turn four, Burda allowed his car to slide and squeeze Hinde out of the grip at the top of the track and drag race to the finish line. At the checkered, Burda grabbed his second consecutive JEGS Tour win by 0.062 seconds over Hinde. James Krueger tied his best career finish in third, Stovall fourth, and Evan Varney rounded out the top five.

Champion Racing Association returns to action again at Winchester Speedway on Sunday evening with the Vore’s Welding CRA Late Model Sportsman, the ASA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS, and the CRA Street Stocks Powered by JEGS; racing also includes the Midwest Modifieds Tour Presented by Wheeler Trucking. The first official green flag of the night falls at 5:00 PM on Sunday. The next event for the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour is Saturday, September 9th at Birch Run Speedway for the finale of a three-race inter-series known as the Triple Crown.

Story – Zach Hiser

Photo – Koty Geyer