Carson Brown Flies to Winchester 400 Triumph

It wasn't the Saturday Carson Brown had planned this weekend, but it's hard to argue with a trip to victory lane in a crown jewel Super Late Model event.

Originally, Brown planned to compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, entered in the No. 32 Jordan Anderson Racing Chevrolet. He would then travel to Winchester Speedway in Winchester, Indiana to compete in the Appalachian Sucker Punch ASA STARS National Tour's Winchester 400 presented by Vore's Welding and Steel on Sunday, October 11.

The forecasts and impacts of Hurricane Isaias quickly complicated that plan. First, ASA STARS National Tour and Winchester Speedway rescheduled the 55th Running of the Winchester 400 to Saturday evening to get the program in ahead of the system's arrival in the Midwest. That appeared to jeopardize Brown's ability to compete in the Super Late Model showcase, until Saturday's on-track activity at Charlotte Motor Speedway was washed out entirely, with the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series event moved to Sunday evening.

Thus, Brown made the flight to Indiana, arriving at Winchester Speedway after the first round of practice for Winchester 400 competitors. That proved plenty of time for Brown to clock in second-fastest in practice, qualify on the front row and put on a dominant showing to win the signature Winchester Rifle trophy.

"I was pretty bummed that practice and qualifying was rained out in Charlotte," said Brown in victory lane. "But this opportunity presented itself. A big thank you to Anthony Campi, the whole crew, Jake Zellmer did awesome on the roof tonight. Big thank you to Highway 32 Self Storage for being on the car."

In a race bearing plenty of attrition across 400 grueling laps on the high banks of Winchester, Brown and his No. 81 Anthony Campi Racing entry didn't miss a beat.

"This one feels really good after last year, just having our issues. Coming back this year, having a really strong year, confidence is really high. I couldn't have done it without the whole crew at Chevrolet, RCR, ACR, the whole crew."

Brown's dominant performance echoed a similar showing by Stephen Nasse, who led 392 of the race's 400 laps for the first of his two Winchester 400 victories in 2019. On Saturday night, it was Nasse chasing and pressuring Brown throughout the evening.

"I was honestly just being really cautious, but also going just about as hard as I could," said Brown. "They kept telling me on the radio, just be smooth, because we were kind of running in that second bracket where you were kind of slipping yet being conservative. That fine line where everything's still getting really hot.

"There was one point where I fired off, just to see what we had in the car, just to see what we wanted to do strategy-wise on the pit stops there. I feel like this is kind of a proving ground."

Nasse finished second, giving Anthony Campi Racing a 1-2 showing in the crown jewel event. Nasse was hungry for a victory in the first Winchester 400 since the passing of longtime track owner Charlie Shaw, but was happy to build momentum entering big-race season.

"Track position was huge," said Nasse. "I was really hoping to sneak by on a restart, but he was just really good on that outside. Every time I'd get close, that air would just mess me up and I'd be back to the start and have to run him back down. Obviously, they had a really good car. That just speaks volumes about this P1 Chassis and Anthony Campi Racing.

"Good job to Carson, he drove a really good race. A great guy and a great family there. I really wanted this one for Charlie and my Uncle Dale, he passed away last week as well. It's been tough. I really wanted to get this one for them, but second isn't bad.

"We're getting better and better. I think we're a huge threat, come [Snowball] Derby time. We've got a couple more big ones before that."

Billy VanMeter capped off a stellar Winchester 400 weekend with a third-place finish. On Friday night, VanMeter snagged a Winchester Rifle trophy of his own by winning the Winchester 100 for the Turn One CRA Pro Series.

After swapping out the engine in the No. 23 to compete with the Super Late Models on Saturday, VanMeter finished third.

"Probably [needed] a little more time in a Super all year to beat them," said VanMeter. "Get our notebook a little better for the VanDoorns to be able to beat them. Having a good run was great and all, but my six-year-old begs to differ. He says I should have won and I'm a loser.

"Hats off to the VanDoorn guys for giving me a great car for both races. He was swapping the motor out to the same car and making it this good for the Super race. Honestly, I can't thank the fans enough for coming, and Charlie Shaw for keeping this track open for so long. I'll miss him."

Tristan McKee finished fourth, with Chris Shannon rounding out the top five. Chase Pinsonneault finished sixth, the last driver in the field to complete all 400 demanding laps.

The ASA STARS National Tour continues its 2026 season at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on November 8 with the All American 400.

-Photo credit: ASA STARS National Tour

Winchester 400 Unofficial Results