Erik Jones Earns First JEGS/CRA All-Star Victory

Youth Beats the Veterans at Rockford

Erik Jones Earns First JEGS/CRA All-Star Victory

JEGS/CRA PR
The kid doesn't even have a driver's license; that wasn't enough to stop 15-year-old Erik Jones tonight though as the young gun survived a late restart with six circuits remaining to capture the 20th running of the JEGS/CRA All-Star Tour 'All-Star 100' presented by Stanley Steemer and wear the legendary wreath at the Rockford Speedway. With the win, Jones' first in the series, the teenager joins the growing ranks of past legends that have claimed the checkers in the 'All-Star 100' including hallowed names that seared themselves into memory like Allison, Shear, Trickle, and Martin.

Two other prior victors in this event, Rich Bickle and 'Fast' Eddie Hoffman, challenged Jones at various points throughout the race as yellow flags slowed the pace down and offered a variety of drivers a chance to contend for the crown. Ultimately, no one had more in the tank than Erik Jones as the Michigan hotshoe parlayed his fast qualifying effort and an eighth-place starting spot into history. Joining Jones on the podium was another 15-year-old, Cody Coughlin, who kept his nose clean and survived the battle of attrition to notch a career best runner-up result. Bickle and JEGS/CRA points leader Hoffman came home in third and fourth respectively.

The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour ‘All Star 100’ presented by Stanley Steemer received a major shakeup before the green flag even waved as defending champion Ryan Carlson and Midwestern hotshoe Jesse Saunders were relegated to the back of the 23-car pack after failing post-qualification tech due to faulty ignition boxes. For Carlson --pulling double duty on the evening with his weekly late model and his JEGS/CRA machine – the penalty proved especially costly as the Loves Park, Ill., native relinquished what would have been fast time as 15-year-old rising star Erik Jones jumped to the top of the speed charts for the third time in 2011.

When the green flag waved on the 20th rendition of the event steeped in history, another 15-year-old – Cody Coughlin – rolled to the early edge as ‘Fast’ Eddie Hoffman surged into the runner-up spot with a pair of laps in the books.

A red flag stopped the proceedings just three laps into the main event for a huge incident that started on the backstretch and carried into turn three as Danny Jackson careened into the tire that buffers the point and made hard contact, collecting Jesse Saunders, Jimmy Novak III, and an unfortunate Carlson who couldn’t avoid the mayhem.

Jackson and Novak III were able to walk away from the pileup while ‘RC’ and Saunders exited to the pits with heavy damage and saw his chances to wear the wreath for a second straight year come perilously close to being snuffed – a brief break in the action allowed the Rockford Speedway safety crew to clean up the carnage before cars began rolling again under yellow.

On the restart, Coughlin came under fire from Hoffman for the lead as the three-time National Short Track Champion peeked to the bottom and targeted the top spot. 2009 NSTC victor Josh Nelms made it a three car fray up front with ten laps in the books. A couple of laps later, Hoffman suddenly blew past a slowing Coughlin on the exit of turn two and emerged with a three car length edge. That margin was erased within a quarter-mile however as Jordan Miller brought out a second yellow for a solo spin in the third turn.

Teenager Erik Jones burst into a podium spot on the ensuing restart as he utilized the high line to blow past a sliding Nelms for the bridesmaid’s position. The young hotshoe set his sights on his veteran adversary out front, closing up to Hoffman’s back bumper before pulling back into the upper groove on the asphalt oval as another yellow slowed the race with 20 laps completed.

Hoffman hustled past Jones for the lead when the green waved and Nelms nabbed second as Jones got trapped on the low line and dropped to third. Behind the top three, longtime contender Trent Snyder challenged Tracy Schuler for fourth – an overaggressive Snyder got loose in turn four and slammed into Schuler’s door panel, cutting the right front tire on the Chicagoland driver’s machine and forcing another yellow with 70 laps to go.

Snyder recovered from his mishap and soared to second on the restart, quickly inserting himself to the inside of Hoffman as they battled for the lead – the race received a major shakeup at the 1/3rd mark as Snyder and Hoffman made contact in turn two and spun in front of the field, bringing out another yellow and relegating both contenders to the back of the pack. The lucky benefactors were Josh Nelms and Erik Jones as they inherited the front row on the restart.

Rich Bickle, the 1989 ‘All-Star 100’ victor, pushed past Nelms when racing resumed and snagged second as Jones jumped away from the field and took a big lead. As the young gun rolled to a sizable edge out front, Bickle and Chad Finley dueled for the second spot as Brandon Watson sat back and watched in fourth.

With the caution-plagued event moving past the halfway point, Jones continued to lengthen his margin to a comfortable straightaway edge only to see another yellow fly and his cushion evaporate with 47 laps remaining after Matt Puskarich slid sideways into the turn one wall and made hard contact, forcing Brent Downey and Trent Snyder to slam on the brakes and come to a screeching halt.

Under caution, Nelms and Finley sacrificed top five runs to take their machines to the pits for repairs as the battle of attrition continued to wage war on the field. Jones fended off Bickle’s advances on the restart as Rockford regular Ryan Carlson’s remarkable rally reached the top five – ‘RC’ rocketed into the runner-up spot with a nifty crossover move on Bickle as Cody Coughlin followed them in fourth.

Wes Griffith Jr’s rear end snapped around in the middle of turn two shooting the Crown Point, Ind., driver hard into the outside wall and bringing out a yellow with 43 circuits remaining. Cody Coughlin collected third from Bickle when they returned to top speed as Jones once again slipped away to a solid margin.

Another caution enabled JEGS/CRA All-Star Tour top gun Eddie Hoffman to maneuver into the top five with just 35 circuits remaining. An action-packed restart allowed Jones to escape as Carlson and Bickle roughed each other up as they jousted for the bridesmaid’s position. Bickle emerged with the spot as Josh Nelms relinquished fourth thanks to a black flag due to pieces of sheet metal that were dangerously loose on his machine.

As Jones got into a rhythm and picked off lapped traffic up front, Chad Finley worked around Carlson for third – just five laps later, Finley’s motor went south and he fell off the pace as Carlson regained the position and pressured Bickle for second. Carlson’s attempted pass for the spot went sour with 17 circuits left as the Rockford regular nearly spun out trying to save his loose race car and suffered a flat right front tire, ending his chances to repeat once and for all.

Cody Coughlin stole second on the restart as Eddie Hoffman hurried past Bickle for third and turned up the urgency with under 15 laps remaining. With a pair of 15-year-olds riding around in the first and second positions, a broken axle ended Michigan native Claude Plante Jr’s top five effort setting up a certifiable six-lap dash to the checkers.

The late race restart went Jones’ way as the teenager held off his fellow young gun and raced to a five car length edge, hitting his marks over the final few laps and etching his name alongside legends en route to the win in the 20th running of the ‘All-Star 100’ presented by Stanley Steemer.

"It is AWESOME to win here!" An excited Jones stated. "I love to race on this track, there is so much history, it is just awesome to get my first JEGS win here. I have to thank my crew, my parents and my sponsors for giving me this chance to win. It is just awesome."

His 15-year-old running mate, Cody Coughlin, ran around for most of the race in the top ten before coming on late for a career-best runner-up finish.

"100 laps here felt like 500 laps at Bristol with all of the cautions," the young Coughlin quipped. "We had a pretty good test session the other day and I thought we had a top five run coming but second's not bad. I'll take it."

1989 'All-Star 100' victor Rich Bickle returned to the Rockford Speedway in style, piecing together a strong top five car and fending off fellow contender 'Fast' Eddie Hoffman's advances to place himself on the podium with a strong third place result. That wasn't good enough for the former NASCAR wheelman though who admitted afterwards that he was frustrated with the numerous double-file restarts throughout the race.

"Cautions breed cautions out here," an upset Bickle offered. "I felt like I had a winning car tonight so third feels kind of indifferent to me. At the end of the night, I guess I'm just happy we don't have a torn up race car and everything's intact."

Hoffman's rally came up short as the venerable veteran managed another top five in a big race at the high banked oval, finishing fourth on a sultry summer evening. Local driver Mike Beyer rounded out the top five with a solid fifth place effort.

Beyer and Plante took home the Hoosier Racing Tires Performance Awards with Plante also adding the Five Star Stock Car Bodies Hardcharger Award and the Racing Electronics Most Improved Award.

Jones earned the Keyser Manufacturing Fast Qualifier Award, the DTS Drive Train Halfway Leader Award and the Turn One Lap Leader Award for leading the most laps. Coughlin took home the Howe Racing Rookie of the Race Award and VDL Fuel Systems Rookie Award. Coughlin also was awarded the AR Bodies “Cool Move of the Race Award” for keeping his cool and moving to the front after sliding back to almost be out the Top 10’. His smooth racing earned him his first Cool Move of the Race.

Snyder had the fastest lap during green flag conditions giving them the VDL Fuel Systems Hot Lap of the Race Award. The DJ Safety Hard Luck Award went to Danny Jackson. Tom Woodin took home the Great Lakes Tire Number 1 Qualifier Award for being the first car to qualify after the draw for position.

The next event for the JEGS/CRA All Stars Tour Presented by GM Performance Parts will be the Winchester 100 at Winchester Speedway, Winchester, IN on August 20, 2011. This will the first visit to Winchester for the JEGS/CRA All Stars Tour Presented by GM Performance Parts. To learn more about any of the CRA Division go to www.craracing.net To learn more about Winchester Speedway see www.winchesterspeedway.com