Salem, IN (August 27, 2012) – As the 2012 racing season starts to wind down to a close, rookie competitors are having great seasons in all four CRA Series heading into this weekend’s events. The JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance will be in action Saturday at Owosso Speedway while the ARCA/CRA Super Series, Top Speed Fabrication CRA Late Model Sportsman and CRA Street Stocks will all be in action in feature events on Monday at Winchester Speedway as part of the traditional Labor Day Weekend World Stock Car Festival.
Becca Kasten comes into this weekend’s event as the point’s leader in the Boyne Machine Company Rookie of the Year standings with the ARCA/CRA Super Series. The Wisconsin native has a 44 point lead over second place Travis Braden in adjusted points to date in her battle to secure a test in an ARCA Racing Series car at Daytona International Speedway in December, which will be awarded to the 2012 Boyne Machine Company Rookie of the Year. In the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the rookies get to drop their two worst finishes in determining the Boyne Machine Company Rookie of the Year. Kasten has had consistent finishes with six top ten and four top five finishes in the nine series events to date including a high of second at the series Springport Speedway event on June 16th were Kasten had a spirited battle with Johnny VanDoorn battling for the win. Kasten has led a total of 24 laps to date in two different series events including leading 20 laps of the Redbud 300 at Anderson Speedway.
Second place Braden has three top ten finishes so far this season, two of those are top five finishes with a season high of third at Berlin Raceway on May 12th. Nate Caruth is in third place in series rookie points, 102 adjusted points behind Braden. Caruth has four top ten finishes so far this season, with one top five, which was a third place finish at Springport. Bret Robinson is in fourth place, 48 adjusted points behind Caruth.
Kasten has been the Boyne Machine Company Rookie of the Race five times this season, Braden has won the award twice while Caruth and Robinson have won the award once apiece. All four rookie competitors are in the top ten in series Championship points led by Kasten who is in third place, Braden in fifth place, with Caruth sixth and Robinson in 10th place.
14 year old Anderson Bowen has had a spectacular rookie season with the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Presented by Chevrolet Performance and has dominated the Howie Lettow Rookie of the Year Presented by Howe Racing points after 11 of the 14 events on the 2012 points schedule. The Suwanee, Georgia teenager comes into this Saturday’s event only needing to finish 14th or better to clinch the 2012 Howie Lettow Rookie of the Year Presented by Howe Racing points. Bowen has 10 top ten finishes in the 11 series events to date with only one DNF. Five of those top ten finishes are also top five finishes with a best of second at the series July 7th event at Shadybowl Speedway. Bowen has also led a total of 137 laps in three events during the season. Bowen is in third place in series Championship points heading into Saturday’s show at Owosso, 31 points behind second place Brent Downey.
Brandon Hermiller is the only other Howie Lettow Rookie of the Year Presented by Howe Racing competitor to compete in all 11 JEGS Tour events so far this season. Hermiller has two top ten finishes to date in a season that has seen a lot of ups and downs with a lot of bad luck.
Bowen has been the Howe Racing Rookie of the Race in 10 events while Hermiller got the award at the Columbus Motor Speedway event. Rookies Brandon Oakley, Jordan Miller and Cole Williams have all run selected series events during the 2012 season.
Second generation competitor Robert Amos Jr. comes into the weekend’s events as the top rookie with the Top Speed Fabrication CRA Late Model Sportsman Series. Amos is seventh in series Championship points with five top ten finishes in the eight series events to date, including one top five, which was a fourth place finish in the series last event at Winchester Speedway on August 19th. Corey Gregory is 30 points behind Amos Jr. in eighth place in series points. Gregory is the only other rookie to compete in every series event to date. Gregory has two top ten finishes, with his best being sixth place twice. Josh Timmerman comes into this weekend’s events ninth in series points, he is 77 points behind Gregory. Timmerman was forced to miss two series events because of engine problems.
Another second generation racer, Tyler Marsh, comes into this weekend’s events as the top rookie with the CRA Street Stocks. Marsh is the only series rookie to compete in all seven series events to date and is in third place in series Championship points in the tightest CRA point’s battle in all the four series. Marsh is only 14 points behind point’s leader Brian Hopkins and is only ten points behind second place Jimmy Kirby. Fellow rookie T.J. Flynn comes into this weekend’s event eighth in series points. Flynn has made every series event in 2012 but one, which was the last series event at Winchester.
Additional information on all the CRA Series is available at www.craracing.net.