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October 8, 2008

KEN DE LA BASTIDE: Top drivers look for victory at Winchester

One of the biggest super late model events in the country will be taking place this Sunday with the 37th running of the Winchester 400.

The Winchester 400 has witnessed some of the top drivers in the nation competing on the high-banked half-mile oval with the likes of Bob Senneker, Gary St. Amant, Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace scoring wins.

For the past few years the Champion Racing Association has sponsored the event, bringing together some of the top Midwestern drivers. In recent years there has been a growing presence of competitors from the South.

A win in the Winchester 400 has always been considered a highlight on any driver’s résumé. With 38 teams already pre-entered, the car count could be one of the highest in recent years.

Last year, Texas driver Ryan Lawler put his name in the record books following a challenging race. Two years ago the two leaders fighting for the lead crashed with 22 laps remaining.

This year, South Bend native David Stremme, a regular in the Nationwide Series and the driver of a Penske Racing Sprint Cup car in 2009, will be looking for that first Winchester 400 victory. Stremme made a late race charge that ended with a mechanical failure in 2007.

Kyle Busch, who dominated most of the Sprint Cup season, has never completed a race at Winchester Speedway and is slated to be in Indiana for the race.

Top visiting drivers looking to snare up to $27,000 for the victory include Jeff Fultz, Justin Drawdy, Stan Smith, Dennis Schoenield, Donnie Wilson and Mitch Cobb.

They will have to defeat the CRA regulars for the victory: Scott Hantz, Rick Turner, Jeff Lane, John VanDoorn, Chris Gabehart, Boris Jurkovic and Tommy St. John.

Rex Robbins, the founder and president of the former American Speed Association, used to tell drivers and crew chiefs before the Winchester 400 to check every nut and bolt on the race cars because the 400 laps were hard on equipment.

Action at Winchester starts on Saturday at 5 p.m. with Winchester 400 qualifying and 50-lap feature events for modifieds, CRA Sportsman and CRA Street Stocks. The Winchester 400 rolls off at 1 p.m. Sunday.

With the Sprint Car race on Saturday night, this is a perfect opportunity for fans of super late model racing to see one of the premier events in the nation, ranked up there with the Snowball Derby in Florida and the All American 400 in Tennessee.

The race requires a driver to be patient and to be in a position to make a run at the finish for the victory. My favorite for the win is Scott Hantz, a driver with a knack to be competitive all race long. A long shot would be Brian Rievley, always fast at Winchester but tends to get caught up in someone else’s mistake.

Ken de la Bastide can be reached at (765) 454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide @kokomotribune.com.

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