NASCAR Competitor David Stemme Heads Great List Of CRA Super Series Entries For Sunday’s 200 Lapper At Plymouth Speedway
Salem, IN (July 8, 2008) – NASCAR competitor David Stremme heads a great list of competitors entered for this Sundays Mid-Summer Championship 200 Presented By Centennial Wireless, CRA Super Series event at Plymouth Speedway in Plymouth, Indiana. Stremme, from nearby South Bend, will be competing in Sunday’s event after competing in Friday nights NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Chicagoland Speedway. Stremme, a former competitor and winner with the CRA Super Series, is currently ninth in Nationwide Series points with four top five and 10 top 10 finishes so far this season for car owner Rusty Wallace. The former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver was recently hired as a test driver for Penske Racing, and is rumored to be in line for a return to the Sprint Cup Series in 2009.
Sunday’s event will continue the Centennial Wireless month for the CRA Super Series and will be the first series point’s event at Plymouth Speedway since 2002 when Scott Hantz claimed his third victory at Plymouth in the four series events held up to that point at that 3/8 mile speed plant. The series had a special non-points event their during the 2006 season, the first season for new track owners Bob Blount and Tom Smith, who have made vast improvements to the facility over the past two seasons. Series veteran JR Roahrig won that special 100-lap non-points event in 2006. Jack Landis chased Roahrig through out the event but had to settle for second. Former Illiana Motor Speedway Champions Mike White and John Nutley finished third and fourth with Hantz finishing fifth.
Scott Hantz leads the strong group of CRA Super Series regulars entered for Sunday’s event. The two-time Champion comes into Sunday’s event with the series points lead with three series victories in the series six events held so far this season including last Thursday’s win at Angola Motor Speedway. Hantz is now second on the all-time series win list with 21 wins to former two-time series Champion and Plymouth native Brian Ross who has 22 wins. Ross has filed an entry for Sunday’s race and will be looking to keep in front of Hantz in the series all time victory category. Ross has made only a few selected starts with the series the past several years while recently becoming the Crew Chief for ML Motorsports and driver Mark Green in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Ross still competes part-time in an Outlaw Late Model at Plymouth, he won the first two legs of the Plymouth Speedway Triple Crown this season including the 100 lap Jim Blount Memorial on May 31st.
Other top CRA Super Series drivers entered include second in points Boris Jurkovic, a winner earlier this season at Illiana Motor Speedway and third in points Rick Turner, a winner at Anderson Speedway earlier this season. Also entered are series regulars Jason Dietsch, Jason Shively, Terry Fisher Jr., JR Roahrig, John VanDoorn, Kenny Tweedy, Sean Matthuis and Rich Segvich. Aaron Pierce leads a strong group of K & N Filters rookies entered for the event, also entered are rookies Zach Taylor, Robert Maynor, Adam Purdy and Tommy Cook. A very strong group of part time series competitors are entered including teammates Jack Landis and Brian Nester, also Mike Kugler, Eddie Van Meter, Donny Klotz, Doug True and Tim Curry.
The Chicagoland area will also be well represented in Sunday’s event including multi-time Illiana Motor Speedway Late Model Champion Dave Weltmeyer of Dyer, Indiana. Weltmeyer has been a main stay in the Chicago area for decades and was a winner last season with the CRA Super Series in the Musgrave Memorial event at Illiana. Wheaton, Illinois driver Eddie Hoffman has also filed an entry, Hoffman is tied for sixth in all time CRA Super Series victories with seven and is the current points leader in the ASA Late Model Northern Series. Hoffman’s car owner Tom Kmak was the 2005 CRA Super Series Owners Champion with Hoffman competing in all the races that season but one, former series competitor Steve Moenck competed in that one other event for Kmak. 2007 Illiana Motor Speedway Late Model Champion Jeff Cannon is also entered as is fellow Illiana competitor Doug Hayes.
18-year-old Missouri native Jesse Smith will make his CRA Super Series debut this Sunday. Smith has been competing in the ARCA RE/Max Series part-time this season for the Terry Jones Motorsports team under the direction of Crew Chief Bob Blount. The former ASA Late Model Northern Series Champion finished a career high of third in the Kansas Speedway ARCA event and followed that up with a fifth place finish at Iowa Speedway. Smith is entered for the next ARCA event on July 18th at Kentucky Speedway.
17-year-old Tyler Roahrig, son of series veteran JR Roahrig, will make his CRA Super Series debut in Sunday’s event. The younger Roahrig is no stranger to the CRA crowd as he has been helping his father in the pits since he was old enough to get in. Roahrig competed in area Street Stock events in 2006 and in several Super Pro Late Model Series events last season. Tyler has several Outlaw Late Model starts this season at Plymouth and at Angola Motor Speedway including an 11th place finish at Plymouth in the 75 lap Triple Crown event on June 28th.
Michael Thayer will also make his series debut on Sunday, he is currently ninth in Plymouth Speedway Outlaw Late Model points this season. Steven Brooks will make his first attempt at a CRA Super Series point’s event Sunday, he competed in the series non-points special event at Plymouth in 2006. Brooks is currently 14th in ASA Late Model Northern Series points.
Sunday’s Mid-Summer Championship 200 Presented By Centennial Wireless will have a little different format than most CRA Super Series events. The race will have a 15 minute break at lap 100, at that time teams can work on their cars and have the option to put on up to two new tires for the second 100 lap segment, the catch is any cars changing tires will be placed in the line-up behind the cars that do not change tires to start the second 100 lap segment. Sunday’s race winner will have to use not only good racing but some good strategy as well. Shepherd Chevrolet will pay a $200 bonus if Sunday’s winner is using a crate motor.
The Vore’s Welding & Steel CRA FWD Compacts will return to action at Plymouth Speedway on Sunday in an event with the Plymouth Speedway FWD’s. The Vore’s Welding & Steel CRA FWD Compacts were last in action at Salem Speedway on June 7th were Rex Zimmerman became the fourth different winner in four series events this season. Bill Charles is currently leading the series points followed by teammate Zimmerman in second, Brian Redman in third, Michael Myers in fourth and Bobby Sanders in fifth place.
Hauler parking will begin at 12noon on Sunday, pits will open at 1pm with practice beginning at 4pm and qualifying at 5:45pm. The race program will begin at 7pm with a 15 lap CRA Super Series Last Chance race followed by the 30 lap FWD feature. The Mid-Summer Championship 200 Presented By Centennial Wireless will follow with a 25-lap Plymouth Mini Stock feature closing out the nights racing action. More information on Sunday’s event is available at www.plymouthspeedway.net. Additional information and rules for the CRA series is available at www.craracing.net
