Kyle Crump Wins Dramatic Winchester 100, Blake Rowe Claims JEGS/CRA Title

After a late-race incident involving Stephen Nasse and Carson Brown opened the door, Kyle Crump walked through to win the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour Winchester 100 at Winchester Speedway on Friday.

Crump inherited the top spot with two laps to go, after Stephen Nasse spun from the lead due to contact with Carson Brown as the two drivers battled for the lead. Nasse had moved into the top spot after battling for several laps with Brown

Brown was sent to the rear of the field by race control for his involvement in the incident, allowing Crump to take over the top spot. While Chase Pinsonneault challenged Crump from the front row on the restart, Crump held on to take the checkered flag in the Winchester 100.

The win gives Crump back-to-back victories to end the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour season, along with some big Outlaw Late Model wins this year such as the Ron Hauser Memorial at Owosso Speedway. It's been a year to remember for Crump, and even a little good fortune went his way on Friday night.

"Nothing can go wrong this season," said Crump in victory lane. "You never get this in racing. This is insane. They both had better cars than I did, or they were driving it better. They were the class of the field.

"I don't know, man. [Brown] just drove into three and flat-out dumped Nasse, sent to the tail. I just had to hold the other guys off."

While Crump competed in the Winchester 400 every year between 2018 and 2022, he had not partaken in the Winchester 100 on the Friday of Winchester 400 weekend since 2017. The opportunity to drive the EDCO Welding No. 23 led to a return to Winchester Speedway's victory lane and a Winchester Rifle trophy.

"It's pretty emotional, honestly," said Crump. "I always get to watch this race. I used to run the Winchester 400 a lot, and I'd always get to watch the JEGS race on Friday. It's always so entertaining, and I just never had a shot at it.

"Thankfully, Ed and Donna VanMeter let me get in the car tonight. Things just fell my way, man. This is awesome."

While Crump celebrated his victory, Blake Rowe was officially crowned the 2024 JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour champion. Rowe finished second in the final race of the season to wrap up the title, and expressed nothing short of gratitude in victory lane.

"Just appreciative, man," said Rowe. "That would be the word I'd use about wrapping this deal up. For a guy that's grown up racing Street Stocks and Modifieds out of my parents' garage, an opportunity like this felt a little out of reach for a long time.

"To get to race for guys like Tom Kmak and his wife, to get to race for TK Racing, R&D Racing, to have partners like Lisa Thomas Salon and Precision Fleet Image, guys behind us like BP - I wish we raced with him tonight, but to get to have guys like Barrett [Polhemus] help us."

While Rowe has no concrete plans for the 2025 season, he hopes to be able to defend his JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour championship next year.

"It takes a village to do these types of things. I'll be forever grateful. If this is the end of it, I went out on the highest note I would have thought I'd make. I hope we can keep this deal rolling into '25."

Pinsonneault settled for third place in the final running order. While that wasn't enough to take the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour championship from Blake Rowe, it did put a bow on a successful Rookie of the Year campaign for the Canadian driver.

"It was a ton of fun," said Pinsonneault about the finish. "Lining up those last couple of laps side-by-side for the win with Kyle Crump. He's world-class, right? I just got a little free coming out of two. If I had anything back, I wish I had rushed the throttle a little bit less there.

"We might have had a chance going into three. The top was better, but I couldn't give up the front row, though. It was going to be first or third for the 14 team, and I'm glad I took the chance."

Ryan Fleming finished fourth, while Nasse rebounded for a fifth-place finish in spite of the late-race incident.

The Winchester 400 weekend continues on Saturday, including ASA STARS National Tour qualifying for the 53rd Winchester 400 presented by Vores Welding and Steel. The Midwest Modifieds Tour Run for the Gun 50, CRA Street Stocks, CRA Late Model Sportsman, Thunder Roadsters and Crown Vics race in Saturday's program ahead of the Winchester 400 on Sunday, October 13.

Following the conclusion of Friday's Vores Compact Touring Series feature won by Trent Gossar, a lighting issue along the fronstretch led to an early conclusion to Friday's racing program. The Thunder Roadsters feature scheduled for Friday has been added to Saturday's lineup.

-Photo credit: Koty Geyer

Winchester 100 Unofficial Results