Loves Park, IL. (July 30, 2011)
- 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-Stars 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.
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Jones in Victory Lane.
Photo By
CGPhotos.net |
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-Stars 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.
