WINCHESTER, Ind: The 51st annual Winchester 400 presented by Vore’s Welding & Steel is on deck this weekend at the historic Winchester (Ind.) Speedway and Logan Bearden return to the ARCA | CRA Super Series powered by JEGS scene looking to return to top-five form in Sunday afternoon’s race.
Bearden, a part-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver hasn’t visited the ARCA | CRA Super Series tour since their trip to Winchester last month. In the World Stock Car Festival race, Bearden started second but finished sixth.
Despite a solid finish at one of the most demanding race tracks on the circuit, Bearden left the track disappointed and vowed to return to the track more than two months later better than they were on Labor Day weekend.
To prepare for the Oct. 16 race, the team opted to skip Glass City 200 at Toledo Speedway two weeks later with a spirited focus on working on their No. 66 Bearden Automotive | Parker Electric Ford Mustang to be more competitive.
Happy with the results during an open test at the famed half-mile short track last week,
Bearden and his family-owned team return to the famed race track looking for big results in one of the most anticipated short track races of the year.
“The test we had went well,” Bearden said. “It was nice to be able to try things without the stress of a normal race weekend. We made so good gains that seem to have produced speed, so we hope to return to the track this weekend and pick up where we left off.”
Sunday’s race will be one of the longest races of the season with 400 laps or 1,600 turns around the legendary facility, but Bearden is up for the challenge and feels that his Bearden Motorsports team can showcase in a grueling and griding race like the Winchester 400.
“I feel good about this weekend,” added Bearden. “I enjoy these longer races where quite a bit of strategy takes place. The most important battle for us is making sure we keep up with the handling of our No. 66 Bearden Automotive | Parker Electric Ford Mustang – while staying on the lead lap.
“If we can keep up with the pace of the race, I feel the longevity of the race will play into our hands and we should have an opportunity to contend for the win.”
Looking for his first win of the season in the ARCA | CRA Super Series powered by JEGS tour this season, Bearden is obviously hunting for the opportunity to hoist the trophy on Sunday afternoon, but if a win isn’t in the cards – Bearden said a podium finish would be a great rebound for his team.
“We are coming to Winchester this weekend with the thoughts of winning the race,” Bearden explained.
“This is also an opportunity for our team to rebound. We weren’t satisfied with our efforts the last time we were at Winchester – and skipped the next race at Toledo to make sure we were in a better place this
time around.
“Tons of arduous work by everyone on this team I think will pay off on Sunday. I’m grateful to everyone for their hard work and can’t wait to get on the track.”
In addition to Bearden Automotive and Parker Electric, All In Designs, Marc Metz Racing, AIRBOX Air Purifier and AM Racing will serve as associate marketing partners for Bearden’s penultimate race of the season.
Pits will open on Saturday, July 30th at 11:00 a.m. Practice will begin at 2:15 p.m. with the ARCA | CRA Super Series having two 45-minute practice sessions with the one-day format of the event.
The Winchester 400 is 400 laps counting cautions and is a 12-tire race. The event will once again feature Controlled Cautions in an effort to save teams the cost of bringing in professional pit crews.
When a yellow comes out teams will have two laps to service their race car without losing laps or positions on pit road.
Those cars will then line up behind the cars that did not pit at that yellow. Teams not getting out of the pits in the two laps will have to fall to the tail of the field and will risk losing laps.
As in the past, teams will only be allowed to change a maximum of two tires per yellow flag.
The format for the Winchester 400 has also been changed for the 51st edition, in an effort to save teams some expenses for the weekend.
The ARCA | CRA Super Series teams will just be at the track for two days, they will move in, have two one-hour practice sessions and qualify on Saturday, October 15.
The 51st Winchester 400 presented by Vore’s Welding & Steel will take place on Sunday, October 16, with a green flag at 2:00 p.m. ET.
For more on Logan Bearden, please visit LoganBearden.com, like his Facebook page (Logan Bearden Racing) or follow him on Twitter @LoganBearden66.
