Champion Racing Association - Taking Control

What do the drivers think about racing in the CRA Super Series? Forty-one-year-old Kenny Tweedy, from Greenfield, Indiana, has been with CRA since its inception. He won the second and third races in the series history, was the first CRA champion, and is the all-time leader in pole positions and Fifth on the all-time win list.

"I'm very fortunate to find a home here in the CRA Super Series," Tweedy says. "I have a chance to race hard on some of the great historic tracks around the country. I know that I'm never going to get to Cup, but I don't care. I'm racing."

Wheaton, Illinois, driver Eddie Hoffman is more like a World of Outlaws driver. He has raced all over the country with amazing success, and this year is no exception. He will run races with the ASA Late Model Series, both the North and South Divisions, as well as selected CRA Super Series races.

Hoffman loves running with CRA, saying, "I raced with ARTGO and the RE/MAX Challenge Series for years, and the CRA Super Series is the closest racing to that. Every race there are a dozen guys you have to beat if you want to take the win. It's very racy and I love that part of it."

Jeff Fultz moved from his Cincinnati home to Charlotte to improve his racing career, and it turned out to be a smart move.

He joined the NASCAR Southeast Tour, formerly the All Pro Series, in 1997 after having won a race there the previous year. It didn't take long for Fultz to prove his worth. Before NASCAR shut down the series, Fultz had amassed 26 wins, three championships, and 90 Top 10 finishes in just 138 starts.

This year, Fultz is running in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series as well as CRA.

"It's a good series." Fultz says. "They have gotten everybody up to the same level again. I like racing here; it's a lot like the old ASA with a mix of guys like me as well as a lot of young talent."

So, with all of this praise, how is the actual racing?

It can be summed up with one word: tremendous.

That may sound like a ridiculous statement for a race that saw the pole sitter lead 149 of 150 laps at Nashville, but as the old saying goes, statistics can lie.

Nathan Haseleu was one of Jack Roush's Craftsman Truck Series drivers in 2001 before being unceremoniously dropped halfway through the season. He actually qualified 10th fastest for the Nashville race, about 0.3 off the fastest car, but due to the Top 10 being inverted, he started on the pole. Haseleu had the lead for the start but it was never a very comfortable lead, as Sixth-Place starter Josh Vadnais pushed him constantly.

A multicar accident on the 120th lap led to a red flag and set up a fantastic finish. When the race restarted with 28 laps to go, the battle for the lead was a threesome, among Haseleu, Vadnais, and Russell Fleeman, with Haseleu and Vadnais racing side by side for the lead and Fleeman frantically searching for a way through the rolling roadblock in front of him.

The quality of the racing was evident by the fact that four drivers in the Top 10 came from starting positions of 30th or worse.

There was a scene after the race that really drove home how strong the CRA Super Series really is. A group of officials were standing together on pit road as the drivers exited their cars. Over and over again, drivers and crew members came up to the officials and either shook their hands or slapped them on the back while they thanked them for the great job they did during the race. Most of the officials are former racers themselves, and they know what the drivers and the teams go through just to race every week. This shows in their attitude, and the participants appreciate it.

With this spirit of cooperation between the officials and the teams, it's not hard to see why the CRA Super Series is taking control of asphalt Late Model racing in the Midwest and perhaps beyond.

The Super Series is not the only racing division that the Champion Racing Association sanctions. The sanctioning body also has a division for Street Stocks, a Sportsman class, and a Front Wheel Drive (FWD) Compact division, as profiled in the Oct. '06 issue of SCR.

"There are a lot of people out there who want to race, and we want CRA to be that place for them," says CRA's Glenn Luckett.

The Sportsman Division is similar to the Limited Late Model series that runs in all areas of the country. In CRA, any type of car or truck body can be used, as long as it is stock appearing. They must weigh a minimum of 2,900 pounds, with a maximum 58 percent of the weight on the left side. The cars must use a stock OEM front clip, or an aftermarket clip may be used with a 100-pound weight penalty.

Engine rules are fairly open. Cast-iron blocks and heads are the norm, but aluminum heads may be used with a 100-pound penalty. Engines under 310 ci are given a 100-pound weight advantage, engines between 310 and 364 get 50 pounds, and those over 410 ci get a 50-pound penalty.

After a seven-race initial schedule last year, the Sportsman schedule expanded to 11 races this year, all in central Indiana.

The Street Stock division is CRA's most popular. Over 60 drivers took part in last season's 14-race schedule, and it looks like more of the same this year.

The rules package is pretty simple: American-made stock chassis, 1965 or newer. Minimum weight is 3,100 pounds, with a maximum of 57 percent on the left side. The bodies and roof must be steel with stock components and locations. Engines must use cast-iron blocks and heads, with a 50-pound penalty for roller cams and lifters. Engines under 365 ci may deduct 50 pounds, and those over 412 must add 50 pounds.

Finally, there is the FWD Compact division. This is open to all front-wheel-drive, front engine compact cars, with no turbo or rotary engines allowed. The cars must be completely stock, with only passenger car tires allowed. Of course, rollcages and window nets must be installed.

The FWD Compacts will compete in eight races this year.

If there is diversity in racing cars, it lives in the Champion Racing Association.