WINCHESTER, Ind. – Caleb Armstrong made his first-ever visit to Winchester Speedway Sunday afternoon count in a big way.
By day’s end, Armstrong had not only captured the 40-lap Auto Value Super Sprints feature, he’d also picked up a hefty $8,000 payday for his efforts.
Non-wing sprint cars made their return to Winchester Speedway for the first time in eight years Sunday afternoon. A solid crowd greeted the event that was part of the annual Old Timers Weekend.
Armstrong was the day’s quick qualifier, touring the high-banked half-mile speedway with a lap of 14.475 seconds.
Polesitter Kyle O’Gara got the jump and led the opening seven laps before surrendering the lead to Bobby Santos III. Armstrong, who started eighth, didn’t waste time and seized the lead from Santos on lap 19.
Once he was out in front, Armstrong never looked back.
Santos, Aaron Pierce, and Jacob Wilson contested a furious battle for second place While Armstrong built up a sizeable lead. At the checkered flag Wilson claimed second followed by Santos, Pierce, and Shane Cottle rounding out the top five.
The 40-lap race went caution free and was completed in 10 minutes, 31 seconds.
In victory lane Armstrong explained how special the Winchester Speedway win was for him.
“Man, this is awesome,” Armstrong said. “A lot of guys have run here, and I always wanted to come here since I was a little kid. USAC quit running here before I turned 16. I never thought I’d get to run here. Then they announced this race. It was cool to come here and race, and awesome to win here my first time.”
The newcomer was fast right out of the box and explained why he was successful in his maiden Winchester Speedway visit.
“My right foot. You just gotta hammer down here,” noted Armstrong. “This place is fast. I feel more comfortable the heavier I am with the throttle here. I also got a good crew chief in Kevin Besecker. We had this thing fast from the get-go. It was on rails. Santos was difficult get around because he had so much speed. I finally crossed him over coming out of four and got around him.
“I was hoping for no cautions the rest of the way,” Armstrong added. “It surprisingly went that way and we stayed out front.”
The finish:
Caleb Armstrong, Jacob Wilson, Bobby Santos III, Aaron Pierce, Shane Cottle, Kyle O’Gara, Tyler Roahrig, Tony Main, Christian Koehler, Brian Vaughn, Ronnie Gardner, Johnny Petrozelle, Tom Geren, Chris Randolph, Doug Dietsch, Joe Ligouri.