CLERMONT, Ind. — Travis Braden became the eighth first-time winner in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards after utilizing a four-tire strategy on Friday night to triumph in his series debut in the Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 presented by Federated Car Care at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Braden who at one time was a lap down during the race took advantage of a free pass and a gutsy pit call by crew chief Matt Weber to charge through the field and pass a dominate William Byron inside the final 30 laps for the victory.
A West Virginia native Braden has enjoyed multiple successes before debuting in the ARCA Racing Series. He hailed as the reigning ARCA / CRA champion and has competed in many prestigious events across the country, including the All American 400, Winchester 400, as well as Denny Hamlin’s Short Track Showdown.
Braden’s bold and aggressive charge through the field left many of his competitors speechless and oblivious to the importance of new Hoosier tires on long green flag runs.
“I knew we would have a chance, but the way it played out I could never have imagined that,” Braden said. “I was confident we would get back on the lead lap, but I didn’t know how I was going to get the lead.”
With a caution, Braden would find himself in a horrendous battle with some of the sport’s regulars, which was also sprinkled with a wealth of youth at the short track just outside of downtown Indianapolis.
Through it all, Braden climbed from 13th to the pass the likes of pole sitter Kyle Weatherman, series’ point’s leader Grant Enfinger and famed HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks K&N drivers William Byron and J.J. Haley.
Byron settled for second in his ARCA debut for Venturini Motorsports with Tom Hessert III, Haley and Brandon Jones rounding out the top-five. Josh Williams was sixth followed by Weatherman, Enfinger, Austin Wayne Self and Chase Briscoe to comprise the top-10.
Although Braden was unknown to some fans coming into Friday night’s Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 presented by Federated Car Care, he certainly made a statement that will be entrenched in fans and competitor minds for some time and definitely entrenched in the legacy that is the ARCA Racing Series.
ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Race Results
Lucas Oil Raceway, Sioux Chief PowerPEX 200 (7-24-15)
| FIN | STR | NO | DRIVER/HOMETOWN | LAPS | STATUS |
| 1 | 8 | 01 | Travis Braden/Wheeling WV | 200 | Running |
| 2 | 2 | 55 | William Byron/Charlotte NC | 200 | Running |
| 3 | 7 | 77 | Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ | 200 | Running |
| 4 | 33 | 74 | J.J. Haley/Winamac IN | 200 | Running |
| 5 | 3 | 25 | Brandon Jones/Atlanta GA | 200 | Running |
| 6 | 14 | 6 | Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL | 200 | Running |
| 7 | 1 | 22 | Kyle Weatherman/Wentzville MO | 200 | Running |
| 8 | 4 | 23 | Grant Enfinger/Fairhope AL | 200 | Running |
| 9 | 17 | 98 | Austin Wayne Self/Austin TX | 200 | Running |
| 10 | 5 | 72 | Chase Briscoe/Mitchell IN | 200 | Running |
| 11 | 9 | 52 | Ken Schrader/Fenton MO | 199 | Running |
| 12 | 11 | 27 | A.J. Fike/Galesburg IL | 199 | Running |
| 13 | 10 | 29 | Brian Keselowski/Rochester Hills MI | 198 | Running |
| 14 | 15 | 5 | Bobby Gerhart/Lebanon PA | 197 | Running |
| 15 | 6 | 10 | Clayton Weatherman/Wentzville MO | 197 | Running |
| 16 | 12 | 69 | Matt Wallace/Concord NC | 197 | Running |
| 17 | 19 | 42 | Bo LeMastus/Louisville KY | 194 | Running |
| 18 | 18 | 2 | Sarah Cornett-Ching/Summerland BC | 194 | Running |
| 19 | 23 | 9 | Thomas Praytor/Mobile AL | 190 | Running |
| 20 | 20 | 80 | Scott Reeves/Royal Palm Beach FL | 190 | Running |
| 21 | 21 | 73 | Dale Shearer/Chillicothe MO | 184 | Running |
| 22 | 13 | 59 | David Levine/Highland Park IL | 182 | Running |
| 23 | 30 | 40 | Jordan Williams/New Palestine IN | 179 | Running |
| 24 | 24 | 31 | Richard Hauck/Howell MI | 175 | Running |
| 25 | 25 | 06 | Tyler Miles/Pulaski TN | 164 | Running |
| 26 | 22 | 48 | James Swanson/Clarksboro NJ | 118 | Electrical |
| 27 | 26 | 97 | Chris Lafferty/Vacaville CA | 98 | Electrical |
| 28 | 16 | 68 | Brian Finney/Merritt Island FL | 74 | Accident |
| 29 | 31 | 0 | Con Nicolopoulos/Columbus MI | 28 | Handling |
| 30 | 28 | 3 | Josh White/Charleston WV | 8 | Transmssn |
| 31 | 29 | 58 | Michael Lira/Port Orange FL | 6 | Brakes |
| 32 | 34 | 67 | Mark Meunier/Louisville KY | 5 | Vibration |
| 33 | 27 | 81 | Kevin Campbell/St. Louis MO | 2 | Suspnsn |
| 34 | 32 | 00 | Mike Abram/St. Louis MO | 1 | Handling |
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
Catchfence.com guest writer Zach Roethlisberger contributed to this report.
