ANDERSON – For the second consecutive year a driver from north of the border won the Redbud 400 at Anderson Speedway.
Kye Steckley started third in the field Saturday and ran close to the top five for much of the race. He joins fellow Canadians Junior Hanley and Cole Butcher as race winners. But it was tire strategy that allowed the rookie driver with the series to score the biggest win of his career.
Redbud 400 Official Race Results
“We struggled yesterday (Friday) and went to work,” he said in the Riley & Sons Victory Lane. “The thing was a rocket ship all day.
“I don’t think people realize how big these events are and how special this is,” Steckley said. “I’ve been watching these races since I was a little kid. I just wanted to win something like this, a crown jewel event.”
Steckley’s crew elected not to pit with the other leaders on 215 and didn’t take the last rubber until lap 280.
“We saved the tires and made the most of it,” he said.
Steckley took the lead from Austin Nason on lap 337 with an inside pass entering turn one. It was his first career win with the ASA Stars National Tour.
Steckley won by 2-seconds over Nason with Gio Ruggerio coming home in third with Derek Kraus the last car to finish on the lead lap.
Nason who saw a win slip away in 2022 said the team pitted early, which changed their strategy.
“I don’t know if it was the tires or me driving too hard,” he said. “It was us two at the top of the board every (practice) session. We’ll try to come back and do it again.”
Defending race winner Butcher set fast time during qualifying but pitted before the start and had to go to the back of the field.
Butcher took the lead for the first time on lap 142 from Nason, but on a restart on lap 302 was forced onto the infield grass when at the same time Cody Coughlin made contact with the turn four wall.
Butcher climbed back into the top five, but a flat right front tire resulted in a seventh place finish.
New Castle driver Dakota Armstrong drove to an eighth place finish after spinning in turn two on lap 292 and losing several laps. Muncie’s JP Crabtree finished 11th
There were eight lead changes among three drivers and a total of nine caution periods for 56 laps.
