For many years the Winchester 400 weekend has served as the championship weekend for the ARCA CRA Super Series. The race this weekend not only is one of the biggest Super Late Model races of the season for Josh Brock, but also a chance to defend his ARCA CRA Super Series Title.
“I’m super excited to have the opportunity and team to fight for our second championship in only our second full season racing with the CRA Super Series,” said Brock. “We’ve put in a lot of hard work this season and it’s all coming together for a hard 400 laps at Winchester.”
In a chase format, Brock enters the Winchester 400 as one of four CRA drivers eligible for the championship. It’s a highest finisher takes all format, so whichever of those four drivers has the highest finish will bring home the title. The Corbin, KY driver, however, is no stranger to this scenario as it’s how he won it all last year.
“I’m approaching it just like any other big race,” said Brock. “We have to prepare our car and go over everything with a fine-toothed comb. We just need to have the mindset that I can win and just have to survive. Survival will be the hardest part.”
Survive is exactly what helped Brock win the championship a year ago. Two contenders fell out of the race, but Brock found himself running behind the only other remaining title contender. But by staying loyal to his strategy and not panicking, he persevered and got back in a position to win the championship and followed that through.
“The biggest thing I learned last year was you need to finish all 400 laps,” said Brock. “You also need a competitive car and a good pit strategy, and I think we’ll be armed with all of those things again this weekend.”
After being forced to cut what was supposed to be his first CRA season short in 2017 with a cancer diagnosis, Brock has bounced back better than ever. To win two straight titles is a lifelong goal.
“I don’t feel any pressure other than I really want to be a two-time champion for me and my whole team,” said Brock. “It would be absolutely amazing to make that happen for me and my team to reward them for their hard work. My dream as a kid was to be a multi-champion of a major touring series and now I have that chance.”