WINCHESTER, Ind. -- Alex Bowman used a late four-tire pit stop to his advantage and seized the race lead for the final time on Lap 170 before leading the final 31 laps to win the Herr's Chase the Taste 200 at Winchester Speedway. Bowman's win is his second this year and the fourth of his career.

Bowman (No. 22 Cunningham Motorsports Dodge), who also won at the very similar Salem Speedway in April, first led two single laps just before the race's halfway point. He lurked behind the leaders until passing Erik Jones - who had taken two tires in the pits - on the race's final green flag run to stay at the front for good.

Just as he did in his first career victory at Madison International Speedway last year, Bowman dedicated the victory to a lost friend.

"I didn't win that race; the pit crew guys did," said Bowman, who started fifth. "I've just got to thank everybody at Cunningham Motorsports. It's awesome to get St. Jude's (Children's Research Hospital) back in Victory Lane, and it's really cool to have the Impellizeri family here. It means a lot to me. Losing Scott was pretty tough. He was one of my really good friends so I've got to dedicate this win to him again.

"We were so evenly matched with the 25 (Brennan Poole) that I kept trying to get around him. I got somewhere around him one time when the caution came out. From there, their guys beat us off pit road, but our guys made up for it with that four-tire pit stop and I've got to thank Briggs Cunningham, Penske engines, Paul Andrews, Kerry Scherer, my grandma, God."

Poole (No. 25 Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet) led 71 laps early but trailed Bowman as the race wound down. He closed to within one tenth of a second with 13 laps to go, but lost ground over the final 10 laps before popping a tire just before taking the white flag. He held on for second place, 6.424 seconds behind Bowman. Jones (No. 55 Paragon Corvette Restoration Chevrolet), who led 41 laps and was bidding to become the ARCA Racing Series' youngest winner, finished third.

Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell winner Chris Buescher (No. 17 Reliance Tool/David Ragan Ford Ford) led the first 35 laps after coming just short of Ryan Blaney's 2011 track qualifying record on Saturday. Poole and Jones both passed him on Lap 36, and Poole built a short lead before Chad Hackenbracht popped his right front tire on Lap 42. Poole led again out of the green flag at Lap 50, but Jones almost passed him on Lap 53. His car went somewhat sideways, though, and Bowman found his way past after running third. He closed Poole's lead to under one tenth of a second on Laps 56-58, but Poole picked up the pace and kept getting away.

Bowman got close again at Lap 71 with Jones staying close in third and Frank Kimmel (No. 44 Ansell/Menards Toyota) over a second back in fourth. The leaders had to drive behind Spencer Gallagher and Nelson Canache, who were battling for 11th on the tail end of the lead lap, and all successfully passed the duo on Lap 79 as Kimmel drove to pit road to change a busted tire.

Bowman finally passed for the lead on Lap 92, but Poole took it back the next time around. Just as Bowman took the lead again, Tom Hessert crashed to bring out another caution. ARCA officials awarded Bowman the Lap 94 lead, but he drove to pit road the next time around. Poole, pitting past the start/finish line while Bowman pitted before, officially led Lap 95, and won the race off of pit road. He held first out of the Lap 100 green flag and kept that position for several laps.

Jones was charging, though. Having started third at Lap 100, he drove by Bowman for second on Lap 108 and took the lead from Poole one lap later. Within six laps, he had a 1.778-second lead.

Dale Shearer crashed as the leaders drove on Lap 117. Buescher, who had fallen off the lead lap earlier, took the Aaron's Lucky Dog and assumed the ninth position on the lead lap behind Jones, Poole, Bowman, Matt Lofton (No. 16 Strutmasters.com Chevrolet), Mason Mingus (No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Toyota), Jared Marks (No. 12 Premium Energy VIP Dodge), Gallagher (No. 23 Allegiant Air Chevrolet), and Josh Williams (No. 02 Southwest Florida Cable Construction Chevrolet).

Jones led out of the Lap 123 green flag and built a 2.8-second lead on Poole by Lap 141. Bowman was just behind Poole, racing the points leader side-by-side to stay within three seconds of Jones. Nelson Canache and Larry Barford Jr. crashed on Lap 147, though, tightening the field again.

The leaders drove to pit road to close Lap 149. Among the top contenders, Jones and Lofton elected to take two tires on pit road. Bowman, Poole, and Buescher each took four, though, a choice that would prove meaningful.

Marks and Williams gambled by not pitting and assumed the top two spots. Marks led Lap 150, but Jones immediately grabbed the advantage at the Lap 154 restart. He passed Williams right away and got to Marks in Turns 3 and 4. Lofton followed for second, but Bowman passed him on Lap 159 and had Jones in his sights. Poole, meanwhile, passed Lofton for third with 37 laps to go.

Bowman applied pressure to Jones five laps later, but had Poole to worry about. Bowman and Poole drove side-by-side in Turn 2 on Lap 169, which would seemingly give Jones an advantage out front. However, Bowman held Poole away and charged to the lead on Lap 170, the strength of his four-tire stop showing clearly. Poole passed Jones one lap later, setting up the final duel to the finish.

The two had to weave in and out of lapped cars over the final 30 laps, but Poole could never catch Bowman in the right place. He closed to within 0.079 second at Lap 187, but Bowman increased that advantage by a half-second over the next six laps. Pressure from Poole continued, but Poole popped a tire coming to the white flag and struggled to the finish. He held on for second but the damage handed Bowman a decisive victory over Poole and his teammate Jones.

Buescher finished fourth, just ahead of Lofton, Mingus, Gallagher, and Hackenbracht, the final drivers on the lead lap. Marks and Williams filled out the top 10, one lap off the pace.

The race lasted for one hour, 13 minutes, and 41 seconds. Poole kept the points lead over Buescher. The full results are below.

2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Event #9
Winchester Speedway, Winchester Indiana, 6-24-12
Herr's Chase The Taste 200
June 24, 2012 / 3:30 PM
FIN
STR
NO
DRIVER/HOMETOWN
LAPS
STATUS
1
5
22
Alex Bowman/Tucson AZ
200
Running
2
3
25
Brennan Poole/The Woodlands TX
200
Running
3
4
55
Erik Jones/Byron MI
200
Running
4
1
17
Chris Buescher/Prosper TX
200
Running
5
6
16
Matt Lofton/Roxboro NC
200
Running
6
10
32
Mason Mingus/Brentwood TN
200
Running
7
14
23
Spencer Gallagher/Las Vegas NV
200
Running
8
2
58
Chad Hackenbracht/New Philadelphia OH
200
Running
9
7
12
Jared Marks/Napoleon OH
199
Running
10
13
02
Josh Williams/Port Charlotte FL
199
Running
11
9
44
Frank Kimmel/Clarksville IN
198
Running
12
8
66
Clint King/Denton NC
193
Running
13
17
01
Austin Rettig/Sikeston MO
191
Running
14
22
34
Darrell Basham/Henryville IN
190
Running
15
18
04
Larry Barford Jr./Denton MD
188
Running
16
20
64
Joseph Hughs/Springfield IL
181
Running
17
19
73
Dale Shearer/Alhambra IL
171
Running
18
11
15
Ryan Reed/Bakersfield CA
160
Running
19
16
35
Nelson Canache/Caracas Venezuela
141
Accident
20
15
3
Landon Cling/Tempe AZ
100
Accident
21
12
52
Tom Hessert/Cherry Hill NJ
90
Accident
22
24
79
Mike Koch/Mountain Home AR
71
Handling
23
32
94
Ronnie Souders Jr./North Canton OH
68
Handling
24
30
06
Tommy O'Leary/Cygnet OH
57
Handling
25
23
48
James Hylton/Inman SC
49
Steering
26
25
0
Wayne Peterson/Pulaski TN
17
Overhtng
27
27
68
Will Kimmel/Sellersburg IN
5
Radiator
28
29
10
Rick Clifton/Circleville OH
5
Brakes
29
21
69
Korbin Forrister/Cedartown GA
3
Handling
30
26
99
Zach Ralston/Marion IA
2
Handling
31
31
40
Roger Carter/Sunfield MI
2
Transmssn
32
28
95
Amber Koch/Mountain Home AR
1
Brakes
Menards Pole Award Presented by Ansell: Chris Buescher 15.903 (113.186 mph)
Margin of Victory: 6.424 seconds
Time of Race: 1:13.41
Lap Leaders: Buescher 1-35 (35); Poole 36-91, 93, 95-108, 149 (72); Bowman 92, 94, 170-200 (33);
Jones 109-148, 154-169 (56); Marks 150-153 (4)

Road course racing is the theme once this year for the ARCA Racing Series, and next weekend is the time at New Jersey Motorsports Park's challenging Thunderbolt Raceway. Teams will practice from 11:20 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. and 1:40 to 2:40 on Saturday, June 30, with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 4:30.

The 67-lap, 150-mile race - the fifth for ARCA on the New Jersey course - will start at 1 p.m. Sunday, with live timing and scoring and live audio coverage presented by the ARCA Racing Network available at ARCARacing.com. The ARCA event is one of several races scheduled over New Jersey's All-American Race Weekend presented by Global Barter Corporation.

2012 is the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards' 60th Anniversary Season, featuring 20 races at 18 tracks. The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 26 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.375 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series visited Alabama's Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota's Elko Speedway for the first time.

Founded by John and Mildred Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local weekly events.