9/20/2025
Crate Racin' USA
Balkey, Cruse Win CRUSA Weekly Races at Paduch
(Paducah, KY – September 20, 2025) – Fans at Paducah International Raceway were treated to an exciting night of Crate Racin’ USA Weekly Racing Series action on Saturday, featuring competitive battles across both the Late Model Sportsman and Street Stock divisions.
The CRUSA Late Model Sportsman division brought 11 entries to the high-banked Kentucky oval, with Cory Balkey (No. 9) proving to be the class of the field. Balkey set the tone early, topping qualifying with a blistering 17.673-second lap, before backing it up with a heat race victory and a dominant drive in the 15-lap A-Main.
Balkey started from the pole and never looked back, cruising to victory lane for a clean sweep on the night. Keaton Downing (No. 57) raced his way from the second row to finish runner-up, while Brody Yarbrough (No. 48) climbed from the fifth starting position to complete the podium.
Full A-Main Results (15 Laps): 1. 9-Cory Balkey[1]; 2. 57-Keaton Downing[3]; 3. 48-Brody Yarbrough[5]; 4. 88-Dustin Rollins[9]; 5. 23-Nathaniel Miller[8]; 6. 21-Cameron Rank[11]; 7. 11-Tait Davenport[4]; 8. 18-Trey Davenport[6]; 9. 71-Brian Shaffer[7]; 10. 92-Nolyn Forrester[2]; 11. (DNS) 13-Cary King
The CRUSA Street Stocks brought 8 entries to the night’s program, and the feature event produced plenty of side-by-side action. Tony Cruse (No. 7) emerged as the night’s star, charging from his second-place starting spot to claim the 14-lap main event win.
Behind him, Corey Kellems (No. 12) battled forward to secure the runner-up spot, while Luke Rutter (No. 18) rebounded from an earlier DNS in qualifying to drive from the sixth starting position to a strong third-place finish.
Full A-Main Results (14 Laps): 1. 7-Tony Cruse[2]; 2. 12-Corey Kellems[4]; 3. 18-Luke Rutter[6]; 4. 3M-Justin McDaniel[3]; 5. 1-Tanner Davenport[5]; 6. 99-Josh Moreland[7]; 7. 33-Michael Hendrickson[1]; 8. 4-Jr Baize[8]
The next event on tap will be the Bluegrass 101 Enduro on Saturday, September 27, 2025, featuring 101 laps for $5,000-to-win, along with a Youth Enduro ($250-to-win) and the Midwest Throwback Sprint Cars ($1,000-to-win).
Event Schedule:
Pits Open: 3:00 PM
Gates Open: 5:00 PM
Hot Laps: 5:30 PM
Tickets:
General Admission: $15
Children 5 & Under: FREE
Pit Pass (Adult): $40
Pit Pass (Child 4-10): $30
Article Credit: Cody Earley