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Cody Coughlin and Dalton Armstrong entered Monday’s ARCA/CRA Super Series 100 at Winchester Speedway in what was essentially a dead heat, separated by just 13 points with three races remaining in the 2016 season.

100 laps later, the championship picture has become a bit more clear.

Advantage: Coughlin.

Coughlin’s pole award and subsequent win in the Labor Day tuneup for the Winchester 400, paired with a mid-race spin and struggles for Armstrong, combined to give the Ohioan a significant edge in the points standings with just two races remaining in the 2016 season.

Coughlin leaves Winchester with a 26-point advantage over Armstrong, with just a late-September race at Lucas Oil Raceway and October’s return to Winchester separating him from his first ARCA/CRA Super Series championship. Wes Griffith, Jr., sits 84 points back in third.

“We got the pole. Won the race. Got max points,” Coughlin said. “That’s all you can do, so we’re going to try to do that every time. I always say if you can win, the points takes care of itself, so we’re happy.”

Coughlin’s joy comes at the expense of Armstrong, who battled Dalton Sargeant for the lead early in Monday’s race before contact with Todd Gilliland sent the Indiana native spinning off of Turn 2. Armstrong fell outside of the top 10 after the incident, but dodged late crashes and fought back through the field to salvage a fourth-place result and stay within reach of the championship.

Following Monday’s disappointing result, the 2015 JEGS CRA All-Stars Tour champion has thrown points racing out of the window. The only thing that matters to the Armstrong now are wins.

“I don’t know, I just don’t really care about it anymore,” Armstrong said of the points battle. “If the championship happens, it happens.

“We’re just going to race.  That’s really all you can do. We’re going to go race for wins now.”

Armstrong’s title hopes took a hit in Monday’s race, but with a maximum of 220 points available across the final two events, the 22-year-old still had a chance. The New Castle, Indiana native will get two opportunities in his home state to close the gap to Coughlin.

However, with his second Winchester victory in three years, Coughlin sent a statement to Armstrong as the season nears its end.

The championship runs through him.

If Armstrong wants it, he’ll have to take it away.

CRA championship standings:

Cody Coughlin Ldr.
Dalton Armstrong -25
Wes Griffith Jr. -84

For the sake of reference, there are 110 points availiable per race and 220 overall between the final two races of the season.

Aaron Bearden is a contributing writer for Short Track Scene. Having grown up watching NASCAR and IndyCar, Bearden began following short track racing during his high school years before starting a blog about racing in college. A writer for Frontstretch and Motorsports Tribune, Bearden also covers NASCAR, IndyCar and other forms of open wheel racing.

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