Bold move on late restart gives rookie second East win
Lee, NH — Darrell Wallace Jr. made a three-wide pass for the lead with two laps to go and held on for the victory Friday in the K&N Pro Series 125 at Lee USA Speedway.
Wallace started behind Ryan Truex and Eddie MacDonald on the race’s final restart. Truex and MacDonald had swapped the lead four times over the previous 35 laps, and appeared setting up for a final dash to the checkers for the win. But it was Wallace who had drove up through the field after getting tangled up in an early race incident and wound up stealing the spotlight. He dove inside the side-by-side leaders going into Turn 3, and emerged with the lead coming out of Turn 4.
It was the second NASCAR K&N Pro Series East win of the season for the 16-year-old Revolution Racing driver from Mobile, Ala. Wallace won the season opener in March at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway. That victory had made the Drive for Diversity member the youngest winner in series history.
Continue reading ‘Wallace Steals The Show At Lee’
Daytona Beach, FL — The seventh race of the 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season will be the NASCAR K&N Pro Series 125 at Lee (N.H.) USA Speedway on Friday, July 30.
At Lee USA Speedway:
History
• Opened in 1964 as Lee Raceway and was a .333-mile dirt tri-oval … Was paved a year later.
• After five dormant years, the track was reconfigured, renamed Lee USA Speedway and reopened in 1984.
• Was purchased by the current ownership in 1986 and has operated a weekly program since.
Notebook
• Played host to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East 16 times from 1992-2004.
• Kelly Moore won the inaugural NKNPS East race at Lee on June 7, 1992.
• Dave Dion leads all drivers with seven poles at Lee while Brad Leighton has the most wins with four, earned consecutively from 1996-99.
• Of the drivers on the preliminary entry list, only Matt Kobyluck (six starts) and Eddie MacDonald (four) have previous NKNPS East experience at Lee.
Continue reading ‘Statistical Advance: Analyzing The NASCAR K&N Pro Series 125 At Lee USA Speedway’
The next stop for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will take place at an old familiar facility.
Lee (N.H.) USA Speedway, has returned to the schedule for the first time since the 2004 season. The .375-mile banked oval played host to the K&N Pro Series East 16 times from 1992-2004.
While the NASCAR K&N Pro Series 125 will be the first trip for the vast majority of teams and drivers to Lee, for one driver, it will be a homecoming.
Eddie MacDonald, who hails from Rowley, Mass., has a strong connection to the New Hampshire short track. As the son of track owner and operator Red MacDonald, he has spent many a Friday night at Lee.
Continue reading ‘News & Notes: K&N Pro Series East Returns to Lee USA Speedway’
Lakeville, CT — It was under a perfect Friday sky that practice and qualifying for the NASCAR Doubleheader at Lime Rock Park took place, the dulcet tones of thundering V8 engines filling the valley with that unique sound of unrestricted big-block motors. The K&N Pro Series put a very healthy 28 cars on the track, while the “first-timers” – the Whelen Modified drivers – were putting on an equally good show with 24 cars.
As most folks know, the mods have never run at Lime Rock, but there was also a “first” for the K&N stockers: In the nearly 20 years that NASCAR’s AA-level stock car series has run at Lime Rock – Busch, Camping World, now K&N – they’ve always raced the classic track configuration. This year, NASCAR mandated K&N use the same layout as the Whelen Modifieds; new Uphill with classic West Bend.
For qualifying, the Mods were first up to bat. The cars went out in groups of five or six, starting with the slowest cars in practice to the quickest. Each driver had 4 minutes to put up his or her best lap on Lime Rock’s 1.5-mile, 7-turn road course.
Not unexpectedly, the eventual polesitter came from the last group out. It was a 4-minute dogfight as three drivers were at some point the quickest, but in the end the fastest lap was put up by a driver with roadracing in his background, albeit 14 years ago: Todd Szegedy of Ridgefield, Conn. His :53.099 edged fellow home-stater Ted Christopher’s :53.220 for pole. (Christopher is second in the Whelen Modified Tour points standings coming into Lime Rock.) Young Erick Rudolph of New York, who had been second-quick in the two practice sessions, wound up third on the grid, alongside Mike Stefanik.
Continue reading ‘Mod & Stock Car Qualifying at Lime Rock’
Defending series champion has won past two road course events
Ryan Truex (No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota) heaved a huge sigh of relief as he sat down for the post-race press conference this past Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
While Truex had entered the race weekend leading the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in points, he was still searching for his first win.
Mission accomplished.
Truex dominated the New England 125 en route to his first victory of 2010 and the first at the ‘Magic Mile.’ Now he heads to Lime Rock Park this Saturday with another goal: successful repeat of his trip to Victory Lane from a year ago.
Continue reading ‘News & Notes: Everybody Is Chasing Truex Once Again As The East Turns To Lime Rock’
Joins Father, Brother As K&N Pro Series East Victors At NHMS
Loudon, NH — Ryan Truex became the third member of his family to reach Victory Lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday as he dominated the New England 125 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race.
Truex took the lead on Lap 60 and never looked back as the Mayetta, N.J., driver joined his brother NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Martin Truex Jr., and his father, Martin Sr., on the K&N Pro Series East winners list at New Hampshire.
“My brother and my dad won here, and I finally got a win here,” Truex said. “I’m really happy about it.”
Continue reading ‘Truex Cruises To New Hampshire Victory’
Columbian Teenager To Run For Fadden Racing At Lime Rock
Loudon, NH — Longtime NASCAR K&N Pro Series East team Fadden Racing announced Thursday afternoon that development driver Julian Camilo Albarracin will make his series debut next weekend on the road course at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.
Team owner Mike Olsen, who is fielding a car for Jonathan Smith in Saturday’s New England 125, said he’s looking forward to working with the 16-year-old driver from Colombia. Fadden Racing will enter Albarracin in Late Model events in New England as well as test extensively with the K&N Series cars.
“Obviously, he’s very young — which is good, because we can work with him,” said Olsen, a two-time series champion as a driver.
Continue reading ‘NOTEBOOK: Albarracin Ready For NASCAR’
Daytona Beach, FL — In advance of this week’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, drivers from both series will participate in “NASCAR Night” activities at the Lowell Spinners minor league baseball game on Wednesday, June 23.
This will mark the second year in a row that drivers from the K&N Pro Series East and Whelen Modified Tour will participate in the Spinners’ “NASCAR Night” in advance of the quadruple-header of NASCAR racing this week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Drivers Ryan Gifford, Matt Kobyluck, Brett Moffitt, Sergio Pena and Joey Polewarczyk will be in attendance to represent the K&N Pro Series East at the Spinners’ promotional night while the Whelen Modified Tour will have drivers Richie Pallai Jr., Ryan Preece, Glen Reen and Andy Seuss on hand.
The race cars of Preece and Kobyluck will be on display at the main entrance as fans enter the park.
Continue reading ‘Touring Series Drivers Set To Participate In Lowell Spinners “NASCAR Night”’
As the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first of two races on the 2010 schedule, Eddie MacDonald has to be smiling.
For a number of reasons, the annual stops for the K&N Pro Series East at the Loudon, N.H., track are the highlight of MacDonald’s season. For starters, the “Magic Mile” is a mere 90-minute drive from his hometown of Rowley, Mass. But MacDonald would surely drive across the country just to experience the success he’s had in his back yard.
MacDonald and the No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet team has won three of the last four races at New Hampshire. The run started with a sweep of the summer and fall races in 2008, and a return to Victory Lane in the second race a year ago. No driver has experienced that level of success in Loudon since Brad Leighton captured three-in-a-row in 2001-02.
Continue reading ‘News & Notes: K&N Pro Series East Heads To New Hampshire For New England 125′
Loudon, NH – New Hampshire Motor Speedway is inviting all race fans to attend “FanFest,” a celebration dedicated to NASCAR fans, with food, music, fun and much more on Thursday, June 24 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the Broadway Midway.
Fan favorite and driver of the No. 31 LENOX Industrial Tools Chevrolet Jeff Burton will kick off this year’s festival with a question-and-answer session hosted by WOKQ’s Morning Waking Crew, Mark Ericson and Karen Kiley.
Country singer Chuck Wicks, who appeared on the hit TV show Dancing with the Stars, will headline this year’s concert.
Continue reading ‘Jeff Burton to Kick off “FanFest” and an Action Packed NASCAR Weekend’
Oftentimes, winning one of the season’s biggest races is but the beginning of the story. For Eddie MacDonald, winning at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the final chapter in the ultimate underdog story.
How “underdog” is the New England born and bred NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver?
When MacDonald first won at New Hampshire in June of 2008, four of the five cars finishing directly behind him were fielded by Sprint Cup Series teams. It was just the fourth win at the time in a career spanning more than 100 series starts. And one of the most crucial suspension pieces on his winning No. 71 Chevrolet had been crafted, quite literally, in a basement.
Two years later, it seems as though the victory still hasn’t quite sunk in.
Continue reading ‘HOME COOKING: MacDonald Shines On New England Soil’
Daytona Beach, FL — The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today it will celebrate the top short-track drivers from throughout North America with end of the season awards banquets Dec. 10-11.
NASCAR will return to Charlotte with a special week of activities culminating with the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 10 and the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala on Saturday, Dec. 11. The banquets will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center’s Crown Ballroom in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Fans throughout the U.S. and Canada, and around the globe, will again be able to watch the festivities from both nights via a live webcast on nascarhometracks.com.
Continue reading ‘Crown Ballroom at NASCAR Hall of Fame To Host 2010 Weekly & Touring Banquets’
Rookie makes it a winning trip back to South Boston
S. Boston, VA — Max Gresham returned to the track where he made his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut a year ago and drove to Victory Lane Saturday at South Boston Speedway.
Gresham finished fifth in the 2009 event. He only made three starts last season to maintain his Sunoco Rookie of the Year eligibility for 2010.
Gresham collected his first 21 Means 21 presented by Coors Light Pole Award Saturday afternoon and led all but four of the 150 laps. However, he had his hands full holding off a furious late-race charge from fellow rookie Cole Whitt, which featured the two racing side-by-side in the closing stages. Gresham was finally able to break clear over the last 10 laps and secure to the win.
Continue reading ‘Happy Returns For Gresham’
W. Boylston, MA — Eighteen year-old Derek Ramstrom, a graduate of the PASS North Series and a Thompson International Speedway weekly Super Late Model racer, will run for rookie of the year honors in the NASCAR Pro Series East for NDS Motorsport’s Waste Management Recycling team’s #35 car this season.
“It’s just amazing,” said Ramstrom, who was the youngest track champion in Thompson International Speedway history , in 2009, winning four races en route to the Super Late Model title. “I really couldn’t ask for a better opportunity than this, NDS Motorsports has fielded competitive cars in the series for many years.” The experience acquired by his time racing at Thompson, which is described by Derek as the largest and fastest short track in New England, has-in his opinion-prepared him to move up to the Pro Series of NASCAR.
Despite his relative youth, Derek notes that he will not be the youngest driver in the Pro Series in the coming season. For instance, 2009 Champion Ryan Truex is only seventeen. Winning the first Pass Late Model Outlaw series championship in 2005 at the age of thirteen, Ramstrom now enters a series that abounds in quality teams supporting some of the most promising young drivers in the nation.
Continue reading ‘Ramstrom to Run NASCAR Pro East Series in 2010′
Daytona Beach, FL — NASCAR has announced today the television schedule for its developmental series for 2010.
The expanded calendar includes 21 events on SPEED for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and seven races for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. This comprehensive package includes airing of every race on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West schedules. Three of the Whelen Modified Tours will air as same-day televised events.
SPEED, anchored by its popular and wide-ranging coverage of NASCAR, is the nation’s first and only cable television network dedicated to automotive and motorcycle racing, performance and lifestyle. The NASCAR Developmental Series programming will air Thursdays at 6 p.m. ET.
“Our NASCAR Developmental Series all have a strong and passionate fan base, and we saw the results in the viewership of last year’s events and in January for our postseason showcase, the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR managing director of racing operations. “Our fans spoke, and we listened. We are thrilled to be able to work with our television partners to provide extensive coverage of the talented drivers and tracks that help form the foundation of this sport.”
Continue reading ‘NASCAR Announces Developmental Series 2010 TV Schedule’
Three-Time 2009 Winner Set For Irwindale Debut
Daytona Beach, FL — NASCAR Camping World Series East Champion Ryan Truex is the first driver to confirm his intention to compete in the 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown on Jan. 29-30 in Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.).
“I’m really excited about the Showdown,” Truex said. “You’re racing against some of the best drivers in the country. All of those guys can drive and they have the records to prove it. If you win the Showdown, you can say you’ve beaten the best of the best.”
Continue reading ‘East Champ Truex Headed To Toyota All-Star Showdown’
Inaugural Event Celebrates Accomplishments Of 2009
Concord, NC — Five champions in NASCAR’s developmental series were honored during the inaugural Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala in the Concord (N.C.) Convention Center on Saturday night.
The festivities featured the champions and top drivers from all of NASCAR’s North American regional touring series, who gathered for the special year-end celebration at the hub of stock-car racing.
The 2009 champions included Ryan Truex (NASCAR Camping World Series East), Jason Bowles (NASCAR Camping World Series West), Donny Lia (NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), George Brunnhoelzl III (NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour), and Andrew Ranger (NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1).
Continue reading ‘NASCAR Champions Honored In Night Of Champions Touring Awards Gala’
Daytona Beach, FL — NASCAR has announced the 2010 schedule for the NASCAR Camping World Series East that include a total of 10 events across eight states.
“The NASCAR Camping World Series continues to visit key markets and top race tracks up and down the East Coast,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR Managing Director of Racing Operations. “The diverse schedule should provide for an exciting season of racing and an excellent opportunity for NASCAR’s rising stars to gain experience.”
The 2010 season will be highlighted by three companion events with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. New Hampshire Motor Speedway will have its traditional events on June 25 and Sept. 17 in Loudon, N.H., while the champion will once again be crowned at Dover (Del.) International Speedway on Sept. 24.
New to the Camping World Series East schedule in 2010 will be the high-banked half mile of Gresham Motorsports Park. The Jefferson, Ga., track is on the schedule for Aug. 28.
Continue reading ’2010 NASCAR Camping World Series East Schedule Announced’
NASCAR double-header date is July 2-3, 2010
The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour is coming to Lime Rock Park for the first time ever, joining the Camping World Series East race weekend of July 2-3, 2010. Both races are scheduled at this point to be 66-laps (101 miles).
The Whelen Tour has not held a road-course race since 2000. The 625 h.p., 2,500 lb., 150 m.p.h. modifieds will run Lime Rock’s 1.53-mile circuit in the traditional clockwise direction.
Modifieds represent NASCAR’s oldest division (the first NASCAR-sanctioned event was a modified race), and what is now the popular Whelen Modified Tour begins its 26th year in 2010.
Continue reading ‘NASCAR Times Two: Whelen Modifieds to Race at Lime Rock Park Same Weekend as Camping World Series East’
Truex rules karting event
Concord, NC — Champions Week is in full swing. All five of NASCAR’s touring series title winners, along with the champion of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, have made their way to the center of the NASCAR world for a full week of activities leading up to the NASCAR Touring Series Awards Gala and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet.
NASCAR champions Jason Bowles (Camping World Series West), George Brunnhoelzl III (Whelen Southern Modified Tour), Donny Lia (Whelen Modified Tour), Philip Morris (Whelen All-American Series), Andrew Ranger (Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1) and Ryan Truex (Camping World Series East) are on hand to celebrate their achievements over the course of the 2009 season.
After taking part in several media interviews in the morning hours including an appearance by Morris and Truex on the FOX News Rising program from the studios of WCCB in Charlotte, the six champions geared up for the highlight of the day – the Second Annual NASCAR Toyota Champions/Media Go-Kart Showdown presented by Sirius XM Radio.
Held at Victory Lane Karting, an indoor karting facility located in Charlotte housing a challenging .333-mile track, Truex made the Camping World Series East proud by taking the checkered flag.
Continue reading ‘Champions Week In Full Swing’
