News & Notes: K&N Pro Series East Returns To The Track At New Hampshire

Ryan Truex will look to move one step closer toward a second-consecutive NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title as the series returns this week to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The New Hampshire 125, slated for Friday, Sept. 17, will be the penultimate race of the 2010 season. Last time out at Gresham Motorsports Park, Truex created some additional breathing room in the standings by doubling his lead to 66 tallies on Darrell Wallace Jr.

Heading to the “Magic Mile” in Loudon, N.H., Cole Whitt and Brett Moffitt remain alive in the title hunt – mathematically – but Wallace is likely the only opponent standing between Truex and a second title in as many years competing in the series.

The season’s first appearance at New Hampshire on June 25 provides promise for both Truex and Wallace to push the championship chase to the final race of the season next week at Dover International Speedway. Truex won the New England 125 while Wallace crossed the line third in his debut at the 1.058-mile oval.

While Wallace, Whitt and Moffitt have combined to record top-10 finishes in 70-percent of their starts this year, there are a combination of scenarios that could give Truex the title in Loudon, most  predicated on a maximum starting field, Truex winning and the remaining three contenders turning in subpar efforts.

In June, Truex joined his father, Martin Sr., and older brother, Martin Jr., on the series’ wins list at New Hampshire. Already the only East Series champion in the family, the younger Truex will look to match his brother’s NHMS win total, in addition to becoming the sixth driver in series history to capture back-to-back titles.

In three career starts at NHMS, Truex has finishes of second, third and first.

The New Hampshire 125 will follow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying on Friday. The K&N Pro Series East will be joined at New Hampshire on race weekend by the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in addition to the Sprint Cup Series.

New Hampshire – Truex Clinch Scenarios
Truex Winning and:
• Wallace finishing 35th or worse (lead no laps); OR 36th (lead one lap)
• Whitt finishing 11th or worse (lead no laps); OR 12th or worse (lead one lap); OR 14th or worse (lead most laps)
• Moffitt finishing 10th or worse (lead no laps); OR 12th or worse (lead one lap); OR 13th of worse (lead most laps)
 
Truex Winning and Leading Most Laps:
• Wallace finishing 33th or worse (lead no laps); OR 35th (lead one lap)
• Whitt finishing 10th or worse (lead no laps); OR 11th or worse (lead one lap); OR 12th or worse (lead most laps)
• Moffitt finishing 9th or worse (lead no laps); OR 10th or worse (lead one lap); OR 12th of worse (lead most laps)
 
Truex Second and Leading Most Laps:
• Wallace finishing 36th or worse (lead no laps)
• Whitt finishing 13th or worse (lead no laps); OR 14th or worse (lead one lap); OR 16th or worse (lead most laps)
• Moffitt finishing 12th or worse (lead no laps); OR 11th or worse (lead one lap); OR 16th of worse (lead most laps)

ENTRY LIST

Raceday Notes
The Race … The New Hampshire 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be the next-to-last date on the 10-race 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule, and the second of two trips to Loudon, N.H. This will be the 54th all-time stand-alone race for the series at NHMS.

The Procedure … The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will have secured starting positions based on two-lap qualifying. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 125 laps (132.25 miles).

The Track … NHMS is a 1.058-mile, slightly-banked asphalt oval. NHMS has played host to the K&N Pro Series East in each year of the track’s existence and has held more East races than any other facility.

Race Winners … The inaugural K&N Pro Series East race on Sept. 2, 1990 at NHMS was won by Mike McLaughlin. McLaughlin, who also won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race that same day, went on to earn three more East wins at the “Magic Mile.” New Hampshire native Brad Leighton has the most series wins at NHMS, with eight. Ryan Truex won the New England 100 this past June.

Pole Winners … Kelly Moore has the most Coors Light Pole Awards in K&N Pro Series East history at NHMS with six. Brian Hoar set the qualifying record in 2002 at 28.892 seconds (127.141 mph). Brett Moffitt became the 27th driver to earn a pole at NHMS earlier this year.

MacDonald To Pull Triple Duty At NHMS
For the second September in a row, it will be a busy weekend for Eddie MacDonald at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

MacDonald enters Friday’s New Hampshire 125 ninth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season standings. While he is out of the title hunt with just two races remaining on the schedule, MacDonald will not lack for motivation. He has driven the No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet to Victory Lane in three of the last five races at the “Magic Mile” and will be a race favorite.

Subsequent to his regular K&N Pro Series East responsibilities, MacDonald has added a pair of additional races to the weekend slate. The Rowley, Mass., driver will attempt to make  his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut, and will look to repeat in the ACT Invitational.

MacDonald’s K&N Pro Series East car owner, Rob Grimm, purchased a truck from Roush-Fenway Racing in the offseason with an eye on rolling it out at New Hampshire. The No. 71 Grimm Construction Ford will be powered by the same SPEC engine that the team utilizes in their K&N Pro Series East cars.

To cap off his two-day whirlwind, MacDonald will also look to defend his win in last year’s inaugural ACT Invitational. In that race he will pilot the No. 17 NEMO Pontiac Late Model he co-owns with crew chief Rollie LaChance.

Should he go the distance in all three races, MacDonald will log at least 350 laps and 370 miles between Friday and Saturday evenings. The New Hampshire 125 will go green Friday at 5 p.m., the New Hampshire 175 Camping World Truck Series race is slated for Saturday at 3 p.m., and the 50-lap ACT Invitational will follow at approximately 5:45 p.m.

The triple-duty will also be a considerable challenge for MacDonald’s team. The same crew that manages his K&N Pro Series East ride – including crew chief LaChance – will work with each of the three race programs in Loudon.

MacDonald also attempted the trifecta at NHMS last fall when he competed in the K&N Pro Series East, ACT and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour races. He won the K&N race from the pole, suffered an accident in the Whelen Modified event and closed with the ACT triumph.

Boat To Make East Debut In Loudon
An accomplished Sprint Car and Midget racer, Chad Boat will attempt to make his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut in the New Hampshire 125.

Boat, the son of former IRL driver Billy Boat, has worked his way up through the Midget and Sprint Car ranks since he began racing at the age of five. He has competed in both divisions with USAC since 2008, when he won Rookie of the Year honors.

Boat’s first foray in stock car racing came in May at Iowa Speedway in the annual K&N Pro Series East/West combination race. Registered as a West car, Boat finished 12th among the 44 cars in the field.

The 18-year-old from Phoenix will pilot the No. 36 Curb Records Chevrolet owned by his father. The car is also pre-entered for the season finale at Dover International Speedway.

Race Review: Dillon Survives GMP For First Win
The eighth race of 10 on the 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule took the series to Gresham Motorsports Park for the first time. The following are highlights from the American Fence Association 150 on Aug. 28:

Dillon Earns First Win … In just his ninth start in the K&N Pro Series East, Ty Dillon was able to return the iconic Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet to Victory Lane. Dillon assumed the lead on Lap 138 of the race when frontrunners Ryan Truex and Kevin Swindell tangled. He then held off the field through two cautions down the stretch to capture the checkers.

Truex Doubles Championship Lead … While he was in position for a win with less than 15 laps left, Truex salvaged a seventh-place finish and was able to double his lead in the season standings on Darrell Wallace Jr. from 33 points to 66. Wallace suffered a spin on the same Lap 138 that slowed down Truex, but he was unable to recover as well as Truex, and finished 15th.

Another Runner-Up for Whitt … Although he is still searching for his first win, rookie Cole Whitt registered his third runner-up finish of the year – a series high – at Gresham.

First Podium of the Year for Gifford … While he has four top fives in eight races this year, Ryan Gifford registered his first podium effort when he finished third at Gresham. After he finished 19th in the previous race at Lee USA Speedway, the result at Gresham earned Gifford the Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award.

Kobyluck Rallies … After a cut tire and subsequent contact with the Turn 3 wall put his damaged primary car on ice for the rest of the day, Matt Kobyluck started in the rear of the field in his back-up No. 40 Chevrolet and drove it to a fifth-place finish. Kobyluck also took home the Coca-Cola Move of the Race Award for finishing 12 positions better than where he qualified.

Swindell Repeats Pole Run, Leads Most Laps … Following his first career pole in the previous race at Lee, Swindell took home the Coors Light Pole Award again at Gresham. Swindell led a race-high 126 laps to earn the Wix Filters Lap Leader Award, but two entanglements in the closing circuits of the event relegated him to 14th place.

Solid Debut for Cherry, Mixed Results for Laing and Kennedy … In his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut, Michael Cherry more than held his own. Stepping into the No. 8 Revolution Racing Chevrolet for the last three races of the year in place of previous driver Mackena Bell, Cherry contended for a string of laps with Swindell for the race lead early on, and  wound up crossing the finish line fourth. Also making their K&N Pro Series debuts were Tyler Laing and Ben Kennedy. Laing finished 11th while Kennedy was the second car out of the race with oil line failure and a 24th-place finish.

Up Next: Sunoco 150
The 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season will conclude with the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway on Friday, Sept. 24.

While it is a mathematical possibility that Ryan Truex can clinch his second-consecutive K&N Pro Series East title this week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it is likely that he will once again have to earn the crown on the high concrete banks of the “Monster Mile.” Last year, Truex held off championship challengers Eddie MacDonald and Jody Lavender at Dover to earn the title in his rookie season.

Last year’s Sunoco 150 saw two teenage rookies with reason for celebration. In addition to Truex’s title-clinching effort, Brett Moffitt put together a dominant performance to win in his first appearance at the track.

Moffitt was the ninth winner in nine all-time K&N Pro Series East races at Dover. Among active drivers, only Moffitt and Matt Kobyluck have reached Victory Lane at the “Monster Mile.”

The remarkable diversity at Dover is also applicable to the Coors Light Pole Award, with no multiple winners. That trend will continue in 2010 as no previous pole winners are expected to enter the race. Matt DiBenedetto set the K&N Pro Series East track qualifying record last year en route to his pole award.

Action will begin at Dover with two practice sessions on Thursday. Qualifying and the driver autograph session will also highlight race day on Friday.

Contingency Awards
COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD
Kevin Swindell, 2
Cole Whitt, 2
Ryan Gifford, 1
Max Gresham, 1
Brett Moffitt, 1
Andrew Ranger, 1

COCA-COLA MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD
Drew Brannon, 1
Ty Dillon, 1
Zach Germain, 1
Matt Kobyluck, 1
Eddie MacDonald, 1
Beto Monteiro, 1
Ryan Truex, 1
Darrell Wallace Jr., 1

FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD
Ryan Gifford, 1
Max Gresham 1
Jody Lavender, 1
Miguel Paludo, 1
Jason Patison, 1
Andrew Smith, 1
Kevin Swindell, 1
Alan Tardiff, 1

WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD
Ryan Truex, 2
Ryan Gifford, 1
Max Gresham, 1
Eddie MacDonald, 1
Brett Moffitt, 1
Andrew Ranger, 1
Kevin Swindell, 1

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD
Darrell Wallace Jr., 3
Max Gresham, 2
Ty Dillon, 1
Andrew Ranger, 1
Kevin Swindell, 1

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR STANDINGS
Darrell Wallace Jr., 58
Cole Whitt, 55
Ryan Gifford, 42
Kevin Swindell, 40
Max Gresham, 39
D.J. Shaw, 37
Ty Dillon, 33
Sergio Pena, 29
Andrew Ranger, 26
Miguel Paludo, 24
Zach Germain, 15
Andrew Smith, 14
Ruben Rovelo, 10

Sources: NASCAR PR

• ← Mike Ronhock picks up first Truck win. DeMoura tops Street Stocks. Astle makes it 4 in a row and DeGasparre comes back to victory
• Final Thursday Night of the Season This Week at Thompson →