Kwasniewski Turns Up The Wick
K&N Pro East Points Leader Rolls To Season-High 5th Win
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Dylan Kwasniewski dominating season just keeps rolling along.
The 18-year-old from Las Vegas won for the fourth time in the last six NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races – and for the fifth time this season – as he took the checkered flag in Monday’s Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
Kwasniewski’s No. 98 Royal Purple/Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet finished 2.650 seconds over runner-up Daniel Suárez. After starting on the pole for the third time this season, he surrendered the lead on Lap 3 to Suárez and fell back to as far as ninth, but that was part of the plan.
“That was the strategy today to make sure we had something for the end,” said the victor, whose best Greenville finish coming into the day was seventh. “We didn’t want to drop too far and put us in a bad spot when it was time to go.”
Patience paid off for Kwasniewski. After dropping back in the pack he began a methodical march back through the field. By Lap 100 he was back in contention for the race lead. On race’s 108th lap Kwasniewski worked his way around Jeremy Burns in Turns 3 and 4 for the lead. From there, it was just a matter of staying away from trouble as he was able to get away from the rest of the lead pack.
“Turner Scott Motorsports did a great job. We came here testing and got (the car) absolutely money,” Kwasniewski said. “Every single person on this team did a fantastic job to give me a great car.”
Suárez, who led a race-high 64 laps, jumped out early to set a quick pace. The Rev Racing driver out of Monterrey, Mexico gave up the lead to Matt Tifft shortly after the race’s lone restart on Lap 67. Like Kwasniewski, Suárez dropped back to allow the tires to cool down on a very warm day before mounting a late rally.
“We were looking for a yellow flag that never came,” said Suárez. “We were running the same speeds as (Kwasniewski). Maybe we waited too long, but second place is good for points and we’ll keep working to win another race in 2013.”
Fifteen-year-old rookie Gray Gaulding started seventh and spent much of the race running in the top five before finishing third for his third podium finish of the season. The youngster has scored consecutive top-five finishes in his last two outings.
“It’s great to finish third at a historic track like Greenville,” said the Colonial Heights, Va., driver. “We’re coming off a good top five at (Virginia International Raceway) and got a good top five today. We’re building great momentum going into New Hampshire.”
Kwasniewski is the defending NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion and current East points leader. He’s looking to become the first driver to win the two series in consecutive years. He pushed his lead to 40 points over Brett Moffitt, who finished ninth, with four races remaining.
Eddie MacDonald finished in the fourth position while Mackena Bell equaled her career-best finish with a fifth-place effort. Ben Rhodes, Jesse Little, Kenzie Ruston, Moffitt and Ben Kennedy rounded out the top 10.
Kennedy is third in points and at 53 back, meaning Moffitt is the only driver within a race of Kwasniewski.
The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 will air on FS1 on Sunday, Sept. 22 at noon.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East returns to the track Saturday, Sept. 21 for the North American Power 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
RESULTS | RACE CENTRAL LIVE REPLAY | AUDIO: POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH RUNNER-UP DANIEL SUAREZ | AUDIO: POST-RACE INTERVIEW WITH THIRD-PLACE GRAY GAULDING
NKNPS East Greenville 9/2/13 Results
K&N Pro Series East
Race: NKNPS East Greenville 9/2/13
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
1 1 98 Dylan Kwasniewski Royal Purple/Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet 140 47 4 Running
2 2 6 Daniel Suarez Visit Acapulco Toyota 140 44 2 Running
3 7 20 Gray Gaulding * Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Toyota 140 41 Running
4 12 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Const./National MS Society Toyota 140 40 Running
5 10 21 Mackena Bell * Toyota Racing Development Toyota 140 39 Running
6 19 41 Ben Rhodes * Alpha Industries Chevrolet 140 38 Running
7 9 97 Jesse Little * NASCAR Technical Institute Chevrolet 140 37 Running
8 13 34 Kenzie Ruston * AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet 140 36 Running
9 4 11 Brett Moffitt TOYOTA BOSHOKU Toyota 140 35 Running
10 11 96 Ben Kennedy Mod Space Motorsports Chevrolet 140 34 Running
11 21 18 Sam Hunt Denny Hamlin Fdn/DOW Corp Toyota 140 33 Running
12 18 89 Matt Tifft * DOC 360 Chevrolet 140 33 1 Running
13 6 4 Bryan Ortiz Toyota/Fluidyne Toyota 139 31 Running
14 16 81 Jeremy Burns * M & E Products Toyota 139 31 1 Running
15 20 46 Brandon Gdovic Windstax.com/Aquis Comm/ComServ Toyota 139 29 Running
16 17 00 Cole Custer * Haas Automation Chevrolet 139 28 Running
17 5 99 Austin Dyne KMC Wheels Chevrolet 139 27 Running
18 15 72 Scott Heckert * Project Lifesaver Chevrolet 139 26 Running
19 8 2 Ryan Gifford Universal Technical Institute/NTI Toyota 138 25 Running
20 22 37 Harrison Rhodes Spraker Racing Enterprises Chevrolet 138 24 Running
21 23 50 Jacob Wallace Petro South Chevrolet 137 23 Running
22 3 47 Cale Conley Tait Stages/AXS TV Toyota 111 22 Engine
23 14 04 Ronnie Bassett, Jr. * Butler Trailer Mfg./Rheem Toyota 32 21 Engine
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Dylan Kwasniewski, Time: 20.81 Seconds, Speed: 86.497 mph
Time of Race: 57 mins, 43 secs Average Speed: 72.769 mph Margin of Victory: 2.650 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 59-66 (Debris in Turn 1. [none]). [Beneficiary in brackets] 1 for 8 laps.
Lap Leaders: Dylan Kwasniewski 1-2, Daniel Suarez 3-67, Matt Tifft * 68, Jeremy Burns * 69-107, Dylan Kwasniewski 108-140.
Total Laps Led: Daniel Suarez 65, Jeremy Burns * 39, Dylan Kwasniewski 35, Matt Tifft * 1. 4 changes involving 4 drivers.
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender
Sources: Jason Christley/NASCAR K&N Pro Series East PR