Rookie Hill Conquers Monster Mile
Kwasniewski’s K&N Pro East Points Lead Sliced To 5 Over Moffitt
DOVER, Del. – Austin Hill faced the Monster Mile and didn’t blink.
The 19-year-old from Winston, Ga., conquered the high-banked mile oval in the Drive Sober 150 presented by Delaware Office of Highway Safety Friday afternoon. It was Hill’s first win in his seventh career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start.
The race also featured a huge points swing. Dylan Kwasniewski, whose lead was 40 two races ago, was sidelined early by electrical issues. He returned to the track and finished 48 laps down in 29th. His nearest challenger, Brett Moffitt, finished 11th to slice Kwasniewski’s lead to just five heading into the finale at Road Atlanta on Friday, Oct. 18.
Hill led a parade of rookies who captured the top three spots and six of the top eight.
Justin Boston finished second and Kyle Benjamin third. Boston, 24, was making his second series start while Benjamin, 15, was making his debut.
Brandon McReynolds and Jesse Little were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Hill took the lead on Lap 88 from CJ Faison, who led a race-high 77 laps, and led the rest of the way. He held off a charge from Boston and Benjamin following a late-race restart to win by .412 seconds. His previous best finish was seventh at Richmond in April.
Daniel Suarez was sixth, followed by rookies Brandon Jones and Trey Hutchens. Austin Dyne and Dylan Presnell rounded out the top 10.
The Drive Sober 150 will air on Fox Sports 1 on Sunday, Oct. 13 at noon. It will also replay on Monday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.
RESULTS | RACE CENTRAL LIVE REPLAY | AUDIO: POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH WINNER AUSTIN HILL | AUDIO: POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH SECOND-PLACE JUSTIN BOSTON AND THIRD-PLACE KYLE BENJAMIN
NKNPS East Dover 9/27/13 Results
K&N Pro Series East
Race: NKNPS East Dover 9/27/13
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
1 6 13 Austin Hill * Don Rich Ford/A&D Welding Ford 150 47 4 Running
2 12 25 Justin Boston * ZLOOP Electronics Recycling Toyota 150 42 Running
3 3 52 Kyle Benjamin * Federated Auto Parts/Rain Eater Dodge 150 42 1 Running
4 19 28 Brandon McReynolds McReynolds Incorporated Chevrolet 150 40 Running
5 4 97 Jesse Little * NASCAR Technical Institute Chevrolet 150 39 Running
6 18 6 Daniel Suarez Visit Acapulco Toyota 150 38 Running
7 22 33 Brandon Jones * Rheem Chevrolet 150 37 Running
8 26 31 Trey Hutchens * MilitaryWarriors.org/Impact Gel Chevrolet 150 36 Running
9 29 99 Austin Dyne KMC Wheels Chevrolet 150 35 Running
10 13 26 Dylan Presnell Amtrol/American Mountain Rentals Toyota 150 34 Running
11 8 11 Brett Moffitt Gunma Toyopet Toyota 150 33 Running
12 14 96 Ben Kennedy Delaware Office of Highway Safety Chevrolet 150 32 Running
13 27 34 Kenzie Ruston * AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet 150 31 Running
14 5 00 Cole Custer * Smith Transport/Haas Automation Chevrolet 150 30 Running
15 9 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Const./National MS Society Toyota 150 29 Running
16 15 89 Matt Tifft * DOC 360 Chevrolet 147 28 Running
17 1 47 Cale Conley TAIT/PMC Toyota 147 28 1 Running
18 30 18 Sam Hunt Drive Technology Toyota 146 26 Running
19 21 21 Mackena Bell * Toyota Racing Development Toyota 145 25 Running
20 17 37 Sergio Pena Legend Gear & Trans./Spraker Racing Chevrolet 144 24 Running
21 7 20 Gray Gaulding * Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Toyota 144 23 Running
22 28 46 Brandon Gdovic Windstax.com/Aquis Communications Toyota 143 22 Running
23 20 72 Scott Heckert * Project Lifesaver Chevrolet 139 21 Running
24 2 39 CJ Faison Little Caesar’s Pizza Chevrolet 137 22 2 Accident
25 16 51 Michael McGuire * Woods Towing & Transportation Toyota 136 19 Accident
26 10 41 Ben Rhodes * Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 129 18 Accident
27 24 4 Bryan Ortiz Rev Racing Toyota 112 17 Engine
28 23 2 Ryan Gifford Sunoco Racing Fuel Toyota 103 16 Steering
29 11 98 Dylan Kwasniewski Rockstar Energy Drink/Royal Purple Chevrolet 102 15 Running
30 25 32 Dale Quarterley Van Dyk/Bollegraaf Chevrolet 53 14 Accident
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Cale Conley, Time: 23.227 Seconds, Speed: 154.992 mph
Failed to Qualify: (6) Ronnie Bassett, Jr. * (#04), Austin Wayne Self * (#77), John Salemi (#63), J C Stout (#91), Rafael Vallina * (#0), Akinori Ogata * (#44).
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 43 mins, 30 secs Average Speed: 86.957 mph Margin of Victory: .412 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 37-41 (# 98 Backstretch – FP #18); 57-59 (#32 Backstretch – FP #31); 64-67 (Debris on Backstretch FP # 99); 72 (Debris + Break – FP #37); 112-115 (# 4 Frontstretch – FP #99); 138-146 (# 39 – FP 71). 6 for 26 laps.
Lap Leaders: Cale Conley 1-7, Kyle Benjamin * 8-10, CJ Faison 11-87, Austin Hill * 88-150.
Total Laps Led: CJ Faison 77, Austin Hill * 63, Cale Conley 7, Kyle Benjamin * 3. 3 changes involving 4 drivers.
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate
Sources: