K&N East Statistical Advance: New Smyrna
Analyzing The New Smyrna 150 Presented By JEGS
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East opens its 2014 season on Sunday, Feb. 16 with the New Smyrna 150 presented by JEGS at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway. Below is a statistical look at the performance of the series and selected drivers:
New Smyrna Race Setup
• Rev Racing’s Daniel Suárez has six top-three finishes in his last eight series starts including a July 2013 win at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway.
• Of the entered drivers as of Feb. 11, six have taken a K&N East car to Victory Lane. Veteran Eddie MacDonald tops the list with six followed by Sergio Peña with three. Brandon Gdovic, Ryan Gifford, Austin Hill and Daniel Suárez have one each.
• Sixteen drivers entered into the New Smyrna 150 presented by JEGS as of Feb. 11 are Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders. Eight of that group will attempt to make their series debut.
New Smyrna Data
Race: #1 of 16 (2/16/14)
Track Layout: .48-mile paved oval
Race Length: 150 laps (72 miles)
Records
1-Lap Qualifying: To be established
150-Lap Race: Inaugural event
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East At New Smyrna Speedway
• This is the series’ first visit to the Florida oval.
• The New Smyrna 150 will be telecast on FOX Sports 1 at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 22.
• This is the series’ 10th race in Florida – eight of those came between 1988 and 1997 at Daytona which were combination races with the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
• New Smyrna is one of four half-mile tracks on the series schedule this season with Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., and Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway being the others.
• This is the only event scheduled on a Sunday this season.
Selected Driver Information:
Jay Beasley (No. 42 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Attempting to make series debut.
• Made two NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts in 2013 with a top finish of 11th.
• Claimed late model division title at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and earned NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship for Nevada.
• Honored with the Wendell Scott Trailblazer Award at the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards in December 2013.
• In first season with Rev Racing.
Mackena Bell (No. 21 Special Smiles Toyota)
• Has two top fives and four top 10s in 20 career series starts.
• Earned first career top-five finish in April 2013 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
Gray Gaulding (No. 20 Krispy Kreme Chevrolet)
• Has a pole, three top fives and eight top 10s in 14 series career starts.
• Best 2013 East finish was second in April at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.
• Became the youngest pole winner in NKNPS East history (15 years, 2 months, 15 days) in April 2013 at Richmond.
• Became the youngest race winner in NKNPS West history (15 years, 8 months, 30 days) in November 2013 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.
• Became the youngest pole winner in NKNPS West history (15 years, 8 months, 16 days) in October 2013 at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif.
• Scored top 10s in all four of his East starts a season ago on half-mile tracks – Bristol Motor Speedway, Five Flags and Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway (2).
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Brandon Gdovic (No. 46 American Messaging/WindStax.com Toyota)
• Has a win, nine top fives and 20 top 10s in 39 series career starts.
• Claimed first series win in April 2013 at Greenville Pickens.
• Has six top-10 finishes on half-mile tracks in series career.
Ryan Gifford (No. 2 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has a win, a pole, 15 top fives and 20 top 10s in 54 career series starts.
• Scored first series victory in April 2013 at Richmond.
• Has five series career top-five finishes and a pole (Martinsville (Va.) Speedway) on half-mile tracks.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Cameron Hayley (No. 98 Cabinets By Hayley Chevrolet)
• Has made just one K&N Pro Series East start at Richmond in 2013.
• Was championship runner-up to Derek Thorn last season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
• Has a win, six poles, 19 top fives and 26 top 10s in 34 career K&N West starts.
• Was the youngest (15 years, 23 days) driver to start K&N West race in August 2011.
• Takes over the Turner Scott Motorsports car that Dylan Kwasniewski drove to the K&N East championship in 2013.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Scott Heckert (No. 34 Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet)
• Has two top 10s in 14 career series starts.
• Claimed top-10 finishes last season on road courses at Virginia International Raceway in Alton and Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.
• Is in first season with Turner Scott Motorsports.
Sam Hunt (No. 18 Drive Technology Toyota)
• Has two top 10s in 22 career series starts over the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
• Earned first series career top-10 finish in October 2012 at Greenville.
Brandon Jones (No. 33 Wolfpack Energy Services Chevrolet)
• Has two top-10 finishes in just seven career series starts.
• First top 10 came in June 2013 race at Iowa Speedway with a seventh-place showing.
• Made NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut last August at Bristol and followed with starts at Iowa and Martinsville.
Jesse Little (No. 97 NASCAR Technical Institute Chevrolet)
• Has six top fives and eight top 10s in 21 career NKNPS East races with a best finish of third on two occasions, most recently at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., in June 2013.
• Was 2013 Sunoco Rookie of the Year for the K&N Pro Series East and finished ninth in championship standings.
• Closed last season with a top-10 finish in four of his last six series outings.
• Made K&N Pro Series West, in which his father, Chad, was the 1987 champion, debut last November at Phoenix.
Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles, 31 top fives and 83 top 10s in 172 career series starts.
• Has finished in the top 10 in points for six consecutive K&N East seasons.
• Season-best finish in 2013 was a runner-up effort at the August Iowa date.
• Has made starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in addition to the K&N Pro Series West and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Brandon McReynolds (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Has two top fives and seven top 10s in 12 career series starts.
• Both top-five finishes came at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in 2012 and 2013.
• Will race a full K&N West schedule this season with Bill McAnally Racing.
• Has made a start each in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Brennan Newberry (No. 24 Qore24 Chevrolet)
• Has made just one K&N East start in September 2011 at Dover.
• Has three poles, a top five and three top 10s in 11 K&N Pro Series West starts.
• Has made 31 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts with a pole at Daytona a season ago.
• Slated to run a full K&N East schedule with NTS Motorsports teammate Gray Gaulding.
Sergio Peña (No. 4 Toyota Racing Development)
• Has three wins, seven top fives and 19 top 10s in 39 career NKNPS East starts.
• Has six career top 10s and a win at Greenville (2011) on K&N East half-mile tracks.
• Made three K&N West starts last season with a pair of top-five finishes.
• Back with Rev Racing and Drive For Diversity after being with the program for the 2010-11 seasons.
Lee Pulliam (No. 11 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota)
• Attempting to make his series debut with Hattori Racing Enterprises.
• Is a two-time and reigning NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion and joins Larry Phillips (5) and Philip Morris (4) as the only multi-time series title winners.
• Has 73 career NASCAR Whelen All-American Series wins over 157 starts dating back to 2009.
Ben Rhodes (No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet)
• Has two top fives and five top 10s in just seven K&N East starts.
• Claimed a season-best finish of third in the June Iowa event last year.
• Finished second in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series portion of the UNOH Battle At The Beach a year ago.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Kenzie Ruston (No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet)
• Has four top fives and six top 10s in 14 career series starts.
• Best career finish of third, recorded in April 2013 at Greenville, is the best finish by a female driver in NKNPS East history.
• Finished sixth in the final K&N East standings last season which is the best in series history for a female driver.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Daniel Suárez (No. 6 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has a win, eight top fives and 15 top 10s in 30 career NKNPS East starts.
• Earned first series win at Columbus last season en route to a third-place finish in final point standings.
• Was the championship runner-up to Rodrigo Peralta last season in the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series after finishing third in the 2012 standings.
• Has five career Toyota Series victories and 10 pole wins in 43 career starts.
• Is in second season with Rev Racing for the NKNPS East.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Matt Tifft (No. 52 Federated Auto Parts Dodge)
• Has three top 10s in 13 K&N East career starts.
• Scored a NKNPS East season-best finish of sixth last season at Langley Speedway in June.
• Made four K&N Pro Series West starts in 2013 with a best finish of fifth in September on the road course at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.
Sources: Shon Sbarra/NASCAR PR