PRACTICE: Hill Leads New Smyrna Field
Rookie Looks To Carry Momentum Into K&N East Qualifying
NEW SMYRNA, Fla. – Austin Hill led NASCAR K&N Pro Series East final practice on Sunday for the New Smyrna 150 presented by JEGS at New Smyrna Speedway.
Hill, out of Winston, Ga., got around the .48-mile banked oval in 18.358 seconds for an average speed of 94.128 mph.
Scott Heckert was second on the charts in the final session at 18.366 seconds (94.087 mph) followed by Ben Rhodes at 18.385 seconds (93.990 mph). Brandon McReynolds at 18.417 seconds (93.826 mph) and Gray Gaulding with a time of 18.442 (93.699 mph) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Brandon Jones, Patrick Staropoli, David Garbo Jr., Kaz Grala and Lee Pulliam rounded out the top 10.
Of the 30 cars still entered in the event 16 have drivers competing for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award behind the wheel. Eight of those are attempting to make their official NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut.
Rhodes led the first practice session of the day at 18.455 seconds (93.633 mph) followed by Gaulding, Cameron Hayley, McReynolds and Staropoli.
Qualifying for the New Smyrna 150 presented by JEGS is slated for 5:15 p.m. ET. The race is scheduled to take the green flag at 7:30 p.m.
PRACTICE RESULTS
NKNPS East New Smyrna 2/16/14 Practice
Submitted by ssbarra on February 16, 2014 – 1:48pm
FINAL PRACTICE
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 22 Austin Hill * A&D Welding Ford 18.358 94.128 28 29
2 34 Scott Heckert Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 18.366 94.087 22 34 0.008
3 41 Ben Rhodes * Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 18.385 93.990 27 27 0.027
4 16 Brandon McReynolds NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 18.417 93.826 18 18 0.059
5 20 Gray Gaulding Krispy Kreme Chevrolet 18.442 93.699 3 6 0.084
6 33 Brandon Jones Wolfpack Energy Services Chevrolet 18.461 93.603 18 18 0.103
7 99 Patrick Staropoli * PEAK Toyota 18.480 93.506 45 48 0.122
8 1 David Garbo, Jr. * Gsrbo Lobster Toyota 18.483 93.491 14 15 0.125
9 31 Kaz Grala * OzLINK Chevrolet 18.507 93.370 36 36 0.149
10 11 Lee Pulliam * Don Valley North Toyota Toyota 18.521 93.299 19 20 0.163
11 43 Brodie Kostecki * Arcoplate Toyota 18.528 93.264 12 12 0.170
12 24 Brennan Newberry Qore24 Chevrolet 18.529 93.259 17 18 0.171
13 98 Cameron Hayley Cabinets by Hayley Chevrolet 18.584 92.983 2 42 0.226
14 97 Jesse Little Vanacore Homes/NTI Chevrolet 18.596 92.923 31 39 0.238
15 6 Daniel Suarez Sunoco Race Fuels Toyota 18.597 92.918 29 29 0.239
16 15 Nick Drake * NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 18.612 92.843 17 17 0.254
17 96 Kenzie Ruston Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet 18.627 92.769 27 27 0.269
18 21 Mackena Bell Special Smiles Toyota 18.670 92.555 6 19 0.312
19 07 Clint King * Warehouse Design Chevrolet 18.699 92.411 16 16 0.341
20 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Contracting Chevrolet 18.713 92.342 16 35 0.355
21 04 Ronnie Bassett, Jr. * Butler Trailer Mfg. Toyota 18.714 92.337 3 11 0.356
22 52 Matt Tifft Federated Auto Parts Dodge 18.728 92.268 32 36 0.370
23 4 Sergio Pena UTI/NASCAR Technical Institiue Toyota 18.738 92.219 28 28 0.380
24 46 Brandon Gdovic American Messaging/Windstax.com Toyota 18.755 92.135 2 48 0.397
25 18 Sam Hunt Paragon Energy Holdings Toyota 18.931 91.279 26 27 0.573
26 42 Jay Beasley * Toyota Racing Development Toyota 18.999 90.952 28 38 0.641
27 75 Nathan Russell * VSI Racing/Russell Stone Products Chevrolet 19.006 90.919 22 30 0.648
28 2 Ryan Gifford Toyota Racing Development Toyota 19.032 90.794 24 39 0.674
29 51 Rusty Skewes * Top Gun Motorports Chevrolet 19.154 90.216 2 21 0.796
30 55 Jerry Dawson * EXIT Realty Chevrolet 19.563 88.330 36 51 1.205
FIRST PRACTICE
Pos No. Name Sponsor Best Tm Best Speed In Lap Laps Diff
1 41 Ben Rhodes * Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 18.455 93.633 18 18
2 20 Gray Gaulding Krispy Kreme Chevrolet 18.470 93.557 2 15 0.015
3 98 Cameron Hayley Cabinets by Hayley Chevrolet 18.492 93.446 2 21 0.037
4 16 Brandon McReynolds NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 18.576 93.023 10 23 0.121
5 99 Patrick Staropoli * PEAK Toyota 18.577 93.018 26 26 0.122
6 33 Brandon Jones Wolfpack Energy Services Chevrolet 18.603 92.888 14 33 0.148
7 46 Brandon Gdovic American Messaging/Windstax.com Toyota 18.630 92.754 30 43 0.175
8 6 Daniel Suarez Sunoco Race Fuels Toyota 18.641 92.699 18 26 0.186
9 97 Jesse Little Vanacore Homes/NTI Chevrolet 18.642 92.694 24 30 0.187
10 15 Nick Drake * NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 18.659 92.609 51 51 0.204
11 96 Kenzie Ruston Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet 18.683 92.490 18 44 0.228
12 11 Lee Pulliam * Don Valley North Toyota Toyota 18.694 92.436 8 28 0.239
13 42 Jay Beasley * Toyota Racing Development Toyota 18.726 92.278 21 21 0.271
14 43 Brodie Kostecki * Arcoplate Toyota 18.735 92.234 12 34 0.280
15 1 David Garbo, Jr. * Gsrbo Lobster Toyota 18.752 92.150 23 44 0.297
16 22 Austin Hill * A&D Welding Ford 18.766 92.081 13 39 0.311
17 34 Scott Heckert Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 18.774 92.042 13 41 0.319
18 07 Clint King * Warehouse Design Chevrolet 18.792 91.954 29 38 0.337
19 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Contracting Chevrolet 18.800 91.915 13 36 0.345
20 24 Brennan Newberry Qore24 Chevrolet 18.802 91.905 11 51 0.347
21 52 Matt Tifft Federated Auto Parts Dodge 18.812 91.856 20 31 0.357
22 31 Kaz Grala * OzLINK Chevrolet 18.822 91.807 8 49 0.367
23 4 Sergio Pena UTI/NASCAR Technical Institiue Toyota 18.923 91.317 17 23 0.468
24 21 Mackena Bell Special Smiles Toyota 18.924 91.313 14 54 0.469
25 75 Nathan Russell * VSI Racing/Russell Stone Products Chevrolet 18.988 91.005 6 40 0.533
26 04 Ronnie Bassett, Jr. * Butler Trailer Mfg. Toyota 19.031 90.799 11 50 0.576
27 18 Sam Hunt Paragon Energy Holdings Toyota 19.048 90.718 17 36 0.593
28 2 Ryan Gifford Toyota Racing Development Toyota 19.058 90.671 23 23 0.603
29 55 Jerry Dawson * EXIT Realty Chevrolet 19.573 88.285 25 29 1.118
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender
Sources: John Tejeda/NASCAR PR