HRE Rookies Ready to Race the Last Great Colosseum, Bristol Motor Speedway
Mooresville, NC (Mar. 7, 2014) – March 15th the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will race at The Last Great Colosseum, Bristol Motor Speedway, for the PittLite 125. This season, Hattori Racing Enterprises brings two rookie drivers to Bristol. Lee Pulliam is a two-time champion in the NASCAR Whelen All American Series in 2012 and 2013 (one of only three drivers to accomplish this feat), and is looking to find even greater success in the HRE No. 11 Don Valley North Toyota Camry. In the driver’s seat of the HRE No. 1 Big Machine Records Toyota Camry will be David Garbo Jr., 2012 Legend Car Champion and a winning Late Model Driver. The K&N cars will take over the speedway directly following the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Drive to Stop Diabetes 300.
This will be the third time the famous half-mile oval has hosted the NKNPSE. For the past two years, Bristol has hosted the season-opener for the series; this year, however, the PittLite 125 will be the third race of the season for a tour that features many young, talented drivers working to establish themselves in the world of NASCAR. At last year’s season-opener at Bristol, the HRE No. 11 finished an impressive 2nd place. The momentum gained at Bristol set the stage for HRE’s break-out 2013 season. The No. 11 went on to finish second in the NKNPSE championship standings with five top 5 finishes, ten top 10 finishes, and two pole wins.
Both HRE drivers are already off to a great start in the 2014 season. At the season-opener at New Smyrna Speedway, Pulliam scored a top five finish in 5th , and Garbo rallied back from an early pit stop to finish 16th. The following week at Daytona both drivers qualified in the top 10.
Pulliam scored another 5th place finish, and Garbo had a very strong early run before being spun prior to the halfway point.
The NKNPSE has taken a two week break since Florida, but neither Pulliam nor Garbo is letting the down time go to waste. Garbo has used the break to study past footage of the K&N East at Bristol, and he has also been spending a good amount of time on iRacing to prepare for his first Bristol race. “Just running lap after to lap to get any visual references of Bristol and learn anything I can before I get to the track,” says Garbo. Pulliam used the break to go racing at the Southern National Motorsports Park season-opening races. Pulliam competed in both NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock features on Saturday, March 1st. After a spin knocked Pulliam out of the first of the twin 75-lap events, he came back for an exciting win in the second feature. Pulliam hopes that his recent success will translate into success at Bristol. “I can’t wait to take the No.11 around that historic place. Guys are working hard to try and get that trophy,” says Pulliam.
Qualifying for the PittLite 125 will be Thursday, March 13th at 5:00 P.M. EST. The race itself will air on Fox Sports 1 Saturday, March 22nd at 11:30 A.M. EST.
Sources: Dalana Parker/Hattori Racing Enterprises PR