K&N East Statistical Advance: Bristol
Analyzing The PittLite 125
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – After a couple of weeks away from the track, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 15 for the PittLite 125, the season’s third event. Below is a look at the performance of the series and selected drivers at Bristol, as well as, some other statistical trends:
Bristol Race Setup
• Daniel Suárez is looking for his third straight NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory after winning the first two races of the season in February. He became just the second driver in series history to win the first two races of the season joining Sean Caisse, who accomplished the feat in 2006. Suárez also has a streak of four straight NASCAR touring series wins by taking the checkered flag in his last two NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series starts.
• Ryan Gifford has a pair of third-place finishes in two starts at Bristol and is the only driver in the series with two top-five finishes.
• Twenty of the 40 drivers on the entry list will make their Bristol debut if they make the 36-car field for the PittLite 125.
Bristol Motor Speedway
History
• Bristol Motor Speedway opened in 1961 and hosted its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on July 30 of that year. Jack Smith picked up the win and led 243 of the 500 laps.
• To date, the track has hosted 106 Sprint Cup Series races, 63 NASCAR Nationwide Series races and 16 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. Kyle Busch leads all drivers with 16 Bristol victories and Darrell Waltrip tops the charts with 12 Sprint Cup Series triumphs.
• The .533-mile concrete oval hosted its first NASCAR K&N Pro Series event in March 2012 with Nelson Piquet Jr. collecting the win.
Notebook
• This is the series’ third visit to the legendary Tennessee track.
• The PittLite 125 will be telecast on a delayed basis by FOX Sports 1 on Sat., March 22 at 11:30 a.m.
• For each of the two previous Bristol winners – Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012) and Dylan Kwasniewski (2013) – it was their first K&N East victory.
• The most cautions for a K&N East race at Bristol is eight (2013) while the fewest is six (2012). Consequently, the most caution laps were 37 in 2013 and fewest were 33 in 2012.
• In two races the lead has changed hands an average of 3.5 times with a high of five changes in 2012.
• The average starting position for the winner is 3.0 while the pole sitter has an average finish of 2.5.
• Bristol is one of four half-mile tracks on the series schedule joining 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway and New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
Bristol Data
Race: #3 of 16 (3/15/14)
Track Layout: .533-mile concrete oval
Race Length: 125 laps (66.625 miles)
Banking/Corners: Variable (24-28 degrees)
Bristol Qualifying/Race Data
2013 Pole Winner: Michael McGuire
2013 Race Winner: Dylan Kwasniewski
1-Lap Qualifying Record: Michael McGuire, Toyota, 15.898 seconds, 120.694 mph, March 16, 2013
125-Lap Race Record: Nelson Piquet Jr, Toyota, 1 hour, 2 minutes, 6 seconds, 65.402 mph, March 17, 2012
Bristol Leaders
Wins
Dylan Kwasniewski … 1
Nelson Piquet Jr. … 1
Poles
Michael McGuire … 1
Nelson Piquet Jr. … 1
Laps Completed
Ben Kennedy … 252
Michael McGuire … 252
Ryan Gifford … 252
Bryan Ortiz … 252
Jimmy Weller … 252
Laps Led
Dylan Kwasniewski … 96
Nelson Piquet Jr. … 62
Chase Elliott … 40
Selected Driver Information:
Mackena Bell (No. 21 Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota)
• Has two top fives and four top 10s in 22 career series starts.
• Finished 29th a season ago at Bristol in only start at the track.
• Opened season with an eighth-place finish at New Smyrna.
• Earned first career top-five finish in April 2013 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
Cole Custer (No. 00 NAPA Auto Parts/Haas Automation)
• Has two wins, two poles, five top fives and six top 10s in 14 K&N East starts.
• Has one win, two poles, one top five and two top 10s in three NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts.
• Finished 24th in last year’s Bristol race.
• One of nine drivers to win both a K&N East and K&N West race.
Gray Gaulding (No. 20 Krispy Kreme Chevrolet)
• Has a pole, three top fives and 10 top 10s in 16 series career starts.
• Finished sixth last season at Bristol after starting 13th on the grid.
• Has top-10 finishes in each of his first two series starts this season.
• 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.
• 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 21 top 10s in 41 series career starts.
• Finished 18th a year ago at Bristol.
• 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 56 career series starts.
• Has scored consecutive third-place finishes in two Bristol 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.
Kaz Grala (No. 31 OzLINK Chevrolet)
• Has two top 10s in two career series starts.
• Attempting to make Bristol debut.
• Has finished 10th and started 21st in each of his first two series starts.
• Won Speed51/JEGS 2013 Rookie of the Year honors.
Cameron Hayley (No. 98 Cabinets By Hayley Chevrolet)
• Has one pole and one top five in three career K&N East starts.
• Has a win, six poles, 19 top fives and 26 top 10s in 34 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts.
• Attempting to make Bristol debut.
• Was championship runner-up to Derek Thorn last season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
• Was the youngest (15 years, 23 days) driver to start K&N West race in August 2011.
• Takes over 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 three top 10s in 16 career series starts.
• Finished 20th last year in only career Bristol start.
• 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.
Austin Hill (No. 22 A&D Welding Ford)
• Has a win, two top fives and three top 10s in nine career series starts.
• Finished 16th a season ago at Bristol in only start at the track.
• Earned first career win in September 2013 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
Brandon Jones (No. 33 Wolfpack Energy Services Chevrolet)
• Has one top-five finish and two top-10 finishes in just nine career series starts.
• Registered a 31st-place finish in Bristol debut last year.
• Collected a series-best finish of third in Feb. 16 season opener at New Smyrna.
• 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 23 career NKNPS East races with a best finish of third on two occasions, most recently at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., in June 2013.
• Finished 14th last season at Bristol in his only career start at the track.
• Was 2013 Sunoco Rookie of the Year for the K&N Pro Series East and finished ninth in championship standings.
• 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 174 career series starts.
• Finished seventh last season at Bristol after finishing 28th in 2012 track debut.
• Has finished in the top 10 in points for six consecutive K&N East seasons.
• 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.
Michael McGuire (No. 7 Woods Towing and Transportation Toyota)
• Has one pole, one top five and five top 10s in seven career series starts.
• Finished fourth after a start on the pole a year ago at Bristol.
• Finished eighth in his 2012 track debut.
• Holds series qualifying record at Bristol
Lee Pulliam (No. 11 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota)
• Has two top fives in two K&N East career starts.
• Attempting to make Bristol debut.
• 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 a pole, three top fives and six top 10s in just nine K&N East starts.
• Scored a ninth-place finish in Bristol debut last season.
• Collected first series career pole on Feb. 18 at Daytona.
• 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 eight top 10s in 16 career series starts.
• Finished 11th in Bristol debut a season ago.
• Led four laps on Feb. 16 at New Smyrna and became the first female K&N East driver to lead a lap since Danica Patrick at Dover in September 2010.
• 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.
Patrick Staropoli (No. 99 PEAK Toyota)
• Has one top 10 in two career K&N East starts.
• Has a top five and two top 10s in two career K&N West starts.
• Attempting to make Bristol debut.
• Scored first series career top-10 finish (8th) at Daytona on Feb. 18.
• Summa cum laude graduate of Harvard University and is attending medical school at University of Miami (Fla.).
• Won development contract with Michael Waltrip Racing in inaugural PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge last year.
Daniel Suárez (No. 6 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has three wins, 10 top fives and 17 top 10s in 32 career NKNPS East starts.
• Finished 26th a year ago in the Bristol event; registered 15th-place finish in Bristol debut in 2012.
• Opened season with two straight series wins to become the second driver in series history to win the first two events of the season with Sean Caisse (2006) being the other.
• 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.
Up To Speed
• The 2014 season is the 28th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
• The 2014 schedule features 16 races at 14 different tracks across 10 states.
• Daniel Suárez opened the season with a narrow victory over Cameron Hayley, who won his first K&N East pole, at New Smyrna Speedway.
• Suárez won at Daytona for his second straight series victory to become just the second driver in series history to win the first two races of the season. Sean Caisse in 2006 is the other. Ben Rhodes picked up his first series career pole award.
Sources: Shon Sbarra/NASCAR PR