Momentum Builds for Brodie Kostecki with Another Top-10 Finish at Richmond
16-Year-Old and Team Arcoplate Finish Eighth in Blue Ox 100
Momentum continues to build for 16-year-old Brodie Kostecki and the team behind his No. 43 Arcoplate Toyota after a second-straight top-10 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East finish Saturday morning at Richmond International Speedway in Virginia. Kostecki started strong from the sixth position and got as high as fourth on the track through the Blue Ox 100 before wrestling the car home with an eighth-place result.
The eighth-place finish tied his best career K&N East finish on the heels of another eighth-place run in the series’ previous race at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina last month.
“We’ve been struggling with the car the past few weeks, but the crew has been working really hard to figure it out,” said Kostecki. “It’s been a slow progression, but we’re getting closer. It hasn’t been for a lack of effort. Things worked out pretty well for us today to get another top-10 finish.
“We definitely improved from practice. I was pretty disappointed with the practice speed and I really didn’t think the car had that good of a balance in qualifying. I didn’t know what to expect for the race, but I knew I was going to drive the wheels off of it and see what it had. On the last restart, we were in the top-five, but we just didn’t quite have enough to hang with the big dogs. But we’ll keep working hard, do some testing and come back ready to go for the win.”
Kostecki had improved on his finish in each of the first four races of the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season. That streak came to an end at Richmond with the eighth-place run, which tied his Greenville result. Still, with every lap, Kostecki is gaining valuable experience with the high level of competition in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. That seat time, along with the experience of working with crew chief Doug George and the rest of the Arcoplate No. 43 team, is paying dividends for the young native Australian.
“I’m definitely learning a lot more about these cars and what I need to do in order to be in position to run up front at the end. It’s all about tire conservation. This race was especially tough, though. I was put three-wide a couple of times, so I’m just glad to get out of here with the car in one piece. We can take it back to the shop and make it even better for Iowa in a couple of weeks.”
Kostecki will return to action in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East when he travels to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa for the Casey’s General Stores 150 on Saturday, May 17.
For more on Brodie Kostecki, visit www.brodiekostecki.com, follow him on Twitter, @BrodieKostecki and like his Facebook page, Brodie Kostecki Racing.
Sources: 51 Sports/Brodie Kostecki Racing PR