K&N Pro Series East Stat Advance: Loudon
Analyzing The Granite State 100 At NHMS
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to action Saturday with the Granite State 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Below is a statistical look at the performance of the series and selected drivers:
Granite State 100 Setup:
• Points leader Ben Rhodes can move into a tie with Dylan Kwasniewski on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East single-season wins list with a victory, which would be his sixth of 2013. A win would also tie Ricky Craven’s 1991 record of most consecutive series wins in a season, five.
• The active leader with three wins at NHMS, Eddie MacDonald enters this race with top-10 finishes in 10 of his last 11 events at his home track.
• Daniel Suárez was the runner-up in last year’s event at NHMS. He has three top 10s in four career starts at the track .
At New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
History
• Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway, as New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally named, was Aug. 13, 1989.
• The 1.058-mile oval is located on approximately 1,200 acres; the multi-use complex is the largest sports facility in New England.
• The official opening was June 5, 1990 and the first NASCAR event was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race on July 15, 1990 in which NASCAR K&N Pro Series East drivers competed in combination.
• Speedway Motorsports Inc., agreed to purchase New Hampshire International Speedway from Bob and Gary Bahre on January 11, 2008 and then renamed the track New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Notebook
• The first NKNPS East stand-alone race was held on Sept. 2, 1990.
• There have been 58 stand-alone NKNPS East races at NHMS, more than any other track in series history.
• There have been 27 different race winners, led by Brad Leighton’s eight. Eddie MacDonald is the active leader with three victories.
• There have been 30 different pole winners, led by Kelly Moore’s six. Brett Moffitt has the series’ qualifying record.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway Data
Race: #10 of 16
Track Layout: 1.058-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 100 laps (105.8 miles)
• Banking/Corners: 2-7 degrees
Qualifying/Race Data
2013 pole winner: Cole Custer
2013 race winner: Cole Custer
Track qualifying record: Brett Moffitt (128.467 mph, 29.648 seconds, 9/22/12)
Active Series Career Leaders at NHMS:
Wins
1. Eddie MacDonald … 3
2. Cole Custer … 1
Top Fives
1. Eddie MacDonald … 4
2. Ryan Gifford … 2
3. Seven tied with… 1
Top 10s
1. Eddie MacDonald … 12
2. Brandon Gdovic … 2
Ryan Gifford … 2
Sergio Peña … 2
Laps Completed
1. Eddie MacDonald … 2,543
2. John Salemi … 1,819
3. Ryan Gifford … 690
Laps Led
1. Eddie MacDonald … 175
2. Cole Custer … 60
3. Daniel Suárez … 39
Starts
1. Eddie MacDonald … 25
2. John Salemi … 17
3. Ryan Gifford … 7
Selected Driver Highlights:
Jay Beasley (No. 42 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has one top five and three top 10s in 9 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Occupies the 14th position in the season standings.
• Set to make series track debut.
• Has posted top-10 finishes in three of his last four events.
• Finished season-best fourth at Iowa Speedway on May 17.
Ronnie Bassett Jr. (No. 04 Toyota)
• Has three top fives and six top 10s in 11 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Is 10th in the season standings.
• Recorded a top 10 in only career start at NHMS in 2013.
• Has three top fives and five top 10s in five of his last six events dating back to Greenville Pickens Speedway, where he recorded a season-best result of second.
Mackena Bell (No. 21 Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota)
• Has two top fives and five top 10s in 29 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Ranks 15th in the season standings.
• Finished ninth a season ago at NHMS.
• Finished season-best eighth in the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway on Feb. 16.
Nick Drake (No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Has three top fives and four top 10s in nine career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Ranks seventh in the championship standings.
• Making first series appearance at the New Hampshire oval.
• Finished season-best second at Iowa Speedway on May 17.
• Collected first series top-five finish (4th) on Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway.
• Finished third in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West 2014 season opener at Phoenix International Raceway.
Gray Gaulding (No. 20 Krispy Kreme Chevrolet)
• Has two poles, five top fives and 13 top 10s in 23 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Sits third in points, six markers behind second place driver.
• Finished eighth in last season’s event.
• Recorded a season-best finish of second on March 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• 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.
• Made NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut on March 30 at Martinsville Speedway.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Brandon Gdovic (No. 64 American Messaging/ComServe Toyota)
• Has a win, nine top fives and 21 top 10s in 44 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Has competed in five of nine races this season with a best finish of ninth at New Smyrna.
• Has an average finish of 12 and a best result of fourth (2011) in four trips to NHMS.
Kaz Grala (No. 31 NETTTS Chevrolet)
• Has a top five and three top 10s in nine career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Occupies the 11th spot in the season standings.
• Making first series appearance at NHMS.
• Finished a season-best fifth at Langley on June 21.
• Is the series’ youngest full-time competitor at 15 years of age.
Cameron Hayley (No. 98 Cabinets By Hayley Chevrolet)
• Has one pole, four top fives and five top 10s in 10 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Sits second in the championship standings, 71 tallies behind the points leader
• Making first series appearance at the Hampton track.
• Has a season-best finish of second in the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway and at Langley.
• Has a win, six poles, 19 top fives and 26 top 10s in 34 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts.
• Was championship runner-up to Derek Thorn last season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
• Is the youngest (15 years, 23 days) driver to start K&N West race in August 2011.
• Took over Turner Scott Motorsports car that Dylan Kwasniewski drove to the K&N East championship in 2013.
• Is an alumnus of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Scott Heckert (No. 34 Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet)
• Has one pole, two top fives and four top 10s in 23 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Is 13th in the season standings.
• Finished 11th a season ago at NHMS.
• Posted a season-best finish of third at Iowa Speedway on May 17.
Austin Hill (No. 22 A&D Welding Ford)
• Has a win, five top fives and eight top 10s in 16 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Ranks sixth in championship standings after nine races.
• Making first series start at NHMS.
• Has six top 10s in his last eight series starts with four of those being top-five finishes.
• Finished a season-best second on Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway.
• Earned first career win in September 2013 at Dover International Speedway.
• Member of 2014-15 NASCAR Next class.
Brandon Jones (No. 33 Wolfpack Energy Services Chevrolet)
• Has four top-five finishes and nine top-10 finishes in 16 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Holds down the fourth position in points.
• Finished 12th at NHMS last season
• Has a string of five straight top-10 finishes.
• Collected a series-best finish of second at Five Flags.
• Made NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut last August at Bristol.
Jesse Little (No. 97 NASCAR Technical Institute Chevrolet)
• Has seven top fives and 12 top 10s in 30 career NKNPS East races with a best finish of third on two occasions
• Owns the eighth position in the championship standings.
• Finished sixth at the track last season
• 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.
• Member of 2014-15 NASCAR Next class.
Brennan Newberry (No. 24 Qore24 Chevrolet)
• Has one top five and two top 10s in 10 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Is ranked 12th in the points standings.
• Making first series appearance at New Hampshire.
• Season-best finish of fourth on March 15 at Bristol.
• Has three poles, two top fives and four top 10s in 12 career K&N Pro Series West starts.
• Has made 35 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts.
Sergio Peña (No. 4 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has three wins, seven top fives and 22 top 10s in 48 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Is ranked 16th in the points standings.
• Has a top five and two top 10s in five career starts at NHMS, including a runner-up finish in 2011 event
• Season-best finish of eighth was recorded at Five Flags.
• Is an alumnus of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport, and a current member of Rev Racing and Drive for Diversity.
Ben Rhodes (No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet)
• Has five wins, four poles, 10 top fives and 13 top 10s in 16 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Leads championship standings by 71 points over Cameron Hayley.
• Finished fifth in only career start at New Hampshire.
• Has a streak of seven consecutive podium finishes and four straight wins.
• Scored first career win on March 22 at Greenville. Most recent win was last time out at Langley.
• Made NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut on March 30 at Martinsville and finished eighth.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Kenzie Ruston (No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet)
• Has six top fives and 11 top 10s in 23 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Ranks ninth in the championship driver standings.
• Finished 20th last season at NHMS.
• Finished a season-best third last time out at Langley.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Daniel Suárez (No. 6 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has three wins, 12 top fives and 21 top 10s in 39 career NKNPS East starts.
• Is fifth in the season standings.
• Finished second in last season’s NHMS event.
• 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.
• Has nine career NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series victories with 24 top fives, 31 top 10s and 11 pole wins in 50 career starts.
• Is in second season with Rev Racing for the NKNPS East.
• Made NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with Joe Gibbs Racing at Richmond in April.
• Is an alumnus 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 (Fla.) 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.
• Eddie MacDonald snapped a 53-race winless streak at Bristol. Rhodes started from the pole and led 130 of 132 laps.
• Rhodes started from the pole for the third consecutive race and picked up his first series win after leading a race-high 106 laps at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
• Cole Custer started from the outside pole position and won at Richmond International Raceway after passing Bill McAnally Racing teammate and pole sitter Nick Drake with 51 laps remaining.
• Rhodes picked up his second win of the season and led a race-high 115 laps at Iowa Speedway. Brodie Kostecki led the race’s first 35 laps after earning his first series career pole award.
• At Bowman Gray, Rhodes collected his second straight win after his fourth start from the pole.
• Gray Gaulding sat on the pole at Five Flags Speedway last time out, but it was Rhodes who once again stole the show with his third consecutive win.
• Rhodes overtook teammate and pole winner Scott Heckert in the early going at Langley Speedway, holding on for his fourth win in a row
Sources: John Tejeda, NASCAR PR