From Off Road to Pavement: Celaya to Compete in K&N Pro Series West in 2015
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. – Christian Celaya is moving from off-road racing to the paved oval.
The SCORE BAJA Buggy winner and Team Stange Racing recently announced that Celaya will compete in the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West as well as the K&N Pro East’s season opener at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway.
“It’s a dream come true to race in the K&N West and my hometown,” said the Paradise Valley, Arizona native. “We competed in an ARCA race and I liked the style. I think it’s more efficient for me and the team.”
John Stange, co-owner of Team Stange Racing, is excited to have the 20 year-old competing.
“Christian is a great kid and an impressive driver. He’s the first driver from our development program to move forward,” said Stange. “He’s hardworking and doesn’t let having Type 1 Diabetes get in his way. He’s a fantastic driver and person, we are happy to have him with us.”
Celaya is preparing for his K&N debut with Team Stange Racing by building a fleet of cars with the new Five Star Composite Bodies. As well as training with his physical trainer to get in to top shape for the season.
NASCAR unveiled the new bodies, designed to help cost savings in the series, at SEMA in November.
Celaya is dedicating most of his off season to getting used to the new style of racing.
“I’ve been racing off road for a while. To race on pavement is new and different for me, it’s going to be a major adjustment,” said Celaya. “I’ve only raced one ARCA race, so I’ll be spending a lot of time learning and adjusting to this new style. I have to practice and get better.”
There to help along the way is Team Stange Racing. This pairing is a reunion for the two, as Celaya returns to the team after participating in their Driver Development program, “The Race to the Cup.” Celaya also competed in an ARCA race in Madison, Wisconsin, where he finished 16th after starting at 24th.
Team Stange Racing has a created a custom tailored plan for Celaya to help him adjust to the new racing style and hopefully get to Victory Lane.
“We’ll provide Christian with all he needs to win,” said Stange. “We’ll help coach him in working with his crew, fast pit stops, car information, driving diagnostics and media training. Our goal is to make him the perfect driver.”
Celaya has set some big goals for him and his team to live up to.
“I want to go out there and race well,” said Celaya. “I want to get enough sponsors to race a full season next year and to possibly race more races in the East. The more I can race the better. I want to eventually move up to the XFINITY Series and then to the Sprint Cup.”
Celaya will campaign No. 22 Ford in the K&N Pro West, which will open in Kern on March 28th. In addition to New Smyrna, Celaya hopes to race in additional K&N Pro Series East races.
Sources: Brooke Franceschini, NASCAR