K&N East: Little Eyes Combo. Races, Truck Series
Jesse Little of Sherrills Ford, NC will race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East part-time. Little’s schedule calls for six to seven races: Bristol, Richmond, Iowa (twice), New Hampshire, and Dover. Watkins Glen may be added. In the seven races on tracks over .7-mile last year, Little had two poles, five top tens and his first win.
“As great as the (K&N East) Series is, going to a lot of those little tracks, even though it can be beneficial at times. But for what we’re doing and for our program now, it makes more sense just to put our money in the truck as much as we can and then focus by going to those big combinations races and doing as well as we can.”
The series will allow a new 12-flange composite body that uses the same models as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The old steel and one-piece composite are legal until the new body is mandated in 2017.
“They did a great job and the profile was spectacular … The fans, the teams are all going to like it. I think in the long run it will be less work fixing a fender or changing a panel, so that’s always great for the guys in the shop. But I think it’s a great choice all around and it’s going to be exciting to watch it on the track.”
Little’s team is building one car with the new body and will use one with the old composite body.
“It’s been an adventure. It’s definitely been eventful. … It’s been definitely (a) learning experience I’d say for all the teams. … From what I’ve heard and what I’ve gathered, I think drivers might drive it a little differently and having a little more downforce in the front. I think it has a lot more side force than the old composite, so I think it’s going to act differently in the air. It definitely is going to be great experience.”
Little is changing manufacturers to Toyota with another series in mind, and to stay aligned with the same manufacturer. A potential venture into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is in the preliminary stages. Little said a sponsorship announcement is expected soon.
“This is the first step to what I want to do for the rest of my life and I got to make a good first impression. But I’m sure it will be fun to watch. We saw the rookies this year and how well they did and hopefully we can follow along in their footsteps and make a good impression on some owners and hopefully just to continue to get my name out there. … I’m very excited and looking forward to the opportunity if it comes and I’m sure going to make the best of it.”
Little won his first race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last July after starting on the outside pole.
“(Winning) in front of the Cup series, the Nationwide series, all those guys. For them to see all seven or eight of us in victory lane, I think I was told multiple times that was the smallest victory lane team picture that anybody’s ever seen. … They know how hard my team works and I’m at the shop every day in the summer and I’m trying to learn as much as I can to better myself.”
NASCAR’s top developmental series has provided opportunities to a host of drivers in recent years. Series alumni have competed across every national series. Sprint Cup drivers Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, XFINITY Series drivers Chase Elliott, Ben Rhodes, Daniel Suarez, Darrell Wallace, Jr., and Camping World Truck Series winner Cole Custer all have experience in the K&N Series.
“The K&N Series does a great job at is allowing people to recognize great young talent and everybody knows in the last couple of years it’s huge. That’s the biggest thing coming into NASCAR.”
At the age of 17, Little has already made multiple starts at venues that host NASCAR’s top series.
“The K&N Series does such a good job at giving drivers experience that they sometimes don’t even know their getting. I have a notebook full of comments and questions and stuff that I know I can flip back to and instantly refresh my memory on the tendencies of the track, the characteristic, what I need out of the car to perform. I can flip back and I have such a good log to go back to and that’s something that I definitely learned in the last couple of years.
“… I really kind of understand how these cars are affected by air. Iowa’s a great track for aerodynamics and then Dover I’ve really learned how to drive the cars with the throttle, and you pick up different things at different tracks and the good ones especially you’re able to hone in on a lot of little things that some short track you might not be able to … I’ve just really been able to focus on a lot of little things and I just want to absorb as much knowledge as I can at all the races I go to.
While Little does not have the funding of larger teams or a teammate, he does not resort to excuses like a less powerful engine or a lack of testing. He emphasized that the cars are the same and finding speed is about communication. He is content with the efforts of his three to four crew members working on the car.
“I don’t want to make excuses … I think I’m the one that doesn’t like to accept mediocrity and I think that’s made me better as a person and for sure as a driver.”
“We did really well for the budget we had, and the shop we’re in, and how we did it is very gratifying. We didn’t have a lot of people. We kind of did everything with a cost effect in mind and at the end of the day we ran just as well if not better than a lot of those guys that had the big budgets.”
“I can tell after a good solid finish and we’re happy. We’re glad everything happened the way it did and I personally wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Little is also a part of the NASCAR Next program that highlights up-and-coming drivers. Nine of the 12 members in the current class race in the K&N Pro Series.
“I was lucky enough to be chosen in that and the list from that is just as impressive, so I always keep that in the back of my mind and I always kind of allow that to brighten up my day. .. At the same time, it makes me hungry for more to go out there and set myself apart and hopefully in a year or two another kid in the K&N Series will be saying ‘I got to race with Jesse Little’ or something like that. That’s how I look at it and that’s how I stay optimistic and positive.”
Little had an “abysmal” start with one top five and two top tens in the first seven races.
“Everybody was frustrated and Bowman Gray was the epitome of that.” A post-race discussion with Crew Chief Kris Bowen set the tone for the team to rebound. “We’re trying too hard. We just need to go back to what we’re doing right and just have fun at it. Just enjoy ourselves and work hard when we need to.”
Little’s performance improved, reeling off eight consecutive top tens. He had top fives in his three NASCAR K&N Pro Series West appearances at Kern County and Phoenix. The streak ended with an oil leak at Dover in the season finale. Little was sixth in points with one win, four top fives, ten top tens, and two poles in sixteen races.
“That’s huge for any program in any sport, any motorsport. It definitely gave me a huge confidence booster and not only in the team and myself, but it allowed us to really enjoy ourselves and remember why we’re doing it. It definitely reminded me what I want to do for my career, so it was very big and very beneficial.”
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com