K&N Pro Series Stat Advance: Iowa
Analyzing The #ThanksKenny 150 At Iowa Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and NASCAR K&N Pro Series West head to Iowa Speedway Friday for the final combination race at the Newton, Iowa track this season. Below is a statistical look at the recent performance of the series and selected drivers at Iowa, as well as some other statistical trends.
Iowa Race Setup:
• William Byron is pulling away in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings with 331 points. Austin Hill is the closet to him with 302 and Scott Heckert is third at 298. Rookies Kyle Benjamin and Dalton Sargeant round out the top-five with 288 and 285 points, respectively.
• Chris Eggleston leads the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings by one point over rookie Noah Gragson (274-273). Rookies Gracin Raz and Ryan Partridge follow very closely with 271 and 267 points, respectively. Veteran David Mayhew completes the top-five with 261 points.
• Brandon McReynolds was the overall winner in this year’s first K&N Pro Series combination event in May. Byron, the East winner, will be looking for redemption after being overtaken by McReynolds on a restart with eight laps to go.
At Iowa Speedway:
History
• Designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, the .875-mile asphalt tri-oval was patterned after Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The first race was held in September 2006.
• The first NASCAR sanctioned race was May 2007, as NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination event won by a 17-year-old Joey Logano.
• The 12 East-West combination events at Iowa have produced 12 different race winners and 12 different pole winners.
Notebook
• Iowa held one East-West combination race each season from 2007-2011 and has had two each year since 2012.
• The K&N Pro Series West had a standalone event at the track in September 2009 won by David Mayhew.
• The #ThanksKenny 150 will be telecast on NBCSN Thursday, August 6 at 2:30 p.m.
• Kyle Busch and Cole Custer are the only driver to win the East-West combination race at Iowa from the pole. Chase Elliot started the furthest back and won, coming from 15th on the grid in May 2012.
• The most cautions for an East-West combination event is 11 in June 2013 while the fewest is four in May 2009 and August 2014. The most caution laps (68) came in the inaugural 2007 event and the fewest was 24 on May 2009 and August 2014.
• In the 12 combination events, the lead has changed hands an average of 6.08 times with a high of 18 in the 200-lap May 2007 race.
• The average starting position for the winner is fifth while the pole sitter has an average finish of 8.25.
• Three of the 12 east-West combination races at Iowa were extended by a late race caution for a green-white-checkered finish, the last occurring in 2013.
• Chevrolet has gone to Victory Lane in seven East-West events at Iowa, while Toyota has four wins and Ford has one.
Iowa Data:
Race: #9 of 14 – East; #8 of 13 – West
Track Layout: .875-mile asphalt tri-oval
Race Length: 150 laps (131.25 miles)
Banking/Turns: 12-14 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 10 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: Four degrees
Iowa Qualifying/Race Data:
2014 Race Winner: Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 89.556 mph (1 hour, 27 minutes, 56 seconds).
2014 Pole Winner: Jesse Little, Chevrolet, 131.893 mph (23.883 seconds).
1-Lap Qualifying Record: Kyle Busch, 135.484 (23.250 seconds), May 2009.
150-Lap Race Record: Ben Rhodes, Chevrolet, 93.287 mph (1 hour, 24 minutes, 25 seconds).
Iowa Leaders:
Overall Combination Race Wins
Kyle Busch … 1
Cole Custer … 1
Chase Elliott … 1
Max Gresham … 1
Brian Ickler … 1
Brandon Jones … 1
Corey LaJoie … 1
Joey Logano … 1
Brandon McReynolds … 1
Brett Moffitt … 1
Michael Self … 1
Ben Rhodes … 1
Overall Combination Race Pole Wins
Anderson Bowen … 1
Kyle Busch … 1
William Byron … 1
Cale Conley … 1
Cole Custer … 1
Matt DiBenedetto … 1
Austin Dillon … 1
Kevin Harvick … 1
Brodie Kostecki … 1
Jesse Little … 1
David Mayhew … 1
Brett Moffitt … 1
Combination Race Laps Completed
Greg Pursley … 1,610
Eddie MacDonald … 1,543
David Mayhew … 1,517
Daryl Harr … 1,269
Eric Holmes … 1,092
Combination Race Laps Led
Brett Moffitt … 287
Cole Custer … 234
Kyle Busch … 168
Ben Rhodes … 140
Corey LaJoie … 134
Selected Driver Highlights:
Rico Abreu (No. 98 Accudoc Solutions/Go-Pro Motorplex/Curb Records Chevrolet)
• Is ranked ninth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship standings with one win and five top-10 finishes.
• Earned his first K&N Pro Series East victory at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway on July 4, 2015.
• Finished 30th overall (18th in the East) at his first series start at Iowa Speedway.
• Is a member of the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
Ronnie Bassett Jr. (No. 04 Bassett Gutters Ford)
• Is ranked 11th in the East standings after recording two top-five and three top-ten finishes.
• In three starts at Iowa he has finished eighth (2014), 18th (2014) and second (2015).
• Tied his best career finish in May 2015 when he finished second in the East. (He finished third overall).
Nicole Behar (No. 33 Custom Welding & Fabrication Inc. Toyota)
• Is ranked 10th in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings after registering two top fives and five top 10s.
• In her only start at Iowa (May 2015) she finished 21st overall and ninth in the West.
• Is a member of the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
Kyle Benjamin (No. 72 Eibach Ford)
• Is ranked fourth in the East standings after racking up one win, three top fives and four top 10s.
• Earned his first win at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway on April 18, 2015.
• In two starts at Iowa he has placed 14th (2014) and sixth (2015) in the East.
• He finished 9th overall at the May K&N Pro Series combination event.
• Is a member of the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
James Bickford (No. 6 Sunrise Ford/Interstate Plastics/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Is ranked sixth in the West standings after earning one win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes.
• Earned his first win of 2015 at the Stateline Speedway on July 11.
• In three starts at Iowa he has finished fourth (twice in 2014) and 10th (2015) in the West.
• Finished 24th overall at the May East-West event.
• Is a member of the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
William Byron (No. 9 Liberty University Chevrolet)
• Is leading the East standings after racking up four wins, five top fives and six top 10s.
• In his first start at Iowa in May he finished second overall and first in the East.
• Is a member of the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
Nick Drake (No. 15 Carlyle Tools Toyota)
• Is ranked seventh in the East after tallying one top-five and five top-10 finishes.
• In three starts at Iowa he has finished second (2014), 13th (2014) and 11th (2015) in the East.
• Placed 18th overall at the May East-West event.
• He has an average start of ninth at the .875-mile oval.
Chris Eggleston (No. 99 H20 Fire Protection/NAPA Auto Care Toyota)
• Leads the West standings after recording two wins, four top-five and five top-10 finishes.
• In two starts at Iowa he has finished fifth (2014 and 2015) in the West.
• Finished 15th overall in the May 2015 K&N Pro Series combination event.
Kaz Grala (No. 3 OzLink Toyota)
• Is ranked eighth in the East standings after registering three top fives and five top 10s.
• In three starts at Iowa he has finished 22nd (2014), eighth (2014) and 17th (2015) in the East.
• Finished 29th overall in the May 2015 K&N Pro Series combination event.
Noah Gragson (No. 7 Alert ID/Colliers International Ford)
• Is ranked second in the West standings after earning one win, four top fives and six top 10s.
• In his only start at Iowa Speedway (2015) he finished third in the West and seventh overall.
JJ Haley (No. 5 Braun Auto Chevrolet)
• Is ranked 10th in the East standings after tallying two top fives and five top 10s.
• In two starts at Iowa he has placed 20th (2014) and fourth (2015).
• He placed sixth overall in the K&N Pro Series combination event in May.
Scott Heckert (No. 34 Project Lifesaver Chevrolet)
• Is ranked third in the East standings after recording one win, five top fives and six top 10s.
• In five starts at Iowa he has finished 18th (twice 2013), third (2014) and fifth (2014 and 2015).
• He placed eighth overall in the May combination event.
• Has an average finish of 9.8 and an average start of 9.6 at Iowa.
Austin Hill (A&D Welding Ford)
• Is ranked second in the East standings after registering one win, three top fives and seven top 10s.
• In five starts at Iowa, he has finished 23rd (2013), 17th (2013), ninth (2014), 25th (2014) and seventh (2015).
• Finished 10th overall at the May East-West combination event.
• Has an average finish of 16.2 and an average start of 9.8 at Iowa.
• Is a member of the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
Jesse Little (No. 1 Hattori Toyota)
• Is ranked 22nd in the East standings with only three starts and one top-five finish.
• Has six starts at Iowa and has placed 18th (2012), 14th (2013), fourth (2013), 16th (2014), 10th (2014) and third (2015).
• At the May East-West event he finished fourth overall.
• Won the pole award at Iowa in August 2014.
• Has an average finish of 10.83 and an average start of 8.16 at Iowa.
• Is a member of the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
David Mayhew (No. 17 MMI Racing/Ron’s Rear Ends/Pour House Chevrolet)
• Is ranked fifth in the West standings after recording one win, three top-five and five top-10 finishes.
• In 11 combination events at Iowa, he has won three for the West.
• Won a stand-alone event at Iowa in September 2009.
• His average finish is 5.66 and an average start of 3.5 at Iowa.
• Finished 11th overall and fourth in the West at Iowa in May.
Brandon McReynolds (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Is ranked ninth in the West after tallying one win and four top 10s.
• In three starts at Iowa he has finished 14th (2014), third (2014) and first (2015).
• Earned his first series win at Iowa in May at the East-West event.
Ryan Partridge (No. 91 Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil/Eibach Ford)
• Is ranked fourth in the West standings after earning four top-five and six top-10 finishes.
• In his only start at Iowa, May 2015, he finished eighth in the West and 20th overall.
Gracin Raz (No. 27 Montana Tech Ford)
• Is ranked third in the West after recording four top fives and six top 10s.
• In his only start at Iowa (2015) he finished seventh in the West and 17th overall.
Alex Schutte (No. 21 Proficio Chevrolet)
• Is ranked seventh in the West standings after earning six top-10 finishes.
• In his only start at Iowa (May 2015) he finished sixth in the West and 16th overall.
Johnny White (No. 31 MMI Services/Ron Rear’s Ends Chevrolet)
• Is ranked eighth in the West after tallying one top-five and four top 10s.
• In his only start at Iowa (May 2015) he finished 15th in the West and 35th overall.