CHAMPION CREW CHIEF: Kevin Bellicourt
Wins First K&N Pro Series East Title With Byron
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Kevin Bellicourt is no stranger to the racing world.
He’s had years of experience working on race teams and working his way up the ladder.
“I moved up to North Carolina when I finished school,” said Bellicourt. “I got my first opportunity from a friend and I took the chance. I started working and have been learning and moving up ever since.”
Like his driver, William Byron, he has quite the extensive resume.
“I’ve worked with Woods Brothers Racing and couple others before going to Braun a couple years ago,” Bellicourt said. “I was contacted to work at Turner Scott last year and the rest is history.”
CHAMPION DRIVER: WILLIAM BYRON | CHAMPION OWNERS: JUSTIN MARKS & HARRY SCOTT
In his first year as a crew chief, he paired with HScott with Justin Marks rookie driver Byron, with the hopes of making big things happen.
“We set out with realistic expectations,” said Bellicourt. “But we really wanted a championship.”
The result: four victories, five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes, the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship.
“It’s unbelievable,” Bellicourt said about winning his first series crown as a crew chief. “The finale at Dover was the most nerve wracking day I’ve ever had at the track and the weather definitely didn’t help. We had no practice or qualifying, so William had to go out there with little knowledge of the track.
“But I wouldn’t change the way things played out. It made winning the championship more fulfilling for everyone. We had a great team this year, which made my job easy. We were extremely fortunate to have the team and season we did.
Bellicourt met Byron shortly before the 2015 season started. He and his wife went out to dinner with William and his dad. What was meant to be a quick getting to know you dinner, turned into a three-hour affair.
“I went into the dinner a little apprehensive,” Bellicourt said. “I knew he didn’t have a lot of experience and as a first-year crew chief that made me nervous. But as soon as we met everything clicked and I knew right away that we had something good.”
They started the season with a seventh place finish in their debut at New Smyrna (Florida) Speedway and carried the momentum into South Carolina’s Greenville Pickens Speedway, picking up their first podium finish and from there everything kept clicking.
“We came out strong,” said Bellicourt. “The team was happy with the performance. It was at Greenville where everything took off and we knew a championship was possible. From there we got into a groove.”
The key to their success? Consistency.
“That’s what gave us the advantage at the end of the season,” Bellicourt said. “In the second half of the season we knew we had to be smart and cautiously aggressive to keep our lead. And look where it got us.”
Sources: Brooke Franceschini, NASCAR