Suarez Surges To 2nd Straight K&N East Win
Sweeps Florida Swing With UNOH Battle At The Beach Triumph
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daniel Suarez isn’t slowing down.
The 22-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico, made it 2-for-2 in 2014 with a dominant performance on the short track at Daytona International Speedway Tuesday to capture the UNOH Battle At The Beach.
Suarez led the final 119 circuits of the 150-lap event for his third career win. He won the season-opener on Sunday at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway, just down the road from Daytona, and in the process became the first driver since Sean Caisse in 2006 to start a K&N Pro Series East season by winning the first two races on the schedule.
Suarez also delivered Rev Racing and NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program its 14th victory since 2010. His first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East win was earned in 2013 at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway.
Austin Hill crossed the finish line second at the .37-mile oval at “The World Center of Racing,” while Brandon McReynolds was third.
Nick Drake and Lee Pulliam rounded out the top five.
Kenzie Ruston was sixth, followed by Gray Gaulding, Patrick Staropoli, Scott Heckert and Kaz Grala.
Ben Rhodes, who earned the 21 Means 21 Pole Award by Coors Brewing earlier in the day, settled for a 15th-place finish after he suffered damage from an incident midway through the event.
The UNOH Battle At The Beach doubleheader, which also included a NASCAR Whelen Modified/NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour special event, aired live on Fox Sports 2. The K&N portion of the event will be rebroadcast on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m. on Fox Sports 1. Suarez’s New Smyrna win will air on FOX Sports 1 on Saturday at 9 a.m.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will continue its 2014 campaign with the PittLite 125 on March 15 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
RESULTS | LAP-BY-LAP RECAP | AUDIO: RACE WINNER DANIEL SUAREZ | AUDIO: RACE WINNER EN ESPAÑOL | AUDIO: RUNNER-UP AUSTIN HILL | AUDIO: THIRD-PLACE BRANDON MCREYNOLDS
Sources: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR PR
NKNPS East Daytona 2/18/14 Results
K&N Pro Series East
Race: NKNPSE Daytona 2/18/14
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
1 6 6 Daniel Suarez Sunoco Racing Fuel Toyota 150 48 5 Running
2 2 22 Austin Hill * A&D Welding Ford 150 42 Running
3 19 16 Brandon McReynolds NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 150 41 Running
4 11 15 Nick Drake * NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 150 40 Running
5 9 11 Lee Pulliam * Don Valley North Toyota 150 39 Running
6 10 96 Kenzie Ruston Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet 150 38 Running
7 3 20 Gray Gaulding Krispy Kreme Chevrolet 150 38 1 Running
8 18 99 Patrick Staropoli * PEAK Toyota 150 36 Running
9 12 34 Scott Heckert Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet 150 35 Running
10 21 31 Kaz Grala * OzLINK Chevrolet 150 34 Running
11 15 46 Brandon Gdovic American Messaging/Windstax.com Toyota 150 33 Running
12 23 97 Jesse Little Vanacore Homes/NTI Chevrolet 150 32 Running
13 17 4 Sergio Pena UTI/NASCAR Technical Institute Toyota 150 31 Running
14 13 98 Cameron Hayley Cabinets by Hayley Chevrolet 150 30 Running
15 1 41 Ben Rhodes * Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet 150 29 Running
16 14 42 Jay Beasley * Toyota Racing Development Toyota 150 28 Running
17 20 21 Mackena Bell Special Smiles Toyota 149 27 Running
18 7 43 Brodie Kostecki * Arcoplate Toyota 148 26 Running
19 22 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Contracting Chevrolet 148 25 Running
20 16 2 Ryan Gifford Toyota Racing Development Toyota 147 24 Running
21 8 1 David Garbo, Jr. * Garbo Lobster Toyota 145 23 Running
22 5 24 Brennan Newberry Qore24 Chevrolet 143 22 Running
23 4 4 Ronnie Bassett, Jr. * Butler Trailer Mfg. Toyota 143 21 Running
24 26 18 Brandon Jones Paragon Energy Holdings Toyota 143 20 Running
25 25 55 Jerry Dawson * EXIT Realty Chevrolet 81 19 Accident
26 24 89 Cory Joyce Kyros Ent Chevrolet 74 18 Brakes
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Ben Rhodes *, Time: 18.589 Seconds, Speed: 71.655 mph
Failed To Qualify: Clint King (07), Beto Monteiro (12), Nathan Russell (75), Brandon Jones (33) (Jones replace Sam Hunt in No.18 due to illness)
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 9 mins, 12 secs Average Speed: 48.121 mph Margin of Victory: .596 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 11-16; 40-44; 56-61; 64-72; 85-92; 94-100; 130-136; 140-145. 8 for 54 laps.
Lap Leaders: Ben Rhodes (grid), Gray Gaulding 1-31, Daniel Suarez 32-150.
Total Laps Led: Daniel Suarez 119, Gray Gaulding 31. 1 changes involving 2 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Daniel Suarez 96, Lee Pulliam * 78, Kenzie Ruston 77, Gray Gaulding 76, Cameron Hayley 73, Brandon McReynolds 71, Ben Rhodes * 69, Nick Drake * 69, Patrick Staropoli * 69, Brandon Gdovic 68
Next Race: March 15 at Bristol, Tenn.
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender