PRESS RELEASE
Analyzing The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville Pickens Speedway
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 18, 2014) – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway on Saturday, March 22 for the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150, the season’s fourth event. Below is a look at the performance of the series and selected drivers at Greenville, as well as, some other statistical trends:
Greenville Race Setup
· Sergio Peña is part of an impressive list of NASCAR K&N Pro Series East winners at Greenville that includes Austin Dillon, Dylan Kwasniewski, Joey Logano and Darrell Wallace Jr., who is the only multi-time series winner at the track.
· Eddie MacDonald, who broke a 53-race winless streak with a triumph on March 15 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, leads active drivers with 10 GPS starts and four top-five finishes.
· Track position is critical in short-track racing, and Greenville is no exception. The average starting position for the 11 race winners is 3.18.
Greenville Pickens Speedway
History
· Opened on July 4, 1946 as a dirt track. The race surface was converted to asphalt in April, 1970.
· Held 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 1951-71, including the first flag-to-flag televised event.
· David Pearson (1959) and Ralph Earnhardt (1965, 66) are among the famed drivers that have won championships at the track.
· Junior Miller won a pair of NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races at Greenville in the 2006-07 seasons.
Notebook
· This is the series’ 12th visit to the historic South Carolina track.
· The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East held its inaugural Greenville Pickens Speedway race on June 6, 2006 and has returned every year since. This is the fourth straight season that the track has held two events.
· The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 will be telecast on a delayed basis by FOX Sports 1 on Friday, March 28 at 11 a.m.
· Brandon Gdovic took the checkered flag in this event last year while eventual series champion Dylan Kwasniewski won the September event. Darrell Wallace Jr. is the only driver in the first 11 races at GPS to earn two victories.
· In the first 11 NKNPS East events there have been three drivers that have won from the pole: Joey Logano (2007), Moffitt (2011) and Kwasniewski (2013). Moffitt also set the track qualifying record in 2011.
· Logano, Austin Dillon (2008), Gdovic (2013) and Wallace (2010) earned their first career NKNPS East wins in events at Greenville.
· The most cautions for a K&N East race at Greenville is 13 on two occasions (2006, 2010) while the fewest is one in the September 2013 race. The most caution laps (79) came in the inaugural 2006 race while the fewest was eight in September 2013.
· In 11 races the lead has changed hands an average of 3.55 times with a high of eight changes in 2009.
· The average starting position for the winner is 3.18 while the pole sitter has an average finish of 6.45.
Greenville Data
Race: #4 of 16 (3/22/14)
Track Layout: .5-mile asphalt oval
Race Length: 150 laps (75 miles)
Banking/Corners: Five degrees
Greenville Qualifying/Race Data
2013 Pole Winner: Brett Moffitt
2013 Race Winner: Brandon Gdovic
1-Lap Qualifying Record: Brett Moffitt, Toyota, 20.534 seconds, 87.659 mph, April 2, 2011
150-Lap Race Record: Brandon Gdovic, Toyota, 1 hour, 2 minutes, 27 seconds, 72.058 mph, April 6, 2013
Greenville Leaders
Wins
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 2
Sean Caisse … 1
Austin Dillon … 1
Brandon Gdovic … 1
Brian Icker … 1
Corey LaJoie … 1
Joey Logano … 1
Dylan Kwasniewski … 1
Brett Moffitt … 1
Sergio Peña … 1
Poles
Brett Moffitt … 3
Dylan Kwasniewski … 1
Corey LaJoie … 1
Joey Logano … 1
Mike Olsen … 1
Peyton Sellers … 1
Cole Whitt … 1
Field set per rule book … 2
Laps Completed
Eddie MacDonald … 1,486
Brett Moffitt … 1,163
Ryan Gifford … 1,027
Laps Led
Brett Moffitt … 356
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 171
Brian Ickler … 167
Selected Driver Information:
Mackena Bell (No. 21 Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota)
· Has two top fives and four top 10s in 23 career series starts.
· Finished 18th and fifth, respectively, in two GPS starts last season.
· Has one top five in three Greenville starts with an average finish of 14.0.
· Opened season with an eighth-place finish at New Smyrna.
· Earned first career top-five finish in April 2013 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
Nick Drake (No. 15 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
· Has one top five and one top 10 in three career K&N East starts.
· Attempting to make Greenville debut.
· Collected first series top-five finish (4th) on Feb. 18 at Daytona International Speedway.
David Garbo Jr. (No. 1 Big Machine Records/Garbo Lobster Toyota)
· Has one top-10 finish in three career series starts.
· Attempting to make K&N East GPS debut.
· Picked up first career top 10 with a seventh-place effort on March 15 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Gray Gaulding (No. 20 Krispy Kreme Chevrolet)
· Has a pole, four top fives and 11 top 10s in 17 series career starts.
· Registered 10th and third-place finishes last year at Greenville.
· Holds series point lead and is youngest driver (16 years, 1 month, 5 days) in series history to do so.
· Became the youngest pole winner in NKNPS East history (15 years, 2 months, 15 days) in April 2013 at Richmond.
· Became the youngest race winner in NKNPS West history (15 years, 8 months, 30 days) in November 2013 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.
· Became the youngest pole winner in NKNPS West history (15 years, 8 months, 16 days) in October 2013 at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif.
· Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Ryan Gifford (No. 2 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
· Has a win, a pole, 15 top fives and 20 top 10s in 57 career series starts.
· Scored 13th and 19th-place finishes last season at Greenville.
· Has one to five in seven GPS starts with an average finish of 12.1.
· Best Greenville finish of fourth came in 2010 track debut.
· Scored first series victory in April 2013 at Richmond.
· Has five series career top-five finishes and a pole (Martinsville (Va.) Speedway) on half-mile tracks.
· Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Kaz Grala (No. 31 OzLINK Chevrolet)
· Has two top 10s in three career series starts.
· Attempting to make K&N East GPS debut.
· Is 11th in the championship standings.
· Won Speed51/JEGS 2013 Rookie of the Year honors.
Cameron Hayley (No. 98 Cabinets By Hayley Chevrolet)
· Has one pole and one top five in four career K&N East starts.
· Has a win, six poles, 19 top fives and 26 top 10s in 34 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts.
· Attempting to make Greenville debut.
· Was championship runner-up to Derek Thorn last season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
· Was the youngest (15 years, 23 days) driver to start K&N West race in August 2011.
· Takes over Turner Scott Motorsports car that Dylan Kwasniewski drove to the K&N East championship in 2013.
· Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Austin Hill (No. 22 A&D Welding Ford)
· Has a win, three top fives and four top 10s in 10 career series starts.
· Finished 15th in the October 2012 Greenville event for his only start at the track.
· Ranks eighth in championship standings after three races.
· Earned first career win in September 2013 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway.
Brandon Jones (No. 33 Wolfpack Energy Services Chevrolet)
· Has one top-five finish and three top-10 finishes in 10 career series starts.
· Finished 14th in his only series GPS start in October 2012.
· Collected a series-best finish of third in Feb. 16 season opener at New Smyrna.
· Made NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut last August at Bristol and followed with starts at Iowa and Martinsville.
Jesse Little (No. 97 NASCAR Technical Institute Chevrolet)
· Has six top fives and eight top 10s in 24 career NKNPS East races with a best finish of third on two occasions, most recently at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., in June 2013.
· Has one top five and two top 10s in three GPS starts.
· Best Greenville finish of third was October 2012; has average finish of 8.7 at the track.
· Was 2013 Sunoco Rookie of the Year for the K&N Pro Series East and finished ninth in championship standings.
· Made K&N Pro Series West, in which his father, Chad, was the 1987 champion, debut last November at Phoenix.
Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
· Has seven wins, two poles, 32 top fives and 84 top 10s in 175 career series starts.
· Has four top fives and seven top 10s in 10 GPS starts to lead active drivers.
· Has an average finish of 9.2 at the South Carolina oval with a best finish of third in 2009.
· Snapped a 53-race winless streak with a victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 15.
· Has finished in the top 10 in points for six consecutive K&N East seasons.
Brennan Newberry (No. 24 Qore24 Chevrolet)
· Has one top five and one top 10 in four career K&N East starts.
· Attempting to make Greenville debut.
· Has three poles, two top five and four top 10s in 12 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts.
· Also competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Sergio Peña (No. 5 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
· Has three wins, seven top fives and 19 top 10s in 42 series career starts.
· Has a victory and three top 10s in five Greenville starts.
· Greenville win came in September 2011.
· Is in third season with Rev Racing and the Drive for Diversity initiative.
Lee Pulliam (No. 11 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota)
· Has two top fives in three K&N East career starts as a rookie.
· Attempting to make Greenville debut.
· Is a two-time and reigning NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion and joins Larry Phillips (5) and Philip Morris (4) as the only multi-time series title winners.
· Has 73 career NASCAR Whelen All-American Series wins over 157 starts dating back to 2009.
Ben Rhodes (No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet)
· Has two poles, four top fives and seven top 10s in 10 career K&N East starts.
· Finished sixth in September 2013 in his only Greenville start.
· Has won consecutive pole awards – Daytona and Bristol.
· Ranks third in the championship standings after three races.
· Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Kenzie Ruston (No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet)
· Has four top fives and eight top 10s in 17 career series starts.
· Has a top-five and two top 10s in two GPS starts.
· Led four laps on Feb. 16 at New Smyrna and became the first female K&N East driver to lead a lap since Danica Patrick at Dover in September 2010.
· Best career finish of third, recorded in April 2013 at Greenville, is the best finish by a female driver in NKNPS East history.
· Finished sixth in the final K&N East standings last season which is the best in series history for a female driver.
· Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Daniel Suárez (No. 6 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
· Has three wins, 10 top fives and 17 top 10s in 33 career NKNPS East starts.
· Finished seventh and second last year at GPS; runner-up finish in September was track-best effort.
· Has a top five and three top 10s in three Greenville starts.
· Is second in points; four points behind Gaulding.
· Opened season with two straight series wins to become the second driver in series history to win the first two events of the season with Sean Caisse (2006) being the other.
· Has six career NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series victories and 10 pole wins in 44 career starts.
· Is in second season with Rev Racing for the NKNPS East.
· Is a member of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights young talent in the sport.
Up To Speed
· The 2014 season is the 28th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
· The 2014 schedule features 16 races at 14 different tracks across 10 states.
· Daniel Suárez opened the season with a narrow victory over Cameron Hayley, who won his first K&N East pole, at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
· Suárez won at Daytona for his second straight series victory to become just the second driver in series history to win the first two races of the season. Sean Caisse in 2006 is the other. Ben Rhodes picked up his first series career pole award.
· Eddie MacDonald snapped a 53-race winless streak at Bristol. Ben Rhodes started from the pole and led 130 of 132 laps.
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