(Press Release from NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications)
If William Byron raises the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship trophy in the fall, this weekend may be one of the season’s defining moments.
Dating back to the days as the NASCAR Busch North Series, New Hampshire has been one of the premier events on the series schedule. As the K&N Pro Series has evolved to become NASCAR’s top developmental series, winning at Loudon continues to carry significance.
Since 2007, four drivers won at New Hampshire en route to the title, and in each of the last three years, NASCAR Next drivers have walked away with the race trophy.
The trend seems to bode well for Byron, the 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver who holds a 20-point cushion atop the championship standings. The Charlotte, North Carolina, driver already has a second (Bristol) and first (Iowa) to his credit in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East races on combination weekends with the national series.
Even when the eventual champion hasn’t fared well on the 1.058-mile oval, the winner has been notable. Two years ago, Cole Custer won the East race, and a year later the NASCAR Next driver won the NASCAR Camping World Series race at NHMS to become youngest winner in national series history. Last season, a pair of young stars — Brandon Jones and Nick Drake — tangled in the final turns on the last lap to open the door for NASCAR Next driver Jesse Little to claim his first NASCAR win.
RACE: United Site Services 70
PLACE: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, N.H.
DATE: Friday, July 17
TIME: 6 p.m. EST
TV SCHEDULE: NBCSN, Thursday, July 23, 7 p.m.
TRACK LAYOUT: 1.058-mile paved oval
2014 WINNER: Jesse Little
2014 POLE SITTER: Ben Rhodes
EVENT SCHEDULE: Thursday, July 16 – Practice: 3-4 p.m.; Final Practice: 5-6 p.m. Friday, July 17 – Qualifying: 10:15 a.m.; Driver Autograph Session: 12:30-1:30 p.m.; Driver Introductions: 5:40 p.m.; United Site Services 70: 6 p.m.
TRACK CONTACT: Kristen Lestock, (603) 513-5708, [email protected]
TWITTER: @NHMS
EVENT HASHTAG: #United70
FAST FACTS
The Race: The United Site Services 70 will be the eighth of 14 races on the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule and the lone trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The Procedure: The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 70 laps (74.06 miles).
The Track: This is the 69th race for the series at the 1.058-mile slightly banked oval, dating back to Sept. 1990. This is the second straight year the series has raced on the summer stop for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, after running on the September weekend in 2012 and 2013. It’s the largest track on the K&N East schedule.
Race Winners: There have been 28 different winners in the 59 all-time stand-alone races at Loudon. New Hampshire native Brad Leighton has the most series win at the “Magic Mile” with eight, while Eddie MacDonald is the active leader with three.
Pole Winners: Of the 31 different drivers to earn a Coors Light Pole Award at New Hampshire, Kelly Moore has the most in K&N Pro Series East history with six. Ben Rhodes set a new qualifying record last season with a time of 29.622 (128.580 mph) for his first pole at Loudon.
NEW HAMPSHIRE RACE NOTES
Kumpen Returns to K&N East: The 2014 NASCAR Whelen Euro champion, Anthony Kumpen, will be making his second series start at New Hampshire this weekend. Kumpen competed in the season opener in February at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway and finished 14th. This weekend is the first of four U.S. NASCAR races for Kumpen for the remainder of this season; he is scheduled to compete in three XFINITY Series races at Iowa, Phoenix and Homestead.
Davis to Make Series Debut: Spencer Davis will make his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut at Loudon Friday. The 16-year-old Dawsonville, Georgia, native has competed in nine NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour events and 18 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races, with a best finish of seventh and fifth, respectively.
Little Looking to Make It Two in a Row: Jesse Little is looking to pick up another win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Friday night. He led only won lap last season to take the win over Eddie MacDonald and Cale Conley, after Nick Drake and Brandon Jones wrecked on the white flag lap.
Drake Looks For Redemption: Nick Drake hopes to pick up a victory after a tough break at Loudon last year. He led the field at the white flag lap, but when second place Brandon Jones tried a bottom move in Turn 3, he got into Drake and the two wrecked.
Abreu Coming in Hot after First Win: Rico Abreu enters Loudon coming off his first K&N Pro Series East victory. The NASCAR Next member picked up his first win at Columbus Motor Speedway on the Fourth of July in only his seventh series start.
Beasley Hopes To Continue Successful Streak: Jay Beasley hopes his recent on track success carries into Friday at Loudon. In his last five competitions, Beasley has three top-five and four top-10 finishes. Beasley is hoping for his first series win and has a career best fourth place finish at the “Magic Mile”.
Wednesday Is NASCAR Night: The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will hit the field Wednesday night at the Lowell Spinners (Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) game. In honor of NASCAR Night, some K&N East drivers will be in attendance participating in an autograph session, selected promotions and interviews. Come out and join us!
Shawn, do you know of any local racers that are going to be in this race? I remember sometime ago before NASCAR did away with the BUSCH North Series there would be lots of local talent in these races. Now all you seem to get is a field full of rich kids whose parents think their kid has the talent to be the next Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, or Sliced Bread. IMO it really sucks that money counts sometimes more than raw talent to land a ride.
Larry,
There are a few you could term “local”. Eddie MacDonald and John Salemi are really the only guys on the entry list that I would consider “local” as in they came up through short track stock car racing in New England and were also a part of what the old Busch North Series was. Dave Garbo Jr. is from Stonington, CT. He drove a Legends car at the New London-Waterford Speedbowl and is racing on the K&N Pro Series East this year for former Busch North Series team owner Ted Marsh. Matt Frahm from North Salem, N.H. came up through Northern New England short track racing. Scott Heckert (Ridgefield, CT) and Kaz Grala (Westborough, Mass.) are native to the area, but really didn’t do any short track racing in New England.