2015-07-14

K&N Pro Series East News & Notes: New Hampshire

For Immediate Release

 

K&N Pro Series East News & Notes: New Hampshire 
Byron Hopes NASCAR Next Luck Continues 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 14, 2015) - 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) 513-5708klestock@nhms.com
TWITTER: 
@NHMS
EVENT HASHTAG: 
#United70
NASCAR IMC CONTACT: 
Brooke Franceschini, (386) 631-6142bfranceschini@nascar.com, @BrookeFran04
If photographs or graphics are needed for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, please contact Brooke Franceschini at 386-310-6068 orbfranceschini@nascar.com.

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!

 

Contact:
Brooke Franceschini


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PASS And ACT Racers Ready To Battle For Big Money In International 500 Weekend At Airborne

PASS And ACT Racers Ready To Battle For Big Money In International 500 Weekend At Airborne

 

-       For Immediate Release

 

NAPLES, ME (July 14) – A season of firsts continues this weekend as the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) AIM Recycling Super Late Models Presented By Kenny U-Pull head to New York state for the first time ever to compete as part of the International 500 weekend at Airborne Park Speedway.  For only the second time in history, PASS will co-headline the weekend along with the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) Late Models, with twin 200's.  The PASS 200 lap portion of the International 500 weekend will pay $7500 to win plus additional lap leader money with a potential for the winner to take home up to $10,000.  The fourth race of the prestigious PASS National Championship Series will also pay $1000 to start.

            One driver who will be very busy this weekend will be Hudson, NH's, Joey Polewarczyk.  Joey Pole, as he is known by his fans, will be competing in both main events, driving his ACT Late Model as well as his PASS AIM Recycling Super Late Model.  While it will be the first time many of the PASS drivers have competed at Airborne Park Speedway, Polewarczyk hopes to have the upper hand based on his previous experiences racing there with ACT.

            "Airborne is a D-shaped, half-mile, progressively banked racetrack that has a lot of grip and a lot of speed," says Polewarczyk, driver of the Pole's Automotive #97.  "It was repaved a few years ago, but it definitely has some bumps.  You really need to get your car rotating well to run a fast lap there.  Out of all the tracks the ACT tour goes to, it's really one of my favorite tracks.  I think the PASS cars are really going to race well there."

            But Sunday's International 500 will not be the first time Pole has attempted the ACT/PASS double.  In another history making event between the two sanctioning bodies at Oxford Plains Speedway in April, Pole pulled the double with mixed results.  He claimed the checkered flag for the ACT Late Models, but struggled in his PASS AIM Recycling Super Late Model and finished 31st.  Pole hopes lessons learned from Oxford Plains will produce different results this weekend at Airborne.

            "It's a lot of work to run both cars on the same day," says Polewarczyk.  "Both cars require different adjustments and just drive differently.  Luckily we run our ACT car a lot at Airborne so we have a good baseline setup for that car.  If all goes as planned, that car will be pretty good and we can spend some extra time trying to get our PASS car handling well.  It's all about finding a balance with both cars."

            While a lot of attention will be focused on the double duty drivers on Sunday, equal attention should also be given to the great points battles in PASS.  After losing the PASS North points lead to DJ Shaw at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Mike Rowe rebounded well at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway and carries a 30-point advantage to Airborne.  On the flip side, Rowe's son, Ben, has struggled as of late, losing the PASS National points lead to North Carolina's Tate Fogleman.  The third generation racer will carry a scant three point advantage over Ben Rowe in his first ever trip to Airborne Park Speedway.

            "I'm excited to race in New York following our strong run on the mile at New Hampshire," says Fogleman, who finished 7th in his recent out at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.  "My team and I have been working really hard to get the car prepared for another big race.  We have a good feeling about this coming weekend and are planning on having another good finish."

A great field of PASS AIM Recycling Super Late Model Presented By Kenny U-Pull is expected this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the history making AIM 60.  Defending series champion DJ Shaw will be joined by Mike and Ben Rowe, along with former PASS AIM Recycling Super Late Model champions Cassius Clark and Johnny Clark.  Two-time defending AIM Recycling Oxford 250 champion Travis Benjamin will lead the Maine contingent along with Richie Dearborn, Glen Luce, Scott Mulkern, and Joey Doiron.  New Hampshire's Bryan Kruczek will be looking to continue his strong season, along with Patrick Laperle, Raphael Lessard and Eric St. Gelais, who are planning to come down from Quebec.  Some of New England's toughest contenders hope to be in contention as well including Ted Christopher, Brian Hoar, Derek Ramstrom, and Bobby Thierren.

Action begins on Friday at Airborne Park Speedway with practice from 3 to 6:45 PM for the PASS AIM Recycling Super Late Models Presented By Kenny U-Pulland ACT Late Models.  On Saturday, pit gates open at 7:30 AM, with rotating practice from 10 AM to 5:30 PM, qualifying will be at 6:30 PM and feature events will follow, featuring consis for the ACT Late Models and PASS Super Late Models and main events for Rev Star and Pro Cam Trucks.  On Sunday, practice will go from 9 AM to 12:30 PM followed by main events at 1:30 PMfeaturing twin 200's for the PASS AIM Recycling Super Late Models and ACT Late Models.

Entry forms, information, and the complete weekend schedule can be found atProAllStarsSeries.com.

 The Pro All Stars Series is recognized as North America's premier sanctioning body for asphalt Super Late Models and boasts such marquee events as the legendary AIM Recycling Oxford 250 Presented By Kenny U-Pull at Oxford Plains Speedway and PASS South's Easter Bunny 150 at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway.  For technical information concerning all PASS divisions please send questions to passracing@roadrunner.com.  For media or marketing questions, please contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or alandietzpass@live.com.  And, don't forget to "Like" the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.

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