Category: K&N Pro Series

Gifford Gunning for East Win (Martinsville Speedway.com)

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Ryan Gifford’s grandfather was a drag racer. But when it came time for Gifford to choose a path, he opted for straightaways that had a turn at the end. It seems like it was a pretty good decision. The 21-year-old Gifford has finished in the top five in two of the first three races of the season on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and headed into the Made In America Whelen 200/UNOH Performance 200 at Martinsville Speedway on June 6, he is fifth in the series points standings. “My grandfather used to be a drag racer. I had a big interest in either racing junior dragsters or go karts. There was a go-kart track about 15 minutes down the road from us,” said the Winchester, TN driver, who was eight years old at the time. “He took me down there and I fell in love with it. “ He conquered the World Karting Association and moved to dirt late models in 2005 and immediately started winning races. He caught the eye of Sprint Cup team owner Richard Childress and signed on as a developmental driver for RCR in 2009. He remains an RCR driver, but is also a member of the 2010 Drive For Diversity Class, racing for Revolution Racing. Read the rest…

Wild Night at Hickory for Late Models

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It was a wild night at Hickory Motor Speedway Saturday, with two of the three Revolution Racing late models getting caught up in the on-track wreck fest. Becca Kasten was the only Revolution driver able to finish the 50 lap race, wheeling her wounded No. 5 AirTight Mechanical Late Model to a sixth-place finish. “We were able to avoid the big wrecks and finish the race,” said Kasten. “Now we have a good baseline and we know what we need to do to make the car better. The No. 5 AirTight Mechanical car should be pretty good next week.” The Revolution Racing team showed improvements in qualifying this week, with Michael Cherry starting fifth, Kasten starting eighth and Megan Reitenour lining up 10th for the 50 lap feature. After a wreck-filled night in the support divisions, the late model feature went green until lap 27, when Kasten, who was battling a loose racecar, got tangled with the No. 36 car and both went spinning down the backstretch. Kasten avoided major damage and kept the No. 5 car in the race. The race went green for 10 more laps, until a three car wreck involving the No. 19, No. 88 and No. 2 of Cherry brought the yellow out again. Kasten was able to avoid the wreck, but Reitenour wasn’t so lucky. The breaks on the No. 1 car locked up while she was trying to avoid the incident, sending her car sliding into the outside wall. The night ended early for both Cherry and Reitenour. “It’s a shame we got caught up in the mess between the No. 19 and the No. 88,” said Cherry. “We had a good car and we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in someone else’s mess.” After a red-flag for another wreck at lap 39, Kasten’s goal was to bring the car home in one piece. Another spin nearly ended her night, but she hung on after the fourth and final caution, and picked up two spots to finish sixth. The Revolution Racing late model team will make repairs to the three cars and prepare for a double-header weekend, with Cherry, Kasten and teammate Jessica Brunelli racing at Tri-County Motor Speedway on Friday and again at Hickory Speedway on Saturday night. The Revolution Racing NASCAR K&N Pro Series East drivers will also be in action this weekend, racing at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon.

Wallace Third in Iowa Debut

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Darrell Wallace, Jr., rebounded from a disappointing run at South Boston Speedway last month to finish third in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East/West Goodyear Dealers of Iowa 200 at Iowa Speedway Sunday afternoon. It was Wallace’s debut race at the 0.875-mile speedway. “It was pretty crazy; I’ll tell you that,” Wallace said. “I told myself not to give up too much in three coming to the checkered flag. I held them down there, and was able to pick off (David) Mayhew and (Corey) LaJoie and get a third-place finish.” Wallace, one of the youngest competitors in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, raced in the top 10 for most of the day after qualifying fifth in the No. 76 Duck Creek Tire Chevrolet. Wallace was fourth on the final restart, and was able hold off Mayhew who restarted fifth. He pulled past LaJoie before the checkered flag and into his second top-three finish of the season. Wallace jumped three spots to third in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings. His Revolution Racing teammates Sergio Pena, Ryan Gifford and Mackena Bell finished 20th, 24th and 36th, respectively. Mackena Bell qualified 15th for the Goodyear Dealers of Iowa 200, but battled a tight racecar for most of the race. On lap 180, she cut a right front tire and hit hard into the wall in turn four. The hit broke an oil line which sent flames from the No. 8 Freedom Tire Chevrolet. Bell brought the car to a stop in the tri-oval grass and climbed from the car unharmed. Bell is currently 18th in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings. Sergio Pena finished 20th after struggling with handling problems all day with the No. 4 McAtee Tire Chevrolet. Pena started the race 10th and ran in the top 15 for much of the day, running as high as seventh just past half-way. Pena moved to 14th in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings. Ryan Gifford’s streak of top-five finishes came to an end this weekend after a pitting for a flat tire trapped him laps down at Iowa. Gifford qualified seventh and was running in the top five before going a lap down. Gifford’s 24th-place finish caused him to slip from second to fifth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings. The Goodyear Dealers of Iowa 200 can be seen on SPEED Thursday, May 27 at 1 p.m. ET. Revolution Racing will return to the track June 6 when NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.

Barriers fall as Darrell Wallace Jr. wins in NASCAR’s East tour (USAToday)

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Darrell Wallace Jr. discovered Saturday night that celebrating his first NASCAR victory differed greatly from how he envisioned it. Don’t even bother asking him to digest the historical aspect of his victory in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150, where Wallace became the NASCAR K&N East Series’ first African-American winner and its youngest victor at 16 years, five months and 19 days. Wallace’s win topped Brett Moffitt (16 years, 9 months, 27 days), who won at South Boston (Va.) Speedway last season. “It hasn’t hit me, but soon it will,” said Wallace, a member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program. “It was a pretty crazy night. It was mainly saving tires, that’s what they were telling me in my ear all night. That’s what I did and I was able to come up with the win.” Wallace started seventh at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway in his series debut and led three times for 22 laps, gaining his final lead after passing Cole Whitt just after the last restart. Next were fellow rookie Andrew Smith, Jody Lavender, Whitt and Ryan Gifford, one of Wallace’s three D4D teammates at Revolution Racing. Read the rest on USAToday

K&N Pro Series where development takes place (NASCAR.com)

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By Ty Norris, Special to NASCAR.COM In the fall of 1997, Dale Earnhardt and I had a closed-door conversation with an executive of our NASCAR Busch Series team’s primary sponsor. We were informing this distinguished gentleman that we planned to move Steve Park to the Cup Series the following year and were replacing him with an unproven driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Out of character, this executive lost his mind while expressing his displeasure. After all, Park had won three times in his only full season with DEI and finished third in points. As soon as we find someone we like, you guys move him up to Cup and we’re stuck paying for you to help your son,” the sponsor boldly said. This executive seemed to forget that the Busch Series was a true developmental series then, and much like university alumni have learned through the years, it’s hard to get attached to the best players because they are only visiting en route to the pros. Dale got his way — imagine that — and Junior took over the No. 3 ride in 1998. He won back-to-back Busch Series titles, outpointing a kid from Wisconsin named Matt Kenseth. The highest full-time Cup driver in the final season rankings was 25th in points. Our primary sponsor paid only $1.4 million per year for all 34 events, and had 13 victories and two titles to show for it. It was affordable, well-represented and rewarding to teams and sponsors. Read the rest on NASCAR.com

Weekend Preview: Greenville Pickens Speedway

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Revolution Racing will make its NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway this weekend with four rookie drivers. Mackena Bell, Ryan Gifford, Sergio Pena and Darrell Wallace Jr. will all contend for the 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year title.   Event Information: Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 Greenville Pickens Speedway Saturday, March 27 at 8 p.m. ET (TV: SPEED, April 1, 6 p.m. ET)   Track Information: Greenville Pickens Speedway is a flat, half-mile asphalt oval with five degrees of banking in the turns.   Mackena Bell Team: No. 8 Chevrolet  Crew Chief: Jerry Babb Bell on making her debut in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: “I’m looking forward to making my first start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East this weekend. I’m excited for the opportunity to compete at a historic track like Greenville Pickens Speedway, against a field of great drivers. I’ve got a great crew chief in Jerry Babb and I’m ready to go out there and learn as much as I can about racing in this series.” Fast Facts:
  • Bell raced super late models at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) in 2009 for Position One Motorsports. She finished the season eighth in the points standings with one top three and 10 top‐10 finishes.
  • This will be Bell’s first career start at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
  • Bell is the only female driver on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East entry list for this weekend’s Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150.
  Ryan Gifford Team: No 2 Distribution One Chevrolet Crew Chief: Lee McCall Gifford on his Greenville Pickens preparation: “We had a really good test last week and I got a little bit of experience in these cars last year, which will really help us this season. I think we have what it takes to go out there this weekend and run up front.” Fast Facts:
  • Gifford made five starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series last season (four in the East and one in the West). He scored two second-place finishes, including the season finale at Dover International Speedway.
  • Gifford has never competed at Greenville Pickens Speedway. This will mark his first career start at the historic track.
  • Gifford is a hands-on driver and is at the shop working on his cars every chance he gets. He prides himself on knowing what he can do to make his cars faster.
  Sergio Pena Team: No. 4 Chevrolet Crew Chief: Mark McFarland Pena on making his first start since the Toyota Showdown: “We ran well out in Irwindale which was a huge confidence booster for me. It helped to get that seat time and to get a feel for these cars, but now the season really starts and we have to go out there and be consistent and run up front every week. I’m excited to work with Mark (McFarland) this year and I think we’ll be good this weekend.” Fast Facts:
  • Pena made his NASCAR K&N Pro Series debut at the Toyota Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in January. He qualified on the pole and finished second to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Joey Logano.
  • As a rookie in the late model division at Shenandoah (Va.) Speedway in 2009, Pena scored six wins in 11 races.
  • Pena has just one year of oval track experience; prior to running late models, he competed on road courses in open-wheel formula cars.
  Darrell Wallace Jr. Team: No. 6 Chevrolet Crew Chief: Robert Huffman Wallace on his debut in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: “It’s been a long off season and I am ready to get back to racing. Everyone at Revolution Racing has been working hard to get these cars ready for this weekend. I’m ready to get to Greenville so we can show everyone what this team is capable of doing.” Fast Facts:
  • Wallace has been competing in late models since he was 14 years old. Now at 16, he’s old enough to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR’s premier development series.
  • At just 16 years old, Wallace is Revolution Racing’s youngest driver.
  • Wallace has raced late models at Greenville Pickens Speedway in the past; this will be his first start at the track in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series car.