By Jason Cunningham, NASCAR
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The second event of the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season is set for this Saturday, March 31, at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway with the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers in the series:
Select Driver Highlights:
Jorge Arteaga (No. 8 Rev Racing Toyota)
• Has four career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts with a best finish of 10th at Lee USA Speedway in 2010.
• This will be his first career NKNPS East appearance at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
• Has 12 top 10s in 49 career NASCAR Toyota Series starts in his native Mexico.
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Aaron’s/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet)
• Has seven top 10s in 13 career NKNPS East starts.
• Recorded finishes of fourth and third in his two previous starts at Greenville – the two best results of his career.
• Led 40 laps and finished 10th in the 2012 season opener at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Has three Late Model wins so far in 2012.
Duarte Ferreira (No. 16 LS Sports/Sonagol Toyota)
• Will attempt to make his NKNPS East debut at Greenville. It would also be his first career stock car race.
• Would become the first driver from Angola to compete in a NKNPS East race.
• Finished eighth in the 2011 Indy Lights season standings with 10 top 10s in 14 races and a best finish of third at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Ryan Gifford (No. 2 UTI/NTI Toyota)
• Has a pole and 12 top 10s in 27 career NKNPS East starts.
• Will be the highest-raking championship contender heading to Greenville with the two drivers ahead of him in the standings not entered.
• Has an average finish of ninth and a best finish of fourth in three previous starts at Greenville.
Carlos Iaconelli (No. 15 Bienvenidos a NASCAR Toyota)
• Finished 25th in his NKNPS East debut on March 17 at Bristol.
• This will be his first career appearance at Greenville.
• Competed in the NKNPS West 2011 finale and 2012 opener at Phoenix International Raceway and registered finishes of 12th and sixth, respectively.
Ben Kennedy (No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet)
• Has a pair of top 10s in 14 career NKNPS East starts, including a best finish of third at Bowman Gray Stadium in 2011.
• Has finishes of 11th and 22nd in two Greenville appearances.
• Finished sixth in the 2012 opener at Bristol.
Dylan Kwasniewski (No. 20 Toyota)
• The 2011 NKNPS West Sunoco Rookie of the Year has two wins, two poles and nine top-five finishes in 14 starts in that series.
• Will attempt to make his NKNPS East debut at Greenville in the first of a planned limited schedule in the series this year.
Corey LaJoie (No. 07 Sims Metal Management Ford)
• Has a pole and 10 top 10s in 20 career NKNPS East starts. The pole came at Greenville in September 2011.
• Has finishes of 20th and 13th in his first two Greenville races.
Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles and 63 top 10s in 145 career starts.
• Has an average finish of 11th and a best finish of third – in 2009 – in six career starts at Greenville.
• His six starts at Greenville are the most among active drivers.
Brett Moffitt (No. 11 Kobe Toyopet Toyota)
• Has seven wins, four poles and 24 top 10s in 34 career starts.
• Is the defending winner of the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150, which he captured from the pole.
• Has an average finish of eighth in four previous appearances at Greenville and is the only driver in NKNPS East history to earn two poles at the track.
Travis Pastrana (No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota)
• Has an average finish of 22nd in four career NKNPS East appearances.
• His best finish in those four starts was 12th, recorded in the 2012 opener at Bristol.
• This will be his first career appearance at Greenville.
• NASCAR schedule for 2012 includes 11 of 14 NKNPS East events and seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
Sergio Peña (No. 1 JMS Toyota)
• Has three wins and 10 top 10s in 23 career NKNPS East starts.
• Won the last NKNPS East race in Greenville in September 2011, and has an average finish of 12th in three previous appearances at the track.
Dylan Presnell (No. 26 American Mountain Rentals Toyota)
• Has four top 10s in seven career starts.
• Best career finish of seventh came in the September 2011 Greenville race.
Dale Quarterley (No. 32 Van Dyk Baler Chevrolet)
• Is the active career leader in starts (150), top fives (31) and top 10s (66).
• Despite having more starts than any other active driver, this will be his first appearance at Greenville.
Daniel Suárez (No. 14 Telcel/Finsa/Roca Acero Toyota)
• Has three top 10s in eight career starts with a best finish of fifth at Columbus Motor Speedway in 2011.
• This will be his first career appearance at Greenville.
• Also competes in the NASCAR Toyota Series in his native Mexico.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (No. 18 Coca-Cola Toyota)
• Has five wins, three poles and 18 top 10s in 23 career starts.
• Recorded a win and top 10s in all three of his previous appearances at Greenville and has the best average race finish – fourth – among active drivers with three or more starts at the track.
• His win in the 2010 opener at Greenville marked the first series win by an African-American and also made him the youngest race winner in NKNPS East history.
Up to Speed:
• The 2012 season is the 26th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
• The 2012 schedule features 14 races at 12 different tracks across 10 states.
• The NKNPS East season opened with the inaugural series event Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Nelson Piquet Jr. made a spot-start in the event and won from the pole.
• Following the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville Pickens Speedway, the NKNPS East will be idle until the Blue Ox 100 on April 26 at Richmond International Raceway.
At 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.
Notebook
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East held its inaugural Greenville Pickens Speedway race on June 6, 2006 and has returned every year since.
• There has yet to be a multi-time winner in the first seven NKNPS East events at Greenville, and Brett Moffitt is the only driver to capture two poles.
• In the first seven events there have been two drivers that have won from the pole: Joey Logano (2007) and Moffitt (2011). Moffitt also set the track qualifying record in the first 2011 event.
• Logano, Austin Dillon (2008) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (2010) earned their first career NKNPS East wins in events at Greenville.
Greenville Pickens Speedway Data
Race: #2 of 14 overall, #1 of 2 at GPS
Track Layout: .5-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 150 laps (75 miles)
• Banking/Corners: 5 degrees
EVENT SCHEDULE | ENTRY LIST
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 pole winner: Brett Moffitt
2011 race winner: Brett Moffitt
Track qualifying record: Brett Moffitt (87.659 mph, 20.534 seconds, 4/2/11)
NKNPS East Race Winners at GPS
June 6, 2006 … Sean Caisse
April 28, 2007 … Joey Logano
April 19, 2008 … Austin Dillon
April 11, 2009 … Brian Ickler
March 27, 2010 … Darrell Wallace Jr.
April 2, 2011 … Brett Moffitt
Sept. 10, 2011 … Sergio Peña
NKNPS East Pole Winners at GPS
June 6, 2006 … Mike Olsen
April 28, 2007 … Joey Logano
April 19, 2008 … Peyton Sellers
April 11, 2009 … Brett Moffitt
March 27, 2010 … Cole Whitt
April 2, 2011 … Brett Moffitt
Sept. 10, 2011 … Corey LaJoie
Laps Led at GPS – Active Drivers
Brett Moffitt … 150
Sergio Peña … 83
Corey LaJoie … 57
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 22
Eddie MacDonald … 4
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