DAYTONA BEACH, FL :: The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will head to Five Flags Speedway for the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 150 on Saturday, April 13 in Pensacola, Fla. Below is a statistical look at the performance of the series and selected drivers:
Pensacola Race Setup:
• The first edition NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Five Flags Speedway will also be the first stand-alone, points-paying race in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East history in the state of Florida.
• Active career wins leader Brett Moffitt has won a race within the first four events of a season in each of his previous four years. He’s finished second and fifth in the current season’s first two events.
• Only five drivers entered for this event have previous experience at Five Flags, which came in either Super Late or Pro Late Models.
AT FIVE FLAGS SPEEDWAY:
History
• Opened in May 31 1953, the same season it held its one and only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, which was won by Herb Thomas.
• A NASCAR touring series last appeared in Pensacola in 1997 with the former NASCAR Slim Jim All-Pro Series.
• Five Flags will become the 44th different facility to play host to a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race while Florida will be the 18th state the series has visited since its first season in 1987.
• Five Flags has been home to 45 editions of the Snowball Derby, an annual open-competition Super Late Model race.
Five Flags Speedway Data
Race: #3 of 15
Track Layout: .5-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 150 laps (75 miles)
• Banking/Corners: 15 degrees
• Banking/Straights: nine degrees
ACTIVE SERIES CAREER LEADERS:
Wins
1. Brett Moffitt … 9
2. Eddie MacDonald … 6
3. Dale Quarterley … 6
Poles
1. Brett Moffitt … 9
2. Dale Quarterley … 4
3. Cale Conley … 2
Eddie MacDonald … 2
Top Fives
1. Dale Quarterley … 31
2. Brett Moffitt … 30
3. Eddie MacDonald … 28
Top 10s
1. Eddie MacDonald … 77
2. Dale Quarterley … 67
3. Brett Moffitt … 36
Laps Completed
1. Eddie MacDonald … 20,615
2. Dale Quarterley … 18,816
3. John Salemi … 8,182
Laps Led
1. Brett Moffitt … 1,593
2. Dale Quarterley … 706
3. Eddie MacDonald … 668
SELECT DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS:
NOTE: In following references, “intermediate short tracks” are defined as those with a distance between .333 – .646 miles
Cale Conley (No. 47 Tait Towers Toyota)
• Has a win, two poles and three top fives in 21 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East career races. Those top fives all came in 2012, including his first victory at Columbus Motor Speedway, as did his first pole at Gresham Motorsports Park.
• Has a win (Columbus) and an average finish of 16th in 12 career starts at intermediate short tracks.
Austin Dyne (No. 99 KMC Wheels Chevrolet)
• Has finishes of 23rd and 12th in his first two NKNPS East races.
• Had eight top 10s in 14 NKNPS West starts last year to capture Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
• Has an average finish of 11th in 11 combined NKNPS East and West starts at intermediate short tracks.
Gray Gaulding (No. 20 Krispy Kreme Toyota)
• Has top-10 finishes in each of his first four K&N Pro Series starts. Was runner-up in the non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach on the short track at Daytona International Speedway and finished sixth in the NKNPS West opener at Phoenix International Raceway. In his first two official NKNPS East outings he was sixth (Bristol Motor Speedway) and 10th (Greenville Pickens Speedway).
Brandon Gdovic (No. 46 Aquis Communications/WindStax.com Toyota)
• Has a win and 14 top 10s in 27 career NKNPS East starts.
• Earned that first career victory last week in Greenville.
• Has a win (Greenville), seven top 10s and an average finish of 13th in 14 career starts at intermediate short tracks.
Ben Kennedy (No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet)
• Has 11 top 10s in 29 career NKNPS East starts with a best finish of third on two occasions.
• Nine of those top 10s came last year during his second full season.
• Has nine top 10s and an average finish of 12.5 in 19 career combined NKNPS East and West starts at intermediate short tracks.
• Has finishes of 13th and 24th in the last two Snowball Derby Super Late Model races at Five Flags.
Dylan Kwasniewski (No. 98 Royal Purple/Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet)
• Has an win and three top 10s in five career NKNPS East races. Earned that first win in the 2013 opener at Bristol.
• The 2011 NKNPS West Sunoco Rookie of the Year and 2012 series champion, he recorded five wins, seven poles, 20 top fives and 24 top 10s in 28 career starts in that series.
• Has four wins and an average finish of fifth in 19 career combined NKNPS East and West starts at intermediate short tracks.
Jesse Little (No. 97 NASCAR Technical Institute Chevrolet)
• Has a pair of top 10s in nine career NKNPS East starts with an average finish of 14th and a best result of third in the fall 2012 event in Greenville.
• Has an average finish of 18th in four career starts at intermediate short tracks.
Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles and 77 top 10s in 160 career starts.
• Has finished in the top 10 in 19 of his last 21 starts dating back to the 2011 season.
• Has three wins and an average finish of 12th in 94 career starts at 24-different intermediate short tracks.
Brett Moffitt (No. 11 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota)
• Has nine wins, nine poles, 22 podiums and 36 total top-10 finishes in 49 career starts. Is tied for 12th in NKNPS East history in wins and is tied for 11th in poles.
• The points leader after two races this season, he has finished in the top three in the final standings in each of his previous four seasons in the series, and has earned multiple wins each year.
• Set to make his 50th career start in Pensacola, Moffitt has led laps in 26 of those previous 49 outings, including 13 of his last 18 races.
• Has four wins and an average finish of seventh in 25 career starts at 12-different intermediate short tracks.
John Hunter Nemechek (No. 37 Spraker Racing Enterprises Chevrolet)
• Will attempt to make his first official NKNPS East start. Competed in the non-points February’s UNOH Battle At The Beach in Daytona.
• Led 46 laps and finished 10th in the Snowball Derby at Five Flags last December.
Bryan Ortiz (No. 4 Nike Toyota)
• Has nine top 10s in 16 NKNPS East races with a best result of third at Bowman Gray Stadium. Also finished third in the non-points event at Daytona’s short track in February.
• Has an average finish of 13th in nine career starts at intermediate short tracks with a best finish of fifth at CNB Bank Raceway Park in 2012.
Sergio Peña (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Has three wins and 18 top 10s in 36 career NKNPS East starts.
• All three wins came at intermediate short tracks, where he has an average finish of 12th in 18 career starts.
• Now competes full-time in the NKNPS West where he finished fifth in his first start in the opener at Phoenix.
Kenzie Ruston (No. 34 AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet)
• Made NKNPS East debut with an 11th-place finish at Bristol and crossed the line third last week at Greenville.
• The finish at Greenville was the best by a female driver in NKNPS East history, surpassing Danica Patrick’s sixth-place effort at Dover International Speedway in 2010.
• Competed in the 2011 Snowball Derby and 2012 Snowflake 100 Pro Late Model races at Five Flags.
Daniel Suárez (No. 6 Visit Acapulco Toyota)
• Has seven top 10s in 18 career NKNPS East races with a best result of fifth, twice. Both top-fives occurred at Columbus.
• Has an average finish of 13th in nine career starts at intermediate short tracks with those top fives at Columbus as the best results.
• Has two wins, six poles and 24 top 10s in 49 career NASCAR Toyota Mexico Series races.
UP TO SPEED:
• The 2013 season is the 27th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
• The 2013 schedule features 15 races at 13 different tracks across 11 states.
• The competition season opened with the non-points UNOH Battle At The Beach on Feb. 19 on the short track at Daytona International Speedway. Cameron Hayley won the K&N Pro Series feature.
• Dylan Kwasniewski took the checkered flag in the first points race of the season on March 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway. He assumed the lead when polesitter Michael McGuire was spun out under caution on Lap 30 and held it the rest of the way.
• Brandon Gdovic captured his first career victory on April 6 at Greenville Pickens Speedway. Brett Moffitt earned his ninth career pole prior to the race, which was originally scheduled to run on March 23 but was postponed due to rain.
