K&N West News & Notes: Brainerd

DAYTONA BEACH, FL :: Michael Self had a breakthrough year in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West last season, scoring his first career win and following that up with two additional victories.

His initial win came on the road course at Brainerd (Minn.) International Raceway. The 22-year-old former karting champion from Park City, Utah will be going for a repeat win when the series returns to Brainerd for the NAPA Know-How 125 on Saturday, May 25. It is the third event on a 15-race series schedule and the first of three road course races this season.

“This is definitely the race I’ve been looking forward to the most since last year,” said Self, who is in his fourth full season of series competition. “We had such a great time going there. I love the track and I love the area. It’s really nice. It was a weekend for us where we had so much fun. With all the water parks, the team got a chance to relax. I’m looking forward to getting back to that this year and hopefully having a repeat.”

In addition to being his first win, last year’s race carried added significance because Self’s dad played a role in the victory. Many teams use a secondary spotter on road courses and his father took on that task at Brainerd.

“It was the first race my dad had ever spotted for me,” Self said. “He was my second spotter. He actually cleared me for the lead with two laps to go, which was really cool.”

Self also looks forward to Brainerd because, as a road course, it’s a track where he feels he has an edge.

“For eight years all I knew was turning right and left,” he said of his karting experience. “All I knew was road courses.”

Self followed up last year’s Brainerd victory with two additional wins in the No. 21 Golden Gate Meat/Bay Bio Diesel Chevrolet he drives for Jim Offenbach’s Golden Gate Racing Team – which has an affiliation with Richard Childress Racing. The team’s success led to a change in the way they approached this year, according to Self.

“This season we came in with really one thing on our mind and that is just the championship,” he said. “That is our biggest goal and our biggest focus. With the momentum we had at the end of last year, we know it’s very possible.

“If you look at our program – our road course program, our short track program, our big track program – I think we have everything covered,” he said. “We started the season off just like we wanted to with a third at Phoenix. We had everything going our way at Stockton and I made a mistake.”

Battling back from a flat tire, Self spun late in the race – resulting in a 15th-place finish and dropping him to sixth in the championship standings. Now he says it’s a matter of rebounding and getting good finishes in the upcoming events, which he considers the team’s strongest tracks, and getting back in the points chase.

SCHEDULE | ENTRY LIST

FAST FACTS
The Race: This event is the third of 15 events on the 2013 schedule for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

The Procedure: The starting field is 28 cars, including provisionals. The first 24 cars will qualify through NASCAR road racing style (group) qualifying. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 50 laps (125 miles).

The Track: Brainerd International Raceway is a 2.5-mile, 13-turn road course.

Records: Qualifying: None; Race: Michael Self, May 26, 2012, 80.819 mph, 1 hour 32 minutes 48 seconds.

History: The series made its inaugural visit to the Minnesota track last year.

BRAINERD RACE NOTES
Road Racers: Road course events generally attract a few drivers who are not regulars in the series. The entry list for Brainerd includes two such drivers who are known for their talent on a road course – Andrew Ranger and Dale Quarterley. Neither are strangers to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Ranger, a two-time champion in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1, won the K&N West race at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway in 2010 – one of five series starts he has made. A runner-up finish, meanwhile, stands as Quarterley’s best series finish among six starts.

Newcomers: A handful of rookie drivers on the entry list will be getting their first look at the Brainerd track. They include Rich DeLong III, Dylan Lupton, Dallas Montes and Giles Thornton.

First Of Three Road Course Events: This event marks the first of three road course races on this year’s series schedule. The series makes its annual visit to Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway on June 22 and travels to Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on Sept. 14.

LAST TIME OUT: STOCKTON
Thorn Dominates: Derek Thorn led every lap en route to winning the G-Oil 150 at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway on May 4. It marked the third career series win for the Lakeport, Calif., driver – who is in his second full season of competition.

Hayley Takes Pole, Track Record: Cameron Hayley broke the track record at Stockton in winning his first career series pole. The 16-year-old Canadian driver lapped the historic quarter-mile oval in 13.726 seconds at an average speed of 65.569 mph.

Strong Debut: Several young drivers had a strong performance in making their series debut at Stockton. Sixteen-year-old Luis Tyrrell finished fourth, while 15-year-old Giles Thornton finished seventh. Bobby Runyan Jr., 20, ran in the top 10, before ending the night in 16th.

Career Best Finish: Veteran driver John Wood turned in a career best series mark with a 12th-place finish at Stockton. His previous best finish was 13th, on two occasions.

NEXT TIME OUT: Iowa & Lebanon
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West continues its trek through the Midwest with two races in three days in early June.

The first event will be the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on Friday, June 7. Dylan Kwasniewski was the top finishing K&N West driver in last year’s event.

Following the Iowa event, the series will head to Missouri for its inaugural visit to the .375-mile oval at Lebanon (Mo.) I-44 Speedway on Sunday, June 9.