K&N Pro Series East Stat Advance: Columbus

DAYTONA BEACH, FL :: The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to action with the NAPA 150 on Saturday, July 13 at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway. Below is a statistical look at the performance of the series and selected drivers:

Columbus Race Setup:
• Dylan Kwasniewski brings the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season points lead to Columbus Motor Speedway following wins in his last two series outings.
• Brett Moffitt has finished third and second in the two previous races at Columbus. He is looking for his first victory of the season, and to end the longest winless drought of his career.
• Aside from Moffitt, the driver with the best average finish through the series’ first two events at Columbus is Daniel Suárez, who has crossed the line in fifth place both times.

AT COLUMBUS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
History
• Began as a motorcycle racing track in 1946 and first played host to stock cars in 1950.
• A charter member of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, now in its 32nd season.
• Is the second track in the state of Ohio in which the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East has competed, along with Mansfield Motorsports Park.

Notebook
• The NKNPS East is the only NASCAR touring series to have visited Columbus. The inaugural event was July 23, 2011.
• Each of the first two events have produced different race winners: Darrell Wallace Jr. in 2011 and Cale Conley in 2012.
• As with race wins, each of the first two event have featured different pole winners: Max Gresham in 2011 and Ben Kennedy in 2012.

Columbus Motor Speedway Data
Race: #8 of 15 (7/13/13)
Track Layout: .333-mile asphalt oval
• Banking-turns:  variable between 8-10 degrees
• Banking–straights: none
• Race Length: 150 laps (49.99 miles)

Qualifying/Race Data
2012 race winner: Cale Conley
2012 pole winner: Ben Kennedy
Track qualifying record: Max Gresham (84.565 mph, 14.176 seconds, 7/23/11)

ACTIVE SERIES CAREER LEADERS:
Wins
1. Brett Moffitt … 9
2. Eddie MacDonald … 6
3. Dale Quarterley … 6

Poles
1. Brett Moffitt … 10
2. Dale Quarterley … 4
3. Cale Conley … 2
Ben Kennedy … 2
Eddie MacDonald … 2

Top Fives
1. Brett Moffitt … 32
Dale Quarterley … 31
3. Eddie MacDonald … 29

Top 10s
1. Eddie MacDonald … 79
2. Dale Quarterley … 67
3. Brett Moffitt … 36

Laps Completed
1. Eddie MacDonald … 21,349
2. Dale Quarterley … 18,816
3. John Salemi … 8,182

Laps Led
1. Brett Moffitt … 1,809
2. Dale Quarterley … 706
3. Eddie MacDonald … 668

SELECT DRIVER HIGHLIGHTS:
Mackena Bell (No. 21 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has two top 10s in 13 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Has improved to ninth in points with a pair of top 10s in seven starts. Best season – and career – finish was fifth at Richmond International Raceway. Also ranks third in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
• This will be her first NKNPS East appearance at Columbus Motor Speedway.

Cale Conley (No. 47 Tait Towers/AXS TV/PMC Toyota)
• Has a win, two poles and six top 10s in 26 career NKNPS East starts.
• Ranks 11th in points this year with two top-five finishes in seven events.
• Is the defending winner of the NAPA 150 at Columbus. Finished 18th there in the series’ inaugural event in 2011.
• Has an average finish of 18th in his 12 starts since that Columbus win a year ago.

Gray Gaulding (No. 20 Krispy Kreme Toyota)
• Has a pole and five top 10s in his first seven NKNPS East races to rank eighth in the overall standings as a rookie. Best finish was second at Five Flags Speedway. Also leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
• Became the youngest pole winner in NKNPS East history at Richmond (15 years, two months, 15 days).
• 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.
• This will be his first NKNPS East appearance at Columbus.

Brandon Gdovic (No. 46 WindStax.com/Aquis Communications Toyota)
• Has a win and 18 top 10s in 32 career NKNPS East starts.
• Ranks fifth in points this season with five top 10s through seven events. Earned that first career victory at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
• Finished ninth at Columbus last year in his only previous appearance at the track.

Ryan Gifford (No. 2 Universal Technical Institute/NTI Toyota)
• Has a win, a pole and 17 top 10s in 46 career NKNPS East starts.
• Ranks fourth in points this season with four top 10s in seven races, highlighted by his first win at Richmond.
• Has finishes of 14th and 13th in the two previous NKNPS East races at Columbus.

Eric Holmes (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Has three top 10s in seven career NKNPS East starts, all during the 2007 season.
• Is a three-time NKNPS West champion where he has recorded 17 wins, 13 poles and 74 top 10s in 94 starts.
• This will be his first start at Columbus.

Ben Kennedy (No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, two poles and 15 top 10s in 34 career NKNPS East starts.
• Ranks third in points with five top 10s through seven races. Earned his first win and second career pole earlier this season at Five Flags. The second win came at Bowman Gray Stadium.
• Has finishes of 19th and seventh in the first two races at Columbus. His first career pole came there last year.

Dylan Kwasniewski (No. 98 Royal Purple/Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet)
• Has three wins and seven top 10s in 10 career NKNPS East races.
• Earned the first win in the 2013 opener at Bristol Motor Speedway, was credited with a win in the first combination race at Iowa Speedway as the highest East finisher, and won again last time out at Langley Speedway.
• Currently leads in points with those three wins and five total top 10s through seven events.
• 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.
• This will be his first appearance at Columbus.

Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction/National MS Society Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles and 79 top 10s in 165 career starts.
• Ranks sixth in points entering Columbus on the strength of four top 10s in seven races.
• Has finished in the top 10 in 21 of his last 26 starts dating back to the 2011 season.
• Has finished 10th in both of the previous series races at Columbus.

Brett Moffitt (No. 11 Advics Toyota)
• Has nine wins, 10 poles, 23 podiums and 39 total top-10 finishes in 54 career starts. Is tied for 12th in NKNPS East history in wins and is tied for ninth in poles.
• Ranks second in points, 18 behind Dylan Kwasniewski, with five top 10s in seven outings. Has led laps in four races.
• 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 prior to 2013.
• Is currently experiencing the longest winless streak of his career, now at 13 races.
• Has finishes of third and second in his two previous NKNPS East starts at Columbus.

Kenzie Ruston (No. 34 AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet)
• Has three top fives in her first seven races as a rookie to rank eighth in the overall standings and second in Sunoco Rookie of the Year points.
• Her third-place 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.
• Earned back-to-back top-five finishes at Greenville and Five Flags – a first for a female driver in series history.
• This will be her first NKNPS East appearance at Columbus.

Daniel Suárez (No. 4 Rev Racing Toyota)
• Has nine top-10 finishes in 23 career NKNPS East starts.
• Currently ranks 10th in points with three top 10s. Recorded a career-best finish of second last time out at Langley.
• Has finished fifth in both of his previous starts at Columbus, which were his best career results before last week.
• Has four wins, eight poles and 37 top 10s in 54 career starts in the NASCAR Toyota Series in his native Mexico.

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 10 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.
• In the first points race in series history in the state of Florida, the Sunshine State’s own Ben Kennedy earned his second career pole and went on to lead all 150 laps in the inaugural event at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola on April 13.
• On April 25 at Richmond International Raceway, Gray Gaulding became the youngest pole winner in series history and Ryan Gifford captured his first career checkered flag.
• It was Moffitt who took the pole and led a race-high 123 laps, but Kennedy came out with the checkered flag at Bowman Gray Stadium on June 1.
• In the East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway, Anderson Bowen captured the pole in his series debut at Kwasniewski was credited with a victory as the highest-finishing East driver.
• Last time out at Langley Speedway Kwasniewski registered his third win of the season after qualifying was rained out.