Story by: Jason Cunningham, NASCAR
Photo by: Jason Smith/pixelcrisp for NASCAR
Daytona Beach, FL(October 30, 2012) — The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will close the 2012 season and crown a champion at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway in the inaugural Classic 3 Championship presented by RCR Racing Museum on Saturday, Nov. 3. Below is a statistical look at the performance of the series and selected drivers:
Rockingham Race Setup
• This will be the first stand-alone race in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East history at Rockingham Speedway.
• A four-way battle for the championship at Rockingham will include Kyle Larson, Brett Moffitt (-10), Corey LaJoie (-19) and longshot Chase Elliott (-30).
• Moffitt is the most-accomplished active driver on tracks .75 miles or larger with five wins, five poles and an average finish of sixth. LaJoie has two wins and an average finish of ninth while Larson has one win and an average finish of fourth. Elliott also has a speedway win and an average finish of 12th.
• LaJoie has won three of the previous four races and will attempt to become just the third driver in series history to record six wins in the same season.
At Rockingham Speedway:
• Opened in 1965.
• Held 78 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 1965-2004, 42 NASCAR Nationwide Series races from 1982-2004 and the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event this past April.
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East competed in combination with the NNS six times from 1987-92.
Rockingham Speedway Data
Race: #14 of 14
Track Layout: 1-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 100 laps (100 miles)
• Banking/Turns 1&2: 22 degrees
• Banking/Turns 3&4: 25 degrees
Active Series Career Leaders
Wins
1. Brett Moffitt … 9
2. Eddie MacDonald … 6
3. Dale Quarterley … 6
4. Darrell Wallace Jr. … 6
5. Corey LaJoie … 5
Poles
1. Brett Moffitt … 8
2. Dale Quarterley … 4
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 4
4. Eddie MacDonald … 2
Cale Conley … 2
Top Fives
1. Dale Quarterley … 31
2. Eddie MacDonald … 28
3. Brett Moffitt … 28
4. Corey LaJoie … 16
5. Darrell Wallace Jr. … 15
Top 10s
1. Eddie MacDonald … 74
2. Dale Quarterley … 67
3. Brett Moffitt … 34
4. Darrell Wallace Jr. … 24
5. Corey LaJoie … 19
Laps Completed
1. Eddie MacDonald … 20,241
2. Dale Quarterley … 18,816
3. John Salemi … 8,182
4. Brett Moffitt … 6,229
5. Ryan Gifford … 5,356
Laps Led
1. Brett Moffitt … 1,517
2. Dale Quarterley … 706
3. Eddie MacDonald … 668
4. Darrell Wallace Jr. … 598
5. Corey LaJoie … 451
Select Driver Highlights:
(Speedway race is defined as a track .75-miles or larger – Iowa, Dover, New Hampshire, Richmond)
Cale Conley (No. 47 Tait Towers/Rock-It Cargo Toyota)
• Has a win, two poles and three top fives in 17 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East career starts. Those top fives have all come this season, including his first victory at Columbus Motor Speedway.
• Earned his first career pole this year at Gresham Motorsports Park.
• Has an average finish of 29th and a best result of third – May 2012 at Iowa Speedway – in seven career speedway races.
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Aaron’s/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet)
• Has a win, a pole and 15 top 10s in 25 career NKNPS East starts. First victory came at Iowa in May and first pole was earned at Langley Speedway in June.
• Has nine top 10s in 13 races this year and ranks fourth in points. Led the standings for five races earlier this year.
• Has an average finish of 12th – highlighted by the Iowa win – in 10 career speedway starts.
Tim George Jr. (No. 37 Spraker Racing Enterprises Chevrolet)
• Has one previous NKNPS East start, a 22nd-place finish at Watkins Glen International in 2008.
• Has an average finish of 20th in 13 career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts and 28th in four NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
• Finished 16th in the NCWTS race at Rockingham in April.
Brandon Gdovic (No. 46 Aquis Communications/WindStax.com Toyota)
• Has 13 top 10s in 24 career NKNPS East starts.
• Has more than twice as many top 10s this year (nine) than he had during his rookie season (four) a year ago.
• Has an average finish of 11th and a best result of fourth – July 2011 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – in 10 career speedway starts.
Ben Kennedy (No. 96 G-Oil Chevrolet)
• Has nine top 10s in 26 career NKNPS East starts. Eight of those top 10s have come this year.
• Ranks ninth in points through 13 events after he finished 13th in the 2011 final standings.
• Has an average finish of 18th and a best result of fourth – at Dover International Speedway this year – in 10 career speedway starts.
Corey LaJoie (No. 07 Sims Metal Management Ford)
• Has five wins, a pole and 16 top fives in 32 career starts. All five wins have come this year while his lone pole was earned in the September 2011 race at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
• Leads all competitors this year in wins and ranks third in the standings, 19 behind Kyle Larson.
• Is the first driver with five wins in a season since Joey Logano in 2007, and just the sixth driver in NKNPS East history to record that many in one year. Only two drivers have won six or more in a year, the last was Brad Leighton (six) in 1999.
• Has two wins – August Iowa and Dover this year – and average finish of ninth in 16 career speedway races.
Kyle Larson (No. 6 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Earned his first NKNPS East victory at Gresham, his second at New Hampshire and has 11 top 10s in his first 13 career races.
• Earned his first pole and led his first laps at Bowman Gray.
• Leads Brett Moffitt by 10 points in the overall championship standings.
• Leads the Sunoco Rookie standings by five points over Rev Racing teammate Bryan Ortiz and has been the Sunoco Rookie of the Race five times.
• Has a win – New Hampshire – and average finish of fourth in five speedway starts.
• Has finishes of 10th and sixth in two NCWTS starts this year.
Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles and 74 top 10s in 157 career starts.
• Became the 16th driver in series history to reach 150 career starts in June at Gresham.
• Is tied with Kyle Larson for the most top-10 finishes among all competitors this year with 11. Ranks sixth in points.
• Has three wins – all at New Hampshire – and 21 top 10s in 43 career speedway races.
Brett Moffitt (No. 11 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota)
• Has nine wins, eight poles, 21 podiums and 34 total top-10 finishes in 46 career starts. Is tied for 12th in NKNPS East history in wins and ranks 12th in poles.
• Has wins this year at Richmond and Clearfield, both from the pole, and also earned the pole in the first Iowa race and at New Hampshire, where he set the track record.
• Leads the series this season with 768 laps led. He’s led laps in nine of 13 events.
• Held the season points lead for four races before slipping from the perch at Dover. Is 10 points back of leader Kyle Larson.
• Has five wins, five poles and average finish of sixth in 18 career speedway races.
• Finished ninth in August at Iowa in his NNS debut.
Bryan Ortiz (No. 4 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has nine top 10s through his first 13 NKNPS East races with a best result of third at Bowman Gray.
• Ranks fifth overall and second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings to teammate Kyle Larson.
• Has an average finish of eighth in five speedway races during his rookie campaign.
Sergio Peña (No. 1 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota)
• Has three wins and 17 top 10s in 35 career NKNPS East starts.
• Recorded his best finish of this season at August Iowa, third. Ranks 10th in points.
• Has an average finish of 12th and a best result of second – Sept. 2011 at New Hampshire – in 14 career speedway starts.
Coleman Pressley (No. 15 X Team Racing Toyota)
• Has two poles and four top 10s in seven career NKNPS East starts. All previous appearances came in 2011.
• Made two speedway starts in 2011 and recorded finishes of 11th at Richmond and fifth at Iowa.
• Made 12 combined NNS starts in 2009-10.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
• Has six wins, four poles, 13 podium finishes and 24 total top 10s in 35 career NKNPS East starts.
• Ranks eighth in points with a win and six top 10s this year.
• Has two wins, three poles and average finish of 11th in 14 career speedway races.
• Had an average finish of 10th in four NNS starts this year with a best result of seventh at August Iowa. Became the first African-American pole winner in series history at September Dover.
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.
• Darrell Wallace Jr. led all but one lap in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville Pickens Speedway on March 31. There was no pole winner as qualifying was rained out.
• Brett Moffitt dominated the action at Richmond International Raceway on April 26 as both the pole and race winner.
• Moffitt won his second pole in a row, and was poised for back-to-back wins as well, but Chase Elliott gained his first NKNPS East victory on May 19 at Iowa Speedway.
• Corey LaJoie captured his first NKNPS East victory in the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 at Bowman Gray Stadium on June 2. Rookie Kyle Larson earned his first pole prior to the event.
• Larson followed his first pole with his first race victory on June 9 at Gresham Motorsports Park. Cale Conley was also a first-time pole winner in the event.
• LaJoie took his second checkered flag of the season at Langley Speedway on June 23. Prior to the race, Elliott set the K&N Pro Series East mark as the youngest pole winner in series history.
• At CNB Bank Raceway Park on July 14, Moffitt took the pole and led wire-to-wire for his ninth career triumph. Moffitt also took the points lead from Elliott, who had held it since his Iowa win.
• Ben Kennedy earned his first pole, but Conley led wire-to-wire for his first win on July 21 at Columbus Motor Speedway.
• In the second combo race with the NKNPS West at Iowa on Aug. 3, LaJoie returned to Victory Lane for the third time after Conley secured his second pole.
• Larson earned his second win of the year when he beat LaJoie to the checkered flag at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 22. Moffitt set the track qualifying record prior to the event.
• Wallace earned the pole for the second year in a row at Dover International Speedway but it was LaJoie who captured the checkered flag for his first win at the “Monster Mile” on Sept. 28.
• LaJoie secured his fifth win of the season on Oct. 27 in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 at Greenville. The event was run as a postponement from the original Sept. 3 race date.
