Story by: Jason Cunningham/NASCAR
Photo by: Kevin Liles/pixelcrisp for NASCAR
Daytona Beach, FL(January 8, 2012) — The 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season saw Corey LaJoie win at bullrings, short tracks and speedways. To begin the 2013 racing calendar, one of NASCAR’s top prospects has high hopes of continuing his winning ways on the short track at Daytona International Speedway, Feb. 18-19.
LaJoie, the K&N Pro Series East championship runner-up this past season with a series-high five victories, will head to Daytona with his No. 07 team to participate in the inaugural UNOH Battle At The Beach on the temporary .4-mile short track on the backstretch at Daytona.
For the first time, NASCAR’s weekly and regional touring series will have a prominent place during Budweiser Speedweeks in Daytona, the “Worlds Center of Racing.” Teams from both the K&N Pro Series East and K&N Pro Series West will compete alongside each other in the inaugural non-points event.
“It’s definitely going to be its own style of racing,” LaJoie said. “It’s a cool deal and I want to thank UNOH for putting the deal on and getting the [K&N Pro Series] East and West together down there to scrap it out one more time.”
After a pair of successful full-time seasons in K&N Pro Series East, LaJoie has hopes of competing in NASCAR’s national series in the coming season – perhaps even during Speedweeks – but for now he’s plenty happy to have an opportunity to race once again in his family-owned No. 07 Ford.
“I think we have probably one of the best short-track cars out there, so start the year out with a win would be a good deal,” LaJoie said.
LaJoie, from Concord, N.C., earned a secured starting position for the K&N Pro Series UNOH Battle At The Beach feature race by virtue of winning a race during the 2012 points season. LaJoie actually won five times total, at five different types of tracks.
Drivers that won touring series races and championships in 2012 are locked into their respective features in Daytona. All others must qualify through heat races.
The temporary track will have little-to-no banking, something that LaJoie has had plenty of success with. One of his K&N Pro Series East wins this past season came on the entirely-flat quarter-mile at Bowman Gray Stadium while he also won a NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s mostly-flat quarter-mile in 2010.
“I don’t care if they’re racing in the parking lot of Walmart, if they’re paying 20 grand, I’m going to try to beat the next guy for it,” LaJoie said.
The K&N Pro Series events will be just one facet of the inaugural UNOH Battle At The Beach. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Models will have qualifying races and a 150-lap feature on Monday, Feb. 18 while the action on Tuesday, Feb. 19 will include a similar schedule of qualifying races and 150-lap races for both the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tours and NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
All three features are non-points events and will be carried live on SPEED while supplemental event coverage will be provided at www.nascarhometracks.com.
For more information, please visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com. Grandstand and garage admission can be secured via the website or by calling 1-888-PITSHOP.
