DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The battle for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship title will head to the Rocky Mountains this weekend for the NAPA/Toyota 150 Colorado National Speedway.
Defending race winner Ryan Partridge goes into the weekend just four points behind rookie and NASCAR Next driver, Todd Gilliland. Gilliland, who started his rookie campaign with back-to-back wins, will look to return to the winner’s circle after a second- and a fourth-place finish in his last two outings.
Not to be counted out is Chris Eggleston, the defending K&N Pro Series West champion. The Erie, Colo., native will be making his return to his home track, where he won in 2014. That victory helped land him a full-time ride with Bill McAnally Racing last season. Eggleston sits just nine points behind his teammate Gilliland.
NASCAR Next driver Noah Gragson sits fourth in points and will look to enter the championship hunt this weekend at the .375-mile oval. Gragson, who finished eighth in the race last year, leads a pack of five drivers – including three more rookies – within 13 points of each other.
| RACE: | NAPA/Toyota 150 |
|---|---|
| DATE: | Saturday, June 11 |
| TIME: | 8:30 p.m. MT |
| TV SCHEDULE: | NBCSN, Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m. ET (5 p.m. MT) |
| TRACK LAYOUT: | .375-mile semi-banked oval |
| 2015 WINNER: | Ryan Partridge |
| 2015 POLE SITTER: | Ryan Partridge |
| EVENT SCHEDULE: | Garage opens: 10:00 a.m.; Practice: 1:00-1:45 p.m.; Final Practice: 2:15-3:00 p.m.; Qualifying: 5:30 p.m.; Driver Autograph Session: 7:15 p.m.; Driver Introductions: 8:15 p.m.; NAPA/Toyota 150. |
| TRACK CONTACT: | Eric Guttormson, (303) 984-0404, webmaster@coloradospeedway.com |
| TRACK TWITTER: | @cnsracing |
| EVENT HASHTAG: | #NAPAToyota150 |
| NASCAR IMC CONTACT: | Brooke Franceschini, (386) 631-6142, bfranceschini@nascar.com, @BrookeFran1104 |
RACE CENTRAL LIVE: EVENT SCHEDULE & ENTRY LIST
FAST FACTS:
The Race: The NAPA/Toyota 150 is the fifth race of the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season. It is the fifth of 11 oval track events and 14 races overall on the schedule. This will be the series 14th visit to the semi-banked oval.
The Procedure: The starting field is 22 cars, including provisionals. The first 18 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials with the remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 150 laps covering 56.25 miles.
The Track: Colorado National Speedway is a .375-mile paved oval with four degrees of banking in the straights and progressive banking of six to 12 degrees in the corners.
The Record: Qualifying: Brian Ickler, June 2, 2007, 16.452 seconds (82.057 mph). Race: Derek Thorn, July 27, 2013, 50 minutes 32 seconds (66.788 mph).
NAPA/Toyota 150 RACE NOTES:
Importance Of Qualifying: In the first 13 K&N Pro Series West events at Colorado, 11 of the winners have finished in the top-three in qualifying. Four victors have also walked away with the pole – Eric Holmes (2008), Dylan Kwasniewski (2011), Derek Thorn (2013) and Ryan Partridge (2015). Steve Portenga is the only winner to qualify outside of the top-10, starting 14th in 2001. Prior to Portenga, Mike Chase was the lowest qualifier to win, starting ninth during the inaugural race.
Lead Changes Inevitable: Eleven of 13 K&N Pro Series West races at Colorado have had various lead changes. Last year’s race was tied for the all-time low of two lead changes, but prior to that, the 2013 race resulted in the most lead changes at seven. Greg Pursley is the only race winner to have led all 150 laps at Colorado.
New Face For BMR: Cole Moore will be making his season debut with Bill McAnally Racing. The 19-year-old Granite Bay, Calif., driver made his K&N Pro Series West debut last season at California’s All American Speedway with a 19th place finish for Bill McAnally Racing. This will be Moore’s first series’ start at Colorado National Speedway.
NASCAR Next At Colorado: Three of the 11 newly appointed members of the 2016 NASCAR Next class will make the trip to Colorado for the NAPA/Toyota 150. Fans will be able to see Todd Gilliland, Noah Gragson and Julia Landauer this weekend.
NASCAR Home Tracks: Local Action To Preview K&N Pro Series West
Two local divisions will preview the NAPA/Toyota 150 this weekend, Super Stocks and Figure 8s. Levi Greenly will look to extend his lead in the Super Stocks division. He holds an 11-point lead over Michael Cox headed into the weekend (128-112). There’s a tight battle for first in the Figure 8s division as well. Jereme Wall also holds an 11-point lead over Justin McKeachie 126-115 points. The track’s Division I Super Late Models are off. Dominic Ursetta holds the points lead in that division ahead of Darren Robertson and Jace Hansen. Nine-time champion Bruce Yackey is in fourth.
