DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will head to their first of three road courses of the season this weekend at California’s esteemed Sonoma Raceway. Below is a look at the past performance of the series and selected drivers.
Chevys Fresh Mex 200 Race Setup:
• Todd Gilliland heads into the weekend four points ahead of Chris Eggleston, who is coming off a win at Colorado National Speedway, and six points over Ryan Partridge.
• Noah Gragson trails in fourth and celebrated a victory in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East last weekend at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway.
• David Mayhew, the defending race winner, will be making his second start of the season this weekend at the 1.99-mile road course.
At Sonoma Raceway:
History
• Sonoma has hosted two series races in 1978. In addition, the series participated in nine combination events with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the Northern California road course between 1989 and 1997.
• The Sonoma track, located near the intersection of Highways 37 & 121, opened as Sears Point Raceway om 1968, with its inaugural event occurring on December 1, 1968. The road course was initially a 2.52-mile layout, but reconfigurations in 1998 and 2001 resulted in the current 1.99-mile design for NASCAR events.
• The track features more than 160 feet of elevation change from its highest to lowest points. The highest point at Turn 3a reaches 174 feet, while the lowest point at Turn 10 is just 14 feet.
• Seventeen different drivers have visited Victory Lane in series action at Sonoma. Hershel McGriff (1983, 1985 and 1987), Jim Insolo (1978, 1979 and 1980) and Bill Schmitt (1981, 1988 and 1989) – lead the list of winners, with three wins each.
• Other multiple victors at the historic road course include Butch Gilliland, who scored back-to-back win in 1996 and 1997, and his son, David Gilliland, who notched victories in 2007 and 2012, Jason Bowles made consecutive trips to the winner’s circle in 2008 and 2009.
• Of the 16 drivers who have won series events at Sonoma, 12 won NASCAR championships. Ten of those were NASCAR K&N Pro Series titles.
Notebook
• NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers have won three of the past five competitions at Sonoma – Joey Logano in 2011, David Gilliland in 2012 and Kyle Larson in 2014. Chase Elliott is the sole NASCAR Sprint Cup driver slated to compete in the Chevys Fresh Mex 200.
• David Mayhew is the only previous race winner scheduled to compete with the series this weekend.
• Nineteen drivers have qualified on the pole. McGriff leads with three poles at Sonoma – Butch Gilliland, Jim Bown, Roy Smith and Tim Williamson each have two poles at the road course.
• Eight of the 26 series races were won from the pole position and seven were won by the driver who started second on the grid. Insolo came from the furthest back, charging from 19th to win in 1978.
• Last season’s race had three cautions for 13 laps.
Sonoma Data:
Race: #6 of 14 overall
Race Date: Saturday, June 25th at 1 p.m. PT
Track Layout: 1.99-mile, 12-turn road course
Race Length: 64 laps (127.36 miles, 204.966 kilometers)
Sonoma Qualifying/Race Data:
2015 Race Winner: David Mayhew
2015 Pole Sitter: David Mayhew
1-Lap Qualifying Record: Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 77.203 seconds (92.794 mph), June 19, 2010.
64-Lap Race Record: Andrew Ranger, 1 hour 50 minutes and 30 seconds, 67.595 mph, June 19, 2010.
Sonoma Leaders:
Wins
Jim Insolo … 3
Hershel McGriff … 3
Bill Schmitt … 3
Jason Bowles … 2
Butch Gilliland … 2
David Gilliland … 2
11 different drivers … 1
(Jim Bown, Doug George, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, David Mayhew, Andrew Ranger, Jim Robinson, Roy Smith, Derek Thorn, Brian Vickers)
Poles
Hershel McGriff … 3
Jim Bown … 2
Butch Gilliland … 2
Roy Smith … 2
Tim Williamson … 2
15 different drivers … 1
(Bob Bondurant, Jason Bowles, Brandon Davis, Scott Gaylord, David Gilliland, Cameron Hayley, Eric Holmes, Ron Hornaday Jr., Kyle Larson, Patrick Long, David Mayhew, Greg Pursley, Bill Sedgwick, Glen Steurer and Brian Vickers)
Laps Led:
Rusty Wallace … 146
Hershel McGriff … 137
Mark Martin … 136
Bill Schmitt … 115
David Gilliland … 113
Roy Smith … 103
Selected Driver Highlights:
Johnny Borneman (No 61. Borneman Trucking/Rich Thompson Trucking Ford)
• Heads into the weekend ranked 15th in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races after one top five and two top 10s in two starts.
• In nine starts at Sonoma, he’s earned one top five and 3 top 10s and led a total of five laps.
• His average start at the esteemed road course is 17.4, while his average finish is 17.2
Chris Eggleston (No. 50 NAPA Filters Toyota)
• Sits second in the standings, four points behind Gilliland, with two wins and five top fives.
• In his Sonoma debut last season, he finished 13th after starting 17th.
Todd Gilliland (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Is first in the K&N Pro Series West standings with two victories and five top fives.
• This will be his first series’ road course start.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
Noah Gragson (No. 7 SPEEDVEGAS/AlertID/Colliers International Ford)
• Is fourth in the series standings headed into the Chevys Fresh Mex 200 with two top fives and five top 10s.
• In his Sonoma debut last season, he finished seventh after starting 12th.
• In the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East road course event at VIRginia International Raceway this season, he led six laps.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
Jim Inglebright (No. 1 Inglebright Motorsports Chevrolet)
• This will be his first K&N Pro Series West start of the season.
• In 11 starts at Sonoma, he’s recorded two top fives and five top 10s.
Scott Ivie (No. 47 MSI Development Toyota)
• The Chevys Fresh Mex 200 will be his 2016 K&N Pro Series West debut.
• In eight starts at the California road course, his best finish is 12th in 2010.
• His average start at Sonoma is 28.8, while his average finish is 23.2.
Julia Landauer (No. 54 Curb Records Toyota)
• Heads into the weekend ranked fifth in the standings with two top fives and five top 10s.
• This will be her first K&N Pro Series West road course start.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
David Mayhew (No. 17 MMI Service Chevrolet)
• This will be his second K&N Pro Series West start of the season.
• He won last year’s event at Sonoma after leading the last four laps.
• In eight starts at Sonoma, he’s earned one win, three top fives and four top 10s and led a total of 13 laps.
Ryan Partridge (No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Is third in the championship standings with one win, four top fives and five top 10s.
• In his first start at Sonoma last year, he finished fourth after starting seventh.
Gracin Raz (No. 27 Montana Tech Ford)
• Heads into the weekend ranked seventh in the standings with two top fives and three top 10s.
• In his Sonoma debut last year, he finished 12th after starting 21st.
National Series Driver:
Chase Elliott (No. 24 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet)
• This will be his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series West start since 2012.
• He will be making his Sonoma Raceway debut in both the K&N Pro Series West and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this weekend.
• In three K&N Pro Series West starts he’s collected two top fives.
Up To Speed:
• The 2016 season is the 63rd for the NASAR K&N Pro Series West.
• The 2016 schedule features 14 races at 13 different tracks across eight states.
• Third-generation driver Todd Gilliland won the season opener at California’s Irwindale Speedway on March 19 after leading a total of 33 laps.
• Gilliland expanded his K&N Pro Series West win streak to three after winning the second race of the season at California’s Kern County Raceway Park.
• Ryan Partridge collected his first win of the year at Arizona’s Tucson Speedway after leading 127 laps.
• Chris Eggleston, the defending NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion, picked up his first win of 2016 after gaining the lead with nine laps to go at California’s Orange Show Speedway.
• Eggleston made it two-for-two after leading 102 laps at his home track, Colorado National Speedway.
