DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to back to the track that has hosted the division more times than any other track in series history when it rolls into New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, for the United Site Services 70 on Saturday. Below is a look at the race itself and some of the selected participants.
United Site Services Race Setup:
This marks the K&N Pro Series East’s only visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2016. Once again, the race is a companion event to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series New England 300.
Justin Haley, who picked up his second win of the season in the most recent race at Columbus Motor Speedway, holds a 40-point lead atop the series standings over Noah Gragson.
At New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
History:
• The track opened in 1990 on the site of the old Briar Motorsports Park road course and immediately became New England’s largest sports facility of any kind. Measuring 1.058 miles in length, it is the largest speedway in the region, and with seating for nearly 100,00 people, it has the largest capacity of any venue.
• Tommy Ellis won the first NASCAR-sanctioned race held at New Hampshire, winning a 300-lap combination event involving both the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
• NHMS has hosted 69 previous NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events. The track plays host to two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races each season.
Notebook:
• The list of winners at New Hampshire is a virtual who’s who of NASCAR K&N East Pro Series competition, including Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano, current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson, current NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point leader William Byron, four-time series champion and NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner Andy Santerre, and multi-time series champions Mike Stefanik, Jamie Aube, Brad Leighton and Mike Olsen.
• There have been 29 different winners in K&N Pro Series competition at NHMS, including active driver Eddie MacDonald with three wins.
New Hampshire Data:
Race: #9 of 14 overall
Race Date: Saturday, July 16 at 6:45 p.m. ET
Track Layout: 1.058-mile semi-banked paved oval
Banking/Turns: 7 degrees (turns), 2 degrees (straightaways)
Race Length: 70 laps (74 miles)
Qualifying/Race Data:
2015 Winner: William Byron
2015 Pole Sitter: William Byron
1-lap Qualifying Record: Ben Rhodes, 128.580 mph (29.622 seconds, July 2014)
70-lap Race Record: 102.861 mph (William Byron, 2015)
Selected Driver Highlights:
Kyle Benjamin (No. 40 FEVR Chevrolet)
• Heads into the weekend ranked third in the standings with four top fives and five top 10s in eight races.
• Has made two career starts at New Hampshire with a best finish of 11th in 2014.\
• Has one career win in the series, at Bristol last season.
• Is a NASCAR Next alumnus.
Spencer Davis (No. 41 Ruud.com Chevrolet)
• Is fourth in the standings with five top-five finishes in eight starts.
• Earned his first career win at Dominion Raceway.
• Finished sixth last season at NHMS in his only career start at the track.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
Tyler Dippel (No. 38 East West Marine/TyCar Chevrolet)
• Is ranked sixth in the K&N Pro Series East standings with one win, one top five and three top 10s through eight races.
• Won at Mobile in only his second career series start.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
Noah Gragson (No. 55 AlertID/Speed Vegas/Colliers International Ford)
• Heads into the weekend ranked second in the standings with three top five finishes in eight races, leaping three spots in the last two starts.
• Won his first career K&N Pro Series East race at Stafford Motor Speedway in June.
• The Las Vegas native finished second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings in 2015 with two wins and 7 top fives in 13 races.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
Todd Gilliland (No. 16 Fire Alarm Services Toyota)
• Currently sits second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings with three wins through seven races.
• Has made four K&N Pro Series East starts this season, including a win in the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway in February.
• Is making his first career start at New Hampshire.
Kaz Grala (No. 3 NETTTS Toyota)
• Has started six races this season with three top fives and four top 10s.
• Has two career starts at NHMS with a best finish of third in this race in 2015.
Justin Haley (No. 5 Braun Auto Chevrolet)
• Has two wins this season and leads the series standings with seven top fives and eight top 10s in eight races.
• Finished eighth In his one career start at New Hampshire last season.
Corey LaJoie (No. 41 Chevrolet)
• Making his first series start of the season.
• Finished second in the 2012 final standings with five wins and 10 top fives in 14 races that season.
• Posted a career-best NHMS finish of second in his most recent start at the track in 2012.
Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Racing Chevrolet)
• Is the active career win leader at New Hampshire with three victories, including a season sweep of a pair of races in 2008.
• Has seven career K&N Pro Series East wins and was the championship runner-up in 2009.
• Finished eighth at Bristol and 13th at Stafford in his only two series starts this season.
Austin Theriault (No. 1 Hattori Racing Toyota)
• Is fifth in the standings with four top fives and four top 10s through eight races.
• Finished a career best second at Columbus Motor Speedway in the series’ most recent event.
• Finished 19th in his only career start at New Hampshire, in 2012.
Up To Speed:
• The 2016 season is the 30th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
• The 2016 schedule features 14 races at 13 different tracks across the United States.
• Third-generation driver Todd Gilliland earned his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory in his series debut at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
• Tyler Dippel collected his first series win in just his second series start at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway.
• Justin Haley recorded his first K&N East win at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway after leading a total of 28 laps, following that effort with his second win at Columbus Motor Speedway in the series’ most recent race.
• Chad Finchum earned his first series victory at Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Austin Cindric kept the new winner trend going winning the Biscuitville 125 at Virginia International Raceway.
• There have been seven first-time winners through eight races this season.
