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[/media-credit]DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will see its 2012 schedule reach the halfway point on Saturday, June 23 at Langley Speedway with the Visit Hampton VA 175 in Hampton, Va. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers in the series:
Select Driver Highlights:
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Aaron’s/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 11 top 10s in 18 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts. First victory came at Iowa Speedway on May 19.
• Is the only driver to complete every lap this year.
• Finished fifth in the inaugural 2011 event at Langley Speedway.
Brandon Gdovic (No. 46 Aquis Communications/ComServe Dodge)
• Has eight top 10s in 17 career NKNPS East starts.
• Had as many top 10s in his first five races this year (four) as he had in 11 races as a rookie in 2011.
• Finished 24th at Langley in 2011.
Ryan Gifford (No. 2 Universal Technical Institute/NTI Toyota)
• Has a pole and 12 top 10s in 30 career NKNPS East starts.
• Has a best finish this year of third at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Was 23rd last year at Langley.
Ben Kennedy (No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet)
• Has six top 10s in 19 career NKNPS East starts, including a best finish of third at Bowman Gray in 2011.
• Ran 18th at Langley in 2011.
Corey LaJoie (No. 07 Direct Wood Products/Sims Metal Ford)
• Has a win, a pole and 14 top 10s in 25 career starts.
• Earned his first victory on June 2 at Bowman Gray Stadium.
• Finished eighth in 2011’s inaugural Langley event.
Kyle Larson (No. 6 Rev Racing Toyota)
• Earned his first NKNPS East victory last time out at Gresham Motorsports Park on June 9 and has five top 10s in his first six career races.
• Earned his first pole and led his first laps at Bowman Gray.
• Leads Rev Racing teammate Bryan Ortiz by seven points atop the Sunoco Rookie standings.
Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles and 68 top 10s in 150 career starts.
• Became the 16th driver in series history to reach 150 career starts last time out at Gresham.
• Has five top 10s in six starts this year.
• Finished 13th at Langley in 2011.
Brett Moffitt (No. 11 Universal Technical Institute Toyota)
• Has eight wins, six poles, 18 podiums and 29 total top-10 finishes in 39 career starts.
• Won at Richmond in April, has two poles and is tied for the series lead with four top-five finishes through six races this year.
• Was the runner-up to Sergio Peña at Langley last year. Starting with that race, he has finished on the podium in eight of 12 events since.
Bryan Ortiz (No. 4 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has three of top 10s through his first six NKNPS East races with a best result of third at Bowman Gray.
• Ranks eighth overall and second in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings.
Travis Pastrana (No. 99 iRacing Toyota)
• Is 16th in points. Did not attend the last race at Gresham.
• Recorded a career-best fourth-place finish at Iowa.
• Has an average finish of 19th in eight career NKNPS East races.
• NASCAR schedule for 2012 includes 11 of 14 NKNPS East events and seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
• Has made four NNS starts so far this year with a best result of 17th at Darlington Raceway.
Sergio Peña (No. 1 NASCAR Technical Institute Toyota)
• Has three wins and 13 top 10s in 28 career NKNPS East starts.
• Has a best finish of sixth, at Gresham, through the first six races.
• Was the winner of the series’ inaugural Langley race in 2011. Led twice for 99 laps.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
• Has six wins, three poles, 11 podium finishes and 21 total top 10s in 28 career NKNPS East starts.
• Won at Greenville Pickens Speedway earlier this year.
• Finished ninth at Langley in 2011.
• Made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Iowa on May 20 and finished ninth. Next NNS start will be at Iowa in August.
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.
• Following the Visit Hampton VA 175 at Langley Speedway, the NKNPS East will next compete at CNB Bank Raceway Park on Saturday, July 14 in Clearfield, Pa.
At Langley Speedway:
• Originally a .8-mile horse track, the grounds became an auto racing facility in 1950 and cut the distance of the dirt racing surface to .396 miles. It was converted to asphalt in 1968.
• The track held nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 1964-70 and 14 NASCAR Nationwide Series events from 1982-88.
• The track has played host to the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour since 2010.
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debuted at the facility in 2011.
Langley Speedway Data
Race: #7 of 14 (6/23/12)
Track Layout: .396-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 175 laps (70 miles)
• Banking–turns: six degrees
• Banking–straights: none
Qualifying/Race Data
2011 race winner: Sergio Peña
2011 pole winner: Coleman Pressley
Track qualifying record: Coleman Pressley (86.721 mph, 16.439 seconds, 6/18/11)
Active Series Career Leaders
Wins
Brett Moffitt … 8
Eddie MacDonald … 6
Dale Quarterley … 6
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 6
Sergio Peña … 3
Poles
Brett Moffitt … 6
Dale Quarterley … 4
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 3
Eddie MacDonald … 2
Four drivers with … 1
Top Fives
Dale Quarterley … 31
Eddie MacDonald … 28
Brett Moffitt … 24
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 12
Corey LaJoie … 11
Top 10s
Eddie MacDonald … 68
Dale Quarterley … 66
Brett Moffitt … 29
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 21
Corey LaJoie … 14
Laps Completed
Eddie MacDonald … 19,213
Dale Quarterley … 18,589
John Salemi … 7,917
Brett Moffitt … 5,208
Ryan Gifford … 4,406
Laps Led
Brett Moffitt … 986
Dale Quarterley … 706
Eddie MacDonald … 668
Darrell Wallace Jr. … 542
Sergio Peña … 215
