Considering the dramatic finishes to races so far during the UNOH Battle of the Beach series, everybody expected the fireworks to continue when the K&N Pro Series featured a green-white-checkered after Cale Conley spun virtue of contact from D.J. Kennington.
The first lap went clean with Michael Self holding the lead, however the second lap was where it would go down. In the middle of turns one and two, Gray Goulding would get into Self, sending him around, collecting Greg Pursley, Derek Thorn, Kyle Larson and Kennington.
Goulding would grab the lead, holding it down the backstraight. However, going into the final set of turns, he would lock up the front wheels, causing him to slide up the track. That would be enough for Cameron Hayley to get underneath Goulding and grab the win by inches.
“This is the most incredible moment ever,” Hayley said. “I’ve been waiting to come here and win. I don’t know what to say. It just feels amazing.”
The 16-year-old out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada ran the full K&N Pro Series West schedule last year driving for Bill McAnally, finishing seventh in points with five top fives in 15 races. This year he moves over to Gene Price Motorsports, running as a teammate to Greg Pursley in the car that won the championship last year with Dylan Kwasniewski.
“It’s huge,” he said. “Gene Price Motorsports gave me a heck of a piece. He gave me the car to do this. It just feels great.”
Goulding, who finished second, was making his first ever K&N Pro Series as the 15-year-old looks towards tackling the full schedule ahead.
“I just got to thank my team; everybody that has worked so hard,” Goulding said. “I hate having to do that, but I felt like we got a little help. It’s just one of those racing deals. I hate seeing that. Great finish coming to the line.”
Coming to the line, Goulding felt that he slipped in some fluid that had been leaked on the track.
“Just too late to come back,” he added. “I’m never going to forget this. Daytona, it’s amazing. It’s my first K&N car so it felt awesome.”
Bryan Ortiz came back through the field to finish third after spinning on lap 19. Ryan Gifford finished fourth after going for a spin with Ortiz and Jorge Goeters on lap 40. Ben Kennedy rounded out the top five. Kennedy, the great-grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., became the first member of the France family to compete at DIS in a stock car.
Thorn finished sixth, followed by NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion D.J. Kennington in seventh. Kennington started the race from rear after being spun on the last lap of the qualifying heat race earlier in the day.
Self was credited with eighth after the spin. He had made his way from the back of the field to the front after a spin on lap 19.
“Same thing that has happened all weekend,” he said. “It’s short track racing. You’re racing for $20,000. That’s huge. We knew it was coming. We had a solid lead with about three to go…..and it’s just guys going for it. I probably would’ve done the same thing if second or third……We made an impression down here. We came from last to first and passed everybody on the track.”
Greg Pursley and Kyle Larson rounded out the top 10. Pursley came back to run inside the top five after being spun by Conley with 27 laps to go while leading. Pursley led 127 laps of the 150 laps.
Conley, who had been in the thick of the lead battle, finished 11th with Noel Dowler 12th. NASCAR Mexico Series Champion Goeters didn’t have a good night, going for a spin on lap seven before finishing 13th.
2012 K&N Pro Series West Champion Dylan Kwasniewski finished 27th after wrecking on lap 54 with David Mayhew.
“Just got ran over by my old teammate,” Kwasniewski said.
John Hunter Nemechek, son of Sprint Cup Series driver Joe Nemechek, finished 28th after being involved in a wreck just after a restart.
“It’ a tough night,” Nemechek said. “A guy (Chuck Buchanan Jr.) stopped in front of us and we had no place to go.”
NKNPS Daytona 2/19/13 Unofficial Results
| Pos | No. | Name | Sponsor | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Cameron Hayley | Cabinets by Hayley/GPM | 155 |
| 2 | 20 | Gray Gaulding* | Krispy Kreme | 155 |
| 3 | 4 | Bryan Ortiz | Putinka Vodka | 155 |
| 4 | 2 | Ryan Gifford | Sunoco/Langley Speedway | 155 |
| 5 | 96 | Ben Kennedy | EMCO/Mac Tools/Mechanix Wear | 155 |
| 6 | 6 | Derek Thorn | Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil/Eibach | 155 |
| 7 | 28 | D J Kennington | N.P.P./NAPA Know How | 155 |
| 8 | 21 | Michael Self | Golden Gate Meat Co./Bay Bio Diesel | 155 |
| 9 | 26 | Greg Pursley | GPM/Star Nursery/Real Water | 154 |
| 10 | 69 | Kyle Larson | Curb Records | 154 |
| 11 | 47 | Cale Conley | Tait Towers | 154 |
| 12 | 55 | Noel Dowler* | EMCO/Apollo Motorsports | 154 |
| 13 | 0 | Jorge Goeters* | NASCAR Toyota Mexico Series | 153 |
| 14 | 00 | Tyler Reddick* | Ken Schrader Racing | 152 |
| 15 | 36 | Dalton Zehr* | Whelen Engineering | 151 |
| 16 | 90 | Martin Roy* | King Auto Sport Canada | 148 |
| 17 | 77 | Austin Self* | AM Technical Solutions | 148 |
| 18 | 19 | Chuck Buchanan Jr.* | Spring Drug | 145 |
| 19 | 71 | Daryl Harr | i World | 139 |
| 20 | 37 | Dylan Presnell | American Mountain Rentals/Amtrol | 122 |
| 21 | 16 | Sergio Pena | NAPA Auto Parts | 119 |
| 22 | 07 | Corey LaJoie | UNOH | 102 |
| 23 | 92 | Ander Vilarino* | Euro Racecar NASCAR Touring Series | 98 |
| 24 | 17 | David Mayhew | MMI Services/Ron’s Rear Ends | 94 |
| 25 | 39 | C J Faison | Sherwin Williams | 80 |
| 26 | 72 | Carl Harr | West World Computers | 78 |
| 27 | 98 | Dylan Kwasniewski | Rockstar Engery Drink/Royal Purple Oil | 75 |
| 28 | 8 | John Hunter Nemechek* | AM/FM Energy | 59 |
RACE STATISTICS
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 22 mins, 15 secs Average Speed: 45.503 mph Margin of Victory: 0.158 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 7-12; 42-49; 54-58; 60-69; 72-77; 80-82; 108-116; 124-126; 128-131; 149-152. 10 for 58 laps.
Lap Leaders: Greg Pursley 1-127, Michael Self 128-154, Cameron Hayley 155. Total Laps Led: Greg Pursley 127, Michael Self 27, Cameron Hayley 1. 2 changes involving 3 drivers.
