The NASCAR Camping World Series East drivers had every reason to be confident when they arrived at Iowa Speedway last May.
Led by race winner Sean Caisse, the East had dominated the first combination race between the two NASCAR Camping World Series at Elko (Minn.) Speedway. Six of the top seven finishers were East drivers, a block disrupted only by eventual NASCAR Camping World Series champion Mike David in third.
But Iowa turned out to be a different story entirely.
Outside of race winner Joey Logano, it was a day of struggles for the East drivers and a banner day for the West.
Championship contenders Marc Davis (34th), Matt Kobyluck (36th), Bryon Chew (39th) and Peyton Sellers (40th) all put in days they’d like to forget.
“I am looking very much forward to going back to Iowa — that was an incredible place to race,” said Kobyluck, who qualified 21st in his No. 40 Mohegan Sun Chevrolet and was working his way to the front when he spun. “We had a great car there last year and, through fault of mine, we ended up not finishing the event.
“Our finish was not indicative at all to the quality of car we had and how fast we were. Up until I made a mistake — I went three-wide going into one of the corners, and really shouldn't have been three-wide at that point in the race, and got my right side into the debris and ended up spinning out — prior to that, we had a solid top-five car.”
Davis was the fifth-fastest qualifier, but had to start at the tail of the field due to an engine change after qualifying. Sellers qualified fourth, but encountered a rare engine problem, retiring from the event after only 51 laps.
Also looking for improvement is team owner Andy Santerre.
Santerre’s two drivers’ performances last year included then-rookie Jeffrey Earnhardt (start 32nd, finish 18th) and Caisse (start sixth, finish 37th, accident). Santerre’s drivers this year are Sellers (No. 44 Specialty Fertilizer Products Chevrolet) and Austin Dillon (No. 3 Garage Equipment Supply Chevrolet.
