MOORESVILLE, North Carolina — In his first competition in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series race car, Sergio Pena, driving the No. 4 Freightliner/Revolution Racing Chevrolet, captured the 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Light for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown with a fast lap of 18.390 seconds (97.879 mph).
Pena earned his way into the event by competing in a qualifying race among his three teammates at Revolution Racing on Thursday evening. A run-away win in last night’s qualifier allowed Pena a shot at competing on Friday.
Pena’s pole run bested that of 2007 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown winner – and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver – Joey Logano. Logano qualified second at 18.421 (97.715).
“I couldn’t have asked for a better car tonight,” said Pena. “Everything was just right for that run. Andy (Santerre) and the entire Revolution Racing team gave me an awesome car and I can’t thank them enough for this opportunity.”
Pena, 16, of Winchester, Va., is relatively new to stock cars, but has been racing karts and open wheel cars for more than half his life. In his first season of late model competition, Pena won six races and rookie of the year honors at Shenandoah (Va.) Speedway. He also competed in NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late model races at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va.
The newly formed Revolution Racing will make its race debut tomorrow night in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.). The race will be broadcast live on SPEED TV and SIRIUS NASCAR Radio beginning at 7 p.m. PT.
