DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The fourth annual NASCAR K&N Pro Series East/West combination race will return to Iowa Speedway for the Goodyear Tire Dealers of Iowa 200 on Sunday, May 23. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected East and West drivers at Iowa Speedway in the past three combination events:
(NOTE – For combination events, drivers are credited statistically with finishes in relation to drivers in their respective series.)
Selected Driver Highlights:
Ty Dillon (NKNPS-East No. 33 Mom ‘N’ Pop’s Country Ham Chevrolet)
• Has three top 10s in five career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts.
• Is 15th in points after two races in 2010.
• Is a development driver for Richard Childress Racing … Is the grandson of Richard Childress, son of RCR Vice President of Competition Mike Dillon and younger brother of 2008 NKNPS East Sunoco Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon … Brother was the 2008 pole winner at Iowa Speedway.
Ryan Gifford (NKNPS-East No. 2 Revolution Racing Chevrolet)
• Has five top fives in six career NKNPS-East starts.
• Is second in points after two races in 2010.
• Finished sixth in the NKNPS-West stand-alone race at Iowa in 2009.
• Is competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors out of the Revolution Racing garage in 2010 as part of the Drive for Diversity program.
Jonathon Gomez (NKNPS-West No. 22 Heritage Cattle/Century Boatland Chevrolet)
• Has four top 10s in 10 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West starts.
• Is 10th in points after two races.
• Finished 11th among NKNPS-West drivers (23rd overall) at Iowa in 2009.
Max Gresham (NKNPS-East No. 18 Gresham & Associates Toyota)
• Has a win, a pole and three top 10s in five career NKNPS-East starts.
• Is seventh in points after two races in 2010 with a win last time out at South Boston Speedway.
• Finished third in the NKNPS-West stand-alone race at Iowa in 2009.
• Is a teammate to Brett Moffitt at Joe Gibbs Racing.
Daryl Harr (NKNPS-West No. 71 WestWorld Computers Chevrolet)
• Has 22 top 10s in 72 career NKNPS-West starts.
• Has one start this season and is 25th in points.
• Has participated in all three Iowa combo races … Best finish of 11th among NKNPS-West drivers (17th overall) in 2007 … Also finished 13th (27th overall) in 2009 and 16th (34th overall) in 2008.
Paulie Harraka (NKNPS-West No. 12 NAPA Gold Filters Toyota)
• Has three wins, three poles and 11 top 10s in 18 career NKNPS-West starts.
• Is eighth in points after two races this year with a win at All American Speedway.
• Finished second among NKNPS-West driver (fifth overall) at Iowa as rookie in 2009.
• Is a member of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program.
Eric Holmes (NKNPS-West No. 20 NAPA Toyota)
• The 2006 and 2008 NKNPS-West champion.
• Has 10 wins, 12 poles and 39 top 10s in 51 career NKNPS-West starts.
• Is third in points after two races this year with a win at Phoenix International Raceway.
• Has participated in all three Iowa combo races … Drove for NKNPS-East team in 2007 … Best West finish of 12th (27th overall) in 2008.
Matt Kobyluck (NKNPS-East No. 40 Mohegan Sun Resort & Casino Chevrolet)
• The 2008 NKNPS-East champion.
• Has seven poles, 16 wins and 92 top 10s in 170 career NKNPS-East starts.
• Is eighth in points after two races in 2010.
• Only NKNPS-East driver to compete in each of the first three Iowa combo races … Best finish was eighth overall in 2008.
Blake Koch (NKNPS-West No. 21 Daystar Chevrolet)
• Has seven top 10s in 16 career NKNPS-West starts.
• Is 16th in points after two starts in 2010.
• Finished ninth among NKNPS-West drivers (16th overall) at Iowa in 2009.
Corey LaJoie (NKNPS-East No. 70 Toyota of Des Moines Toyota)
• Has three NKNPS-East career starts, all in 2009, with a best finish of third in the season finale at Dover International Speedway.
• Won the 2010 NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour season opener at the quarter mile in Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• Is the son of Randy LaJoie, two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion.
Eddie MacDonald (NKNPS-East No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles and 50 top 10s in 123 career NKNPS East starts.
• Was the 2009 championship runner-up, just 34 points behind titlist Ryan Truex.
• Is currently 10th in points after two races in 2010.
• Has participated in the two previous Iowa combo races … Finished 20th overall in 2008 and eighth in 2009.
David Mayhew (NKNPS-West No. 17 MMI Chevrolet)
• Has two wins, three poles and 22 top 10s in 34 career NKNPS-West starts.
• Is tied with Greg Pursley for the lead in points after two races … Has top-fives in both outings.
• Has participated in all three Iowa combo races … Best finish of first among NKNPS-West drivers (third overall) in 2009 … Also earned the NKNPS-West pole in 2009.
• Won the stand-alone NKNPS-West race at Iowa in 2009.
Brett Moffitt (NKNPS-East No. 02 Game Plan for Life Toyota)
• Has two wins, one pole and 10 top 10s in 13 career NKNPS East starts.
• Is 14th in points after two races in 2010.
• Was sixth overall in the 2009 Iowa combo race … Also finished third in the NKNPS-West stand-alone race at Iowa last year.
• Competes as a teammate to Max Gresham in 2010 in the JGR development program.
Greg Pursley (NKNPS-West No. 26 GPM Performance Parts Ford)
• Has a win, two poles and 18 top 10s in 31 career NKNPS-West starts.
• Is tied with David Mayhew for the lead in points after two races.
• Has participated in the two previous Iowa combo races … Best finish of 11th among NKNPS-West drivers (26th overall) in 2008 … Other finish was 12th (25th overall) in 2009.
• Was the 2004 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.
Moses Smith (NKNPS-West No. 16 HASA Pools Toyota)
• Has 24 top 10s in 43 career NKNPS-West starts.
• Is 11th in points after two starts in 2010.
• Has participated in the two previous Iowa combo races … Best finish of sixth among NKNPS-West drivers (17th overall) in 2008 … Other finish was eighth (14th overall) in 2009.
Brett Thompson (NKNPS-West No. 61 RTT Chevrolet)
• Has a win, a pole and 54 top 10s in 95 career NKNPS-West starts.
• Has one start in 2010 and sits 28th in points.
• Has participated in all three Iowa combo races … Best finish of third among NKNPS-West drivers (seventh overall) in 2009.
Ryan Truex (NKNPS-East No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota)
• The 2009 NKNPS East titlist … Has three wins, two poles and nine top 10s in 14 career starts.
• Is fourth in points after two races this season in his title defense.
• Finished 33rd overall in the 2009 Iowa combo race.
• Is a development driver for Michael Waltrip Racing … Is scheduled to make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.
• Father, Martin Sr., and brother, Martin Jr., also competed in the NKNPS East.
Darrell Wallace Jr. (NKNPS-East No. 76 Revolution Racing Chevrolet)
• Is sixth in points after two races in his rookie campaign with a win in the season-opener at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
• Became the youngest race winner in series history at 16 years, five months and 19 days, which surpassed Brett Moffitt’s mark set last year … Also became the first African-American driver to win in the series’ 24-year history.
• Competes out of the Revolution Racing garage as part of the Drive for Diversity program.
Cole Whitt (NKNPS-East No. 84 Red Bull Toyota)
• Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate leads Ryan Gifford by 25 points in the overall standings after two races.
• Earned the pole and finished third in his NKNPS East debut at GPS.
• Is a development driver for Red Bull Racing.
At Iowa Speedway:
History
• Designed by Rusty Wallace, it opened in September, 2006.
• Has played host to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East/West combination race in each of the previous three seasons.
• In addition, the NKNPS-West visited Iowa Speedway for a stand-alone race in 2009.
• Played host to the NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series for the first time in 2009.
Notebook
• The NASCAR K&N Series held its inaugural event at Iowa Speedway in 2007.
• The Iowa event has annually been a combination race with the NKNPS East and West series competing together … Drivers will earn finishes and points for their respective series while competing for the overall race win and purse.
• The race attracted a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers for each of the first three editions … Kevin Harvick competed in the inaugural event in 2007 while Kasey Kahne participated in 2008 and Kyle Busch followed in 2009.
• Current NSCS driver Joey Logano captured the first East/West race in 2007 en route to his NKNPS-East title … Brian Ickler kept the NKNPS-East in Victory Lane with a win in 2008 … Kyle Busch became the first NSCS driver to win at Iowa when he took the checkered in 2009 as a representative of the NKNPS-East.
• In addition, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West visited the .875-mile track in Newton, Iowa for a stand-alone series race last September. David Mayhew has the most series wins at Iowa Speedway. He was credited with a win as the top finishing West driver in last year’s East-West combination race and won the stand-alone series race at Iowa last September.
Up to Speed:
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East has held two races so far in 2010 and Cole Whitt currently leads in the standings by 25 points … Darrell Wallace Jr. won at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway on March 27 and Max Gresham was victorious on April 3 at South Boston (Va.) Speedway … Whitt, Wallace and Gresham are all Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates.
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West has also contested a pair races in 2010 … Points leader Greg Pursley and David Mayhew each have 320 points. … Paulie Harraka reached Victory Lane at All American Speedway on March 27 in Roseville, Calif. … Eric Holmes took the checkered flag at Phoenix International Raceway on April 18.
• The next race for the NKNPS-East following Iowa will be at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on June 6 … It will mark the inaugural stand-alone race for the series at the history venue.
• The NKNPS-West will follow Iowa with an event at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore., on June 5 … This will be the ninth year in a row the series has gone to The Beaver State track, and the 13th time overall.
