RICHMOND, Virginia — After a tight battle at the front, Darrell Wallace Jr. wrestled the lead away from Max Gresham for the final time on Lap 79 and held on to win the inaugural Blue Ox 100 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond International Raceway.
Wallace, from Mobile, Ala., gained the third victory in just his 13th career start in the K&N Pro Series East. He took the lead from Gresham for the first time on Lap 55, and the two later swapped it following a restart on Lap 78, and for the decisive time on Lap 79.
Wallace pilots the No. 6 U.S. Army Toyota for Revolution Racing and Drive for Diversity. He gained two wins as a rookie in 2010, and has finished in the top 10 in all but three of his career starts.
Brett Moffitt wound up second with Corey LaJoie, Gresham and Alex Bowman in the top five. The rest of the top 10 was Jason Bowles, Michael Cherry, Ryan Blaney, Sergio Peña and Matt DiBenedetto.
With the win, Wallace now leads the season standings after three races by 26 points on teammate Peña. Wallace ended up leading a race-high 55 laps with Gresham the other 45.
The race was slowed by just two cautions. There was a 1:48 red flag delay for rain.
The K&N Pro Series East will next be in action when it is joined by the K&N Pro Series West in the annual East-West Challenge presented by Tompkins Industries at Iowa Speedway on May 21.
1 2 6 Darrell Wallace, Jr. U.S. Army Toyota 100 185 5 $0 Running
2 5 00 Brett Moffitt Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 100 170 0 Running
3 21 07 Corey LaJoie * Sims Metal/Virginia Motor Speedway Ford 100 165 0 Running
4 1 18 Max Gresham Gresham & Associates Toyota 100 170 10 0 Running
5 4 16 Alex Bowman * X Team Racing Toyota 100 155 0 Running
6 14 75 Jason Bowles Rusty Wallace Racing Experience Toyota 100 150 0 Running
7 16 8 Michael Cherry * NASCAR's Fueling Dreams Toyota 100 146 0 Running
8 18 10 Ryan Blaney * Seal Wrap/Heavy Duty/NOS Toyota 100 142 0 Running
9 12 4 Sergio Peña Freightliner Toyota 100 138 0 Running
10 10 15 Matt DiBenedetto Gear Wrench Toyota 100 134 0 Running
11 13 14 Coleman Pressley Kingsford Toyota 100 130 0 Running
12 7 66 Benny Gordon Varischetti & Sons Chevrolet 100 127 0 Running
13 24 62 Andrew Smith * SavannahPawn.com Chevrolet 100 124 0 Running
14 11 71 Eddie MacDonald Grimm Construction Chevrolet 100 121 0 Running
15 28 51 Brandon Haley * Carter's Royal Ford 100 118 0 Running
16 17 37 Brandon McReynolds * Great Play/SofComfort Chevrolet 100 115 0 Running
17 20 27 Cale Conley * PMC/Health Bridge Imaging Chevrolet 100 112 0 Running
18 8 46 Brandon Gdovic * Aquis Communications/ComServe Dodge 100 109 0 Running
19 15 03 Cody Hodgson * Ocala Gran Prix Dodge 100 106 0 Running
20 33 12 Daniel Suárez * Telmex/TWR/Pure Water Dodge 100 103 0 Running
21 22 98 Chad Boat * Curb Records Chevrolet 100 100 0 Running
22 3 35 Andrew Ranger Waste Management Recycling Chevrolet 100 97 0 Running
23 23 60 D.J. Shaw Precision JLM/Subway Chevrolet 100 94 0 Running
24 6 9 Chase Elliott * HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 100 91 0 Running
25 25 85 Tanner Whitten * Fellowship of Christian Farmers Chevrolet 100 88 0 Running
26 30 08 Clay Campbell * Spraker Racing Enterprises Chevrolet 100 85 0 Running
27 19 96 Ben Kennedy * Blue Ox Chevrolet 100 82 0 Running
28 37 64 Rick Gdovic * Aquis Communications/ComServe Dodge 99 79 0 Running
29 27 24 Zach Germain Germain Racing Toyota 99 76 0 Running
30 29 54 Julian Albarracin * AAIC Chevrolet 99 73 0 Running
31 9 2 Ryan Gifford Toyota Racing Development Toyota 98 70 0 Running
32 32 02 CJ Faison * Schaffer Oils/Delaware Auto Exch. Chevrolet 97 67 0 Running
33 26 99 Travis Pastrana * Boost Mobile/PWR Toyota 97 64 0 Running
34 35 26 Scott Bouley Higgins Tree Service/Goff's Equip. Chevrolet 96 61 0 Running
35 31 97 Tanner Berryhill * National Cash Lenders Chevrolet 94 58 0 Running
36 34 63 John Salemi John Salemi Racing Chevrolet 73 55 0 DNF
37 38 76 Jerick Johnson American Legion/David Law Firm Chevrolet 20 52 0 DNF
38 36 32 Dale Quarterley Van Dyk Baler Chevrolet 19 49 0 DNF
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Max Gresham, Time: 21.948 Seconds, Speed: 123.018 mph
Time of Race: NA Average Speed: NA Margin of Victory: 2.718 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 23-39 (Debris in Turn 2 [Red Flag 1:48 for rain]); 73-76 (Car #2 spin in Turn 2). 2 for 21 laps.
Lap Leaders: Max Gresham 1-54, Darrell Wallace, Jr. 55-77, Max Gresham 78, Darrell Wallace, Jr. 79-100.
Total Laps Led: Max Gresham 55, Darrell Wallace, Jr. 45. 3 changes involving 2 drivers.
CONTINGENCY AWARDS
COCA-COLA MOVE OF THE RACE AWARD: Corey LaJoie *, 07 Sims Metal/Virginia Motor Speedway Ford
COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Max Gresham, 18 Gresham & Associates Toyota
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER AWARD: Corey LaJoie *, 07 Sims Metal/Virginia Motor Speedway Ford
SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE AWARD: Corey LaJoie *, 07 Sims Metal/Virginia Motor Speedway Ford
