SPOKANE, Washington — Braeden Havens, the reigning Inland Northwest Super StockAssociation champion, has signed to drive in selected NASCAR K&NPro Series West events during the upcoming 2012 season.
Havens debut behind the wheel of theThompson-owned Western Rail sponsored Chevrolet will come April 14 atHavasu 95 Speedway in Lake Havasu, AZ. This year's schedule forHavens includes all of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series short trackraces and a potential start at Phoenix International Raceway inNovember.
“It's pretty exciting to know I'll becompeting in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series this year,” Havens said.“I never thought I would get to this point in my racing careerwhere we're out racing against the best of the best on the WestCoast. What a feeling to say I am a NASCAR driver.”
Brett Thompson of Thompson Motorsportssees the addition of Havens as a positive step for his race team.
“I've seen what he's capable of and Ithink he can do well on the series,” Thompson noted.
Having a teammate can be beneficial forboth drivers, he added.
“You look what Gene Price Motorsportsdid last season on the short-tracks (including wins in Montana, LasVegas, Irwindale, Colorado and top-5 finishes in Las Vegas) and youcan see there are always benefits in numbers. It will be interestingto see what (Braeden) likes in a car and what I like.”
Havens is equally excited about theprospects of having a teammate in his first season on the NASCARseries, he noted.
“Brett is a great racer and has beenin this division for some time so with that experience he will beable to help me learn the cars and the tracks. He'll also be able totell me what other drivers may do (on the race track) since he hasraced with them for so long.”
Leading Havens team will be veteranNASCAR crew chief, Charlie Wilson. Last season Wilson led Thompson'steam to a top-5 finish in the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series Westchampionship standings.
“Charlie has won championships on theWest series and has crew chiefed on the (NASCAR) Nationwide Series.We're all still going to work as a team here but Charlie is going tolead Braeden's team in his races this year,” Thompson said.
With a strong team around him, Havenslooks to be competitive in every race he enters.
“My goal this year (in the NASCAR K&NPro Series) is to go out and win races. Also, I want to show myabilities and hope to get my name out in front of the right people tomove my way up the racing ladder,” Havens said.
To reach those goals Havens beganworking with his new team informally last fall, he added.
“I went with the team to their lastrace in Phoenix and have been down to the shop to see how they worktogether. I will also be going to test before the season starts so Ican show them my driving style and we all learn to work together onthe race track.”
In addition to running selected eventson the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Havens has an ambitious schedulebehind the wheel of his No. 83 Western Rail Inc. late model. For acomplete schedule log onto www.killerb83.comor look for the team's page on Facebook.
