SPOKANE, Washington —This weekend's stop on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series will be the closest Braeden Havens will have to a home race as the top drivers on the West Coast invade Evergreen Speedway for the running of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Gene Price Motorsports.
"I really feel this may be a good track for us to get our first win. "
With his hometrack of Spokane County Raceway not hosting a series event in 2012 the NAPA Auto Parts 150 has been circled on Havens calendar since the schedule was announced in the off-season.
“I do consider Monroe a home track since it is in my back yard and home state,” Havens said. “We tested our Western Rail Chevrolet late model here this year and it went really well. Then we decided to go run the first 5/8 race on the track's schedule. I made it up to fourth and was battling for third until we broke a sway arm that ended my race 15 laps from the end. We feel real good about the line around this track and I know that my Thompson Motorsports team will give me an awesome car for the weekend.”
Every lap run on the ultra-quick Evergreen Speedway was a help in preparing for this weekend's race, Havens added.
“Racing our late model at Evergreen Speedway gave me a ton of track time that I needed and I am happy we were successful. Running up front and qualifying good is something I hope to do in the K&N car. I really feel this may be a good track for us to get our first win. We were super fast in Las Vegas running as high as fourth until a run in with another car left me climbing back to the front all night so I know the team is heading in the right direction.”
Evergreen Speedway will be the biggest track that Havens has run the Thompson Motorsports Impala on in his first season competing on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. The recent high school graduate has nerves of steel when considering that thought, he noted.
“I love racing on the big tracks. Most of our success has come at Spokane County Raceway which is a high-banked half-mile and we ran super good at Monroe. I am confident in my team and our ability to get the job done so we're looking forward to what the weekend brings us.”
Havens heads into the weekend refreshed after taking some time off from a grueling race schedule that had the team competing nearly every weekend from the beginning of April to the end of June. After a few weeks off Havens heads into a seven-week stretch of high-profile races beginning with this weekend's NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Evergreen Speedway.
“I needed a vacation,” Havens confirmed. “We have run so much since April that it was good to take a week off with the family. Now it's time to focus on the three 200's (Montana, Idaho and Spokane 200's) and the two big K&N races (this week's stop in Monroe and the upcoming race at Colorado National) in the next seven weeks. I'm fresh and ready for this stretch of racing and have high hopes for our finishes.”
That starts with Saturday's NASCAR race, Havens added.
“(My crew chief) Will Harris gives me an excellent NASCAR K&N Pro Series ride every time out and it actually handles kind of like my heavy limited ICAR late model which we've been having success with so far this season as well. Will and I are clicking; you could see that in Las Vegas and it should show again here in Monroe.”
Fans can follow Havens throughout the weekend at the team's Killer B Racing Facebook page and at NASCAR's hometrack page within nascar.com
'hometrack' on NASCAR K&N Pro Series Spokane, WA (July 11, 2012)-This weekend's stop on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series will be the closest Braeden Havens will have to a home race as the top drivers on the West Coast invade Evergreen Speedway for the running of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Gene Price Motorsports.
With his hometrack of Spokane County Raceway not hosting a series event in 2012 the NAPA Auto Parts 150 has been circled on Havens calendar since the schedule was announced in the off-season.
“I do consider Monroe a home track since it is in my back yard and home state,” Havens said. “We tested our Western Rail Chevrolet late model here this year and it went really well. Then we decided to go run the first 5/8 race on the track's schedule. I made it up to fourth and was battling for third until we broke a sway arm that ended my race 15 laps from the end. We feel real good about the line around this track and I know that my Thompson Motorsports team will give me an awesome car for the weekend.”
Every lap run on the ultra-quick Evergreen Speedway was a help in preparing for this weekend's race, Havens added.
“Racing our late model at Evergreen Speedway gave me a ton of track time that I needed and I am happy we were successful. Running up front and qualifying good is something I hope to do in the K&N car. I really feel this may be a good track for us to get our first win. We were super fast in Las Vegas running as high as fourth until a run in with another car left me climbing back to the front all night so I know the team is heading in the right direction.”
Evergreen Speedway will be the biggest track that Havens has run the Thompson Motorsports Impala on in his first season competing on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. The recent high school graduate has nerves of steel when considering that thought, he noted.
“I love racing on the big tracks. Most of our success has come at Spokane County Raceway which is a high-banked half-mile and we ran super good at Monroe. I am confident in my team and our ability to get the job done so we're looking forward to what the weekend brings us.”
Havens heads into the weekend refreshed after taking some time off from a grueling race schedule that had the team competing nearly every weekend from the beginning of April to the end of June. After a few weeks off Havens heads into a seven-week stretch of high-profile races beginning with this weekend's NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Evergreen Speedway.
“I needed a vacation,” Havens confirmed. “We have run so much since April that it was good to take a week off with the family. Now it's time to focus on the three 200's (Montana, Idaho and Spokane 200's) and the two big K&N races (this week's stop in Monroe and the upcoming race at Colorado National) in the next seven weeks. I'm fresh and ready for this stretch of racing and have high hopes for our finishes.”
That starts with Saturday's NASCAR race, Havens added.
“(My crew chief) Will Harris gives me an excellent NASCAR K&N Pro Series ride every time out and it actually handles kind of like my heavy limited ICAR late model which we've been having success with so far this season as well. Will and I are clicking; you could see that in Las Vegas and it should show again here in Monroe.”
Fans can follow Havens throughout the weekend at the team's Killer B Racing Facebook page and at NASCAR's hometrack page within nascar.com
