DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West both head to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, for their annual combination race in the Casey’s General Store 150 presented by Vatterott College on Friday night. Below is a look at the race itself and some of the selected participants.
Casey’s General Store 150 Race Setup:
• This marks the only Iowa Speedway visit of 2016 for either the K&N Pro Series East or the K&N Pro Series West.
• The race is a combination event for the two divisions and a companion to the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the track.
• Justin Haley, who has two wins this season, holds a 40-point lead atop the series standings over Kyle Benjamin in the East.
• Ryan Partridge sits three points ahead of three-time race winner Todd Gilliland in the West.
At Iowa Speedway:
History:
• Designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, the .875-mile asphalt tri-oval was patterned after Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The first race at the track was held in September 2006.
• The first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Iowa was in May 2007, as a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination event was won by a 17-year-old Joey Logano.
• The 13 East-West combination events at Iowa have produced 12 different overall race winners and 12 different overall pole winners. Brandon McReynolds, who swept the two K&N Pro Series races at the track last season, is the only repeat overall winner at Iowa.
Notebook:
• Iowa held one East-West combination race each season from 2007-2011 and had two each year from 2012-2015.
• The K&N Pro Series West had a standalone event at the track in September 2009 won by David Mayhew.
• Kyle Busch, Cole Custer and Brandon McReynolds are the only three drivers to win the East-West combination race at Iowa from the pole. Chase Elliot started the furthest back and won, coming from 15th on the grid in May 2012.
• The average starting position for the winner is fifth while the pole sitter has an average finish of 8.25.
• Chevrolet has gone to Victory Lane in seven East-West events at Iowa, while Toyota has five wins and Ford has one.
Iowa Data:
Race: #10 of 14 overall for the East; #8 of 14 overall for the West
Race Date: Friday, July 29 at 8 p.m. CT
Track Layout: .875-mile asphalt tri-oval
Race Length: 150 laps (131.25 miles)
Banking/Turns: 12-14 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 10 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: Four degrees
Qualifying/Race Data:
2015 Winner: Brandon McReynolds
2015 Pole Sitter: Brandon McReynolds
1-lap Qualifying Record: Kyle Busch, 135.484 mph (23.250 seconds, May 2009)
150-lap Race Record: Ben Rhodes, 93.287 mph (May 2014)
Iowa Speedway Leaders:
Overall Combination Race Wins
1. Brandon McReynolds … 2
2. 11 others tied at … 1
Overall Combination Race Pole Wins
Anderson Bowen … 1
Kyle Busch … 1
William Byron … 1
Cale Conley … 1
Cole Custer … 1
Matt DiBenedetto … 1
Austin Dillon … 1
Kevin Harvick … 1
Brodie Kostecki … 1
Jesse Little … 1
David Mayhew … 1
Brandon McReynolds … 1
Brett Moffitt … 1
Combination Race Laps Completed
Greg Pursley … 1,735
Eddie MacDonald … 1,693
David Mayhew … 1,671
Daryl Harr … 1,269
Eric Holmes … 1,092
Combination Race Laps Led
Brett Moffitt … 287
Cole Custer … 234
Kyle Busch … 168
Brandon McReynolds … 149
Ben Rhodes … 140
Selected Driver Highlights:
Kyle Benjamin (No. 40 FEVR Chevrolet)
• Heads into the weekend ranked second in the East standings with five top fives and six top 10s in nine races.
• Has made three career starts at Iowa with a best finish of sixth in 2015 and two top-three starting positions.
• Has one career win in the series, at Bristol last season.
• Is a NASCAR Next alumnus.
Tyler Dippel (No. 38 East West Marine/TyCar Chevrolet)
• Is ranked seventh in the East standings with one win, one top five and four top 10s through nine races.
• Won at Mobile in only his second career series start.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
Chris Eggleston (No. 50 NAPA Filters Toyota)
• 2015 K&N Pro Series West champion is third in the current standings with two wins, six top fives and six top 10s in seven races this season.
• Has five career West wins
• Has finished fifth in each of his first three career starts at Iowa.
Chad Finchum (No. 39 Reynolds Wrap Toyota)
• Making the third start of the season and the 15th start of his career spread out over five seasons.
• Won at Bristol Motor Speedway in April.
Noah Gragson (No. 7 AlertID/Speed Vegas/Colliers International Ford)
• Heads into the weekend ranked third in the East standings with three top fives and five top 10s in nine races and fourth in the West standings with four top fives and seven top 10s in seven races.
• Won his first career K&N Pro Series East race at Stafford Motor Speedway in June.
• The Las Vegas native finished second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings in 2015 with two wins and 7 top fives in 13 races.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
Todd Gilliland (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Currently sits second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings with three wins through seven races.
• Won three consecutive West races beginning with the season finale at Phoenix in 2015 and ending with the first two races of 2016, at Irwindale and Kern County.
• Has made five K&N Pro Series East starts this season, including a win in the season opener at New Smyrna Speedway in February.
• Is making his first career start at Iowa.
• Is a member of the 2016-17 NASCAR Next class.
Justin Haley (No. 5 Braun Auto Chevrolet)
• Has two wins this season and leads the East series standings with eight top fives and nine top 10s in nine races.
• Only East driver to finish in the top 10 in all nine races thus far this season.
• Has made three career Iowa starts, finishing fourth in both races in 2015.
Jesse Little (No. 29 NASCAR Technical Institute Toyota)
• Has two career East wins, including being credited with the division win at Iowa in 2015.
• Finished second last year to Brandon McReynolds in this race, who was racing for West points.
• Has three top fives and four top 10s in seven career starts at Iowa.
• Also won at New Hampshire in 2014.
• Is a NASCAR Next alumnus.
Ryan Partridge (No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil/Eibach Springs Ford)
• Leads the West series standings with one win, five top fives and seven top 10s through seven races and is one of only two West drivers to finish in the top 10 in every race this season.
• Has two career Iowa starts with a best finish of sixth.
Gracin Raz (No. 27 Montana Tech Ford)
• Sits fifth in the West with four top fives and seven top 10s this season.
• Finished in the top 10 in both Iowa races last season.
• Picked up his first career West win last season at All American Speedway.
Austin Theriault (No. 1 Toyota College/Yazaki Toyota)
• Is fifth in the standings with five top fives and six top 10s through nine races.
• Finished a career best second at Columbus Motor Speedway on July 2.
• Is making his first career start at Iowa.
Credit: NASCAR Home Tracks.
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