Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Analyzing the Sunrise Ford 150 at Orange Show Speedway



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season continues with the Sunrise Ford 150 presented by Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse at California’s Orange Show Speedway on Saturday, May 20. Below is a look at the Sunrise Ford 150 and some of the selected participants.

Sunrise Ford 150 Race Setup:
• Reigning NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion Todd Gilliland of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, has won four straight races entering Orange Show and can tie the series record for consecutive wins this weekend.
• His fifth straight pole award to open the season last weekend at Washington’s Spokane County Raceway broke the old series mark of four in a row.
• Gilliland owns a 20-point lead over Bill McAnally Racing teammate Chris Eggleston.

At Orange Show Speedway:
History:
• In continual operation since 1947, the quarter-mile Orange Show Speedway is the longest tenured race track in the country.
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West made its inaugural visit to Orange Show in 1966, and the series held at least one race at the track in every season through 1973 before returning in 1978 for one race.
• After a 38-year hiatus, the K&N Pro Series returned to Orange Show in 2016.

Notebook:
• This is the series’ 12th event all-time at Orange Show.
• Six different drivers have won previously at Orange Show, with Marvin Porter winning the inaugural event in 1966. Jack McCoy leads all drivers with four wins at Orange Show, including three in a row from 1969-1971.
• Six different drivers have earned poles at Orange Show, led by Jack McCoy with three.
• The record for most cautions in an event at Orange Show is nine, set in 2016, when 63 laps were run under the yellow flag.
• There have been an average of 2.7 lead changes in K&N Pro Series West races at the track.

Orange Show Data:
Race: #6 of 14 overall
Race Date: Saturday, May 20, 8:15 p.m. PT
Track Layout: .25-mile paved oval
Race Length: 150 laps (37.5 miles)

Qualifying/Race Data:
2016 Winner: Chris Eggleston
2016 Pole Sitter: Ryan Partridge
1-lap Qualifying Record: Ryan Partridge, Ford, 67.154 mph, May 2016.
150-lap Race Record: Johnny Anderson, Chevrolet, 46 minutes, 19 seconds, (48.578 mph), July 1971.

Category Leaders at Orange Show:
Wins
Jack McCoy … 4
Chris Eggleston … 1
Several others tied … 1

Poles
Jack McCoy … 3
Ray Elder … 2
Ryan Partridge … 1
Several others tied … 1

Laps Completed
Ray Elder … 1292
Jack McCoy … 1045
Jimmy Insolo … 929
Dick Bown … 596
Ivan Baldwin … 539

Laps Led
Jack McCoy … 635
Hershel McGriff … 103
Ray Elder … 191
Ryan Partridge … 137

Selected Driver Highlights:
Nicole Behar (No. 33 Custom Welding & Fabrication Toyota)
• Currently sits tied for fourth in the K&N Pro Series West standings with one top five and five top 10s in five starts this season.
• Finished a career-best second at Irwindale in 2015.
• Finished 10th in the final series standings in 2015, her only full season with the series.

Chris Eggleston (No. 99 NAPA Filters Toyota)
• Has six career K&N West wins with 24 top fives and 27 top 10s in 36 career starts.
• Was the 2015 series champion as a rookie for Bill McAnally Racing.
• Won the season opener at Arizona’s Tucson Speedway in March and is the defending race winner at Orange Show.
• Has an average starting position of 2.0 and average finishing position of 2.4 in five races this season.

Todd Gilliland (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Won six of 14 races last season with 11 top fives and 13 top 10s en route to the K&N Pro Series West championship, becoming the youngest champion in NASCAR, national or touring, history at 16 years, five months, and joined his grandfather Butch Gilliland as a series champion (1997).
• Enters the weekend on the strength of a four-race winning streak with four wins, five top fives and five top 10s in five races this season to lead the point standings by 20 over Chris Eggleston.
• Has won all five 21 Means 21 Pole Awards for the series this season.
• Has yet to finish worse than second in any race this season.
• Finished fourth at Orange Show last season in his only career start at the track.
• Was named to the 2017 NASCAR Next class on Tuesday.

Derek Kraus (No. 19 Carlyle Tools Toyota)
• Made his NASCAR K&N Pro Series debut with the East at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway and finished third.
• Sits third in the current standings with three top fives and four top 10s through five races.
• Finished a career-best second at California’s Kern County Raceway Park in March.

Julia Landauer (No. 6 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Finished fourth in the championship standings last season to become the highest finishing female driver in NASCAR K&N Pro Series West history.
• Has climbed to seventh in the standings with three consecutive top-10 finishes, including a seventh-place finish at Spokane last weekend.
• Finished fifth at Orange Show last season in her only career start at the track.

Blaine Perkins (No. 21 Four Star Fruit Chevrolet)
• Is eighth in the current standings with three top 10s in five races this season.
• Has a career-best finish of fifth last season at Colorado National Speedway.
• Finished ninth last season in his only career start at Orange Show.

Michael Self (No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Despite missing the season opener, ranks 11th in the current standings with two top fives and four top 10s in four starts.
• Has six career K&N Pro Series West wins.

Will Rodgers (No. 7 Solvang Brewing Company Ford)
• Competed in six races a year ago and is running for K&N West Rookie of the Year this season.
• Ranks sixth in the overall standings with four top fives and four top 10s in five races this year.
• Posted a career best finish of third at Kern County in March.

Kody Vanderwal (No. 32 Trident Processes/Billtrite & Signs/Becker Safety Ford)
• Sits ninth in the K&N Pro Series West standings with three top 10s in five starts as a rookie in 2017.
• Finished a career-high eighth in his series debut at the season opener in Tucson

Up To Speed:
• The 2017 season is the 64th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
• The 2017 schedule features 14 races at 12 different tracks across the United States.
• Third-generation driver Todd Gilliland won the season opener last year at Irwindale Speedway, the first of two straight wins to open the year.
• Todd Gilliland swept the Twin 100s at Irwindale in March and has won four straight races to date.
• Chris Eggleston won the season opener at Tucson.