Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Analyzing the NAPA Auto Parts Idaho 208 at Meridian Speedway



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule heads to Meridian Speedway in Meridian, Idaho, for the NAPA Auto Parts Idaho 208 presented by Perfect Hydration and Lights Out on Saturday, September 30. Below is a look at the race itself and some of the selected participants.

NAPA Auto Parts Idaho 208 Race Setup:
• Reigning series champion Todd Gilliland of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, won for the sixth time this season in the most recent event at Oregon’s Douglas County Speedway, to extend his point lead to five points over teammate Chris Eggleston of Erie, Colorado.
• Eggleston, himself a four-time winner this season, finished second to Gilliland at Douglas County.
• Gilliland is the defending winner at Meridian.

At Meridian Speedway:
History
• This will be the series’ fourth visit to Meridian Speedway.
• Meridian Speedway has been in operation since 1951.
• The K&N Pro Series West has had three winners at the quarter-mile oval, beginning with Ray Elder winning the inaugural race in 1972.
• After a 43-year absence from Meridian, Noah Gragson won from the pole when the series returned to the track in 2015.

Notebook
• Two Meridian winners – Ray Elder and Noah Gragson – won the race from the pole.
• The most lead changes at the track occurred in 2015 with 15.
• Todd Gilliland is the defending race winner at Meridian.

Meridian Data:
Race:#12 of 14 overall
Race Date: Saturday, September 30, 8:30 p.m. MT
Track Layout: .25-mile asphalt oval
Race Length: 208 laps (52 miles)

Qualifying/Race Data:
2016 Winner: Todd Gilliland
2016 Pole Sitter: Ryan Partridge
1-lap Qualifying Record: Noah Gragson, Ford, 69.140 mph (September 2015)
208-lap Race Record: Noah Gragson, Ford, 1 hour, 19 minutes, 16 seconds (39.361 mph, September 2015)

Meridian Leaders:
Wins
Ray Elder … 1
Todd Gilliland … 1
Noah Gragson … 1

Poles
Ray Elder … 1
Noah Gragson … 1
Ryan Partridge … 1

Laps Led
Ryan Partridge … 178
Noah Gragson … 176
Ray Elder … 100
Todd Gilliland … 31
James Bickford … 17
Chris Eggleston … 12

Selected Driver Highlights:
Nicole Behar (No. 33 Custom Welding & Fabrication Toyota)
• Sits ninth in the current series standings with two top fives and six top 10s in 11 starts.
• Finished a season-high third at Washington’s Evergreen Speedway in August.
• Finished third last season at Meridian in her second series career start at the track.

Chris Eggleston (No. 99 NAPA Filters Toyota)
• Sits second in the overall K&N Pro Series West standings, just five points behind leader Todd Gilliland, with four wins, 10 top fives and 11 top 10s in 11 races.
• Has nine career K&N Pro Series West wins with 29 top fives and 33 top 10s in 42 career starts.
• Was the 2015 series champion in his first full season of competition with Bill McAnally Racing.
• Is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in every race this season and has wins at Tucson (Ariz.) Speedway, California’s Orange Show Speedway, Colorado National Speedway and Evergreen.
• Leads the West with top fives in 10 of 11 races this season.
• Has a career-best finish of fourth in two starts at Meridian.

Todd Gilliland (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Has six wins, eight top fives and 10 top 10s in 11 West races this season to lead the series standings by five points over Chris Eggleston.
• Won the most recent race at Douglas County for his series-leading sixth win of the season.
• Won four of the first five K&N Pro Series West races this season and owns 13 career K&N Pro Series West wins.
• Won the first five pole awards of the season and four straight races — California’s Kern County Raceway Park, California’s Irwindale Event Center (twice) and Spokane (Wash.) County Raceway.
• Won last season at Meridian in his only career start at the track.

Derek Kraus (No. 19 Carlyle Tools Toyota)
• Sits third in the current West standings with six top fives and seven top 10s through 11 races.
• Finished a career-best second at Kern County in March and equaled the effort at Spokane and Colorado.
• Won his first career pole at Iowa Speedway, and finished third in the most recent event at Douglas County.
• Currently leads the running for the K&N Pro Series West Sunoco Rookie of the Year.
• Has never competed with the series at Meridian.

Julia Landauer (No. 6 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Braille Batteries/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Sits seventh in the overall standings with one top five and six top 10s in 11 starts this season.
• Posted a season-high finish of fifth in the most recent event at Douglas County.
• Her career-best series finish of second came at Meridian last season.
• Finished fourth in the K&N Pro Series West standings in 2016, the highest finish for a woman in the series’ history.

Michael Self (No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Eibach/Braille Batteries/Sinclair Ford)
• Despite missing the season opener, is fifth in the standings with four top fives and 10 top 10s in 10 starts.
• Finished a season-high third at Irwindale in March.
• Has six career K&N West wins, including two at both Minnesota’s Brainerd International Raceway and Iowa.
• Has never competed with the series at Meridian.

Todd Souza (No. 13 Central Coast Cabinets Toyota)
• Ranks a career-high sixth in the overall standings with one top five and seven top 10s in 11 starts this season.
• Has five top 10s in the last six races and finished a season-best third at Orange Show, his best finish in nine years.
• Won his only career race at Utah Motorsports Campus in 2008.
• Has never competed with the K&N Pro Series West at Meridian.

Will Rodgers (No. 7 Solvang Brewing Company Ford)
• Ranks fourth in the West standings with seven top fives and nine top 10s in 11 races this year.
• Is second in the running for the K&N Pro Series West Sunoco Rookie of the Year this season.
• Matched a career-best finish of second at Evergreen, giving him two second-place finishes in a three-race span, including at California’s Sonoma Raceway.
• Has two career K&N Pro Series East wins at New York’s Watkins Glen and New Jersey Motorsports Park this season.
• Has never competed with the series at Meridian.

Up To Speed:
• The 2017 season is the 64th for the K&N Pro Series West.
• The 2017 schedule features 14 races at 12 different tracks.
• Point leader Todd Gilliland, who won the first five poles of the season, swept the Twin 100s at Irwindale in March as part of a stretch of four straight wins.
• Gilliland won at Iowa Speedway and Douglas County for his fifth and sixth wins of the season.
• Chris Eggleston won the season opener at Tucson and then two straight events at Orange Show and Colorado National.
• Eggleston won at Evergreen for his fourth win of the season.
• Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick is the only driver other than Gilliland or Eggleston to win a race this season, winning on the road course at Sonoma in June.