Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Analyzing the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame 150 presented by NAPA Auto Parts



DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West heads to Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, California, for the final race of the season, the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Championship 150 presented by NAPA Auto Parts on Saturday, November 4. Below is a look at the final race of the season and some of the selected participants.

West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Championship 150 Race Setup:
• Defending NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion Todd Gilliland of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina, has an 11-point lead over Bill McAnally Racing teammate Chris Eggleston entering the finale.
• The NASCAR Next driver can clinch his second consecutive championship by finishing seventh or better at Kern.
• Michael Self has been the hottest driver in the series recently, having won each of the last two races on the schedule, including the most recent event at All-American Speedway.

At Kern County Raceway Park:
History
• Kern County opened in 2013 with a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series event.
• The track held one K&N Pro Series West race each year since its opening, with the lone exception being the 2014 season, prior to this season.
• Greg Pursley and Todd Gilliland are the only two repeat winners at Kern.
• Todd Gilliland won in March at Kern.

Notebook
• This is the series’ seventh event at Kern.
• Four different drivers have won at Kern, with Greg Pursley and Todd Gilliland winning twice.
• Four different drivers have won the pole at Kern, led by two each for Greg Pursley and Todd Gilliland, and four times the race has been won from the pole.
• Gilliland won at Kern in March, leading 72 laps after winning the pole for the second straight time at the track.

Kern Data:
Race:#14 of 14 overall
Race Date: Saturday, November 4, 8 p.m. PT
Airdate: NBCSN, Friday, Nov. 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Track Layout: .500-mile asphalt oval
Race Length: 150 laps (75 miles)

Qualifying/Race Data:
2016 Winner: N/A
2016 Pole Sitter: N/A
1-Lap Qualifying Record: Gray Gaulding, 17.908 seconds, 100.514 mph, Oct. 26, 2013.
150 Lap Race Record: Todd Gilliland, 66.905 mph (1 hour, 9 minutes, 57 seconds), March 2016.

Kern County Leaders:
Wins
Greg Pursley. … 2
Todd Gilliland … 2
Dylan Lupton … 1
Dalton Sargeant … 1

Poles
Greg Pursley … 2
Todd Gilliland … 2
Gray Gaulding … 1
Dalton Sargeant … 1

Laps Completed
David Mayhew … 920
Johnny Borneman III … 616
John Wood … 494
Chris Eggleston … 466
James Bickford … 465

Laps Led
Greg Pursley … 338
David Mayhew … 146
Todd Gilliland … 126
Dalton Sargeant … 75
Gray Gaulding … 59
Ryan Partridge … 45

Selected Driver Highlights:
Chris Eggleston (No. 99 NAPA Filters Toyota)
• Sits second in the overall West standings, 11 points behind leader Todd Gilliland, with four wins, 11 top fives and 13 top 10s in 13 races.
• Has nine career K&N Pro Series West wins with 30 top fives and 35 top 10s in 44 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 Washington’s Evergreen Speedway.
• Finished fourth at Kern in March and has finished in the top five in all three of his career starts at the track.

Todd Gilliland (No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota)
• Has six wins, 10 top fives and 12 top 10s in 13 races this season to lead the series standings.
• Won at Oregon’s Douglas County Speedway in August 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 — Kern, California’s Irwindale Event Center (twice) and Washington’s Spokane County Raceway.
• Has won the pole and the race in each of his two career starts at Kern, including the race in March.
• Finished second this season in the final K&N Pro Series East standings.

Derek Kraus (No. 19 Carlyle Tools Toyota)
• Sits third in the current West standings with eight top fives and nine top 10s through 13 races.
• Leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by six points over Will Rodgers headed into this weekend’s finale.
• Finished a career-best second at Kern in March and equaled the effort at Spokane and Colorado.
• Won his first series career pole at Iowa Speedway, and finished fourth in the most recent event at California’s All American Speedway.

Julia Landauer (No. 6 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Sits seventh in the overall standings with one top five and seven top 10s in 13 starts this season.
• Finished fourth in the K&N Pro Series West standings in 2016, the highest finish for a woman in the series’ history.
• Posted a season-high finish of fifth at Douglas County in August and enters the weekend with three straight top 10s.
• Has one top 10 in two career starts at Kern, having finished 12th there in March.

Michael Self (No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Eibach Springs/Lucas Oil Ford)
• Despite missing the season opener, is fifth in the standings with six top fives and 12 top 10s in 12 starts.
• Has won each of the last two series races, at Idaho’s Meridian Speedway and All American, and now has eight career K&N West wins.
• The win at Meridian was his first K&N Pro Series win since 2013.
• Finished sixth at Kern in March, where he has one top five in two career starts.

Todd Souza (No. 13 Central Coast Cabinets Toyota)
• Ranks a career-high sixth in the overall standings with two top fives and eight top 10s in 13 starts this season.
• Finished fourth at Meridian, giving him six top 10s in the last eight races entering the season finale.
• Won his only career race at Utah Motorsports Campus in 2008.
• Finished 10th in March in his only career start at Kern.

Will Rodgers (No. 7 Kelly Benefit Strategies Ford)
• Ranks fourth in the West standings with nine top fives and 11 top 10s in 13 races this year.
• Competed in six races a year ago and is running for K&N West Rookie of the Year this season, where he trails Derek Kraus by six points with one race remaining.
• Finished fifth in the most recent event at All American, giving him four straight top-five finishes and five in the last six races, entering the season finale.
• Has two career K&N Pro Series wins, both in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, at New York’s Watkins Glen International and New Jersey Motorsports Park this season.
• Finished third in March in his only career start at Kern.

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.
• Michael Self won at Meridian for his first win in the series since 2013 and then won the most recent event at All-American.

Contact:
Brooke Franceschini
NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications
(704) 720-3178
bfranceschini@nascar.com