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Tag: K&N Pro Series West

  • Will Rodgers Claims the Victory in a Thrilling Carneros 200 at Sonoma

    Will Rodgers Claims the Victory in a Thrilling Carneros 200 at Sonoma

    Will Rodgers holds off five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers and earns his first career win at Sonoma Raceway in the Carneros 200 in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

    Rodgers led 35 laps, set the fastest lap of the race and finished ahead of Aric Almirola in dominating fashion with a margin of 4.420 seconds. Last year, Rodgers finished under a second behind teammate and Cup champion, Kevin Harvick. One year later, he masters the track and dominates the field, besting five Cup drivers including teammate William Byron who finished third. He credits much of his success in today’s race from his learning experiences last year with Harvick.

    “It was very positive for me to have that experience last year,” Rodgers said about having Harvick as a teammate throughout the weekend in 2017. “Being beat every lap out of Turn 11 and on restarts, those are the two things I went back and really looked at and prepared myself to do today. So by having that experience, it definitely helped get us to victory lane. Obviously, everything that Kevin’s [Harvick] helped us with so far has been phenomenal, and I’m very appreciative of that.

    “I can tell you we wouldn’t be racing here this weekend if it wasn’t for Kevin, so I’m really, really happy I had that experience last year and was able to seal the deal this year.”

    After the opening laps, the No. 10 car of Matt Levin crashed in Turn 10 to bring out the first caution. Hailie Deegan battled a loose racecar and lost some spots after the first restart. Alex Bowman lost his motor after 10 laps of competition. No caution was waved for this incident.

    With 18 laps in the books, Hollis Thackeray in the No. 38 Butte Auto Parts Chevrolet stalled at the top of Turn 2. This caution was determined by officials to be the first break of the day. Will Rodgers, who had led every lap thus far, came into pit road for service. Aric Almirola was the first car to elect to stay out on the track and inherited the race lead.

    Later in the run, the No. 51 Ford of Carlos Vieira spun on the exit of Turn 10 to bring out the third caution flag of the race. At this point, Daniel Suarez battled his way to the second position with Rodgers and Byron fighting their way up through the field as well.

    The caution again came out for the fourth time of the day the No. 08 Chevrolet of Travis Milburn stalled on the exit of Turn 7 on lap 46. Towards the end of the race, Todd Souza in the No. 13 Central Coast Cabinets Toyota lost his motor with 18 laps to go.

    With 14 laps to go, Will Rodgers battled his way through the field and passed Aric Almirola for the lead a lap after the final restart. He held the lead and kept it for the remainder of the event. Daniel Suarez and Ryan Partridge rounded out the top five. Hailie Deegan continues her streak of top-10 finishes with a seventh-place result and earns Rookie of the Race honors. This was Rodgers’ first career win in the K&N Pro Series West. He also holds three career wins in the East Series in the middle of his third season of racing. The K&N Pro Series West races next weekend in Oregon at Douglas County Speedway.

  • Bickford’s Late Model Schedule Puts Driving Career Back On Track

    Bickford’s Late Model Schedule Puts Driving Career Back On Track

    James Bickford, the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Rookie of the Year is scheduled to make a limited run of eight races in 2018 in the Pacific Coast Challenge Series, a Northern California touring series for Super Late Models. Bickford, a two-time winner in the K&N Pro Series West, will be piloting the No. 35 Kamps Propane/Slidebelts entry for Scott Family Racing in an April 20 testing session before his debut on June 23 at Shasta Speedway in Anderson, California.

    “This opportunity came in about February, and I’ve been friends with the Scotts and Matt Scott is currently the driver, but due to other commitments with Bill McAnally Racing (Scott is the Car Chief for Derek Kraus), I was given the opportunity to fill in for him for the races he won’t be able to attend while he’s working with the No. 19 team,” said Bickford. “It couldn’t be done without Kamps Propane and Slidebelts, and I’m just really looking forward to getting back into the car.”

    Bickford, an alumnus of NASCAR Next, finished a career-high fifth in points in 2014 in the K&N Pro Series West. He stepped away from the division in 2016 due to lack of funding. According to Bickford, there were a lot of close deals that ultimately didn’t work out. He credits those as part of a huge life experience to go through and to find his life without racing.

    “There’s pros and cons to every situation. I haven’t stopped working at trying to gather sponsorship to go back racing and trying to get that initial funding I need to get back into racing, but that’s proven to be a very difficult thing to do,” he said.

    In the meanwhile, Bickford has been a Richard Petty Driving Experience instructor, traveling to the various speedways across the nation. However, there have also been discussions behind closed doors with different Camping World Truck Series teams and XFINITY Series teams, both of which are also part of Bickford’s long-term goals, yet nothing has come into fruition – yet.

    Although his current schedule states that he’ll be running up to eight races, Bickford stated that his schedule could be expanded if funding allows, but for now they will be sticking to the current schedule.  Meanwhile, on his April 20 test, Bickford pointed out that he’ll be using the test to get himself acquainted with stock cars again.

    “There’s never been a time in my career where I haven’t been able to get accustomed quickly,” said Bickford. “But I’d rather be doing that on a test session at Shasta Speedway, looking for speed and getting back to that edge we need. We’re going to be working hard at that session and Matt will be racing the car on April 21.”

     

  • NASCAR’s Greg Pursley Continues Dream Season Defeating a Long-Time Nemesis

    NASCAR’s Greg Pursley Continues Dream Season Defeating a Long-Time Nemesis

    [media-credit name=”RacingWest/Charly Porter” align=”alignright” width=”210″][/media-credit]NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series West division rolled into Toyota Speedway at Irwindale on Saturday night for the Southern California Toyota Dealers 200 presented by King Taco, and the only obstacle in the way of point’s leader Greg Pursley continuing his dream season, was the fact he had never won in a West race in 11 starts at this track he calls his home.

    Pursley who drives the No. 26 Gene Price Motorsports/Star Nursery sponsored Ford in the West series, has been to victory lane 28 times at this progressively banked half mile including a Super Late Model championship in 2004.

    Pursley also became the NASCAR Whelen All-American series national champion that same season winning 13 of 18 races, and in 2007 picked up a Super Late Model win in the prestigious NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. ”We have been trying many years in this car to win here. We have won everything there is to win here,” Pursley said while waiting for the first of two practice sessions to begin.

    The Newhall, California native wasted no time in preparing himself to overcome his nemesis by taking the pole, his third of the season and second-in-a-row at an oval track after deciding not to run the run the second practice session.

    “We have been here enough to where we know what’s gonna happen and don’t want to get yourself in trouble in practice. We’ll know what we got after qualifying and that will tell us how we are gonna run tonight,” said Pursley.

    Pursley also added that, “The communication is very well between myself and Jerry Pitts (Crew chief) and he understands what I like to feel in the car.  I can get in the car and not have to worry about it and it takes a lot of stuff off the back of my mind.”

    Once the green flag waved, Pursley quickly went to the front where he led the first 66 laps of the 200 lap feature race, which included a 10 minute break at the 100-lap mark to give the teams a chance to make adjustments.

    Before the break, Michael Self would lead the last 36 laps of the first 100-lap segment when Pursley let the faster driver go by to save his car for the second half of the race. “The first 100 when the 21 passed it was planned. I told them I wasn’t going any faster. So if they want to go ahead let him go. I knew we needed to save our tires so we just let him go,” Pursley said when talking about the reason he moved over and let Self pass.

    Once the cars came into the pits for the 10 minute break and restarted on lap 103, Pursley once again pulled away and led the next 55 laps when a caution came out because of a fire on pit road. The race restarted on lap 164 with Pursley showing the dominance he has shown all season when he pulled away from the rest of field, and took the checkered flag in front of a near sell-out crowd.

    The win gave Pursley his fifth win on the season, but more importantly he was able to defeat the track  that has eluded him throughout his K&N West Series career. “We have come so close so many times in this car and finally got one. When you’re on a roll like this you have to ride it as long as you can. Everyone knows in racing in can end like that you can go to the bottom as fast as you’re at the top,” Pursley said.

    Pursley also added that, “It’s a tribute to my team and the preparation of my car and I probably have a different mindset entering these races being a little more careful and being a smarter driver. If we can win one were gonna win one and if not we have to get out with the best finish we can. “

  • NASCAR K&N: NASCAR Penalizes No. 20 Team 100 Points For Rules Violation At Infineon; Once Again Don’t Blame The Driver

    NASCAR K&N: NASCAR Penalizes No. 20 Team 100 Points For Rules Violation At Infineon; Once Again Don’t Blame The Driver

    [media-credit id=50 align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]The last thing the defending champion in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series West division needed to hear on Tuesday from NASCAR, was that he was being penalized for a rules violation which occurred during a post-race inspection on June 25 at Infineon Raceway.

    Eric Holmes, who drives the No. 20 Napa Auto Parts sponsored Toyota for Bill McAnally racing, was docked 100 championship points after his car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-I (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20C-5.10.1A.

    Car owner Bill McAnally was also penalized 100 championship owner points, as was his crew chief Duane Knorr, who was fined $5,000; suspended from NASCAR until the fine is paid; placed on NASCAR probation for the next two (2) NASCAR K&N Pro Series West events; and placed on NASCAR probation until July 13, 2011.

    When I first heard the news that he and his team were penalized for an illegal carburetor, (Carburetor Eligibility: The carburetor must remain as supplied by the NASCAR-approved supplier – Unapproved carburetor modification to the carburetor main body) of the 2011 NASCAR rule book. I sat back and thought about each and every driver who has ever found themselves in this same predicament, all the way from the Whelan to NASCAR top-four touring series.

    To many times whenever a team is penalized for a rules violation, the fans are quick to put the blame on the driver with some outlandish and abusive insults as if he was the one who put the car together. NASCAR as we know is a sport that goes through many rule changes, and when you look at each everyone it’s amazing how a crew chief or team owner can ever keep up with all of them. Mistakes can be made during the set-up of a car, and just like life itself there is such a thing as human error.

    Now for the record I am not trying to defend or make a case about what happened with Holmes car during the construction phase, but just trying to shed some light on what the driver has to face come the next race date. The penalties couldn’t have come at worse time for Holmes and the No. 20 Napa team, especially when you take into consideration that Holmes has always been a good ambassador for the sport, and at the same time earning the respect from his fellow competitors and fans for his sportsmanship and demeanor around the venue on race day.

    With the amount of points taken away, the violation is consistent with what is given out in these situations in the NASCAR Touring Series, which will make it harder for Holmes to repeat as the defending champion of the series. Unlike the 2008 season when the Escalon, California native had already won three races in his first six starts, along with leading the point standings and eventually winning his first of three West series championship.

    Holmes found his team struggling early on this season with only one top-five, while leading a total of 22 laps which is below his career average, and is not the path to follow if he expected to become a back-to-back champion in NASCAR’s lower tier touring series.

    Heading to Toyota Speedway at Irwindale for this weekend’s race, Holmes will still be one the pre-race favorites to win the So. Toyota Dealers 200 despite being 358 markers behind point’s leader Greg Pursley because of the penalty. The team has also decided not to appeal the penalty, but instead wants to put this behind them and focus on the remainder of the season.

  • NASCAR’s Jason Fensler Gambling On Getting His His Third Win In-A-Row In Las Vegas

    NASCAR’s Jason Fensler Gambling On Getting His His Third Win In-A-Row In Las Vegas

    It’s been close to two months since TeamCassRacing’s Jason Fensler, has sat behind the wheel of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race car when the team competed in the Toyota/Napa AutoCare 150 in Roseville, California. Fensler, who started the race 15th, led the final eight laps in his TCR / Pick-n-Pull / Simple Green sponsored Chevrolet, and went to victory lane in only his second start for team owners Jim and Terri Cass.

    [media-credit name=”TCR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The win was Fensler’s second points win in-a-row in only five starts; with his first one coming at Altamont Motorsports Park in 2008 when he drove for SpeedWong Racing. “We didn’t qualify that well. We started 15th. We had to start toward the back of the pack,” said Fensler after his win at Roseville. Fensler also added that, “We just kept ourselves in position the whole entire race and that was the key. We didn’t have real good car, but we put ourselves in position and I just knew on the last restart to get the best run I could of off of two and it worked out for us.”

    “At the close of the Roseville event when we were able to take the lead, my spotter Justin did a great job. It really enabled me to focus on hitting my marks and drive a good consistent line.” Fensler who is racing as a rookie in the series is running a limited schedule because of sponsorship restrictions, and will make his next start on Saturday in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 200 at the Bullring in Las Vegas, Nevada. This will mark the Elk Grove, California natives second start in a point’s race with the team, his first start came at the season opening Toyota All-Star Showdown which is a non-points event.

    Fensler qualified seventh for the showdown, and ran as high as eighth before Derek Thorn slid into race leader Paulie Harraka coming through Turn 4 on lap 206. Fensler, Dale Quarterley, David Mayhew, Darrell Wallace and Chad Boat were all involved as each driver had nowhere to go and ended in the grass in Turn 4, which ended Fensler’s night where he would finish 28th. With Fensler’s last win coming two months ago, he was asked what he’s done within that time to prepare himself for this weekend’s race, and how hard is it to get back in the car and be competitive after a two month layoff?

    “I have changed a few things inside the car for comfort. Foreseeing hotter weather this weekend in Las Vegas I mainly worked on driver cooling and fluids for myself. When you have Roger Bracken preparing a car, a great crew working on it and owners like Jim and Terri Cass it makes it so much easier on myself as a driver. It really enables myself to speed that process up of getting settled back behind the wheel,” said Fensler.

    Crew chief Roger Bracken has been hard at work since the last race working on the ways to improve the team, and make them stronger by communicating with Fensler as well as the team owners. “I tell ya, it’s hard to win these races, and to be the only other driver to win this season in the K&N Pro Series West, once again shows what a great team TCR is,” Fensler said.

    Fensler finished with, “Roger and myself communicate very well. We have talked a lot about qualifying, since we didn’t qualify that well at Roseville, to try and improve on that. We both agree, we don’t want to spend too much time on it and let ourselves get behind on race setups.” Even though Jim and Terri are still seeking sponsorship to cover the rest of the season and are considered an underfunded team, they are still able to provide Fensler with a fast and competitive race car as well as a team that gels really well together.

    Fensler added that, “Everyone on the team gives 110% to do the best we can, and at the close of the day know we can walk away knowing we did the best we can. We win as a team, we lose as a team and with that being said I personally focus on giving the best feedback I can to Roger on the chassis, and drive a smart race. These races are long races and you have to race smart and put yourself in the right spot at the end to have a shot at a victory or getting the best finish you can.”