Blaine Perkins at 9:30 pm ET on Monday, December 14, 2015 Photo – Blaine Perkins Facebook page
Blaine Perkins is our guest on Fan4Racing Fan2Fan NASCAR & Race Talk on Monday, December 14, 2015 at 9:30 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @Sal_Sigala with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
After racing limited late-model events in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour and Lucas Oil Modifieds, and competing in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series at Irwindale Speedway and finishing fourth in the series’ point standings this season, Blaine Perkins is now making his way into the next level – NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series.
Racing with Steve Portenga Racing, in their familiar No. 21 car, Perkins will compete for the K&N West Rookie of the Year honors in the 2016 season.
“I haven’t been able to stop smiling since we put the pen to paper to sign this deal,” says Perkins. “It’s hard to express just what this means to my family and I.”
“This is, honestly, a dream come true. We’ve been saying all year that all we needed was an opportunity, and this is the best one we could have asked for. Working with Steve [Portenga] and the rest of his team is a chance to really make a name for ourselves. 2016 is going to be an incredible season.”
In 18 of 24 Whelen All-American races at Irwindale Speedway, Perkins has 13 top-five and 16 top-ten finishes in 2015, finishing fourth in the California point standings. Elated with his move to the K&N West Perkins is now counting down the days to the start of the 2016 season.
“The K&N West roster has been one of the best in the country for a long time,” says the 15-year old Perkins.
“I’m sure there isn’t a single team in the garage area that plans on making things easy for us. They aren’t going to give us an inch. I know that I’m going to have to grind as much as I ever have for positions, because this will be the most talented group of teams I’ve ever competed against. It’s going to be an enormous challenge – but I can’t wait”
Although Perkins understands the challenge of racing in the K&N West next year, he also appreciates this year’s tough season at Irwindale and credits his competition in preparing him for this career move.
“Racing against the level of competition that was at Irwindale every weekend taught me more than I could ever explain,” says first-generation racer, Perkins. “In my opinion, that’s one of the best weekly fields in the country. If you can unload there and bring back a top-five, you know that you’ve done something. Posting the results that we did throughout 2015 was a huge encouragement for me – because it showed that I’m able to compete with some of the best of the best.
“We’ve put 100% into everything we’ve done in this sport so far, and running with the K&N West Series will be no different.”
“It’s not going to be easy – but we’re ready to do whatever it takes to be in the conversation every week. It took a lot of people to come together and make this opportunity possible – and I can’t thank them enough. Now, it’s all about showing them they weren’t wrong for putting their faith in me.”
With the holidays approaching and winter looming, race fans can also look forward to the 2016 racing season. Keep an eye on Blaine Perkins in his No. 21 with Steve Portenga Racing when the K&N West schedule begins next Spring. This series is known for introducing the future stars of NASCAR.