The cups series returns to the ‘Irish Hills’ of Michigan for the second time this season. In June, the race was shortened due to rain and Clint Bowyer was able to take the crown. This time around, it was sunny and 80 degrees. Drivers were going to have to go the full distance in order to win. Continue reading →
BROOKLYN, Mich. – Last week at Watkins Glen, Chase Elliott’s maiden victory on the road course interrupted the season of the Big Three. Continue reading →
Derek Thorn is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk, Monday, August 13, 2018, at 9:30 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
Takes NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Victory, Adds To Points Lead
MONROE, Wash. — Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good.
Derek Thorn was both those things on Saturday night in the NAPA Auto Parts 175 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame at Evergreen Speedway, as he earned his second NASCAR K&N Pro Series West victory of the season and seventh of his career.
But the No. 6 Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil/Eibach Springs Ford wasn’t the class of the field. That honor belonged to pole sitter Derek Kraus, who led every circuit up until Lap 116, when he ran out of fuel and was forced to pit from the top spot. Kraus went on to finish ninth, three laps down.
“We were second best to the No. 16 (Kraus) most of the night,” Thorn said following the win. “He had one of those cars that he would put a straightaway on us in maybe ten laps. He had a car that was a dominant one. But as often happens, the dominant car just runs into bad luck and tonight just wasn’t his night and we were there to capitalize on it.”
“I’ve been snake-bit here for the last six or seven years in the last dozen starts, and it was nice to finally be on the right side of the good luck this weekend.”
Cole Rouse was forced to start in the rear of the field after crashing his primary car in qualifying, but was consistently one of, if not the quickest car throughout the 175-lap event.
“It was definitely a tough day,” Rouse said following his best finish of the season. “We wrecked our primary car in qualifying, but we got the back-up out and the guys did a really good job. I didn’t expect to be that fast at all. We probably
has the fastest car at the end, we were catching Thorn there just a little bit. It was a good day for abackup car. We’re getting better each and every week. Coming from the back to finish second, that’s not too bad of a day.”
Thorn’s Sunrise Ford teammate Ryan Partridge came home third, but admitted that he never really had a shot at the victory.
“It’s one thing to finish third and be mixing it up and feel like you had a shot at the win,” Partridge said. “That’s not quite as disappointing as finishing third and … we didn’t even have a shot. We weren’t even close. Derek Kraus had the fastest car by a long shot. It is what it is, We’re going to take our car over to Gateway next and try to improve our program, make our stuff a little better.”
Kraus was visibly disappointed upon completion of the race. Despite his fourth top-ten finish of the season, anything short of a win was a failure for the No. 16 Bill McAnally Racing team.
“We had ’em covered, but we ran out of fuel,” Kraus said post-race. “We can’t take any momentum out of here because the finish was not what we wanted or what we for sure deserved. We’ll have to go get ’em at Gateway.”
Kody Vanderwal and Tyler Tanner rounded out the top five, with Cole Keatts, Hailie Deegan, Matt Levin, Kraus and Trevor Huddleston completing the top-ten.
The win extends Thorn’s championship points lead by six to 18 over his Sunrise Ford teammate Partridge. Rouse is third, 34 points back, with Kraus fourth, 36 back.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will take one week off before heading to Gateway Motorsports Park for the Monaco Cocktails Gateway Classic presented by West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame on Friday, August 24, the second of two combination races between the K&N East and West Series.
The NAPA Auto Parts 175 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame is scheduled to air Wednesday
Lap length: 0.646 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 51 minutes 10 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.629 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: D.Kraus (99.820 mph, 23.298 seconds)
Caution Flags: 3 for 21 laps.
Lead Changes: 1 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Kraus 1-115; D. Thorn 116-175.
Standings: 1. D. Thorn, 382; 2. R. Partridge, 364; 3. C. Rouse, 348; 4. D. Kraus, 346; 5. H. Deegan, 327; 6. K. Vanderwal, 325; 7. T. Huddleston, 318; 8. M. Levin, 282; 9. T. Koga, 251; 10. W. Rodgers, 212.
LEXINGTON, OHIO – Justin Allgaier pulled off the NASCAR version of a ‘spin and win’ to take the Xfinity Series victory in Saturday’s Rock N Roll Tequila 170 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The JR Motorsports driver of the No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet rallied from late-race contact and a spin to pass Austin Cindric with eight laps remaining, claiming his third win of the season and first at the famed 2.4-mile road course.
Cindric’s No. 22 Penske Racing Ford won the pole position and led a dominant 59 of the race’s 75 laps but his track position gamble out front on old tires couldn’t hold off a hard-charging Allgaier, who pitted for new rubber in the race’s final caution period with nine laps remaining.
Cindric held on for second place. Richard Childress Racing driver Daniel Hemric finished third, followed by teammate and Ohio native Matt Tifft. Ryan Truex rounded out the top-five. Allgaier beomes the sixth different winner in as many Xfinity races at Mid-Ohio.
The race was
“I thought we gave it away when I went off (course),’’ Allgaier said of his mid-race collision with Ford’s Cole Custer. “But that pit call (for tires) at the end is what did it. …We’ve been good this year, but to do it (win) at a road course is even better.”
And, he added with a smile, “it was a real barn-burner at the end.’’
For his part, Cindric was understandably disappointed to come home runner-up because he had clearly been the class of the field all weekend. The 19-year old Indiana-native came just two-seconds away from claiming his first Xfinity Series win, but did lead the most laps and earned a stage win as well.
“It was a big points day for me. .. but too bad we couldn’t capitalize with a dominant car,’’ Cindric said.
Four-time race winner and series points leader Christopher Bell ran as high as second place at one point, but heavy contact between him and veteran Elliott Sadler in the closing laps spun Bell’s No. 20 Toyota around and caused a final lap catch-up session. He ended up 11th and still holds a 17-point advantage over Hemric and Elliott in the standings with four races left to set the Playoff field.
Former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, Andy Lally led seven laps and finished 15th – leading the road racing contingent to a good showing on the afternoon.
IMSA standout and former IndyCar driver Katherine Legge finished 30th, having to retire her car ten laps from the end with engine problems. She is scheduled to compete with the Xfinity Series again at Road America in two weeks – as is NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, who is coming out of retirement for that race.
The Xfinity Series races the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway next Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 73.312 mph.
Time of Race: 02 Hrs, 18 Mins, 36 Secs. The Margin of Victory: 2.095 Seconds.
Caution Flags: Six for 18 laps.
Lead Changes: Seven among four drivers.
Lap Leaders: A. Cindric # 1-17; J. Allgaier 18-21; A. Cindric # 22-42; A. Lally 43-49; A. Cindric # 50-63; C. Bell # 64; A. Cindric # 65-71; J. Allgaier 72-75.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): A. Cindric # four times for 59 laps; J. Allgaier two times for eight laps; A. Lally one time for seven laps; C. Bell # one time for one lap.
Stage #1 Top-Ten: 7,1,11,4,22,61,23,15,60,2
Stage #2 Top-Ten: 22,2,20,00,21,9,51,1,3,7
This site is owned and operated by Fan4Racing Blog and Radio
All rights reserved
