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NASCAR K&N Pro Series West News & Notes: Roseville Sunrise Ford Racing Teams Contend For Separate Honors
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 7, 2013) – Sunrise Ford Racing has two teams competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and both are in contention for separate honors this year.
Second-year driver Derek Thorn leads the championship standings by 20 points with three races remaining to decide the title, while series rookie Dylan Lupton has a significant lead in the chase for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award.
Each driver hopes to build on his lead when the series heads this week to All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., for the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 on Saturday, Oct. 12. It’s the 13th event on a 15-race schedule.
“I feel very fortunate that we’re in this position to be holding the points lead with three races left,” said Thorn, who pilots the No. 6 Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil/Eibach Ford for championship car owner Bob Bruncati. “Fate’s kind of in our hands. It’s going to come down to us not making any mistakes.”
While Thorn has led the standings nearly all season, Greg Pursley has recently surged from fourth to second in points – bolstered by three wins in the past five races.
“With Pursley having the momentum he has, it’s going to be hard to beat him,” Thorn said. “They’re the kind of team that spares no expense in testing and making sure their stuff’s right. Greg’s got the experience at these last three tracks where he can go out and win each one of them. He’s got the capability of doing it.”
Avoiding errors will be critical in these final three races, according to Thorn, who was originally from Lakeport, Calif., but now resides in Bakersfield.
“We’ve just got to approach each race and go out there and do our best and not make any mistakes,” the 27-year-old said. “You’ve got to play a defensive role, but at the same time with all these talented guys behind you, you’ve got to play an offensive role. It’s a juggling match. The biggest thing is to have a good time doing it. I can’t thank Bob Bruncati enough for putting us in this situation to be in the points lead.”
Lupton, meanwhile, is far enough ahead in the rookie standings that he could possibly clinch the title with a strong finish at Roseville. Nonetheless, he does not intend to change his approach to this race.
“We haven’t really done anything too special,” said the 19-year-old driver from Wilton, Calif., which is about 27 miles south of Roseville. “I’ve been running every race as hard as we can and kind of just letting the rookie of the year points fall as they may, which has gotten us a 20-point advantage. So, all we need to do is stay out of trouble, but I’m not going to back off at all. I’m going to run as hard as I can to go get a win. It’d be nice to clinch the rookie of the year points two races early, so that we don’t have to worry about that at all – but it’s not really weighing on my mind. We’re just going to go out there and run hard and try to get the win.”
The driver of the No. 9 Video/Lupton Excavating/Sunrise Ford Ford, who in addition to leading the rookie points is fifth in the overall standings, says his team is on course for the goals they set this year.
“Our main goal is finish top five in points and get the rookie of the year title,” Lupton said. “We have two of those where we want to be right now.”
He has also put together a string of 11 consecutive top 10 finishes this season.
“The guys have been happy that I haven’t brought back torn up race cars,” he said. “The only race we didn’t finish in the top 10 was Phoenix, where we got into a crash. After that race, we’ve kept the car clean and had a top 10 every race. That’s a big accomplishment and we also got a win.”
While his goals are within reach, Lupton makes it clear he is not letting up.
“I just want to keep going out and getting top fives and get some more wins.”
RACE: Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150
PLACE: All American Speedway, Roseville, Calif.
DATE: Saturday, Oct. 12
TIME: 8:35 p.m. PT
TV SCHEDULE: FS1, Oct. 27, 12 p.m. ET
TRACK LAYOUT: .333-mile paved oval
2012 WINNER: Dylan Kwasniewski
2012 POLESITTER: Dylan Kwasniewski
EVENT SCHEDULE: Saturday: Practice 12:30-1:15 p.m., 2:15–3 p.m., Qualifying 5:30 p.m.
TRACK PR CONTACT: Bill McAnally (916) 676-0010 bmcanally@billmcanallyracing.com
TWITTER: @BMR_NASCAR
EVENT HASHTAG: #ToyotaNAPA150
EVENT SCHEDULE & ENTRY LIST
FAST FACTS
The Race: This event is the 13th of 15 events on the 2013 schedule for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.
The Procedure: The starting field is 24 cars, including provisionals. The first 20 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (50 miles).
The Track: All American Speedway is a .333-mile paved oval with eight degrees banking in Turns 1 and 2. Turns 3 and 4 have progressive banking, beginning at 10 degrees and graduating to 14 degrees. The track hosted five NASCAR K&N Pro Series West events between 1977 and 1982, when it was a quarter-mile oval and nine races since it was renovated prior to the 2008 season.
Records: Qualifying: Jason Bowles, April 4, 2009, 88.218 mph, 13.589 sec.; Race: Eric Holmes, April 4, 2009, 67.576 mph, 44 minutes 21 seconds.
ROSEVILLE RACE NOTES
Waltrip Returns: Michael Waltrip is set to make his second start this season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, competing at All American Speedway for Bill McAnally Racing – which is based nearby. It will mark the eighth career series start for Waltrip, a two-time winner of the Daytona 500. He finished 11th at Spokane (Wash.) County Raceway in August. His only series win came at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo., in 1997.
Veteran Motorsports Reporter Honored As Grand Marshal: Long-time motorsports announcer and reporter Dr. Dick Berggren will be honored as the Grand Marshal for the Roseville race. Berggren was a pit reporter for NASCAR on Fox for more than a decade before retiring last year. During his announcing career, he worked NASCAR races for ESPN, CBS, TBS and TNN. He also served as the editor of Stock Car Racing magazine and later started Speedway Illustrated.
Las Vegas Champion: Fresh from winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model championship at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Jay Beasley is set to make his second start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Beasley, who has been selected to participate in the 2013 NASCAR Drive for Diversity Combine, wrapped up the super late model title with a win on Saturday.
Local Driver To Make Series Debut: Local driver Jason Romero – who won a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late model championship at All American Speedway, as well as titles in the mini stock division there – is slated to make his debut in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West on Saturday.
Tyrrell Is Back: Luis Tyrrell, who has one top five and two top 10 finishes in two series starts, is set to compete at All American Speedway. The 17-year-old is from Brisbane, Calif.
Second Start For Staropoli: Patrick Staropoli, who won the PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge earlier this year, returns for his second race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. In the PEAK Challenge, nine stock car racing hopefuls competed for the chance to become a Michael Waltrip Racing development driver. Staropoli, who finished fifth in his series debut at Spokane, will again be driving a Bill McAnally Racing entry.
Other Drivers Make Their Return: Several other drivers entered in the Roseville race are also preparing for their second series start. Phyl Zubizareta of Boise, Idaho, returns after finishing 11th in his first race at Monroe, Wash., in August. After being sidelined with mechanical trouble last week at Albuquerque, N.M., Jim Weiler of Sonoma, Calif., is set for another start. Shane Golobic is also set to make his second appearance in the series. Golobic – a sprint car driver from Fremont, Calif. – failed to qualify in making his series debut in May.
Media Get Chance Behind The Wheel: Media members from the Sacramento area will get a chance to get behind the wheel of a stock car at All American Speedway this week. Bill McAnally Racing Promotions will have two stock cars at the track on Wednesday morning to give local media a chance to get a first-hand account of what it’s like to wheel a stock car around the banked third-mile oval.
Big Day Of Competition: Race promoter, Bill McAnally Racing Promotions, has put together another great lineup of competition for the Roseville event. In addition to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series late models will be in competing and the Legends of the Pacific will also be in action.
Benefit For Breast Cancer Endowment: As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a portion of the proceeds from the Roseville event will go to the Placer County Breast Cancer Endowment, a local non-profit organization.
LAST TIME OUT: Albuquerque
Another Win For Pursley: Greg Pursley scored his fourth win of the season and 17th of his career with a victory in the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by NAPA AutoCare Centers at NAPA Speedway in Albuquerque, N.M., on Sept. 28. With it, he moved into a tie with Eric Holmes and Bill Sedgwick for eighth on the list of all-time career series wins.
Thorn Takes The Pole: Derek Thorn turned the fastest lap during qualifying at Albuquerque to garner the Coors Light Pole Award. It marked his second pole of the year and third career pole.
Leading The Way: The father and son team of Carl and Daryl Harr were up front, running 1-2, for a considerable portion of the race at Albuquerque. Carl led 51 laps before eventually finishing ninth. Daryl ran second to his father and went on to finish 14th.
Strong Debut: Several newcomers to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West had a notable debut at Albuquerque. Eighteen-year-old Chase Briscoe of Mitchell, Ind., started sixth and finished eighth. JD White of Liberal, Kan., led six laps before finishing 11th. Jay Beasley of Las Vegas started eighth and ran in the top 10 throughout the event before being sidelined late with electrical trouble.
Career Mark: Series veteran John Wood came away from Albuquerque with a top 10, matching his career best finish of 10th.
NEXT TIME OUT: Bakersfield
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will make its inaugural visit to Kern County Raceway Park near Bakersfield, Calif., for the NAPA Auto Parts 150 on Saturday, Oct. 26.The high-banked, half-mile track – which opened earlier this year – is located west of Bakersfield, along Interstate 5.