NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
 | |
| Category | Stock car racing |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Inaugural season | 1987[1] |
| Manufacturers | Chevrolet · Ford · Toyota |
| Tire suppliers | Goodyear |
| Drivers' champion | Harrison Burton |
| Teams' champion | MDM Motorsports |
| Makes' champion | Toyota |
| Official website | K&N Pro Series East |
 | |
The K&N Pro Series East (formerly Busch East Series & Busch North Series and Camping World East Series) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).
Races are held at oval tracks ranging from 1⁄3 to 1 mile (0.54–1.61 km) in length and on two road courses, 1.53 and 2.45 miles (2.46 and 3.94 km) in length. Most races are stand-alone events (i.e. not in conjunction with other NASCAR touring series), but there are three race weekends that are in combination with the NASCAR Cup Series.
Many of the NASCAR Pro Series East drivers on the series are gaining experience with the hopes of moving up to one of the major NASCAR series, however some of the drivers are right at home in the series and have no plans of moving on. The series is not only developmental for drivers (including Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Craven, Mike McLaughlin, Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne, Brian Ickler, Ricky Carmichael and Ryan Truex), but for crew members (such as Greg Zipadelli and Marc Puchalski) and officials, as well.
In 1994, it became the first NASCAR-sanctioned series to have a winless season champion when Dale Shaw won the then-Busch Grand National North Series championship without winning a single race all year. The series had the distinction of being the only NASCAR series in which this had happened until 2013, when Austin Dillon won the Nationwide Series championship the same way.[2]
The other regional division at the Grand National level of NASCAR is the K&N Pro Series West.
History
Formed as the NASCAR Busch Grand National North Series in 1987, the series originally raced primarily in the Northeastern United States, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Drivers in the series could compete in "combination" races with then named Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) that were held at various tracks over the years, including but not limited to Daytona International Speedway, Nazareth Speedway, Watkins Glen International and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Combination races were on the schedule until 2001. In 2002, a big crash occurred at the Glen that saw many cars spinning through the esses on lap one, along with Troy Williams actually overturning over the guardrail. No one was hurt.
Over the next 18 years, the series extended its reach and added races in Delaware and Virginia. The series name was changed to Busch East for the 2006 season after a race was added in Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. Races were added in South Boston, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee for 2007 to continue the push South and West, as well as East-West combination races at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA and Elko Speedway in Elko, MN.. The 2008 schedule had the series running races in 8 states up and down the East coast. (Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia)
In 2003, NASCAR unified the rules of the West Series and North/East Series to a single rules package. A post-season invitational race known as the Toyota All-Star Showdown was also added to pit the best drivers from both series head-to-head.
For 2007, NASCAR made several rule changes including giving team the option of using "spec" engine and a composite body to reduce the cost of competing in the Camping World Series. The "spec" engine has become fairly popular, but the old style steel bodies are still preferred over the composite bodies by most teams.
On December 16, 2007 NASCAR announced that Camping World would take over as title sponsor of both series in the Grand National Division.[3]
For 2010, the names of both the East and West series were both sponsored by K&N Engineering and the East Series was named the K&N Pro Series East. In 2011, NASCAR lowered the age minimum across each of its regional touring series to 15.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series cars
General
As part of NASCAR's unification of the two Camping World Series in 2003, the cars can be either a 105-inch (2,700 mm, which had been used in the former Busch Grand National East) or 110-inch (2,800 mm, which had been used in the former Winston West) wheelbase. Cambered/off-set rear ends are not allowed.
Currently, the series requires the use of a Five Star bodies composite body that started in the 2015 season, currently the 2013 Holden Commodore, Ford Fusion, or Toyota Camry. Since the 2007 debut of the new chassis at the Cup and 2010 debut at the second-tier level, many K&N Pro cars are old Cup or Xfinity cars.
Teams have an option of building their own engines or they may run a specification engine, similar to what is used in many short tracks. Both engines are V8, pushrod, 12:1 compression motors. "Built" motors are built to team specifications using any configuration of pieces as long as it still meets NASCAR specifications. The spec engine is built using NASCAR-Approved pieces that may be purchased from an approved supplier. The engines may be purchased as a kit or pre-assembled. All of the spec pieces are individually encrypted with a barcode for verification and tracking purposes and can be checked during the inspection process with an encryption reader. NASCAR has a specification supplier for the series-specification engine.
When the series first started, the cars ran a V6 engine with a maximum 274 cu in (4,490 cm3) displacement and no compression limit . In the early/mid 1990s the V8 engine with a 9.5:1 compression and maximum 358 cu in (5,870 cm3) displacement was introduced to the series as an alternative to the V6 engines. Due to the decrease in popularity of the V6, it was phased out for the 1999 season. When the East and West series rules were combined, the compression ratio changed to 12:1.
K&N Pro Series cars use Sunoco racing fuel, NASCAR's specification fuel. For races run with national series, the cars run an E15 blend since the national series uses such fuels. Starting in 2018, cars will use radial tires.
Specifications
- Engine displacement: 358 cu in (5.8 L) Pushrod V8.
- Transmission: 4 speed Manual.
- Weight: 3,300 lb (1,497 kg) Minimum (without driver).
- Power output: ~650 hp (485 kW) unrestricted.
- Fuel: Sunoco Leaded or Unleaded gasoline.
- Fuel capacity: 22 U.S. gallons (83.2 L).
- Fuel delivery: Carburetion.
- Compression ratio: 12:1.
- Aspiration: Naturally aspirated.
- Carburetor size: 390 cu ft/min (184 L/s) 4-barrel.
- Wheelbase: 105 in (2667 mm)/ 110 in (2794 mm).
- Steering: Power, recirculating ball.
2015
On November 4, 2014 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NASCAR president Mike Helton unveiled a new body style for the K&N Pro Series based on the NASCAR Cup Series Gen 6 models. The new body, developed with Five Star Race Car Bodies, is constructed of a composite laminate blend and designed with easily replaceable body panels, expected to shrink the costs of fabrication dramatically. The body style is eligible for use in both K&N Series competition and ARCA Racing Series competition for the 2015 season, replacing the old Gen 4-style steel bodies after 2015, and the current one-piece composite body after 2016.[5]
List of champions
Career victories
In 403 races there have been 117 different winners, 65 of which have won multiple races.
| Wins | Driver | First Win | Last Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Kelly Moore | Jun 12, 1987 | Sep 16, 2006 |
| 24 | Brad Leighton | Jul 12, 1989 | Aug 14, 2004 |
| 23 | Andy Santerre | Jul 12, 1996 | Sep 23, 2005 |
| 19 | Dale Shaw | Jul 18, 1997 | Jul 25, 2002 |
| 16 | Matt Kobyluck | Aug 26, 2001 | Aug 16, 2008 |
| 14 | Bobby Dragon | Jun 11, 1987 | Jun 29, 1997 |
| 13 | Ricky Craven | Aug 19, 1990 | Jul 8, 1995 |
| 13 | Dave Dion | Jun 28, 1992 | Aug 27, 2005 |
| 12 | Tracy Gordon | Sep 5, 1998 | Sep 19, 2002 |
| 12 | Mike Stefanik | Jun 28, 1991 | Jul 15, 2005 |
| 10 | Ted Christopher | Sep 8, 1996 | Sep 16, 2005 |
| 10 | Brett Moffitt | May 30, 2009 | Aug 3, 2018 |
| 9 | Jamie Aube | Jul 12, 1987 | Aug 28, 1993 |
| 8 | Mike Rowe | May 22, 1988 | May 19, 1991 |
| 8 | Dick McCabe | Jul 10, 1988 | Jun 12, 1993 |
| 8 | Robbie Crouch | Aug 20, 1988 | Sep 3, 1995 |
| 8 | Joe Bessey | Aug 26, 1989 | Sep 24, 1995 |
| 7 | Mike McLaughlin | Sep 2, 1990 | Jul 10, 1993 |
| 7 | Jerry Marquis | May 15, 1994 | Jul 12, 1997 |
| 7 | Tom Carey, Jr. | May 22, 1998 | Jul 12, 2003 |
| 7 | Mike Johnson | Jul 22, 2000 | Jul 17, 2004 |
| 7 | Sean Caisse | Jun 10, 2006 | Sep 21, 2007 |
| 7 | Eddie MacDonald | Sep 7, 2002 | Mar 15, 2015 |
| 7 | Todd Gilliland | Feb 14, 2016 | Apr 14, 2018 |
| 6 | Dale Quarterley | Sep 9, 2001 | Sep 24, 2004 |
| 6 | Mike Olsen | Jun 10, 2001 | Jul 14, 2006 |
| 6 | Darrell Wallace Jr. | Mar 27, 2010 | Mar 31, 2012 |
| 6 | Dylan Kwasniewski | Mar 16, 2013 | Oct 18, 2013 |
| 6 | Corey LaJoie | Jun 2, 2012 | Jul 16, 2016 |
| 5 | Bryan Wall | Jun 5, 1999 | Aug 10, 2002 |
| 5 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Jul 8, 2000 | Jul 19, 2003 |
| 5 | Joey Logano | Apr 28, 2007 | Sep 14, 2007 |
| 5 | Ryan Truex | Apr 6, 2009 | Sep 17, 2010 |
| 5 | Ben Rhodes | Mar 22, 2014 | Jun 21, 2014 |
| 5 | Sergio Pena | Apr 17, 2011 | Aug 29, 2015 |
| 5 | Austin Hill | Sep 27, 2013 | Sep 10, 2015 |
| 5 | Kyle Benjamin | Apr 18, 2015 | Apr 8, 2017 |
| 5 | Harrison Burton | Apr 22, 2017 | Sep 29, 2017 |
| 4 | Stub Fadden | May 17, 1992 | Sep 4, 1994 |
| 4 | Butch Leitzinger | Jun 5, 1994 | Oct 12, 1996 |
| 4 | Brian Ickler | May 18, 2008 | Apr 11, 2009 |
| 4 | Max Gresham | Apr 3, 2010 | Jul 15, 2011 |
| 4 | William Byron | Apr 4, 2015 | Jul 17, 2015 |
| 4 | Scott Heckert | Aug 8, 2014 | Aug 7, 2015 |
| 4 | Tyler Ankrum | May 12, 2018 | July 27, 2018 |
| 3 | Chuck Bown | May 5, 1987 | Oct 12, 1987 |
| 3 | Joey Kourafas | Sep 13, 1987 | Aug 13, 1990 |
| 3 | Steve Park | Jun 2, 1996 | Aug 1, 2009 |
| 3 | Matt DiBenedetto | Apr 25, 2009 | Jun 4, 2011 |
| 3 | Daniel Suárez | Jul 13, 2013 | Feb 18, 2015 |
| 3 | Cole Custer | Aug 2, 2013 | Apr 26, 2015 |
| 3 | Will Rodgers | Aug 4, 2017 | Jun 16, 2018 |
| 2 | Pete Silva | May 5, 1988 | Jul 2, 1988 |
| 2 | Billy Clark | Apr 26, 1987 | Jun 10, 1989 |
| 2 | Larry Caron | Jun 25, 1988 | Jul 1, 1989 |
| 2 | Tom Bolles | Sep 8, 1995 | May 4, 1997 |
| 2 | Jimmy Spencer | Aug 1, 1987 | Jul 18, 1998 |
| 2 | Ryan Moore | Jul 9, 2005 | Aug 10, 2005 |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | Jun 9, 2012 | Sep 22, 2012 |
| 2 | Ben Kennedy | Apr 13, 2013 | Jun 1, 2013 |
| 2 | Jesse Little | Jul 11, 2014 | Apr 18, 2015 |
| 2 | Justin Haley | Mar 26, 2016 | Jul 2, 2016 |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | Apr 30, 2016 | Aug 5, 2016 |
| 2 | Noah Gragson | Jun 17, 2016 | Sep 17, 2016 |
| 2 | Tyler Dippel | Mar 12, 2016 | Apr 28, 2018 |
| 1 | Bruce Haley | May 25, 1987 | |
| 1 | Mike Weeden | Jul 1, 1987 | |
| 1 | Tommy Houston | Jul 14, 1987 | |
| 1 | Ralph Nason | Aug 28, 1987 | |
| 1 | Richard Martin | Sep 26, 1987 | |
| 1 | Ken Bouchard | Sep 8, 1990 | |
| 1 | Bobby Gada | Aug 29, 1992 | |
| 1 | Tony Hirschman | Sep 5, 1992 | |
| 1 | Brian Ross | May 29, 1993 | |
| 1 | Ken Schrader | Oct 16, 1993 | |
| 1 | John Preston | May 28, 1994 | |
| 1 | Martin Truex Sr. | Jul 9, 1994 | |
| 1 | Glenn Sullivan | Jul 24, 1994 | |
| 1 | Keith Lamell | Jul 29, 1994 | |
| 1 | Tom Rosati | Aug 20, 1994 | |
| 1 | Jeff Fuller | Sep 22, 1996 | |
| 1 | Kip Stockwell | Aug 1, 1997 | |
| 1 | Rick Fuller | Jul 3, 1998 | |
| 1 | Kim Baker | Aug 8, 1998 | |
| 1 | Dennis Demers | Jul 23, 1999 | |
| 1 | Denny Doyle | Oct 26, 2002 | |
| 1 | Joey McCarthy | Jun 28, 2003 | |
| 1 | Brian Hoar | Aug 30, 2003 | |
| 1 | Bryon Chew | Jun 24, 2006 | |
| 1 | Tim Andrews | Sep 22, 2006 | |
| 1 | Rubén Pardo | Sep 30, 2006 | |
| 1 | Rogelio López | Jul 22, 2007 | |
| 1 | Austin Dillon | Apr 19, 2008 | |
| 1 | Trevor Bayne | Jul 12, 2008 | |
| 1 | Aric Almirola | Sep 19, 2008 | |
| 1 | Peyton Sellers | Oct 12, 2008 | |
| 1 | Kyle Busch | May 17, 2009 | |
| 1 | Andrew Ranger | Jul 3, 2010 | |
| 1 | Ty Dillon | Aug 28, 2010 | |
| 1 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Mar 17, 2012 | |
| 1 | Chase Elliott | May 19, 2012 | |
| 1 | Cale Conley | Jul 21, 2012 | |
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | Nov 3, 2012 | |
| 1 | Brandon Gdovic | Apr 6, 2013 | |
| 1 | Ryan Gifford | Apr 25, 2013 | |
| 1 | Brandon Jones | Aug 1, 2014 | |
| 1 | Rico Abreu | Jul 4, 2015 | |
| 1 | Dillon Bassett | Aug 15, 2015 | |
| 1 | Collin Cabre | Oct 3, 2015 | |
| 1 | Chad Finchum | Apr 16, 2016 | |
| 1 | Spencer Davis | May 30, 2016 | |
| 1 | Ronnie Bassett, Jr. | Feb 19, 2017 | |
| 1 | Travis Miller | May 6, 2017 | |
| 1 | Anthony Alfredo | May 12, 2018 | |
| 1 | Rubén García Jr. | Jun 2, 2018 | |
| 1 | Derek Kraus | Aug 24, 2018 | |
| 1 | Brandon McReynolds | Sep 22, 2018 |
Most wins at each track
All-time wins under K&N Pro Series East banner. Does not include the combination races with Busch Series because the drivers who won those races are computed as Busch Series winners.
Current tracks
| Track | Driver | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol Motor Speedway | Multiple Drivers | 1 |
| Dover International Speedway | Brett Moffitt & Austin Hill | 2 |
| Gateway Motorsports Park | Derek Kraus | 1 |
| Iowa Speedway | Todd Gilliland | 2 |
| Langley Speedway | Multiple Drivers | 1 |
| Memphis International Raceway | Multiple Drivers | 1 |
| New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Brad Leighton | 8 |
| New Jersey Motorsports Park | Will Rodgers | 2 |
| New Smyrna Speedway | Todd Gilliland | 2 |
| South Boston Speedway | Multiple Drivers | 1 |
| Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park | Ricky Craven & Mike Stefanik | 3 |
| Watkins Glen International | Andy Santerre, Bryan Wall, Ted Christopher & Scott Heckert | 2 |
Former tracks
| Track | Driver | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Adirondack International Speedway | Matt Kobyluck | 3 |
| Beech Ridge Motor Speedway | Dale Shaw | 4 |
| Berlin Raceway | Todd Gilliland | 1 |
| Columbus Motor Speedway | Multiple Drivers | 1 |
| Darlington Raceway | Harry Gant | 2 |
| Daytona International Speedway | Daniel Suárez | 1 |
| Dominion Raceway | Spencer Davis | 1 |
| Greenville-Pickens Speedway | Darrell Wallace Jr. & Kyle Benjamin | 2 |
| Holland NASCAR Motorsports Complex | Dave Dion | 3 |
| Jennerstown Speedway | Kelly Moore | 3 |
| Lake Erie Speedway | Andy Santerre | 2 |
| Lee USA Speedway | Brad Leighton | 4 |
| Lime Rock Park | Butch Leitzinger & Matt Kobyluck | 3 |
| Mobile International Speedway | Tyler Dippel | 1 |
| Nazareth Speedway | Multiple Drivers | 1 |
| New London-Waterford Speedbowl | Kelly Moore, Mike Johnson & Matt Kobyluck | 2 |
| Oxford Plains Speedway | Mike Rowe | 7 |
| Richmond International Raceway | Multiple Drivers | 1 |
| Riverside Park Speedway | Bobby Dragon & Tom Carey Jr. | 2 |
| Seekonk Speedway | Kelly Moore | 2 |
| Stafford Motor Speedway | Kelly Moore & Mike Johnson | 3 |
| Star Speedway | Robbie Crouch & Kelly Moore | 3 |
See also
- 2009 NASCAR Camping World East Series – Contains results from the 2009 season
- 2008 NASCAR Camping World East Series – Contains results from the 2008 season
- 2007 NASCAR Busch East Series – Contains results from the 2007 season
References
- ↑ "NASCAR K&N Pro Series East History". NASCAR. February 1, 2011. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2012.
- ↑ Jeff Olson, Special for USA TODAY Sports (November 16, 2013). "Austin Dillon wins Nationwide title in celebrated No. 3". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
- ↑ "NASCAR : NASCAR Drivers, Race Standings & News — NASCAR.com". nascar.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
- ↑ "NASCAR K&N Pro Series & Whelen Modified Tour Rulebook" (PDF). speedbowlct.com. NASCAR. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2016.
- ↑ Media Release (November 4, 2014). "NASCAR unveils new K&N Pro Series car at 2014 SEMA show". Fox Sports. Fox Sports. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
- ↑ Cunningham, Jason (November 19, 2014). "Touring Series Most Popular Drivers Revealed: Champions Rhodes, Seuss Lead 2014 Honorees". hometracks.nascar.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: NASCAR. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- 2008 NASCAR Camping World Series Rule Book
- The Official NASCAR 2008 Preview and Press Guide
- 1996 NASCAR Busch North Series Rule Book
External links
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