Kaz Grala

Kaz Grala
Born (1998-12-29) December 29, 1998
Boston, Massachusetts
Awards Youngest race winner ever at Daytona International Speedway (18)
Youngest pole winner in any of the top 3 divisions of NASCAR (Daytona)
Youngest driver to ever compete in a NASCAR sanctioned raced
Youngest driver to ever compete in a International Motor Sports Association race
Youngest driver to ever compete in the 24 Hours of Daytona
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
21 races run over 1 year
Car no., team No. 61 (Fury Race Cars)
First race 2018 PowerShares QQQ 300 (Daytona)
Last race 2018 Drive for the Cure 200 (Charlotte Roval)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 5 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
32 races run over 2 years
2017 position 7th
Best finish 7th (2017)
First race 2016 Alpha Energy Solutions 250 (Martinsville)
Last race 2017 Ford EcoBoost 200 (Homestead)
First win 2017 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 14 1
NASCAR Pinty's Series career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish 41st (2016)
First race 2016 Clarington 200 (Mosport)
Last race 2016 Can-Am 200 (Mosport)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of September 29, 2018.

Kaz Grala (/ˈɡrɔːlə/ GRAW-lə;[1] born December 29, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 61 Ford Mustang for Fury Race Cars.

Racing career

Early career

Grala started racing go-karts at F1 Boston in Braintree, Massachusetts when he was four, and three years later, began racing competitively. When he was ten,[2] he raced Bandoleros, winning the Summer Shootout Championship in 2011. That same year, he won the New York Legendstock and the Massachusetts Bandolero Outlaws state championships.[1] In 2012, Grala won 15 races and the Winter Heat Championship at Charlotte Motor Speedway[3] in the Legend Car Pro Division.

Stock car racing

Grala in the No. 33 Allegiant Travel Chevy Silverado at Martinsville Speedway

In 2013, Grala competed in the UARA-Stars, becoming the youngest winner in series history at Hickory Motor Speedway, followed by setting the record as the youngest driver to lead laps in the Myrtle Beach 400 at Myrtle Beach Speedway where he finished second to Lee Pulliam. That same year, he was named by Speed 51 as the 2013 JEGS Rookie of the Year. [4] The following year, he ran in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, where he became the youngest driver to compete in an International Motor Sports Association event.[3] He also joined Turner Scott Motorsports to compete full-time in the K&N Pro Series East. At the age of 15,[5] he was the youngest full-time driver in the series.[6] During the year, he competed in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and won at Caraway Speedway[7] and Martinsville Speedway. The next season, he joined Ben Kennedy Racing to race full-time in the K&N Pro Series East.[6]

In 2016, Grala made his Camping World Truck Series debut at Martinsville for GMS Racing, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet.[8] After a strong run, he finished 31st due to a tire failure on lap 93.[9] Grala would get his first career top ten finish at Dover, finishing 10th. With Ben Kennedy joining the team, Grala moved over to the No. 24 truck to drive for the reminder of the season in select races. He joined GMS full-time for 2017, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet.[10]

Grala making a pit stop in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway in April 2018

After avoiding all the crashes at Daytona, he won his first race at Daytona International Speedway from the pole, making him both the youngest driver to win a NASCAR pole at Daytona and the youngest driver to win a NASCAR race at Daytona (18 years, 1 month and 26 days). It was Grala's first win in NASCAR and essentially locked him into a spot in the Playoffs for the Truck Series in 2017.[11][12] Grala almost won at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in September, after leading the closing laps and then in one of the final corners he was tapped and spun around by Austin Cindric. Grala was eliminated from the Playoffs prior to the Round of 6 due to an early crash in the cutoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, which ultimately resulted in him finishing the season 7th in the Truck Series standings. [13]

On November 15, 2017, it was announced that Grala would join JGL Racing full-time in the Xfinity Series as a 2018 Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, driving the No. 24.[14] Grala finished fourth in his debut at Daytona. However, on May 15, the team shut down the No. 24 due to a lack of sponsorship.[15] Three days later, Grala announced he would run the next four Xfinity races for Fury Race Cars, driving the No. 61 Mustang.[16]

Other racing

In 2014, Grala ran in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, where he became the youngest driver to compete in an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) event. In 2016, Grala competed in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for Change Racing alongside former Rolex 24 winners Spencer Pumpelly and Justin Marks, in addition to race newcomer Corey Lewis; at the age of 17, Grala was the youngest driver in the field and the youngest driver to ever compete in the 24 Hours of Daytona.[2] The team finished 52nd overall and 18th in the GTD class as a result of a mid-race crash.[17]

Personal life

Grala's father Darius was a former sports car racer, competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona three times.[2] Grala attended high school at Worcester Academy, graduating in 2017[3] as a Senior. Grala is living in Westborough, Massachusetts but spends time in Mooresville, North Carolina. Grala will be attending Georgia Tech, majoring in engineering. Grala is of Polish ancestry.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts
2018 JGL Racing 24 Ford DAY
4		 ATL
23		 LVS
16		 PHO
12		 CAL
14		 TEX
26		 BRI
38		 RCH
30		 TAL
20		 DOV
37		 -* -*
Fury Race Cars 61 Ford CLT
10		 POC
16		 MCH
12		 IOW
10		 CHI
40		 DAY
5		 KEN NHA
14		 IOW GLN
15		 MOH
27		 BRI ROA
11		 DAR IND LVS RCH CLT
8		 DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM

Camping World Truck Series

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NCWTC Pts
2016 GMS Racing 33 Chevy DAY ATL MAR
31		 KAN DOV
10		 CLT TEX 28th 132
24 IOW
29		 GTW
8		 KEN ELD POC BRI
11		 MCH MSP
26		 CHI NHA
7		 LVS TAL MAR
15		 TEX PHO
28		 HOM
2017 33 DAY
1		 ATL
15		 MAR
15		 KAN
8		 CLT
30		 DOV
2		 TEX
10		 GTW
13		 IOW
24		 KEN
24		 ELD
31		 POC
23		 MCH
12		 BRI
28		 MSP
3		 CHI
9		 NHA
10		 LVS
5		 TAL
29		 MAR
7		 TEX
6		 PHO
5		 HOM
13		 7th 2214

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 NKNPSEC Pts
2014 Turner Scott Motorsports 31 Chevy NSM
10		 DAY
10		 BRI
20		 GRE
7		 RCH
14		 IOW
22		 BGS
11		 FFL
16		 LGY
5		 NHA
10		 COL
8		 IOW
8		 GLN
4		 VIR
5		 GRE
11		 DOV
2		 7th 542
2015 Ben Kennedy Racing 3 Toyota NSM
18		 GRE
6		 BRI
4		 IOW
17		 BGS
7		 LGY
17		 COL
3		 NHA
3		 IOW
7		 GLN
15		 MOT
7		 VIR
2		 RCH
8		 DOV
19		 7th 483
2016 NSM
15		 MOB
5		 GRE
9		 BRI
3		 VIR
20		 DOM
4		 STA COL NHA
21		 IOW GLN
4		 GRE NJE DOV 16th 272

K&N Pro Series West

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 NKNPSWC Pts
2015 Ben Kennedy Racing 3 Toyota KCR IRW TUS IOW SHA SON
17		 SLS IOW EVG CNS MER AAS PHO
30		 41st 41

Pinty's Series

NASCAR Pinty's Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NPSC Pts
2016 22 Racing 22 Dodge MSP
20		 SSS ACD ICAR TOR EIR SAS CTR RIS MSP
15		 ASE KWA 41st 53

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ARSC Pts
2017 Mason Mitchell Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY
10		 NSH SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH MAD IOW IRP 48th 405
MDM Motorsports 41 Chevy POC
4		 WIN ISF ROA DSF SLM CHI KEN KAN

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

(key)

24 Hours of Daytona

24 Hours of Daytona results
Year Class No Team Car Co-drivers Laps Position Class Pos.
2016 GTD 16 United States Change Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 United States Spencer Pumpelly
United States Justin Marks
United States Corey Lewis		 521 42 18

References

  1. 1 2 "Kaz Grala". NASCAR Home Tracks. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Doyle, Bill (January 28, 2016). "Kaz Grala, 17, is the youngest driver at Rolex 24". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "At Just 15, Westborough's Kaz Grala A Rising Star In MotorSports". WBZ-TV. February 14, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ Staff, Speed51.comT (2018-03-08). "The 51's: 2017 Rookie of the Year Award Goes To… | Speed51.com". Speed 51. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  5. ↑ "Turner Scott Announces '14 K&N East Lineup". NASCAR Home Tracks. January 20, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Kaz Grala to Drive for Ben Kennedy Racing in 2015". Speed51. October 16, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  7. ↑ "15-Year-Old Kaz Grala Of Westborough Earns First NASCAR Win". WBZ-TV. July 9, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  8. ↑ "KYLE BUSCH, LARSON SLATED FOR MARTINSVILLE TRUCK DUTY". NASCAR. March 28, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  9. ↑ "2016 Alpha Energy Solutions 250". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Kaz Grala Confirmed for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Full Time in 2017 Crew Chief Jerry Baxter Joins GMS Racing and Tapped to Lead No. 33 Chevrolet Team". GMS Racing. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  11. ↑ Utter, Jim (February 24, 2017). "Grala wins first Truck race after violent last-lap wreck". Motorsport.com. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Rookie Kaz Grala avoids massive last-lap crash for Truck Series win". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  13. ↑ Staff, FrontstretchT (2017-11-17). "Kaz Grala Crashes Out of Playoffs in Talladega | Frontstretch". SPEED SPORT. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  14. ↑ Staff, SPEED SPORT (2017-11-17). "JGL Racing Aligns With Roush, Signs Kaz Grala | SPEED SPORT". SPEED SPORT. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  15. ↑ Long, Dustin (May 15, 2018). "Kaz Grala no longer with JGL Racing in Xfinity Series". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  16. ↑ Wilson, Steven B. (May 18, 2018). "Kaz Grala to Run Next Four NASCAR Xfinity Series Raceskful". Speedway Digest. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  17. ↑ "2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.