2014 Race Stories and Photos
   

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4-17-14 Tearoffs
 Monthly Racing Commentary with LEW BOYD
BEING EDDIE MACDONALD
The Fall Brawl 150

Saturday, November 8th, 2014
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Eddie Wins Fall Brawl at Riverside
The three-time postponed Fall Brawl at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H. finally took the green flag on a 25 degree day with Eddie Mac dominating most of the way to secure the win in Team Peterson’s final race of the season. The scheduled event for the $5,000 win was 200 laps but was shortened to 150 laps for a $3,000 win.

“It was great to finally run this race and win,” said a jubilant Eddie Mac after the race. “The car was really fast and I just had to stay out of trouble and knew we had the car to beat. It was cold so we had to make sure not to slide the tires on the cold track. The trip on the way up had us a little concerned when we drove through the mountains and the roads were plowed. We didn’t know what to expect during practice so we tried a number of different set ups and we settled on the right one.”

Fresh off the Milk Bowl victory at Thunder Road, the Freddie Peterson owned Chevy was again very stout in winning the heat and started third in the feature. When the green flag waved the Hancock Electric Motor Service sponsored #17 ran comfortably for the first 35 laps of the race. The veteran Rowley, Mass. racer then began making his move to the top spot. From then on Eddie Mac out-powered the 17 car field to lead for almost 110 laps before taking the checkered flag.

“The car was just so fast and handled so well it was a lot of fun to drive,” said Eddie Mac. “Rollie (LaChance –crew chief) did a great job setting it up and the crew did a fantastic job as they have done all season. When I finally got to the front I was able to maintain a three to four car length lead to the checkers. Everyone drove a clean race right from the start. We started out the season with an incredible win in the Governor’s Cup at Lee USA Speedway and this is a great way to end the season with the Milk Bowl and the Fall Brawl wins. For a while there I thought it was going to be the Winter Brawl. Hopefully our next race is going to be in a lot warmer location.”

Team Peterson is making tentative plans to race in the American Canadian Tour event scheduled at New Smyrna Speedway, Florida as part of the annual World Series of Asphalt Racing. The event will be held on two successive nights February 16-17, 2015 for the American Racer Cup title awarded to the racer with the best combined point total in the two 100 lap races.

Racing for Sheila and Freddie Peterson has been a blast and I am looking forward to next year. I really owe a lot to Scott and Ken Thompson for everything they have one for this team for a number of years. With the Hancock Electric sponsorship, we have been able to succeed at this high level for some time. Rob Grimm, who owns our K&N Pro Series East team, has also been a huge supporter in the Late Model and we thank him. Rollie and I are so thankful for the crew that continues to do a fantastic job every time we race. None of our success would be possible without them. Thanks to all our fans for their support and hope to see you in Florida.”

Sunday, October 12, 2014
52nd People's United Bank Milk Bowl


Eddie Kisses the Cow at Thunder Road

Since teaming up, Eddie Macdonald and Rollie LaChance have recorded impressive wins together in the American Canadian Tour and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. On Sunday the duo added the famed People's United Bank Milk Bowl trophy held at Barre, Vermont's Thunder Road International Speedbowl to their list of accomplishments that include two Oxford 250 wins and three ACT Invitational wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Billed as the toughest short track race in America, Eddie Mac, crew chief Rollie LaChance and the dedicated crew set the tone early with a win in the first of the three 50 lap segments for the ACT final race of the season and the 52nd running of the event.

"Winning the first segment was huge for us," said the winning driver after the race. "It really put us in a good position to win this race if we could run the last two segments without a problem. The car was a little loose in the first, then a little tight in the second, and then a lot loose in the final segment but we planned to take what we could, stay out of trouble, and stay ahead of Derrick O'Donnell and John Donahue. I had a couple of close calls but we kept going, fortunately. It is so hard to win this thing; you have to be lucky and good. Today we were both."

The Hancock Electric Motor Service/Grimm Construction Chevy started third in the 30 car field as a result of posting the third fastest time in time trials on Saturday. The remainder of the field was set by qualifying heats and provisionals. When the green flag waved, the Rowley, Mass. veteran driver took second place on the opening lap, then into first by lap ten. From there it was all Eddie Mac as he took the checkered flag and awarded one point. The lowest point total for the combined three segments would be crowned the winner. With the field inverted for the top 24 finishers for the final two segments, Eddie Mac started 24th and staged one of his patented charges to the front while dealing with heavy lapped traffic and an encounter with the turn four wall aptly named "The Widowmaker." The Freddie Peterson owned Chevy made a hard charge from the 12th position to score a fifth place finish. Eddie Mac now totaled six points going into the final segment leading O'Donnell by three points and Donahue by four.

"We knew starting 24th was going to be difficult, so we just had to be patient and not force the issue," said Eddie Mac. "The car was a little tight but I was able to pass a number of cars but things got a little hairy when I tagged the wall in four but I didn't spin out and was able to finish fifth. We felt we had a good shot at winning this thing but tire management would be huge for us in the final segment. We had a three point lead which isn't much so we planned to be patient, smooth and try to keep the second and third place guys behind us. We had to start 20th so we knew patience and dealing with lapped traffic would be the key."

With the final segment underway, Eddie Mac drove from 20th to 10th at the halfway mark saying, "The car was very loose by then and the tires were really gone by that time but we managed to stay ahead. The final 25 laps I just tried to be smooth and not spin the tires and stay in front of O'Donnell and Donahue. Fortunately for us, the tires lasted and I was able to finish eighth and win this race. It is definitely a great feeling to win one of the biggest races in the country and get to kiss the cow. I was not looking forward to that but it turned out to be pretty cool. It is something I will remember for the rest of my life."

With the eighth place finish, Eddie Mac totals for the event read 1-5-8=14 points besting the second place finisher by six points. "This is such a great win for us especially after not even qualifying last year and not running too well in the past. We didn't even know we were going to race here but Freddie Peterson talked us into it. Freddie loves this place and we committed to run this season for him and his wife Sheila and it turned out to be a great decision. Freddie wanted to win this for quite a while and both Rollie and I have wanted this win. I had to miss the Oktoberfest at Lee to run here but my father has already forgiven me. This certainly ranks up there with our other wins in the late model."

"There are so many people to thank when you win something as prestigious as the Milk Bowl," said Eddie Mac. "Rollie did a great job setting up the car and the crew, Tom, Rob, Donny, Laura, Steve, Lavelle, Jt and the countless others who make all this possible deserve special thanks. Ken and Scott Thompson from Hancock Electric have been there for us for a number of years and I want to send special thanks to them. Of course, Sheila and Freddie Peterson are fantastic car owners and do whatever it takes for us to win. Winning the Milk Bowl is special and it takes all these people to make it happen."

ACT RACE RESULTS HERE
Photos by
Richard Casey

Fri., September 26, 2014

Dover International Speedway
Dover, DE
 
Eddie Mac Runs Fourth at Dover in the K&N East
With the decision made to race a part-time schedule after winning at Bristol, Eddie MacDonald and the Grimm Racing team focused their effort on preparing the best possible car for the best possible finish. On Friday night, the Grimm Construction Chevy drove from 16th in the 30 car-field to fourth place in the final race of the NASCAR Pro Series East season in the Drive Sober 150 on the "Monster Mile" at Dover International Speedway.

Eddie Mac's impressive record over the final four races of the season began with an eighth place run at Langley, followed by a second at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a sixth place in the East West combination race at Iowa Speedway, and finally the fourth place run on the fast, high banked mile oval at Dover. The team ran ten of the 16 race schedule posting one win, three top fives, and six top tens.

"We are really pleased with our performance over the second half of the season," said Eddie Mac. " After the win at Bristol we knew we could be competitive in the races we entered. We have to thank Rob Grimm for providing two new cars for us to race. Unfortunately after we built them, we had to rebuild them after some serious wrecks early on. That is where the crew came in and did a tremendous amount of work to get them race ready in such a short time. Rollie (LaChance crew chief)and I could not have done it without them. We raced the car that finished second at New Hampshire, so we knew we would have a competitive car for Dover."

The #71 qualified 16th (150.823 mph) and when the green flag waved to start the 150 lap event, Eddie Mac made steady progress to the front saying, "The car was a little tight but I could drive it okay and I was able to pass some cars. We were just trying to get as many spots as possible before the break at halfway and we were very happy when we ended up in fourth place when the yellow flag waved. We picked up a few spots when cars in front of me were running out of gas before the caution. We came in for tires and made an adjustment to free us up. Unfortunately we went a bit too far."
Eddie Mac retained the fourth place position on the restart before making it into third place on lap 76. The free condition in the turns cost Eddie Mac as he slid back to sixth on lap 94 then staged one of his patented three-wide moves to regain third on lap 102. The Rowley, Mass. veteran held that position until Scott Heckert was able to make the pass with five laps to go with Eddie Mac saying, "I was trying hard to keep him behind me but I over-drove the corner and the rear end slid up the track allowing him to drive under me for the spot. We are very happy with fourth and very proud we finished the season the way we did. No one was going to catch Hill or Grala. I don't know how those two were so fast. We had a lot of fun out there and had a very good run to end the season. Congratulations to Ben Rhodes for winning the championship with his outstanding season."
"It goes without saying that none of this would be possible without Karla and Rob Grimm and the entire Grimm family. We are proud to carry the MS logo on our racecars and hope people will continue their support to find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis. Megan Spaulding and the Grimm family are always in our thoughts and prayers. Special thanks to the crew throughout the year at the track and in the shop in Newburyport, Ma. Those guys put in countless hours and Rollie and I thank them for all the effort and dedication. Special thanks go to all our fans; you are all a part of "Grimm Nation." Even though we ran ten of the sixteen races, we accomplished a lot and it was a lot of fun. I hope to see you all in the spring."

Fox Sports 1 will air the Drive Sober 150 on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 10 am.
 
RACE CENTRAL LIVE powered by Speed51.com:
K&N East at Dover - HERE
For the Event Schedule, Entry List, Practices, Qualifying, Lap by Lap, & Results
 
K&N Pro Series East Dover News & Notes: HERE

FAST FACTS
The Race:  The Drive Sober 150 at Dover International Speedway will be the 16th and final event of the 2014 schedule for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. This will be the 14th all-time stand-alone race for the series at Dover.

The Procedure:  The starting field is 30 cars, including provisionals. The first 26 cars will have secured starting positions based on two-lap qualifying. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (150 miles) and will have a five-minute break at or near the conclusion of Lap 75.

The Track:  Known as the “Monster Mile,” Dover is an even one-mile concrete oval with banking of nine degrees on the straightaways and 24 degrees in the turns.

Race Winners:  There have been 12 winners in the previous 13 K&N Pro Series East races at Dover. Austin Hill was last year’s winner, while Brett Moffitt is the only driver in series history with multiple victories at the track.

Pole Winners:  In the 13 previous events there have been 11 different pole winners. Darrell Wallace Jr. is the only multi-time polesitter at Dover, while Matt DiBenedetto has the qualifying record at 23.201 seconds (155.166 mph), established in 2009.
 
K&N East Statistical Advance - Dover: HERE
Analyzing The Drive Sober 150

Dover Race Setup
• Ben Rhodes clinched his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship after a fourth-place effort at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina the last time out. It was the second consecutive title for Turner Scott Motorsports. 
• Defending race-winner Austin Hill is the only driver on the entry list with a previous win at Dover. 
• Eddie MacDonald will attempt to make his 13th start at the Monster Mile. He leads all drivers with three top fives and four top 10s in his previous starts at Dover. 
• Cameron Hayley enters the event with a 19-point cushion for the second spot in the standings, but just 27 points separate third from ninth in the championship standings. 

DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY:
History
• The official opening of Dover International Speedway, then called Dover Downs International Speedway, was in 1969.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on July 6, 1969 – won by Richard Petty.
• Dover held 10 NASCAR Nationwide Series–NASCAR K&N Pro Series East combination races from 1987-92.
• The track surface was changed to concrete in 1995.
• The first stand-alone NKNPS East race was held at Dover on July 18, 1998.
• The track name was changed to Dover International Speedway in 2002.

Notebook
• There have been 13 previous stand-alone NKNPS East races at Dover.
• Of those 13 previous events, there have been 12 different race winners and 11 different pole winners, with qualifying cancelled one year.
• Of the 12 previous winners, only Brett Moffitt has won twice.
• Of the 11 previous pole winners, only Darrell Wallace Jr. has two.

Dover International Speedway
Race: #16 of 16
Track Layout: One-mile concrete oval
• Race Length: 150 laps (150 miles)
• Banking/Corners: 24 degrees
• Banking/Straights: Nine degrees

Qualifying/Race Data
2013 Race Winner: Austin Hill
2013 Pole Winner: Cale Conley
Qualifying Record: Matt DiBenedetto (23.201 seconds, 155.166 mph, 9/25/09)

ACTIVE SERIES CAREER LEADERS:
Wins
1. Eddie MacDonald ... 7
2. Dale Quarterley ... 6
3. Ben Rhodes ... 5

Poles
1. Ben Rhodes ... 5
2. Dale Quarterley ... 4
3. Scott Heckert … 3

Top Fives
1. Eddie MacDonald ... 33
2. Dale Quarterley ... 31
3. Ryan Gifford ... 16

Top 10s
1. Eddie MacDonald ... 88
2. Dale Quarterley ... 68
3. Ryan Gifford ... 25

Laps Completed
1. Eddie MacDonald ... 23,219
2. Dale Quarterley ... 18,941
3. John Salemi ... 8,804

Laps Led
1. Ben Rhodes ... 757
2. Dale Quarterley ... 706
3. Eddie MacDonald … 674




.

Eddie Mac Posts Third in Bond ACT Invitational at NHMS
Eddie MacDonald wanted a fourth victory in the six events held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the Bond ACT Invitational but a skipping engine throughout the race produced a third place finish in the 43 car field that was halted at lap 44 due to darkness. The problem is nothing new to the team and despite their best efforts to solve the problem at the shop and on the dyno, the gremlin persisted.

“We really thought we had the problem solved when we found bent throttle plates in the carburetor but it showed up again during the morning practice,” said Eddie Mac. We changed carburetors twice during the practice but nothing worked. We have been through the engine, wiring, fuel, and anything else you could think of since last season but couldn’t solve it. It is very frustrating to run out there like that knowing if we didn’t have this glitch, we would have competed for the win. We were very lucky to run third with the problem we had. I feel bad for car owner Freddie Peterson who has done everything he could to fix the problem. With the process of elimination, we think we could have a solution. We’ll see.”

“The Outlaw” started 17th on the grid as the result of a blind draw with the top cars drawn from a different bag. When the green flag waved the Hancock Electric Motor Chevy drove to the seventh position by lap ten in the fifty lap event with Eddie Mac saying, “The car was a little tight but not bad and I had great bite off the corners. The motor was skipping a bit but we were doing ok. I thought if it stayed like this, we had a shot at the win.”

Eddie Mac won the inaugural ACT event at NHMS along with two others, all coming in the odd numbered years. He also has three wins in the K&N Pro Series East at the Magic Mile while posting a second place finish during the July Sprint Cup weekend. The team was looking to add an even numbered year to the ACT win column but hopes faded when Eddie Mac radioed to crew chief Rollie LaChance during the lap 26 caution while running fifth that the engine was skipping badly.

The #17Ma. moved to fourth then staged a door to door battle with the #27 before taking sole position of third place then had to hold off the #97 of Joey Pole when a huge wreck brought out the red flag on lap 44 as darkness loomed with Eddie Mac saying, “This is unbelievable. We are so good in the corners but I have no power off. The car is way down on horsepower. Hopefully if we restart this thing I can hold on to third. There is no way I can keep up with Helliwell and Laperle.”

With a massive clean-up on the backstretch and darkness covering the racing surface, officials called the race at lap 44 giving the “Outlaw” a third place finish. The race did not take the green flag until six o’clock instead of the scheduled five o’clock start due to a red flag in the Modified race.

“I know we would have competed for the win if the car was right, “said the Rowley, Mass. veteran. It is frustrating but hopefully we learned something from this race to solve the problem. We plan to race a couple of ACT events to close out the season after we complete the K&N series this Friday at Dover (International Speedway). Rollie and the crew did a great job getting the car ready, even showing up at six o’clock this morning to get ready for our practice at eight. Sheila and Freddie Peterson have been great and I want to give special thanks to Scott and Ken Thompson from Hancock Electric who have supported our efforts for years.
 
ACT Invitational Top Ten
 1) 27nh - Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
2) 91qc - Patrick Laperle
3) 17ma -Eddie MacDonald
4) 97nh -Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.
5) 48qc -Alex Labbe
6) 58vt - Jimmy Hebert
7) 7me - Glen Luce
8) 16me - Travis Stearns
9) 16vt - Scott Dragon
10) 07ma - Tom Carey, Jr.
Photos by
Chris Roy
Photos by
Richard Casey
 
ACT’S NEW BREED LOOKS TO UPSET VETERANS AT NHMS INVITATIONAL
The starting field for the 6th annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on
Saturday, September 20, 2014 has been set. The sixth edition of the event will have the American Canadian Tour
(ACT) introducing fans to a promising future for regional Late Model short track stock car racing.

Veteran champions and former NHMS winners Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, MA; Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. (Pole), Hudson, NH; Ray Parent, Tiverton, RI; and Brian Hoar, Williston, VT have all won events at the “Magic Mile”. This year there are lots of young emerging stars who will challenge the veterans.  FULL ROSTER HERE

Tom Curley, President of the American Canadian Tour said, “I think the great strength of our ACT system is that the
program seems to introduce new and talented young teams every season., As we look to the future this is good for
ACT and especially good for regional racing, both weekly and touring. The field of 43 teams we have assembled for
the Invitational this year is the most diverse to attend over the past six years. It should be exciting."

The 6th annual Bond Auto ACT Invitational will be part of a sensational triple-header Saturday at NHMS. Forty-three
(43) ACT teams will join the NASCAR Modified and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Saturday,
September 20, 2014. Post time is 1:00 following the final NASCAR Sprint Cup practice. The ACT 50 mile event will
post at 5:00pm.

For more information contact nhms.com, or the ACT office at 802.244.6963, or media@acttour.com, or visit
www.acttour.com.

 Tuesday, August 19th Practice
for the 6th Annual Bond Auto Parts ACT Invitational
to be held on Saturday, September 20.
- Eddie clocked as 3rd fastest -
Photos by
Richard Casey

Saturday, August 9th

Fourth Place Finish for Eddie at Beech Ridge

Eddie MacDonald overcame some early practice issues to score an enjoyable fourth place finish in the Beech Ridge Motor Speedway American Canadian Tour 150 on the Scarborough, Maine one third of a mile oval on Saturday night. Driving the Hancock Electric Motor Service sponsored Chevy, Eddie Mac returned to one of his favorite tracks in hopes of repeating his win in last year’s ACT race at the “Ridge” only to fall three spots short of his goal.

During a caution on lap 110 in the 150 lap event, Eddie Mac said over the radio to crew chief Rollie LaChance, “Actually, this is pretty good racing” and his longtime crew chief agreed. The plan was to run near his starting position (ninth) for the first 70-75 laps in order to save tires then make his move to the front. From that point on, the #71 owned by Sheila and Freddie Peterson from Peterson’s Auto Body in Peabody, Mass. earned each position in tough door to door battles.

The day, however, started on a shaky note when “The Outlaw” quickly returned to the pits on the first lap of practice with a sway bar issue. The crew repaired it in time for the second practice but Eddie Mac returned to the pits when a rear brake caliper fell off the car. The team held its breath when the #17 went out for the third practice then breathed a sigh of relief when all the parts stayed on the car and posted the second fastest time of the 28 cars in attendance.

“It was unusual for us to have those issues but we knew we had a good, fast car that would be a contender in the race,” said Eddie Mac. “We love racing here and have had success at this track in the ACT series and also the old Busch North Tour. Freddie has given us a great car and I have to thank Joe St. Jacques for all his hard work over the winter and getting the car looking great again after all the damage from our last race at Airborne. This is Joe’s baby and we are thankful for the beautiful work he does.”

Eddie Mac started seventh in the ten car second heat in what many recall as the best collection of top running cars in any heat in recent memory. The #17 Ma. advanced two positions for a +2 rating to place ninth on the starting grid for the 150 lap feature. When the green flag waved, “The Outlaw” was content to “just ride” for the first half to save the car for the eventual second half shootout and for the next 50 laps the crowd was treated to the fantastic racing the ACT Tour drivers often provide.

A lap 77 caution bunched the field with MacDonald running in the eighth place saying, “ I was just starting to see what it had and it is a little tight when I pushed it but it should be okay.”

Eddie Mac raced to the sixth position by lap 90 then spent the next 25 laps battling the #78 then the #58 for position before moving into fourth and set his sights on the leader but the earlier battles took their toll with the veteran racer saying, “ When I started to go around lap eighty, I really thought I had a winning car but when I tried to close on the #97 with about 20 to go the car would not rotate enough through the center of the corners. I had a great race with the #78 then the #58; I just didn’t have much left. But this was a fun race. Look at my car. There is hardly a scratch on it. As close as we ran tonight, everyone drove a clean race and it was fun. There was a lot of hard racing tonight and I hope the fans enjoyed it. Beech Ridge is a great track and running with the ACT guys is always a lot of fun."

Eddie Mac and the crew will defend its ACT Invitational title on September 20 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as part of the big NASCAR Sprint Cup weekend.

The Grimm Racing Team will compete in the season’s final NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Dover International Raceway on Friday, September 26. ‘
Photos by
Richard Casey

Fri. August 1, 2014 - 8:00 PM

Iowa Speedway
Newton, IA
 

Solid Sixth Place Run at Iowa Speedway
In the same car nearly destroyed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway in May, Eddie MacDonald powered the Grimm Construction/Multiple Sclerosis Chevy to a hard earned sixth place finish in the Autolite Iridium XP 150 in the second combination race pitting the East vs. the West on the Newton, Iowa track.

“We brought the car home today without a scratch on it,” laughed Eddie Mac after his ninth race this year in the K&N Pro Series. “The first time here with the new car in May ended in disaster when a tire blew out on lap 57 and destroyed the front clip. After fixing the car, we raced it to a second place finish at New Hampshire a few weeks ago and had hopes of running in the top three and compete for the win here but we struggled in practice and qualifying with it being too tight. We weren’t that great in practice (22nd and 27th) or qualifying (19th) but we thought we would be good for the race. Unfortunately, we just had to wait until after the break for that to happen.”

Starting 19th in the field of 43 cars when the green flag waved, the Rowley, Mass. veteran driver had to bide his time until the halfway break around lap 75 on the .875 of a mile oval saying, “The car was tight from the start and I just could not pass anyone. The track was really different than last time and everyone ran in the second and third groove and shot to the bottom to make their move to pass. It was like Irwindale Speedway but I wasn’t able to take advantage of it and had to wait until we could make some adjustments at the break. Rollie and I planned a number of changes to loosen up the car for the second half run and they really helped. It is too bad the car wasn’t a little bit on the loose side at the beginning. I think we would have been in really good shape. The car was loose but fast the first race here this year but it was just too tight and not as fast this time.”

The #71 Grimm Construction Chevy ran in the 17th to the 20th position for the first half on the race when a caution flag on lap 72 brought the field to the pits for tires, fuel, and adjustments for the second half run. Eddie Mac restarted in the 13th position when the four lead cars were forced to start in the rear of the field for entering the pits too soon which is a NASCAR violation, with Eddie Mac saying, “It was really weird that happened but it was a good break for us. The changes the crew made in the pits really helped the car turn in the corners and I was able to run in the second and third groove and use the bottom to slingshot by some cars. I was able to pass cars which I could not do in the first half. It also helped that Rollie (LaChance) was spotting and he was able to get me into some good positions to make passes and get back in line. Usually the crew chief is in the pits but we didn’t have a spotter so Rollie did it and his experience really paid off for us.”

Eddie Mac began marching to the front picking off cars one at a time and rode in the eighth spot when the caution flag waved on lap 130 of the scheduled 150 lap event. With only eight laps remaining Eddie Mac held the fifth spot saying, “I wanted a top five finish but I just couldn’t hold the spot and had to settle for sixth which we are satisfied with considering how we started the day. Last year we had a second place finish and we tried using that same set-up but it didn’t work. As I said, the track was different this time around so it may have been a combination of factors that caused us to be so tight. A number of drivers complained they were too loose but that was not the case for us. It was a good, solid sixth place run for us and we are happy to bring the car home in one piece this time. The crew did a great job and I thank Rob and Karla Grimm for everything they do for us. Thanks also to Waymart Building Center, Stilo, Schroth Racing, and HMS for their continued support. We are proud to have the Multiple Sclerosis emblem on our cars and encourage everyone to help support the fight for a cure of this terrible disease.”

The Grimm Racing Team has one win (Bristol), two top five’s and five top ten’s in the nine races run in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series this season. The next K&N race on the team’s schedule is at Dover International Speedway on September 26. Eddie Mac will also compete in two American Canadian tour races at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on August9 and then defend his title at the ACT Invitational at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as part of the September Sprint Cup weekend.

Fox Sports 1 will televise the Autolite Iridium XP 150 on Friday, August 8, at 11a.m.
 
RACE CENTRAL LIVE powered by Speed51.com:
K&N Combo at Iowa - HERE
For the Event Schedule, Entry List, Practices, Qualifying, Lap by Lap, & Results
 
K&N Pro Series Iowa Combo News & Notes: HERE

FAST FACTS
The Race: The Autolite Iridium XP 150 will be the 11th all-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway, and the second at the track in 2014. It’s the 12th of 14 oval track events and 16 races, overall, on the 2014 schedule for the K&N East and ninth of 14 races, overall this season for the K&N West.

The Procedure: The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 28 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining eight spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (131.25 miles) and be run in two segments with a midway break at or near the conclusion of Lap 75.

The Track: Iowa Speedway is a .875-mile paved oval with the turns banked 12-14 degrees, four degrees of banking in the backstretch and 10 degrees in the frontstretch. The track opened in 2006 and the first NASCAR-sanctioned race was a K&N Pro Series combination event on May 20, 2007 won by Joey Logano. NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events were added in 2009.

The Records: The one-lap series qualifying record at Iowa was established by Kyle Busch on May 17, 2009 at 135.484 mph (23.250 seconds). The 150-lap race record was set by Ben Rhodes on May 17, 2014 at 93.287 mph (1 hour, 24 minutes, 25 seconds).
 
K&N East Statistical Advance - Iowa: HERE
Analyzing The Iridium XP 150

Iowa Race Setup
• Ben Rhodes led the final 115 laps and bested the field by 2.377 seconds to win the first Iowa event earlier this year. The K&N Pro Series East points leader returns to Iowa with a chance to become the first driver to win back-to-back combination events at the track.  
• K&N West points leader Greg Pursley has twice been the top-finishing West driver and leads all competitors with 10 Iowa starts. 
• Ten East-West combination events at Iowa Speedway have produced 10 different race winners and 10 different pole winners.

Iowa Speedway
History
• Designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
• First race was held in September 2006.
• First NASCAR-sanctioned race in May 2007 was a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race won by 17-year-old Joey Logano.
• Hosted first NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events in 2009.
• Facility purchased by NASCAR in November 2013.

Notebook
• This is the 11th K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa with one each from 2007-2011 and two in 2012-2013.
• The K&N Pro Series West had a standalone event at the track in September 2009. 
• The Autolite Iridium XP 150 will be telecast on a delayed basis by FOX Sports 1 on Friday, Aug. 8 at 11 a.m. ET. 
• Cole Custer, representing the K&N East, won this event a year ago and also claimed the overall pole award.
• Kyle Busch and Cole Custer are the only drivers to win the East-West race at Iowa from the pole. Chase Elliott started the furthest back and won, coming from 15th on the grid in May 2012.
• The most cautions for an East-West combination race at Iowa is 11 in June 2013 while the fewest is four in May 2009 and May 2014. The most caution laps (68) came in the inaugural 2007 event and the fewest was 24 in May 2009 for an average of 42.67. The average number of cautions is 6.9.
• In the nine combination events, the lead has changed hands an average of 7.0 times with a high of 18 in the 200-lap May 2007 race.
• The average starting position for the winner is 5.1 while the pole sitter has an average finish of 9.3.
• Three of the 10 East-West combination races at Iowa were extended by a late-race caution for a green-white-checkered finish with the last coming in June 2013.
• Chevrolet has gone to Victory Lane in six East-West events at Iowa, while Toyota has three wins and Ford has one.

Iowa Data
Race: #12 of 16 – East; #9 of 14 - West (8/1/14)
Track Layout: .875-mile asphalt tri-oval
Race Length: 150 laps (131.25 miles)
Banking/Turns: 12-14 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 10 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 4 degrees

Iowa Qualifying/Race Data
2013 Pole Winner: Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 133.063 mph (23.673 seconds)
2013 Race Winner: Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 84.120 mph (1 hours, 33 minutes, 37 seconds)
1-lap Qualifying Record: Kyle Busch, 135.484 mph (23.250 seconds), May 17, 2009
150-lap Race Record: Ben Rhodes, 93.287 mph (1 hour 24 minutes 25 seconds), May 17, 2014

Combination Race Laps Completed
Greg Pursley … 1,460
Eddie MacDonald … 1,393
Daryl Harr … 1,269
David Mayhew … 1,217
Eric Holmes … 1,092
 
Sunday, July 20, 2014
 American Canadian Tour Late Models
 Airborne Speedway
Plattsburgh, NY
 

Mechanical Issue Eliminates Eddie MacDonald at Airborne
Eddie MacDonald “struggled” with the Hancock Electric Motor Chevy for most of the 2nd annual ACT International 300 at Airborne Speedway in Plattsburgh, N.Y. posting a 13th place finish. The #17Mass. Late Model owned by Freddie Peterson from Peterson’s Auto Body located in Saugus, Mass. completed the first two segments in eighth and ninth place respectively but was unable to complete a lap on the half-mile oval’s final 75 lap segment.

“We struggled right from the first practice trying to find some speed but nothing worked,” said the frustrated Eddie Mac. “It was one of those days that you can honestly say we tried every possible combination but nothing gave us the speed we needed. We seem to struggle at this track. We had one good run here last year and we even tried that set-up but that didn’t work either. It was frustrating for Rollie, the crew and me. We thought we maybe hit on something during the first segment but even that didn’t last.”

MacDonald started 13th hoping to claim the $25,000 first place prize money in the first 50 lap segment but was forced to the pits for an adjustment when an early caution flag waved saying, “Rollie made a wedge and air adjustment and the car responded. I had to start in the back but the car was flying and I was able to drive to eighth place before we ran out of laps. Then our bad luck continued when the alternator quit and killed the battery so we had to change both before we could get back out there for the second segment. It seemed like it was one thing after another.”

Starting 17th, MacDonald was able to drive the car to ninth when the flag waved ending the 75 lap segment saying, “By the time the second segment started the car changed completely from where we ended the first run. We gained some positions but it was pretty clear that we did not have anything for the leaders but we wanted to finish strong but then the final shoe dropped when we lost something in the rear end and had to park it before the green flag even waved. We don’t know what happened to the car but we will know better when we take a look at it today. All in all, it was pretty frustrating couple of days for everyone involved. I thank the crew for all their hard work. I just wish we could have been competitive. Special thanks to Ken and Scott Thompson for their continued support. Hopefully we will have better luck at Beech Ridge in August.

Eddie Mac was credited with a 13th place finish with 8-9-24=41 point total. The American Canadian Tour will take the green flag again at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway in Scarborough, Maine on Saturday, August 9.

The Grimm Construction Chevy is slated to compete in the K&N Pro Series East and West combination race at Iowa Speedway on Friday, August 1.
 


New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, NH
.
NHMS Sprint Cup Race - Sun. July 13th
Started 40th - Finished 35th
Photos by Chris Roy
Photos by Richard Casey

Eddie MacDonald Runs First Sprint Cup Race at NHMS
Eddie MacDonald's debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway may not have ended in Victory Lane but for many the veteran driver from Rowley, Mass. exhibited the same effort and determination even to the final two laps in the green/white /checker finish as he has throughout his racing career.

After racing to an incredible second place finish in Friday night's K&N Pro Series East event in the Granite State 100, Eddie Mac focused his attention on getting used to the #32 Go FAS Racing entry owned by fellow New Englanders Archie St. Hilaire and Frankie Stoddard and sponsored by TryAndrozene.com. Being the competitor that he is MacDonald was not completely satisfied with the 35th place run saying, "I had a blast driving in my first Cup ride and I have so many people to thank for the opportunity, I just wished I could have finished a few spots higher. I have to thank crew chief Ben Leslie, my spotter Curtis and the Go FAS crew for really helping me through my first Cup experience. I learned so much from them and they made it a lot of fun."

MacDonald fought a tight handling car in practice and qualified 40th in the 43 car field for Sunday's one o'clock start in front of a huge crowd gathered at the "Magic Mile" saying, "It was an incredible experience to be introduced to so many fans. I was excited to race with family, friends, and so many New England fans cheering for me. NHMS even sold Eddie Mac Pack tickets for $32.00 and I heard those seats were sold out, so I am really humbled by all the support I received. It is a day I will never forget. Of course I have to thank Archie and Frank for giving me this fantastic opportunity to allow me to make my dream come true. My special thanks go to Mike Alden, the CEO and President of Blue Vase Marketing based in Beverly, Mass. for providing the sponsorship for TryAndrozene.com and Arthi-D3. We had the opportunity to spend time with Mike and his friends before the race and afterward and he is really a super guy. I appreciate his support and hopefully we can do it again someday."

When the green flag waved, Eddie Mac rode in the 40th position satisfied with adjusting to the car and racing with the world's best drivers. The car was tight from the start and six time winner at NHMS in the East and ACT series used his experience to help overcome the tight condition saying, "The car felt pretty good but a little tight so I tried using the apron in the turns when I could to help the corner transition. As the race went on it went to the tight side in the center of the turns and loose off. It just wanted to shove the nose so I had to drag the brake to get it to turn."
When the first caution flag flew on lap 13, the team elected to stay out to gain track position while most pitted for tires. "Our strategy was to stay out and get a later caution but unfortunately none came. It was a good plan but unfortunately it didn't happen so we headed to the pits on lap 95. By that time we were a couple of laps down. We took a couple of wave arounds so by halfway we were three laps down and running 38th. The car was still real tight and the adjustments helped a little but didn't have a lot of grip in turn three."

The team set its sights on running down the #83 that would give valuable points in the upcoming races. It became the race within a race. MacDonald ran in the 37th position for most of the race until a heads-up call by Leslie brought the #32 to the pits for right side tires when the caution flag waved with three laps to go to set up the G/W/C finish. Eddie Mac was able to use the fresh rubber to hold off the #83 and post a 35th place finish.

"Eddie did a good job," said Archie St. Hilaire after the race. "Making that pass on the #83 during the G/W/C finish really helped out the team point's wise. He finished only four spots off the lead cars we generally compete against in our class. For his first time out in a Cup car I am very pleased with his run. Eddie brought the car home in one piece and I love that we will just have to clean it up and it will be ready for the next race. I am very happy that Go FAS Racing was able to put Eddie in the seat for his first Cup ride especially at NHMS. He is a great person with a terrific family and race team and I just love those guys. Hopefully we will be able to do something together again."

"This has all been a dream come true for me," said Eddie Mac. "It has been a fantastic experience and I am thankful for everyone's support from Archie, Frank, and Mike to all my family, friends, teammates and the legion of fans from all over New England. Even New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan stopped by the hauler before the race to wish me well. I will treasure this experience and if it never happens again, I'll have this memory. But I would sure like to do it again!"
Eddie MacDonald Joins All New England Team
for the Sprint Cup Race at NHMS on July 13th
Story Posted on NASCAR Home Tracks HERE
Local racing legend Eddie MacDonald from Rowley, Mass. will drive the #32 Go FAS Racing Ford Fusion owned by fellow New Englanders Archie St. Hilaire from Old Orchard Beach, Maine and long-time NASCAR crew chief Frank Stoddard from No. Haverhill, N.H. Completing the all-NE team is Michael Alden, President and CEO of Blue Vase Marketing based in Beverly, Mass, as the primary sponsor aboard the Go FAS Racing entry in the Camping World Sales 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 13.

Archie St. Hilaire is no stranger to New England racing as a long time participant in the old Busch North Series, currently the K&N Pro Series East, before moving on to the Nationwide Series while Stoddard cut his teeth watching and learning from one of the greats in New England, Stub Fadden from his hometown. The #32 on the Go FAS Racing Ford is in honor of Fadden and his car’s number for nearly four decades. The duo joined forces this year to compete in the Sprint Cup Series and instantly chose Eddie Mac to drive for them at the “Magic Mile.”

“I was talking with Mike (Alden) some time ago and he expressed interest in sponsoring a New England driver for the NHMS race and asked me if I knew of anyone, “ chuckled St Hilaire. “I immediately said “I sure do” and gave him Eddie’s name. Eddie is a great driver with a lot of successful experience at this track with six wins. I love Eddie, his family, and his entire race team. They are a great bunch of people and I couldn’t be happier for Eddie and our team. It will be a lot of fun and with Eddie’s experience we hope to have a strong run.”

“This is my dream come true,” said an elated MacDonald from his race shop in Newburyport, Mass. “I can’t thank Archie, Frank, and Mike enough for giving me this opportunity to race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It has always been a goal to drive a Cup car and to do it at my home track with family, friends, and supporters from all over New England is something very special to me. I have been lucky enough to win a number of races here so hopefully my experience will provide me the opportunity to run well for Archie and the team. I have driven for Archie a couple of times in the Nationwide Series and I appreciate all he has done for me. Archie is truly one of the nice guys in racing and has always been supportive of me and is always trying to help me out. Archie, Frank, and Mike are providing a great experience to compete on the big stage and I just hope I can learn quick enough to be competitive. I love racing at Loudon and this is the icing on the cake.”

“This is the third race Blue Vase Marketing will be our primary sponsor, “said St. Hilaire. “They were on the hood at Phoenix and Las Vegas and helped us out at Daytona. Mike (Alden) is a great guy and didn’t know anything about racing but has become an enormous fan and supporter. Go FAS Racing is pleased to have him aboard. His company represents many products and Androzene (an herbal male enhancement) will be on the hood and Arthri D3 (an all natural joint health supplement) another of the products his company represents will display on the quarter panels. Mike loves this and has made plans to bring a lot of product sponsors to the track and make a great day of it. We are all happy to have Eddie MacDonald drive our car and look forward to having a good, fun day.”

While Eddie Mac has raced and won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the K&N Pro Series East and other divisions, he is still in awe of competing at NASCAR’ highest level saying, “It hasn’t completely sunk in yet because we are so busy getting the K&N car ready for the Friday race at NHMS but I’m sure I’ll be speechless when it finally happens and I am in the seat of the #32. I hope all our New England fans come out to support us and enjoy the experience. This is my dream, my goal so I know I am going to love every minute. See you at the track!”

Fri., July 1, 2014 - 6:00 PM

New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, NH
 
The Granite State 100 - 2nd Place Finish
Photos by Chris Roy
Photos by Richard Casey
 

Eddie MacDonald Finishes Second at NHMS

Eddie MacDonald almost won his fourth career K&N Pro Series East race in the Granite State 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Friday night securing second place in a spectacular last lap duel that had the fans on their feet. The 100 lap event had three and four wide racing in turn one on the “Magic Mile” that most would agree is nearly impossible to achieve.

“That was a crazy race over the second half of the race right to the last lap,” said the Rowley, Mass. veteran. “I think the fans saw an exciting race with the winner not decided until the last turn of the last lap. On the last restart my spotter Logger (Dave Ricker) said I was on the bottom of four wide going into turn one and they were three wide behind us. The incredible thing is, no one wrecked. We are very happy with the second place finish since it looked like we were headed for a fourth place finish.”

The Exit Realty/Grimm Construction Chevy qualified ninth on Thursday afternoon with Eddie Mac saying, “We were happy starting ninth because we just finished rebuilding the car with the finishing touches completed on Wednesday night. Last Thursday the bare chassis sat on the shop floor so everyone worked very hard to get the car done on time and I am very thankful for everyone’s fantastic effort. We also had Exit Realty come aboard for this race and I thank Derek Beatrice for helping us out. A lot of Exit Realty folks were there to support us and I think they all left happy.”

When the green flag waved Eddie Mac was able to maintain his position but soon developed a tight condition after lap ten saying, “The car was really good at first but then it got real tight and just shoved the nose when I got back on the throttle. I knew we had to made it to the halfway break for adjustments so I tried not to lose too many spots.” The #71 slipped back to 13th position by lap 25 then rode in the 11th position when the flag flew for the break on lap 50. Crew chief Rollie LaChance and the crew went to work making adjustments that allowed Eddie Mac to steadily move through the field and into fourth place for the thrilling final laps.

“Rollie and the guys made the car better for the second half run,” said MacDonald. “It was still tight but better than it was but I needed to stay on the bottom. I had a couple of restarts on the outside and lost some positions but I was able to restart seventh on the inside on lap 89 when things really got crazy.”

Three wide at NHMS is usually not a good idea but four wide surely spells disaster. With the crowd on its feet, both the four wide and the three wide pack made it through turn one with Eddie Mac saying, “I was glad to be on the bottom of that mess and I am still amazed we all made it through. That is the way this series is. Everyone runs hard every lap and no one wants to give anything. It is a dog fight right to the checkered flag.”

A red flag with five laps to go reset the field with Eddie Mac in fourth place poised for a battle with eventual winner Jesse Little for third place while Brandon Jones and Nick Drake fought for the win. With two to go, Eddie Mac made a run under Little in turn one but could not complete the pass saying, “The car was real tight and I knew I would slide up into him if I didn’t back off. We had a great battle but then going into turn three we both saw the leaders tangle and crash into the wall just ahead of us. I tried to get to the outside but just couldn’t get there. It was a great race, a lot of fun, and a great second place finish. Rob Grimm was there with his family so I am really happy for them. He and Carla and the rest of Grimm Nation have done so much for us. We will be heading back to Iowa for our next K&N race in a few weeks but we will enjoy this one for now.”

The celebration for Eddie Mac will be short-lived as he prepares to compete in his first Sprint Cup race at NHMS in the Camping World RV Sales 301 driving the #32 Go FAS Racing entry

The Granite State 100 will air on Fox Sports 1 on July 20 at noon.
 
RACE CENTRAL LIVE powered by Speed51.com:
K&N East at Langley - HERE
For the Event Schedule, Entry List, Practices, Qualifying, Lap by Lap, & Results
 
K&N Pro Series NHMS News & Notes: HERE

FAST FACTS

The Race:  The Granite State 100 will be the 10th of 16 races on the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule and the lone trip to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The Procedure:  The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 100 laps (105.8 miles) with a 10-minute break at or near the conclusion of Lap 50. The tire change rule is two tires, any position.

The Track:  NHMS, a 1.058-mile slightly-banked asphalt oval, is the largest track the K&N Pro Series East races at. NHMS has played host to the K&N Pro Series East in each year of the track’s existence and has held more races than any other facility in the series’ 28-year history.

Race Winners:  There have been 27 different winners in 58 all-time stand-alone races at NHMS. New Hampshire native Brad Leighton has the most series wins at the “Magic Mile” with eight while Eddie MacDonald is the active leader with three.

Pole Winners:  Of the 30 different drivers to earn a Coors Light Pole Award at NHMS, Kelly Moore has the most in K&N Pro Series East history with six. Brett Moffitt set the track qualifying record at 29.648 seconds (128.467 mph) in 2012 for his third “Magic Mile” pole.

NEW HAMPSHIRE RACE NOTES:

NASCAR Prospects Shine at NHMS: Since the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East evolved into a developmental series, many of NASCAR’s bright young stars have found success in the series at the “Magic Mile.” Joey Logano, who has two wins this year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, won both K&N Pro Series East races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2007, a feat matched by another NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Ryan Truex in 2010. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor Max Gresham won an East race at NHMS in 2011, while leading 2014 Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Larson won at the track in 2012 while running for Rev Racing and NASCAR Drive for Diversity. Other current national series drivers that have turned in top-five K&N Pro Series East finishes in recent seasons at NHMS include: Austin and Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott, Dylan Kwasniewski, Miguel Paludo, Kevin Swindell, Darrell Wallace Jr. and Cole Whitt.

MacDonald on Double Duty: Two days after competing in the Granite State 100, Eddie MacDonald will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the Camping World RV Sales 301. The Rowley, Massachusetts, native will drive the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford Fusion co-owned by long-time NASCAR crew chief and NBC analyst Frank Stoddard and Archie St. Hilaire. MacDonald will hope that his K&N Pro Series East success at the track, three wins, four top fives and 12 top 10s in 25 starts, will translate to the Sprint Cup Series.  The veteran has seven career K&N East wins, with his most recent victory coming at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this year. 
 
K&N East Statistical Advance - NHMS: HERE
Analyzing The Granite State 100

Granite State 100 Setup:

• Points leader Ben Rhodes can move into a tie with Dylan Kwasniewski on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East single-season wins list with a victory, which would be his sixth of 2013. A win would also tie Ricky Craven’s 1991 record of most consecutive series wins in a season, five.

• The active leader with three wins at NHMS, Eddie MacDonald enters this race with top-10 finishes in 10 of his last 11 events at his home track.

• Daniel Suárez was the runner-up in last year’s event at NHMS. He has three top 10s in four career starts at the track .

At New Hampshire Motore Speedway:

History

• Groundbreaking for New Hampshire International Speedway, as New Hampshire Motor Speedway was originally named, was Aug. 13, 1989.

• The 1.058-mile oval is located on approximately 1,200 acres; the multi-use complex is the largest sports facility in New England.

• The official opening was June 5, 1990 and the first NASCAR event was a NASCAR Nationwide Series race on July 15, 1990 in which NASCAR K&N Pro Series East drivers competed in combination.

• Speedway Motorsports Inc., agreed to purchase New Hampshire International Speedway from Bob and Gary Bahre on January 11, 2008 and then renamed the track New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Notebook

• The first NKNPS East stand-alone race was held on Sept. 2, 1990.

• There have been 58 stand-alone NKNPS East races at NHMS, more than any other track in series history.

• There have been 27 different race winners, led by Brad Leighton’s eight. Eddie MacDonald is the active leader with three victories.

• There have been 30 different pole winners, led by Kelly Moore’s six. Brett Moffitt has the series’ qualifying record.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway Data

Race: #10 of 16

Track Layout: 1.058-mile asphalt oval

• Race Length: 100 laps (105.8 miles)

• Banking/Corners: 2-7 degrees

Qualifying/Race Data

2013 pole winner: Cole Custer

2013 race winner: Cole Custer

Track qualifying record: Brett Moffitt (128.467 mph, 29.648 seconds, 9/22/12)

Active Series Career Leaders at NHMS:

Wins
1. Eddie MacDonald … 3
2. Cole Custer ... 1

Top Fives
1. Eddie MacDonald … 4
2. Ryan Gifford … 2
3. Seven tied with… 1 

Top 10s
1. Eddie MacDonald … 12
2. Brandon Gdovic … 2
    Ryan Gifford … 2    
    Sergio Peña … 2 

Laps Completed
1. Eddie MacDonald … 2,543
2. John Salemi … 1,819
3. Ryan Gifford … 690

Laps Led
1. Eddie MacDonald … 175
2. Cole Custer … 60
3. Daniel Suárez … 39 

Starts
1. Eddie MacDonald  … 25
2. John Salemi … 17
3. Ryan Gifford … 7
 

Sat. June 21, 2014

Langley Speedway
Hampton, VA
 
Eddie Returns to K&N Series at Langley
After a two race hiatus, Eddie MacDonald and the Grimm Racing Team took the green flag in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in the Visit Hampton Va. 175 at Langley Speedway to post an eighth place finish. Despite an unscheduled pit stop on caution lap 90, Eddie Mac powered back from the rear of the field to post the solid finish.

The .396 of a mile oval proved to be tough to negotiate with the veteran driver saying, “We were running in the ninth position and trying to take it easy but we were getting bounced around a lot. The body took quite a beating and I thought I might have a right front tire going down so we decided to pit. The tire was okay but the toe was definitely knocked out. I probably should have stayed out but I couldn’t take the chance. It cost us a lot of positions but it was something we had to do the. The race was 175 laps so we thought we could get back up there.”

After returning to the track, the #71 Grimm Construction/Multiple Sclerosis Chevy began marching from its 22nd restarting position to the front despite a handling issue with Eddie Mac saying, “With the toe knocked out, the car was not turning that good but it was fast. I ran mostly on the outside because it was difficult to pass on the inside. As I said the car was fast and I was able to pass a lot of cars until I got up to the eighth spot but by then I had pretty much used up the tires. Except for Kenzie (Ruston) no one had anything for the five Turner Scott cars. It was not the finish we were looking for but we had a decent eighth place run.”

“I was pretty excited when we unloaded and hit the track for the first time,” said Eddie Mac on his 179th career start in the K&N. “The car was very fast and handled great and we were third fastest in the second group for a long time before finally posting the sixth fastest time. We are not usually up there in speed in practice so I thought we had a shot at winning the race. Qualifying was not great and I’m not sure what happened there but starting 12th was not too bad. We had to change the sway bar and a spring and that made us light so we had to add twenty pounds to the car and that small amount made the car just a little tight, so that could have affected our qualifying run. It definitely had some effect during the race but if we hadn’t been forced to the pits because of the damage to the car, I think we certainly would have contended for the win. It is a bit frustrating because we had such a good car right from the start. Rob (Grimm) has provided us with two new cars and they have really made a difference for the team. We will have the other new one ready for Loudon after getting the extensive damage repaired caused by the tire blowing out in Iowa. The team is excited about running at our home track in July where we have had some great success. We had a tire blow out last year while leading the race at New Hampshire so we feel we are owed one and plan to be very competitive there.”

On Friday July 11, Eddie Mac and Grimm Racing will compete in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East’s Granite State 100 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The Rowley, Mass. driver has three K&N wins to his credit, as well as three American Canadian Tour wins on the “Magic Mile.” Be sure to follow eddiemacdonald.net website for a surprise announcement coming soon.

Watch the Visit Hampton Va. 175 on Fox Sports 1 on June 27 at noon.
 
RACE CENTRAL LIVE powered by Speed51.com:
K&N East at Langley - HERE
For the Event Schedule, Entry List, Practices, Qualifying, Lap by Lap, & Results
 
K&N Pro Series Langley News & Notes: HERE

FAST FACTS:
The Race: The Visit Hampton VA 150 will be the ninth race on the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule and the only trip to Langley Speedway.

The Procedure: The starting field is 28 cars, including provisionals. The first 24 cars will have secured starting positions based on two-lap qualifying. The remaining five spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race is scheduled for 175 laps (70 miles).

The Track: Langley is a .396-mile slightly-banked asphalt oval located in Hampton, Virginia. The facility features NASCAR Whelen All-American Series-sanctioned events on Saturday nights throughout the racing season, headlined by the late model division. The track opened in 1950 and has hosted nine Grand National Division (now NASCAR Sprint Cup) races as a dirt track between 1964 and 1970, with NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson leading the way with three wins. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin was the track’s Mini Stock champion in 1997.

Race Winners: There have been three different race winners in three all-time events at Langley: Sergio Pena in 2011, Corey LaJoie in 2012 and Dylan Kwasniewski in 2013.

Pole Winners: Last year’s qualifying was rained out, and Coleman Pressley (2011) and Chase Elliott (2012) won the pole in the first two races. Elliott set the qualifying record at 16.400 seconds (86.927 mph).
 
K&N East Statistical Advance - Langley: HERE
Analyzing The Visit Hampton VA 175

History
• Originally a .8-mile horse track, the grounds became an auto racing facility in 1950 and cut the distance of the dirt racing surface to .396 miles. It was converted to asphalt in 1968.
• A charter member of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, Langley’s weekly Saturday night racing program is headlined by the late model division.
• The track held nine NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 1964-70 and 14 NASCAR Nationwide Series events from 1982-88.
• The track has played host to the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour since 2010.

Notebook
• The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debuted at the facility in 2011 with Virginia native Sergio Peña the inaugural winner.
• The three previous events have each produced different winners. Only Peña remains active in the series.
• There have been two different pole winners at Langley, with qualifying rained out in 2013. Chase Elliott established the series record for the youngest pole winner in the 2012 event, a mark that has since been surpassed.
• Among active drivers, only Brandon Gdovic, Ryan Gifford and Eddie MacDonald have participated in all three previous Langley races.

Langley Speedway Data
Race: #9 of 16 (6/21/14)
Track Layout: .396-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 175 laps (70 miles)
• Banking/turns: six degrees
• Banking/straights: none

Qualifying/Race Data
2013 race winner: Dylan Kwasniewski
2013 pole winner: None (rain)
Track qualifying record: Chase Elliott (86.927 mph, 16.400 seconds, 6/23/12)

Active Series Career Leaders at Langley:
Wins
1. Sergio Peña … 1

Top Fives
1. Sergio Peña … 2
2. Four drivers with … 1

Top 10s
1. Brandon Gdovic … 2
    Eddie MacDonald … 2
    Sergio Peña … 2

Laps Completed
1. Eddie MacDonald … 527 (all)
2. Brandon Gdovic … 524
3. Ryan Gifford … 523

Laps Led
1. Sergio Peña … 99

Starts
1. Brandon Gdovic … 3
    Ryan Gifford … 3
    Eddie MacDonald … 3
Saturday, June 7th

Eddie Loses ACT Win in Tech

The joy and jubilation for Eddie MacDonald and his team, family and friends in victory lane after winning the American Canadian Tour race at Riverside Speedway in Groveton, NH on Saturday night were soon dashed when the victory was taken away by ACT officials for a spring rubber violation. The Freddie Peterson owned and Hancock Electric Motor Service sponsored Chevy was given an eleventh place finish despite protests from the team.

ACT officials stated the new rule this year limits to three the number of spring rubbers in the rear right spring. The #17 had four spring rubbers and was stripped of the win with Eddie Mac saying, “This is our fun car. It is not our priority. Our commitment to the K&N Series takes up most of our time so we don’t spend a lot of time working on the ACT car. We love running with the ACT drivers and have a lot of fun. We only worked on setting up Freddie’s car for two days so we didn’t have time to pour over the rule book to look for an advantage. One of the officials said we probably read the rule book very closely and I can honestly say I have never read the rule book. We were totally unaware there was a rule change for the number of rear spring rubbers you could use. Obviously it was our fault for not knowing the rule but I feel the punishment did not fit the crime. Having an extra spring rubber made absolutely no difference between winning and losing. It is a minor tuning adjustment aide worth $13.00. It did nothing for the car. The car was fast and handled great when we got going after halfway. That is why we won. I just wished they could have fined us or something but to take away a win was way too severe I think.”

Crew chief Rollie LaChance was equally surprised at the punishment received for such a minor infraction saying, “I take responsibility for not knowing the rule. Ignorance of the rule is not an excuse. There was no attempt to deceive anyone. We were just not aware the rule was put in place this year. We even went through tech before practice with four spring rubbers in there. I could have easily changed it if we knew but we didn’t. We have used that same spring in a number of races including our win at Lee in the season opener with two spring rubbers . We used the same spring at Thunder Road last year with four spring rubbers and didn’t even qualify for the race. If I could invent a spring rubber that would make cars instant winners, I’d make a lot of money. We won the race because the car was fast, handled late when we needed it, and Eddie drove a great race. I really feel bad for Freddie (Peterson) because he is so passionate. Freddie provides the car, the front money and equipment and he loves it. It is all about the race. Last year when we didn’t make the Milk Bowl at the end of the season, he didn’t say a word other than to say we’ll get the Governor’s Cup next season. We did. It is just a shame that a great win was taken away for something that made little or no difference. We didn’t know about the rule change. We didn’t and that is the end of it.”

Both Eddie and Rollie were back at work today preparing for the K&N race scheduled for June 21 at Langley Speedway in Virginia.
Photos by
Richard Casey 
 

Sat. May 17, 2014 - 8:00 PM CT

Iowa Speedway
Newton, IA
.
Eddie Crashes at Iowa Speedway
Eddie MacDonald and the Grimm Racing Team’s optimism for another strong finish at Iowa Speedway crumbled with a hard hit to the outside wall in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series combination race Saturday night with the East and West teams meeting for the first of two events on the seven-eighth’s mile oval. After finishing in the runner-up position in the Pork Be Inspired 150 second event at Iowa last season, Eddie Mac returned for the Casey’s General Store 150 with a brand new car with hopes of equaling or bettering last year’s finish.

Unfortunately for Eddie Mac, the right front tire blew on lap 57 as the Rowley, Ma. veteran driver attempted an outside pass for the tenth position sending him hard into the outside wall between turns one and two ending his night with a 35th place finish saying, “That was a tough hit. It really tore up the front of the car and it probably needs a new front clip. We worked hard getting this new car ready for the race and it felt good. We didn’t have time to test so practice was the first time on any track. The crew worked hard to get the car ready and even though we didn’t qualify well, we thought the car would be okay for the race and it was. The car was running great, the handling was good, and only a little loose in practice so we believed we had a good set-up for the race. It was very similar to the set-up we had last year here when we finished second. ”

When the green flag waved the Grimm Construction/Multiple Sclerosis Chevy began marching to the front with Eddie Mac saying, “We were really happy with the performance of the car and I don’t know what happened in qualifying (24th) but as soon as we took the green I was able to pick up about seven positions (by lap 25). I decided to take it easy for a while and just ride. Rollie and I thought we could make a push to about the eighth spot before the halfway break at 75 laps but we never got that far. About five laps before the tire blew, I was able to take some more spots and I think I was 11th and on the outside of Kenzie (Rustin) making the pass for tenth going into turn one and I went straight up into the wall.”

The crash was reminiscent of a similar crash while running first at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last year in the September K&N race while leading. A right front tire blew at that time sending another new car into the turn one wall with the driver saying, “I don’t know what it is with new cars and flat right front tires but it is frustrating. I know at Loudon we ran over something but we don’t know for sure what caused this tire to blow without any warning. We did not have an issue with camber or anything in practice, so we can’t say what caused the problem. All I know is, it wrecked a beautiful new car that Rob Grimm paid for and a lot of people worked hard to put together. All that work for nothing! It hurts.”

The K&N Pro Series East returns to Bowman Gray Stadium this season for the NASCAR Hall of fame 150 on Saturday, May 31.

Fox Sports 1 will televise the Casey’s General Store 150 on May 24 at 8:30 am.
 
RACE CENTRAL LIVE powered by Speed51.com:
K&N East/West Combo at Iowa - HERE
For the Event Schedule, Entry List, Practices, Qualifying, Lap by Lap, & Results
 
K&N Pro Series Combo Iowa News & Notes: HERE

FAST FACTS
The Race: The Casey’s General Stores 150 will be the 10th all-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway, and the first of two at the track in 2014. It’s the sixth of 14 oval track events and 16 races, overall, on the 2014 schedule for the K&N East and fourth of 12 oval track events and 14 races, overall this season for the K&N West.

The Procedure: The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 28 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining eight spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps (131.25 miles) and be run in two segments with a midway break at or near the conclusion of Lap 75.

The Track: Iowa Speedway is a .875-mile paved oval with the turns banked 12-14 degrees, four degrees of banking in the backstretch and 10 degrees in the frontstretch. The track opened in 2006 and the first NASCAR-sanctioned race was a K&N Pro Series combination event on May 20, 2007 won by Joey Logano. NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events were added in 2009.

The Records: The one-lap series qualifying record at Iowa was established by Kyle Busch on May 17, 2009 at 135.484 mph (23.250 seconds). The 150-lap race record was set by Corey LaJoie on Aug. 3, 2012 at 88.883 mph (1 hour 28 minutes 36 seconds).

IOWA RACE NOTES
Big Group: Nine members of the 2014-15 NASCAR Next class will be in action in the Casey’s General Stores 150 at Iowa Speedway. Cole Custer won at the track last August and returns in search of becoming the first repeat winner of the K&N Pro Series combination event. Joining Custer are Gray Gaulding, Ryan Gifford, Austin Hill, Jesse Little, Dylan Lupton, Brandon McReynolds, Ben Rhodes and Kenzie Ruston. Four previous Iowa winners – Chase Elliott, Brett Moffitt, Corey LaJoie and Michael Self are alums of the NASCAR Next program.

Sharing The Wealth: Three K&N Pro Series West events this season have produced three different winners. Custer opened the campaign with a Phoenix triumph while Patrick Staropoli won at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway and David Mayhew took the checkered flag at Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway. 

Habit Forming: Daniel Suárez leads NASCAR touring series drivers with five wins this season. The Drive for Diversity product opened the K&N Pro Series East season with a pair of wins and has added three victories in the NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series. The Monterrey, Mexico driver sits fourth in the K&N East’s season standings and looks to rebound from a 32nd-place finish at Richmond after his day was undone by electrical system issues.

Busy Weekend: The first of two scheduled NASCAR Nationwide Series starts for Ryan Gifford comes on May 18 at Iowa Speedway on the same weekend the Winchester, Tenn., driver battles in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series combination race in the nation’s heartland. That was a successful mixture last August as the Drive for Diversity product scored a sixth-place finish in the K&N Pro Series race and a ninth-place showing in his Nationwide Series debut.

Busy Month: The K&N Pro Series West is on the hop in May. After starting the month at Stockton and heading to Iowa, the series heads to Southern California on May 24 for a date at Kern County Raceway Park. The inaugural race at the half-mile oval for the K&N West was held last October. 

Riding The Wave: K&N Pro Series East points leader Ben Rhodes has a streak of three straight podium finishes and top fives in five of his last seven starts dating back to last season. The Louisville, Ky., driver finished fifth and 10th, overall, last season at Iowa.

Consistent Performance: K&N Pro Series West points leader Greg Pursley has yet to win in 2014, but Iowa Speedway is a place where that can change. The 2011 series champion has a pair of K&N West wins as the top-finishing West driver at the .875-mile track, but fourth-place overall finishes on three occasions are his best results in nine starts. 

Iowa Home Tracks Update: Defending Adams County Speedway champion Jason O’Brien is off to a quick start at the Corning, Iowa track with four top-five finishes in four starts in the Coors Light Silver Bullet Late Model division. Chris Speiker and Justin Zeitner trail in second and third, respectively. The half-mile dirt oval is situated 130 miles southwest of Iowa Speedway. 
 
K&N East Statistical Advance - Iowa: HERE
Analyzing The Casey’s General Stores 150

Iowa Race Setup
• Cole Custer led wire-to-wire in his last Iowa start in August 2013 and has two K&N Pro Series wins this season at Phoenix and Richmond.
• K&N West points leader Greg Pursley has twice been the top-finishing West driver and leads all competitors with nine Iowa starts.
• Nine East-West combination events at Iowa Speedway have produced nine different race winners and nine different pole winners.

Iowa Speedway
History
• Designed by NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace and patterned after Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
• First race was held in September 2006.
• First NASCAR-sanctioned race in May 2007 was a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race won by 17-year-old Joey Logano.
• Hosted first NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events in 2009.
• Facility purchased by NASCAR in November 2013.

Notebook
• This is the 10th K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa with one each from 2007-2011 and two in 2012-2013.
• The K&N Pro Series West had a standalone event at the track in September 2009.
• The Casey’s General Stores 150 will be telecast on a delayed basis by FOX Sports 1 on Saturday, May 24 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
• Michael Self, representing the K&N West, won the first visit a year ago; Anderson Bowen (K&N East) claimed the overall pole award.
• Kyle Busch and Cole Custer are the only drivers to win the East-West race at Iowa from the pole. Chase Elliott started the furthest back and won, coming from 15th on the grid in May 2012.
• The most cautions for an East-West combination race at Iowa is 11 in June 2013 while the fewest is four in May 2009. The most caution laps (68) came in the inaugural 2007 event and the fewest was 24 in May 2009 for an average of 42.67. The average number of cautions is 7.22.
• In the nine combination events, the lead has changed hands an average of 7.0 times with a high of 18 in the 200-lap May 2007 race.
• The average starting position for the winner is 5.44 while the pole sitter has an average finish of 6.67.
• Eric Holmes is the only driver to start all nine East-West combination events at Iowa.
• Three of the nine East-West combination races at Iowa were extended by a late-race caution for a green-white-checkered finish with the last coming in June 2013.
• Chevrolet has gone to Victory Lane in five East-West events at Iowa, while Toyota has three wins and Ford has one.

Iowa Data
Race: #6 of 16 – East; #4 of 14 - West (5/17/14)
Track Layout: .875-mile asphalt tri-oval
Race Length: 150 laps (131.25 miles)
Banking/Turns: 12-14 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 10 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 4 degrees

Combination Race Laps Completed
 Eddie MacDonald … 1,336
Greg Pursley … 1,310
Daryl Harr … 1,269
Eric Holmes … 1,092
David Mayhew … 1,067

Up To Speed In The East
• The 2014 season is the 28th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
• The 2014 schedule features 16 races at 14 different tracks across 10 states.
• Daniel Suárez opened the season with a narrow victory over Cameron Hayley, who won his first K&N East pole, at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.
• Suárez won at Daytona for his second straight series victory to become just the second driver in series history to win the first two races of the season. Sean Caisse in 2006 is the other. Ben Rhodes picked up his first series career pole award.
• Eddie MacDonald snapped a 53-race winless streak at Bristol. Ben Rhodes started from the pole and led 130 of 132 laps.
• Ben Rhodes started from the pole for the third consecutive race and picked up his first series win after leading a race-high 106 laps.
 

Fri. April 25, 2014 - 9:45 PM ET

Richmond International Raceway
Richmond, VA
,

Mechanical Problem Sidelines Eddie at Richmond

The rain-delayed NASCAR K&N Pro Series East’s Blue Ox 100 at Richmond International Raceway took the green flag on Saturday morning with Eddie MacDonald starting in the 11th position after a solid qualifying run on Friday morning. The 100 lap event originally scheduled for a 9:40 p.m. Friday start after the Nationwide race, moved to Saturday morning after a three hour rain delay caused the re-schedule. However, a leaking rear seal late in the race forced Eddie Mac to the pits with eleven laps remaining to post a 27th place finish.

“We definitely struggled in practice both Thursday and Friday morning so having the rear seal leak was the final icing on the cake,” said the frustrated driver after the race. “The car was tight in the corners from the time we unloaded and the tires would just chatter when I got back to the throttle. The nose would just wash up and I didn’t have any forward bite coming off the corners. We thought we improved when we ran a pretty good lap in qualifying but it just didn’t last in the race.”

The Grimm Construction/Multiple Sclerosis Society Chevy’s problems began during the first practice on the three-quarter of a mile oval when the car simply would not turn. The team made multiple changes in an attempt to help the car during the hour and a half practice but could not get the handle on the car. After a night of evaluation and a new shock package, the #71 took the track for the Friday morning practice with some limited improvement but far from where the car needed to be. More adjustments were made after practice in preparation for the 2:00 p.m. qualifying appeared to help significantly when Eddie Mac posted the 11th fasted time of 22.394 seconds, only .219 seconds behind the leader.

“We didn’t know for sure, but we thought we were on to something that would help us during the race but everything fell off after the first ten laps and began falling back, (19th by lap 20)” said the veteran driver. “Rollie and I decided we needed to pit on the first caution (lap 25) but the car remained tight in the center of the corners and very loose off. Every time I got back on the throttle, it kept shoving the nose. It is a lousy feeling not to be able to race for the win but things got worse when the rear end began smoking and the officials called us to the pits on lap 85 caution. (Eddie Mac was credited with running 89 laps when the field went back to green).We were done then. I feel bad for all the hard work everyone put into this car but we will work on the new car for Iowa and hope to get back on the right track. I want to thank Karla and Rob Grimm for everything as well as Waymart Building Center, Stilo, HMS Motorsports, Schroth Racing and Peterson Auto Body for their continued support.”

The sixth race for the K&N Pro Series will combine both the East and their West counterparts at Iowa Speedway in the Casey’s General Store 150 on Saturday, May 17.

Fox Sports 1 will televise the Blue Ox 100 on Friday, May 2 at 4:30.p.m.
 
RACE CENTRAL LIVE powered by Speed51.com:
K&N East at Richmond - HERE
For the Event Schedule, Entry List, Practices, Qualifying, Lap by Lap, & Results
 
K&N Pro Series East Greenville News & Notes: HERE

FAST FACTS
The Race: The Blue Ox 100 is the fifth event of the season for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. It’s the fifth of 14 oval track events and 16 races, overall, on the 2014 schedule. This is the series’ fourth standalone event at the Virginia track. The series participated in five NASCAR Nationwide Series events in 1988-92.

The Procedure: The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials while the remaining four starting spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 100 laps covering 75 miles.

The Track: Richmond International Raceway, known as “America’s Premier Short Track,” opened in October 1946. Lee Petty won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event in April 1953. The track operated as a half-mile oval through spring 1988 before being reconfigured to its current .75-mile, D-shape for the September 1988 date. Lights were added in 1991. The track is 60 feet wide with a 10-foot apron. There is 14 degrees of banking in the turns, eight degrees of banking on the 1,290-foot frontstretch and two degrees of banking on the backstretch that measures 860 feet.

The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the series at Richmond of 21.948 seconds (123.018 mph) is held by Max Gresham and established on April 28, 2011. The 100-lap race record of 55 minutes, 20 seconds (81.325 mph) also was set on April 28, 2011 by Darrell Wallace Jr.

RICHMOND RACE NOTES
New Next Class: The NASCAR Next class for the 2014 season will be announced on Friday, April 25 at Richmond International Raceway. A total of 21 drivers have been in the program that spotlights NASCAR’s emerging stars since its inception in 2011. All told, the group has accounted for 76 NASCAR touring series wins, 10 NASCAR national series wins and four touring series championships. Most of the new class will be on hand for Saturday’s Track Takeover on the backstretch at RIR. Of the 13 NASCAR Next drivers for the 2013 season, eight called the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East home. 

Been There; Done That: Of the drivers currently entered in the race only Ryan Gifford has gone to Victory Lane at Richmond. The Winchester, Tenn., driver won last year’s event.

Richmond Rookies: Eighteen of the 40 officially entered drivers in the Blue Ox 100 will be attempting to make their track debut in a K&N East machine. Only four drivers – Brandon Gdovic, Gifford, Eddie MacDonald and Daniel Suárez – on the entry list have made all three starts since the series returned to competition at the track in 2011.
 
K&N East Statistical Advance - Richmond: HERE
Analyzing The Blue Ox 100

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East rolls into Richmond (Va.) International Raceway on Friday, April 25 for the Blue Ox 100, the season’s fifth event. Below is a look at the performance of the series and selected drivers at Richmond, as well as, some other statistical trends:

Richmond Race Setup
• Ryan Gifford is the only past Richmond winner in the field and with last year’s victory, he joined Darrell Wallace Jr. (2011) as RIR winners out of the Rev Racing stable.
• Two of the three standalone series events at Richmond have been won from the front row with Brett Moffitt winning from the pole in 2012 and Wallace in 2011 from the second position.
• Virginia native Brandon Gdovic has a pair of top-five Richmond finishes in three starts including a runner-up finish last season.

Richmond International Raceway
History
• Originally known as the Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds, Richmond International Raceway held its first race in 1946 as a half-mile dirt track.
• The track name changed to Virginia State Fairgrounds in 1967.
• The track surface was changed from dirt to asphalt between races in 1968.
• The track name changed to Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway in 1969.
• The track was rebuilt as a three-quarter-mile D-shaped oval following the Feb. 21, 1988 race.

Notebook
• This is the series’ ninth visit to the historic Virginia oval.
• The 2011 Blue Ox 100 was the first stand-alone race at Richmond in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East history.
• Teams from the NKNPS East competed in combination with the NASCAR Nationwide Series in five races at Richmond from 1988-92.
• The Blue Ox 100 will be telecast on a delayed basis by FOX Sports 1 on Friday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m. ET.
• Last season, Ryan Gifford collected his first series win in the Richmond event.
• In the three K&N East standalone events at Richmond, two have been won from the front row. Brett Moffitt won from the pole position in 2012 while Darrell Wallace Jr. started from the second spot in 2011.
• The most cautions for a K&N East race at Richmond is eight in 2012 while the fewest is two in 2011for a three-race average of 4.67. The most caution laps (35) came in the 2012 race while the fewest were 20 in 2011 for an average of 29.33.
• In three races the lead has changed hands an average of 3.0 times with a high of four changes in 2012.
• The average starting position for the winner is 4.67 while the pole sitter has an average finish of 9.67.

Richmond Leaders (K&N East standalone events)
Laps Completed
Brandon Gdovic … 303
Ben Kennedy … 303
Eddie MacDonald … 303
Brett Moffitt … 303

Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction/National MS Society Chevrolet)
• Has seven wins, two poles, 32 top fives and 85 top 10s in 176 career series starts.
• Ranks fifth in points after four events.
• Finished 14th a season ago in Richmond.
• Has an average Richmond finish of 8.7 in three starts with a best finish of fourth in 2011.
• Snapped a 53-race winless streak with a victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 15.
• Has finished in the top 10 in points for six consecutive K&N East seasons.
 
ACT Opener at Lee USA Speedway - 4/13/14


Eddie MacDonald Wins the American Canadian Tour
Opener at Lee USA Speedway
Eddie MacDonald crossed another item off his racing “bucket list” winning the Governor’s Cup 150 at his home track in ACT’s 23rd season on Sunday. Driving the Freddie Peterson owned Late Model, Eddie Mac started on the pole, then faded back to preserve tires , and then taking the lead with five laps to go on the three-eighths mile oval owned by his parents, Judy and Red MacDonald. The win was the first in nine ACT attempts at Lee for the Rowley, Mass. Veteran.

“This win is just incredible,” said Eddie Mac in Victory Lane. “We wanted this one for a long time. We have had fast cars in the past but have been unable to get the win. I am so happy and thankful for Sheila and Freddie Peterson for all their support. I know this win means a lot to them and I am glad we could get it for them. Rollie (LaChance) and I have been lucky enough to win some big races including Loudon, the Oxford 250, and Bristol recently but this one has eluded us so now I can cross this off the bucket list. Of course, winning at Lee in front of my mother and father, family, and all our friends and fans is really something special.”

The Grimm Construction/Hancock Electric Motor Service Chevy started the 150 event on the pole thanks to a +5 rating after starting sixth in the second of four heat races and winning the 12 lap race. With a relatively green track due to morning rains and the introduction this year of American Racer tires, Eddie Mac drifted back to a comfortable position quickly saying, “The track was tricky after all the rain and we didn’t know a lot about the new tires so I decided to fall back a little to save the tires for the end. I got a little concerned that I waited too long when the leaders opened up a pretty good lead, so when Rollie said on the radio with about 50 laps to go it was “decision time”, I started to make my move. I was able to get to second with about ten to go but I didn’t know if I could catch (Ray) Parent. There was a lot of lapped traffic and that allowed me to catch him.”

The #17 Ma. ran in the fifth to ninth position for most of the first hundred laps before Eddie Mac began his charge through the field. On lap 100, Eddie Mac was a distant fifth but was able to take advantage of the leaders bunching up as they navigated through a lot of lapped cars. By lap 128, the veteran driver was on Joey Polewarczyk’s bumper challenging for second place. On lap 136, Eddie Mac took second trailing Parent by six car lengths and on his bumper on lap 143 after negotiating lapped cars. With five to go both #17’s raced side by side when Parent drove it in too hard in the second turn and spun his car on the backstretch to bring out the final caution. With four laps to go, Eddie Mac pulled away from second place finisher Joey Pole to take the checkered flag for the impressive victory.

“I thank the crew for giving me a great car and Rollie for the set-up,” said Eddie Mac. “The car was a lot of fun to drive and it is always a lot of fun to race with the ACT guys when our K&N schedule allows. We hope to race a number of ACT events this year and look forward to driving for Freddie again. I also want to thank Kenny Thompson and his son Scott from Hancock Electric for their support through the years and for all our fans that were here today."

The team plans to compete in the ACT race at Devil’s Bowl on May 4 and will race in the K&N Pro Series East race at Richmond International Raceway on Friday, April 25.
TOP TEN - NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR'S CUP 150 - LEE USA SPEEDWAY - 4-13-14
1. (1) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, MA, 150 Laps
2. (14) Joey Polewarczyk Jr., Hudson, NH, 150 Laps
3. (7) Wayne Helliwell Jr., Dover, NH, 150 Laps
4. (6) Alex Labbe, St-Albert, QC, 150 Laps
5. (3) Stephane Descoste, Oka, QC, 150 Laps		 6. (30) Jimmy Hebert, Williamstown, VT, 150 Laps
7. (24) Ben Ashline, Pittston, ME, 150 Laps
8. (2) Ben Lynch, Huntersville, NC, 150 Laps
9. (10) Bobby Therrien, Hinesburg, VT, 150 Laps
10. (19) Rowland Robinson Jr., Steuben, ME, 150 L.
Photos by
Richard Casey
Photos by
Rich Hayes
 

Sat. March 22, 2014 - 8:00 PM ET
Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150

Greenville-Pickens Speedway
Greenville, SC
 

Eddie Posts Top Ten Run at Greenville
One week after winning at Bristol Motor Speedway in the K&N Pro Series East’s third race of the season, Eddie Mac appeared headed for a seventh place finish in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at historic Greenville Pickens Speedway. Some rough driving after a lap 145 restart cost Eddie Mac three positions over the last five laps to push the Grimm Construction Chevy to a tenth place finish. Despite the run, both driver and owner (Rob Grimm) gained one more spot into fifth place in the point’s race after four starts.

“We didn’t have the car we had last week at Bristol but it was decent and I thought we could get up to fifth but the # 4 car (Pena) nearly wrecked us,” said an unhappy Eddie Mac. “When the green flag waved with only five laps to go, the #4 car lifted my rear end off the ground and drove me sideways all the way down the backstretch. I even waved to him out of my side window but he did it again in turn one. Everyone thought he was going to wreck me but I was able to get it straightened out but the damage was done. I guess he really wanted that all-important seventh finishing position,” said MacDonald sarcastically. (Pena finished ninth)

During the first practice the #71 posted a 16th fastest time but the team was not expecting a lot with Eddie Mac saying, “This place chews up tires and we didn’t use new ones for mock qualifying runs in either the first or the second practice like most of the teams. We felt we had a pretty good car so the strategy was to get what we could before the break near the halfway lap, put on four new tires, make necessary adjustments, and hopefully be in position near the end of the race to make a run for the win. Unfortunately I messed up in qualifying and drove it in too hard in the turn and with the track as flat as it is and rough there was no way to regain what we lost. We had to start further back than we expected.”

Starting 20th in the 26 car field, Eddie Mac was patient moving slowly through the field when the green flag waved. By lap 50 The Grimm Construction/Multiple Sclerosis Chevy ran in 16th position and into 15th on the lap 68 restart and drove into the top ten, ninth place, when the competition halfway flag flew on lap 76.

“We took on four tires, fuel, and made minor adjustments for the final half of the race and felt we had at least a top five car,” said Eddie Mac. “We knew it would be tough to get to the front but anything can happen so I knew I had to be patient with a purpose and take the spots when the opportunity came about. The track chews up the tires pretty quickly after 30 laps so I knew everyone would be slipping and sliding around near the end so we just had to be lucky and be in the right spot to take advantage. Toward the end it got pretty crazy out there. “

By lap 135 Eddie Mac rode in the seventh spot when the fifth caution flag flew on lap 138. With only five laps remaining when the final green flag waved on lap 145, Eddie Mac was poised to move forward only to be driven into by Pena with Eddie Mac saying, “We started on the inside and I figured some guys would be sliding up the track on worn tires so I stayed on the bottom ready to make a move. Unfortunately y the #4 wanted to drive through me and that’s when he almost wrecked us. Once wasn’t enough so he did it again on the next lap. We were hoping for a better finish but at least we held on to tenth and didn’t load up a wrecked racecar. We are now fifth in the point’s race and heading next to Richmond. I really want to thank Rob and Carla Grimm, the crew, sponsors, and all our fans for all the support.”

Grimm Construction is the main sponsor but the Grimm Racing Team also receives the support of Stilo, HMS Motorsports, Schroth Racing, Peterson Auto, Waymart Building Center and RB Fries. It proudly displays the banners for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, Racing with Jesus, and New Path Adventures.

The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 will be televised on Fox Sports 1 on Friday, March 28, at 11 a.m.

The fifth event on the NASCAR K&N Series East schedule will take the green flag on April 25 in the Blue Ox 100 at Richmond (Va.) International Speedway.
 
K&N Pro Series East Greenville News & Notes: HERE

FAST FACTS
The Race: The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 is the fourth event of the season for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. It’s the fourth of 14 oval track events and 16 races, overall, on the 2014 schedule. This is the series’ 12th visit to the historic South Carolina oval.

The Procedure: The starting field is 30 cars, including provisionals. The first 26 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials while the remaining four starting spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps covering 75 miles with a break at or near the conclusion of Lap 75.

The Track: Greenville Pickens Speedway is a half-mile asphalt oval with five degrees of banking in the turns. The facility opened in 1946 with a dirt racing surface and was paved in 1970. There were 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races held there from 1951-71. The track has also hosted two NASCAR Nationwide Series, four NASCAR Convertible Series and two NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour events.

The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the series at Greenville of 20.534 seconds (87.659 mph) is held by Brett Moffitt and established on April 2, 2011. The 150-lap race record of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 27 seconds (72.058 mph) was set on April 6, 2013 by Brandon Gdovic.

GREENVILLE RACE NOTES
Double ‘Em Up: The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 is the first of two visits to Greenville Pickens for the K&N East this season with the return trip scheduled for early September. It’s one of two tracks on the 2014 schedule that hosts two events with the other being Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.
 
K&N East Statistical Advance - Greenville: HERE
Analyzing The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway on Saturday, March 22 for the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150, the season’s fourth event. Below is a look at the performance of the series and selected drivers at Greenville, as well as, some other statistical trends:

Greenville Race Setup
• Sergio Peña is part of an impressive list of NASCAR K&N Pro Series East winners at Greenville that includes Austin Dillon, Dylan Kwasniewski, Joey Logano and Darrell Wallace Jr., who is the only multi-time series winner at the track.
• Eddie MacDonald, who broke a 53-race winless streak with a triumph on March 15 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, leads active drivers with 10 GPS starts and four top-five finishes.
• Track position is critical in short-track racing, and Greenville is no exception. The average starting position for the 11 race winners is 3.18.

Greenville Pickens Speedway
History
• Opened on July 4, 1946 as a dirt track. The race surface was converted to asphalt in April, 1970.
• Held 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 1951-71, including the first flag-to-flag televised event.
• David Pearson (1959) and Ralph Earnhardt (1965, 66) are among the famed drivers that have won championships at the track.
• Junior Miller won a pair of NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour races at Greenville in the 2006-07 seasons.

Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has seven wins, two poles, 32 top fives and 84 top 10s in 175 career series starts.
• Has four top fives and seven top 10s in 10 GPS starts to lead active drivers.
• Has an average finish of 9.2 at the South Carolina oval with a best finish of third in 2009.
• Snapped a 53-race winless streak with a victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 15.
• Has finished in the top 10 in points for six consecutive K&N East seasons.
 
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Sat. March 15, 2014 - 4:45 PM ET
Bristol Motor Speedway 
Brisol, TN
 
Eddie Takes the WIN at Bristol!
after a battle with Ben Rhodes and Gray Gaulding
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Huge Win for Eddie MacDonald
at Bristol Motor Speedway
“This win is fantastic and unbelievable for our team,” beamed Eddie Mac after outdueling Ben Rhodes in the green-white-checker finish in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East’s Pittlite 125 on the famed half-mile at Bristol. “Our team has worked so hard without much success of late so to get this win on this track is huge for our owner, crew, and fans. Winning at Bristol is a dream come true for any driver and I am humbled to win on such an historic track. It is easily one of the biggest wins of my career and I thank a lot of the people involved in this race team in helping me get this win.”

The Grimm Construction/Multiple Sclerosis Chevy showed promise during practice and eventually in qualifying. The #71 ranked 16th and 18th in the two practices (16.363sec-117.265 mph---16.334sec.-117.265mph) only two tenths of a second behind the leader on the fast, high-banked oval known as “The World’s Fastest Half-Mile.” On the second of two qualifying laps, Eddie Mac posted a 16.249sec-118.087mph run to start 13th on the grid.

Thirty-five cars lined up to take the green flag with a competition caution scheduled at or near lap 70. Teams would be allowed fuel and general maintenance on the cars but were not allowed to change tires. By lap six, the leaders were already lapping cars while the Grimm Chevy patiently moved from 13th to 10th by lap 19. Eddie Mac continued to save tires and pass when possible and restarted in the eighth position on the lap 38 restart and into sixth place on the lap 57 restart.

“The car was fast from the start and it was just a little tight so I was trying to conserve the tires and get to the half-way break to make a small adjustment,” said the Rowley, Mass. Veteran. On lap 64 Eddie Mac rode in the third spot and restarted in that position after the Competition Caution on lap 71 saying, “We made a half-turn wedge adjustment to loosen the car up just a bit and it was the right call. I was riding comfortably in third and then with fewer than 25 laps to go I felt I had a chance to win this thing.”

A caution flag on lap 110 really got the action going and Eddie Mac took advantage on the restart on lap 119 to move into second place. Another caution on lap 122 forced a green-white-checker finish with Ben Rhodes choosing the outside lane giving Eddie Mac the inside position. the veteran driver used the inside position to his advantage as tangled with Rhodes briefly before taking the lead for good over the final two laps then pulling away from second place Gray Gaulding with the race extending to lap 132 for the first GWC attempt.

“We had a really good car and I knew we were pretty fast,” said MacDonald in Victory Lane after the race. “I felt bad because I got into Ben Rhodes a little bit in turns 3&4. I got a little loose but I was just driving the wheels off it trying to get the win. It means a lot to get the win here. It’s unbelievable.”

When asked in the media center after the race to recount his day, the winning driver summed it up saying, “It was a little bit tight at the beginning and at the end it was perfect. I started pushing a little bit. With about 15-20 laps to go I got up there and it gave me the thought that on another restart we ought to be able to win this thing. I have had some big wins up North but I wanted to win one of these Southern races and it feels fantastic.”

“I thank Rob and Karla Grimm for all their support, the crew at the track and at the shop, and our sponsors, Grimm Construction, MS Society, Schroth Racing, Stilo, HMS Motorsports, Dirham Lumber and Racing with Jesus for their thoughts and prayers,” said Eddie Mac.

The Pittlite 125 will be televised on Fox Sport 1 on Saturday, March 22 at 11:30 a.m. The NASCAR K&N Series East will race again at Greenville Pickens Speedway on Saturday, March 22.
 
K&N Pro Series East Brisol News & Notes: HERE

FAST FACTS
The Race: The PittLite 125 is the third event of the season for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. It’s the third of 14 oval track events and 16 races, overall, on the 2014 schedule. This is the series’ third visit to iconic high-banked Tennessee oval.

The Procedure: The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials while the remaining four starting spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 125 laps covering 66.625 miles with a break at or near the conclusion of Lap 70.

The Track: Bristol Motor Speedway opened in 1961 and hosted its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on July 30, 1961 won by Jack Smith. The .533-mile concrete oval has 600-foot staightaways with five to nine degrees of banking on the frontstretch and four to eight degrees on the backstretch. The turns are progressively banked from 24 to 28 degrees. The racing surface is 40 feet wide.

The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the series at Bristol of 15.898 seconds (120.694 mph) is held by Michael McGuire and established on March 16, 2013. The 125-lap race record of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 6 seconds (65.402 mph) was set on March 17, 2012 by Nelson Piquet Jr. in a race that was extended to 127 laps.

BRISTOL RACE NOTES
A First For Triumphant Gladiator: The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East field rolls into “The Last Great Colosseum” with each driver hoping to add a Bristol victory to their résumé. The victor will be a first-time winner at the Tennessee track with the two previous series winners – Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012) and Dylan Kwasniewski (2013) not in the field. Eight drivers on the entry list, led by Eddie MacDonald with six, have K&N East wins to their credit while two others have K&N West victories on their list of racing accomplishments.
K&N East Statistical Advance - Bristol: HERE
Analyzing The PittLite 125

Bristol Motor Speedway
History
• Bristol Motor Speedway opened in 1961 and hosted its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on July 30 of that year. Jack Smith picked up the win and led 243 of the 500 laps.
• To date, the track has hosted 106 Sprint Cup Series races, 63 NASCAR Nationwide Series races and 16 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. Kyle Busch leads all drivers with 16 Bristol victories and Darrell Waltrip tops the charts with 12 Sprint Cup Series triumphs.
• The .533-mile concrete oval hosted its first NASCAR K&N Pro Series event in March 2012 with Nelson Piquet Jr. collecting the win.

Notebook
• This is the series’ third visit to the legendary Tennessee track.
• The PittLite 125 will be telecast on a delayed basis by FOX Sports 1 on Sat., March 22 at 11:30 a.m.
• For each of the two previous Bristol winners – Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012) and Dylan Kwasniewski (2013) – it was their first K&N East victory.
• The most cautions for a K&N East race at Bristol is eight (2013) while the fewest is six (2012). Consequently, the most caution laps were 37 in 2013 and fewest were 33 in 2012.
• In two races the lead has changed hands an average of 3.5 times with a high of five changes in 2012.
• The average starting position for the winner is 3.0 while the pole sitter has an average finish of 2.5.
• Bristol is one of four half-mile tracks on the series schedule joining 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway and New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.

Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles, 31 top fives and 83 top 10s in 174 career series starts.
• Finished seventh last season at Bristol after finishing 28th in 2012 track debut.
• Has finished in the top 10 in points for six consecutive K&N East seasons.
• Has made starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in addition to the K&N Pro Series West and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
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FansChoice.tv Brings Race Track To The Fans
Will carry select NASCAR K&N Pro Series events
Official Release - March 12, 2014

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Motorcycle races at Daytona. Sports cars at Watkins Glen. Modifieds at Langley.

For race fans, if they couldn’t make it to the track and the event didn’t have television coverage, there hasn’t been an option to watch all the action. Until now.

AMA Pro Racing, IMSA and NASCAR announced today the launch of FansChoice.tv, a ground-breaking collaborative digital platform that will live stream various races not covered by broadcast television, giving fans new opportunities to follow their favorite series. It also will enhance fans viewing experience at the track with the ability to watch multiple cameras on their tablet or mobile device, and access archived broadcasts on demand.

On-track coverage for AMA Pro Flat Track racing will begin on Thursday from the quarter-mile dirt oval at Daytona International Speedway (opening ceremonies begin at 7:30 p.m. ET). Coverage of DAYTONA 200 Week will continue with both AMA Pro Flat Track and AMA Pro Road Racing Divisions on Friday, and will conclude with the 73rd running of Daytona 200 for AMA Pro Road Racing set for Saturday at 1 p.m.

FansChoice.tv will be the official home for AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. The site also will provide coverage of selected IMSA and NASCAR’s touring and weekly series events.

“This is a great opportunity to bring all the action from the track right to the fans,” said Michael Gentry, chief operating officer for AMA Pro Racing. “FansChoice.tv is a revolutionary platform that gives race fans all over the world unprecedented access to watch their favorite series wherever we race. This is fantastic news for all of our AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track fans.”

FansChoice.tv is a free site that puts fans in the director’s chair, allowing them to choose from multiple viewpoints alongside Live Timing & Scoring data and audio commentary from the track’s PA system. During selected AMA Pro events, produced streaming coverage of race sessions will be offered as an added bonus to the fans.

IMSA coverage will include streaming of its developmental and single-make series, as well as selected practice and qualifying sessions for the two IMSA national sports car series, TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge that are part of the recently-announced five-year agreement with Fox Sports.

“FansChoice.tv will be a good additional resource, and possibly home, for some of our series,” said David Pettit, IMSA vice president, marketing.  “We’re looking forward to exploring the platform this week during our Sebring event and ultimately this site will serve as a diverse home for motorsports.”

Several NASCAR Whelen All-American Series tracks already have committed to live streaming their weekly events, including Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., Lake County Speedway in Painesville, Ohio, and Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash. Fans will have the ability to select from multiple cameras positioned around the tracks during these events.

“This really is going to be ‘Fan’s Choice,’” said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series. “The partnership between AMA Pro, IMSA and NASCAR means the fans will have access to more racing than ever before. They will be able to choose from a variety of series and tracks, and be able to follow their favorite drivers virtually wherever they race.”

FansChoice.tv will also carry select NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Whelen and Whelen Southern Modified Tour races, as well as off-track events such as the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards and NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Series Awards in December.

More tracks and events are expected to be announced at a later date.
 
Eddie Opens K&N Pro Series East Season in Florida
The K&N Pro Series East season began as part of Daytona Speedweeks with the New Smyrna 150 Presented by Jegs on Sunday night and the UNOH Battle at the Beach on the back Superstretch at Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for Eddie MacDonald and the Grimm Racing Team, the results of a winter of hard work in the shop were not what the team expected. The #71 Grimm Construction Chevy finished 17th at New Smyrna and posted a 19th place finish at Daytona.

With a 22nd starting position on the high banked, half-mile oval for the New Smyrna 150, Eddie Mac began moving through the field when the green flag waved and was riding in the 15th position by lap 31 but handling became an issue with MacDonald saying, "The car was good early and I was able to move through the field early without driving it too hard but then it started getting loose everywhere and pretty soon it was loose in, tight in the center, and loose off the turns. We tried adjustments at the halfway break (after the lap 67 caution) but we kept losing positions."

After falling back to 20th by lap 125, Eddie Mac brought the #71 to pit road for a wedge adjustment during the lap 138 caution saying, "We hoped for a better finish and with the wedge adjustment, I was able to get back a few spots to finish 17th but it definitely was not the finish we had hoped for. It was disappointing for everyone but we had to put it behind us quickly to get the car ready for the race at Daytona on Tuesday."

The UNOH Battle at the Beach proved to be another frustrating night for the Grimm Racing Team to finish 19th after losing the brakes on lap 127. Eddie Mac started 22nd after qualifying on the .37 mile track fabricated on the backstretch to finish 19th and two laps down. MacDonald raced to the eighth position by the lap 73 restart saying, "Restarts worked out great for us even starting on the outside because a lot of cars on the inside were getting jammed up on the restart. The car wasn't great but I was able to drive it and turn in the tight corners. But then we got caught up in one of the restarts (lap100) and lost live spots but I thought we could get them back but then I lost the brakes (lap 127). I hit the brakes once and the pedal was soft but then the next time it went right to the floor. I tried pumping the pedal but it was like pumping air in a cylinder."

MacDonald limped the car around hoping for a caution to come to the pits saying, "As soon as I accelerated coming out of the turn I had to take my foot off the gas to slow it for the next corner. We finally got a caution (lap 140) and I told the guys they may have to help me stop because the brakes were gone completely. The reservoir was empty and
even with the guys filling it, the pedal hardly came back. I came back in again to add more but by then we were two laps down. We had such big hopes for good runs down here so having these finishes is a terrible feeling. I have to thank everyone who worked so hard both in the shop and at the tracks."

The K & N Pro Series East will fire up the engines on March 15th at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway in the Pitt Lite 150. Fox Sports 1 will air the New Smyrna 150 on February 22nd, at 9:00am.
-
Sun. Feb 16th - 7:30 PM
New Smyra Beach, FL
New Smyrna Speedway

K&N Pro Series East News & Notes: HERE
NEW SYMRNA 150 PRESENTED BY JEGS
FAST FACTS

The Race: The New Smyrna 150 presented by JEGS opens the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship season. It is the first of 14 oval track events and 16 races overall on the schedule. This is the series’ first visit to the Florida oval.

The Procedure: The starting field is 28 cars, including provisionals. The first 24 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials while the remaining four starting spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps covering 72 miles with a break at or near the conclusion of Lap 75.

The Track: New Smyrna Speedway opened in 1964 and has a grandstand capacity of 8,000. The .48-mile banked oval has 600-foot staightaways, 720-foot turns with 23 degrees of banking. The track was repaved in January 2007. Additionally, it is part of the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The Records: Qualifying and race records will be established at the event.
 

K&N East Statistical Advance - New Smyrna: HERE
New Smyrna Race Setup
• Of the entered drivers as of Feb. 11, six have taken a K&N East car to Victory Lane. Veteran Eddie MacDonald tops the list with six followed by Sergio Peña with three. Brandon Gdovic, Ryan Gifford, Austin Hill and Daniel Suárez have one each.
• Sixteen drivers entered into the New Smyrna 150 presented by JEGS as of Feb. 11 are Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders. Eight of that group will attempt to make their series debut.

Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles, 31 top fives and 83 top 10s in 172 career series starts.
• Has finished in the top 10 in points for six consecutive K&N East seasons.
• Season-best finish in 2013 was a runner-up effort at the August Iowa date.
• Has made starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in addition to the K&N Pro Series West and NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East At New Smyrna Speedway
• This is the series’ first visit to the Florida oval.
• The New Smyrna 150 will be telecast on FOX Sports 1 at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 22.
• This is the series’ 10th race in Florida – eight of those came between 1988 and 1997 at Daytona which were combination races with the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
• New Smyrna is one of four half-mile tracks on the series schedule this season with Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., and Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway being the others.
• This is the only event scheduled on a Sunday this season.
 
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Tues. Feb 18th - 8:45 PM

 Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Int'l Speedway
K&N Pro Series East News & Notes: HERE
UNOH BATTLE AT THE BEACH
 

FAST FACTS

The Race: The UNOH Battle At The Beach is the second race of the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship season. It is the second of 14 oval track events and 16 races overall on the schedule. This is the series’ first championship race at the Florida track after being part of a non-points event a year ago.

The Procedure: The starting field is 26 cars, including provisionals. The first 22 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials while the remaining four starting spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 150 laps covering 55.5 miles without a halfway break.

The Track: The .37-mile short-track oval is situated on the backstretch of the 2.5-mile tri-oval at Daytona International Speedway. This newest addition to the menu at “The World Center of Racing” was made possible following the 2010 resurfacing project. The track is virtually flat and has a paperclip-like shape. The track has been altered slightly from its .4-mile configuration a year ago. The changes will result in a different racing line and entrance angle to the turns.

The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will be established in this event. Last season’s non-championship event utilized heat races to set the starting lineup. The official race record also will be set this year. The 150-lap K&N Pro Series event last February took 1 hour, 22 minutes, 15 seconds for an average speed of 45.503 mph.
 

Live Broadcast For UNOH Battle At The Beach:
FOX Sports 2, MRN and SiriusXM To Carry Race Coverage

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Last year’s 2013 UNOH Battle At The Beach may have been the most talked about short-track event of the season. There was plenty of action and drama as Daytona International Speedway hosted the inaugural event on its backstretch.

The UNOH Battle At The Beach is back at “The World Center of Racing” on Tuesday, Feb. 18 and again will air live on television and radio. FOX Sports 2 will broadcast live beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Motor Racing Network (MRN) will go on the air at 6:45 p.m. with its pre-show, and the broadcast will be streamed live at MRN.com and simulcast by SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90.

The evening kicks off with the special non-points combination event for the NASCAR Whelen Modified and Whelen Southern Modified Tours. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points race follows at approximately 8:45 p.m. Both races will be 150 laps on the .37-mile oval.

Last year, popular veteran Steve Park used a little “chrome horn” to pass nine-time champion Mike Stefanik for the modified victory, while Cameron Hayley picked up his first NASCAR win in the K&N Pro Series race.

In addition to the live broadcast, the Whelen Modified race re-airs the same day, at 11 p.m., on FOX Sports 1. The K&N Pro Series East race re-airs on FOX Sports 1 on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 5:30 p.m., following live NASCAR Sprint Cup practice from Daytona (4-5:30 p.m.) and leading into live NASCAR Sprint Cup practice beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season starts the season Sunday, Feb. 16 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway. FOX Sports 1 airs the race in a one-hour format on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 9 a.m., leading into Daytona 500 Final Practice at 10 a.m.
 
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Eddie Mac and Grimm Racing Prepare for
K&N Pro Series East Season Openers
In 2007 Waymart, Pa. businessman Rob Grimm joined the NASCAR fraternity sponsoring driver Eddie MacDonald and crew chief Rollie LaChance for the final three races of the K&N season. Grimm liked what he saw and a partnership evolved among the three to form Grimm Racing. With Rob’s Grimm Construction based in Waymart, Pa. the main sponsor, Grimm Racing has taken the green flag for every K&N PSE race since 2008. When the green flag flies again to open the season in the New Smyrna 150 presented by Jegs in Florida on Sunday, February 16 and then again at UNOH’s The Battle at the Beach on the Surperstretch at Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday, February 18, the Grimm Racing Team will be there for its seventh full season together.

The early start to the season put the crew in race mode very quickly with Eddie Mac saying, “We have been very busy since NASCAR announced the schedule trying to get both of our new cars ready but we are in good shape and look forward to racing at New Smyrna and Daytona. We raced a Late Model at New Smyrna a couple of years ago so we are familiar with the track but we hope the get a lot of knowledge out of the practice there on Saturday. Everyone here is anxious to get racing again and then two days later we race at Daytona. It was not a point’s race there last year so we didn’t go, so it will be a new learning experience for us. We hope to race the same car in both races so we have our fingers crossed.”

Rob Grimm has 77 starts to his credit as team owner with three huge wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway along with 18 top fives. “We probably would not be racing if not for Rob,” said Eddie. “Karla, Rob, and their family have been great to us. We are not just part of the race team but we are also part of their family. “Grimm Nation” has been with us every step of the way and our crew appreciates all the support. Rob gives us everything to be competitive on the track even though the series has changed greatly since we joined together in 2007. We have been very lucky to have the Grimm family supporting us.”

The crew is in the final stages in preparing the #71 that was wrecked in a hard crash in the September race at NHMS while leading the race with Eddie saying, “That hit destroyed the front end and a new clip replaced all the damage but we essentially had to build a new car in the Newburyport shop. A lot of people are responsible for a lot of hard work to get this car ready for Florida. As soon as we get this one finished, we have to do it all over again with a brand new car this season. We are very excited with the new cars and expect to be very competitive and challenge for the championship this season. That is of course, if everything goes according to plan and we get the all-important luck on our side.”

Grimm Construction will again be the main sponsor, along with Waymart Building Center, Stilo, HMS Motorsports, Schroth Racing, and Racing With Jesus. The National Multiple Sclerosis emblem will again occupy the rear quarter panels of all #71 racecars in support of Karla and Rob’s daughter Megan Spaulding who was diagnosed with the disease. New Path Adventures, a ministry for troubled youth based in Texas, will be affixed to the rear of the car.

“This has been a lot of work to get ready so quickly and Rollie and I thank everyone for all the help”, said a thankful Eddie. “I get to have the fun racing around the track but if it were not for Rob and all the people working hard, it would not be possible. We are looking for great runs to kick off the season and the continued support of all our fans.”
Photos by
Richard Casey 
Photos by
Norm Marx 
 
2014 K&N Pro East Schedule Announced
Florida Swing Kicks Off 16-Race Slate

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season kicks off with a Florida doubleheader and covers a combination of historic short tracks, NASCAR national series combination events and a pair of road courses.

The East portion of NASCAR’s top step on its developmental ladder will cover 16 events and culminate with the finale at the “Monster Mile” at Dover International Speedway.

New additions to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule include the season-opener at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway – followed by the return to Daytona International Speedway for the UNOH Battle At The Beach – as  well as running the road course at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend.

“The 2014 schedule offers fans a great opportunity to catch the sport’s rising stars at their local short track as well as a number of national series weekends,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president, regional and touring series. “The calendar provides a challenging variety of tracks that will test the competitors and help prepare them to take the next step in NASCAR’s progression process.”

The 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule rundown:

New Smyrna Speedway – The season kicks off Feb. 16 as part of the half-mile track’s 48th annual World Series of Asphalt Racing. It will be the series inaugural visit to the northeast Florida track.

Daytona International Speedway – The series will return to the “World Center of Racing” on Feb. 18 for the second UNOH Battle At The Beach. The championship points event will be run on the short-course constructed on the track’s Superstretch.

Bristol Motor Speedway – The World’s Fastest Half Mile again hosts the series with the DRIVE4COPD 125 on March 15 as part of its Food City 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend.

Greenville Pickens Speedway – The historic half-mile again will host two events – the first on March 22 and the return date on Sept. 6 as the penultimate race on the schedule.

Richmond International Raceway – The fast Virginia oval will bring back the East on April 25 as part of the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend.

Iowa Speedway – For the eighth consecutive year, the Newton, Iowa, track will host the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West combination events. The first clash will be May 17 and the two series will again meet for bragging rights on Aug. 1. Both will be part of the NASCAR Nationwide Series weekends.

Bowman Gray Stadium – The East will make its annual visit to the “Madhouse” on May 31 to take on the tight quarter-mile track.

Five Flags Speedway – The series will return to Florida on June 13 for a mid-summer date as the Pensacola track celebrates its 60th season.

Langley Speedway – The Hampton, Va., short-track, which always provides a challenging test for drivers, will host the series on June 21.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway – The “Magic Mile” has been a long-time series staple and that will continue with a July 11 race.

Columbus Motor Speedway – The tricky half-mile brings the series back to Ohio’s capital city on July 19.

Watkins Glen International – The road course in upstate New York has featured some exciting finishes on its twists and turns and will be the first of two road courses on the schedule on Aug. 8.

Virginia International Raceway – After an inaugural NASCAR in event in 2013 left fans and competitors clamoring for more, VIR will welcome back the series on Aug. 16.

Dover International Speedway – The new NASCAR K&N East champion will be crowned at the “Monster Mile” on Sept. 26 with the Drive Sober 150 presented by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety as part of the track’s AAA 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series fall weekend.
2014 SCHEDULE
  Date Track Location Length
1 Sun. 
2/16
New Smyrna Speedway		 New Smyra Beach, FL .500
2 Tues.
2/18
Daytona International Speedway		 Daytona Beach, FL .400
3 Sat. 
3/15

Bristol Motor Speedway 		 Bristol, TN  .533 
4 Sat.
3/22
Greenville-Pickens Speedway		 Greenville, SC .500
5 Fri.
4/25


Richmond International Raceway

Richmond, VA .750
6 Sat.
5/17
Iowa Speedway		 Newton IA

Combination Race with
K&N Pro Series West		 .875
7 Sat.
5/31


Bowman Gray Stadium

 Winston-Salem, NC .250
8 Fri.
6/13
Five Flags Speedway		 Pensacola, FL .500
9 Sat.
6/21


Langley Speedway

 Hampton, VA .400
10 Fri.
7/11
New Hampshire Motor Speedway		 Loudon, NH 1.058
11 Sat.
7/19


Columbus Motor Speedway

 Columbus, OH .333
12 Fri.
8/1
Iowa Speedway		 Newton IA

 Combination Race with
K&N Pro Series West		 .875
13 Fri.
8/8
Watkins Glen International		 Watkins Glen, NY  2.45
Road
Course
14 Sat.
8/16
Virginia International Raceway		 Alton, VA 2.25
Road
Course
15 Sat.
9/6
Greenville-Pickens Speedway		 Greenville, SC .500
16 Fri.
 9/26
Dover International Speedway		 Dover, DE 1.00

>> Previous Race Results HERE <<

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