Brett Moffitt Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series Race at Iowa Speedway in Newton
- May 23, 2011
Moffitt, who grew up in nearby Grimes, Iowa, led a race-high 138 laps and won the Pork "Be Inspired" 175 presented by Tompkins Industries, on Saturday night. The race pits drivers from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West. The top-three drivers in the race were from the East Series. Greg Pursley was the highest finishing driver from the West Series. He was fourth overall and credited with a win in the West Series standings. Moffitt nearly won the K&N Pro Series race at Iowa Speedway last year. He was in the lead late in the race, but crashed and fell out of contention. He was out front on Saturday night when Jonathan Gomez crashed with 30 laps to go in the race. The crash brought out a caution and Moffitt said he had a bit of déjà vu.
"This year, our car was definitely a lot better than when that caution came out last year," said Moffitt, the 18-year-old driver for Michael Waltrip Racing. "There was definitely less of a concern, but at the same time, there's always that concern there." Moffitt said after the race he told his crew over the radio that he wished the race would have ended without caution. "That's not how it happened, but it still worked out perfect for us," Moffitt said. "Everything's good." It was Moffitt's second win of the season and the sixth of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series career. He won the season opener at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. "It hasn't sunk in yet that I even won here," Moffitt said. "It's amazing having it be in front of my hometown crowds. I've been so close so many times, but they got taken away, so this is amazing." Max Greshmam finished second followed by Eddie MacDonald in third. It was the third top-five finish for Gresham in four K&N Pro Series races. He is in fourth place in the East Series standings. "I'm happy to come home second," said Gresham. "It was a good points night." It was MacDonald's first top-five finish of the season. "We've been struggling for the first few races, so it was great to have a solid top finish," MacDonald said. "Hopefully the momentum will go for the rest of the season." Moffitt took over the lead in the East Series standings. He is one point ahead of Darrell Wallace Jr. Coleman Pressley is third in the East Series standings and 31 points behind Moffitt. Pursley extended his lead in the West Series standings to 114 points over Moses Smith. Smith finished 36th in the 40-car field at Iowa Speedway. Matt DiBenedetto won the pole and led 21 of the first 22 laps of the race. He regained the lead on lap 85 and held it for three laps before Moffitt took over. Moffitt swapped the lead with Chad Boat and Benny Gordon until lap 106. Moffitt led the final 69 laps of the race. "We were just saving our tires as much as possible," Moffitt said. "There were a couple of guys who didn't take tires when we did. We definitely needed to save our tires. I figured just move up there and the car was perfect up there. Just riding around we were blazing fast. It was as effortlessly as it gets up there." The Pork "Be Inspired" 175 will be broadcast on SPEED on June 2 at 6 p.m. ET. The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race is at Bowman Grey Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., on June 4. The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race is at the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on June 11. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
