Daniel Suarez Wins First NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race at Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio
- Jul 15, 2013
Suarez, a 21-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico, took the lead from Kwasniewski on lap 65 and was out front for the remainder of the NAPA 150.
"It's amazing. I cannot explain this feeling," said Suarez, driver of the No. 6 Toyota for Rev Racing. "I worked really hard for this moment. I'm really happy for this result. I am really happy too for all these guys. They are working really hard for this result. Just try to keep this momentum going." Suarez also won the NASCAR Toyota Series race in Monterrey, Mexico on June 30. His win at Columbus Motor Speedway was the first in 24 starts in the K&N Pro Series East. He became the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race since Rogelio Lopez at Nashville in 2007. Conley, who won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Columbus Motor Speedway last year, was second, his third top-five finish in eight races.
"Daniel was super fast," Conley said. "May have been able to get to him, but Dylan had such a good restart, he was right on his butt and I was blocked out." Kwasniewski won the pole and led the first 64 laps of the race. Suarez worked his way from the seventh starting spot to challenge Kwasniewski for the lead. There were only three caution periods in the race for 17 laps.
"(Suarez) was so good on the long runs," Conley said. "Who would have thought Columbus would be a long-run race. And it was. We weren't bad. We had a second or third place car." Conley dominated the race at Columbus Motor Speedway last year. He started on the front row and took the lead on the first lap. He led every lap and won the first race of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East career. This time around, he ran with the leaders, but had trouble matching Suarez. "Not the same story as last year, but totally new team, totally new shop," Conley said. "This year, we've struggled. This was our highest finish we've had all year. We started from zero and now we're getting second places halfway into the year. It's not where we were last year, but from where we were at early, this feels like a win for us. If it wasn't for the guys, we wouldn't be here." With his third-place finish, Kwasniewski padded his lead in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings. He is 23 points ahead of Brett Moffitt, who finished seventh at Columbus Motor Speedway. Ben Kennedy, who was ninth at Columbus, is 30 points behind Kwasniewski after eight races. "We had a good car. It was close," Kwasniewski said. "I was just trying to conserve my stuff as long as I could. I knew it was just a matter of time before we got passed by Suarez." Kwasniewski won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship in 2012. The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series race is at Iowa Speedway on August 2. It will be the second race for the drivers and teams from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West. |
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| Related K&N News Articles about Columbus Motor Speedway and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East: Cale Conley Wins First NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race at Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio; NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Racer Dylan Kwasniewski Wins at Langley Speedway in Virginia; Darrell Wallace Jr. Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race at Columbus Motor Speedway; NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Racer Ben Kennedy Wins NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 at Bowman Gray Stadium; Driver Ryan Gifford Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race Blue Ox 100 at Richmond International Raceway |
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