Flat Tire Win by Greg Pursley at NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Race in Utah
- Sep 16, 2010
The flat tire was only one of the obstacles Pursley had to overcome en route to his first win of the season. He had to serve a drive-through penalty when his crew did not remove his catch can from his gas tank during the first round of pit stops. "We went all the way to the back and motored all the way to the front. We didn't give up," said Pursley, driver of the No. 26 Ford for Gene Price Motorsports. "It's such a fun race course. We love coming out to Miller Motorsports Park. It's a great race track. I'm just very happy to be where I am."
Pursley won the second race of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West career. He won the season opener at Thunder Hill Raceway in Texas in 2009. Pursley took the lead in the race at Miller Motorsports Park on the first lap and held it for 10 laps. Patrick Long, who won the pole and the race at Miller Motorsports Park last year, took the lead for two laps before Pursley regained it on lap 13. David Mayhew, Moses Smith and Daryl Harr swapped spaces for the lead until lap 19 when Long moved into first for seven laps. "We got the lead early, on the first lap, and tried to stay in front of Patrick as long as I could," Pursley said. "We came in and pitted. Unfortunately, the catch can got stuck in. So, we had to come back in the next lap and serve our penalty for that." Pursley passed Long for the lead on lap 34 of the 36-lap race and held on for the final two laps. "The car was unbelievably awesome," Pursley said. "We got a penalty and we didn't get down. We fought back and we were going." Pursley has won two poles and has posted three top-five finishes in West Series races this year. He won the pole and led the first 18 laps of the race at Montana Raceway Park before falling back. He won the pole and led the first 41 laps of the race at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. A flat tire sent him into the back stretch wall, ending his night at Irwindale. "We've been so close so many times this year," Pursley said. "We've had terrible luck this year and finally it turned around for us. I've really wanted to win a road course since I've been in this series and it finally happened. I just can't tell you how happy I am." Eric Curran, making his second career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West start, finished second. "It's fun to be here," Curran said. "It was a pretty wild race, coming from the back. I love these races. I just love the competition. I love the bumping and banging here and there. It's much different than the normal road racing that I do in the Grand Am Series." Paulie Harraka finished third and posted his sixth top-five finish in 10 races this season. "Frustrating. We've been top three the last four road course races," Harraka said. "Haven't won one, so a little frustrated, but all in all and good points day." Harraka is in third place in the West Series standings after 10 races. He is 37 points behind Mayhew for second place and 178 points behind Eric Holmes, the leader in the West Series standings. Holmes finished sixth in the race at Miller Motorsports Park. Pursley is seventh in the West Series standings with two races remaining. The next race is at All American Speedway at Roseville on Oct. 16. 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. |
