Statistical Advance: Analyzing Graham Tire 150 East-West Combo At Iowa Speedway

Iowa's own Brett Moffitt won at his home track last year and will look to become the event's first multi-time victor this week. Getty Images for NASCAR

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and NASCAR K&N Pro Series West travel to Iowa Speedway for an East-West Combination race on Saturday, May 19. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers:

EAST DRIVERS
Ryan Blaney (No. 10 SealWrap/Heavy Duty Toyota)
• Finished 17th in only E-W combination start, last year
• Three top 10s in four career NKNPS East starts
• Won NKNPS West 2011 finale at Phoenix

Chase Elliott (No. 9 Aaron’s/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet)
• Finished 11th in only E-W combination start, last year
• 15 career series starts
• Leads NKNPS East championship standings

Ryan Gifford (No. 2 Universal Technical Institute/NTI Toyota)
• One top 10 in two E-W combination races at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of sixth in 2011
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 15.0
• One career series pole
• 29 career series starts

Ben Kennedy (No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing Chevrolet)
• Finished 22nd in only E-W combination start, last year
• 16 career series starts
• Second in NKNPS East championship standings

Corey LaJoie (No. 07 Sims Metal Management Ford)
• One top five in two E-W combination races at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of fourth in 2010
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 16.0
• One career series pole in 22 starts

Eddie MacDonald (No. 7 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• One top five, two 10s in four E-W combination races at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of third in 2011
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 16.25
• Six career series wins
• Two career series poles
• 146 career series starts

Brett Moffitt (No. 11 Kobe Toyopet Toyota)
• One win, two top 10s in three E-W races at Iowa
• Win was in 2011
• Has led 192 laps in E-W competition at Iowa
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 8.0
• Eight career series wins, one this year
• Six of eight wins have come at tracks at which NASCAR’s national series compete
• Five career series poles, one this year
• 36 career series starts

Travis Pastrana (No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota)
• Finished 33rd in only E-W combination start, last year
• Six career series starts with a best finish of 12th in 2012 opener at Bristol
• Will also compete in NASCAR Nationwide Series race

Sergio Peña (No. 1 NASCAR Technical Institute/UTI Toyota)
• Best finish of 20th overall (2010) in two E-W starts at Iowa
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 24.5
• Three career series wins
• 25 career series starts

Daniel Suárez (No. 14 Telcel/Finsa/Roca Acero Toyota)
• Finished 25th in only E-W combination start, last year
• Four top 10s in 10 career series starts
• Recorded first NASCAR Toyota Series win in his native Mexico on May 12

Darrell Wallace Jr. (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
• One top five, two top 10s in two E-W starts at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of third in 2010
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 6.0
• Six career series wins, one this year
• Three career series poles
• 25 career series starts
• Will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Iowa

WEST DRIVERS
Jonathon Gomez (No. 22 Century Boatland Chevrolet)
• One top 10 in three E-W combination races at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of eighth in 2010
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 22.66
• Best career series finish of second
• 31 career series starts

Daryl Harr (No. 41 iWorld Connect Chevrolet)
• Best finish of 16th overall (2010) in five E-W starts at Iowa
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 25.8
• Best career series finish of fifth, four times
• 95 career series starts

Eric Holmes (No. 20 NAPA Toyota)
• One top 10 in five E-W starts at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of 10th in 2010
• Average overall E-W finish at Iowa of 25.0
• 16 career series wins
• 13 career series poles
• 79 career series starts

Dylan Kwasniewski (No. 03 Rockstar/Royal Purple Ford)
• Finished 10th overall in only E-W start at Iowa
• Leads NKNPS West championship standings
• Three career series wins, one this year
• Three career series poles, one this year
• 17 career series starts

David Mayhew (No. 17 MMI Chevrolet)
• Three top fives in five E-W starts at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of third in 2009
• Won overall Coors Light Pole Award in 2010
• Led 86 laps in E-W competition at Iowa, all in 2010
• Average finish in E-W event of 13.6
• Four career series wins, one this year
• Seven career series poles, one this year
• 57 career series starts

Greg Pursley (No. 26 Gene Price Mtrspts Ford)
• One top five in four E-W starts at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of fourth in 2011
• Average finish in E-W events of 23.5
• 10 career series wins, one this year
• 12 career series poles, one this year
• 59 career series starts

Brett Thompson (No. 61 RTT Chevrolet)
• Three top 10s in five E-W starts at Iowa
• Best overall E-W finish of seventh on three occasions (2007, 2009, 2011)
• Average finish in E-W event of 18.4
• One career series win
• One career series pole
• 115 career series starts

NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES EAST-WEST COMBINATION RACE AT IOWA SPEEDWAY
• There have been five previous East-West combination races at Iowa Speedway – one each year from 2007-2011. In addition, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West visited the .875-mile track in Newton, Iowa for a stand-alone series race in 2009.
• Iowa Speedway is located about 30 miles east of Des Moines. It was designed by NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Rusty Wallace. The track opened in September of 2006.
• The five East-West combination events have resulted in five different winners – Joey Logano (2007), Brian Ickler (2008), Kyle Busch (2009), Max Gresham (2010) and Brett Moffitt (2011).
• The five events have also produced five different Coors Light Pole winners – Kevin Harvick (2007), Austin Dillon (2008), Kyle Busch (2009), David Mayhew (2010) and Matt DiBenedetto (2011).
• Kyle Busch was the only driver to win the E-W race at Iowa from the pole. Ickler started the furthest back and won, coming from seventh on the grid.
• Mayhew has the most top-five finishes in E-W action at Iowa, with three.
• Mayhew, Jesus Hernandez and Brett Thompson have the most top 10 finishes in the Iowa combination races, with three each.
• With an average of 5.33, Hernandez has the best average finish among drivers with at least three starts in E-W competition at Iowa.
• Moffitt has led the most laps of competition in E-W action at Iowa, leading the way for 192 circuits.
• Only four drivers competed in all five E-W combination races at Iowa –Mayhew, Thompson, Daryl Harr and Eric Holmes.
• The 2010 event was the only East-West combination race at Iowa to be extended by a late-race caution for a green-white-checkered finish.
• Toyota has gone to Victory Lane in three E-W events, while Chevrolet is credited with two wins.
• 123 different drivers have competed in the five E-W combination events at Iowa.

Iowa Speedway Data
Race: (5/19/12)
East – #4 of 14
West - #5 of 15
Track Layout: .875-mile, paved oval
Banking: 10 degrees in the tri-oval, 4 degrees on the backstretch, 12-14 degrees in the turns
Race Length: 150 laps (131.25 miles)

Overall Records
1-lap Qualifying: Kyle Busch, 23.250 seconds, 135.484 mph, May 17, 2009
150-lap Race: To be established at this distance

Overall Comb. Race Winners at Iowa
Kyle Busch ... 1
Max Gresham ... 1
Brian Ickler ... 1
Joey Logano ... 1
Brett Moffitt ... 1

Overall Comb. Pole Winners at Iowa
Kyle Busch ... 1
Matt DiBenedetto ... 1
Austin Dillon ... 1
Kevin Harvick ... 1
David Mayhew ... 1