Michael Self Captures First Win With Brainerd Victory in K&N Pro Series West

Michael Self celebrates his first career series win at Brainerd International Raceway. Getty Images for NASCAR

Chases Down Kwasniewski To Take Lead In Closing Laps

Michael Self scored his first career win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West with a victory in the Brainerd 125 at Brainerd International Raceway on Saturday.

The 21-year-old from Park City, Utah chased down Dylan Kwasniewski in the closing stages of the inaugural series race on the 2.5-mile road course and took the lead coming to the white flag. Kwasniewski, who had dominated the competition, was battling transmission issues as the race wound down.

Self had run in third behind teammates Kwasniewski and Greg Pursley for most of the race. He picked off Pursley with 10 laps to go and then overcame more than a three-second deficit to get to the lead. He made the move past Kwasniewski entering Turn 9 on the 48th lap and pulled away in the No. 21 Rockwell/Golden Gate Meat/RCR Chevrolet to win by a margin of 4.859 seconds.

Despite the mechanical problems, Kwasniewski held on to finish second. Pursley was third, with Derek Thorn fourth and David Mayhew fifth. Completing the top 10 were Eric Holmes, Jonathon Gomez, Austin Dyne, Dylan Hutchison and Carl Harr.

With his win, Self locked up a spot in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at the UNOH Battle At The Beach at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway next February during Speedweeks.

Kwasniewski, meanwhile, was able to extend his lead by two points in the championship standings. The 16-year-old from Las Vegas, who led a race high 32 laps on Saturday, has 263 points over Pursley with 246. Mayhew is third, followed by Thorn and three-time series champion Holmes. Self, who had a previous best finish of fourth in 33 series starts, moved from eighth to sixth in the standings. He is followed by Gomez, Cameron Hayley, Daryl Harr and Dyne.

The Brainerd race featured eight lead changes among five drivers. It was slowed by just one caution.

This was the sixth event on a 15-race schedule and the second of four road course races for the series this year.

The next event on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule will be the Star Nursery 200 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, June 2.

NKNPS West Brainerd 5/26/12 Unofficial Results

Race: NKNPS West Brainerd 5/26/12

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Status
1 9 21 Michael Self Rockwell/Golden Gate Meat/Bay Bio Chevrolet 50 47 4 Running
2 1 03 Dylan Kwasniewski Royal Purple/Rockstar Ford 50 44 2 Running
3 2 26 Greg Pursley GPM/Star Nursery/ Real Water Ford 50 42 1 Running
4 4 6 Derek Thorn Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil/Eibach Ford 50 40   Running
5 3 17 David Mayhew MMI Services/Ron's Rear Ends Chevrolet 50 40 1 Running
6 5 20 Eric Holmes NAPA Auto Parts Toyota 50 39 1 Running
7 8 22 Jonathon Gomez Century Boatland Chevrolet 50 37   Running
8 6 9 Austin Dyne * William Rast/Sunrise Ford/Lucas Ford 50 36   Running
9 14 5 Dylan Hutchison * Bay Bio Diesel/Johnnie Walker Chevrolet 49 35   Running
10 10 2 Carl Harr West World Computers Chevrolet 49 34   Running
11 12 71 Daryl Harr i World Connect Chevrolet 49 33   Running
12 7 24 Cameron Hayley * Cabinets by Hayley Toyota 49 32   Running
13 11 61 Brett Thompson RTTI/Jerome Truck Serv. Chevrolet 48 31   Running
14 13 52 Ryan Philpott Philpott Race Cars Ford 48 30   Running
15 16 36 John Wood Pegasus Trans & Tow/Holleran's Perf. Dodge 47 29   Running
16 17 15 Jack Sellers Bay Bio Diesel Chevrolet 47 28   Running
17 18 90 Chris Evans * GASS Toyota 44 27   Running
18 15 14 Ronnie Jay * Cooks/Holleran's Perf./PTW Repair Ford 31 26   Transmission
19 19 54 Anthony Giannone * K&N Air Fillters/MGP Chevrolet 6 25   Accident

RACE STATISTICS
Race Note: Prior to the green flag, the following car dropped to the rear of the field, under penalty, for the reason indicated: #24 (unapproved adjustments)
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 32 mins, 48 secs Average Speed: 80.819 mph (record) Margin of Victory: 4.859 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 7-10 (Car #54 accident Turn 1).  1 for 4 laps.
Lap Leaders: Greg Pursley 1-2, Dylan Kwasniewski 3-11, Greg Pursley 12-16, Dylan Kwasniewski 17-20, Eric Holmes 21, David Mayhew 22, Greg Pursley 23-29, Dylan Kwasniewski 30-48, Michael Self 49-50.
Total Laps Led: Dylan Kwasniewski 32, Greg Pursley 14, Michael Self 2, Eric Holmes 1, David Mayhew 1.  8 changes involving 5 drivers.
Top 10 Driver Points: Dylan Kwasniewski 263, Greg Pursley 246, David Mayhew 241, Derek Thorn 235, Eric Holmes 234, Michael Self 203, Jonathon Gomez 196, Daryl Harr 189, Austin Dyne * 188, Carl Harr 176
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year Candidate