Statistical Advance: Analyzing The Slack Auto Parts 150 At Gresham Motorsports Park

After getting back on track last week with a runner-up finish at Bowman Gray, Darrell Wallace Jr. has his sights set on gaining his first Gresham win this Saturday.Getty Images for NASCAR

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East continues its 2012 schedule on Saturday, June 9 at Gresham Motorsports Park with the Slack Auto Parts 150 in Jefferson, Ga. Below is a statistical look at the performance of selected drivers in the series:

Select Driver Highlights:
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Aaron’s/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet)
• Has a win and 11 top 10s in 17 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts. First victory came at Iowa Speedway on May 19.
• Is the only driver to finish in the top 10 in each race this year.
• Finished 22nd at Gresham Motorsports Park in 2011.
• Has four wins in 11 career starts at Gresham in other series.

Brandon Gdovic (No. 46 Aquis Communications/ComServe Dodge)
• Has eight top 10s in 16 career NKNPS East starts.
• Has finished in the top 10 in four-consecutive races, the best stretch of his two-year career.
• Finished 28th at Gresham in 2011, the lowest result of his career.

Ryan Gifford (No. 2 Universal Technical Institute/NTI Toyota)
• Has a pole and 12 top 10s in 29 career NKNPS East starts.
• Has a best finish this year of third at Bristol Motor Speedway.
• Of the six current drivers that have participated in both of the previous races at Gresham, he has the best average finish of 7.5.

Ben Kennedy (No. 96 Slack Auto Parts Chevrolet)
• Has five top 10s in 18 career NKNPS East starts, including a best finish of third at Bowman Gray in 2011.
• Finished 11th at Gresham in 2011 and made his series debut at the track in 2010 with a finish of 24th.

Dylan Kwasniewski (No. 20 Rockstar/Royal Purple Toyota)
• Has four wins, four poles, 12 podiums and 16 top 10s in 20 career races in the NKNPS West.
• The current NKNPS West points leader, he has two wins and additional four podium finishes in seven races.
• Made his NKNPS East debut at Greenville Pickens Speedway earlier this year and finished seventh.

Corey LaJoie (No. 07 Sims Metal Management Ford)
• Has a win, a pole and 13 top 10s in 24 career NKNPS East starts.
• Earned his first victory last time out at Bowman Gray Stadium.
• Finished fifth at Gresham last year.

Kyle Larson (No. 6 Rev Racing Toyota)
• Best finish of his first five NKNPS East starts was fourth at Richmond International Raceway. He has four top 10s.
• Earned his first pole and led his first laps at Bowman Gray.
• Is two points behind Rev Racing teammate Bryan Ortiz for the Sunoco Rookie points lead and is third in the overall standings in his first season.

Jesse Little (No. 97 Hurst Motorsports/Team Little Racing Chevrolet)
• Has finishes of 11th (Richmond) and 18th overall (Iowa) in his first two NKNPS East races.

Eddie MacDonald (No. 71 Grimm Construction Chevrolet)
• Has six wins, two poles and 67 top 10s in 149 career starts.
• Will become the 16th driver in series history to reach 150 career starts with this race.
• Has four top 10s in five starts this year.
• Has an average finish of 11th in the two races at Gresham.

Brett Moffitt (No. 11 Saitama Toyopet Toyota)
• Has eight wins, six poles and 28 top 10s in 38 career starts.
• Won at Richmond, has two poles and is tied for the series-high with three top-five finishes through five races this year.
• Has finishes of 17th and 16th at Gresham.

Bryan Ortiz (No. 4 Toyota Racing Development Toyota)
• Has three of top 10s through his first five NKNPS East races with a best result of third last time out at Bowman Gray.
• Leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year points by two over Rev Racing teammate Kyle Larson.

Sergio Peña (No. 1 Saitama Toyopet Toyota)
• Has three wins and 12 top 10s in 27 career NKNPS East starts.
• Has a best finish of seventh, at Iowa, through the first five races.
• Has finishes of sixth and 20th at Gresham.

Andrew Smith (No. 62 Octane/SavannahPawn.com Chevrolet)
• Has five top 10s in 23 career starts with a best finish of third in this event a year ago.

Daniel Suárez (No. 14 Telcel/Finsa/Roca Acero Toyota)
• Has four top 10s in 12 career starts with a best finish of fifth at Columbus Motor Speedway in 2011.
• Finished 14th at Gresham in 2011.
• Also competes in the NASCAR Toyota Series in his native Mexico, where he earned his first win on May 12 in Mexico City.

Darrell Wallace Jr. (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)
• Has six wins, three poles and 20 top 10s in 27 career starts.
• Has an average finish of seventh with four wins in 15 career starts at tracks a half mile or smaller.
• Made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Iowa on May 20 and finished ninth.
• Has finishes of 15th and 4th at Gresham.

Up to Speed:
• The 2012 season is the 26th for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
• The 2012 schedule features 14 races at 12 different tracks across 10 states.
• The NKNPS East season opened with the inaugural series event Bristol Motor Speedway on March 17. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Nelson Piquet Jr. made a spot-start in the event and won from the pole.
• Darrell Wallace Jr. led all but one lap in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville Pickens Speedway on March 31. There was no pole winner as qualifying was rained out.
• Brett Moffitt dominated the action at Richmond International Raceway on April 26 as both the pole and race winner.
• Moffitt won his second pole in a row, and was poised for back-to-back wins as well, but Chase Elliott gained his first NKNPS East victory on May 19 at Iowa Speedway.
• Corey LaJoie captured his first NKNPS East victory in the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 at Bowman Gray Stadium on June 2. Rookie Kyle Larson earned his first pole prior to the event.
• Following the Slack Auto Parts 150 at Gresham Motorsports Park, the NKNPS East will return to action on June 23 at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va.

At Gresham Motorsports Park:
History
• Opened in 1967 as Jefco Speedway. Has also been known as Georgia International Speedway and Peach State Speedway.
• Played host to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 1967, 1986 and twice in 1987.
• The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series held races there in 1968 and 1969.
• Re-opened in November 2009 as Gresham Motorsports Park.
• The inaugural race for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Gresham, and the first event for the series in the state of Georgia, was held on Aug. 28, 2010.
• Kevin Swindell earned the inaugural event pole while Ty Dillon earned his first and only series win in the event.
• Max Gresham won from the pole at his family’s track in 2011.

Gresham Motorsports Park Data
Race: #6 of 14 (6/9/12)
Track Layout: .5-mile asphalt oval
• Race Length: 150 laps (75 miles)
• Banking–turns: 12 degrees
• Banking–straights: six degrees

Qualifying/Race Data
2011 race winner: Max Gresham
2011 pole winner: Max Gresham
Track qualifying record: Kevin Swindell (104.944 mph, 17.152 seconds, 8/28/10)

Active Series Career Leaders
Wins
Brett Moffitt ... 8
Eddie MacDonald ... 6
Dale Quarterley ... 6
Darrell Wallace Jr. ... 6
Sergio Peña ... 3

Poles
Brett Moffitt ... 6
Dale Quarterley ... 4
Darrell Wallace Jr. ... 3
Eddie MacDonald ... 2
Four drivers with ... 1

Top Fives
Dale Quarterley ... 31
Eddie MacDonald ... 28
Brett Moffitt ... 23
Darrell Wallace Jr. ... 12
Ryan Gifford ... 10

Top 10s
Eddie MacDonald ... 67
Dale Quarterley ... 66
Brett Moffitt ... 28
Darrell Wallace Jr. ... 20
Ryan Gifford ... 12

Laps Completed
Eddie MacDonald ... 19.063
Dale Quarterley ... 18,589
John Salemi ... 7,917
Brett Moffitt ... 5,058
Ryan Gifford ... 4,332

Laps Led
Brett Moffitt ... 986
Dale Quarterley ... 706
Eddie MacDonald ... 668
Darrell Wallace Jr. ... 542
Sergio Peña ... 215