Year In Review: K&N Pro Series West

Greg Pursley had a "dream season" in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West in 2011. Getty Images for NASCAR

Pursley's dominating performance just one of the highlights

The 2011 season featured many memorable moments in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – with a dominant championship run, unlike any in recent years, and a youth movement that resulted in multiple records being set.

Here are some highlights from the 58th season of the West’s oldest stock car racing circuit:

Remarkable Comeback: Just as Greg Pursley was beginning his championship campaign, a scorpion sting nearly derailed his title hopes. The life-threatening incident put the 43-year-old veteran driver in intensive care in the hospital prior to the second race of the season in April. Just after being released, Pursley traveled to All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif. – not knowing if he would be physically able to race. He not only competed; but won the pole, led the most laps and finished third.

Dominating Performance: Pursley dominated series competition in the first half of the season in a way not exhibited in recent years. Driving the No. 26 Gene Price Motorsports/Star Nursery Ford, he scored six wins in the first eight races and established a commanding lead in the championship standings – a lead he never relinquished. Pursley’s victories – along with back-to-back wins by his Gene Price Motorsports teammate, Dylan Kwasniewski – accounted for eight wins in 14 races in 2011.

Youngest Winner: Kwasniewski’s record-setting season featured his first win and his first pole – both of which came at Colorado National Speedway in August. Kwasniewski, who was just over two months past his 16th birthday at the time, became the youngest winner in the history of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. He also became the youngest winner in the K&N Pro Series overall. In addition, he established the record as the youngest series pole winner in turning the fast-mark in qualifying for the event.

First at 15: Kwasniewski, who went on to win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award, was the first 15-year-old to compete on the circuit and set the mark as the youngest competitor in the history of the series when he made his debut in April. He ran in the lead pack and finished fourth in that first race at All American Raceway in Roseville, Calif.

Younger Yet: Another young talent, Cameron Hayley, was quick to grab the spotlight when he made his debut at Montana Raceway Park in August. Hayley came away with an impressive second-place finish in that race and nabbed the record as the youngest to start a series race – at 23 days past his 15th birthday.

Youth Movement In Force: A trio of teens from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, including two second-generation drivers, grabbed the headlines in the season finale at Phoenix International Raceway. Ryan Blaney, the 17-year-old son of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Dave Blaney, took the win. Eighteen-year-old Alex Bowman finished second in the event, which was a homecoming for the Tucson, Ariz., native. Chase Elliott, 15-year-old son of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bill Elliott, finished third.

First-Time Winner: Luis Martinez Jr., the 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year, scored his first career series win in a hard-fought battle on the road course at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway in July. The 21-year-old California driver, making his 23rd series start, won in a green-white-checkered finish.