Piquet Perfect At Bristol

Brazil Driver Earns First NASCAR Win In K&N East Opener

The first appearance in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East proved to be more than productive as Nelson Piquet Jr. won the inaugural Widow Wax 125 presented by SealWrap Repair Tape from the pole Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Piquet held off a hard-charging Ryan Blaney for the victory in the season-opener for the series. Ryan Gifford finished third.

This was the first NASCAR victory for Piquet, a regular in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and first win for a Brazilian in K&N Pro Series East history.

Driving for X Team Racing, the native of Brasilia, Brazil was the fastest across a pair of practice sessions on Friday and led the first 35 laps Saturday evening at the “World’s Fastest Half Mile” following his Coors Light Pole-winning run. Piquet inherited the lead from Corey LaJoie – who cut a tire – on Lap 101 and had to come to pit road.

Andrew Smith was fourth, followed by Derek Ramstrom, Ben Kennedy, Chad Finchum, Michael McGuire, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.

Action sports star Travis Pastrana finished 12th while LaJoie ended up two laps down in 22nd following his late-race misfortune.

The K&N Pro Series East will return to action on March 31 at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway.

Fin Str Car Driver Laps Points B/Points Status
1 1 14 Nelson Piquet, Jr 127 48 5 Running
2 9 10 Ryan Blaney * 127 43 1 Running
3 7 2 Ryan Gifford 127 41   Running
4 13 62 Andrew Smith 127 40   Running
5 3 35 Derek Ramstrom 127 39   Running
6 12 96 Ben Kennedy 127 38   Running
7 25 37 Chad Finchum * 127 37   Running
8 4 7 Michael McGuire * 127 36   Running
9 6 6 Kyle Larson * 127 35   Running
10 10 9 Chase Elliott 127 35 1 Running
11 14 77 David Mayhew 127 33   Running
12 19 99 Travis Pastrana * 127 32   Running
13 15 31 Jimmy Weller * 127 31   Running
14 33 4 Bryan Ortiz * 127 30   Running
15 21 16 Daniel Suarez 127 29   Running
16 29 49 Scott Saunders * 127 28   Running
17 28 23 Spencer Gallagher 127 27   Running
18 2 18 Darrell Wallace, Jr. 127 26   Running
19 22 32 Dale Quarterley 127 25   Running
20 16 1 Sergio Pena 127 24   Running
21 18 46 Brandon Gdovic 126 23   Running
22 11 07 Corey LaJoie 125 23 1 Running
23 20 26 Dylan Presnell * 125 21   Running
24 32 22 Sam Hunt * 125 20   Running
25 26 15 Carlos Iaconelli * 124 19   Running
26 31 63 John Salemi 120 18   Running
27 5 39 CJ Faison * 117 17   Accident
28 23 71 Eddie MacDonald 117 16   Accident
29 27 80 Blake Jones * 111 15   Running
30 24 8 Jorge Arteaga * 96 14   Running
31 35 72 Ray Courtemanche Jr. * 90 13   Running
32 8 11 Brett Moffitt 69 12   Oil Leak
33 34 92 Candace Muzny * 63 11   Accident
34 17 98 Chad Boat 26 10   Overheating
35 30 12 Jorge Contreras, Jr * 0 9   DNS

Race Statistics
Fastest Qualifier: Nelson Piquet, Jr, Time: 16.15 Seconds, Speed: 118.811 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 2 mins, 6 secs Average Speed: 65.402 mph Margin of Victory: .479 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 14-19; 30-34; 65-70; 76-79; 91-96; 119-124.  6 for 33 laps.
Lap Leaders: Nelson Piquet, Jr 1-35, Chase Elliott 36-75, Ryan Blaney * 76, Corey LaJoie 77-100, Nelson Piquet, Jr 101-127.
Total Laps Led: Nelson Piquet, Jr 62, Chase Elliott 40, Corey LaJoie 24, Ryan Blaney * 1.  4 changes involving 4 drivers.