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News & Notes: Moffitt Looks For Loudon Win

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second and final time in 2011 with the New Hampshire 125 on Friday, Sept. 23 and it will be a chance for Bret Moffitt not only to finally reach Victory Lane at the ‘Magic Mile,’ but a crucial opportunity to position himself for championship contention.

Moffitt has finished as the race runner-up the last two trips to Loudon and has four top-five efforts in five career K&N Pro Series East events at NHMS. The pedigree for success is certainly in place for Moffitt, who is in the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 00 Toyota Camry that won both 2010 events with Ryan Truex.

“We’re really strong every time we go to New Hampshire,” Moffitt said. “The No. 00 team won both of them last year, we know we’re going to have good equipment and we know we’ll be able to run up front.”

Moffitt has three total second place finishes in Loudon, so a trip to Victory Lane at the 1.058-mile oval would not only polish off some unfinished business, but would also position him for a strong run at former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Max Gresham for the K&N Pro Series East title.

“Hopefully everything goes our way and we can be the best car there this time and end up in Victory Lane and hopefully close up a little bit more on Max Gresham in the points lead,” Moffitt said. “We gained a little bit at Greenville, but not as much as we’d like to. It’s definitely doable; we just have to have some luck on our side.”

That luck might actually show itself in Moffitt’s talent and experience at both New Hampshire and Dover International Speedway, where the season finale will be held on Sept. 30. In addition to his aforementioned success in Loudon, the Grimes, Iowa native has won the two previous K&N Pro Series East races in Dover.

Moffitt trails Gresham by 65 points entering Loudon, so his margin for error is small. There are mathematical scenarios where a poor performance by Moffitt combined with a Gresham win this week could clinch the title for Gresham. That is not out of the realm of possibility either, as Gresham cruised to victory in the New England 125 in July.

Moffitt, Gresham and the rest of the large field of competitors will get the race week underway in Loudon with practice and qualifying on Thursday, Sept. 22. The New Hampshire 125 will follow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying on Friday, Sept. 23 at 5 p.m.

Race Notes
Gresham clinch scenarios:  There is a mathematical possibility that Max Gresham could clinch his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship this week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. If Gresham wins, he would eliminate Brett Moffitt if Moffitt finishes 35th or worse in the 36-car field, Darrell Wallace Jr. if Wallace finishes 23rd or worse and Matt DiBenedetto if DiBenedetto finishes 13th or worse. Other elimination scenarios come into play depending on which driver leads the most laps.

Bowman the leading rookie contender: With a 14-point lead on both Corey LaJoie and Chase Elliott with just two races remaining, Alex Bowman is well-positioned for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award. With large fields of rookies expected for the final two races of the year at NHMS and Dover International Speedway, there can be large point swings, so Bowman will need to continue to register top finishes to earn the title. Bowman has finished outside the top 10 just three times in 10 events this year and was sixth at NHMS in July.

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Fast Facts
The Race:  The New Hampshire 125 will be the 11th of 12 races on the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule and the last of two events at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The Procedure:  The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 125 laps (132.25 miles).

The Track:  NHMS, a 1.058-mile slightly-banked asphalt oval, is the largest track the K&N Pro Series East races at. The track has played host to the K&N Pro Series East in each year of the track’s existence and has held more East races than any other facility.

Race Winners:  There have been 24 different winners in 55 all-time stand-alone races at NHMS. New Hampshire native Brad Leighton has the most series wins at the ‘Magic Mile’ with eight. Max Gresham won the July event.

Pole Winners:  Of the 28 different drivers to earn a Coors Light Pole Award at NHMS, Kelly Moore has the most in K&N Pro Series East history with six. Brett Moffitt set the track qualifying record at 29.836 seconds (127.542 mph) in 2011. Gresham earned the pole prior to his race victory in July.

25 For 25
The 2011 season is the 25th in series history. From its days as the Busch North Series, to the present-day NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, there are countless moments that have come to define the series. Each week we will take a look back at those moments and figures that have defined the series.

New Hampshire Season Sweeps:  For two decades New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been the grandest stage for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series to compete on and a season sweep has been rare feat, yet the trend has picked up in recent years.

From 1990-2006, just one driver was able to take the broom to the rest of the competition: Mike McLaughlin in 1992 when he won the races. Kelly Moore in 1998 and Brad Leighton in 2002 came close to accomplishing the season sweep, but in those years there were three events and they won two.

Joey Logano won both the summer and fall races in 2007 to set off a new trend of single-season domination. Eddie MacDonald followed with a sweep in 2008 and Ryan Truex took checkers in both events a year ago.

Max Gresham will look to add his name to the prestigious list of NHMS season sweepers when the K&N Pro Series East returns to the ‘Magic Mile’ this week following his dominant triumph in July.

Last Time Out: Greenville
Sergio Peña turned in a dominating effort in rolling to his third win of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 on Sept. 10.

Peña qualified second and took the lead from pole winner Corey LaJoie on Lap 58. He finished 4.633 seconds ahead of runner-up Brett Moffitt, who picked up the win in the season opener at Greenville. Rookie Chase Elliott was third.

Alex Bowman, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year leader, and overall points leader Max Gresham rounded out the top five.

Up Next: Dover
Dover International Speedway’s ‘Monster Mile’ once again figures to decide the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship despite the mathematical possibility of it being clinched this week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Ryan Truex celebrated winning the title each of the two previous seasons in Dover in the season finale.

The Dover 150 will be the 11th all-time stand-alone event for the K&N Pro Series East at Dover in its 25th season of competition. Brett Moffitt became the first driver to earn more than one victory at the ‘Monster Mile’ and he’ll look to continue to venture into unprecedented territory in the 2011 edition.

The final race weekend of the season for the K&N Pro Series East will begin with a pair of practice sessions on Thursday, Sept. 29. Qualifying and the race are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 30.