–The NASCAR Nationwide Series made its second and final stop of the 2014 season this weekend at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway for the VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300. In his last race in the up & up™ by Target Chevy this season, Dylan Kwasniewski and the No. 42 team looked to go out on a good note in the 200-lap event. Kwasniewski started the weekend by making it to the second round during NASCAR’s knockout qualifying, placing the up & up Chevy 13th on the starting grid. After running consistent lap times and staying in the top 15 for the majority of the race, Kwasniewski survived three late-race cautions and a final dash to the checkered flag, crossing the finish line in the 12th position.
Following the drop of the green flag in the Bluegrass state, Kwasniewski maintained his position on the first lap but quickly gained two spots before the first caution came out on lap six. Restarting in 11th on lap nine, Kwasniewski maintained his position until the second caution of the night came out on lap 25. During the caution, crew chief Scott Zipadelli brought Kwasniewski down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment to help tighten up the up & up Chevy. After some confusion on pit road, Kwasniewski lost a few spots during the pit stop, restarting in 18th on lap 30. With the changes helping the car’s handling, Kwasniewski wasted no time gaining back his position as the young rookie was back in the top 15 by lap 50. Kwasniewski continued to maintain his top-15 position until the fourth caution of the night came out on lap 115. During the caution, Zipadelli once again called Kwasniewski down pit round for four tires and fuel. Kwasniewski maintained his position during the stop and restarted in 12th on lap 121. Following the restart, Kwasniewski continued to run top-10 lap times and survived three late-race cautions to bring the up & up by Target Chevy home in the 12th position.
With his 12th place finish, Kwasniewski moved ahead one spot to 11th in the NNS points standings, just 30 points out of 10th with six races remaining in the 2014 season.
Dylan Kwasniewski on Racing at Kentucky:
