HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks headed to this weekend’s race at Columbus Motor Speedway looking to return to victory lane following William Byron’s victory at Langley Speedway during the last NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) race. Rico Abreu got the day started strong for the team, capturing his second-straight Coors Light Pole Award. The 23-year-old followed that up in an even bigger way, capturing his first-career NKNPSE win. Dalton Sargeant and J.J. Haley brought home solid top-10 finishes, while William Byron and Scott Heckert encountered some misfortune, which hindered their overall finishes.
Rico Abreu: 
Abreu entered the NAPA 150 at Columbus looking to build upon the momentum that the No. 98 GoPro Motorplex/AccuDoc Solutions/Curb Records team gained at Langley. The night started with Abreu capturing another Pole award, the second of 2015 for his team. As the race began, Abreu showed that he had the speed to compete for his first-career NKNPSE victory, taking the lead for the first time on lap 2. The NASCAR Next driver had to battle throughout the night for the race lead, falling back to second on some of the races restarts, but he was always able to fight back and retake the lead. A late restart saw Abreu take the lead for the final time on lap 115 and never look back, as the California native went on to capture his first-career NKNPSE victory in just his seventh series start. Abreu led 86 laps on the night en route to the win, and it vaulted the 23-year-old to ninth in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Rico Abreu on capturing his first-career NKNPSE victory:
“Everybody here at HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks got me to this point. It’s kind of incredible that we came into this season just looking for a top-10 finish and now we have a win before we even got a top five. It shows how good this team is and how hard they work back at the shop. It was just a tremendous job all weekend with the pole, and the pole last time out at Langley. We had a top-three car at Langley too and just got shuffled back on the restarts. I just keep learning and learning, which I’m happy with. Every race we’ve gone to, we keep showing big improvements and that counts in the end of these races.”
Dalton Sargeant:
Sargeant entered the NAPA 150 looking to continue upon his recent string of success, not only in the NKNPSE but also in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The 17-year-old started the evening in the fifth position. As the race began, Sargeant quickly settled into position and looked to move forward through the field. By lap 15, Sargeant held strong in the fifth position and was looking for even more. Throughout the remainder of the event, the NASCAR Next driver had the GALT Chevrolet right around the fifth position, battling within the top 10 in the running order. When the checkered flag flew, Sargeant finished in the sixth position. Sargeant’s fifth top 10 of 2015 moved him to fifth in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings heading into New Hampshire in a couple of weeks.
Dalton Sargeant on his top-10 run at Columbus:
“It was a good effort by our No. 51 GALT team all day, but we came up just a little short and ultimately finished in the 6th position. We were just a little off all day trying to find the perfect balance; with a short track like Columbus Motor Speedway and some really tough competition, it put us in the wrong position all night. I definitely think we had a top-5 car but it’s a tough and rough short track, and we just weren’t in the right position at the right time. Still, I’m proud of this team; it says a lot that we hang our head on a sixth-place finish.”
J.J. Haley:
Haley entered the NAPA 150 looking to build upon the success of a strong run out West at Sonoma one week prior. Haley began the race in the ninth position in his No. 5 Braun Auto Chevy. As the race began, the 16-year-old slipped back just a bit, unable to find the right lane to roll in. However, Haley would fight back and, as the race wore on, the Indiana native was able to utilize the high line to gain some track position and move up to as high as seventh in the running order on lap 105. Some late restarts shuffled Haley back just a bit, however, the 16-year-old was able to bring home a ninth-place result in the end. Haley’s fourth top-10 finish of 2015 keeps him 11th in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings heading into New Hampshire in two weeks.
J.J. Haley on his top-10 run at Columbus:
“It was an interesting night for this No. 5 Braun team at Columbus. Overall, we were better than a ninth-place car, but things just didn’t fall our way and that’s where we ended up. I can’t thank everyone on this HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks team enough; they work so hard week in and week out. We will just keep digging, looking forward to a strong run at New Hampshire in a couple of weeks.”
William Byron:
Byron came into the NAPA 150 coming off his third victory of 2015 at Langley a few weeks ago. The No. 9 Liberty University team began the race in the 13th spot. Byron quickly settled into position as the race began and looked to move forward through the pack. By the halfway portion of the race, Byron sat in the 11th position and was looking for even more. The NASCAR Next driver was able to take advantage of a restart and move his way up to the seventh position. On lap 109, Byron was involved in an incident with a lapped car on the racetrack, causing damage to Byron’s No. 9 Chevrolet and forcing the North Carolina native to bring his car down pit road for quick repairs. The Liberty University team was able to get Byron out in time to not lose a lap to the leaders in the process. The 17-year-old soldiered on, brigning home a 14th-place finish even with the damage. Byron remains the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings leader, by 20 points, heading into New Hampshire in a couple of weeks.
William Byron on his night at Columbus:
“We had a lot of adversity tonight in Columbus, but I learned a ton. It’s not the night we wanted, but we will come back strong at New Hampshire. We have a lot of motivation to go there, so I’m looking forward to that one and going to get another solid finish for this No. 9 Liberty University team.”
Scott Heckert:
Heckert entered the NAPA 150 with a ton of confidence about the opportunity at hand for the No. 34 Project Lifesaver Chevrolet. Heckert got the night started in the right way, qualifying second for the event. The Connecticut native held strong inside the top 10 for most of the event, and ran sixth halfway through the race. Heckert continued to run in the top 10 and looked poised for another solid finish, until the 21-year-old tangled with another competitor in the race’s closing laps. The incident caused a slow leak in one of Heckert’s tires and ultimately forced him to slip back in the final laps to finish in the 15th position. Heckert remains fourth in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings heading into New Hampshire in a few weeks.
Scott Heckert on his night in Columbus:
“It was a tough race. I thought we were going to have a good points night, and we just got run into and that unfortunately cut a tire down. The car was pretty good though so I’m happy with that, but just tough luck again. We will go get them in New Hampshire.”
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