HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Post Race Report: Iowa Speedway

HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks entered the #ThanksKenny150 looking to return to victory lane for the seventh time in 2015. The night got started on the right foot as Rico Abreu captured the Coors Light Pole award for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE), ultimately starting third overall. Abreu carried the torch for the organization in the combined NKNPSE and NASCAR K&N Pro Series West event, bringing home a third-place finish in the NKNPSE side of competition. J.J. Haley, Scott Heckert and Dalton Sargeant brought home solid top 10s, while William Byron suffered a late set back during the race’s final restart.

 

Rico Abreu:

Abreu came into the #ThanksKenny150 looking to build upon his string of strong finishes as of late in the NKNPSE. The 23-year-old started the afternoon capturing the Coors Light Pole award, his third in 2015. Abreu quickly settled into the third position when the race began, showcasing the speed of the No. 98 GoPro Motorplex/AccuDoc Solutions/Curb Records Chevrolet. By lap 15, Abreu was up to second and looking for even more. On lap 29, the California native was able to push forward one final position and take over the race lead. Abreu held the lead for 23 laps before slipping back to second. Abreu held strong in the second position for the majority of the event until he slid to fourth on late-race restarts. After finishing fourth overall and third in the NKNPSE, the NASCAR Next driver now sits sixth in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings heading into Watkins Glen next weekend.

 

Rico Abreu on his night at Iowa Speedway:

“We had speed all day, but just got beat on restarts tonight. It was hard to keep up the pace. At the break, we made some adjustments and they just weren’t the right ones we needed to be able to get up to the front. Ultimately, we will learn from this and put it in our notebooks moving forward. I’m looking forward to Watkins Glen with everyone on this HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks team next weekend.”

 

J.J. Haley:

Haley came into the #ThanksKenny150 looking to build upon a solid top-10 finish at New Hampshire the last time the series was on track. The day got started in the right way for the 16-year-old as Haley began the event in the fifth position. Haley held strong in fifth until he was forced to come down pit road on lap 45 for a flat right-front tire. The caution flag waved as Haley was on pit road, putting him one lap down to the race leaders. After returning to the racetrack, Haley battled hard and drove his way up to 24th position, the first car one-lap down. A caution on lap 70 was just what Haley needed as he received the free pass to rejoin the lead lap cars. Haley sat in the 24th position when the race resumed after the halfway break, however, the Indiana native didn’t stay there for long. By lap 90, Haley was up to 17th and looking for more. By lap 110, he was back in the top 10 and poised to pick up another top-five finish. Haley was able to survive some late-race restarts to bring home a fourth-place finish in the NKNPSE, seventh overall. Haley sits ninth in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings heading into Watkins Glen.

 

J.J. Haley on his night at Iowa:

“We had a good qualifying run of fifth and that was going to make it a little easier on us, but you know nothing comes easy these days. We had a right front go down there around about lap 40 and we came in to get the tire changed and lost a lap. Thankfully, we got the lap back and were able to drive from 37th up to finish seventh. Finishing seventh put us fourth in the East, so it was a good points day overall, and I’m really happy to be here with this Braun Auto team.”

 

Scott Heckert:

Heckert came into the #ThanksKenny150 looking to build upon past success at Iowa Speedway. The 21-year-old had three-straight top-10 finishes at the Iowa track and looked for more of the same in this trip. Heckert began the evening qualifying in the 11th position. As the race began, Heckert showed that he had a machine that could run up inside the top 10 as he began looking for more in the No. 34 Project Lifesaver Chevrolet. By the midway portion of the event Heckert ran in the ninth position. Some late-race restarts in the race’s closing laps allowed Heckert to move into the eighth position overall, fifth in the NKNPSE, where he would eventually finish. Heckert sits second in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings heading into Watkins Glen next weekend, a track he won at one year ago.

 

Scott Heckert on his night at Iowa Speedway:

“We kind of ran around eighth to 12th all night. We had to fight hard every restart with people battling for the top lane and driving really hard, leaning on each other. I had a lot of fun racing out there and had to give it my all. I’ve really got to give a big thanks to this HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks team for battling through from the engine change in the middle of the day to bring home an overall good points day for us.”

 

Dalton Sargeant:

Sargeant came into the #ThanksKenny150 looking to rebound from a rough outing in New Hampshire in the last NKNPSE event. The day got started with the NASCAR Next driver qualifying in the 17th position for the race. As the race began, Sargeant slowly began to work his way towards the top 10 in the running order. By lap 60, Sargeant ran in the 15th position, looking for more prior to the halfway break. Sargeant restarted the second half of the event in the 15th position, but didn’t stay there for long. By lap 90, Sargeant was in the top 10 and looking for more. Sargeant held strong inside the top-10 for the race’s closing 60 laps. On the race’s final restart, Sargeant made contact with another competitor, cutting down his tire and ultimately hindering his ability to make up any positions. The result was a 13th-place finish overall, and ninth in the NKNPSE. Sargeant sits fifth in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.

 

Dalton Sargeant on his weekend in Iowa:

“Overall, it was a tough night. Everybody on the HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks team worked hard on the No. 51 GALT Chevy. We had a bad starting spot and throughout the first half of the race, we just fought for track position. It seemed that after we came in at the halfway break the car got a lot better from our adjustments, and we started to pick up positions in the second half. From there, we just kept moving forward and towards the end of the race, we were inside the top 10. Unfortunately, though, at the very end of the race our right-front tire went flat and that hurt our overall finish. Either way it was progress, but overall we still have things we need to work on and be better for next time.”

 

William Byron:

Byron entered the #ThanksKenny150 looking to add to his points lead. The NASCAR Next driver, coming off his fourth win of 2014 at New Hampshire a few weeks prior, started the event in the 16th position. However, as the race began, Byron quickly showed the No. 9 Liberty University Chevrolet had speed. By lap 25, Byron was already in the top 10 and looking for more. Byron continued to run in-and-around the top 10, until the midway portion of the race. Following the halfway break of the race, Byron ran in the 11th position but by lap 100, he was back up to the eighth position. Byron held strong inside the top 10 for the race’s final 50 laps, until the last restart when he suffered a flat tire. Byron was able to limp to the finish but was forced to settle for a 19th-place finish overall, 13th in the NKNPSE. Byron still leads the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings by 25 points heading into Watkins Glen next weekend.

 

William Byron on his night at Iowa:

“We kind of struggled in qualifying, but when the race began we were able to pick up a few positions and get up to eighth. One guy in front of us kind of had a bad restart and pushed us to 11th, where we ran for the next 75 laps or so. We got back up to seventh with about 10 laps to go and we were racing hard with my teammates, Scott Heckert and J.J. Haley, which was a lot of fun. The last restart saw our right-front tire go down, and that forced us to go about 50 miles per hour slower just to be able to finish the race. It was a disappointing finish, but we had a lot of good moments for the Liberty University team in the race and we will keep working towards Watkins Glen.”

HScott Motorsports PR