It’s become a tradition. Each summer the NASCAR K&N Pro Series teams from both of its East and West converge upon Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, and engage in a head-to-head battle. And though separate points will be handed out at the end of the Casey’s General Store 150 presented by Vatterott College on Friday night, make no mistake: this one’s about bragging rights.
There have been a total of 13 previous combination races at Iowa, with at least one race being held at the track each season since 2007, with the first seven overall winners coming from the East. As the two series converge on the biggest stage of the season for K&N Pro Series teams, Justin Haley holds a commanding 40-point lead over Kyle Benjamin in the East standings, while Ryan Partridge nurses a slim three-point cushion over Todd Gilliland in the West.
Since 2012, when Corey LaJoie won at Iowa to lead a charge of East teams sweeping the top eight positions, the West has rebounded in a big way. West teams have won three of the last six combination events at the .875-mile, D-shaped oval, capped by a dominant 2015. Driving for West series staple Bill McAnally Racing, Brandon McReynolds won both of the races at Iowa last season from front row starting positions.
If that wasn’t enough to show the playing field at Iowa has been leveled, the battles behind McReynolds certainly were. Three of the top six finishers in this race a year ago were West drivers, while the previous visit to the track earlier in the season produced three of the top seven at the checkered flag representative of the West.
NASCAR PR
