Haley Crowned 2016 NKNPSE Champion at Dover International Speedway

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) hit the track for one final time this season yesterday at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. For the fourth straight season HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks (HSMJM) entered the Dover 125 with an opportunity to win the NKNPSE championship.

All four HSMJM teams competed in the Dover 125. First practice and qualifying were canceled due to weather. The field was set by the NKNPSE rulebook. Haley started on the pole with championship contender Kyle Benjamin starting second. Tyler Dippel started fifth with teammate Hunter Baize directly behind him in sixth. Harrison Burton started eighth.

Haley led the first 42 laps and never dropped out the top-five in his chase for 2016 NKNPSE championship. He went on to finish fourth and win the championship by 22 markers over Kyle Benjamin. Burton raced inside the top-10 all race. At one point the North Carolina native drove inside the top-five. He went on to finish sixth. That sixth-place finish was good enough to help him move up to seventh-place in the final NKNPSE standings. Baize spent the first half of the race in the top-five before circumstances on a restart resulted in the Kentucky driver falling outside of the top-10. With just a handful of laps to go he lost power. He pitted and was able to return to the race. He went on to finish 15th. That finish was good enough to help him win the 2016 NKNPSE Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year and finish fourth in the series standings. Tyler Dippel also never fell outside of the top-10. His seventh-place finish helped propel him to third in the final NKNPSE standings.
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Justin Haley, driver of the No. 5… Haley entered the Dover 125 as the NKNPSE championship favorite. He started from the pole and led the first 42 laps. The Indiana native never dropped out of the top-five and went on to finish fourth. That finish was his 13th top-five finish in 14 NKNPSE races this season. His only finish outside of the top-five came at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway on March 13. He finished ninth. Haley now holds the NKNPSE record for the best average finish over the course of a season with 3.4 average finish during the 2016 season. He won the 2016 NKNPSE Championship by 22 markers over Kyle Benjamin.

Haley on Dover… “We did it! I’m so thankful to everyone who helped us out this season. I have the best team in the garage and they proved it once again today. We had a very fast car. It’s cool that we didn’t just come here and ride around. We showed everyone we deserve this championship. I can’t thank Braun Auto, F.O.E., Off-Axis Paint, and HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks enough for the opportunity. This season was a blast!”
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Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 12… Burton made the trip to Dover International Speedway looking for another solid run and he succeeded. He started eighth and never fell outside of the top-10. In fact, the Huntersville, N.C., driver drove inside the top-five at one point during the Dover 125. He went on to finish sixth. That finish propelled him to a seventh-place finish in the NKNPSE standings.

Burton on Dover… “Another very fast car for this No. 12 team. We had lots of bad luck this season, but we showed speed at several different races. To be able to finish solidly in the top-10 in points in my rookie season despite the bad luck we have had shows what a great team I have around me. We had a better car than sixth but we had a tire going down at the end of the race.”
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Tyler Dippel, driver of the No. 38… Dippel entered the final NKNPSE event as the only HSMJM driver other than Justin Haley to visit victory lane. He did so on March 13 at Mobile International Speedway in the Mobile 150. In addition to that win, he scored another seven top-10 finishes, one of which came in yesterday’s Dover 125. Those results propelled the rookie driver to third in series points.

Dippel on Dover… “This place is fast and really fun. We had a pretty solid car but just weren’t able to get up there and compete for a win. Regardless we had a really good day and a really good season. I’m proud of my entire team and enjoyed racing with them week in and week out.”
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Hunter Baize, driver of the No. 13… Baize impressed in his rookie NASCAR season. His rookie leading 10 top-10 finishes this season helped propel him to fourth in the NKNPSE standings and the 2016 NKNPSE Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year Award. In the Dover 125, Baize looked to be a favorite early. He was third quick in the one and only practice and started sixth. He raced inside the top-five for most of the first half of event before a bad set of circumstances resulted in him falling outside the top-10. After the halfway break, he raced his way back into contention before an alternator issue ended his chances. He went on to finish 15th.

Baize on Dover… “I’m super thankful the opportunity I’ve had this season to drive for HSMJM. We had another rocket ship at Dover. The No. 13 team is the best team in the NKNPSE garage. We had chances to win but just were never able to close the deal. I learned so much and again just can’t thank my team enough for all the hard work this season.”
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The Dover 125 from Dover International Speedway located in Dover, Del. will be broadcast on October 6 at 4 p.m. ET

HScott Motorsports PR