The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West travels to one of the most challenging tracks on the circuit this week, with a visit to Stockton (Calif.) 99 Speedway on Saturday.
Brandon McReynolds will get his first taste of series action on the tight quarter-mile bullring that is known for its tough door-to-door competition.
The race, which will be will be televised on FOX Sports 1 on May 9 at 1:30 p.m. ET, is the third on a 14-event K&N West schedule. It marks the 24th series visit to the historic speedway.
McReynolds, who drives the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing, is coming off a career-best fourth-place series finish at Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway in March and is second in the championship standings – just six points out of first. The 22-year-old from Mooresville, N.C., is one of 12 drivers named last week to the 2014-2015 class of NASCAR Next, a program that spotlights NASCAR’s rising stars.
“I think it’s going to be a tough race,” said McReynolds, who is in his first full season of series competition. “Obviously, Stockton is really small, but I think our NAPA Toyota will be good. We had a really good test there. I think the biggest thing will be track position – qualifying good and starting up front. It doesn’t seem like you have to save your stuff, so we’re just going to go for it and try to stay up front all night.”
Although Stockton 99 Speedway is new to McReynolds, it’s familiar territory for his Bill McAnally Racing team. BMR made back-to-back visits to Victory Lane there, with Austin Cameron wheeling the NAPA entry in 2003 and 2004. The team, based about 65 miles north of Stockton in Roseville, has also finished in the runner-up spot at the quarter-mile track the past two seasons.
McReynolds enters the event with four career series starts – which has netted him one pole, two top fives and four top 10s. In addition, he registered a third-place finish in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East competition on the short track at Daytona International Speedway at Daytona Beach, Fla., in February.
BMR PR
