Iowa Speedway…The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) is set for the 12th race of the 2014 season, the Autolite Iridium XP 150 at Iowa Speedway. This will mark the second and final NASCAR K&N Pro Series showdown for 2014, marking the last time the East and West Series will be competing on the same track this season. The Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM) NKNPSE team most recently competed at Columbus Motor Speedway, where Cameron Hayley, Ben Rhodes, Kaz Grala and Scott Heckert all brought home top-10 finishes. Brandon Jones, meanwhile, had to recover from a penalty, ultimately bringing home a top 15. TSM looks to get back to victory lane this weekend at Iowa Speedway after earning the win with Ben Rhodes back in May, in the team’s first trip to Iowa this season.
Kaz Grala…Grala heads into this weekend’s East vs. West Showdown at Iowa Speedway looking to continue the momentum built with three-straight top-10 runs. The 15-year-old brought home a solid eighth at Columbus a few weeks ago and looks to utilize previous experience from Iowa Speedway in May to put forth another strong performance. The last time the NKNPSE visited Iowa, Grala suffered a blown tire only 38 laps into the event, resulting in a 22nd-place finish in his first-career start at the track. The youngest full-time driver in the NKNPSE looks to change the outcome this time around and move his top-10 streak to four. Grala enters this East vs. West showdown currently ninth in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Kaz Grala on returning to Iowa Speedway:
“The No. 31 OzLINK Team had a fast racecar at our first race in Iowa, but unfortunately bad luck was on our side, as we punctured a tire early in the event. We know that we have a good piece, and I can’t wait to get back to the track and try again.”
Brandon Jones…Jones comes into this weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway looking to rebound from Columbus. After earning his second win in just his second start in the ARCA Racing Series last weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway, Jones looks to get back on track in the NKNPSE at Iowa Speedway. The 17-year-old has three previous starts at Iowa Speedway in a NKNPSE car, with an average finish of 10.7 and a career-best finish of fifth earlier this season. Jones currently sits fifth in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Brandon Jones on the weekend at Iowa Speedway:
“We’ve been having some good runs as of late, especially in the ARCA Series with my No. 33 team, but now I’m ready for a win in the East Series. I think we will put together another good run this weekend at Iowa. We were strong there in May and were just a few adjustments from being up in the front battling with my teammate for the win. My crew chief Shane [Huffman] and the guys have been working hard to get me a good piece that we can put in victory lane this weekend.”
Scott Heckert…Heckert comes into this weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway looking to improve upon another solid top 10 at Columbus Motor Speedway. Heckert put together a note-worthy weekend at Columbus, as the 20-year-old was able to capture his second-career pole, lead laps and bring home a top-10 finish. Heckert looks to continue the No. 34 team’s momentum as the NKNPSE heads into Iowa Speedway, the same track where he recorded a career-best finish (third) earlier this season. Heckert has three-career starts at Iowa Speedway, with an average finish of 13.0. Heckert enters this weekend’s East vs. West showdown ranked12th in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Scott Heckert on returning to Iowa Speedway:
“Iowa is my favorite track on the K&N schedule. Last time out we ran really well and had a shot at the win, so we’re pretty confident that we will put together another strong showing in the No. 34 Project Lifesaver Chevy. We just need to improve a little and we will be hard to beat.”
Ben Rhodes…Rhodes enters this weekend’s race at Iowa Speedway looking to get back into victory lane for the sixth time this season. Rhodes put forth a solid race the last time out at Columbus Motor Speedway, bringing home a third-place finish. The NASCAR Next driver looks to improve upon that as the series returns to the site of his second-career NKNPSE victory. Rhodes dominated the race at Iowa in May, leading 115 of 150 laps. This weekend will mark Rhodes’ fourth-career start at Iowa Speedway in the NKNPSE, where the 17-year-old holds an average finish of 4.0 through three races. Rhodes heads into Iowa this weekend as the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings leader, with a 62-point advantage over his TSM teammate Hayley.
Ben Rhodes on returning to Iowa:
“My entire Turner Scott Motorsports Team is excited to head back to Iowa Speedway. Our win in May was pretty big and this is the first time we are returning to a track where we’ve already won this season. We took some great notes following the race, and we’re heading back with some knowledge on how we can make our car better during the race. We should have another fast Alpha Energy Solutions Chevrolet, so I’m excited to get back to Iowa.”
Cameron Hayley…Hayley comes into this weekend’s race at Iowa with a bunch of momentum after bringing home a runner-up finish at Columbus a few weeks ago. Iowa Speedway is statistically one of Hayley’s best tracks, as he has four NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Starts at the 0.875-mile track with an average finish of 3.2. Hayley finished 12th earlier this season in his NKNPSE debut at the track after suffering some setbacks midway through the race. Hayley heads to Iowa Speedway sitting second in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Cameron Hayley on heading back to Iowa:
“A win is right around the corner, I can feel it. We have some really good notes from the race last time at Iowa, and I feel like we will have a really fast No. 98 Cabinets by Hayley Chevrolet going in this time. It’s time for us to go get our first win on the season.”
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