HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks (HSMJM) traveled to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on Saturday for the first road course race of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) season. HSMJM entered the event having won two of the four races completed thus far.
Justin Haley led the charge for the four-car organization. He qualified second and finished second, after leading 19 laps. Hunter Baize, in his road course debut, charged to sixth after starting 19th. Harrison Burton, also in his road course debut, started inside the top 10 and finished 11th. Tyler Dippel started an impressive sixth and raced inside the top five for much of the race before being sidelined by a broken transmission.
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Justin Haley, driver of the No. 5… Haley entered the Biscuitville 125 as the veteran road racer in the HSMJM stable. The 17-year-old, Indiana native qualified his No. 5 Braun Auto Chevrolet SS second and never dropped below fourth in the race. He grabbed the lead on lap 33 and went on to build a more than three-second lead. On the final restart, contact with another car moved Haley out of the lead. He went on to finish second and is now tied for the NKNPSE points lead with Kyle Benjamin.
Haley on VIR… “My HSMJM guys gave me a great car. We were definitely the fastest car there, but when you get moved that doesn’t really matter. I could’ve wrecked him back to get the win, but I wasn’t taught to race like that. I might be kicking myself for not moving him for a long time, though. It was a good points day, but it’s still frustrating to not win a race that your team deserved to win.”
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Hunter Baize, driver of the No. 13… Baize made his road course debut on Saturday, taking his time working his way through traffic after starting in the 19th position. He moved inside the top five with just a few laps remaining. The No. 13 Bicycle Playing Cards/Pine Mountain Firelogs Chevrolet SS was one of only a handful of cars without damage after the race. Ultimately, he finished sixth and earned his third top-10 finish in five races this season. He now sits 10th in points.
Baize on VIR… “If you would have told me I was going to finish sixth in my road course debut, I don’t know if I would’ve believed you. My HSMJM guys gave me a great car and, as the weekend went on, I got more comfortable. By the end of the race, we were a legitimate contender. This road racing is really fun, especially when you have a car that good. My team continues to gel and get better each week. I’m so thankful for this opportunity.”
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Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 12… Burton, like three of his four teammates, made his road racing debut on Saturday. Burton qualified 10th and, after one off-track stint that caused him to fall to 22nd early, raced his way back into the top 10 late in the event. He ended up finishing 11th in the No. 12 DEX Imaging/Konica Minolta Toyota Camry. He sits ninth in NKNPSE points heading to Dominion Raceway on Memorial Day.
Burton on VIR… “Overall I’m pretty happy with the result. Of course you always want to win when you come to the race track but, being my first race on a road course, I’m happy to bring the car home in one piece and with a solid finish. My team is definitely getting stronger, we are communicating better and things are starting to click. As much as I enjoyed turning right, I’m ready to get back to an oval.”
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Tyler Dippel, driver of the No. 38… Dippel also entered the Biscuitville 125 at VIR with no prior road course experience. He qualified his No. 38 EastWest Marine/TyCar Chevrolet SS sixth and raced into the top five. With just seven laps remaining, he was in second place, behind his HSMJM teammate Haley. Dippel got a good restart and stayed with Haley but broke a transmission just a few moments later. Although an impressive drive, the 15-year-old was left with a disappointing 19th-place finish.
Dippel on VIR… “There isn’t much to say except that it’s really disappointing. The car was really good all weekend and it just kept getting better. I definitely started the weekend slow, but I feel like by the end of the weekend I was pretty comfortable. Right before we broke, I think we had a shot at the win. We’ll regroup and head to Dominion for a win at the end of the month.”
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The Biscuitville 125 from VIR will not be broadcast as normal on NBC Sports Network, however you can watch highlights from the event this week on NASCAR America. The next race for the NKNPSE is the ComServe Memorial Day Classic at Dominion Raceway, located in Thornburg, Va., on Monday, May 30.
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