Iowa Speedway Review: Casey’s General Store 150

Iowa Speedway hosted the one and only NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West combination race of the 2016 season. HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks (HSMJM) fielded it’s usual four cars in the Casey’s General Store 150 on Friday evening, July 29. 

 
It was a seasonally cool day in Newton, Iowa. NASCAR K&N Pro Series (NKNPS) cars had two one hour practice sessions. Hunter Baize led the team in first practice, he was seventh overall and Justin Haley led the team in a rain shortened final practice, he was sixth overall. In single car qualifying, Haley qualified sixth followed by Tyler Dippel in 12th. Harrison Burton and Baize qualified 18th and 19th respectively.
 
The race went green a little after 8:00 p.m. CDT. Haley at one point was the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) race leader and second overall. He ran inside the top 10 the entire 150 lap event. His seventh-place finish overall was good enough for fourth in the NKNPSE. Hunter Baize started deep in the field. As usual, he made his way into the top-10 shortly after halfway and didn’t venture far from that position. He finished eighth overall and a career-best fifth in the NKNPSE , his first top-five in his NASCAR career. He now sits fifth in NKNPSE points and is the sole leader in the Rookie-of-the-Year points. Tyler Dippel started 12th and made his way into the top-10 several times throughout the race. His 14th-place finish overall was good enough for an eighth-place finish in the NKNPSE. Harrison Burton’s bad luck continued. The 15-year-old driver blew two tires in the 150 lap race, relegating him to a 26th-place finish overall, 15th in the NKNPSE.
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Justin Haley, driver of the No. 5… Haley has had a near perfect season behind the wheel of the No. 5 Braun Auto Chevrolet SS this season. He has finish inside the top 10 in every NKNPSE event this season and the Casey’s General Store 150 was no exception. After qualifying sixth overall, he raced inside the top 10 all race long, getting as high as second overall before finishing seventh overall and fourth in the NKNPSE. He remains the NKNPSE points leader heading to Watkins Glen International next Friday.
 
Haley on Iowa… “Another solid day for this HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks team. We showed speed all weekend but were just never able to get up there and compete with the 16 (Todd Gilliland) and 40 (Kyle Benjamin). At one point I thought I might have something for at least the 40 but just couldn’t do anything with him. Overall it was a good weekend for us. Next weekend is a race I’m really looking forward to running. Watkins Glen is cool place and I know my guys will bring me a fast car.”
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Hunter Baize, driver of the No. 13… Baize made his Iowa Speedway debut on Friday evening. After a disappointing qualifying effort, the Bremen, Kentucky native drove into the top-10 and stayed there. He finished eighth overall and fifth in the NKNPSE, his best-career NKNPSE finish. He now sits fifth in NKNPSE points and is the sole Rookie-of-the-Year points leader.
 
Baize on Iowa… “We had a very fast Bicycle Playing Cards Chevrolet. Obviously we didn’t qualify like we should have but we had a great race car. I say it every week but it’s true, we’re getting better and better. I think we can pick up a win before this 2016 season is over. I can’t thank my team enough for yet another great race car this weekend.”
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Tyler Dippel, driver of the No. 38… Dippel made the trip to Iowa Speedway for the first time coming off a much needed top-10 effort at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After a solid 12th place qualifying effort, the 15-year-old Wallkill, N.Y., native raced inside the top-10 for much of the 150 lap race. After a mid-race pit stop for an adjustment, it appeared he was on his way to a possible top-five run. The dirt standout wound up 14th, which was good for yet another NKNPSE top-10 finish, an eighth. He will head to Watkins Glen International looking for his third straight top-10 finish and second win of the 2016 season.
 
Dippel on Iowa… “I thought we actually had a pretty good car. We lost the handle in the middle part of the race but the guys made a good adjustment and we drove back into the top-10. Although a 14th-place run isn’t what we were looking for, we’ll take it and move on to the next one. We have a really fast car for Watkins Glen (International) next weekend. I think we have a good shot at scoring our second win of the season there.”
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Harrison Burton, driver of the No. 12… If Harrison Burton didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all. The 15-year-old driver, son of former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Burton, has shown speed this season but doesn’t have the results to show for it. Despite the bad luck, he has three top-10 finishes this season, one of which was a top-five finish. In Friday’s Casey’s General Store 150, he was working his way forward when a flat tire ruined his night. Just before halfway, he had another flat tire and had to pit once again. He finished 26th overall and 15th in the NKNPSE.
 
Burton on Iowa… “We struggled this weekend. My guys worked hard but we just weren’t able to find the balance on our car this weekend. We’ll keep working and getting better. One of our better runs came on the road course at Virginia International Raceway in April, so I think Watkins Glen can be another solid weekend for us. We definitely need something good to happen and we’ll keep on fighting until that happens.”
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The NASCAR K&N Pro Series Casey’s General Store 150 from Iowa Speedway can be seen August 5 at 2:00 p.m. EDT on NBC Sports Network. Next weekend the NKNPSE heads to Watkins Glen International for the running of the Bully Hill Vineyards 100 on Friday, August 5 at 6:15 p.m. EDT.

HScott Motorsports PR