Bowman Gray Stadium…Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM) heads into Bowman Gray Stadium this weekend for the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150, the seventh race of the 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) season. TSM comes into Bowman Gray following the organization’s second victory of 2014, as Ben Rhodes was victorious two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway. Scott Heckert and Brandon Jones brought home top fives, with Cameron Hayley and Kaz Grala suffering slight setbacks throughout the Casey’s General Stores 150 at Iowa Speedway. This weekend will mark the first time that four out of the five TSM drivers will race at the famed “Madhouse” of Bowman Gray Stadium. Grala, Jones, Rhodes and Hayley will all be making their first-career starts in the NKNPSE at Bowman Gray while Heckert has one previous start there in 2013.
Kaz Grala…Grala enters Bowman Gray coming off a rough outing at Iowa Speedway. The Rookie of the Year contender qualified inside the top 10 for the race, but a flat tire ended Grala’s day 38 laps into the event. Grala will make his first-career start at Bowman Gray this upcoming weekend, as the No. 31 OzLINK teams looks to get back on track and put together another solid top-10 weekend. Grala enters the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 10th in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Kaz Grala on making his first-career start at Bowman Gray:
“I’m very confident about the upcoming race weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium, the track famous for tight racing and plenty of contact. Our short-track program has been very strong as of late, so I’m expecting us to have a great weekend. Even with the bad luck at Iowa, we still had a strong qualifying effort and ran well in the early portion of the race. Hopefully that momentum will carry over to Bowman Gray for the No. 31 OzLINK team and we can score back some of the points lost.”
Brandon Jones…Jones comes into Bowman Gray looking to capitalize on his second top-five finish of 2014. Jones put together a solid performance at Iowa Speedway, starting inside the top 10 and bringing home a fifth-place finish. Jones looks to add to his recent string of success as he gets set to make his first-career NKNPSE start at Bowman Gray stadium. The 17-year-old enters the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 sitting seventh in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Brandon Jones on making his first-career start at Bowman Gray:
“Bowman Gray is going to be an interesting race for the No. 33 Wolfpack Energy Services team. We have had some great success as of late, and I think that momentum is really going to help us have a strong run this weekend. I’m excited to make my first start at Bowman Gray in the K&N Series, and hopefully we can continue to have the success that we have had in recent weeks.”
Scott Heckert…Heckert enters the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 coming off his career-best finish at Iowa Speedway. Heckert hopes to build off his third place in Iowa, as the NKNPSE comes back to a track the 20-year-old has visited before. In Heckert’s previous start at Bowman Gray in 2013, he brought home a 20th-place finish. Heckert looks to improve upon that in his second start at Bowman Gray, and first at the “Madhouse” with TSM. Heckert comes into Bowman Gray 15th in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Scott Heckert on returning to Bowman Gray Stadium:
“Bowman Gray is a real thinking man’s race. You can go in there with a plan and it will all change right at the drop of the green flag. We know we will have a fast car when we unload, so we just need to take care of the No. 34 TSM Chevy for 149 laps, and fight for a good finish at the end.”
Ben Rhodes…The NKNPSE Driver Point Standings leader comes to Bowman Gray with a ton of momentum. Rhodes is coming off his second-career victory in the NKNPSE with an extended points lead over TSM teammate Cameron Hayley. Rhodes looks to take advantage of that momentum as the 17-year-old makes his first-career start at the “Madhouse.” Rhodes enters the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 atop the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings with a 38-point advantage over second.
Ben Rhodes on making his first-career start at Bowman Gray:
“I am ready to finally race at Bowman Gray stadium, because of the excitement it produces for the fans and the history surrounding the track itself. We had a productive test a few weeks back and I’m looking forward to turning that into on-track success. I’ve recently studied the race at Bowman Gray from 2013, and I don’t think there was any competitor without damage on their cars when it was all said and done. I think it will be an interesting race for sure, and I know the No. 41 Alpha Energy Solutions team is going to give me a competitive car.”
Cameron Hayley….Hayley comes into Bowman Gray stadium looking to get his 2014 season back on track. Hayley was involved in a late-race incident at Iowa Speedway. While Hayley was able to continue on in the race, the accident ruined his chances of getting to victory lane and relegated the 17-year-old to a 12th-place finish. Hayley looks to improve upon that as he gets set to make his first-career start at the “Madhouse” this upcoming weekend. Hayley enters the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 second in the NKNPSE Driver Point Standings.
Cameron Hayley on making his first-career start at Bowman Gray:
“This year hasn’t exactly been going the way we wanted it to in February, but I feel like our luck is going to change very soon. I think we have a really good No. 98 Cabinets by Hayley Chevy for this weekend’s race, and I know I have the team behind me to get the job done. After the race at Iowa Speedway, I really sat down and looked at the entire season so far, and I know we need to start winning. I think this upcoming weekend at Bowman Gray is going to be a great track for that to start.”
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