Haley Dominates Before Late-Race Heartbreak, Byron and Sargeant Finish Top Five at Phoenix

 

Byron came into yesterday’s event at PIR looking to close out what has been a storied 2015 campaign. The day started in the right way, as Byron led the only practice session and followed that up by qualifying in the third position. As the race began, the 17-year-old quickly settled into the third position, looking to hold steady and make it to the race’s halfway point at lap 50. At the halfway break, Byron brought the Liberty University Chevrolet down pit road for adjustments sitting in the third position. As the race resumed, Byron took advantage of the restart and jumped into the second position. He held strong in second until a late restart with 25 laps to go saw him slide slightly to third. Byron had one more shot at the win after an incident struck teammate Haley. The NASCAR Next driver looked to utilize his strong restarts to capture the victory after starting second for the green/white/checkered finish. Byron came close to getting around the eventual race winner, but he had to settle for the runner-up finish. The result capped a great season for Byron in which he won his first NASCAR Championship, claiming the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title.

 

“I’m just really proud of our HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks team; all year we worked really hard and had a lot of good finishes. We had four wins overall and tried to get another win tonight, but just came up a little bit short. I feel like we progressed a lot over the season, not only me as a driver, but also the team. Kevin Bellicourt did a great job as a crew chief. It’s been a great year with Liberty University on board all season, and it’s fun to get a chance to cap it with this second-place finish.”

 

Sargeant entered the event at PIR looking to close out what has been an up-and-down 2015 season. The NASCAR Next driver had three prior NKNPSW starts this season and hadn’t finished worse than third in those previous three starts. The day got started in the right way for Sargeant as he qualified in the fourth position. The 17-year-old ran inside the top five throughout the entirety of the first half of the race and would restart the second half in the fifth position. Sargeant slid back slightly as the race resumed to sixth, however, the Florida native showed the speed behind the GALT Chevrolet and fought hard through late-race restarts to bring home a fourth-place finish. The result marked Sargeant’s fourth top-five finish in four starts this season in the NKNPSW.

 

“It was a good solid night for everyone on the GALT team at Phoenix. We weren’t able to close the year out with the win like we were hoping for, but overall it was a great way to end our season. I’ve learned so much from everyone on this HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks team that I’ll continue to utilize throughout the rest of my career. We accomplished some really great things this season, and I couldn’t be more proud of how hard each and every one of the guys in that shop work to bring us the best cars possible each weekend. It’s been a fun season, and I can’t thank everyone enough.”

 

Haley came into the event at PIR looking to end the 2015 season on a high note. The day got started in the best way possible, as Haley laid down the quickest lap in qualifying and captured his first-career K&N Pro Series pole award. As the race began, Haley made it clear that the Braun Auto Chevrolet was one to be reckoned with, quickly moving out to a large lead and continually holding off each challenger at the front. At the halfway break, Haley continued to hold the race lead and looked poised to capture his first-career victory in a K&N Pro Series event. As the second half began, Haley once again showcased the speed behind his Chevrolet and jumping out to another commanding race lead. Haley would remain up front until the caution flag flew on lap 94 for the Indiana native just six laps shy of the scheduled total distance. A cut right-front tire forced Haley to come down pit road and relegated him to the back of the field. The 16-year-old fought through the final green/white/checkered finish to bring home a 21st-place result. Despite the less-than-ideal result, Haley looked strong in his final K&N start of 2015, leading the most laps in the event after starting from the pole position.

 

“It was a tough night for everyone on this Braun Auto team. The guys over at HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks gave me a lightning-fast car. We definitely had the class of the field, but unfortunately sometimes those things happen in racing. Even though we didn’t pick up the win, it was still great to get out front and lead some laps in the final K&N race for us this season. I can’t thank everyone enough who builds and works on these racecars. Hopefully this strong run at Phoenix can help us put forth a strong outing in the Truck race and help us build momentum for moving forward into 2016.”

HScott Motorsports PR