To say this weekend’s NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race is loaded is an understatement.
Derek Thorn knows the fast way around Sonoma Raceway.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship points leader also knows what’s at stake on the 2.52-mile road course in Saturday’s Carneros 200. A good finish could propel the Bakersfield, California, driver forward to his second series title. Misfortune could spell doom, despite there still being eight races left on the schedule.
“This race and the dirt race can be pivotal points in your championship run,” said Thorn, referencing the race at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Both races are expected to have sizable fields — Sonoma has 31 entries — and a bad finish could be hard to overcome. “You have to go into it and hope lady luck is on your side. You can’t make any mistakes and your car has to be right and you have to take care of your car.”
Thorn is coming off a win at Colorado National Raceway on June 9, which gave him a two-point lead over his Bob Bruncati Racing teammate Ryan Partridge.
Thorn’s had success at Sonoma. He finished second to Cup driver David Gilliland in 2012 and won the race in 2013 en route to the championship. He also finished 28th in a one-off start in 2017 after suffering engine failure. Partridge finished fourth there in 2016.
Bill McAnally Racing’s Derek Kraus, Cole Rouse and Hailie Deegan all enter the event in the top six in championship points. Kraus, 16, finished fifth at the California road course, while the 20-year-old Rouse was 10th there in 2016. The 16-year-old Deegan will be making her first road-course start.
A day at Sonoma can go south in a hurry.
In 2016, Todd Gilliland was caught up in a melee on the race’s initial green flag and finished 24th. His only saving grace was championship challenger Chris Eggleston was also similarly snake-bitten and finished 26th.
In the last 10 years, Thorn and Jason Bowles (2009) have won at Sonoma and took home the West title in the same season. Outside of the 2016 anomaly, the average finish at Sonoma for the eventual series champion is 4.2.
“It’s a grueling race,” said Thorn. “To run well or finish up front, you have to be there at the end and make no mistakes. That’s not easy when you have 11 turns and cars all around you and curbs to hit.”
The other thing Sonoma brings — as will the Vegas dirt race — is a handful of cars that could contend for the win but aren’t involved in the championship race.
Will Rodgers leads that pack. The 23-year-old NASCAR Next driver has won the last three road course events in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and finished a highly-publicized runner-up to former Cup champion Kevin Harvick last year at Sonoma. Rodgers is coming off an East win last weekend on the road course at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Joining him in the “ringers” circle are five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers looking for extra seat time prior to Sunday’s Cup race.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron, along with Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez are entered, as is Cup veteran Aric Almirola. Bowman will be driving in a car prepared by BMR, while Bowman will be with Jefferson Pitts Racing. DGR-Crosley will field cars for Jones and Suarez.
“I think it’s cool having those Cup drivers in there and bringing attention to the race,” said Thorn. “I’m not a very good road racer, so I’m hoping to kind of learn something, to be honest with you.
“I hope I’m around them early in the race and learn something, and then apply it toward the end of the race.”
Cup drivers have participated in the West since the latter returned to the track in 2006 after an eight-year hiatus and Brian Vickers won. Since, David Gilliland (2007 and 2012), Joey Logano (2011), Kyle Larson (2014), Chase Elliott (2016) and Harvick (2017) have been to Victory Lane.
It hasn’t all been a smooth ride for the Cup drivers. Last year, Suarez finished 11th and Ryan Blaney 26th. Austin Dillon (23rd in 2014 and sixth in 2015), Ricky Stenhouse (fourth in 2014) and Trevor Bayne (10th in 2015) have had similar lukewarm finishes.
Saturday’s race will be at 1:30 p.m. PT, and air on NBCSN on Thursday, June 28 at 6 p.m.
By then, we will know how big an impact the course had on the K&N Pro Series West championship picture.
NASCAR PR
