Dylan Lupton Wins His First NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Race at Evergreen Speedway
- Aug 24, 2013
"This is my first time at Evergreen Speedway," said Lupton, the leading contender for this year's Sunoco Rookie of the Year title, on Saturday night after the race. "I struggled all day long. It was funny. I asked Greg Pursley earlier today for a little bit of advice. I said, 'Greg I'm lost out here. I need help.' He gave me a little bit of advice. I never in a million years would think that I would be battling him for the win." Dylan Lupton led only six laps, the final six laps of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Toyota, after starting on the fifth row in ninth. He passed Eric Holmes on a restart on lap 144. Derek Thorn and Holmes crashed in turn 1 and set up the final restart of the race. After a red flag caution period to clean up the track, Dylan Lupton was out front on the restart with Pursley in third and Thorn in fifth. "With a few laps to go, Derek and few others got into each other and I wound up in first," Lupton said. "We were able to bring it home." Pursley finished in second place, but he was not happy about how the race ended. "I would like to say it was a good night, we finished second - but we killed the car," Pursley said. "We got in a wreck down there. With three to go the (No.) 6 car (Thorn) turned the (No.) 16 car (Holmes) and came off the wall and got us pretty hard. We were racing hard there at the end and blew a tire going in there and killed the car."
Thorn, the leader in the K&N Pro Series West standings, was third. After the race, Thorn said the multi-car crash with Holmes was his fault. "It was just a perfect storm," Thorn said. "I drove it in too deep, no air on the spoiler, too much rear brake. I couldn't save it, got into him. I tried to lean on him equally, to where I was pushing him up and not spinning him out. I ended up knocking him around. It seemed like everyone behind him got collected in it too. I just feel bad, the NAPA guys put on a great, great show here and they sponsor a lot of our races. I hate it for them and Bill McAnally Racing." But Thorn added if the race unfolded differently, Lupton might not have been in position to win. "I got to congratulate my teammate Dylan Lupton for an awesome run," Thorn said. "Had I not messed up like I did, and got into Holmes, I don't know if they would have won. I'm happy it all worked out. It's just kind of a bittersweet deal." Thorn has a 23-point lead over Cameron Hayley in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings with six races left in the season. Hayley finished in 10th place at Evergreen Speedway. Michael Self dropped from second place to third place in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West standings after the Evergreen Speedway race. His car experienced mechanical problems early in the race and he came in 16th place. The NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Toyota will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 on Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race is at Spokane County Raceway in Washington on Aug. 24. |
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| Related K&N News Articles about NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and Evergreen Speedway: Eric Holmes Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Race at Evergreen Speedway in Washington; NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Racer Greg Pursley Wins at Evergreen Speedway; Cole Custer Wins NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Iowa Speedway Leading Entire Pork Be Inspired 150; Derek Thorn Dominates NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Race at Colorado National Speedway |
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