Hunter Baize Joins New Team for 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Season
- Feb 27, 2017
“It’s a learning curve, it really is,” Baize said. “I learned that first hand at Smyrna. We struggled at New Smyrna. We qualified like (14th) or something. We were running outside the top 10 before we got wrecked. It wasn’t a terrible performance before the accident there. But it was definitely not what we were accustomed to later on in the year.” Baize put that first race behind him quickly. He rattled off 10 top-10 finishes in the remaining 13 races and won the Sunoco Rookie of the Year. Even though he didn’t win a race, an omission he plans on fixing in his second year in the K&N Pro Series East, he became one of the more consistent drivers in the series. But finding his groove took some time, especially switching from late models to the cars in the East Series. “You’re going to get smacked in the face with the change of how things drive, how the series works at Smyrna,” Baize said. “It’s cool to have that learning experience over. We’ve been to a lot of these tracks now.” Baize switched teams for the 2017 K&N Pro Series East season which, again, starts at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. He is driving for Martin-McClure Racing after spending his rookie season with HScott Motorsports. Baize said he believes he is building a winning program with Martin-McClure Racing. “I really think we’ve built a program that can compete for the win at Smyrna and hopefully the championship,” the 19-year-old Baize said. “We’re really excited about everything that’s come together over the off-season. We’re looking forward to getting down there for sure.”
“This is a tremendous day for the entire Martin-McClure Racing organization. As Hal (Martin) and I set out nearly two years ago to lay the foundation for a thriving operation, I never imagined we would see success so quickly, nor experience some of the most rewarding days of my professional career in such a short period of time,” McClure said. “Bringing a driver of the caliber of Hunter Baize under our banner, following the talent we saw in our equipment last year, reinforces the attainability of the vision we have and is a testament to the efforts of personnel that share the same beliefs. “In addition, the continuation of the Reynolds Wrap program is a great blessing for us. The national and regional brand partnership additions we have validate the successful positive return initiatives that we have in place both on and off the track.” Baize had a successful rookie season. He had seven top-10 finishes in a row starting with a sixth-place finish at Virginia International Raceway and ending with a ninth-place finish at Watkins Glen International in New York. In between, he posted his best finish, a fifth place among K&N Pro Series East drivers at Iowa Speedway. The Iowa Speedway race consisted of drivers from the K&N Pro Series East and West. But he did not win a race in his rookie campaign. “If I had my choice, I would have definitely taken a win,” Baize said. “The rookie of the year is no consolation prize. That was a very talented rookie class. We beat some very talented guys. Many of them went on to win races. We were solid. I felt the races we really had the speed we just had awful luck.” Even though he had his best run near the end of the season, he said his best races, the places where he had the fastest cars, were at Bristol Motor Speedway and Stafford Motor Speedway. He blew two engines over the weekend at Bristol. At Stafford, he wrecked with 15 laps to go in the race. The Stafford race was in the middle of his seven straight top 10s.
With a year under his belt, and a new team, Baize said he is ready to not only contend for wins, but the K&N Pro Series East championship. He finished fourth in the K&N Pro Series East standings in 2016. “I think we’ve built a team that can contend for wins anywhere we go and ultimately the championship,” Baize said. “I definitely hope to get in the win column this year ideally more than once and I want to be in the discussion come Dover to bring home the big cup this year.” Baize said he is thankful for having the support of K&N in the Pro Series East. “It’s absolutely instrumental,” Baize said. “It’s no secret this sport runs on partnerships like the ones K&N and NASCAR has built. We are extremely thankful they give us the opportunity to run in such a great and competitive series. I hope we represent them well. Definitely thankful to have them on board.” | ||||
 | ||||
| ||||
| | ||||
