NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Meets West in the Casey’s General Store 150 at Iowa Speedway

East met West at the beautiful 7/8 mile oval 30 miles east of Des Moines, Iowa

Ben Rhodes won his second race of the season in the first NASCAR K&N Pro Series combination race of the season.

Rhodes led a pack of eight drivers from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in the Casey’s General Store 150 at Iowa Speedway. The race pitted drivers and teams from both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West.

Brodie Kostecki had the fastest qualifying time and started the race in the pole position

The top-eight drivers in the race at Iowa Speedway were from the K&N Pro Series East.

David Mayhew was the top-finishing driver from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and also credited with a win.

Rhodes took the lead from pole winner Brodie Kostecki on lap 36 and led the final 115 laps of the race.

Brodie Kostecki led the first 35 laps of the Casey’s General Store 150 before Rhodes took the lead on lap 36

“It just had speed. I don’t know. I think the track really came to us there at the end,” said Rhodes, a 17-year-old junior in high school. “The sun went down and it just came to us. All day long we were struggling with grip, struggling with tires and how slick the track was.”

Rhodes also won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Greenville Pickens Speedway in South Carolina in March.

Rhodes led 115 laps and took the checkered flag 2.377 seconds ahead of second place finisher Nick Drake

He extended his lead in the K&N Pro Series East standings to 38 points over Cameron Hayley. Gray Gaulding is third in the K&N Pro Series East standings, one point behind Hayley.

“We had a fast car,” Rhodes said. “It’s hard to say because I don’t know if we had that much a better car or if other people were just struggling. It was close to where I wanted it, but it wasn’t perfect.”

Rookie Nick Drake crossed the finish line in second place. It was the best finish of his K&N Pro Series career. He was third at the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Richmond International Raceway in April.

Ben Rhodes and his team celebrate their second win on the season in victory lane

“I think we’re headed in the right direction with the third at Richmond and then coming here and running second,” Drake said. “It was a good night.”

Scott Heckert also posted the best finish of his K&N Pro Series East career in third place. His previous best finish was seventh place at Road Atlanta Racetrack in Georgia.

“The car was really good,” Heckert said. “I thought we had a chance at the win there. We were fighting with Ben Rhodes and thought maybe we were a little quicker than him. Just burning off a little bit, started to get a little loose at the end. Just rode there and came home with a good finish.”

Ben Rhodes accepts the first place trophy for his NASCAR K&N Pro Series win in the Casey’s General Store 150 at Iowa Speedway

Mayhew finished ninth overall and won his second K&N Pro Series West race in a row. He also won the K&N Pro Series West race at Stockton 99 Speedway in California earlier this month.

“We played it safe,” Mayhew said. “We knew we didn’t have the car to win tonight, but wanted to bring it home in one piece.”

Greg Pursley was 12th overall and the second place driver from the K&N Pro Series West. He has a 12-point lead over Mayhew in the K&N Pro Series West standings. Dylan Lupton is third in the K&N Pro Series West standings, two points behind Mayhew.

The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race is the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 at Bowman Gray Stadium in North Carolina on May 31. The next NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race is the Armed Forces 150 at Kern County Raceway Park in California on May 24.