The K&N Pro Series is somewhat of a development stage for some of motorsports finest talent. And I had the greatest opportunity in attending one of their recent races. The east division was set to make an appearance at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia. And I was set on making an appearance at the race myself. I set out on an 8 hour drive with my father and younger brother. Two hours of our trip was spent in Atlanta traffic. Upon our arrival at our hotel, we were surprised to find that Sam Hunt, who is a driver in the series, and his team were staying at our hotel. After a few hours spent eating dinner and just relaxing, my father took my brother to swim in the pool. When they returned to our hotel room, they informed me that Coleman Pressley, who is a crew chief for X Team Racing in the series and friends with Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano, was down in the lobby. I went to the lobby to see if they were right, and sure enough, there sat Coleman. I went up to him and introduced myself, also informing him that I am a huge fan of Joey Logano. He invited me to stay and chat for a while. After talking about Joey Logano leading final practice, and a few jokes about Danica Patrick, another surprise guest showed up. Mr. Corey LaJoie from the series joined us. Coleman introduced me to Corey. Eventually, all the guys from X Team Racing showed up and I was introduced to them as well. Including the driver Coleman is crew chief for, Daniel Suarez. After a few more jokes and watching a bit of the truck race, I decided to head back to our hotel room. Before I left though, Coleman invited me to come by the X Team hauler the next day at the race and check out the car and everything. Then we said our goodbyes and I went on my way.
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| Credit to Reba Robinson |
Earlier during the week I had won a hero card from Sergio Pena. I figured since I was here, I should take the time to thank him personally. So I tweeted him asking where he was at so I could thank him. In return, he invited me to come by the hauler and he would personally give me the card instead. I headed over to the Hattori Racing hauler of Pena. I don't believe I've ever met someone as lively and friendly as Pena. When I reached the hauler, Sergio greeted me happily. He handed me the hero card then also offered me a hug as well, which I happily accepted. We talked for a few minutes, discussing the long drives that we both had to make, and just different things. Then I asked if we could take a picture. Much like everyone else, Sergio was happy to oblige. I've gotta say, he was probably one of the coolest, most down to earth people I met all day.
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| Pole Sitter Cale Conley Credit to Kevin Lyles/NASCAR on NASCARHometracks.com |
Directly following qualifying was the mandatory driver autograph session. Which meant that all the guys I hadn't had a chance to meet before hand, would be available now. Including Cale Conley, who's girlfriend Emma Blaney insisted I stop by and meet. And good thing I was already in the pit area, considering the huge line of people I saw waiting to be let on the track for the session. I headed to the first guy I saw and went from there, collecting autographs and pictures with many of the ones there. Dylan Presnell was first. Then I found Chase Elliott. Luckily I got to him then, because that's who everybody went for when the track opened to everyone else. I went on to meet others. Kyle Larson was one of them. Little did I know that he would end up winning the race. Corey LaJoie was another. I actually ran into him a couple times that day, and he remembered me from the hotel. When I met him at the autograph session, he asked what I thought of the glasses that his girlfriend Kirsti had just given him. I told him that they looked great, which was clearly not the answer he was hoping for. But Kirtsi, Kyle Larson, and I all found his reaction quite humorous.
I proceeded on to meet Brett Moffitt, who seemed kind of quiet and low lying. But when you made him laugh, he seemed like a totally different guy. Then I went on to Cale Conley, as recommended by Emma Blaney. I got an autograph and a picture, but Emma was nowhere to be seen. However, as I was walking away, Emma was walking towards us. Apparently, I must be easily recognizable because she approached me with the most lively attitude. She asked if I'd gotten my picture with Cale like she told me, and I told her I had. She then told me that Cale is one lucky guy to have met someone as pretty as me. I couldn't believe I'd just been complimented by someone like Emma!
After the autograph session, the K&N cars were moved to behind the pit area to prepare for the local division that were set to run before the K&N guys. After 4 of those races, it was finally time for the Slack Auto Parts 150. And every lap was full of action. here were a handful of cautions, including a few red flags. One of the red flags involved Enrique Contreras, who was transported to the ER after his hard hit into the wall. The final red flag was in the closing laps.
Alright, so here's a bit of a heated opinion from me. I'm probably a bit biased on this, considering I was pulling for Kwasniewski to win. However, this is how it went down. Kwasniewski was running third behind Conley and Larson, with Moffitt following in suit in fourth. As the field came across the line with 8 to go, Moffitt seemed to get a bit impatient. Conley had a bit of a lead over the whole field. As Kwasniewski and Moffitt were exiting turn two, Moffitt who had been bumping into Kwasniewski's rear all through the turn, gave Kwasniewski a hard and very unneeded hit in the rear. This caused Kwasniewski to spin, resulting in some rough left rear damage from the initial hit. However, since this happened at the front of the field, a couple others collect damage while trying to avoid Kwasniewski who was stuck in the middle of the track trying to get his car re fired. I feel like Moffitt could have went about this a completely different way. He had a run on Kwasniewski, and the bottom lane was wide open. However, instead of moving down and completing a clean pass, Moffitt forced an accident to ensue. This marks two weeks in a row in which Moffitt has been involved in an accident with a Joe Gibbs Racing car. It follows his encounter with Darrell Wallace Jr at Bowman-Gray Stadium, which resulted in a more physical argument, which had been stopped before any actually fighting had occurred.
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| Race Winner Kyle Larson Credit Kevin Lyles/NASCAR on NASCARHometracks.com |
And as if all this wasn't enough, we had a bit of surprise when we were heading to our car to leave. We walked past a truck that was right across from our, and a man was sitting on the tailgate. This man was oddly to familiar to me. As my father and brother were putting everything in the car, I asked my dad if he wanted to meet Bill Elliott. When he asked me how, I told him that when had all just walked past him and no one recognized him but me. He thought I was absolutely nuts. But of course, he had to go back and see. Sure enough, he discovered that I was right again. My dad had the opportunity to meet someone who he had been a fan of for years. that was the highlight of his day.
So there you have it. My quick summary of my weekend at Gresham Motorsports Park. And the chance at seeing what a race is like from this fans viewpoint. Gresham is a very fan friendly place, that also brings forth great racing. And can bring out the dark side in any driver, no matter how friendly they may be. Below will be links to a couple other articles that talk about the race, including practice and qualifying results, a race summary, and a list of the nights results. And there will also be a link to my pictures from the weekend.
Links:
PRACTICE: Conley Leads Field At Gresham As K&N East Teams Prepare For Slack Auto Parts 150
QUALIFYING: Conley Keeps It Going First Pole For 20-Year-Old After Pacing Practice
Kyle Larson Takes Win At Gresham
http://greshammotorsportspark.com/newsstory.php?id_news=418
Race Results
K&N East Points Standings
Reba's Weekend Pictures
