The Race: The PittLite 125 is the third event of the season for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. It’s the third of 14 oval track events and 16 races, overall, on the 2014 schedule. This is the series’ third visit to iconic high-banked Tennessee oval.
The Procedure: The starting field is 36 cars, including provisionals. The first 32 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials while the remaining four starting spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 125 laps covering 66.625 miles with a break at or near the conclusion of Lap 70.
The Track: Bristol Motor Speedway opened in 1961 and hosted its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on July 30, 1961 won by Jack Smith. The .533-mile concrete oval has 600-foot staightaways with five to nine degrees of banking on the frontstretch and four to eight degrees on the backstretch. The turns are progressively banked from 24 to 28 degrees. The racing surface is 40 feet wide.
The Records: The one-lap qualifying record for the series at Bristol of 15.898 seconds (120.694 mph) is held by Michael McGuire and established on March 16, 2013. The 125-lap race record of 1 hour, 2 minutes, 6 seconds (65.402 mph) was set on March 17, 2012 by Nelson Piquet Jr. in a race that was extended to 127 laps.
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| Dylan Kwasniewski won the DRIVE4COPD 125 at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2013. |
BRISTOL RACE NOTES
A First For Triumphant Gladiator: The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East field rolls into “The Last Great Colosseum” with each driver hoping to add a Bristol victory to their résumé. The victor will be a first-time winner at the Tennessee track with the two previous series winners – Nelson Piquet Jr. (2012) and Dylan Kwasniewski (2013) not in the field. Eight drivers on the entry list, led by Eddie MacDonald with six, have K&N East wins to their credit while two others have K&N West victories on their list of racing accomplishments.
Elite List: With a K&N Pro Series West win on Feb. 27 at Phoenix International Raceway, Cole Custer becomes the ninth driver to win points races in both East and West series. The other eight are Chuck Bown, Ricky Craven, Brian Ickler, Kwasniewski, Joey Logano, Andrew Ranger, Ken Schrader and Peyton Sellers. Custer is seeking his third career K&N East win in the PittLite 125.
So Far; So Good: The transition from NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Models to K&N Pro Series East cars has been fairly seamless for two-time and reigning weekly series national champion Lee Pulliam. The Semora, N.C., driver has posted top-five finishes in each of his first two K&N East outings. Pulliam, last year, joined the late Larry Phillips (5) and Philip Morris (4) as the only multi-time national champions in the 32-year history of the grassroots series.
Big Machine Garbo: Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender David Garbo Jr. added country music powerhouse Big Machine Records as the primary sponsor on his No. 1 Hattori Racing Enterprises Toyota. The label’s CEO and founder Scott Borchetta is a former racing competitor and champion at Nashville’s Tennessee State Fairgrounds Speedway.
Welcome Aboard: United Mining Equipment, a global supplier of industrial and mining lights, is a new partner for Bristol Motor Speedway and sponsor of the PittLite 125.
“We are pleased to be associated with Bristol Motor Speedway and the K&N Series race,” said Don Simms, UME president and CEO. “We look forward to building this new relationship. We are excited about the PittLite 125 and have some special promotions planned for that weekend as well.”
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