NEWTON, Iowa - Brandon McReynolds will celebrate his 24th birthday next week. But it will be hard to top the celebration he had at Iowa Speedway.
McReynolds earned his first NASCAR victory in the Casey’s General Store 150 Saturday at the Newton, Iowa raceway, the first of two annual combination races between the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West.
He joins a list that includes defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Chase Elliott, Cole Custer and Brandon Jones as drivers who have won their first NASCAR race in the K&N Pro Series on their way up to the national series at the Midwest track whose slogan proclaims, appropriately, “Stars Are Made Here.”
McReynolds, driving the No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for Bill McAnally Racing, became the second West driver in 12 races to win the combination race at Iowa. He led twice for 22 laps, including the final eight.
William Byron led a race-high 128 laps and finished second and will be credited with a victory as the highest finishing NASCAR K&N Pro Series East driver. It is the second win in four races for the 17-year-old, who won his first career 21 Means 21 Pole Award earlier in the day and is the series points leader.
Ronnie Bassett, Jr. finished third, followed by Jesse Little and McReynolds’ BMR rookie teammate Christopher Bell.
J.J. Haley was sixth overall, followed by Noah Gragson, Scott Heckert, Kyle Benjamin and Winston, GA’s Austin Hill.
Byron extended his K&N Pro Series East points lead to 14 over Hill and 19 over Benjamin. In the K&N Pro Series West, Gragson leads Chris Eggleston by four points and Gracin Raz by nine.
It was the 34th career series start for the Mooresville, North Carolina, driver. McReynolds, the son of NASCAR on FOX announcer Larry McReynolds, is an alum of the NASCAR Next program — an industry initiative designed to spotlight the sport’s rising stars.
Four of the top 10 at Iowa — Byron, Little, Benjamin and Hill — were recently named to the 2015-16 NASCAR Next class.
In his first full season last year, McReynolds finished fourth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West on the strength of five top three runs in 14 races.
Saturday night, he finally got the win that eluded him.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East/West
Iowa Speedway – Newton, Iowa
Casey’s General Store 150 – May 16, 2015
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 16 | Brandon McReynolds | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 150 | 48W | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 1 | 9 | William Byron * | Liberty University Chevrolet | 150 | 48E | 5 | Running |
| 3 | 12 | 4 | Ronnie Bassett, Jr. | Bassett Gutters Ford | 150 | 42E | Running | |
| 4 | 13 | 97 | Jesse Little | NTI/Moo’s Blues BBQ/PFC Toyota | 150 | 41E | Running | |
| 5 | 15 | 54 | Christopher Bell * | ToyotaCare Toyota | 150 | 42W | Running | |
| 6 | 16 | 5 | JJ Haley * | Braun Auto Chevrolet | 150 | 40E | Running | |
| 7 | 17 | 7 | Noah Gragson * | AlertID/Colliers Int’l Ford | 150 | 41W | Running | |
| 8 | 3 | 34 | Scott Heckert | Project Lifesaver Chevrolet | 150 | 39E | Running | |
| 9 | 5 | 27 | Kyle Benjamin * | Eibach Ford | 150 | 38E | Running | |
| 10 | 9 | 22 | Austin Hill | A&D Welding Ford | 150 | 37E | Running | |
| 11 | 14 | 17 | David Mayhew | MMI Racing/Ron’s Rear Ends/Pour House Chevrolet | 150 | 40W | Running | |
| 12 | 23 | 42 | Jay Beasley | Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota | 150 | 36E | Running | |
| 13 | 28 | 36 | David Garbo, Jr. * | Whelen Engineering Chevrolet | 150 | 35E | Running | |
| 14 | 35 | 23 | Trey Hutchens | Hutchens Racing Chevrolet | 150 | 34E | Running | |
| 15 | 11 | 99 | Chris Eggleston | NAPA Filters/H20 Fire Protection Toyota | 150 | 39W | Running | |
| 16 | 21 | 21 | Alex Schutte * | Proficio Chevrolet | 150 | 38W | Running | |
| 17 | 20 | 72 | Gracin Raz * | Trinity Energy Ford | 150 | 37W | Running | |
| 18 | 7 | 15 | Nick Drake | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 150 | 33E | Running | |
| 19 | 24 | 71 | Eddie MacDonald | Grimm Contracting Chevrolet | 150 | 32E | Running | |
| 20 | 31 | 91 | Ryan Partridge * | Eibach Springs/Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil Ford | 150 | 36W | Running | |
| 21 | 25 | 33 | Nicole Behar * | Custom Welding & Fabrication, Inc Ford | 150 | 35W | Running | |
| 22 | 29 | 2 | Collin Cabre * | UTI/NTI Toyota | 150 | 31E | Running | |
| 23 | 8 | 51 | Dalton Sargeant * | GALT Chevrolet | 149 | 30E | Running | |
| 24 | 4 | 6 | James Bickford | Sunrise Ford/Interstate Plastics Ford | 148 | 34W | Running | |
| 25 | 22 | 4 | Kenzie Ruston | Rev Racing Toyota | 147 | 29E | Running | |
| 26 | 34 | 61 | Brett Thompson | RTTI/61 Logistics/Blu.LNG.com Chevrolet | 147 | 33W | Running | |
| 27 | 33 | 45 | Christian Celaya * | Farbe Technik Chevrolet | 147 | 32W | Running | |
| 28 | 38 | 14 | Matt Levin * | Port of Tucson Toyota | 145 | 31W | Mechanical | |
| 29 | 10 | 3 | Kaz Grala | Kiklos Toyota | 145 | 28E | Running | |
| 30 | 26 | 98 | Rico Abreu * | AccuDoc Solutions/Go-Pro Motorplex/Curb Records | 142 | 27E | Accident | |
| 31 | 19 | 66 | Devon Amos * | Max Siegel, Inc. Toyota | 142 | 26E | Accident | |
| 32 | 37 | 30 | Ron Norman * | Port of Tucson Toyota | 135 | 30W | Running | |
| 33 | 30 | 55 | John Wood | Holleran’s Performance Toyota | 135 | 29W | Running | |
| 34 | 6 | 44 | Dillon Bassett * | Bassett Gutters Ford | 133 | 25E | Accident | |
| 35 | 27 | 31 | Johnny White * | MMI Services Chevrolet | 101 | 28W | Suspension | |
| 36 | 18 | 12 | Gray Gaulding | Krispy Kreme Donuts Toyota | 98 | 24E | Running | |
| 37 | 32 | 40 | Travis Miller | IPG itape.com Chevrolet | 77 | 27W | Mechanical | |
| 38 | 36 | 6 | Rob Powers * | Idaho 208 Toyota | 55 | 26W | Accident | |
| 39 | 39 | 84 | Rich DeLong, III | Country Girl Saloon/Ron’s Rear Ends Chevrolet | 5 | 25W | Suspension |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: William Byron *, Time: 23.757 Seconds, Speed: 132.592 mph
Time of Race: 1 hrs., 33 mins, 27 secs Average Speed: 84.270 mph Margin of Victory: .325 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 38-43 (Car # 12 Turn 2 – No FP); 52-56 (Car # 6 – Turn 2 – FP #33); 59-67 (Car #06 – Turn 3 – FP #2); 77-81 (Break – FP # 14); 133-139 (Car #44 Turn 2 – FP #91); 143-149 (Car # 98 and Car # 66 Turn 2 – FP #2). 6 for 39 laps.
Lap Leaders: William Byron * 1-44, Brandon McReynolds 45-57, William Byron * 58-141, Brandon McReynolds 142-150.
Total Laps Led: William Byron * 128, Brandon McReynolds 22. 3 changes involving 2 drivers.
* Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender
