HAMPTON, Va. - William Byron made a trip to Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va. a couple of weeks ago to race a Late Model car and also get familiar with the tight .375-mile track. That trip paid off for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points leader.
Byron took the lead from pole sitter Rico Abreu on lap 1 and held off late challenges to score his third win of the season winning the Visit Hampton VA 175 Saturday night.
Kyle Benjamin was able to get past Dalton Sargeant for second place with about 10 laps to go and held on for his best finish since his win in April with Sargeant coming home third to give NASCAR Next drivers all three podium positions.
Gray Gaulding rebounded from having to make a pit stop on the opening pace laps to replace his radio and started in the last row to finish fourth. Jay Beasley finished fifth for his second top-five finish in as many races for Rev Racing.
Scott Heckert was sixth with local Langley Speedway Late Model competitior Justin Carroll seventh in his first series start. Nick Drake, Abreu and Winston, Ga.’s Austin Hill completed the top 10.
The race was slowed just three times by caution and was completed in 58:43 for a new race record average speed of 70.815 mph.
Byron also expanded his points lead to 23 points over Kyle Benjamin (253-230) with Austin Hill now third with 226 points.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to action at Columbus Motor Speedway on Saturday, July 4 for the NAPA 150.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
Langley Speedway – Hampton, VA
Visit Hampton VA 175 – June 20, 2015
| Fin | Str | Car | Driver | Team | Laps | Points | B/Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 9 | William Byron * | Liberty University Chevrolet | 175 | 48 | 5 | Running |
| 2 | 8 | 27 | Kyle Benjamin * | Eibach Ford | 175 | 42 | Running | |
| 3 | 7 | 51 | Dalton Sargeant * | GALT Chevrolet | 175 | 42 | 1 | Running |
| 4 | 5 | 12 | Gray Gaulding | Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Toyota | 175 | 40 | Running | |
| 5 | 12 | 42 | Jay Beasley | Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota | 175 | 39 | Running | |
| 6 | 9 | 34 | Scott Heckert | Project Lifesaver Chevrolet | 175 | 38 | Running | |
| 7 | 11 | 91 | Justin Carroll * | WindStax/Carroll Automotive/Snap-on Toyota | 175 | 37 | Running | |
| 8 | 4 | 15 | Nick Drake | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 175 | 36 | Running | |
| 9 | 1 | 98 | Rico Abreu * | Accudoc Solutions/Go-Pro Motorplex/Curb Records | 175 | 35 | Running | |
| 10 | 10 | 22 | Austin Hill | A&D Welding/Don Rich Ford | 175 | 34 | Running | |
| 11 | 14 | 4 | Ronnie Bassett, Jr. | Bassett Gutters Ford | 174 | 33 | Running | |
| 12 | 19 | 4 | Kenzie Ruston | Rev Racing Toyota | 174 | 32 | Running | |
| 13 | 13 | 44 | Dillon Bassett * | Bassett Gutters Ford | 174 | 31 | Running | |
| 14 | 15 | 6 | Devon Amos * | Max Siegel, Inc. Toyota | 174 | 30 | Running | |
| 15 | 16 | 2 | Collin Cabre * | UTI/NTI Toyota | 174 | 29 | Running | |
| 16 | 18 | 8 | Tyler Hughes * | G2 Inc. Ford | 173 | 28 | Running | |
| 17 | 3 | 3 | Kaz Grala | Kiklos Toyota | 173 | 27 | Running | |
| 18 | 20 | 23 | J.P. Morgan * | SoldByJackieMorgan.com Chevrolet | 172 | 26 | Running | |
| 19 | 17 | 31 | David Garbo, Jr. * | Whelen Engineering Chevrolet | 172 | 25 | Running | |
| 20 | 6 | 5 | J.J. Haley * | Braun Auto Chevrolet | 171 | 24 | Running | |
| 21 | 21 | 18 | Sam Hunt | Drive Technology Toyota | 170 | 23 | Running | |
| 22 | 22 | 45 | Christian Celaya * | Farbe Technik Chevrolet | 168 | 22 | Running | |
| 23 | 24 | 19 | Chuck Buchanan, Jr. | Spring Drug Chevrolet | 152 | 21 | Accident | |
| 24 | 23 | 94 | Dylan Hoffman * | Killman Const./C. Neer RV Chevrolet | 61 | 20 | Vibration |
RACE STATISTICS
Fastest Qualifier: Rico Abreu *, Time: 15.96 Seconds, Speed: 89.323 mph
Time of Race: 58 mins, 43 secs Average Speed: 70.815 mph Margin of Victory: 1.217 Seconds
Caution Flags: Laps 9-14 (Spin in Turn 2 – #18 & #19 – No FP); 24-32 (Backstretch #5 – FP #94); 125-130 (Frontstretch #5 – FP #04). 3 for 21 laps.
Lap Leaders: William Byron * 1-32, Dalton Sargeant * 33, William Byron * 34-175.
Total Laps Led: William Byron * 174, Dalton Sargeant * 1. 2 changes involving 2 drivers.
* – Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year Candidate
