Virginia International Raceway to host NASCAR K&N race
Road race experience promises to help young drivers as they progress through the racing ranks.
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Friday, August 9, 2013
ALTON — In just two weeks, Virginia International Raceway will host its first NASCAR-sanctioned race when the K&N Pro Series East stops at the track for the Biscuitville 125 on Aug. 23 and 24.
In preparation for the groundbreaking race, VIR hosted six drivers for the Biscuitville 125 Media Day Thursday morning: Austin Dyne, Bryan Ortiz, Brandon Gdovic, Dylan Kwasniewski, Kenzie Ruston and Mackena Bell fielded questions from the media.
Gdovic, a Yorktown native, feels that driving the road course at VIR will benefit all of the participating K&N Pro Series drivers later in their careers.
“Not having road courses hurts you going into the higher levels of NASCAR,” Gdovic said.
Ruston, a 21-year-old K&N rookie who started her racing career in 2006, is also hoping that her experience at VIR during the Biscuitville 125 will help her later in her racing career.
“This is just a huge learning curve for me,” Ruston said. “It’s better to get it out of the way now so you have road-course experience later on.”
Kwasniewski said drivers will have to be extremely careful on the course at VIR.
“It’s tough. There’s a lot of elevation changes, and it’s pretty tight, so there’s not a lot of margin for error,” Kwasniewski said.
“When you screw up, you screw up big time, so you definitely want to keep it on the track, and it teaches you a lot about your car control. It definitely teaches you to be patient.”
Bell, the driver with the least road-track experience of the six with just 14 laps on a road course, said she looks forward to learning how to handle the track.
“[It’s] just an exciting course to learn on,” Bell said. “I don’t know much, really anything, about road-course racing, and I just never really looked into it.
“I always thought mud was the right way, but just to be able to broaden your horizons and try to be the next-best thing, I think that’s important.”
Ortiz not only has road-course experience, but he has raced on the track at VIR prior to the Biscuitville 125.
“I did my first Grand-Am race here,” Ortiz said. “Now to be back here for the first NASCAR race and on a road course, it’s going to be pretty special.”
Dyne called VIR “one of his favorite tracks,” and said he is glad to be part of the first NASCAR race at the track.
“I think it’s very cool,” Dyne said. “This is actually the first race track I’ve ever raced a car on. It’s cool to come back here and race a stock car around here.”
Kwasniewski is the current K&N Pro Series East points leader with 358 points.
He has three wins, five top-5 finishes and seven top-10 finishes in nine starts.
Gdovic ranks sixth with 315 points. Ruston (303) is seventh and Bell (274) is 12th.
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
7. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
THE ROANOKE TIMES
