Kyle Benjamin Collects First K&N Pro East Victory of 2017

Podium: Kyle Benjamin - Ronnie Bassett, Jr - Todd Gilliland

Kyle Benjamin who just signed a four-race NASCAR XFINITY deal with Joe Gibbs Racing, capitalized on a late-race restart to win the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway on Saturday night.

Benjamin started on the pole after running a track record lap of 19.144 seconds at 94.024 mph. The Easley, South Carolina, native ran inside the top-five nearly all night long and led 46 laps.

.@kylebenjamin71 wins the pole at @GP_Speedway.#KNEast Qualifying Recap -> https://t.co/7758X1au9y pic.twitter.com/3bHFTLcKsK

— NASCAR Home Tracks (@NASCARHomeTrack) April 8, 2017

Ronnie Bassett, Jr.,  who entered the night coming off his first-career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory at New Smyrna Speedway, finished second on Saturday. Bassett Jr. qualified 10th, but he was able to battle back for a solid finish. He has now finished within the top-five in his last three visits to the half-mile oval. The driver of the No. 04 Bassett Gutters and More Chevrolet currently leads the point standings by eight points over Harrison Burton.

Todd Gilliland, who is competing in both the K&N Pro Series East and West, drove his #16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry to a third-place finish.

After initially slipping back a position from his seventh-place starting spot, Gilliland started working his way toward the lead. In his first trip to the historic half-mile oval, Todd was in the top-five by lap thirty-three (33) and up to second just before the midway break of the race.

“Our NAPA Toyota was fastest in practice, so I knew we had a really good car,” Gilliland said. “Once the race started, we didn’t fire off how we wanted to – which made me a little bit nervous. We slid back to eighth, but then started picking up spots on each restart. We were able to finish out the first half in second. I feel like we made really good adjustments at the break, but the 40 car made some really good adjustments, also,” Gilliland said of race winner Kyle Benjamin.”

Rounding out the top-five was Harrison Burton and Tyler Dippel.

The push! That sent @kylebenjamin71 to victory!! "THANKS" @ToddGilliland_ #BuckledThatHood 🏆🚘 @NAPARacing @RRWMDM @MdmMotorsports pic.twitter.com/kQoBFg8viE

— Eddie (@FasttrackSC73) April 9, 2017

The Greenville Pickens event is slated to be televised on NBCSN on April 15 at 9 p.m. ET. It was the second event on a fourteen-race schedule this year and marked the seventeenth visit by the series to the South Carolina track.

RACE STATISTICS

Fastest Qualifier: Kyle Benjamin, Time: 19.144 Seconds, Speed: 94.024 mph

Time of Race:1 hrs., 10 mins, 27 secs

Average Speed: 63.875 mph

Margin of Victory: 1.555 Seconds

Caution Flags:

• Laps 11-14 (#66 Turn 2 - No FP)
• Laps 17-20 (#38 - Turn 1 - FP #66)
• Laps 36-40 (#4 - Spin Turn 2 - FP #28)
• Laps 44-48 (#38 - Spin Turn 4 - FP #2)
• Laps 51-56 (#49 - Spin Turn 2 #9 Spin - FP #38)
• Laps 65-70 (#49, #5, #28 - Turn 3 - No FP)
• Laps 73-75 (#38 Turn 1 & Break - FP #5)
• Laps 144-146 (#17 Turn 3 - FP #28)

8 for 36 laps.

Lap Leaders:

• Kyle Benjamin 1
• Dillon Bassett 2-56
• Kyle Benjamin 57-58
• Dillon Bassett 59-107
• Kyle Benjamin 108-150

Total Laps Led: Dillon Bassett 104; Kyle Benjamin 46 / 4 changes involving 2 drivers.

Top 10 Driver Points:

1. Ronnie Bassett Jr. 89
2. Harrison Burton 81
3. Todd Gilliland 77
4. Hunter Baize 74
5. Reid Wilson * 72
6. Chase Purdy * 69
7. Ruben Garcia Jr. 63
8. Chase Cabre * 63
9. Tyler Dippel 60
10. Dillon Bassett 60

The next event on the K&N Pro Series East schedule will be the Zombie Auto 125 on the high-banked half-mile of Tennessee’s Bristol Motor Speedway on April 22.

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