Will Rodgers Earns First Career Victory

Road Course Ace Holds off Garcia Jr. In Overtime

It was a day of firsts for Will Rodgers. In his first ever NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start, he became a first-time winner.

#KNEast @willrodgers65 climbs out of his No. 7 machine following his first ever K&N Pro Series victory. #FingerLakes100 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/BuQfNzgF6W

— NASCAR Home Tracks (@NASCARHomeTrack) August 4, 2017

The Murrieta, California, native wheeled his No. 7 Solvang Brewing Company Ford to Victory Lane for the first time in his NASCAR K&N Pro Series career, holding off Ruben Garcia Jr. and Todd Gilliland on an overtime restart.

Will climbs out in Victory Lane as the winner of today's #KNEast race at @WGI!! {PR} pic.twitter.com/uo07HYu5GF

— Will Rodgers (@willrodgers65) August 4, 2017

"We fired off right off the truck really well," Rodgers said post-race. "I knew we were going to have a really good piece for the race. It was just a matter of making the right moves at the right time."

Todd Gilliland came home in second-place, 1.493 seconds behind Rodgers and Harrison Burton crossed the start/finish line in third-place.

"We had a pretty good run from being ninth in practice," Gilliland said post-race. "We picked up a little from qualifying to qualify in the fifth position. And from there, we kind of rode for the first few laps and then those guys got off line and made a few mistakes and were able to slide by them. Just a little more mistake free than those guys I was racing. "

Burton maintains his championship series points lead over Gilliland by four points.

"Battling back was the biggest deal," Burton said post-race. "We just had an ill-handling race car in the first segment there. Fought back from that, got a little better at the break and had to capitalize on the restarts and cautions that came out. [...] solid points day, but we just got to look ahead."

Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Laps
1	2	7	Will Rodgers *	42
2	5	16	Todd Gilliland	42
3	3	12	Harrison Burton	42
4	14	6	Ruben Garcia Jr.	42
5	7	42	Jay Beasley	42
6	11	4	Ronnie Bassett, Jr.	42
7	12	4	Chase Cabre *	42
8	15	28	Dylan Murry *	42
9	10	44	Dillon Bassett	42
10	9	27	Matt Tifft	42
11	16	40	Brandon Jones	42
12	6	30	Tyler Dippel	42
13	19	43	Gary Klutt *	42
14	20	32	Robert Pawlowski *	42
15	13	17	Chase Purdy *	42
16	4	2	Collin Cabre	42
17	8	31	Scott Heckert	42
18	17	13	Max Papis	35
19	1	1	Ryan Truex	26
20	18	5	Enrique Baca *	9
* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year

RACE STATISTICS

Fastest Qualifier: Ryan Truex, Time: 73.345 Seconds, Speed: 120.254 mph

Time of Race: 1 hrs., 14 mins, 7 secs Average Speed: 83.301 mph Margin of Victory: 1.493 Seconds

Caution Flags: Laps 22-23 (Break - FP #13); 27-29 (#01 in the esses - FP #30); 36-39 (#13 before the inner loop - FP #31). 3 for 9 laps.

Lap Leaders: Ryan Truex 1-26, Todd Gilliland 27-30, Will Rodgers * 31-42.

Total Laps Led: Ryan Truex 26, Will Rodgers * 12, Todd Gilliland 4. 2 changes involving 3 drivers.

Top 10 Driver Points: 

1. Harrison Burton 468
2. Todd Gilliland 464
3. Chase Purdy * 406
4. Ronnie Bassett, Jr. 404
5. Ruben Garcia Jr. 393
6. Chase Cabre * 388
7. Jay Beasley 367
8. Dillon Bassett 350
9. Tyler Dippel 346
10. Collin Cabre 338

RACE NOTES:

• • The #6 Team was sent to the rear on the initial start due to unapproved adjustments after post qualifying tech
• • At the break, the #17 and #27 did not roll at designated time and were penalized to the rear of the field
• • The #11 Team ran the #01 on the car for the event – The #11 will receive the owners points for the event
• • The #9 Team ran the #5 on the car for the event – The # 9 will receive the owners points for the event
• • The #7 Team does not hold a combination license (West only) and will not receive Owners points for the event
• • The #27 Team does not hold a combination license (West only) and will not receive Owners points for the event

CONTINGENCY AWARDS:

• COOR'S LIGHT POLE AWARD: #01 Ryan Truex
• SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE: #7 Will Rodgers
• COCA COLA MOVE OF THE RACE: #6 Ruben Garcia Jr
• BREMBO BRAKE THROUGH CHALLENGE: #6 Ruben Garcia Jr

Source

#KNEast Victory Lane Image: @willrodgers65 celebrates with @KevinHarvick @WGI following his #FingerLakes100 win. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/EYLilSMMG9

— NASCAR Home Tracks (@NASCARHomeTrack) August 4, 2017

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