Dylan Kwasniewski Claims The 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Championship

Dylan Kwasniewski en route to his Road Atlanta 115 victory.
(Getty Images for NASCAR)

 Dylan Kwasniewski continued to make history with a dominating effort Friday in winning the Road Atlanta 115 and claiming the 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship.

“The car was just awesome today,” said Kwasniewski. “The Turner Scott Motorsports team has given me great cars all season and I can’t thank all the people that make this possible enough.”

Kwasniewski, who became the youngest champion in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West last year, became the first driver to win both titles in both series.

“I wanted to go out with a bang with a win in the race and the championship. That’s what we did,” said the driver of the No. 98 Royal Purple Synthetic Oil/Rockstar Energy Drink Chevrolet. “To get two back-to-back especially on the East Coast and the West Coast; I’m just trying to prove to everybody out there that I can get it done not only (in) the west but on the east side, too.”

The 18-year-old out of Las Vegas shook off a pair of hard luck finishes that had narrowed his lead to just five points over Brett Moffitt entering the final race of the season. He started from the pole position and dominated the series’ inaugural visit to the 2.54-mile road course by leading wire-to-wire for his sixth win of the season.

Kwasniewski’s season win total tied Brad Leighton’s six wins in 1999 for the second-most in series history. Ricky Craven won a record 10 races in 1991.

While Kwasniewski was out front, the championship suspense quickly ended as Moffitt had transmission problems that knocked him out of second-place on Lap 6 and eventually out of the race. Moffitt finished 24th, giving Kwasniewski the title by 33 points.

A pair of Rev Racing drivers – Daniel Suárez and Bryan Ortiz – finished second and third. Rev Racing is a byproduct of NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity effort.

The runner-up finish for Suárez closes out a breakout season for the member of the NASCAR Next program. He scored top-five finishes in four of his last five starts of the season.

“In the first half of the race the car was good and just as fast as Dylan’s, but it just got tighter and tighter,” said driver out of Monterrey, Mexico. “I don’t know exactly what happened. It just never came back to neutral.”

Kwasniewski, a member of the NASCAR Next program, also became the first driver since Mike Stefanik to notch championships in two different series in consecutive years. Stefanik won the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and K&N Pro Series East titles in both 1997 and 1998. Lee Petty and Bobby Allison are also members of this exclusive group.

At 18 years, 4 months and 3 days, Kwasniewski is the third-youngest champion in K&N Pro Series East history behind Joey Logano and Ryan Truex, who both won titles before turning 18 years of age.

The championship was the first at the K&N Pro Series level for Turner Scott Motorsports that fielded three fulltime teams in 2013.

“We started out in January with an empty race shop and here we sit at the press conference after taking the championship,” said Harry Scott, Turner Scott Motorsports co-owner. “We’ve really come a long way.”

Kwasniewski will be honored for his championship season along with NASCAR's other touring series champions on Saturday, Dec. 14 at the NASCAR Touring Series Awards in the Grand Ballroom of the Charlotte (N.C.) Convention Center at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame. 

RESULTS | LAP-BY-LAP RECAP | AUDIO: POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH CHAMPION TEAM OWNER HARRY SCOTT, CHAMPION DRIVER DYLAN KWASNIEWSKI AND CHAMPION CREW CHIEF MARDY LINDLEY | AUDIO: POST-RACE WITH RUNNER-UP DANIEL SUAREZ | AUDIO: POST-RACE WITH THIRD-PLACE BRYAN ORTIZ

Rain puts a damper on K&N Pro Series East Inaugural

Rain cancelled all on-track activity at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.

Persistent rain showers forced cancellation of all on-track activity for the inaugural NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at Road Atlanta today.

NASCAR is working with IMSA and track officials to determine time windows for practice and qualifying sessions on Friday. The race is still scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. pacific time start.

Points leader Dylan Kwasniewski.
(Getty Images for NASCAR)

Dylan Kwasniewski, 18, carries a five-point advantage over Brett Moffitt, 21, into the 2013 season finale as the two NASCAR Next* drivers battle for the season crown. NASCAR Next is an industry initiative that spotlights young, talented drivers in NASCAR.

Road Atlanta Race Setup

Kwasniewski – the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion – will attempt to become the first driver to win titles in both the East and West while Moffitt is looking to capture his first title after four years of finishes on the championship podium.

In addition to the overall championship, the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title is also up for grabs at Road Atlanta. Jesse Little has a six-point lead on Gray Gaulding and Kenzie Ruston entering the event.

The 13 previous races this year have produced seven different first-time race winners, the most since 1994 when there were eight first-time victors.

Click here for the Entry List

* NASCAR Next is an industry initiative that spotlights young, talented drivers in NASCAR.

Ten Questions With NASCAR Camping World Series West Driver Moses Smith

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, I was able to corner Moses for a quick interview. I hope you enjoy the results below:

1: Do you have any pre-race rituals that you do?

Moses: Not really…probably just make sure to use the restroom…long race ya know.

2: What was your first car, and what do you currently drive?

Moses: The first car was a 1969 Impala, that my grandparents let me borrow until I had enough money to buy my owe car. They were the original owners of the car, bought it right off the showroom floor. Such a cool car, I actually still own the car! My daily driver is a 04 Chevy Avalanche.

3: Do you have any pets?

Moses: Nope no pets. . . I always had Dogs and Cats when growing up, but the racing keeps me pretty busy.

4: What's your most embarrassing moment?

Moses: Well the most embarrassing moment I am going to keep a secret, but I do remember another, my first race in a go kart, I was running fourth, and then spun out…DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE STRAIGHT AWAY…I still can’t figure out how that happened…

5: Do you have a favorite track?

Moses: My Favorite Oval is Phoenix International Raceway, Favorite Road Course is Infineon, or Road Atlanta.

6: What's the best advice you've ever received and who was it from?

Moses: I have two quotes that I live by:

1) To finish first, first you must finish. A guy named Lynn Haddock said this to me when I was 11 years old. Lynn was my biggest sponsor at the time, he GAVE me a Komet K-71 engine to run on one of my go-karts.

2) The 6 P rule - Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. My Wood Shop teacher Jack Sprague would pound that into my head every time I would screw something up…so I heard it a lot…

7: What kind of music do you listen to?

Moses: I like 80’s Music best. We listen to classic rock in the shop, and I sneak in a little Jazz once in a while. I just saw Trans-Siberian Orchestra in concert last week…what a good show!

8: If you had to pick a charity, which one would be your favorite?

Moses: Probably something to do with kids.

9: What has been your most memorable promotional event?

Moses: Well, the event that I look forward to doing every year is the Western Pool and Spa Show. I get to do that every year representing HASA Pool Products. Every year we have a theme, giveaways, drinks food. There are thousands that attend. I think this year we are setting up a R/C Car Track, and I get to race people all weekend.

10: Have you had any interesting interactions with a fan before?

Moses: I meet a father and son (Eddie and Chris) at my second Grand National event ever, they were at the track early and hanging out just on the other side of the fence watching, all the teams work in the pits. I walked over and gave them a couple of hats. Since then we have kept in touch and they show up to all my races that are near them. I gave them both Crew Shirts from our 2006 season, which have this BRIGHT Fluorescent Orange Strip on them, I can always find them in the stands.