KANSAS CITY, Kan (October 5, 2014) -The NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) made its first and only stop of the 2014 season this weekend at Kansas Speedway for the Kansas Lottery 300. With new sponsors Valvoline and Estes on board for Saturday afternoon’s race, Dylan Kwasniewski and his No. 31 team looked for a solid finish in the young rookie’s first NNS start at the mile-and-a-half oval. After the first scheduled NNS practice was rained out on Friday morning, Kwasniewski and his team worked on finding speed in the only practice session of the weekend. After finishing 18th on the practice charts, Kwasniewski returned on Saturday morning and qualified 15th in NASCAR’s knockout qualifying session. After fighting a loose racecar and surviving multiple cautions throughout the race, Kwasniewski narrowly missed a top-10 finish, crossing the finish line in the 11th position.
Following the drop of the green flag, Kwasniewski gained one spot on lap one and maintained that position until the second caution of the afternoon came out on lap 13. During the caution, Kwasniewski reported to crew chief Shannon Rursch that his Valvoline/Estes Chevy was a little loose, but overall felt pretty good. Kwasniewski restarted 14th on lap 17 and was scored in the 18th position when the third caution came out just four laps later. During the caution, Rursch called the young rookie down pit road for four tires, Sunoco Race fuel, and track-bar and wedge adjustments. Despite taking a big swing at things on pit road, Kwasniewski maintained his position and restarted 18th. Running consistent lap times, Kwasniewski worked his way up to the 16th position when the fourth caution flag came out on lap 45. Playing strategy, Rursch called Kwasniewski down pit road for a two-tire stop and fuel. Rursch’s plan paid off as Kwasniewski picked up two spots on pit road and restarted 14th on lap 50. Kwasniewski maintained his top-15 position until making a green-flag pit stop on lap 133 for four tires, fuel and one final adjustment. Once green-flag pit stops cycled through, Kwasniewski was scored in the 19th position on lap 135. Kwasniewski survived two more cautions and continued to run top-10 lap times during the final laps of the race, gaining several positions to bring the Valvoline/Estes Trucking Company Chevy home in the 11th position.
Dylan Kwasniewski on Racing at Kansas:
“Today was an overall good day for this 31 team. It was great to have Valvoline and Estes on board with us this weekend. The car started off a tick loose, but Shannon [Rursch] and the guys continued to work on it and we really found some speed at the end. Hopefully we can continue to build on this run and have a great finish at home in Charlotte next weekend.”