NASCAR is back and it is gearing up for one of the most anticipated racing seasons they have had in a long time. Sunday’s NASCAR K&N Pro East series race showed exactly that.
Two of the most prolific young guns in the sport in Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton dueled it out for 175 laps in Sunday’s season opening race at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida.
Todd Gilliland uses last lap pass to beat Harrison Burton at New Smyrna
With two laps to go, Gilliland held a slight lead over Burton. Though, Burton got into the back of Gilliland heading into turn three, and scraped by him to take the white flag. All Burton had to do was stick the car on the inside of the track for the final lap, but he gave Gilliland an inch going into turn three. Gilliland took a mile, and also the victory. Burton was also passed by Cole Rouse resulting in a third place finish.
Other phenomenal performances included Tyler Ankrum, who started the race in the rear of the field and made it to seventh before getting spun. He then raced through the field once more and salvaged a fifth place finish.
Though it sounds crazy, the top projected full time driver in the series is Ronnie Bassett Jr. who sits in eighth. Other drivers will be settling their racing needs outside of the series, though that doesn’t stop them from competing here. Below are the full standings.
The East series will take a two-month hiatus before returning to the track in the middle of April on the 14th. They’ll be taking to Bristol Motor Speedway when they return.
K&N Pro Series East Standings
1. T. Gilliland, 48
2. C. Rouse, 42
3. H. Burton, 42
4. D. Kraus, 40
5. T. Ankrum, 39
6. S. Davis, 38
7. A. Sergi, 37
8. R. Bassett,Jr., 36
9. T. Dippel, 35
10. B. McReynolds, 34
MAIN PHOTO:
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