Byron Captures First NASCAR K&N Pole
May 16, 2015
From NASCAR
NEWTON, Iowa -- Rookie William Byron continues to impress.
The 17-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, has already earned his first NASCAR win and ascended to the top of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship standings. Now the NASCAR Next driver has his first 21 Means 21 Pole Award.
Going out 35th out of 39 qualifiers Saturday at Iowa Speedway, Byron knocked Brandon McReynolds off the pole position for Saturday night's Casey's General Store 150. The annual combination race between the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West has been the scene for career-launching wins by drivers such as Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Cole Custer.
Byron drove the No. 9 Liberty University Chevrolet around the .875-mile asphalt tri-oval in 23.757 seconds for an average speed of 132.592.
McReynolds will start on the front row after a lap of 23.810 (132.297) in his No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota. McReynolds, who was fastest in qualifiying, will be credited with a pole as the top NASCAR K&N Pro Series West qualifier.
Byron's teammate Scott Heckert qualified third at 23.822 (132.231), followed by James Bickford and Kyle Benjamin.
Dillon Bassett qualified sixth, followed by Nick Drake, Dalton Sargeant, Austin Hill and Kaz Grala.
Green flag for the Casey's General Store 150 is slated for 9 p.m. ET.
The race will air on NBCSN on Friday, May 22 at midnigh ET, following the NHL playoff game between Chicago and Anaheim.
| 1 | 9 | William Byron * | Liberty University Chevrolet | 23.757 | 132.592 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | 16 | Brandon McReynolds | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 23.810 | 132.297 | 2 | 2 | 0.053 |
| 3 | 34 | Scott Heckert | Project Lifesaver Chevrolet | 23.822 | 132.231 | 1 | 2 | 0.065 |
| 4 | 6 | James Bickford | Sunrise Ford/Interstate Plastics Ford | 23.884 | 131.887 | 1 | 2 | 0.127 |
| 5 | 27 | Kyle Benjamin * | Eibach Ford | 23.904 | 131.777 | 1 | 2 | 0.147 |
| 6 | 44 | Dillon Bassett * | Bassett Gutters Ford | 23.933 | 131.617 | 2 | 2 | 0.176 |
| 7 | 15 | Nick Drake | NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | 23.984 | 131.338 | 1 | 2 | 0.227 |
| 8 | 51 | Dalton Sargeant * | GALT Chevrolet | 24.021 | 131.135 | 1 | 2 | 0.264 |
| 9 | 22 | Austin Hill | A&D Welding Ford | 24.032 | 131.075 | 1 | 2 | 0.275 |
| 10 | 3 | Kaz Grala | Kiklos Toyota | 24.077 | 130.830 | 1 | 2 | 0.320 |
| 11 | 99 | Chris Eggleston | NAPA Filters/H20 Fire Protection Toyota | 24.091 | 130.754 | 2 | 2 | 0.334 |
| 12 | 04 | Ronnie Bassett Jr. | Bassett Gutters Ford | 24.094 | 130.738 | 2 | 2 | 0.337 |
| 13 | 97 | Jesse Little | NTI/Moo's Blues BBQ/PFC Toyota | 24.100 | 130.705 | 2 | 2 | 0.343 |
| 14 | 17 | David Mayhew | MMI Racing/Ron's Rear Ends/Pour House Chevrolet | 24.132 | 130.532 | 1 | 2 | 0.375 |
| 15 | 54 | Christopher Bell * | ToyotaCare Toyota | 24.137 | 130.505 | 1 | 2 | 0.380 |
| 16 | 5 | JJ Haley * | Braun Auto Chevrolet | 24.178 | 130.284 | 1 | 2 | 0.421 |
| 17 | 7 | Noah Gragson * | AlertID/Colliers Int'l Ford | 24.196 | 130.187 | 2 | 2 | 0.439 |
| 18 | 12 | Gray Gaulding | Krispy Kreme Donuts Toyota | 24.215 | 130.085 | 2 | 2 | 0.458 |
| 19 | 66 | Devon Amos * | Max Siegel, Inc. Toyota | 24.237 | 129.967 | 1 | 1 | 0.480 |
| 20 | 72 | Gracin Raz * | Trinity Energy Ford | 24.240 | 129.950 | 1 | 2 | 0.483 |
| 21 | 21 | Alex Schutte * | Proficio Chevrolet | 24.241 | 129.945 | 2 | 2 | 0.484 |
| 22 | 4 | Kenzie Ruston | Rev Racing Toyota | 24.247 | 129.913 | 2 | 2 | 0.490 |
| 23 | 42 | Jay Beasley | Special Smiles Pediatric Dentistry Toyota | 24.348 | 129.374 | 2 | 2 | 0.591 |
| 24 | 71 | Eddie MacDonald | Grimm Contracting Chevrolet | 24.383 | 129.188 | 1 | 2 | 0.626 |
| 25 | 33 | Nicole Behar * | Custom Welding & Fabrication, Inc Ford | 24.392 | 129.141 | 2 | 2 | 0.635 |
| 26 | 98 | Rico Abreu * | AccuDoc Solutions/Go-Pro Mtrplex/Curb Records Chevrolet | 24.395 | 129.125 | 2 | 2 | 0.638 |
| 27 | 31 | Johnny White * | MMI Services Chevrolet | 24.403 | 129.082 | 2 | 2 | 0.646 |
| 28 | 36 | David Garbo Jr.* | Whelen Engineering Chevrolet | 24.421 | 128.987 | 1 | 2 | 0.664 |
| 29 | 91 | Ryan Partridge * | Eibach Springs/Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil Ford | 24.434 | 128.919 | 1 | 2 | 0.677 |
| 30 | 61 | Brett Thompson | RTTI/61 Logistics/Blu.LNG.com Chevrolet | 24.589 | 128.106 | 1 | 2 | 0.832 |
| 31 | 2 | Collin Cabre * | UTI/NTI Toyota | 24.612 | 127.986 | 2 | 2 | 0.855 |
| 32 | 23 | Trey Hutchens | Hutchens Racing Chevrolet | 24.661 | 127.732 | 2 | 2 | 0.904 |
| 33 | 40 | Travis Miller | IPG itape.com Chevrolet | 24.681 | 127.629 | 2 | 2 | 0.924 |
| 34 | 45 | Christian Celaya * | Farbe Technik Chevrolet | 25.246 | 124.772 | 2 | 2 | 1.489 |
| 35 | 30 | Ron Norman * | Port of Tucson Toyota | 25.286 | 124.575 | 2 | 2 | 1.529 |
| 36 | 14 | Matt Levin * | Port of Tucson Toyota | 25.508 | 123.491 |