Corey LaJoie Wins His Second NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Race at Langley Speedway
- 03.07.2012
Moffitt led the most laps in the race, 115, but LaJoie overtook Moffitt on lap 165 and led the rest of the way in the Visit Hampton VA 175. Moffitt held on for second place at Langley. Elliott, who won the pole and set the track record in qualifying, was third. LaJoie led only 40 laps in the race and was able to trim Elliott's lead to one point in the East Series standings. LaJoie has two wins and five top-five finishes in seven races. Elliott has one win and six top 10s. "It's awesome -- especially when you get that first one, you want to get that second one so bad," said LaJoie. "And now I want to get that third one so bad because we're in the championship hunt. I've been telling a lot of people all year we're going to win the championship and so far I'm backing up my words." LaJoie became the first two-time winner in the K&N Pro Series East Series this season. The top four drivers in the East Series standings have at least one win.
Elliott won the pole in 16.400 second around the .4-mile oval. He broke the record of 16.439 seconds set by Coleman Pressley last year at Langley. Elliott also became the youngest driver to win a pole in a K&N Pro Series East race. At 16 years, 6 months and 26 days, Elliott broke the mark set by Moffitt by nearly a month and half. Moffitt was the youngest driver to win a K&N Pro Series East pole at 16 years, 8 months and 10 days. Elliott led the first 20 laps of the race before LaJoie him on lap 21. The first caution came out on lap 42 when Akinori Ogata spun out in turn 2. Moffitt took the lead on the ensuing restart and held it for the next 85 laps. "I think we had a better car than where we finished," Elliott said. "Unfortunately we were just good enough to get back in the top five. I'm really proud of everybody for staying behind me. We definitely need to do better. These guys are good. I think they're a little bit better than us right now. We have to get ourselves together and do better the next race." Moffitt and LaJoie raced side-by-side and survived a number of cautions and crashes until lap 163. Kyle Larson spun out to bring out the seventh caution of the race. "It's a lot of fun," Moffitt said. "At these short tracks, you never know exactly what's going to happen. It's great short track racing." LaJoie took the lead from Moffitt on lap 165 and led the last 11 laps of the race. "I just needed to roll the bottom like I did all night," LaJoie said. "Our car was really good on the bottom. It got a little tight toward the end. I was able to get a good jump on the restart, roll the bottom and bring home this bad boy right here." The next K&N Pro Series East race is the Samuel 150 at CNB Bank Raceway Park in Pennsylvania on July 14. Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
