|
 BAKERSFIELD,
CALIFORNIA (October 3, 2012)
– Competing in his first full season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series,
West, Derek Thorn drove the #6 Sunrise Ford to his second win of the
year in Saturday night's "NAPA 150" at NAPA Speedway in Sandia, NM.
The victory came during the series debut at the half-mile venue and
Thorn finds himself third in series points with two races to go in
2012.
Thorn also leads the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour points and Sunoco
Driven Challenge National points in a ground breaking season. In 21
starts, Thorn has accumulated seven wins, six poles, and 19
top-tens.
Much like Thorn's win at Havasu 95 Speedway in Arizona earlier this
year, Thorn has seized the opportunity to win on venues new to the
K&N West and has excelled on tracks with worn out pavement surfaces.
Thorn ranked second in the first practice session and third in final
practice on Saturday afternoon, before timing in seventh quickest in
qualifying. With tire ware a top concern throughout the garage,
Thorn was patient moving through the field. By lap 65, he found
himself up into the third position and ready to challenge the
leaders.
It didn't take long for Thorn to have a shot at leader Dylan
Kwasniewski as the caution came out on lap 72 to erase the
advantage. Kwasniewski stormed away on the restart to a comfortable
lead but Thorn managed to close in and take the lead on lap 87.
Thorn built up a lead of over four seconds at one point as he
dominated the closing laps of the race. A late caution period sent
the race into overtime for a green-white-checkered, but he
successfully fended off rookie Dallas Montes for the win.
With the win, Thorn trails point’s leader Greg Pursley by just 37
points with the one-third mile All American Speedway and one-mile
Phoenix International Raceway remaining on the 15 race slate.
The All American Speedway date on October 13th will see Thorn
compete in a "double-header", running the #43 Byron Campbell
Motorsports Ford in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour for a 125 lap
contest, followed by the 150 lap NASCAR K&N Pro Series race to end
the evening.
Race fans can follow Derek Thorn on his Twitter page @DerekThorn6
and encouraged to vote for Thorn in the Most Popular Driver contest
on www.nascarhometracks.com for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, West
division.
Race fans can
also learn more about Derek Thorn on his official website at
www.derekthorn.com
Derek Thorn would like to thank the following sponsors for their
support in 2012: Sunrise Ford, Four Star Fruit, Hronis Racing, Lucas
Oil, Eibach Springs, Joe’s Racing Products, Oakley, Double Eagle
Transportation, Victory Circle Chassis, PepperJack Kennels, and
Blakesley Sports Media. |
