SEVIERVILLE, TN — Dylan Presnell, of Sevierville, ran a partial rookie campaign competing in six events with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2011, which produced four top-10 finishes.
Presnell has his six-shooter strapped to his side headed to the Valley of the Sun, ready for a gunfight in what’s expected to be a Wild West Shootout at the newly repaved and reconfigured Phoenix International Raceway. Not only are the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series in action, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Casino Arizona 125 season finale on Saturday, Nov. 12 will see a mixture of Pro Series East drivers mix it up with Pro Series West competitors at the 1-mile oval.
The race, which will be televised live Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. MT on Speed Channel, has attracted 47 entries – with drivers representing 10 states – as well as Canada, Mexico and Brazil. Qualifying will determine the first 36 starting positions, with the final four spots in the 40-car field being provisional starting berths.
The 16-year-old Presnell, a Sevier County High School honors student, is looking forward to the opportunity compete against the West Coast racers.
“I can’t wait to get out to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend, it’s going to be a great experience getting to compete against the guys from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and see how we (Pro Series East drivers) stack up with them,” said Presnell, from his East Tennessee Smoky Mountains home Monday evening. “Several guys I raced with this season in the Pro Series East plan on running this weekend at PIR, so it’s going to be interesting. I reckon this season finale for the Pro Series West is supposed to have close to 50 cars entered, and that will by far be the largest field assembled at any race this season.”
Even though a stellar field of racing talent will be assembled trying to get into the 40-car starting lineup, Presnell has confidence in the performance of his No. 50 AmericanMountainRentals.com (Smoky Mountain Cabins - Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.) X Team Racing Toyota Camry.
“It’s going to be extremely important to get your car dialed-in during our practice session Friday morning, because that will be our only track time before we come back on Saturday morning to qualify before we race later that afternoon. Come qualifying time, it will be ‘go or go home’ for me since I’m not a Pro Series West competitor and not eligible for a provisional starting berth. So yeah, there’s pressure in knowing you’ve got to go out a lay down two good laps in qualifying if you want to be in the race.
“I know new pavement is down at PIR, the track has been reconfigured and the Pro Series West guys run two races each year in the desert, but it’s still a 1-mile track. Also, with the track being repaved and reconfigured, it will be the first time the Pro Series West guys have run on this new layout. So I don’t really think they will have a great advantage related to track experience. We ran very well this season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which is a flat 1-mile track. We also had a strong run on the Monster Mile at Dover International Speedway the end of September in the season finale for the Pro Series East. I feel really confident that my crew chief (Mark McFarland) will put a good car underneath me this weekend at Phoenix and the rest will just be up to me. I’ve got to get the job done behind the wheel.”
Brazilian driver Carlos Iaconelli, with racing experience in open wheel cars in Europe and Brazil, will make his NASCAR debut in the Casino Arizona 125. Iaconelli, along with Mexico’s Daniel Suarez, will be X Team Racing teammates with Presnell Saturday, Nov. 12 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Backing Presnell’s efforts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in 2011 are AmericanMountainRentals.com (Smoky Mountain Cabins - Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.), SmokyMountainCheeseLLC.com, Goulds Pumps, and Clearwater Drilling Co. of Sevierville, Tenn.
To contact Ken Presnell at Presnell Motorsports, located at 1868 Newport Highway in Sevierville, Tenn., call (865) 654-9586. To keep up with Dylan Presnell’s racing visit his Web site at www.DylanPresnell.com or follow him on Twitter at Twitter at twitter.com/#!/DylanPresnell
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