NASCAR K&N Pro Series East NHeads To Greenville, SC On Labor Day

GREENVILLE, SC – One of the breakout stars of the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season, it has been a year since Sergio Peña has celebrated in Victory Lane, a place he hopes to revisit this coming week.

Peña’s third and final win of the previous campaign came in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 at Greenville Pickens (S.C.) Speedway. As the K&N Pro Series East returns to the historic half mile for the second running of the 140 on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 3, Peña hopes to continue this season’s upward trend after a rocky start.

After finishing fifth in the standings in 2011, Peña suffered two blown engines and had just a pair of top 10s through the first five races this year. In his five outings since, Peña has four finishes of sixth or better, including a season-best third place last time out at Iowa Speedway.

“We had a slow start,” Peña said. “It didn’t have anything to do with the team’s performance, and I was giving 100-percent every race, but we just had bad luck. But luckily the past few races have turned around, so we’ve got a lot of good momentum to carry into Greenville, which I’d say is the best track we race at.”

The success Peña had in his second year with Rev Racing and NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity initiative afforded him an opportunity with the newly-formed Hattori Racing Enterprises in 2012. All of the pieces of the puzzle were in place for Peña to continue his past success with the new team – his crew chief Matt Goslant and competition director Andy Santerre also went to HRE – but the team is still digging for its first victory.

“I’m really happy with the new team. The bad luck came in the beginning, but it’s really turned around,” Peña said. “We’re fast everywhere we go, so that’s a good thing.”

Peña and the No. 1 NRC/NISCO Toyota team were fast in the first trip to Greenville this year on March 31. They led both practice sessions, but the engine let go on the fourth lap of the race.

Regardless of what has happened to this point, Peña stands to be one of the favorites as the series returns to Greenville for the second time this year. Although he suffered that blown engine in the first trip, Peña has plenty of reason for optimism.

“I’m excited. We went testing last week at Greenville and we learned a whole lot,” Peña said. “We’re taking back the same car that we had last time, so I’m going to try to get my first win of the year, and second win at that track.”

The third-year driver also feels that his racing background prior to his NASCAR career helps him excel at tracks like Greenville Pickens.

“One of the things that I like about it is that it’s really flat,” Peña said. “I think – coming from a road course background – that flatter tracks give me a little bit more of an advantage. I’m more used to being on a flat surface.

“I just really like it,” Peña said of Greenville Pickens. “You have to have a lot of throttle control and patience there. That’s something that took me a long time to learn, but Andy Santerre and Matt Goslant have taught me so much over the years about patience. That’s the main thing I was lacking there.”

Peña’s background and experience have him confident heading into the event.

“I know I’m young and everything, but this is my third season and I’m kind of like a veteran there [at Greenville], so I think that puts me over a lot of guys there,” Peña said.

RACE:  Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140
PLACE:  Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway
DATE:  Monday, Sept. 3
TIME:  6 p.m. ET
TRACK LAYOUT:  Half-mile asphalt oval
2011 WINNER:  Sergio Peña
2011 POLESITTER:  Corey LaJoie
EVENT SCHEDULE: Practice 11-11:45 a.m., Final Practice 12:15-1 p.m., Qualifying 4 p.m., Driver Autograph Session 4:45 p.m.