Brett Moffitt Edges Chase Elliott For The Win At Richmond

RICHMOND, Va. – Brett Moffitt edged Dawsonville’s Chase Elliott in a drag race to the line following a green-white-checkered finish to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Blue Ox 100 Thursday at Richmond International Raceway.

A three-way battle between Moffitt, Elliott and Corey LaJoie developed just after the final restart, and on the white flag lap it turned into a two-horse race that saw Moffitt just nip Elliott at the line. The margin of victory was .011 seconds.

From Grimes, Iowa, Moffitt earned his eighth career victory with the Blue Ox 100 checkers. In his fourth year in K&N Pro Series East action, Moffitt has shown an ability to perform best in the largest venues. Of those eight wins, seven have come on tracks where NASCAR’s national series compete.

For Elliott, the runner-up effort was the best finish of his young K&N Pro Series East career, now with just 15 starts. He also took the points lead by four over Ben Kennedy and nine over LaJoie. LaJoie finished third, as he did at Richmond in 2011.

Rookie Kyle Larson was fourth and Brandon Gdovic fifth. Kennedy, Bryan Ortiz, Eddie MacDonald, Sergio Pena and Michael McGuire brought home the rest of the top 10. Pooler, Georgia’s Andrew Smith finished 13th.

With the victory, Moffitt secured a locked-in starting position for the inaugural UNOH Battle at the Beach during 2013 Speedweeks on a temporary short track at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Gdovic moved to fourth in points and Larson is fifth. Larson is one of three NASCAR Drive for Diversity drivers in the top 10, joined by his Rev Racing teammates Ortiz (seventh) and Gifford (eighth). The win moved Moffitt up to sixth, while previous points leader Darrell Wallace Jr. — the 2011 race winner — dropped out of the top 10 with a 28th-place finish.

The K&N Pro Series East will return to action on May 19 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa.

NASCAR K&N PRO SERIES EAST-Blue Ox 100 Unofficial Results
Thursday At Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Va. Lap length: 0.75 miles
(Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Brett Moffitt, Grimes, IA, Toyota, 103 laps, 73.203 mph.
2. (10) Chase Elliott, Dawsonville, GA, Chevrolet, 103.
3. (8) Corey LaJoie, Concord, NC, Ford, 103.
4. (2) Kyle Larson, Elk Grove, CA, Toyota, 103.
5. (7) Brandon Gdovic, Yorktown, VA, Toyota, 103.
6. (3) Ben Kennedy, Daytona Beach, FL, Chevrolet, 103.
7. (16) Bryan Ortiz, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Toyota, 103.
8. (11) Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, MA, Chevrolet, 103.
9. (13) Sergio Pena, Winchester, VA, Toyota, 103.
10. (18) Michael McGuire, Vinton, VA, Toyota, 103.
11. (15) Jesse Little, Sherrils Ford, NC, Chevrolet, 103.
12. (21) Jimmy Weller, Hubbard, OH, Toyota, 103.
13. (20) Andrew Smith, Pooler, GA, Chevrolet, 103.
14. (28) Derek Ramstrom, West Boylston, MA, Chevrolet, 103.
15. (33) Jorge Arteaga, Aguascalientes, Mexico, Toyota, 103.
16. (30) Enrique Contreras, Toyota, 103.
17. (6) Nelson Piquet, Jr., Brasilia, Brazil, Toyota, 103.
18. (25) Dylan Presnell, Sevierville, TN, Chevrolet, 103.
19. (24) Scott Saunders, Brisbane, Australia, Dodge, 103.
20. (27) Stephen Nasse, Pinellas Park, FL, Toyota, 103.
21. (5) Ryan Gifford, Winchester, TN, Toyota, 103.
22. (22) Ryan Blaney, High Point, NC, Toyota, 103.
23. (4) Travis Pastrana, Annapolis, MD, Toyota, 103.
24. (19) CJ Faison, Seaford, Del, Chevrolet, 103.
25. (29) Sam Hunt, Midlothian, VA, Dodge, 103.
26. (35) John Salemi, Nashua, NH, Toyota, 103.
27. (26) Rafael Vallina, Chihuahua, Mexico, Toyota, 103.
28. (9) Darrell Wallace, Jr., Concord, NC, Toyota, 102.
29. (14) Daniel Suarez, Monterrey, Mexico, Toyota, 88, accident.
30. (34) Jorge Contreras, Jr., Naucalpan, Mexico, Dodge, 88, accident.
31. (17) Chad Boat, Phoenix, AZ, Chevrolet, 88.
32. (32) Dale Quarterley, Westfield, MA, Chevrolet, 77.
33. (23) Carlos Iaconelli, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Toyota, 54, accident.
34. (36) Chuck Buchanan, Hildebrand, NC, Chevrolet, 49.
35. (12) Duarte Ferreira, Luanda, Angola, Toyota, 45, accident.
36. (31) Chad Finchum, Knoxville, TN, Toyota, 16, engine.

Race Statistics
Time of Race: 1 hour 3 minutes 19 seconds
Margin of Victory: 0.011 seconds
Fastest Qualifier: B.Moffitt (122.822 mph, 21.983 seconds)
Caution Flags: 8 for 35 laps.
Lead Changes: 4 among 2 drivers.
Lap Leaders: B. Moffitt 1-71; R. Gifford 72-75; B. Moffitt 76; R. Gifford 77-83; B. Moffitt 84-103.

Standings: 1. C. Elliott, 115; 2. B. Kennedy, 111; 3. C. LaJoie, 106; 4. B. Gdovic, 103; 5. K. Larson, 102; 6. B. Moffitt, 101; 7. B. Ortiz, 100; 8. R. Gifford, 96; 9. A. Smith, 91; 10. E. MacDonald, 91.