Pursley Finds A Way
Picks up sixth NASCAR K&N Pro Series West win of the seasonPursley rebounded from having to make a pit stop for a flat tire while leading early in the Evergreen 200 at Evergreen Speedway and was able to pass his teammate Dylan Kwasniewski with a dozen laps remaining and hold on to win his sixth NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race of the season.
Kwasniewski finished second, with Moses Smith third and Eric Holmes fourth. Daryl Harr completed the top five in the first NASCAR K&N Pro Series West event at the track since 2008.
The first yellow of the race was thrown on Lap 59 for debris. Pursley stopped during that caution and restarted 11th when the race went back to green on Lap 65. Pursley, who now has a commanding 298-point lead in the championship standings, moved up to fifth by the halfway break and moved up through the top five until he passed Holmes for second on Lap 106.
Kwasniewski inherited the lead from Pursley on Lap 62 and set the pace, leading a race-high 125 laps. Pursley led two laps while the pair ran side by side, but his 16-year-old teammate prevailed initially. On a Lap 188 restart, following the fifth and final caution, Kwasniewski missed a shift and Pursley charged to the outside to take lead for good. Kwasniewski's runner-up showing is his second of the year, with his first coming on his hometrack at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in June.
Justin Philpott was sixth with local driver Naima Lang, making his series debut, finishing seventh after winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series 100-lap event prior to the Evergreen 200.
Another local favorite, Jeff Barkshire, was eighth with Luis Martinez Jr. ninth and another local driver Jason Fraser 10th.
The Evergreen 200 will air on SPEED on Thursday, July 28 at 6 p.m. ET.
The next event on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule is the Bi-Mart Salute to the Troops 125 at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway on Sunday, July 24.