Tuesday
Keith Flach Accomplishes Goal in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Debut
Press Release“Finishes 20th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway”
Flach completed his first 12 laps in a NKNPSE car and posted the 30th-fastest lap of 32.844 seconds (115.966 mph) in the series’ only practice session. Shortly into the 90-minute practice session, the No. 08 Chevrolet spun as Flach was getting a feel for the car. Due to a quick turnaround for qualifying, the Spraker Racing crew got to work to quickly repair the car. Flack laid down a lap of 33.605 seconds (113.340 mph) and qualified 30th for the New Hampshire 125.
The green flag waved Friday evening, and Flach was optimistic to achieve his goal of accumulating more seat time and finishing the 125-lap race. With little practice time, Flach used the first half of the race to get a feel for the NKNPSE car. He focused on hitting his marks and avoiding trouble.
The first caution came on lap 16 when a car got into the turn two wall. The Northeast native avoided the incident and utilized the caution to free up his car. He went a lap down early while getting more comfortable in his racecar. Flach utilized this opportunity to follow the leaders and run their lines to gain get a better idea of how some of the veterans of the series drive their cars.
Lap 32 found the second caution for a single-car spin in turn one, and Flach headed to pit once again to free up the tight racecar. Still clear of any incidents, Flach received a free pass on a lap 46 caution for another single-car spin. Back on the lead lap and driving a freer racecar, he worked to stay in front of the leader. After reaching the halfway mark, he got more comfortable in the No. 08 Spraker Racing Enterprises Chevrolet and began to try to pass cars.
Another caution waved on lap 75 for a slowed car in turn one allowed the field to bunch up again and gave Flach the opportunity to try to pass more cars. He was still on the lead lap when a caution was thrown on lap 80 for a multi-car incident.
Two more cautions flew in the next 50 laps, and on lap 128, an attempt at a green-white-checkered finish was interrupted by a pile up as the field took the green flag. Unfortunately, Flach was ran out of fuel and had to come down pit road to gas up and finish the race. The field took the second and last attempt at a green-white checkered finish, and Flach crossed the finish line in the 20th spot.
Despite running out of fuel, Flach was more than enthused with his finish. “We were able to ride around a get a lot of experience,” stated Flach. “I spun 12 laps into practice, and unfortunately, we missed most of practice trying to get the car fixed. We had 15 laps between practice and time trials, so I took some time in the beginning of the race to get used to the car. It was a lot of fun once I figured out the car. It took me about 30 laps into the start of the race to feel it out, but once I did, it was a lot of fun. We stayed out of trouble in the race, and we were able to start racing with a lot of the guys toward the back of the pack.”
“We had 125 laps in the race, which let me followed some people and try some different lines,” he continued. “It gave me some good experience. I started to communicate better with Jeff and the crew about what the car was feeling and how we could make it better. I am definitely more comfortable now having to get that many laps under my belt.”
Spraker Racing will return to NKNPSE racing next weekend for the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway for the final race of the season.
- Activ8 Communications Press Release
Article Tags: Dover (Del.) International Speedway, Keith Flach, NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, NHMS, NKNPSE, No. 08 Spraker Racing Enterprises Chevrolet, Spraker Racing Enterprises, Sunoco 150
