Catchfence

EASLEY, SC (SEPTEMBER 11, 2011) – Max Gresham was the first to drive his car into the post-race tech line after finishing fifth in the Kevin Whitaker 140 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. While the effort didn’t produce a trip to Victory Lane, it felt like it just the same to Gresham.

“I’m happy to come out with a strong finish,” said Gresham, driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “That was almost like a win for me. Greenville has always been the monkey on my back. We’d run pretty well, something would go wrong late, and we’d have a bad finish. I’m happy we’re done here and now we can move on to two of my favorite tracks – New Hampshire and Dover.”

Gresham’s drive to his eighth top-five finish in just 10 K&N races this season got off to a rocky start in pre-race practice as his car suffered through a series of mechanical issues. A strong team effort finally got Gresham’s World Crown 300/Live Oak Plantation Toyota pointed in the right direction as he posted the second-fastest lap in the last minutes of the final practice round.

“It was definitely a struggle,” said Gresham. “We had front brake and rear end issues, so we didn’t have a lot of quality laps the first practice session. I’ve got to give it to my guys – my Joe Gibbs Racing team – they dug in and changed everything we needed to. We joked afterward that we rebuilt the whole car at the track. They got the car raceable and fast. To not make a mock qualifying run and still end up P-2 by the end of the second practice is really a testament as to how hard they work and good they are.

“It also gave me a lot of confidence going into qualifying,” Gresham continued. “It took a lot of pressure off. I knew the car had a fast lap in it and all I had to do was match my practice lap. If I could do that, we would have a good qualifying lap.”

In qualifying, Gresham clicked off a lap of 20.974 seconds, first at the time and fourth in the final rundown. Gresham then took the green flag from his second row outside starting spot several times in the first 40 laps as cautions for wrecks and spins kept doubling up the field.

The last of the restarts came on Lap 43 as the Greenville flat, half-mile oval uncharacteristically produced green flag racing over the final 97 circuits. That allowed Gresham to settle in and ride, saving his equipment for the almost inevitable Greenville late-race caution where he would then have a shot at the victory.

It never came.

“You never expect that kind of long, green-flag run at Greenville,” said Gresham. “I talked to the East Series director, Kip Childress, and even he said he never saw a race at Greenville with only three cautions and a green-flag period of more than 50 laps. It was a surprise to everybody and a good thing for us. We had a good car and didn’t have to beat it up to get a good finish. It got over pretty quickly.”

The solid finish allowed Gresham (1,621) to maintain a 65-point lead over runner-up Brett Moffitt (1,556) in the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship standings. Darrell Wallace, Jr. is third in the title chase, 105 markers back with two races remaining in the season.

“We did what we needed to do at Greenville,” said Gresham. “We did what a championship team needs to do at a track that we haven’t run well at in the past. You have to come out on top. Finishing fifth at Greenville was big for us. We’re going to keep digging these next two races.”

The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 will air on SPEED this Thursday, September 15 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time.

Next up for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East division will be the New Hampshire 125 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. The race will take the green flag at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Meanwhile, Max Gresham will stay busy heading to Salem (IN) Speedway this weekend for the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) event.

Gresham will wheel the No. 25 Venturini Motorsports entry in the 200-lap clash this Saturday, September 16 at the Salem half-mie oval. The race will roll off at 7 p.m. Saturday evening an can be heard live at www.arcaracing.com.

You can follow Max Gresham at Salem this Saturday on Facebook at Max Gresham Fan Page and on Twitter@MaxGresham.

For more information about Max Gresham, please log on to www.MaxGresham.com.

- Max Gresham Motorsports Press Release