Catchfence

HUNTERSVILLE, NC (September 26, 2011) – Max Gresham will have his sights firmly set on the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship when the division holds its final race of the season at Dover International Speedway Friday.

“It’s all about going after a championship by winning the race,” said Gresham. “It’s simple – we win the race, we win the championship. It won’t matter what anyone else does. Won’t matter at all.”

Gresham dominated last year’s Sunoco 150 NKNPSE event at Dover winning the pole position and leading a race-high 85 laps. Gresham’s explosive performance in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was cut short as a mechanical failure one lap shy of victory resulted in an disheartening 18th-place finish.

“We bottomed out and cracked the oil pan about Lap 40,” said Gresham. “I was really having trouble keeping the oil pressure up during that final caution and when the green flag waived, I could feel the engine stumble. Them coming to the white flag, it just gave up. The car was on a rail. Nobody had anything for us. If that last caution doesn’t come out, the oil pressure stays up at high speed and we sail to the win. Instead, everything just went up in smoke.”

Gresham has ‘smoked’ the NKNPSE competition this year with two wins, eight top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 11 events. He has posted an 5.3 average finish this season. The 18-year-old Belmont Abbey College freshman has also sat on the pole for four division events (5.7 qualifying average) and is the only driver to complete every lap – all 1,553 circuits – in series competition this season.

All of that has translated to a 21-point lead over Brett Moffitt in the 2011 K&N East championship chase, a race that will come to a climax this Friday at Dover.

“I have a lot of confidence going back to Dover,” said Gresham. “We’re taking the same car and set-up we had last year and we are just going to tweak on it to get it even more right. We all felt like we should have won last year. Dover owes me one and hopefully I can get my ‘one’ this weekend. Dover has been a great place for me in the past and I know it’s going to be good for me this year too.”

The Dover 150 will feature a full day of practice and qualifying on Thursday before taking the green flag Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

The race can be heard live on Internet radio at www.NASCARHomeTracks.com.

Fans can also follow Gresham throughout Thursday’s practice/qualifying sessions and Friday’s Dover event on Twitter@MaxGresham and on Facebook at Max Gresham Fan Page.

Additional information about Max Gresham can be accessed at www.MaxGresham.com.

- Max Gresham Motorsports Press Release