The inaugural event at Bowman Gray (N.C.) Stadium was bound to produce some excitement and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East delivered that. The 21-year old Shaw in his No. 37 Precision JLM Chevrolet Impala methodically worked his way from his 18th starting position and used patience during a race that featured yellow flag fever to solider on to an impressive fifth place finish.
“D.J. did an incredible job,” said team owner Jeff Spraker. “The race was historic because of its setting but we knew that our biggest challenge would be avoiding the carnage. Of course, the event supplied its typical beating and banging but D.J. stayed patient and hung on for his second career top-five effort.”
Ironically, Shaw also started 18th and finished fifth in his first career NKNPSE at Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway last year.
SRE’s second entry driven by Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell in the No. 08 Mountain Dew Chevrolet Impala also showed strength despite his outcome. After starting 26th, Campbell cautiously moved forward through the field but encountered overheating issues just before the 100-lap mark resulting in a 25th place finish.
“Clay should be proud of his effort,” continued Spraker. “The more laps he embraced, the better he became. He did a good job moving the field, just got engulfed in the carnage of short track racing. We’ll have him fixed up and ready to go this weekend at Gresham.”
Trekking to Gresham (Ga.) Motorsports Park this weekend, Spraker, a former driver himself is enthused about the potential outcome for both of his drivers.
“Gresham is such a nice facility that offers some great racing,” he said. “We recently took Clay there to test to get him accustomed to the track, so I think he’ll be just fine. D.J. is encouraged by his performance at Bowman Gray and is hungry for even strong results. I think both Spraker Racing entries have a great chance at being contenders on Saturday night!”
The Slack Auto Parts 150 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Gresham (Ga.) Motorsports Park is set for this Saturday, June 11 with a set liftoff at 8:30 p.m. The event will be tape-delayed on SPEED airing June 16 at 6:00 p.m.
Mike Bliss, Dexter Bean, Drew Brannon, Clay Campbell, Kerry Earnhardt, Joey Gase, Ron Hornaday Jr., P.J. Jones, Alex Kennedy, Brandon McReynolds, Steve Park, David Ragan, Scott Riggs, David Reutimann, Michelle Theriault, Darrell Waltrip and Smokey Yunick are just some of the drivers that Spraker, who also has starts for himself in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series (NKNPS), NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) and NASCAR Nationwide Series has been affiliated with in one capacity or another through SRE.
For more information on Spraker Racing Enterprises (SRE) and its available programs, please visit sprakerracing.com.
- Spraker Racing Enterprises Press Release
