Gdovic Gets Greenville Win
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Brandon Gdovic saved his best for last.
After starting in the ninth position, the 21-year-old out of Yorktown, Va., led the final 33 laps and won the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 presented by G-Clean in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East action on Saturday night at Greenville Pickens Speedway.
It was Gdovic’s first series career win in 27 starts. His previous best finish was third in this event a year ago.
The emotional winner searched for his words and took a knee next to his No. 46 Windstax.com/Aquis Communications Toyota a few moments after the initial celebration.
“It’s just incredible. It’s perfect,” he said.
Winning at Greenville is about tire management. It’s no secret. That’s what everyone was trying to do, but Gdovic executed his strategy the best.
“You have to save your tires here and that’s what I was trying to do,” Gdovic said. “I just methodically passed one car at a time. When my spotter said, ‘New leader (car) 46,’ it sent chills down my spine.”
| POS | DRIVER |
|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Gdovic |
| 2 | Jeremy Burns |
| 3 | Kenzie Ruston |
| 4 | Coleman Pressley |
| 5 | Brett Moffitt |
Second-place finisher Jeremy Burns was making his series debut, but the seasoned Southeastern driver was not short on experience at Greenville Pickens.
“This is my first (NASCAR K&N Pro Series) race, but I’ve raced this track a lot and I know what it takes here,” said Burns. “It’s about saving tires and with more horsepower it’s easier to burn them up. It’s just a blessing to get to come out here and race.”
Another rookie – Kenzie Ruston – despite starting the race in 17th, made a significant contribution to K&N Pro Series East history with her third-place performance as the 21-year-old out of El Reno, Okla., scored the highest finish for a female driver.
“We struggled in qualifying, but the car just came alive and we started picking them off one at a time,” said Ruston. “The car was just awesome and can’t thank everyone at Turner Scott (Motorsports) for this opportunity.”
Local favorite Coleman Pressley, whose father, Robert Pressley, is a former Greenville track champion, finished fourth after leading 52 laps in the middle portion of the race followed by pole sitter Brett Moffitt, who led a race-high 61 laps, in fifth. It was the ninth career pole win for Moffitt.
Sam Hunt, Daniel Suárez, Eddie MacDonald, Brandon McReynolds and Gray Gaulding completed the top 10.
The race slowed due to caution just three times for a total of 12 laps and there were three lead changes among four drivers.
Moffitt takes over the lead in the point standings from Dylan Kwasniewski by six tallies with more than a handful of drivers just behind that.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East is right back on the track next week on April 13 for its inaugural visit to Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. for the NAPA Auto Parts 150.
