David Mayhew Led First 2 & Final 2 Laps to Win NASCAR K&N Pro Series at Sonoma
- 7 Jul 2015
For almost the entirety of the Carneros 200 at Sonoma Raceway, Dalton Sargeant, a regular in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, looked like he’d steal another win from his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West counterparts. Sargeant took the lead from pole winner David Mayhew on the second lap of the 1.99 mile road course in Northern California with a smooth pass in the number 52 Galt Chevrolet on the hairpin turn 11. With four laps remaining in the Carneros 200 at Sonoma Raceway the number 38 Baker Energy Team/Sonoma Harvest Dodge piloted by Dave Smith slid off course bringing out the yellow flag. This late restart proved to be unfortunate for Dalton Sargeant as fast qualifier David Mayhew used a strong restart to his advantage. Mayhew eventually passed Sargeant for the lead on the first lap of a green-white-checkered finish to capture his first victory of the season. It was Mayhew’s ninth victory in 92 career races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. David Mayhew led just the first two and final two laps of the Carneros 200 with Sargeant, who won the season opener at Kern, leading all 64 laps in between. “Those last few laps were tense for sure,” Mayhew said. “We’ve been second a few times, third. We’ve been right there knocking on the door. It’s great to finally come away with the win.” After winning two of the first four NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races in 2014, David Mayhew entered Sonoma winless in any of 2015’s first five races.
Dalton Sargeant crossed the finish line in second, followed by J.J. Haley, Ryan Partridge and William Byron rounding out the top five. Afterward Dalton Sargeant commented, “Overall I can’t be more than thankful. I led most of the race and unfortunately that caution came out at the end. Things got a bit racy and gave it all we had going into that last turn. I just wasn’t able to hold it off.” NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars Austin Dillon and Trevor Bayne used the Carneros 200 at Sonoma Raceway as a tune-up for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. Austin Dillon and Trevor Bayne finished sixth and 10th, respectively. Chris Eggleston, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West points leader entering Sonoma, saw his lead dwindle after a 13th-place run. He heads into the July 11 race at Stateline Speedway with a 9-point lead over Noah Gragson followed closely by Garcin Raz in third. |