Ronnie Bassett Jr. Notches His First NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Victory Sunday Night at New Smyrna Speedway.
Story By: NASCAR K&N SERIES MEDIA
Photos By: MARK RANALLETTA / RACERSGUIDE.COM
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. –February 20, 2017- A year after coming up just short at New Smyrna Speedway, Ronnie Bassett Jr. walked away with the Jet Tools 150 Sunday night for his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory.
In his 40th career start, Bassett led the final 42 laps – the first laps he’s led in the series – and out-distanced runner-up Zane Smith by 3.563 seconds to win.
Bassett started seventh and by Lap 108 had moved the No. 04 Bassett Gutters and More Ford to the front. He used a strong restart to pass his brother Dillon Bassett for the race lead.
“I was just watching the restarts,” said Ronnie Bassett, “and I picked a spot in the two lines, and I went after it, and I guess my brother spun his tires a little bit.”
Ronnie Bassett finished third at New Smyrna last season and is the only driver that was entered into Sunday’s race that has competed in all four series visits to the Florida half-mile.
“We work extremely hard to make these race cars good every weekend,” Ronnie Bassett said. “We’ve had some good runs. We’ve finished second, third, fourth and fifth, but we’ve just never been able to capture the deal, and tonight, I guess was our night and we were able to get it done.”
Smith, making his NASCAR K&N Pro Series debut, was fastest overall in practice but had to start his No. 43 Diamondback Towing Toyota in the 25th position after his qualifying run was disallowed for an infraction.
“The car was good,” Smith said. “Still mad at myself for the qualifying deal, but I cannot thank everyone enough for all they did getting this thing on rails, and I really think if we were able to start up front, it’d be a different story.”
Derek Kraus, Harrison Burton and Travis Cope rounded out the top five. Earlier in the day, Burton captured his second 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Brewing Co.
The finish:
Ronnie Bassett Jr., Zane Smith, Derek Kraus, Harrison Burton, Travis Cope, Reid Wilson, Hunter Baize, Chase Purdy, Todd Gilliland, Spencer Davis, Caleb Holman, Chase Cabre, Vinnie Miller, Anthony Sergi, Trey Hutchens, Ruben Garcia Jr., Salvatore Iovino, Jay Beasley, Sheldon Creed, Amber Balcaen, Jesse Iwuji, Collin Cabre, Tyler Dippel, Dillon Bassett, John Holleman IV, Enrique Baca, Luis Rodriguez Jr.
