Larson Tops Entry List For UNOH Battle At The Beach

Larson is headed for Daytona

Eight NASCAR champions head a list of drivers that have earned locked-in spots in the field fields at the inaugural UNOH Battle At The Beach on Feb. 18-19 at Daytona International Speedway. 

The UNOH Battle At The Beach features two nights of racing with NASCAR K&N Pro Series, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tours and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series on the .4-mile oval on the backstretch.

Locked-in spots go to:

·         2012 race winners and champions from K&N Pro Series and Whelen Modified tours, earn spots in their respective races

·         Top-10 finishers in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national standings earn starting spots in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model race.

·         In addition, the 2012 overall champions from the Canadian Tire Series and Euro Racecar Series will also receive secured starting positions for the event and can choose which one of the three races they wish to compete.

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion Kyle Larson headlines the 13 NASCAR K&N Pro Series drivers that secured spots by virtue of winning races. The 20-year-old Larson from Elk Grove, Calif., native won his first NASCAR touring championship driving the No. 6 Toyota Racing Development Toyota for Rev Racing and NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity Initiative. Larson, who edged Corey LaJoie for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title by 14 points, earned his spot in the feature field through his victory at Gresham Motorsports Park in Gresham, Ga. He also won the series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. 

Other notable NASCAR K&N Pro Series drivers “locked-in” include 17-year-old Dylan Kwasniewski, the youngest K&N Pro Series West Champion in history; Chase Elliott, son of two-time Daytona 500 champion Bill Elliott; and Joe Gibbs Racing developmental driver Darrell Wallace Jr. 

Connecticut’s Doug Coby and North Carolina’s George Brunnhoelzl III head the list of 13 drivers locked into the NASCAR Whelen Modified race. Coby won four races in claiming his first NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour championship, while Brunnhoelzl had six wins en route to his third NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour title. 

NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion Lee Pulliam of Semora, N.C., tops the list for the Late Model race. Pulliamearned the national championship with 22 wins, 30 top fives and 32 top 10s in 36 starts.

NASCAR international series champions locked in are D.J. Kennington from the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1, Spain’s Ander Vilarino from the Euro-Racecar NASCAR Touring Series, and Mexico’s Jorge Goeters of the NASCAR Toyota Series. 

Kennington, from St. Thomas, Ontario, won his second Canadian Tire Series championship while Vilarino is the inauguralEuro-Racecar Series champion. Goeters won his second Mexican title, but first under a NASCAR banner. 

Current, or past, full-time national series drivers not currently competing in the touring or regional series are ineligible to compete in the UNOH Battle At The Beach.