Kobyluck Headed To Greenville With Eye On Top-Five
Waterford, Conn. (March 22, 2010): This weekend, Matt Kobyluck and the Mohegan Sun race team expect nothing but a top-five finish at Greenville-Pickens Speedway. A championship run almost demands it.
“With the schedule as it is this year, you can not afford to have a bad week,” said the driver of the No. 40 Mohegan Sun Chevrolet on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. “We start off our season like the Cup ends their season. You have to come out strong and ready to go. It’s the beginning of our Chase.”
The 2010 season takes the green flag this weekend with the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway – the first of a ten race schedule. Greenville is a semi-banked half-mile oval that has hosted NASCAR-sanctioned races since 1951. This weekend’s event marks the fifth appearance of the K&N Pro Series East since their debut in 2006. Kobyluck has started all five of those races with an average start of ninth place and an average finish of 13th.
“It’s a tough track to predict your finish so if you survive with a top-10 you’re doing well. Qualifying is definitely key, but you have to have a car with good forward bite. That is paramount,” Kobyluck said.
In last year’s race at Greenville, Kobyluck finished eighth despite having no grip in the tires for the last 75 laps. Prior to that, Kobyluck was a contender in the top-five.
“We had a really good car for the start of the race and after 25 laps in I thought we had the potential to finish in the top three,” said the 2008 Champion. ““But, about a third of the way through the rear grip just totally went away. It didn’t matter what I did. I couldn’t get into the corner, I couldn’t get through the middle, I couldn’t get off. It’s just one of those things where you have to play the cards you’re dealt.”
Greenville-Pickens has not produced a repeat winner since the East Series began racing there, and Kobyluck will be aiming to add his name to that short list of victors.
“I’d love to come out of there with a win,” Kobyluck added. “It’s a tough little track. I think the setup of the car was really good last year and we could have been a contender. We’ll just have to see how our cards play out.”
The team tested at the track earlier this month and were pleased with the results.
“We have a good baseline to work off,” said crew chief Perry Waite. “We tried a bunch of different things while we were testing and we’re happy with the setup. I’m confident we’ll have a top-five car.”
The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 goes green at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 27th. SPEED will broadcast the race on April 1 – check local listings for time period.
For more information on Matt Kobyluck, the Mohegan Sun race team, or Mohegan Sun Casino, visit www.mattkobyluck.com.