March 28, 2024

Kennedy making his Xfinity Series debut

Suarez leads Xfinity drivers into Iowa Speedway

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Growing up in the heart of NASCAR country, Ben Kennedy developed a passion for racing.

As Iowa Speedway opens its 2016 racing season this weekend, Kennedy will drive in both races — the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He currently is ninth in the NCWTS points going into Saturday’s NCWTS Speediatrics 200.

Sunday’s Xfinity Series American Ethanol E15 250 will be Kennedy’s debut race in NASCAR’s second-tier racing series. The 24-year-old Kennedy slips behind the wheel of the Richard Childress Racing’s No. 2 Rudd Chevrolet Camaro for the first time this season.

The American Ethanol E15 250 presented by Enogen is at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Iowa Speedway. It will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

“Racing at Iowa Speedway is always great. I’m excited to have the opportunity of making my Xfinity debut at Iowa this weekend,” Kennedy said. “This all came together with Richard Childress Racing over the past couple of months or so. It’s a great opportunity for me.”

Kennedy is the great- grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. He began his racing career 10 years ago in the four-horsepower quarter midgets at a New Smyrma Beach, Fla., track. He made his NCWTS debut at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2013.

“I never felt pressured to go into racing because of my family. I grew up around it and developed a passion for it. Becoming a race driver just came naturally for me,” Kennedy said. “I grew up going to the Daytona 500 and going to races on the weekends.”

Kennedy is not the only driver to pull double duty this weekend at Iowa Speedway’s opening weekend. Xfinity Series points leader Daniel Suarez and Brandon Jones, who is sixth in points in the Xfinity Series, will be driving in both races. Jones made his Xfinity debut at Iowa a year ago in May.

Suarez is coming off a history-making Xfinity Series victory last Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. He became the first Mexican-born driver to capture a NASCAR national series victory.

“It feels good for sure. I’m still trying to relive how everything happened, to be honest with you,” Suarez said about his first Xfinity win. “It was just unbelievable weekend in the way that everything worked out because, to be honest with you, it wasn’t an easy weekend at all.”

Suarez said he and his team overcame difficult circumstances in the race at Michigan to make it back to the front of the field. He said he felt his care was the best at the end on the final long run.

So, Kennedy’s debut Xfinity race will have a tough field with all of the top 10 drivers in the series points entered in Sunday’s American Ethanol E15 250 at Iowa. Also in the field will be 2012 Sprint Cup Champions Brad Keselowski, who has won three Xfinity Series races at Iowa Speedway.

“I’m looking forward to my first Xfinity race. I know the car has been fast all year and I’m trying to prepare as much as I can for the transition from the trucks to the Xfinity car before hand,” Kennedy said. “Having the opportunity to race against the talented drivers in the Xfinity Series is tremendous for me right now.”

Kennedy said he has been communicating with his RCR teammates to be able to understand what the Xfinity cars are like to drive. He said the Xfinity cars have more power than the trucks. One of the biggest challenges of the weekend for him is going back and forth between his GMS Racing No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado truck and the Xfinity Series No.2 Chevrolet Camaro for RCR.

“The two are very different to drive. We’ve got practice runs and qualifying runs for both this weekend plus the races. I’m hoping the transition for me between the two will be seamless,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy and Suarez have been selected for the NASCAR Next program in the past. Kennedy was the 2014 NCWTS Sunoco Rookie of the Year, which was his first full season in the truck series. He is running his third full season this year.

Kennedy has three NCWTS starts at Iowa Speedway. He earned one top-10 finish on the 0.875-mile track.

“Racing at Iowa is always a great event and I’m always amazed to see the amount of fans who come out and support our sport at Iowa. It is a very nice facility,” Kennedy said. “The racing product is great — as well at Iowa. The Iowa track has multiple grooves so as a driver you can run at the bottom of the track and at the top of the track and still find a way to maintain the speed you need. The track has a lot of character to it with bumps in it and a unique identity to it.”

Kennedy said he is preparing for the hot temperatures forecast for this weekend at Iowa Speedway. He said it was important stay hydrated and have proper nutrition before and during the race weekend.

“I’m just excited to take another step toward the ultimate goal of all drivers — the Sprint Cup Series,” Kennedy said of his Xfinity Series debut at Iowa Speedway. “I would love to make it to that level, but I want to make the right steps along the way so I’m ready as a driver to compete well at each level I’m at. That is important to me to do it the right way.”

It was announced Tuesday by Joe Gibbs Racing that Matt Tifft will sit out the Xfinity Series race at Iowa because of medical reason. Tifft was to have competed in both the Xfinity race and the truck race this weekend. Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the JGR No. 18 Toyota in the American Ethanol E15 250 and German Quiroga is going to drive the No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota in the NCWTS Speediatrics 200 Saturday in Tifft’s place.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com