Dylan Kwasniewski

Dylan Kwasniewski (/kwəzˈnɛski/ kwəz-NES-kee;[1] born May 31, 1995) is an American real estate broker and former professional stock car racing driver. A champion in both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Pro Series West, he was a developmental driver for Chip Ganassi Racing. Kwasniewski most recently drove in six races for Obaika Racing in NASCAR's Xfinity Series during the 2015 season, and he currently works as a real estate broker for Colliers International.

Dylan Kwasniewski
Kwasniewski at Road America in 2015
Born (1995-05-31) May 31, 1995
Norwalk, Connecticut
Achievements2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Champion
2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion
Awards2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
39 races run over 2 years
2015 position42nd
Best finish11th (2014)
First race2014 DRIVE4COPD 300 (Daytona)
Last race2015 DAV 200 (Phoenix)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 1
Statistics current as of November 14, 2015.

Racing career

Born in Norwalk, Connecticut as the oldest of four children, Kwasniewski started his career driving go-karts at the age of four, and later raced in Bandoleros and Legends cars before joining the American Speed Association Super Truck Series in 2009.[2] The same year, Rockstar Energy Drink, based in Kwasniewski's hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, signed on as his sponsor.[3] In 2010, Kwasniewski raced a late model car in the Lucas Oil / Rockstar Modified Series and made the move to NASCAR the following year.[2]

Touring series

Kwasniewski's No. 98 on pit road prior to the K&N Series East race at Richmond International Raceway

In 2011, Kwasniewski entered the K&N Pro Series West, driving for Gene Price Motorsports in the No. 03 Chevrolet,[4] and finished second in his debut at All American Speedway.[5] At Colorado National Speedway, Kwasniewski won the pole position and the race, becoming the youngest driver to win a series pole and race.[6][N 1] He won again during the season at Montana Raceway Park, and ended the season fifth in the points standings, along with nine top-tens.[6] Kwasniewski subsequently was named Rookie of the Year.[6] In 2012, Kwasniewski won three times at Stockton 99 Raceway, Iowa Speedway and All American Speedway, along with recording 15 top-tens. Entering the season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kwasniewski led teammate and 2011 series champion Greg Pursley by two points, and with a second-place finish, beat Pursley for the title by six points. At 17 years, 5 months and 10 days, Kwasniewski became the youngest champion in series history, surpassing Chuck Bown's record set in 1976 at 22 years, 7 months and 11 days.[8]

In 2012, Kwasniewski announced talks with Joe Gibbs Racing to field a car in the K&N Pro Series East for the 2013 season,[9] but eventually joined Turner Scott Motorsports (TSM), driving the No. 98.[10] On January 7, 2013, Kwasniewski was named to the NASCAR Next program, which documents the potential future stars in NASCAR.[11] In his first East race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Kwasniewski led 96 of 125 laps en route to the win. Kwasniewski added to his win with victories at Iowa, Langley Speedway, Virginia International Raceway and Greenville-Pickens Speedway.[6] At the season-ending Road Atlanta race, Kwasniewski held the points lead over Brett Moffitt by five points, but transmission problems eliminated Moffitt from championship contention, as Kwasniewski led every lap to win the East championship, becoming the first driver to win both East and West titles.[12] During the year, Kwasniewski also ran an ARCA Racing Series race at Kansas Speedway, winning the pole and finishing fourth.[13]

Xfinity Series

Kwasniewski racing in the No. 42 at Road America in 2014

On February 3, 2014, TSM announced that Kwasniewski would enter the Nationwide Series for the 2014 season, driving the team's No. 31 Rockstar Chevrolet.[14] In a press release regarding the news, Kwasniewski stated:[15]

"I'm thankful for Harry Scott and Steve Turner for giving me this opportunity, as well as Rockstar for moving up with us. Racing in the Nationwide Series is going to present a lot of challenges and it won't be easy, but I look forward to taking it all on, learning from the other competitors and hopefully winning some races."

Kwasniewski was the fastest driver during the second day of Nationwide testing at Daytona International Speedway,[16] and later entered the ARCA Racing Series' Lucas Oil 200 with TSM, winning the pole position.[13] He finished 14th in the race.[16] On February 21, Kwasniewski clinched the pole for the Nationwide season-opening DRIVE4COPD 300, becoming the eleventh driver in series history to win the pole in his first series start, and the youngest Nationwide pole-sitter at Daytona.[17]

In March 2014, Kwasniewski was signed to Chip Ganassi Racing's driver development program.[18] On May 12, Turner Scott Motorsports announced that Kwasniewski would run standalone Nationwide Series events in the team's No. 42, in which Kyle Larson was unavailable.[19] Kwasniewski ran the No. 42 with Rockstar at Iowa in August. Kwasniewski ended 2014 with three top-tens and an 11th-place points finish.[20]

Kwasniewski was scheduled to return to the team, which was renamed HScott Motorsports, for 2015 on a part-time basis in the No. 42.[21] However, he and Rockstar failed to reach an agreement to continue sponsoring the car, and with Brennan Poole joining the team, his future became uncertain. As a result, Kwasniewski stated plans to raise sponsorship money to fund a car for the 2016 season.[20] Kwasniewski was picked up by Obaika Racing to make his debut in 2015 at Mid-Ohio, eventually driving in a total of six races for the team.[22]

Personal life

Kwasniewski is a graduate of Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School.[23] His late father, Randy, was the former CEO of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.[24] More recently, in April 2017, Kwasniewski announced on Twitter that he had joined Colliers International, working in real estate.[25][26]

Motorsports career results

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Points Position
2011 K&N Pro Series West Gene Price Motorsports 13 2 8 9 2 1856 5th
2012 K&N Pro Series West Gene Price Motorsports 15 3 12 15 5 622 1st
K&N Pro Series East Steve DeSouza 3 0 1 2 0 103 31st
2013 K&N Pro Series East Turner Scott Motorsports 14 6 8 10 3 536 1st
ARCA Racing Series Venturini Motorsports 1 0 1 1 1 480 56th
2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Turner Scott Motorsports 33 0 0 3 1 867 11th
ARCA Racing Series Turner Scott Motorsports 1 0 0 0 1 180 88th
2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Obaika Racing 6 0 0 0 0 89 42nd

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Xfinity Series

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2014 Turner Scott Motorsports 31 Chevy DAY
8
PHO
13
LVS
24
BRI
15
CAL
11
TEX
14
DAR
23
RCH
32
TAL
35
CLT
13
DOV
26
MCH
31
KEN
11
DAY
24
NHA
13
CHI
17
IND
14
GLN
27
BRI
25
ATL
21
RCH
11
CHI
17
DOV
21
KAN
11
CLT
14
TEX
14
PHO
15
HOM
19
11th 867 [27]
42 IOW
11
ROA
26
IOW
9
MOH
8
KEN
12
2015 Obaika Racing 97 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX BRI RCH TAL IOW CLT DOV MCH CHI DAY KEN NHA IND IOW GLN MOH
34
BRI
32
ROA
33
DAR RCH
25
CHI KEN
17
DOV CLT KAN TEX PHO
34
HOM 42nd 89 [28]

K&N Pro Series East

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NKNPSEC Pts Ref
2012 Steve DeSouza 20 Toyota BRI GRE
7
RCH IOW BGS GRE
18
LGY CNB COL IOW NHA
4
DOV GRE CAR 31st 103 [29]
2013 Turner Scott Motorsports 98 Chevy BRI
1*
GRE
15
PEN
7
RCH
13
BGS
2
IOW
1
LGY
1*
COL
3
IOW
9
VIR
1*
GRE
1
NHA
24
DOV
29
RAL
1*
1st 536 [30]

K&N Pro Series West

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 NKNPSWC Pts Ref
2011 Gene Price Motorsports 03 Chevy PHO AAS
4
MMP
25
LVS
2
PHO
33
5th 1856 [31]
3 Ford IOW
4
03 SON
26
IRW
3
EVG
2*
PIR
29
CNS
1*
MRP
1*
SRP
2*
AAS
9*
2012 PHO
2
HAV
3
TOO
4
STO
1*
IOW
1
BRA
2*
LVS
2
SON
5
EVE
7
COL
5
IOW
9
POR
4
SAN
9*
AAS
1
PHO
2
1st 622 [32]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points

ARCA Racing Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ARSC Pts Ref
2013 Venturini Motorsports 55 Toyota DAY MOB SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MCH ROA WIN CHI NJE POC BLN ISF MAD DSF IOW SLM KEN KAN
4
56th 480 [33]
2014 Turner Scott Motorsports 4 Chevy DAY
14
MOB SLM TAL TOL NJE POC MCH ELK WIN CHI IRP POC BLN ISF MAD DSF SLM KEN KAN 88th 180 [34]

References

Notes
  1. The current youngest K&N Pro Series winner is Gray Gaulding, winning at Phoenix International Raceway.[7]
Citations
  1. "IDK with Dylan Kwasniewski: Ice Skating" on YouTube
  2. "Dylan Kwasniewski". Turner Scott Motorsports. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  3. "Kwasniewski to Run Nationwide Series With Turner". ABC News. Associated Press. February 4, 2014. Archived from the original on February 4, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  4. Kantowski, Ron (November 27, 2011). "NASCAR's future on fast track". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  5. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  6. "Dylan Kwasniewski". NASCAR Home Tracks. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  7. Hardin, Ed (February 7, 2014). "Gaulding, 15, ready to go racing". News & Record. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
  8. Green, Kevin (November 10, 2012). "Dylan Kwasniewski wins the 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship". Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  9. Boone, Jerry (April 5, 2012). "Rock Star In The Making". NASCAR Home Tracks. Archived from the original on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  10. "Dylan Kwasniewski to Race in K&N Pro Series East for Turner Scott Motorsports". Turner Scott Motorsports (Press release). January 16, 2013. Archived from the original on February 26, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  11. "NASCAR Next roster announced". ESPN. Associated Press. January 7, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  12. Christley, Jason (October 18, 2013). "Kwasniewski Captures K&N East Title". NASCAR Home Tracks. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014.
  13. Utter, Jim (February 14, 2014). "Dylan Kwasniewski, 18, zooms into Daytona spotlight by winning pole for ARCA season opener". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  14. "Kwasniewski into Nationwide Series". ESPN. Associated Press. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  15. "Dylan Kwasniewski, 18, to run full Nationwide season for Turner Scott". Fox Sports. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  16. Caraviello, David (February 17, 2014). "Kwasniewski Aims to Separate Perception, Reality". NASCAR. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  17. Jensen, Tom (February 21, 2014). "No raining on this parade: Group qualifying makes big debut". Fox Sports. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  18. Cain, Holly (March 9, 2014). "Kwasniewski Signs Development Deal with Ganassi". NASCAR. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
  19. "Kwasniewski to Driver TSM's No. 42 Car at Standalone Nationwide Races; Chase Pistone Behind the Wheel of the No. 31 at Iowa Speedway". Turner Scott Motorsports. May 12, 2014. Archived from the original on May 13, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  20. Anderson, Mark (March 4, 2015). "Las Vegan Kwasniewski searches for ride in NASCAR Xfinity Series". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  21. Anderson, Mark (January 7, 2015). "Kwasniewski joins Xfinity Series racing team, but only part time". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on January 10, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  22. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  23. Brewer, Ray (June 1, 2012). "Teenager Dylan Kwasniewski on his way to racing stardom". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  24. Fryer, Jenna (September 18, 2013). "NASCAR series tracks young Dylan Kwasniewski". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved February 9, 2014.
  25. Dylan Kwasniewski (April 25, 2017). "@dylankracing: "Been pretty silent on Twitter, but happy to say that I've joined @Colliers. Will continue to stay involved in Motorsports with this venture!"". Twitter. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  26. Fahey, Ashley (April 26, 2017). "Adler completes Oak Hill Park sale with Live Oak building transaction". American City Business Journals. Retrieved June 27, 2017. Knox and Brad Grow of Colliers represented Tempus in the transaction. Knox and Dylan Kwasniewski at Colliers will lease the building on behalf of new ownership.
  27. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  28. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2015 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  29. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  30. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2013 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  31. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  32. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2012 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  33. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2013 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
  34. "Dylan Kwasniewski – 2014 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved June 27, 2017.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Greg Pursley
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Champion
2012
Succeeded by
Derek Thorn
Preceded by
Kyle Larson
NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Champion
2013
Succeeded by
Ben Rhodes
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