NASCAR releases 2018 schedule for K&N Pro Series West

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR’s second-oldest touring series, will feature 15 events in nine states with many familiar tracks on the schedule except for one noted difference – the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The dirt track race will be part of the weekend that kicks off the 2018 playoffs for NASCAR’s three national series at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the half-mile clay oval promises to further test the series’ stars.

It will be the series’ first race on dirt since 1979 at Ascot Park in Gardena, Calif.

The West opens the season and crowns its champion at Kern County Raceway Park, a high-speed half-mile that has been a staple of the series since it opened in 2013. The green flag on 2018 will be Thursday, March 15 and will be a prelude to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup/Xfinity series weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The champion will be crowned on Saturday, Oct. 27.

“The NASCAR K&N Pro Series features a strong roster of race tracks designed to bring out the best in the drivers and teams,” said Jim Cassidy, NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations. “Many of the tracks have historic ties to the West Series, and we’re excited about the new venues that have been added to the schedule. The fans are going to get a fantastic opportunity to watch these drivers battle it out over the season.”

As announced last week, the NASCAR K&N Pro series will have two combination events that feature the East and West together. The first will be at the traditional crossover event at Iowa Speedway on Friday, July 27, and the second will be a brand-new event at Illinois’ Gateway Motorsports Park on Friday, Aug. 24.

Last year, NASCAR announced changes to the scoring format for the two combination races, allowing drivers to compete for both series’ championships, and Todd Gilliland came within eight points of accomplishing that historic feat.

Other highlights of the 2018 schedule include:

• The K&N Pro Series West will run twin 100-lap championship events at Tucson Speedway. The .375-mile track will host the series on Saturday, May 5.

•  Success on short tracks will again go a long way toward deciding the tile. In addition to Tucson, the series will run at the quarter-mile Orange Show Speedway in San Bernardino, Calif., on Saturday, May 19; Colorado National Speedway (.375-mile) in Erie, Colo., on Saturday, June 9; Douglas County Speedway (.375-mile) in Roseburg, Oreg., on Saturday, June 30; Idaho’s Meridian Speedway (quarter-mile) on Saturday, Sept. 29; and All American Speedway (third-mile) in Roseville, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 13.

• Evergreen Speedway, which has hosted 54 West races since 1967, will anchor the summer swing between Iowa and Gateway. The series visits the .625-mile track on Saturday, Aug. 11.

• The West series will again an integral part of the Cup series road-course weekend at California’s Sonoma Raceway with its race on Saturday, June 23.