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 IRVINE,
CALIFORNIA (JUNE 8, 2011)
– Early
this year, Derek Thorn made headlines in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series
West with two consecutive strong performances. Now, the 25 year old
Lakeport native is ready to return to the series that features the
future stars of NASCAR at a track with which he is very familiar,
the Bulling at Las Vegas for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 200 on
Saturday, June 11th.
Thorn will be behind the wheel of the Byron Campbell Racing #44
Chevrolet that carries primary sponsorship from Four Star Fruit and
Hronis Racing. This will be Thorn's third start of the year with the
series that features the future stars of NASCAR. If the event goes
as well as his past two performances in the current series, combined
with his success in the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour, Thorn could very
well be the new face celebrating in victory lane of NASCAR's premier
regional tour.
“It seems like it’s been a long time since Phoenix,” said Thorn.
“The Four Star Fruit/Hronis racing team has been working hard at
improving our program and we are looking forward to stepping back
into the series with something to prove. We have a great group of
guys behind us and we are prepared to do what it takes to run up
front and stay up front.”
Back in January at Toyota Speedway many fans and members of the
media were asking the question; who is Derek Thorn? As he made his
start in the Byron Campbell owned #44 with veteran crew chief Junior
Joiner as his lead wrench, Thorn turned many heads, earning the pole
position for the high profile NASCAR Toyota All Star Showdown in
Irwindale.
After earning the pole position, Thorn continued to show he was born
to race as he led the first 100 laps of the event. After falling
back to fourth he advanced back into second place late in the
running and challenged for the lead when contact occurred with the
leader and resulted in NASCAR making a controversial call and
placing him at the rear of the field. Thorn rallied back hard in the
event to finish an impressive seventh place finish.
Returning to the series in February at Phoenix, Thorn again showed a
strong performance behind the wheel of Campbell's #44 Chevrolet.
Thorn drove to fifth place in qualifying. When the checkered flag
waved, Thorn scored a third place finish on one of the tour's
largest tracks, rallying back after falling to fifth place with
20-laps to go when he missed a shift while charging to the green
flag restart.
This weekend in Sin City, Thorn will make his 133rd career asphalt
racing start and his ninth start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. The
Vegas Bullring facility is a favorite of both Thorn and Joiner and
has been the site of strong performances already this season in the
SRL series. Thorn has a third place finish here in 2011 and was on
his way to a possible victory last month until an oil fire marred
his opportunity. With momentum behind him, Thorn is ready to look
for his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series West victory on familiar turf.
“We’ve had a great year in the SRL tour this season and being able
to run at the Bullring twice so far this year will prove beneficial
to our entire group. We’ve had a lot of good luck there in the past
and are looking at making the #44 Four Star Fruit/ Hronis Racing
Chevrolet run up front.” The Bullring is a great facility; the track
is going to prove to be tough on brakes and equipment with these
heavier cars. It’s going to be tough on everyone and we are all
looking forward to the challenge.”
In his 16-year racing career, Thorn currently has 132 asphalt
starts, a total of 27 wins, 78 top five finishes, 107 top ten
placements and has earned fast time a total of 47 times. Over the
next four weeks, Thorn has a very busy schedule ahead with two races
in the SRL Series and a pair of events in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series.
Derek Thorn is proud to carry the sponsorship of Four Star Fruits
and Hronis Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Additionally
Thorn has a number of marketing partners and associate sponsors
supporting his efforts in this tour. Among the sponsors are: Joiner
Race Car Chassis, Superior Crankshaft, JRI Shocks, Joe's Racing
Products, Finishline Signs, and Fastenal.
“I feel really privileged to have Byron Campbell and Four Star Fruit
giving me the opportunity to be running in the West series this year
along with Cheryl Archer of Superior Crankshaft and Joe Farre at
Sigma Engineering for creating an opportunity for me to run for the
SRL Southwest Tour Series Championship. Having Junior Joiner and
Mike Keen heading up our operation will continue to bring results
and I am excited to be behind the wheel of both cars this year.”
To learn more
about this talented young driver visit Derek Thorn's personal
website at
www.derekthorn.com.
Further information can also be found at
www.superiorcrankshaftracing.com.
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