NASCAR K&N Pro Series Driver Ronnie Bassett Jr Finds Success in 2017

Ronnie Bassett Jr celebrating his first career win at New Syrma Speedway

This season and the last were almost in doubts for Bassett, whose family owned race shop burned down last season. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the family lost their racing materials.

Bassett races for his father, Ronnie Bassett Sr., along with his brother Dillon, who are both in the NASCAR Next class of drivers. Both of their careers were in doubt after the fire, but they both decided to continue on.

This was Bassett’s fifth year racing in the K&N Pro East Series. From the age of 17, Bassett has been driving with some of the best up-and-coming drivers in NASCAR, but he never reached the results he had until this year.

Bassett finished in third place with 518 points in the K&N Pro East Series standings this season, finishing behind East Series champion Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliand. In 14 starts this season, he tallied one win, eight top-five finishes, and 11 top-10 finishes.

Bassett won the first race of the season, at New Smyrna, but was never able to cross the checkered line in first place again. He came in second place at Greenville Pickens in the second race of the season.

“I feel like I had some good experience from previous years at both racetracks,” Bassett said. “I have run well at new Smyrna the last two years and to come back and be able to test again with a new group of guys and new race car we got off to a good start.”

Recording 11 top-10 finishes and finishing in third place in the K&N Pro Series East standings, Bassett’s goals were not reached entirely.

Ronnie Bassett Jr preparing to take place in a race

Bassett has been racing in the division for a long time but does not foresee moving up to another division soon.

“I would love to move up into a bigger series but at this time in racing it’s all about how much money you can bring to the table and as I stated we’re an underfunded team and don’t have the money move up to a higher division,” Bassett Jr. said.

Bassett realizes how important it is to have K&N as a sponsor and a supporter of the East Series

“It’s big to have them as a sponsor if it wasn’t for them wouldn’t none of us be able to do the things we love to do,” Bassett Jr. said. “They have been able to help me by allowing us to go to the tracks we go to and the people we get to get in front of.”