Racing

The logo for the K&N Pro Series will feature the new NASCAR mark that will be used throughout the stock car series. The five developmental series, including the K&N Pro Series, are making the change. The new NASCAR mark was introduced in 2017 and replaced the previous one used since 1976. NASCAR worked with RARE Design to develop the new symbol for the stock car racing sanctioning body.

The K&N Pro Series will introduce a radial tire produced by Goodyear in place of the bias-ply type tires the teams in the series were using. The new radial tires are similar to the ones used by teams in the Camping World Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Monster Energy Cup Series.

The drivers in the K&N Pro Series are excited about making the switch to the radial tires. But the tires are more expensive than the bias-ply tires, which increases operations costs for the teams.

Ruben Garcia will race for Rev Racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2018.

Ruben Garcia, who won the NASCAR Mexico Series championship in 2017 and will be racing in the K&N Pro Series East for Rev Racing in 2018, said it has been an adjustment racing on the new Goodyear tires, but the results are encouraging.

“The tires are different,” Garcia said. “The tires we used in Mexico we can run pretty hard almost all the time. With the Goodyear tires we use in the K&N Series, you have to take a lot of care of them. That was another thing I had to pay a lot of attention to and get used to in order to run better.”

Julia Landauer, a driver in the K&N Pro Series West, said using the new tires makes sense for drivers who are working their way through the development system in NASCAR.

“I’m glad to see that they made that change,” Landauer said. “It’s a different compound. The radial tires are what they race in ARCA, Trucks, Xfinity and Cup. It seemed a little weird to have a development series -- now they’re more expensive -- but it seemed a little weird to have a development series where you don’t get to race the type of tire you race in all the series above. I think it’s good they made that change.”

The K&N Pro Series will feature longer races in 2018. Some of the events will increase by 25 laps. This will prepare drivers and crews for advancement in NASCAR.

Finally, all private testing will be eliminated at NASCAR-sanctioned events for the K&N Pro Series. Drivers and teams will have an extra day of practice at stand-alone and combined events in the K&N Pro Series.

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to Bristol Motor Speedway on April 14th. The K&N Pro Series West kicks-off at Kern County Raceway Park in California on March 15.