NASCAR: 2018 K&N Pro Series West schedule announced
By Alex Herbst
First to the east, now to the west. The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule for the 2018 season has been announced, with two key additions to the calendar.
One of the longest-serving developmental series in NASCAR is the K&N Pro Series West. Today, it competes in complement with the East Series, serving as a proving ground for many up and coming drivers like Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland, and Scott Eggleston. The 2018 schedule for the series was released on Monday, with two big changes coming in the new year.
Fifteen races at 13 tracks will highlight the K&N Pro Series West schedule in 2018, with a full complement of short tracks, road courses, and even a dirt track. The two big additions to the series will be a second combination race with Gateway Motorsports Park, already announced with the K&N East schedule, along with the first dirt race on the tour since 1979.
The season will begin and end in classic fashion for the series at Kern County Raceway Park, opening in mid-March and closing out at the end of October. The heart of the schedule then runs from May through August, with stops everywhere from Arizona to Iowa, and from California to Washington. The two newest stops on the calendar are back to back, with racing at Gateway to end August, followed by dirt racing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track in early September.
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The championship then winds through its final three races at Meridian Speedway in Idaho, All American Speedway in California, and the season finale at Kern County Raceway Park. Two races on the K&N Pro Series West schedule will run as support races to the Cup Series weekend, being races at Sonoma Raceway and the aforementioned race in Las Vegas. Expect many Cup Series drivers to race at Sonoma in the West Series, but perhaps a few will join in on the dirt in Sin City.
The addition of a dirt race for the K&N Pro Series West will certainly set it apart from the East Series. It will also become just the second major NASCAR sanctioned series to be running currently on a dirt track, joining the Camping World Truck Series in that capacity.
Here is the full 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule:
| Date | Track | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Mar | Kern County Raceway Park | Bakersfield, Calif. |
| 5-May | Tucson Speedway* | Tucson, Ariz. |
| 19-May | Orange Show Speedway | San Bernardino, Calif. |
| 9-Jun | Colorado National Speedway | Dacona, Colo. |
| 23-Jun | Sonoma Raceway | Sonoma, Calif. |
| 30-Jun | Douglas County Speedway | Roseburg, Ore. |
| 15-Jul | Spokane County Raceway | Airway Heights, Wash. |
| 27-Jul | Iowa Speedway** | Newtown, Iowa |
| 11-Aug | Evergreen Speedway | Monroe, Wash. |
| 24-Aug | Gateway Motorsports Park** | Madison, Ill. |
| 13-Sep | Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| 29-Sep | Meridian Speedway | Meridian, Idaho |
| 13-Oct | All American Speedway | Roseville, Calif. |
| 27-Oct | Kern County Raceway Park | Bakersfield, Calif. |
Television coverage for the series is still to be announced, but NBCSN is expected to cover all the races on the schedule on a tape delay basis, just like with the K&N Pro Series East and Whelen Modified Tour.
Next: 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule announced
Will you be attending any races on the 2018 K&N Pro Series West schedule? Who do you think is the early favorite to win the championship?