Dylan Lupton To Make NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Debut At Sonoma Raceway

Dylan Lupton To Make NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Debut At Sonoma Raceway

Topics: Dylan Lupton, Toyota/Save Mart 350

Dylan Lupton To Make NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Debut At Sonoma Raceway

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
25 June 2016

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Toyota / Save Mart 350
Event No. 16, Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, Sonoma, California
Qualifying Notes And Quotes
Saturday, June 25, 2016

Wilton, California native Dylan Lupton will make his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in tomorrow’s Toyota / Save Mart 350 after successfully qualifying Saturday afternoon at Sonoma (Calif.) Speedway

Lupton in a third BK Racing entry went out early during Round 1 of Sprint Cup Series qualifying and laid down the 38th quickest lap overall and third quickest among the five drivers that had to qualify on-time to earn a starting berth into the sixteenth race of the season.

By earning the third of four “open” spots, the 22-year-old Lupton will make a lifelong dream come true tomorrow, being one of the 40 starters in NASCAR’s elite division.

During practice on Friday at Sonoma, Lupton battled a tight condition in his No. 93 Bell Bros / Elk Grove Toyota Camry, but constant adjustments by crew chief Mike Ford allowed Lupton to not only get more comfortable inside the race car, but improve his lap times overall.

Lupton is attempting his third NASCAR race of the season after competing in back-to-back NASCAR XFINITY Series events earlier this season at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway and Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway respectively. For his Cup debut, Lupton, a native of Wilton, California has paired with his XFINITY Series crew chief Mike Ford who led Lupton to a ninth place finish at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year. The finish was a career-best for Lupton and his Athenian Motorsports team in XFINITY Series competition.

The recent UNC Charlotte graduate has two NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (NKSW) races at the 1.99-mile 10-turn venue driving for Bob Bruncati, Lupton has a best finish of third, while also producing a respectable eighth place finish after a late race charge from the back of the field in his track debut in 2013.

DYLAN LUPTON, NO. 93 BELL BROS / ELK GROVE TOYOTA CAMRY

Team: BK Racing

Qualifying Time: 76.964 seconds at 93.082 miles per hour (fastest lap of the weekend)

Starting Position: 38th

QUOTE:

“This is such a blessing to make my Sprint Cup Series debut tomorrow at Sonoma. I was hoping we would be a little faster than we were today, but we made more gains and that’s a good feeling heading into the race tomorrow.

“I’ve learned so much about these cars, myself and the track this weekend, it’s really been an experience I’ll never forget.

“For the race, our goal is to see the checkered flag. If we can race the race track and stay on the track all day and have a little bit of luck, I think we have a shot at a top-25 finish. That would be huge for me. I’m just going to stay focused behind the wheel and do my job.

“I can’t thank Bell Bros., Elk Grove Toyota, BK Racing, my family and friends for all their support this weekend. I can’t begin to tell you what this debut means to me, I’m just excited to take the green flag tomorrow!”

After finishing second in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship in 2014, Lupton advanced to the NASCAR XFINITY Series in 2015 in a partial schedule with Athenian Motorsports. Additionally, Lupton has been elected twice to the NASCAR Next program. An evolution of the Next9 initiative that began in 2011, the NASCAR Next program (2014-2015 and 2015-2016) is an all-embracing industry initiative to help spotlight the sport’s rising stars – and boost fan recognition around talent that will grow into NASCAR Sprint Cup Series mainstays.

In particular, Lupton has been an advocate for the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) project where he has spent time informing students about the fundamentals of NASCAR and how each subject applies.

The Toyota / Save Mart 350 (110 laps) is the 16 of 36 events on the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. The 40-car starting field will take the green flag shortly after 3:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), the Performance Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90. All times are local.

Fast Links:

Driver: Dylan Lupton on Twitter @LuptonDylan or visit LuptonRacing.com.

Team: Follow Athenian Motorsports on Twitter @BKRacing_2383

Marketing Partner: Bell Bros Plumbing, Heating And Cooling: BellBrosHVAC.com

Marketing Partner: Elk Grove Toyota: ElkGroveToyota.com

Sanction: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: NASCAR.com.

About Bell Brothers Plumbing Heating and Air:

Bell Brothers Plumbing Heating and Air was founded in 1991 in Elk Grove, Calif by brothers Jerry and Kenny Bell. After 25 years in the business, Bell Brothers has expanded to not only specialize in heating and air services, but windows, plumbing, ductwork, insulation and solar.

With over $2,000,000 in Home Energy Upgrade rebates earned for their customers, Bell Brothers has established themselves the leader in California’s Home Energy Upgrade Program for utility companies SMUD and PG&E.

Today, there are 137 trucks on the road and over 230 employees daily serving the greater Sacramento area and parts of seven surrounding counties. It comes to no surprise that Bell Brothers delivers 365 days of Satisfaction to all their customers by providing the highest install standards, the best trained technicians and year-round service.

Bell Brothers guarantees that you’ll love your service or your money back, that’s what makes them the “No Surprise Guys!” For more information, please visit BellBrosHVAC.com.

About Elk Grove Toyota:

Elk Grove Toyota is one of the top new Toyota sales leaders in the U.S.A. They are the only dealership in California to ever be awarded “The Official Sponsor of Savings®” title. Elk Grove Toyota offers customers “Proof Pricing®” on every vehicle, their lowest price – Simple. Clear. True.

The dealership has also been awarded Toyota’s highest honor, “The President’s Award”, for superior performance in sales, leasing, service, parts and customer satisfaction. Elk Grove Toyota is located at 9640 West Stockton Blvd., in the Elk Grove Auto Mall. Please contact them at 916.405.8000 or learn more online at ElkGroveToyota.com. The dealership is open 7-days a week for sales, leasing and service.

PHOTO CAPTION: Dylan Lupton, driver of the No. 93 Bell Bros. / Elk Grove Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) for BK Racing.

Dylan Lupton Media Contact:

Dallas Montes

montesdallas@gmail.com

661.301.8047

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