Kaz Grala Demonstrates Maturity and Poise in an Adversity Filled Caseys General Stores 150 at Iowa Speedway

KAZ GRALA DEMONSTRATES MATURITY AND POISE IN AN ADVERSITY FILLED CASEYS GENERAL STORES 150 AT IOWA SPEEDWAY

 (NEWTON, IA - May 17, 2015) - On a night that could be described as tumultuous, 16 year-old Kaz Grala demonstrated maturity well beyond his years in the Casey's General Store 150 at Iowa Speedway. Grala started the race from the tenth position and dropped to 36th place before battling the major adversities of the race and finishing 29th.

Despite three flat tires and an alternator failure that resulted in two-battery changes, Grala demonstrated a 'Boston Strong' mentality and brought the No. 3 Kiklos Toyota Camry home inside the top-30. After the race Grala rallied his team with his ever-optimistic attitude and stopped just short of forecasting a victory when the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West return to the Iowa Speedway on July 31.

"We were as fast as the leader tonight," said Grala. "As long as we had all four tires up and a fully charged battery. When you have a night with three flat tires and a dead alternator, bringing the car home in one piece is a victory. The car was great off the truck and minus the bad luck, we would have been contending for a top-5 and maybe a win.

"That was by far the best car I've ever had at Iowa Speedway. Mike Fritts and the Ben Kennedy Racing guys never quit and that's all you can ask for on a night where nothing seems to go your way. Fortunately, we learned some things tonight that will make us even stronger in July."

While crew chief Mike Fritts was understandably frustrated with the misfortune that faced the team, he was highly complementary of his driver on what could have been an abysmal night.

"Kaz demonstrated championship level maturity tonight," said Fritts. "After the first flat tire we were in a bad spot being two-laps down. At that point, Kaz positioned himself as the first car two-laps down and focused on staying out of trouble.

"A lot of drivers his age would have tried to charge back through the field with a car as fast as the one we had, but he recognized that we needed to finish and didn't need to be in a wreck. It was a Murphy's Law night, but Kaz kept a cool head, positive attitude and learned some things that we can apply to be even stronger when we come back in July."

Although the finish wasn't what Grala had envisioned after topping the practice charts for the majority of the first session, the Boston native was already looking forward to a return trip to the 'Fastest Short Track on the Planet.'

 "The best part about Iowa is you have two chances to win each year," said Grala. Only 76 days and we'll have another shot at visiting the Casey's General Stores Victory Lane. Congratulations to Brandon McReynolds, that was a big win for him and for Toyota."

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East will return to action on Saturday, May 30 for the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150 at Bowman Gray Stadium.

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For additional information or media inquiries, please contact Kyle Zimmerman at 336-575-8725 or email at kzimmerman@hi-revracing.com.