Haley scores NASCAR win

Winamac native Justin Haley, in his number five, Chevrolet Impala, ran a clean race, managed his tires and ran down hometown driver Kyle Benjamin with seven laps to go to claim his first career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East checkered flag at Greenville (SC) Pickens Speedway last Saturday night in the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150.
In the third race of the 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season, Haley happily qualified second. Benjamin, from Easley, South Carolina, took the pole with a 20.705 lap time. The two young drivers would be the only real factors throughout the evening, with Haley able to work on Benjamin’s rear bumper hard in traffic.
On lap 55, Haley made a bold move to the inside, three wide to avoid the lapped car of John Holleman, forcing Benjamin to the slower outside line. Benjamin reclaimed the lead with one lap to go before the halfway break, ensuring the top spot for the restart.
On the restart the top two cars would once again power away from the field, with Haley maintaining no more than a few car lengths off of Benjamin’s bumper. Letting Benjamin set the pace in front paid dividends for Haley’s tire management as the race drew to the end. With less than 10 laps to go Haley’s car was noticeably quicker and he closed the gap and in the middle of the corner on lap 143, took the lead, and ran away to the checkered flag.Haley now sits in third in the points standings, one behind the second-place car of Benjamin, while five points separate the top four cars heading into the series’ next race on April 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway. 
Haley will travel to Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, April 2 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Alpha Energy Solutions 250.
The Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150 will air on NBCSN on Saturday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. ET.