NASCAR is returning to the Gulf Coast next year when the K&N Pro Series East makes a stop at Mobile International Speedway. The Mobile 150 Presented by the Mobile Sports Authority will bring the NASCAR-owned and -operated series to the Irvington half-mile oval on March 12.
“Our schedule for 2016 is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory,” Series Director Chris Wright said in a press release. “We’re excited to return NASCAR racing to our fans on the Gulf Coast and really appreciate the commitment from everyone at Mobile International Speedway to have that iconic racetrack ready for NASCAR’s up-and-coming stars.”
The K&N Pro Series East and the companion K&N Pro Series West are the top regional series in NASCAR’s hierarchy. The next step for ascending drivers from the twin K&N Pro series are NASCAR’s national-touring circuits – Camping World Truck, Xfinity and Sprint Cup.
Current Sprint Cup drivers Joey Logano and Kyle Larson are former K&N Pro Series East season champions, and NASCAR notables including Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott and Mobile native Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. also are former K&N Pro Series East competitors.
Race promoter Tommy Praytor and a group of area officials unveiled plans for the stock-car race in Mobile on Thursday.
Sarah Cornett-Ching, who’ll be driving on the circuit, attended the announcement, too. The 24-year-old Canadian was a full-time ARCA Racing Series competitor in 2015, finishing seventh in the season standings. On March 14, she had a 14th-place finish at Mobile International Speedway in the ARCA Mobile 200, a race won by Fairhope’s Grant Enfinger, who went on to capture the series championship. After four seasons of ARCA racing at MIS, the ARCA Mobile 200 is not on the series’ schedule for 2016.
“It’s really exciting to be coming back to Mobile,” Cornett-Ching said. “This was my first short-track race in an ARCA car, and the track has lots of speed and you can really race hard from the drop of the green flag.”
Among those on hand for the announcement were Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson, Rep. Victor Gaston of State House District 100 and the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Alabama House of Representatives, and Danny Corte, the executive director of the Mobile Sports Authority.
“The job of the Mobile Sports Authority is to bring quality sporting events to the Mobile County area,” Corte said. “We’re proud that we’ve had a good deal of success in recent years, but it’s really due to a team effort with support from both Mobile County and the City of Mobile. This event as well as the Southern Super Series have become two of the crown jewels of our efforts. So after all these years, we are fired up to welcome NASCAR back to the Mobile area.”
Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola was on the K&N Pro Series East schedule during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Pricing for the NASCAR event will be the same as for Mobile International Speedway’s ARCA event last year. For tickets and information, call 251-343-2929.
