Dylan Kwasniewski’s first season in the then-Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series didn’t exactly go the way he likely expected.
The Las Vegas native came into the series as a highly touted graduate of the NASCAR Next program, in addition to being the star of a much-hyped, made-for-digital reality series that chronicled his life and racing career.
But Kwasniewski’s bid for a great year, including his attempt to win NNS Rookie of the Year honors, fell far short:
* He started all 33 NNS races, had zero wins and zero top-five finishes, and just three top-10 finishes.
* His best showing was eighth in both the season opener at Daytona and also on the road course at Mid-Ohio. He was also ninth in a race at Iowa Speedway.
* He also had four DNFs, an average per-race finish of 17.7 and finished on the lead lap less than half the time (16 out of 33 races).
By the end of the season, Kwasniewski finished 11th in the final standings. It was a first effort, but not necessarily a great first effort, either, he recently told the Las Vegas Review-Journal (LVRJ).
“(Last season) definitely taught me a lot, very humbling, for sure,” Kwasniewski said. “Next year (2015) is what we’ve been looking forward to. We treated last year as a learning year, and now we can go out there and compete and try to get really good finishes.”
After racing for Turner Scott Motorsports in 2014, Kwasniewski has joined a brand new team for 2015, HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi. HScott is Harry Scott Jr., former co-owner of TSM.
For now, it’s a one-car operation, but unfortunately for Kwasniewski, it’ll be a two-driver team.
In other words, he’ll be sharing the No. 42 Chevrolet with reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year, Kyle Larson.
As of now, it’s unclear how many races each driver will be behind the wheel. But Kwasniewski is taking it all in stride.
“It’s still a lot of races,” Kwasniewski told the LVRJ. “I think we’re going to have better results. You’re running up front with the guys you’re going to race for the rest of your life. I think that’s better than running midpack.
“We’re going to show up to win every race. That will benefit me more and show people that I have talent more than running in the middle of the pack for the rest of the year.
“Even though it’s less races, I think it’s going to be a good deal.”
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