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Brandon McReynolds started in the pole position in the NAPA Auto Parts 150.

It’s safe to say Patrick Staropoli is a quick study.

Staropoli driving his #99 PEAK Toyota at Irwindale Speedway in the NAPA Auto Parts 150

A year ago, he was a full-time college student. He won the first race of his NASCAR K&N Pro Series West career at Irwindale Speedway. It was the sixth K&N Pro Series start of his career.

Staropoli, a 24-year-old from Plantation, Florida, finished in the top 10 in four of his first K&N Pro Series starts. He finished fifth in K&N Pro Series West debut in Spokane, Washington, last year. In his most recent K&N Pro Series East race, he was sixth at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee.

“I don’t even know where to start,” said Staropoli. “I knew we had a good car coming into this race. Didn’t know how it would all play out, how you were going to have to save tires over the course of 150 laps.” Staropoli began the NAPA Auto Parts 150 in fifth position and moved his way to the front early in the race.

Patrick Staropoli celebrates his victory at the NAPA Auto Parts 150 at Irwindale Speedway.

“The green flag started, we just went right up to the front, got up in second, was riding there,” Staropoli said. “I knew we would have to conserve those, so we dropped all the way back to, I don’t know, 13th, 14th, got a little bit worried there.”

Staropoli and his team employed the same strategy as some of the other drivers in the race. He fell back to conserve his tires and equipment hoping for a chance to win the race. Five drivers took turns leading the race.

“As it got close to the end, we knew it was go time,” Staropoli said. “Put the hammer down and started slicing through the field. I’m so excited to be here right now talking to you guys. I never imagined a year ago I would be in this position.”

Patrick Staropoli holds his trophee up high for all his fans to see at Irwindale Speedway NAPA Auto Parts 150.

Brandon McReynolds, the pole winner, and Greg Pursley swapped the lead for the first 26 laps of the race. Brett Thompson took the lead on lap 27 and held it for 99 laps. Ryan Partridge passed Thompson for the lead on lap 129.

Staropoli made his move to the front on lap 137. He was out front for the remainder of the race. There was a cautionary period during lap 130 that tightened up the field, but Staropoli held off for his first K&N Pro Series West win.

“I was counting on that last caution,” Staropoli said. “We got up there. We had a great battle for the lead. I hope that was exciting for all the fans.”

David Mayhew, who started on the front row with McReynolds, was second in the race. “We were kind of on the same plan as Greg there,” Mayhew said. “We thought everything was going good and dandy at about halfway and I’m like, yea, we’ve got this and things going nice and smooth and passed the first couple guys coming back toward the front. And it got to about 50 to go and it got to 12th and that was it. It just got real tight and everybody leveled out.”

Pursley finished third, followed by McReynolds in fourth and Dylan Lupton in fifth. “We just missed it a little bit,” Pursley said. “Good points night for us and just great to be back here at Irwindale Speedway.”

The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West was making its first visit to Irwindale Speedway since 2011. Pursley has a six-point lead over McReynolds after the first two races of the K&N Pro Series West schedule.

The next K&N Pro Series West race is at Stockton 99 Speedway on May 3.

Jarett Andretti announced his plans to support the March of Dimes at the Indianapolis Fairgrounds on February 6th

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."

Jarett visited Lawrence North High School to aid with their March of Dimes fundraising.

The author of that fabled quote is Jarett Andretti's great uncle, Mario Andretti. Jarett is a blueblood member of legendary Andretti racing royalty, the son of John, cousin of Marco, nephew of Michael and grandson of Aldo. For 2014, twenty-one-year Jarett is gearing up for his first full season of competition in both the USAC National Sprint Car and Silver Crown Series. He will be driving for his uncle Michael Andretti's Autosport Short Track team.

For this season the third-generation racer has also aligned himself with the March of Dimes, one of the best-known and most respected nonprofit organizations in the country. The organization helps moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies. If something goes wrong, they offer information and comfort to families. They are also extremely active and successful with researching the problems that threaten babies and work on preventing them. Jarett took time from his busy schedule to talk with us about the March for Babies and racing.

Having had the experience of twin cousins that were born prematurely Jarett feels it's an honor to represent the March of Dimes.

What does it mean to you to be able to add your family name to the March for Babies effort, and why is that important to you?

"It is an honor to be able to work with the March of Dimes in 2014. I had a mutual friend introduce me to the March of Dimes representatives last year and their mission and goals are very close to my heart, as I had twin cousins that were born prematurely at 28 weeks and are now very healthy and happy."

2014 will be the K&N backed racer's first full season of racing.

How does your racing schedule look for this season and how does racing fit in with you going to school for a business major?

"The racing schedule is extremely busy with about 80 races on the schedule so far for 2014. We will be running the full USAC Sprint and Silver Crown schedule as well as some Pavement Sprint Car races, including the Little 500. As for school, most of the administrators and professors have been accommodating to my travel and race schedule."

College aside, what are your racing aspirations, and ideally in what direction would you like to see your racing career unfold?

"I would just like to be a professional race car driver, whether that be in the World of Outlaws, NASCAR, IndyCar, Sports Cars or USAC. Ideally, I would love to run the Indy 500 with my dad. I also have aspirations of rallying and other off-road racing, I just enjoy driving racecars."

I'm sure you've heard versions of this question many times, but overall and at this stage of your life, do you feel the Andretti name puts burdensome pressures on you, or have you learned to embrace those expectations?

"It all depends on how you look at it, it certainly brings added pressure, but at the same time I have family members to provide great advice and career guidance."

Where and when do you race next?

The next race of the season is at the No Way Out 40 at Brownstown Speedway in the Superior Auto No. 18 Sprint Car beginning March 29th.

In the debut of his personal Guts Racing No. 53 Gregg finished 2nd.

"After the first three races of my season I'm feeling like I'm on top of the world!"

Andy Gregg opened his sprint car season with a 3rd place finish in the Silver Cup finale at Chico.

Andy Gregg has every right to experience such titanic sentiment, with the 2014 season having just started he's already had a view from all three tiers of the podium. Gregg opened his season at Silver Dollar Speedway where he made it to the Silver Cup finale campaigning for Russell Motorsports. Driving the K&N backed Mike's Hard Lemonade/Capitol Ace Hardware/Thompson's Auto No.14R sprint car, Gregg finished the contest in third, as he flawlessly navigated the tricky track surface.

"It is awesome to get out here and run up front to start our season off, but I was just beyond thrilled that we were even able to get out here and race," Gregg said. "The Russell family made some huge changes to their program for this season, and everyone involved on this team worked a ton of late nights to get us race-ready."

Next up was Gregg's debut of his personal Guts Racing No. 53 back at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California. Gregg put on tremendous charge as he rallied from his seventh starting spot to finish second aboard his Miller Fortune/Poor's Equipment Repair/K&N backed entry.

"It was a pretty greasy track, and tough to pass on, but we were pretty good in the feature event, and I really have to thank my team," remarked Gregg.

Gregg and his Scott Russell team earned a commanding victory in their second outing together at Marysville Raceway Park.

Then, only one week after Gregg and his Scott Russell team burned the midnight oil to reach the Silver Cup podium, they returned to action at Marysville Raceway Park. This time however Gregg flat-out dominated the California Sprint Car Civil War Series presented by Flowmaster opening event, leading every lap in both the Dash and Feature Event.

"Winning the second night out in the Russell Motorsports No.14R car was epic," Gregg said. "During the off-season Russell Motorsports built a new car from the ground up, even the motor is new to the team. So to come out and get 3rd the first night and win the second night shows it was a wise decision. To top it off, between the 3rd and 1st in the No. 14R, we also picked up a 2nd place in my own No. 53 sprint car. So it's been great start for both teams."

Physically and mentally I feel more prepared for the 2014 season then I've ever felt in the past," he adds. "Our next race will be at Stockton Speedway in Stockton, California, this Friday March 21st."

In a follow-up we can report that Gregg remained hot, finishing with his fourth podium in a row at the FVP Shootout. With much of the top-five battling wheel-to-wheel, Gregg made a stirring pass that earned him a third place finish at the stripe.

Frank Hawley's Dragster Adventure offers enthusiasts an opportunity to drive a dragster.

It may not rank as a contender for the eighth wonder of our planet, but the great million-dollar sound wall of Fontana indisputably fits prominently into the world of motorsports. For nearly 15 years the 2-mile banked oval Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California also included a drag strip, until noise complaints from neighbors closed it down two years ago. We're happy to report the lawsuit has been settled and drag racing is back, thanks to a 24-foot-tall, 1800-foot-long wall constructed along the northern strip.

Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School is the most respected program of its kind in the world.

"We are very happy it has reopened and they've done a tremendous job," said Frank Hawley. "A lot of great companies like K&N and Lucas Oil and Auto Club worked together, and the great new wall will make it (drag racing) friendlier to the neighborhood. They've also painted everything and installed a brand new timing system, and we can't wait to get out there and get started."

Hawley is an NHRA World Champion driver, author and sought after motivational speaker. His Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School is the most respected and the most attended school of its kind in the world. Whether teaching today's professionals or supplying the adventurous with the thrilling experience of speed and acceleration - Hawley's programs deliver.

"Our home base is in Gainesville, Florida, we've been based here for 28 years, and we travel all around the country, so this year we've already had a class in Phoenix, we're going to be in Huston, we're going to be in St. Louis at Gateway Raceway a few times this year, we're in Norwalk, Ohio, and then Reading, Pennsylvania. So we've remained fairly mobile during that time."

Home based in Gainesville, Florida, Hawley estimates that half the NHRA racers have been licensed at his programs.

For the decade between 1996 and 2006 Hawley's school had a fulltime location in Pomona, California, but their lease wasn't renewed. "So from that time until now we haven't had a presence back in southern California, basically because there wasn't an opportunity for us to be there," Hawley explains, "But now there is. As soon as we found out Auto Club Dragway was going to reopen we jumped all over it. We wanted to be there and make it our West Coast home."

"About half the NHRA drag racers have been licensed at our programs," Hawley says. "We've had programs from top alcohol dragsters and alcohol funny cars all the way down to super gas and super comp, where you can come for a two-day program and get qualified for your NHRA competition license. But we realized that not everybody wants to invest the resources necessary to becoming a NHRA competition licensed driver, so we have what we call our Dragster Adventure Program, and these cars are powered by big block Chevy engines."

As accomplished NHRA World Champion driver and author, Hawley is also a sought after motivational speaker.

The Dragster Adventure is specifically designed for drivers that have always fantasized about driving a dragster, and perhaps even compete in some side-by-side racing, yet without committing the time and money required to become a licensed racer in one of Hawley's many licensing courses. The course provides drivers with full-sized competition styled cars capable of blasting from 0-to-60 in three seconds and reach 130 mph in the 1/4 mile.

"They have a gas pedal, brake pedal and automatic transmission and they run in the 10's," Hawley adds. "It's a real nice entry level program were, for 399 bucks, we'll teach how to drive a dragster and make some runs down the dragstrip. And if you want to stay over and do another half-day program to complete the full-day program, then you get to do some real racing, because during that second program we do let people race each other."

"It's a great idea for high performance enthusiasts, maybe they're street rodders, or they like stock cars or road racing, but they've never actually tried drag racing, and this gives them an opportunity to get behind the wheel and make some runs and have fun. It's also the perfect platform for a lot of corporate entertainment. So you can bring out groups of sales people or managers and they can come out and drive these dragsters and have a lot of fun."

There is a resurging interest in drag racing and in people wanting to find out what the drag racing experience is really all about. Hawley was nine when he first got hooked on racing. "And what I've always loved about drag racing," he says, "Is that it's one of the few motorsports were everyone can participate. You can literally take the car you drive all week to work and then take it to the local drag strip on the weekend and compete. Because if you can learn how the timing system works and learn how to get a good reaction time, and learn how to predict the performance of your car, which we call 'dial-in,' you can actually go out and win a drag race. Southern California is like a country in itself and we're looking to get a new generation reengaged in motorsports, or high performance driving, or just cars in general."

Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School officially opens Thursday April 3, 2014 at Auto Club Dragway in Fontana.