Pena well on his way

October 5, 2011

It was impossible to completely ignore the screams coming over the radio, but Sergio Pena felt like he almost had to.

"[My crew was] yelling at me to slow down and save my tires," Pena said. "I was saving my tires."

Pena was just that good during his victory on Sept. 10 at the Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 140 at the Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway, one of several highlights for Pena in his markedly improved second season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

Pena - an 18-year-old Winchester native and James Wood graduate - won that race by 4.633 seconds, the largest margin of victory by any series driver in the 12-race season. The win was also Pena's third, which tied him for the most wins of any driver.

Those victories played a large role in Pena taking fifth in the K&N Series - which ended Friday - after taking 12th in his debut season.

"Last year was such a struggle," Pena said. "I really felt like I came a long way this year."

Pena has repeatedly talked about his improved patience this year, but his win in Greenville also showed how well he's adapting to race conditions.

Early on Pena's feel for the car told him he could go at a fast pace without pushing too hard, even if it might have looked like Pena was pushing his car to the maximum. In a race with just three cautions, only 10 cars finished on the lead lap.

"We qualified second, and I had a super-fast car," Pena said. "The crew had set the car up perfectly, and we took the lead early [on lap 58]. I just felt like I was cruising."

Pena maintained his lead for the final 82 laps for another victory that confirmed he was on the right track. Pena admits his first win - in which he took the lead with just 10 laps remaining because of a wreck - was a bit fortuitous, but proving it wasn't a fluke has been huge for his confidence.

For Pena, the support from his Revolution Racing team has been pretty big, too. For Pena's last two races, Director of Competition Andy Santerre paired Pena up with NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Clint Bowyer's pit crew.

By working with them, Pena got a better sense of the urgency it takes to compete amongst NASCAR's elite drivers.

"[The other crews] just didn't move as fast," Pena said. "It just really kept me alert, because I didn't want to make mistakes."

But fortunately, Pena is never lacking for motivation because of the serious and determined nature of crew chief Matt Goslant, who Pena hopes he can continue to work with.

Pena has been able to participate in the K&N Series because of his involvement in NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program. The program's combine for females and minorities age 15-25 will be Oct. 18-20 at Langley Speedway.

Typically 10 drivers are chosen, and odds are Pena will be one. His success is mentioned prominently in NASCAR's official release for the combine.

"I hope next year maybe I can get that championship," Pena said. "I'd like to see if I can do some new things, maybe some [NASCAR] Trucks stuff."

But Pena will just be happy to compete in whatever venue his owners put him in.

If Pena is fortunate enough to be moved up to a higher level of NASCAR, he doesn't want to do so until he feels he's certain his driving ability is up for it. He's well aware that there isn't as much money available for sponsorships nowadays, so moving up too soon could be disastrous.

Of course, by studying mechanical engineering at Radford University, Pena is covering his bases. Pena is taking a lot of pride in his studies. Despite missing seven days of classes in the first month, Pena said he's acing all his classes.

"It's tough to be the only one [on my team] going to college," Pena said. "But only 43 people out of thousands make [Sprint Cup], and I'm glad I have a backup plan."

- Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.