Kaz Grala

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Kaz Grala
Kaz Grala at Pocono Raceway.jpg
Grala at Pocono Raceway in 2018
BornKaz Edward Grala
(1998-12-29) December 29, 1998 (age 22)
Boston, Massachusetts
AchievementsYoungest driver to make the NASCAR playoffs (18)
Youngest NASCAR race winner at Daytona International Speedway (18)
Youngest NASCAR pole winner at Daytona International Speedway (18)
Youngest driver to compete in an IMSA race (15)
Youngest race winner in UARA-Stars (14)
NASCAR Cup Series career
4 races run over 2 years
Car no., teamNo. 16 (Kaulig Racing)
2020 position40th
Best finish40th (2020)
First race2020 Go Bowling 235 (Daytona RC)
Last race2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
33 races run over 4 years
Car no., teamNo. 31 (Jordan Anderson Racing)
2020 position33rd
Best finish22nd (2018)
First race2018 PowerShares QQQ 300 (Daytona)
Last race2021 Henry 180 (Road America)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 9 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
36 races run over 4 years
Truck no., teamNo. 02 (Young's Motorsports)
2020 position84th
Best finish7th (2017)
First race2016 Alpha Energy Solutions 250 (Martinsville)
Last race2021 United Rentals 176 (Watkins Glen)
First win2017 NextEra Energy Resources 250 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 17 1
NASCAR Pinty's Series career
2 races run over 1 year
2016 position41st
Best finish41st (2016)
First race2016 Clarington 200 (Mosport)
Last race2016 Can-Am 200 (Mosport)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of February 19, 2021.

Kaz Edward Grala (/ˈɡrɔːlə/ GRAW-lə;[1] born December 29, 1998) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time across NASCAR's three national series: he drives the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Kaulig Racing in the Cup Series, the No. 31 Camaro for Jordan Anderson Racing in the Xfinity Series, and the No. 02 Chevrolet Silverado for Young's Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series. The Boston native is the youngest NASCAR winner in the history of Daytona International Speedway with his win in the 2017 Truck Series season-opener and the youngest person to ever compete in an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) event.

Racing career[]

Early career[]

Grala started racing go-karts at F1 Boston in Braintree, Massachusetts when he was four years old. When he was ten,[2] he began racing Bandoleros, winning the in 2011. That same year, he won the New York Legendstock and the Massachusetts Bandolero Outlaws state championships.[1] In 2012, Grala won 15 races and the at Charlotte Motor Speedway[3] in the Legend Car Pro Division.

Stock car racing[]

Grala's No. 51 late model for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2014

In 2013, Grala made his late model debut in UARA-STARS, becoming the youngest winner in series history at Hickory Motor Speedway, followed by setting the record as the youngest driver to lead laps in the at Myrtle Beach Speedway where he finished second to Lee Pulliam. That same year, he was named by Speed 51 as the 2013 JEGS Rookie of the Year. [4] The following year, he joined Turner Scott Motorsports to compete full-time in the K&N Pro Series East as the youngest driver in the series.[5] During that year, he competed in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and won at Caraway Speedway[6] and Martinsville Speedway. The next season, he joined Ben Kennedy Racing to race full-time in the K&N Pro Series East once again.[7]

Truck Series[]

Grala's No. 33 truck for GMS Racing at Martinsville in 2016

In 2016, Grala made his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut at Martinsville for GMS Racing, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet.[8] Grala would get his first career top-ten finish at Dover International Speedway in just his second start in the series. With Ben Kennedy joining the team, Grala moved over to the No. 24 truck to compete in seven more races that year.

He joined GMS full-time for 2017, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet.[9] After avoiding all the crashes at Daytona International Speedway, he won his first race in the series after starting on the pole, making him both the youngest driver to win a NASCAR pole at Daytona and the youngest driver to win a NASCAR race at Daytona (18 years, 1 month and 26 days). It was Grala's first win in NASCAR and essentially locked him into a spot in the Playoffs for the Truck Series in 2017.[10][11] Grala almost won at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in September, after leading the closing laps and then in one of the final corners he was tapped and spun around by Austin Cindric. Grala was eliminated from the Playoffs prior to the Round of 6 due to an early crash in the cutoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, which ultimately resulted in him finishing the season 7th in the Truck Series standings. [12]

In 2020, Grala joined Niece Motorsports for a one-off race at Talladega as a replacement for Natalie Decker.[13]

Grala returned to the Truck Series again in 2021, driving for Young's Motorsports at the Daytona Road Course in their No. 02, unexpectedly replacing Kris Wright, the full-time driver of that truck.[14]

Xfinity Series[]

Grala making a pit stop in the Xfinity Series race at Texas in April 2018
Grala in the No. 61 for Fury Race Cars at the Charlotte oval, the team's Xfinity Series debut.
Grala at the Charlotte Roval in October 2018
Grala in the No. 21 for Richard Childress Racing at Dover in May 2019

On November 15, 2017, it was announced that Grala would join JGL Racing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a 2018 Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, driving the No. 24 Ford.[15] Grala finished fourth in his debut at Daytona. However, on May 15, the team shut down the No. 24 program, leaving Grala without a ride.[16] Three days later, Grala announced he would run the next four Xfinity races for Fury Race Cars, driving the No. 61 Mustang beginning at Charlotte Motor Speedway.[17] Grala drove to an impressive 10th-place finish in FURY's debut as a team. With sponsorship support from IT Coalition, DMB Financial, Kiklos and HotScream, Grala was able to add another eight races to his schedule beyond the original four. Grala's best finish with the organization was a top five at Daytona International Speedway, which he achieved in a 10-year-old borrowed car slated to be retired as a show car.[18]

In 2019, Grala joined Richard Childress Racing's No. 21 Xfinity car for a part-time schedule.[19] He was originally going to run part-time with FURY with the amassed sponsorship, but Grala took the sponsorship to RCR to lower costs.[20] He stayed with the team for the 2020 season.[21]

Grala's 2020 schedule began in July at Kansas, where he finished 13th.[22][23] He ran the next race at Road America and tied his career-best fourth-place finish.[24]

He joined Jordan Anderson Racing in 2021 for the Road America event.[25]

Cup Series[]

In August 2020, a week after his Xfinity start at Road America, Grala was called by RCR to substitute for Austin Dillon in their No. 3 NASCAR Cup Series car at the Daytona road course after Dillon tested positive for COVID-19.[26] The Go Bowling 235 would see Grala finish seventh in his Cup debut.[27]

Grala joined Kaulig Racing in 2021 for a multi-race schedule that included the Daytona 500, driving the No. 16.[28] At the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, he suffered a foot injury from one of the race's accidents.[29]

Sports car racing[]

In 2014, Grala ran in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, where he became the youngest driver ever to compete in an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) event at the age of 15 years and one week old.[3] In 2016, Grala competed in his first Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona for alongside former Rolex 24 winners Spencer Pumpelly and Justin Marks, in addition to race newcomer Corey Lewis; at the age of 17, Grala was the youngest driver in the field.[2]

Personal life[]

Grala was born in Boston and grew up in the suburb of Westborough. Grala's father Darius is a former sports car racer, competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona three times.[2] He is of Polish ancestry.

He attended high school at Worcester Academy, graduating in 2017.[3] Grala has been accepted to Georgia Tech to major in engineering, but has deferred his admission to pursue his racing career.

Grala lives in Mooresville, North Carolina.[citation needed]

Motorsports career results[]

NASCAR[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Cup Series[]

NASCAR Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NCSC Pts Ref
2020 Richard Childress Racing 3 Chevy DAY LVS CAL PHO DAR DAR CLT CLT BRI ATL MAR HOM TAL POC POC IND KEN TEX KAN NHA MCH MCH DAY
7 		DOV DOV DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL CLT KAN TEX MAR PHO 40th 01 [30]
2021 Kaulig Racing 16 Chevy DAY
28 		DAY HOM LVS PHO ATL BRI MAR RCH TAL
6 		KAN DAR DOV COA CLT SON NSH POC POC ROA ATL NHA GLN IND MCH DAY
35 		DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL CLT TEX KAN MAR PHO -* 02* [31]
Daytona 500[]
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2021 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 40 28

Xfinity Series[]

NASCAR Xfinity Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 NXSC Pts Ref
2018 JGL Racing 24 Ford DAY
4 		ATL
23 		LVS
16 		PHO
12 		CAL
14 		TEX
26 		BRI
38 		RCH
30 		TAL
20 		DOV
37 		22nd 439 [32]
Fury Race Cars 61 Ford CLT
10 		POC
16 		MCH
12 		IOW
10 		CHI
40 		DAY
5 		KEN NHA
14 		IOW GLN
15 		MOH
27 		BRI ROA
11 		DAR IND LVS RCH CLT
8 		DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM
18
2019 Richard Childress Racing 21 Chevy DAY ATL LVS PHO CAL TEX
18 		BRI RCH
14 		TAL DOV
14 		CLT POC MCH IOW CHI DAY KEN NHA
14 		IOW GLN MOH BRI ROA
5 		DAR IND LVS RCH CLT DOV KAN TEX PHO HOM 37th 120 [33]
2020 DAY LVS CAL PHO DAR CLT BRI ATL HOM HOM TAL POC IND KEN KEN TEX KAN
13 		ROA
4 		DAY DOV DOV DAY DAR RCH
9 		RCH
9 		BRI LVS TAL CLT
31 		KAN TEX MAR PHO 33rd 147 [34]
2021 Jordan Anderson Racing 31 Chevy DAY DAY HOM LVS PHO ATL MAR TAL DAR DOV COA CLT MOH TEX NSH POC ROA
18 		ATL NHA GLN IND MCH DAY DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL CLT TEX KAN MAR PHO -* -*

Camping World Truck Series[]

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 NGTC Pts Ref
2016 GMS Racing 33 Chevy DAY ATL MAR
31 		KAN DOV
10 		CLT TEX 28th 132 [35]
24 IOW
29 		GTW
8 		KEN ELD POC BRI
11 		MCH MSP
26 		CHI NHA
7 		LVS TAL MAR
15 		TEX PHO
28 		HOM
2017 33 DAY
1 		ATL
15 		MAR
15 		KAN
8 		CLT
30 		DOV
2 		TEX
10 		GTW
13 		IOW
24 		KEN
24 		ELD
31 		POC
23 		MCH
12 		BRI
28 		MSP
3 		CHI
9 		NHA
10 		LVS
5 		TAL
29 		MAR
7 		TEX
6 		PHO
5 		HOM
13 		7th 2214 [36]
2020 Niece Motorsports 44 Chevy DAY LVS CLT ATL HOM POC KEN TEX KAN KAN MCH DAY DOV GTW DAR RCH BRI LVS TAL
9 		KAN TEX MAR PHO 84th 01 [37]
2021 Young's Motorsports 02 Chevy DAY DAY
8 		LVS ATL BRI RCH KAN DAR COA
2 		CLT TEX NSH POC KNX GLN
12 		GTW MSP BRI LVS TAL MAR PHO -* -2* [38]

* Season still in progress
1 Ineligible for series points
2 Switched from Cup to Truck points on May 4[39]

K&N Pro Series East[]

NASCAR K&N Pro Series East results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 NKNPSEC Pts Ref
2014 Turner Scott Motorsports 31 Chevy NSM
10 		DAY
10 		BRI
20 		GRE
7 		RCH
14 		IOW
22 		BGS
11 		FFL
16 		LGY
5 		NHA
10 		COL
8 		IOW
8 		GLN
4 		VIR
5 		GRE
11 		DOV
2 		7th 542 [40]
2015 Ben Kennedy Racing 3 Toyota NSM
18 		GRE
6 		BRI
4 		IOW
17 		BGS
7 		LGY
17 		COL
3 		NHA
3 		IOW
7 		GLN
15 		MOT
7 		VIR
2 		RCH
8 		DOV
19 		7th 483 [41]
2016 NSM
15 		MOB
5 		GRE
9 		BRI
3 		VIR
20 		DOM
4 		STA COL NHA
21 		IOW GLN
4 		GRE NJM DOV 16th 272 [42]

K&N Pro Series West[]

NASCAR K&N Pro Series West results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 NKNPSWC Pts Ref
2015 Ben Kennedy Racing 3 Toyota KCR IRW TUS IOW SON
17 		SLS IOW EVG CNS MER AAS PHO
30 		41st 41 [43]

Pinty's Series[]

NASCAR Pinty's Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 NPSC Pts Ref
2016 22 Racing 22 Dodge MSP
20 		SSS ACD ICAR TOR EIR SAS CTR RIS MSP
15 		ASE KWA 41st 53 [44]

ARCA Racing Series[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Racing Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ARSC Pts Ref
2017 Mason Mitchell Motorsports 88 Chevy DAY
10 		NSH SLM TAL TOL ELK POC MAD IOW IRP 48th 405 [45]
MDM Motorsports 41 Chevy
4 		WIN ISF DSF SLM CHI KEN KAN

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship[]

(key)

24 Hours of Daytona[]

24 Hours of Daytona results
Year Class No Team Car Co-drivers Laps Position Class Pos.
2016 GTD 16 United States Lamborghini Huracan GT3 United States Spencer Pumpelly
United States Justin Marks
United States Corey Lewis 		521 42 18

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Kaz Grala". NASCAR Home Tracks. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Doyle, Bill (January 28, 2016). "Kaz Grala, 17, is the youngest driver at Rolex 24". The Daytona Beach News-Journal. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c "At Just 15, Westborough's Kaz Grala A Rising Star In MotorSports". WBZ-TV. February 14, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  4. ^ Staff, Speed51.comT (2018-03-08). "The 51's: 2017 Rookie of the Year Award Goes To… | Speed51.com". Speed 51. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  5. ^ "Turner Scott Announces '14 K&N East Lineup". NASCAR Home Tracks. January 20, 2014. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  6. ^ "15-Year-Old Kaz Grala Of Westborough Earns First NASCAR Win". WBZ-TV. July 9, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  7. ^ "Kaz Grala to Drive for Ben Kennedy Racing in 2015". Speed51. October 16, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  8. ^ "KYLE BUSCH, LARSON SLATED FOR MARTINSVILLE TRUCK DUTY". NASCAR. March 28, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  9. ^ "Kaz Grala Confirmed for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Full Time in 2017 Crew Chief Jerry Baxter Joins GMS Racing and Tapped to Lead No. 33 Chevrolet Team". GMS Racing. December 5, 2016. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  10. ^ Utter, Jim (February 24, 2017). "Grala wins first Truck race after violent last-lap wreck". Motorsport.com. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  11. ^ "Rookie Kaz Grala avoids massive last-lap crash for Truck Series win". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  12. ^ Staff, FrontstretchT (2017-11-17). "Kaz Grala Crashes Out of Playoffs in Talladega | Frontstretch". SPEED SPORT. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  13. ^ McFadin, Daniel (October 1, 2020). "Kaz Grala subs for Natalie Decker in Talladega Truck race". NASCAR on NBC. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  14. ^ Srigley, Joseph (February 17, 2021). "Kaz Grala Piloting Young's Motorsports No. 02 at Daytona's Road Course". TobyChristie.com.
  15. ^ Staff, SPEED SPORT (2017-11-17). "JGL Racing Aligns With Roush, Signs Kaz Grala | SPEED SPORT". SPEED SPORT. Retrieved 2017-10-14.
  16. ^ Long, Dustin (May 15, 2018). "Kaz Grala no longer with JGL Racing in Xfinity Series". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  17. ^ Wilson, Steven B. (May 18, 2018). "Kaz Grala to Run Next Four NASCAR Xfinity Series Raceskful". Speedway Digest. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  18. ^ King, Alanis. "How a Decade-Old Car That Wasn't Supposed to Race Did Shockingly Well in NASCAR". Jalopnik. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  19. ^ "Kaz Grala Joins RCR Xfinity Driver Roster". Speed Sport. February 14, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  20. ^ Crandall, Kelly. "Ep. 62: Kaz Grala". Player.fm. Down & Dirty Network. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  21. ^ Burleson, Jeremy (January 24, 2020). "Kaz Grala Returns to Richard Childress Racing for 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Run". Richard Childress Racing. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  22. ^ McFadin, Daniel (July 25, 2020). "Kaz Grala 'knocking the rust off' with first Xfinity start of year". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "Kaz Grala finishes 13th at Kansas Speedway". NASCAR. July 27, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  24. ^ "Kaz Grala Drives No. 21 Ruedebusch.com Chevy to Fourth-Place Finish at Road America". Richard Childress Racing. August 10, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  25. ^ Tomlinson, Joy (June 26, 2021). "Kaz Grala Joining Jordan Anderson Racing at Road America". Frontstretch. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  26. ^ "RCR: Austin Dillon tests positive for COVID-19, will miss Daytona Road Course". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 15, 2020.
  27. ^ Utter, Jim (August 16, 2020). "Kaz Grala "had a blast" in his Cup Series debut at Daytona RC". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  28. ^ Utter, Jim (January 13, 2021). "Kaz Grala to run several Cup races in 2021 with Kaulig Racing". Motorsport.com. Motorsport Network. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  29. ^ "Kaz Grala injures foot in Daytona crash". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 29, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  30. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  31. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  32. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  33. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  34. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  35. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2016 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  36. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  37. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  38. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2021 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  39. ^ Nguyen, Justin (May 4, 2021). "Five drivers switch to NASCAR Truck points". The Checkered Flag. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  40. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2014 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  41. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  42. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2016 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  43. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  44. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2016 NASCAR Pinty's Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  45. ^ "Kaz Grala – 2017 ARCA Racing Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.

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