Veteran crew chief to field NASCAR K&N team

Kevin Manion Motorsports will field the No. 1 Menard’s Toyota Camry for Kennedy at Iowa Speedway on July 28. 

"I'm happy to finally join the ranks of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series," Manion said. "It's a tremendous series, and our goal is to build something beyond a one-off race. We want to create an environment that teaches and develops young talent who have goals of competing at racing's highest levels.”

Under KMM, “Bono” Manion has field cars in NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Series and other Modified tours. A variety of drivers from Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece have produced nine wins and 10 poles over the last nine seasons. 

Manion was grateful for Menard’s support in his latest project.

"When talking with John Menard over the offseason about the Modified program, I mentioned my desire to step into the K&N Pro Series," continued Manion. "We felt Iowa would be a great spot to start, and Ben is a winning driver in the K&N East who Menards already supports in the Xfinity Series.”

Kennedy, 25, currently competes part-time in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series tour for Richard Childress Racing and GMS. On Saturday, he scored his second top-10 finish in his ninth-career NXS start. 

The Daytona Beach native won his first race in the Camping World Truck Series last season. Kennedy started in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series ranks. In 2013, his third full season, he scored two wins, one pole, three top fives, nine top 10s and finished fourth in the standings.