ANTELOPE, California -- NASCAR Grand National Division, AZ West Series rookie driver Brian Ickler and the #20 NAPA Filters/NAPA Belts & Hose/ Basalite Concrete Products/McMillin Homes team brought home their first top-five finish of the season after running at Infineon Raceway. This moves the 20-year old rookie into 6th in the chase for the series championship and ties him with teammate, Peyton Sellers in the race for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title.
“Wow...what a weekend!” exclaimed Ickler. “It was my first race on a road course, and to finish 3rd behind Nextel Cup drivers Brian Vickers and Boris Said almost felt like a win for the #20 NAPA Filter team. Crew chief Craig Raudman and team worked hard on the #20 NAPA Filters Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in practice and it paid off with a qualifying position on the inside of the second row behind pole sitter NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Brian Vickers. We got a good jump on the start and I took the 2nd place position on the first turn. “
“I was able to keep up with Vickers for the first 10 laps and our spotter Dave Reed reported we had a 30 car lead on the rest of the field. I was running on the bumper of Vickers when on lap 11 he got a little sideways and I hit my brakes too hard. I spun out into the dirt but was able to get back on track in the 12th position. The #20 NAPA Filters Chevrolet ran awesome and I slowly regained track position. By Lap 17, we were running in 7th and by lap 48, we were in 3rd. It was valuable experience running the last 16 laps behind Boris Said.”
The #20 NAPA Filters Chevrolet will carry a new paint scheme for the next five races on the schedule to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of NAPA Filters. During this time, a lucky race fan will have an opportunity to win a go-cart replica of the #20 NAPA Filters Chevrolet. Anna Maria Gutierrez from Modesto, California was the lucky recipient of the first of five 40th Anniversary go-carts to be given away. For more information on NAPA Filters, please log onto www.napafilters.com and find out how you can win one of more than 1800 great prizes in the Fanniversary Sweepstakes. NAPA Filters is the Spirit of NAPA!
The #20 NAPA Filters team next heads on to Douglas County Speedway for the Bi-Mart Firecracker ‘150’ presented by NAPA Belts & Hose in Roseburg, Oregon. The race will run on Saturday, July 1, 2006. This is the only NASCAR race in Oregon and this will be the fifth time this series has visited the Douglas County Speedway. For information on the event, please log on to www.billmcanallyracing.com. Great seats are still available. Contact BMR at 916-676-0010. Tickets are also available at the Douglas County Speedway, local Bi-mart and NAPA AUTO PARTS stores.
