HOLMES AND BMR WIN FOR SECOND TIME AT THUNDER HILL RACEWAY

Source: Bill McAnally Racing/kr
Date: 04/23/2008

ANTELOPE, California – It was a repeat win for BMR driver Eric Holmes. He won the event in 2006 and repeated Saturday in the All State Texas Thunder 150 at Thunder Hill Raceway in Kyle Texas. It was also the second time that the NAPA AUTO PARTS car visited Victory Lane in four visits to Thunder Hill. The entry from Bill McAnally Racing won the inaugural event in 2005.

For a majority of the race, Eric Holmes had just one car to get around to reach Victory Lane. But because that one car was his teammate, Austin Cameron, Holmes knew it would take a combination of caution and aggression in securing his second win of the season in the NASCAR Camping World Series West.

“The car was fast,” Holmes said. “I knew if I got the lead, I could drive away from those guys. I just knew I had to get by him. It’s hard when you’re racing your teammate. You can’t be too aggressive. But lots of times you’ve got to be aggressive, so you don’t make a mistake. You’ve got to be on your game.”

The break Holmes needed came just after a caution. He restarted on the outside lane, but darted to the inside of Cameron coming off turn two to make the pass. “I got a good start that last time and got underneath him and he slipped,” Holmes said of his pass by his fellow driver at Bill McAnally Racing.

Although Holmes quickly established a bit of a margin over second place, it was not completely clear sailing to the finish. An overheating engine left him concerned if he would make it to the checkered flag. “We started overheating at about lap 50 or 60 and I really didn’t think the motor was going to hold up,” Holmes said. “But the NASCAR spec engine really held together.”

Holmes demonstrated the strength of the No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry by pulling away from the field in the final laps, despite his overheating issue. “The car was really good at the end,” he said. “Probably the motor laid down a little bit power wise, but sometimes less power late in the race is a good thing.”

Holmes, who had won the Coors Light Pole Award with a qualifying lap of 90.976 mph, had slipped to second on the initial start of the race after admittedly being caught off guard at the drop of the green flag. “We didn’t get many pace laps there and didn’t get a lot of heat in the tires,” Holmes said. “I went down in the corner and my car bottomed out and he got me. I knew I just needed to get in line at that time and not race him too hard there.”

After making the winning pass on lap 132, Holmes went on to cross the finish line with a margin of victory of 1.181 seconds. This victory by Holmes together with his win in the season opener in Roseville, California and the current point leader Mike David win at PIR gives manufacturer Toyota three wins in three races in the NCWS West in 2008.

David was able to hold onto the lead in the championship standings over Holmes – 496 to 479. Third-place features a three-way tie in points with Cameron, Jeff Jefferson and a third BMR driver, Moses Smith each with 416 points.

The next event on the schedule for the NASCAR Camping World Series is the US Cellular 200 East/West combination race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa, on May 18.

For more information on Bill McAnally Racing and our race partners, please visit our website at www.billmcanallyracing.com.

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