ANTELOPE, California — Drive for Diversity driver Paulie Harraka, pilot of the No. 12 NAPA AutoCare/Adaptive One Brakes Toyota Camry for Bill McAnally Racing raced on his second road course event of the NASCAR Camping World Series West season. He finished 16th in the Bi-Mart Salute to the Troops “125” on July 19th at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. He remains fifth in the chase for the series championship.
"Portland was definitely a rough weekend for our guys, but you've got to look at the bright side. At the end of the day, I'd rather run 3rd and finish 16th than just run 16th all day."— Paulie Harraka
The No. 12 NAPA AutoCare team was looking forward to the road course race. The weekend started off rough when the No. 12 NAPA AutoCare Toyota Camry suffered a blown engine during the start of the second practice session. The BMR team led by crew chief Duane Knorr went to work replacing the motor but missed the second practice session. With no laps on the new motor, Harraka went out to qualify in the second group and put the No. 12 NAPA AutoCare Toyota in ninth. Because of the engine change, Harraka had to move to the back of the field and start in 26th.
It wasn’t long before Harraka had the leaders in his sight. At lap 10, he had moved into tenth. When the second caution came out at lap 14, he had gained two more spots to run in eighth. Knorr made the call to pit under caution and the team packed the No. 12 NAPA AutoCare Toyota with fuel. At lap 24, Harraka moved into fifth. Three laps later he was in the top three. He had a setback at lap 50 when he suffered a flat tire and came in under green flag conditions. He returned in 18th and would finish in 16th a lap down.
“Portland was definitely a rough weekend for our guys, but you've got to look at the bright side,” said Harraka. “At the end of the day, I'd rather run 3rd and finish 16th than just run 16th all day. We had an awesome NAPA AutoCare Toyota Camry and I know we could have brought home a top 3, had we not blown the tire."
The NASCAR Camping World Series West Bi-Mart Salute to the Troops “125” will be televised July 30th on SPEED Channel’s Racing Across America noon pacific time. Please check your local listings.
Bi-Mart Salute the Troops “125” Race ResultsBi-Mart Salute the Troops “125” Near Live
Bi-Mart Salute the Troops “125” Standings
For more information on Bill McAnally Racing and our race partners, please visit our website at www.billmcanallyracing.com. BMR is also home to the BMR NAPA AutoCare where customers can have their vehicle serviced by a championship winning team. Check our website for our latest discount coupons and to make an appointment for service.
Please visit www.paulieharraka.com and enter to win memorabilia from Paulie’s race season. Over the next three months, Paulie Harraka has decided to give something unique back to 13 special fans. Each week, Paulie will give a fan a piece of his racing history. Prizes will be personally selected by Paulie and will include NAPA Hats, race-used Driving Gloves, race-used Helmet Visors, and other items, accompanied by a personalized, signed autograph card! Enter your name and e-mail address at Paulie’s website. E-mail addresses may only be entered once and you do not need to reenter every week.
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