ANTELOPE, California — Drive for Diversity driver Paulie Harraka, pilot of the No. 12 NAPA AutoCare/Adaptive One Brakes Toyota Camry for Bill McAnally Racing finished second at Miller Motorsports Park for the Miller Motorsports Park “125” on Saturday August 1st. As the top finishing rookie in the 41-lap road course race, he continues in the tight race with Blake Koch for the coveted Sunoco Rookie of the Year award.
"Having a good car and not getting too anxious -- not rushing, just slowly taking the opportunities as they came. That was the key for me today."— Paulie Harraka
The No. 12 NAPA AutoCare Toyota Camry required a transmission change prior to qualifying which put Harraka at the back of the 26-car field to begin the race. He was twelfth on the board after the first practice and moved to fifth for the final practice.
"We had to come from the back and that takes a toll on a race car when you got to come from the back," Harraka said. "To still end up second after going through that, I'm really happy with the guys. They did an awesome job."
The No. 12 NAPA AutoCare Toyota moved quickly thru traffic and moved from last to 12th by lap 12. Crew chief Duane Knorr had Harraka bring the car to pit road on lap 14 for fuel. Harraka would return to do a drive thru for a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. (Teams are restricted to four over the wall on pit stops.) As the lead laps cars filed onto pit road, Harraka moved from 18th to eighth to third. A lap later, Harraka moved into second and as the laps wound down, putting several car lengths between him and the current series point leader, Jason Bowles and closed in on the race leader, Patrick Long. He would finish in second behind Long. This is rookie Harraka’s first second place finish. He has an impressive result record with five top-five finishes in ten starts.
"I tried to run smooth lap after smooth lap and let guys come back to me," he said. "Having a good car and not getting too anxious -- not rushing, just slowly taking the opportunities as they came. That was the key for me today."
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.
