ANTELOPE, California — Paulie Harraka, driver of the No.12 NAPA AutoCare Toyota Camry came to Iowa to win but after a spin during practice that damaged his primary car, he knew he’d have his work cut out for him. The Bill McAnally Racing rookie driver and the No 12 team didn’t give up qualifying the NAPA AutoCare Toyota Camry on the inside of row eight but because of the change to his backup car, he had to drop to the rear of the field.
With no laps on the car, Harraka made a charge thru the field gaining eight positions. At the mandatory break at lap 75, he radioed his crew chief Duane Knorr that the No. 12 NAPA Toyota Camry was tight so the team went to work making changes. With 25 laps to go, Harraka moved up to twelfth where he would finish.
He is fifth in the chase for the series championship and has the lead running for the coveted Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award.
"Losing our primary car in practice was definitely a big setback,” said Harraka. “The closer to the edge you are at a place like Iowa, the faster you go. We certainly had an awesome racecar and were flirting with the edge all day. Unfortunately, I stepped over it in our mock qualifying run. Still, the NAPA AutoCare team did an awesome job of getting the backup car ready to go. We battled a tight condition with that car all night, but were able to make some small gains during the break."
The NASCAR Camping World Series West race, the Central Iowa Building & Construction Trades “125” will be televised on September 10th on SPEED TV at noon pacific time. Check your local listings. The season finale will be at All American Speedway in Roseville, California on September 26. Tickets are going fast so please visit www.allamericanspeedway.com or www.billmcanallyracing.com. Information is also available on Facebook. Become a fan of Bill McAnally Racing.
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. 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 be reentered every week.
