ANTELOPE, California — The No. 20 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry piloted by two-time series NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Champion Eric Holmes was on the top of the time charts during both practice sessions. Holmes was looking to make it two wins in a row at the first race of the season at Bill McAnally Racing’s home track of All American Speedway but came home with a 20th place finish after a broken drive axle on the NAPA Toyota Camry.
Holmes qualified the No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry on the outside of row three to start the 150-lap race before a sold-out crowd at All American Speedway. Within ten laps, he had climbed to fourth and by lap 40; the No. 20 NAPA Toyota was in second. Around lap 69, Holmes radioed in to his crew chief, Matt Goslant that something had broken on the car. Goslant made the call to bring the car to the garage where it was determined that the right rear axle had broken. The team made quick work of replacing the axle and Holmes returned at lap 87.
“I’m really disappointed with our finish,” said Holmes. “It’s now how we wanted to start the new season. Our focused has not changed. We are looking to give our race partner NAPA AUTO PARTS a fifth series championship. We have eleven races ahead of us. We are confident that this finish will not defeat us. It will just make us work even harder.”
Holmes signed autographs and spent some time in NAPA hospitality before the race and was greeted by hundreds of fans. At driver introductions, the crowd erupted with cheers as Eric Holmes’ name was announced. The NAPA team would like to thank them for their support.
The Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge West race is the first of five Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts Bonus Challenge races. The first race from All American Speedway race will be televised on SPEED Channel on April 8th. The next NASCAR West Series race event will be also on April 8th at Phoenix International Raceway.
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.
