ANTELOPE, California — The four NASCAR K&N Pro Series teams from Bill McAnally Racing scored two top-10 finishes in the 2011 season opener at Phoenix International Raceway.
"The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will back on track on Saturday, April 16 for the Toyota/NAPA AutoCare 150 at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif."
Veteran BMR driver Moses Smith finished eighth at PIR – while NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion DJ Kennington, making his second appearance in a BMR entry, finished 10th.
Three-time series champion Eric Holmes bounced back from engine problems in qualifying to salvage a 14th-place finish, while action sports star Travis Pastrana was up to the top 10 before encountering trouble late in the race and finishing 25th.
Thirty-six drivers took to the dog-legged, one-mile track for the first practice session at 9 am on Thursday. The first session had all four BMR drivers getting the feel for the track and shaking down their cars; the No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota driven by Travis Pastrana turned in the best time of the BMR four. The second and final practice got under way at 10:30 am. The No. 16 Hasa Pool Products Toyota with the three-time Most Popular driver Moses Smith at the wheel was the quickest BMR Toyota.
Pastrana qualified on the outside of row five. Smith qualified his Toyota in 16th; DJ Kennington driving the No. 12 Northern Provincial Pipeline Toyota would start in 23rd and Eric Holmes who returns to pilot the No. 20 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota qualified in 25th. Crew chief Matt Goslant made the call to change out the motor of the No. 20. With only one hour before driver intros, the BMR teams successfully got the NAPA Toyota back out and ready to race. Holmes would have to drop to the back of the field as per NASCAR rules.
As the sun began to set over PIR, drivers took the green in the “3 Amigos Organic Blanco 100”. Holmes gained five positions during the first four laps. The first caution came out at lap 15. When the pits were shown open, cars began to come in for fuel and adjustments including the No. 12 Northern Provincial Pipeline and the No. 20 NAPA Toyotas.
Back racing at lap 21, Smith had now moved into the top-ten and Pastrana was in eighth. The leader came in during a second caution at lap 26 including the No. 16 and the No. 99 for fuel. At lap 30, Kennington was in 10th, Holmes in 11th, Pastrana in 15th and Smith in 18th. A few laps later, the BMR teams were all running in the top eleven positions. At lap 50 while under a caution, Holmes radioed in the he “was good” as he was now running in 4th with Kennington in fifth. Pastrana and Smith pitted at lap 48 taking on fresh right side tires putting them in 21st and 22nd respectively. Holmes took right side tires at lap 68. With twenty laps to go, Pastrana and Smith were running in the top-ten. The No. 99 sustained some damage at lap 79 bringing out the caution. He came to pit road and re-entered the race in 21st. Pastrana got loose in turn four with four laps to go that found him in a slow-mo spin across the track tagging the front stretch wall. With no caution coming out, he would finish in 25th. Holmes brought home the No. 20 NAPA Toyota in 14th.
“Our motor was really sluggish and I’m not sure why,” said Holmes. “I’m really proud of the BMR team for getting that motor changed out so quickly before the race. The way it was running during the practice and then qualifying, we had nothing to lose and everything to gain. We wanted to repeat our win from last spring but it just didn’t go our way. Overall, it was a good points day.”
Kennington, meanwhile, was pleased with his top-ten finish. “This was a lot of fun,” said Kennington. “This was a good night for us. I could do this every week, it was so much fun. I can’t thank my crew chief Dave Whight, the team and BMR enough for this opportunity and all their hard work.”
Smith recorded his second highest series finish at PIR finishing in 8th. “Our Hasa Toyota was tight up to the last 20 laps. It was getting better and better as the race progressed. We’re happy. We brought home a clean race car and a top-ten finish. Overall it was a good way to start the season.”
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will back on track on Saturday, April 16 for the Toyota/NAPA AutoCare 150 at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif.
For more information on Bill McAnally Racing and our race partners, please visit our website at www.billmcanallyracing.com. Become a fan of Bill McAnally Racing and follow us on our Facebook Fan page. We can also be followed on Twitter at BMR_NASCAR.
