ANTELOPE, California — Bill McAnally Racing’s driver of the No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry, Eric Holmes brought home a fourth place finish two weeks in a row. He was fourth at Toyota Speedway and fourth this weekend at Evergreen Speedway after the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West returned after a two season absence.
"Holmes Back in the Top Five"
Holmes and the No. 20 NAPA Toyota team were focused on the big picture which was to win races and make gains in the 2011 chase for the West Series Championship. With the second half of the season beginning and seven races left, it was “go” time. This was the three-time series champion’s third start at the .646-mile oval. When the series last visited Evergreen Speedway, Holmes set the qualifying record and finished in 2nd.
The No. 20 NAPA Toyota started the 200-lap race on the inside of row four. By lap 24, Holmes was in the top-five. A restart at lap 65 had the field of cars shuffling with Holmes taking the third position. With less than fifteen laps before the mandatory halfway break, Holmes maneuvered the NAPA Toyota Camry into second.
Caution was out for the ten-minute break. Crew chief Duane Knorr and the NAPA team from BMR went to work making adjustments to the car as earlier Holmes reported in that the car was tight in the center of the corners. Green flag racing resumed with the eventual race winner, Greg Pursley taking over second at lap 106. With less than twenty laps to go, Holmes went three-wide with the No. 21 of Michael Self and the No. 26 of Pursley. Holmes hung onto third until lap 194 when he was passed by his teammate, Moses Smith. He would take the checkered flag recording a fourth place finish.
Holmes gains two positions in the chase. He is in fifth and is only 19 points out of the top-three. The next three tracks on the series schedule include Portland International Raceway on July 24th, Colorado National on August 6th and Montana Raceway Park on August 13th. At those tracks, Holmes has been on the podium three times in 2010 with two wins and a second place finish.
Set your DVRs. The NKNP West Series race from Infineon can be seen on Thursday July 14th at 3 pm PT on SPEED Channel. Catch the race from Toyota Speedway on Thursday July 21st and the upcoming race from Evergreen Speedway on Thursday July 28th.
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. Bill McAnally Racing is now on Facebook. Become a fan and stay up to date with the latest happenings with your favorite race teams. Also follow the team on BMR_NASCAR on Twitter.
