ANTELOPE, Ca — All five of the teams from Bill McAnally Racing finished in the top-ten in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Toyota/TTC “150” race at Montana Raceway Park.
Cameron Hayley impressed the fans as he wheeled the No. 24 Cabinets by Hayley Toyota Camry to a second place finish in his first start in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The Calgary, Alberta teenager became the youngest competitor in the history of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, at just a few weeks past his 15th birthday. “This was so fun!” said Hayley. “I can’t wait to do it again. We’re off next to the half-mile in Spokane and I can’t wait.” Hayley went on to top off his night by winning the Late Model feature.
Defending race and current series champion Eric Holmes and the No. 20 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota team finished in third after starting on the front row. He reported in during the first of only two cautions that the NAPA Toyota Camry was “tight everywhere”. This finish puts Holmes only two points out of the top-three in the chase for the 2011 NKNPS West championship.
The two-time Daytona 500 Champion Michael Waltrip piloted the No 12 TTC/Kalispell Toyota - Toyota Camry to a seventh place finish. He qualified the No. 12 TTC Toyota in the third row. He moved up to fourth at lap 34 and then took over third at lap 46 of the 150-lace. At lap 59, Waltrip moved into second and was chasing down the leader. With less than 50-laps to go, the handling of the car began to go away causing him to lose positions to finish in seventh. “That was some great short track racing,” said Waltrip. “I love racing with these cats. We’re going to see if we can do another race in the West before the season ends.”
Ben Kennedy, driving the No. 96 Ben Kennedy Racing/BMR Toyota Camry finished just seconds behind Waltrip in eighth after starting side-by-side with him. He climbed as high as fourth often navigating thru a sea of lapped down traffic before losing a couple of positions. This was the fourth-generation racer’s second start in the NKNPS West. He recently finished eighth at Colorado National Speedway">Colorado National Speedway. “A ton of fun,” is what the eighteen-year old said as he climbed out of the No. 96. “I got a lot of seat time! I would love to come back and race the Roseville and Phoenix races. Looking forward to it.”
Moses Smith rounded out the top-ten driving the No. 16 Hasa Pool Products Toyota Camry. He qualified eleventh and was in tenth at lap 8. During the first caution, crew chief Mario Isola radioed to Smith “keep digging”. Smith radioed later radioed back “the groove keeps getting higher and higher…I like it”. Another car made contact with the No. 16 Hasa Toyota with 15 laps to go causing the left front fender to rub the tire. “That was a bad deal,” said Smith. “I love the Montana fans. I wish we had more for them. Off to Spokane.” Smith leaves Montana Raceway Park second in the chase for the series championship.
The drivers and teams from BMR spent time Friday participating in a Fan Fest at the track and a special event at Kalispell Toyota. The fans were able to get autographs and check out the race cars from BMR. VIP race fans had a special treat on race day as Michael Waltrip and Eric Holmes paid them a special in the track’s VIP Hospitality area.
The “Rumble in the Rockies” at Montana Raceway Park will be broadcast of the Montana race will be on Thursday September 1st at the 6 pm ET. Please check your local listings.
For more information on Bill McAnally Racing and our race partners, please visit our website at www.billmcanallyracing.com 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.
