ROCKLIN, California -- Rain didn’t dampen the BMR team’s effort at the “NAPA AUTO PARTS 200” at the Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Oregon. The #16 NAPA AUTO PARTS/NAPA Belts & Hose Chevrolet with driver Austin Cameron qualified on the outside of the front row. Teammate Kerry Earnhardt, driver of the #20 NASCAR Select by NAPA Filters/NAPA Belts & Hose Chevrolet made his Oregon debut and qualified the car on the inside of row 3.
The BMR drivers ran with the leader through the first portion of the race which was halted at lap 68 due to weather. The rain began to fall steadily with no sign of letup so the scheduled halfway break was push up from lap 101 which allowed to team to make some adjustments to the cars. When the rain continued with no letup in sight, the event was halted and resumed under partly clouded skies the next morning.
The BMR teams restarted the race with the #16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet running in 2nd and the #20 NASCAR SELECT by NAPA Filters Chevrolet in pursuit running in 7th. When the 3rd of six cautions came out, crew chief Mario Isola made the call to have Earnhardt come into the garage area to tighten up the car. The #20 NASCAR Select by NAPA Filters Chevrolet reentered the field without losing a lap. Just after a restart at lap 120, Cameron and the race leader spun to the inside of the track as they came off of turn two. Never losing a lap, Cameron quickly got back underway with damage to the front of the #16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet. Quick work by crew chief, Doug George and NAPA team got the #16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet back on track and running hard for the front. Earnhardt and the #20 NASCAR Select by NAPA Filters Chevrolet were running strong in 6th and were closing in on the leaders at lap 149. In hot pursuit was the #16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet. By lap 186, Cameron overtook his teammate. The BMR teams would finish the “NAPA 200” side by side in 6th and 7th.
The weather didn’t have much effect on the race fans at the Douglas County Speedway. This event is Oregon’s only NASCAR event in the state. Postponed by rain Saturday night, fans returned on Sunday morning to cheer for their favorite team.
“The response we continue to get from the city of Roseburg, Douglas County and the surrounding communities is second to none,” said team owner, Bill McAnally. “They once again showed that they are NASCAR fans. We were able to share the event this year with the local Late Model Series with great fan response. Thank you to NAPA AUTO PARTS, NAPA Belts & Hose and Douglas County Fairgrounds & Speedway for their continued support of this event. Without our race partners, we wouldn’t have had such a successful race event as the “NAPA 200”.
The NASCAR Grand National West Series next heads to Phoenix International Raceway on October 3rd. For more information on Bill McAnally Racing, please consult our website at www.billmcanallyracing.com.
