HOLMES PEAKS AT RIGHT TIME WITH VICTORY AT COLORADO NATIONAL

Source: NASCAR
Date: 08/20/2006

Eric Holmes from Escalon, Calif. continued his pursuit of his first NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series championship by winning the United Power/Touchstone Energy “150” at Colorado National Speedway Saturday night. Holmes edged perennial Midwest Series favorite Tim Schendel by a mere .162 seconds to claim the victory and to close within eleven points of Southwest Series point leader Rip Michels. Nine-time Midwest Series champion Steve Carlson finished third after leading 45 laps with Michels and David Mayhew rounding out he top five finishers.

The race combined the top drivers from both the Southwest and Midwest Series for the second time this season with 38 drivers on hand to battle for 32-starting positions. Tim Schendel from Sparta, Wisc. toured the wide and fast 3/8-mile paved oval in 16.177 seconds/82.339 mph to lead all drivers in qualifying for the 150-lap event. Holmes clocked in second followed by Thomas Martin, Carlson, and Michels rounding out the top five qualifiers.

With only 32-starting spots available, that left Dave Finley, Stephan Sadler, Bob Lyon, Roger Avants, Cody Pruitt, Darren Bucklen, Bobby Latham, Danny Mientka, Brandon Loverock, and Trevor Morrical to compete in a 20-lap non-qualifiers race. The top six cars would transfer to the feature event with four drivers ending their night early.

Finley, Lyon, Avants, Bucklen, Sadler, and Pruitt transferred from the qualifying race lining up at the rear of the starting grid. Schendel drew a six-car invert putting Southwest Series Sunoco rookie leader David Mayhew on the pole alongside Rip Michels who was coming of his first Southwest Series victory last weekend at Irwindale (CA) Speedway.

Michels grabbed the early lead as the field sorted itself out. The first of four cautions came out for Jim Sikes who looped his Chevrolet exiting turn two. No contact was made and Sikes fell in at the rear of the field. Michels took command on the lap restart but Steve Carlson had other ideas.

Carlson, coming off a disappointing outing last week at Nashville where he lost a motor, looked to get a little racing luck back on his side. Carlson worked underneath Michels as the duo entered turn one. Carlson took the point and set out to prove why his is a nine-time champion.

Carlson’s pace strung out the field and he started lapping cars by lap 32. Schendel past Michels the next lap and closed in on his series rival. By the time the race reached the one-third mark at lap 50, Carlson, Schendel and Holmes were negotiating traffic at every turn, with several lapped cars separating each of them.

Thomas Martin, coming off his top five run at Irwindale had moved into the fourth position with Mayhew holding on to fifth followed by Chris Muhler, Michels, Dan Fredrickson, Josh Vadnais, and Jim Pettit II.

Schendel made his move to the front passing Carlson as the pair entered turn three. Schendel then set to distance himself from his pursuers using lapped traffic to perfection. However, that plan was foiled as Holmes was equally impressive dispatching of the slower cars.

Holmes caught Schendel by lap 64 and got a great run out of turn two and set sail. Schendel then locked onto Holmes as if tried to this bumper. At the halfway point of the race Holmes maintained control of the pace with Schendel holding on to second place. Carlson dropped back a few cars lengths in third with Muhler and Mayhew rounding out the top five in the running order.

Michels maintained the sixth position followed Fredrickson, Vadnais, Pettit, and Darren Crocker rounding out the top ten. Muhler saw his spectacular run go away on lap 76 when he slapped the turn three wall ending his night in the garage area and bringing out the second caution of the race.

The race restarted on lap 83 with Holmes controlling the front of the field, but the best battle on the track was for the 12th position. Darren Crocker and Eddy McKean waged a spirited battle for nearly 75 laps dicing back and forth and side-by-side.

McKean would finally get around Crocker on 130 and making his way into the top ten. Midwest Series point leader Dan Fredrickson received the black flag for causing the third caution after he assisted in moving a lapped car causing several cars to get together including Finley, Avants, Martin, Clark, and Eric Richardson. Fredrickson served a drive through penalty while Richardson saw his night end after extensive front end damage to his Ford.

The final caution dropped on lap 136 when David Finney slapped the turn two wall and came to rest in the center of the track. Finney ended his night on the hook and a 28th place finish.

The final caution set up a five lap dash to the finish with only lead lap cars up front. Holmes held the point but Schendel gave several shots over the closing laps to no avail and Holmes crossed the finish line first edging Schendel for the victory. Carlson maintained the third spot with Michels and Mayhew rounding out the top five finishers. Vadnais, Pettit, McKean, Crocker, and Scotty Backman finished sixth through tenth.

An excited Holmes showed a lot of emotion after claiming the win. “This is an awesome place to race,” Holmes said. “Tim drove a great race and it was a lot of fun out there tonight. My team prepared an excellent car and to win in Colorado in front of all these great fans is certainly a career highlight.”

Holmes had a bit of adversity early in the week when his hauler broke down in Utah causing his car not to arrive until Friday. “The truck broke down and we did not get as much time to practice but it did not matter,” Holmes continued. “This win means a lot heading into Altamont where we have had success in the past and where we are due.”

With his second place performance Schendel will take over the Midwest Series point standings by 30-points over Fredrickson. “I sure wanted to win here at Colorado,” Schendel said.” Eric had a real fast car at the end at the end. He drove a great race and I love running with the Southwest guys. We are real happy with a solid performance and going into the final races of the year we are where we need to be,”

Carlson was happy with third considering his previous week. “After Nashville it took us completely out of the points,” Carlson said. “This place is a lot of fun to race and with all these great drivers in the show it is no easy feat to win.”

David Mayhew scored his first top five performance of the season and all but cemented the Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year title with a fifth place finish. When asked what he learned out on the track, Mayhew pointed to one thing. “You have to go fast every lap and hold nothing back,” Mayhew said. “I have learned a lot this year. We continue to focus on qualifying and that has helped us a bunch but right at the start I just was not on the wheel like I should have been. Rip got by me and it took a few laps to find an opening to drop into.”

The fifth place finish was his fourth top ten finish of the season and he has completed 854 of 866 laps contested so far this season. “I certainly would like to win a race before its over, but running like we have this year is a big victory for our team and having the opportunity to go to the Showdown is going to make for a great season.”

The win moved Holmes to within just eleven points of Michels heading into the final event at Altamont Motorsports Park Saturday, September 23. McKean holds onto third just 34 points behind Holmes. Kanke still rests in fourth but dropped a few points after a14th place finish in the race. Mayhew maintains his hold on the fifth position.

Greg Voigt, Jim Pettit II, Thomas Martin, Kevin Clark, and Kevin Vernon are currently sixth through tenth in the standings. Stephan Sadler and Eric Richardson are within just 29 points of tenth place and that all important invitation to the fourth annual NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown in October.

The race took just 55 minutes and 10 seconds to complete at an average speed of 60.363 mph. The action was slowed four times for 30-laps of caution. There were three lead changes involving four drivers with Eric Holmes leading the most laps (86). 29 of 32 cars were running at the conclusion of the event.

Tim Schendel received the $450 Bud Pole Award, with fellow Midwest Series star Steve Carlson collecting the $300 Featherlite Award for improving the most positions from the previous event (13). Eddy McKean earned the $750 PowerAde Award for improving the most positions in the race (14), while David Mayhew was the top finishing Sunoco rookie competitor.

For all the latest news and information regarding the Southwest Series log onto www.nascarregionalracing.com.

For more information please contact:

Derrick Shannon

Media Coordinator

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series

208/870-8066 or dshannon@nascar.com

NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest/Midwest Series Combination Event

Unofficial Race Results For The United Power/Touchstone Energy "150" - 08/19/2006

Colorado National Speedway - Erie, CO - 0.37-mile paved oval

Total Race Length 88 K - 150L - 55 M Purse: $76,884

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Total Award Status

1 5 62 Eric Holmes Paul Oil/Taco Bell/Sunoco Race Fuel Chevrolet 150 0 $5,350 Running

2 6 21 Tim Schendel Mathew's Archery/TexPar Energy Chevrolet 150 0 3,800 Running

3 3 66 Steve Carlson B&B Race Engines/Sam Frank Trucking 150 0 2,600 Running

4 2 12 Rip Michels Stock Building Supply/Victory Circle Chevrolet 150 0 2,250 Running

5 1 26 David Mayhew * Attune Systems/Bryco Funding Chevrolet 150 0 1,900 Running

6 12 20 Josh Vadnais RCH/Northern Racing Products Chevrolet 150 0 1,600 Running

7 20 03 Jim Pettit, II Racing For The Missing Ford 150 0 1,400 Running

8 22 19 Eddy McKean Wide World of Maps/Magic Valley Pipe Pontiac 150 0 2,125 Running

9 19 78 Darren Crocker Universal Lending/Big Pappa's BBQ Chevrolet 150 0 1,350 Running

10 23 5 Scotty Backman Xtreme Signs & Graphics Chevrolet 150 0 1,325 Running

11 15 17 Bruce Yackey General Air Service/Sheds R Us Chevrolet 150 0 1,300 Running

12 14 88 Brent Kirchner City Auto Sales/Hometown Furniture Chevrolet 150 0 1,275 Running

13 7 36 Dan Fredrickson Genz-Ryan/Menards/DPR Motorsports 150 0 1,400 Running

14 16 33 M K Kanke Sims Trucking/RPM Motorsports Chevrolet 149 0 1,225 Running

15 28 44 Bob Lyon Alliance Rental Solutions Chevrolet 149 0 1,200 Running

16 21 9 Mark Kraus Fanettit Inc/K&K Material Handling Chevrolet 149 0 1,175 Running

17 31 04 Stephan Sadler Padco Chevrolet 149 0 1,150 Running

18 17 0 Greg Voigt Auto Pro Racing Engines Chevrolet 149 0 1,125 Running

19 26 07 Kevin Clark Drive In Gear/Sirius Satellite Radio Chevrolet 149 0 1,100 Running

20 24 6 Kevin Vernon JTS Transport/Jim's Towing Chevrolet 149 0 1,075 Running

21 8 55 Ron Hawley Owens Corning Chevrolet 149 0 1,000 Running

22 25 71 Greg Fowler Furniture Row/Hajek Chevy/Western Graphics 148 0 1,000 Running

23 27 91 Dave Finley Tri County Parts Dodge 148 0 700 Running

24 32 1 Cody Pruitt Lennox Homes/Cody Co. Chevrolet 148 0 1,000 Running

25 30 24 Darren Bucklen Bucklen Motorsports Chevrolet 148 0 1,000 Running

26 9 06 Mike Gallegos Rocky Mtn Data/Telcom Chevrolet 148 0 1,000 Running

27 29 27 Roger Avants Pro Vans USA Chevrolet 147 0 700 Running

28 11 2 David Finney Finney Motorsports Chevrolet 134 0 1,000 Accident

29 13 83 Jim Sikes Rothgeb Truck Service/AA Towing Chevrolet 130 0 1,000 Running

30 4 28 Thomas Martin Strictly Toy-Ondas Chevrolet 106 0 1,000 Running

31 18 11 Eric Richardson * Green Frog Roasting/Centrifugal Technology 96 0 1,000 Accident

32 10 95 Chris Muhler Tri County Parts Chevrolet 76 0 700 Accident

Fastest Qualifier: Tim Schendel, Time: 16.177 Seconds, Speed: 82.339 MPH

Failed to Qualify: (4) Bobby Latham (#3), Danny Mientka (#4), Brandon Loverock * (#98), Trevor Morrical (#13).

Time of Race:0 hrs., 55 mins, 10 secs Average Speed: 60.363 mph Margin of Victory:.162 Seconds

BUD POLE AWARD: Tim Schendel, 21 Mathew's Archery/TexPar Energy Chevrolet

FEATHERLITE AWARD: Steve Carlson, 66 B&B Race Engines/Sam Frank Trucking Chevrolet

POWERADE AWARD: Eddy McKean, 19 Wide World of Maps/Magic Valley Pipe Pontiac

Caution Flags: Laps 4-7; 77-82; 95-103; 136-146. 4 for 30 laps.

Lap Leaders: Rip Michels 1-8, Steve Carlson 9-56, Tim Schendel 57-64, Eric Holmes 65-150.

Total Laps Led: Eric Holmes 86, Steve Carlson 48, Tim Schendel 8, Rip Michels 8. 3 changes involving 4 drivers.

NASCAR Race Number 7 (Southwest Series Results)

Unofficial Race Results For The United Power/Touchstone Energy "150" - 08/19/2006

Colorado National Speedway - Erie, CO - 0.37-mile paved oval

Total Race Length 88 K - 150L - 55 M Purse: $76,884

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Points B/Points Total Award Status

1 1 62 Eric Holmes Paul Oil/Taco Bell/Sunoco Race Fuels Chevrolet 150 180 $5,350 Running

2 3 12 Rip Michels Stock Building Supply/LADCO/Victory Circle 150 170 2,250 Running

3 4 26 David Mayhew * Bryco Funding/Victory Circle Chevrolet 150 165 1,900 Running

4 9 03 Jim Pettit, II Racing for the Missing Ford 150 160 1,400 Running

5 11 19 Eddy McKean Wide World of Maps/Eibach/Longacre Pontiac 150 155 2,125 Running

6 6 33 M K Kanke Sims Trucking/RPM Motorsports Chevrolet 149 150 1,225 Running

7 14 44 Bobby Lyon Alliance Rentals/Ron's Rear Ends Chevrolet 149 146 1,200 Running

8 13 04 Stephan Sadler Padco Carpet Cushion Inc. Chevrolet 149 142 1,150 Running

9 7 9 Greg Voigt Auto Pro Racing Engines Chevrolet 149 138 1,125 Running

10 15 07 Kevin Clark Sirius Satellite Radio/Kenwood Car Audio 149 134 1,100 Running

11 10 36 Kevin Vernon Jim's Towing Chevrolet 149 130 1,075 Running

12 12 91 Dave Finley Tri County Parts Dodge 148 127 700 Running

13 16 1 Cody Pruitt * Lennox Homes/Codyco Chevrolet 148 124 1,000 Running

14 2 28 Thomas Martin Strictly Toy-Ondas Chevrolet 106 121 1,000 Running

15 8 21 Eric Richardson * Grapeking/Green Frog Roasting Ford 96 118 1,000 Accident

16 5 95 Chris Muhler Art Craft Signs/BMF Performance Chevrolet 76 115 700 Accident

Failed to Qualify: (2) Brandon Loverock * (#98), Bobby Latham III * (#3).

Time of Race:0 hrs., 55 mins, 10 secs Average Speed: 60.363 mph Margin of Victory:.162 Seconds

POWERADE AWARD: Eddy McKean, 19 Wide World of Maps/Eibach/Longacre Pontiac

Caution Flags: Laps 4-7; 77-82; 95-103; 136-146. 4 for 30 laps. Lap Leaders: Rip Michels 1-8, Eric Holmes 65-150.

Top 10 Driver Points: Rip Michels 1155, Eric Holmes 1144, Eddy McKean 1110, M K Kanke 1033, David Mayhew * 958, Greg Voigt 922, Jim Pettit, II

912, Thomas Martin 877, Kevin Clark 826, Kevin Vernon 823

Sunoco Rookie Points: David Mayhew 66, Eric Richardson 49, Cody Pruitt 47, Brandon Loverock 44.

* Denotes Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender

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