HOLMES FINISHES SECOND IN THE TOYOTA “150” AND INCREASES HIS NCWS WEST POINTS LEAD

ANTELOPE, California –“We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing” said Bill McAnally Racing driver Eric Holmes. He piloted the No. 20 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry to a second place finish at Evergreen Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Series West Toyota “150” at Evergreen Speedway. This was his third second place finish this season. With four wins and seven top-five finishes, he tops the chart and extends his points lead to 81.

Holmes and the NAPA team from BMR came to the historic “Superspeedway of the West” pumped up after recording their fourth victory of the season at Douglas County Speedway. This was the fifth win in the last seven races at Douglas County Speedway for the NAPA car from BMR. Holmes smashed the series qualifying record this weekend at Evergreen Speedway with a time of 23.191 second around the .646-mile track. That’s a best speed of over 100 mph.

The No. 20 NAPA Toyota started the race running in the lead until lap 16, when Holmes dropped to fifth. As the teams approached the half-way break at lap 75, Holmes knew it was time to go so he climbed back thru traffic and at lap 58, he was running in second with his sight set on the leader. A race restart at lap 69, Holmes got a great start and was able to take over the lead once again.

“The NAPA Toyota was good,” said Holmes. “I knew that tires would be a factor. The cars in the front pack were running harder than I wanted to run so I dropped back for awhile. I really didn’t want to drop back as far as I did. The car wasn’t quite right but it came to me before the break and I was able to get back to the front.”

During the break, Ty Joiner (crew chief) made the call to not to make any adjustments to the No. 20 NAPA Toyota Camry but to only take on fresh right side tires and fuel.

“We knew fresh right side tires would tighten me up because the car was a little on the loose side,” said Holmes. “The team just made sure the car was good.”

The eventual race winner, Jeff Barkshire took the lead at the restart. Holmes ran in second for the remaining 75-laps. “I knew I would have to save something for the end,” laughed Holmes. “I couldn’t quite catch Jeff. I was hoping the leader would use his car up running so hard. I thought I saved enough to get by him at the end but I didn’t save enough. He did a great job, running great lap times and didn’t make any mistakes.”

“The NAPA team did a great job. It was a great points night. We gained on the second place car, got another pole (fifth this season) and led some laps. I can’t complain. We’ve got to keep doing what we’re doing to win a fourth championship for NAPA Auto Parts.”

Holmes and the teams were visited by a Wishing Star Foundation kid, Sari. She took a ride on Saturday in the BMR NAPA ride car with Holmes. “I told her to give me a thumbs up if she wanted to go faster,” said Holmes who was impressed with the young lady. “I started out taking it easy and I looked and she kept giving me the signal to go faster and faster. It was great to meet Sari. She’s a special girl.”

Holmes promised her his trophy from the race. Sari was right there in at Victory Lane to accept his second place trophy. She’s been a big fan of the series and never misses the opportunity to watch the NASCAR West Series races on television. It’s been one of her dreams to attend one of the races.

The next race will be on the road course at Tooele, Utah on August 2nd. Miller Motorsports Park will host the event with racing to begin at 1:45 pm. This will be the second year for the series to tackle the demanding 3.08-mile perimeter road course. Miller Motorsports Park opened in 2006 and is located just 35 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information on the race, visit www.millermotorsportpark.com.

BMR would like to thank the continued support of our race partners. For more information on Bill McAnally Racing and our race partners, please visit our website at www.billmcanallyracing.com.

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