Hailie Deegan captured her second NASCAR K&N Pro Series West win of the season with a victory in the Colorado NAPA AUTO PARTS 150 presented by ENEOS at Colorado National Speedway on Saturday night.
The 17-year-old NASCAR Next driver from Temecula, California came out on top in a fierce battle with her Bill McAnally Racing teammate, Derek Kraus, in a two-lap, green-white-checkered finish on the 3/8-mile oval.
Deegan had her No. 19 Monster Energy / NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry in the lead on the final restart, but Kraus was able to slip to the inside in his No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry and take the lead. He paid the price the following lap when contact from Deegan sent him spinning in Turn 3. She charged to the checkered flag to score her third career series win, while Kraus recovered to finish eighth.
“We ran our hardest race, everything I’ve been practicing, all the hard racing I’ve been running,” Deegan said. “In the end, Derek ran me hard right there. So I was going to run him hard back. In the end, that’s racing. We were all going for the kill. In the end, I got the win. That’s all that matters.”
BMR’s third driver, Brittney Zamora, started second on the grid and battled among the leaders throughout the race in the No. 99 ENEOS / NAPA Filters Toyota Camry. The 20-year-old series rookie came home in fourth.
The three BMR drivers ran nose-to-tail, 1-2-3, through the middle laps of the race. Kraus – who started sixth – led over Zamora, and Deegan, who was fourth on the starting grid. After a competition caution on Lap 75, Deegan took the lead and paced the field as the laps wound down.
Despite the last-lap incident, Kraus was able to maintain his lead in the championship standings. The 17-year-old from Stratford, Wisconsin – who is also a NASCAR Next driver – has two wins, three top fives, and five top 10s in five starts this season.
With the win, Deegan moved to second in the standings – 12 points behind Kraus. She has two wins, one pole, and four top-five finishes in five starts.
Zamora of Kennewick, Washington is second in rookie points and fifth in the overall standings. She is 26 points out of first – with one pole, three top-five and four top-10 finishes.
BMR has won four of the five K&N West events this season. In addition to Colorado, Deegan also won the season opener at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. Kraus swept both races of a doubleheader at Tucson Speedway.
BMR and NAPA AUTO PARTS featured a variety of activities leading up to Saturday’s race, including a visit by Deegan to a Havana NAPA AUTO PARTS store Friday morning for a special sales event. University Auto Parts invited customers to the track on Friday evening for a special tool sale during the K&N West optional test. The event featured a NAPA Tools & Equipment Rock & Roll trailer; as well as BMR’s No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS two-seater.
The big NAPA Hospitality, which ENEOS helped host, at the K&N West race on Saturday was another big success. BMR also treated NAPA and ENEOS guests to a special pit tour and a meet-and-greet with the BMR drivers.
The Colorado race will be televised to a national audience on NBCSN on June 13 at 3 p.m. PT.
The next event on the K&N West schedule will be on the road course at Sonoma Raceway on June 22.
Bill McAnally Racing PR
