Sonoma Raceway is the only track on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule where Bill McAnally Racing has not been to Victory Lane.
The BMR drivers hope to change that this week when the series makes its annual visit to the road course in Northern California’s wine country for the Procore 200 on Saturday.
The prestigious race is part of a big NASCAR weekend that also features the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in competition on Sunday.
Derek Kraus, driver of BMR’s No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, has two series starts at Sonoma. He finished fifth there as a rookie in 2017, and 10th in last year’s race. The 17-year-old from Stratford, Wisconsin heads into this year’s race leading the championship standings – with two wins, three top-five, and five top-10 finishes in five starts this year.
As well as leading the title chase in the K&N West, Kraus also leads the standings in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East – where he also has two wins this season.
In addition, he already made headlines this week at Sonoma Raceway, while competing in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli. In preparation for the K&N West race, he entered the Trans Am race there on Sunday and grabbed the overall win in his first race in that series.
Hailie Deegan, also 17, finished seventh last year at Sonoma in her rookie season. The Temecula, California driver has piloted BMR’s No. 19 Monster Energy / NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry to two victories, one pole, and four top-five finishes in five starts. She is second in the standings, 12 points behind her BMR teammate, Kraus. When she led in points earlier this year, she became the first woman to lead the championship standings of a series at the regional or national levels of NASCAR.
Kraus and Deegan are both members of the NASCAR Next program that spotlights NASCAR’s emerging stars.
Series rookie Brittney Zamora, behind the wheel of BMR’s No. 99 NAPA Belts & Hoses / ENEOS Toyota Camry, will be making her first start at Sonoma in a K&N West race. The 20-year-old, second-generation driver from Kennewick, Washington is second in rookie points and fifth in the overall standings. She has one pole, three top-five and four top-10 finishes.
Lawless Alan will be making his K&N West debut, driving the No. 12 AUTOParkit Toyota Camry as a fourth BMR entry at Sonoma. The 19-year-old from Southern California started his racing career competing in Legend Cars before graduating to NASCAR Late Models. He won the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship in the late model division at Irwindale Speedway last year.
Although BMR – which is based about 90 miles from Sonoma in Roseville – has yet to win at the twisting road course, they have come close on several occasions. The team’s best results there came with four entries in the 2010 race – with Paulie Harraka, Brandon Davis, Eric Holmes and Moses Smith finishing second, third, fourth and ninth, respectively. In 2006, BMR rookie teammates Brian Ickler and Peyton Sellers finished second and third, respectively, behind race winner Brian Vickers.
The team has registered one pole, 13 top fives and 26 top 10s at Sonoma. BMR’s first top 10 finish there came in 1997, with team owner and then-driver Bill McAnally coming away with a sixth-place finish. BMR fielded a single car in its first four series events at Sonoma, beginning in 1995; but has had multiple entries in subsequent races.
Three-time series champion Eric Holmes made six starts for BMR at Sonoma. He finished in the top five four times, including a runner-up finish in 2008, when he won the pole. He was in contention for the win late in the race in 2012, before being sidelined with mechanical trouble. Holmes remains with BMR, serving as a driver coach and spotter for Deegan.
BMR will provide NAPA guests with special VIP treatment at Sonoma. They will be provided an opportunity for an inside look at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series garage area, with a pit tour on Saturday morning. Guests will also be treated to a special meet-and-greet with the BMR drivers.
The Sonoma race is to air live on FansChoice.TV – the streaming digital platform that’s airing the entire NASCAR regional series calendar live this year. In addition, it will be broadcast to a national audience on NBCSN on June 27 at 3 p.m. PT.
Bill McAnally Racing PR
