Bill McAnally Racing today announced a lineup of four talented young rookies – featuring Giovanni Scelzi, Jesse Love, Gracie Trotter and Holley Hollan – who will drive for the team in NASCAR’s ARCA Menards Series West this year.
Plans call for the drivers to run the full schedule in the ARCA Series West, along with other additional select ARCA races.
All four are participants in Toyota’s driver development program.
Scelzi, the 18-year-old son of four-time NHRA drag racing champion Gary Scelzi, is making the transition to stock cars from open-wheel racing on dirt. Love, who just turned 15, brings with him a varied racing resume that includes competition on dirt and asphalt. Trotter, 18, is moving up from super late models and Legends cars. Hollan, also 18, is making a transition similar to Scelzi, after racing exclusively on dirt tracks.
“We’re very enthusiastic about our lineup of drivers for the 2020 season,” said BMR President Bill McAnally. “We anticipate plenty of excitement from this talented roster of newcomers to the series. We see great potential in each of them.”
Scelzi of Fresno, California, is set to drive BMR’s iconic No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS / Curb Records Toyota Camry. He has been a rising star in sprint cars and midget car racing.
He began racing at the age of 6, competing in Jr. Micro Sprints at two tracks in Central California. He won championships as he progressed through the ranks of the micro sprints and made the transition to full-sized sprint cars in 2016. In 2018, he became the youngest winner in World of Outlaws history.
Scelzi established himself as one of the top drivers in the country in 2019, with a season in which he won major sprint car races and midget series events. Among his many notable accomplishments, he became Knoxville Raceway’s youngest winner – with a victory during the All Star Circuit of Champions race.
He also won his first-ever start on pavement – with a victory in a spec late model race at Southern California’s Irwindale Speedway.
Love – from Menlo Park, California – will pilot the No. 19 NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry for BMR.
He started racing at the age of 5, competing in quarter midgets. Since then, he has accumulated multiple track, regional, state and national championships. Love won back-to-back titles in the Jr. Late Model division at California’s Madera Speedway in 2017 and 2018. He also captured the BCRA Midget Series Championship in 2018, becoming the youngest champion in the history of that series. In addition, he won the INEX Young Lions Road Course World Championship in 2018.
In 2019, Love split his time between dirt and asphalt arenas of racing – competing in the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series and also racing in the POWRi National Midget League. He finished in the top 10 in the championship standings of the Southwest Tour, while taking the runner-up spot in rookie points. He also became the youngest driver to notch a top-five finish in an SRL race. In POWRi action, he became the youngest driver with a podium finish in POWRi National Midgets competition and the youngest West winner, with a BCRA victory at Kern County Raceway Park near Bakersfield.
Trotter of Denver, North Carolina, is slated to drive BMR’s No. 99 ENEOS Toyota Camry.
A third-generation racer, she began competing in go karts at the age of 8. Trotter honed her racing skills and works to stay sharp by racing in Legends cars. At Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2017, she became the first female to win in the Young Lions division and the following year she finished second in points in the Summer Shootout, as the highest finishing female driver. She went on to win the 2019 Winter Heat Series championship and also won Round 5 of the summer shootout in the Semi-Pro Division.
Trotter began also racing super late models in 2017, competing in the CARS Tour and PASS Series. In 2019, she began racing a late model for Rev Racing in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program, where she continues to compete, also.
Hollan – a fourth-generation racer from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma – will be behind the wheel of the No. 50 JBL / NAPA Filters / NAPA Belts & Hoses Toyota Camry for BMR.
She started her racing career at the age of 5, competing in Jr. Sprints. She moved up to 600cc micros when she was 12. She won the Jr. Sprint championship at Port City Raceway in Tulsa in 2014. Hollan has been competing in midget cars the past two seasons. She was fifth in overall points in the POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget League in 2019.
All four BMR drivers will contend for the Rookie of the Year Award and the overall title in the ARCA Series West for 2020.
This season will mark BMR’s 30th year with NAPA AUTO PARTS as a sponsor.
“Words cannot express my gratitude to everyone at NAPA AUTO PARTS for their support for these 30 years,” McAnally said. “Our relationship is one of the best in the racing business. Our goal remains the same – to continue winning races and championships and provide NAPA with the best sales tool in this sport.
“In addition to NAPA, a big thank you goes out to all the sponsors we have,” McAnally said. “Their support and continued loyalty is very much appreciated.”
They include ENEOS, NAPA Filters, NAPA Belts & Hoses, NAPA Power Premium Plus, Curb Records, NGK Spark Plugs and Toyota; as well as Carlyle Tools and NAPA AutoCare and many other great sponsors.
BMR has won a record nine series championships, as well as scoring 99 overall victories between the East and West divisions of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series – which for 2020 is evolving into the East and West divisions of NASCAR’s ARCA Menards Series.
BMR PR
