• Tough Short Track Action For K&N West
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (May 20, 2017) – Chris Eggleston came away with the win for a second straight year in NASCAR K&N Pro Series West action at Orange Show Speedway on Saturday night.
It marked the second win of the year and seventh career series victory for the 2015 series champion, who wheels the No. 99 NAPA Filters / NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry for Bill McAnally Racing.
It also marked BMR’s sixth win in six races this season.
Eggleston of Erie, Colorado, set the fast time earlier in the day in qualifying, to claim his second career series pole award. After taking the initial lead, he had to contend with challenges that included his BMR teammates, defending series champion Todd Gilliland in the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry and 15-year-old series rookie Derek Kraus in the No. 19 Carlyle Tools / NAPA Power Premium Plus Toyota Camry.
“I felt like tires played more of a factor than last year,” Eggleston said. “Todd was really good on the short runs. Our car was really good on the long runs.”
When Gilliland got by him for the lead in the first 25 laps, Eggleston admitted he was concerned about getting back out front.
“I didn’t know if we were going to catch him there for a minute,” he said. “I caught him, rolled up to him, and got by him in lapped traffic.”
Eggleston had to battle back a second time after losing the lead to competition when he slowed for an incident.
“We were able to battle back really hard,” he said. “We got the lead back and were able to fight and hold onto the position after that.”
In addition to those challenges, Eggleston also had to contend with lapped traffic on the tight, quarter-mile oval.
“I felt like we were pretty good and patient through lapped traffic,” he said. “Staying patient and keeping a good head on our shoulders was the key. There was a lot of beating and banging halfway through and toward the end of the race.”
Eggleston credited the BMR crew with providing him with a fast car.
“The NAPA Filters Toyota was rolling tonight. That’s for sure,” he said.
While Eggleston was able to pull away for the win, Gilliland and Kraus were not as fortunate. They were involved in a multi-car accident about 30 laps from the finish. Kraus was sidelined in the incident, while Gilliland rebounded to finish sixth.
Gilliland – a 17-year-old from Sherrills Ford, North Carolina who had four consecutive wins heading into Saturday’s race – retained his lead in the championship standings.
Eggleston is second in points, 11 markers behind Gilliland. Kraus of Stratford, Wisconsin, remained third in the overall championship standings, while moving to first in rookie points.
A group of more than 100 NAPA store owners and shop owners, selected through a sales promotion, had the opportunity to attend Saturday’s race as special guests of BMR. Their trip to the speedway included a behind-the-scenes VIP pit tour.
This marked the 10th visit by the series to Orange Show Speedway. The race is slated to be televised on NBCSN on May 26 at 5 p.m. PT.
The next event on the K&N Pro Series West schedule will be the NAPA / Toyota 150 at Colorado National Speedway, just north of Denver, on June 10.