• Takes Over Lead In K&N Pro Series West Championship Standings
ROSEVILLE, Calif. (Oct. 17, 2015) – Chris Eggleston moved into the lead in the championship standings of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West with a third-place finish in the NAPA AUTO PARTS / Toyota 150 presented by Axle Crutch at All American Speedway on Saturday.
Eggleston charged to the front in the No. 99 NAPA Belts & Hoses/H20 Fire Protection Toyota to wage a fierce battle for the win in the closing laps of the 152-lap event that ended with a green-white-checkered finish before a packed crowd of cheering fans.
The Erie, Colorado driver – who was making his first series start on the historic third-mile fairgrounds track – moved from 11th on the grid to contend for the win. He topped a contingent of five Bill McAnally Racing drivers in the event.
“All the guys at Bill McAnally Racing, with my crew chief Roger Bracken, gave me a great car with the NAPA Belts & Hoses Toyota,” Eggleston said. “We kind of dug ourselves in a hole when we qualified 11th. We just tried to get all we could get and got too aggressive.”
Nonetheless, Eggleston was confident he had a car to challenge with.
“I thought we had a car to win,” he said. “We led some laps there, battling hard with the car No. 21. We just couldn’t quite clear him and got behind a little bit.
“My hat’s off to NAPA Belts & Hoses for giving me a great opportunity to come out here to All American Speedway,” Eggleston said. “Bill McAnally and his entire staff with BMR put on a phenomenal show. It was a huge success. We’ll take this third-place finish and move on to Phoenix.”
Brandon McReynolds also made an early charge to the front, moving from ninth to second in the No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota in the first 60 laps. His raced ended early with mechanical trouble about 10 laps later, however.
Three BMR drivers were making their series debut Saturday. Fifteen-year-old Blaine Perkins of Bakersfield, California finished 13th in the No. 54 NAPA Mufflers & Shocks Toyota; Eddie Cheever III from Rome, Italy was 15th in the No. 00 TriCo Toyota; and Cole Moore, 18, of nearby Granite Bay came away 19th in the No. 20 NAPA/JM Environmental Toyota.
Eggleston leads the championship standings by four points as the series heads to the season finale at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 12. He has two wins, nine top five, and 10 top-10 finishes in 12 starts.
McReynolds is seventh in the standings. The 24-year-old Mooresville, North Carolina driver has two wins, four top-five, and seven top-10 finishes.
The NAPA AUTO PARTS / Toyota 150 presented by Axle Crutch, which Gracin Raz captured in a dash to the finish line, will be televised on NBCSN on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. ET. It was the 12th event on a 13-race schedule and marked the 17th visit by the series to Roseville.