WS: Phoenix II: Series round 12 preview

* Holmes Ready To Take Home His Third Series Championship
* Series Hosts Fan Open House At Phoenix On Friday
* Next Up: NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala

Holmes Prepares To Wrap Up Series Title

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Eric Holmes (No. 20 NAPA Toyota) is on the verge of joining an elite group of seven stock car drivers who have won three championships in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

The 36-year-old driver from Escalon, Calif., can clinch the 2010 title -- to go with the series championships he won in 2006 and 2008 -- by simply taking the green flag in the 3 Amigos Tequila 125 at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, Nov. 13. The event -- which is slated to be televised on SPEED at 3 p.m. PT on Thursday, Nov. 18 -- marks the season finale for the series.

With a last-place finish at PIR, Holmes would bring his points total for the season to 1,865. The most his closest challenger, David Mayhew (No. 17 MMI Services/Ron's Rear Ends/KHI Chevrolet), could tally, should he win the race and lead the most laps, would be 1,856 points.

For Holmes, who scored the first of his five wins this season at Phoenix when the series visited the Valley of the Sun in April, another victory would be the perfect way to cap off his year.

Holmes made his debut in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West with a fifth-place finish at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif., in 1997. He ran in just seven races through 2005.

After winning a championship in his first full season in 2006, Holmes went on to develop his driving resume into one of the strongest of any competitor in the history of the series. He has won championships in three of the four full seasons he has competed in the series. A year ago he came up just short of the title, finishing as the runner-up.

In 60 career races overall, Holmes has scored 14 wins and won 13 pole awards, along with 38 top-five and 48 top-10 finishes. That translates to wins in 23.3 percent of his starts. In addition, 63.3 percent of his starts have resulted in a top-five finish and 80 percent have resulted in a top 10 finish. This season, he has notched five wins in 11 races, along with eight top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. A broken axle in the season opener led to his only finish out of the top 10.

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FAST FACTS

3 Amigos Tequila 125 Phoenix International Raceway
Saturday, Nov. 13 6 p.m. PT

SPEED, Nov. 18, 3 p.m. PT

1-mile paved oval
$167,809

Thursday:
Practice 1-2 p.m., 2:30-- 3:50 p.m., Qualifying 6:40 p.m.;
Friday: Fan Open House Noon-5 p.m.

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Race Notes

The race ... This is the season finale on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West schedule for 2010. It is the second of two series visits to PIR.

The procedure ... The starting field is 40 cars, including provisionals. The first 36 cars will qualify through two-lap time trials. The remaining four spots will be awarded through the provisional process. The race will be 100 laps.

The track ... PIR is a one-mile superspeedway with Turns 1 and 2 banked 11 degrees, Turns 3 and 4 banked nine degrees and two degrees of banking in the dogleg. This will be the 26th stand-alone Phoenix race for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

The records ... Qualifying: Greg Pursley, April 16, 2009, 129.571 mph, 27.784 sec.; Race: David Gilliland, Jan. 30, 2005, 108.532 mph, 55 minutes 17 seconds.

Waltrip entry ... Michael Waltrip (No. 55 NAPA/Pick-N-Pull/Wolfley's Toyota) is set to run this event. The two-time Daytona 500 winner made several prior starts in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, winning the inaugural race at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo., in 1997.

Drivers from K&N East ... Several drivers from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East are entered at Phoenix. Ty Dillon (No. 31 RCR/Golden Gate Meat Chevrolet), grandson of Richard Childress, will be driving a second entry for the California-based Golden Gate Racing Team. Other competitors from the East include Eddie MacDonald (No. 70 Grimm Construction Chevrolet) and rookie Zach Germain (No. 24 Germain.com Toyota).

Entries include winners ... Additional notable entries at PIR include two-time NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion Andrew Ranger (No. 35 Waste Management Chevrolet) -- who won the K&N West race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., earlier this season and also won a K&N East race this year -- and Patrick Long (No. 9 Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil Ford), who won the K&N West race at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway.

Double duty ... Some drivers racing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race will be pulling double duty at Phoenix. David Mayhew (No. 17 MMI Services/Ron's Rear Ends/KHI Chevrolet), Greg Pursley (No. 26 GPM Performance Parts Ford) and Jamie Dick (No. 88 Motorway Motorsports/Team Viva Chevrolet) are also entered in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at PIR. Daryl Harr (No. 2 WestWorld Computers Chevrolet) and Johnny Borneman (No. 8 Twisted X Boots/Red Line Oil Chevrolet) are also entered in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at PIR.

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Special Garage 'Open House' Set For Phoenix

Race fans will have unprecedented access to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West garage at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, Nov. 12.

While the race itself will be part of double-header action following PIR's WYPALL* 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday, Nov. 13, the open garage will be available to fans -- free of charge -- prior to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Lucas Oil 150 on Friday.

Teams from the K&N Pro Series West will qualify for the 3 Amigos Tequila 125 on Thursday, Nov. 11. After qualifying, the entire West Series garage will move into PIR's interactive midway behind Turn 2 for the West Series Garage Open House from noon-5 p.m. on Friday. As part of this first midway garage open house at PIR, all fans in attendance that day will have an opportunity to see K&N Pro Series West cars up close and will be able to interact with teams and drivers. All PIR patrons will also be able to take in the official pre-race inspection process, autograph sessions, driver/team Q&A sessions and more. PIR Season Ticket holders will be granted early entry to the open house at 11:30 a.m.

Spectator gates will open at noon on Thursday, Nov. 11, for the opportunity to watch NASCAR K&N Pro Series West practice and qualifying, as well as NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice. NASCAR K&N Pro Series West practice will be at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., with qualifying at 6:40 p.m. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice will held at 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

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BMR Continues Teen Safe Driving Campaign With 6th Presentation

In addition to having another winning season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West this season, Bill McAnally Racing has been focused on using its racing platform to deliver an important message about safe driving to teens and parents in communities visited by the series.

BMR has partnered with Impact Teen Drivers, a public awareness and education program headed by Kelly Browning that focuses on distracted and reckless driving, and local safety organizations to bring the message of teen safe driving to five communities so far this year.

A sixth presentation of the campaign will be provided at Avondale Toyota in Avondale, Ariz., from 3:30-5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12. The event is in advance of this year's final race of the season for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West at Phoenix International Raceway on Saturday, Nov. 13.

Prior safety presentations, sponsored by race sponsors Toyota and NAPA Auto Parts, were made in conjunction with series races at Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg, Ore.; Montana Raceway Park in Kalispell, Mont.; Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah and at the spring and fall events at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif.

"It's been great to work on the teen safe driving program this year with Kelly Browning and her organization," said BMR President Bill McAnally. "We were very excited about taking the campaign into other states beyond California. We appreciate the participation of the first responders who have been so involved at each presentation."

McAnally, the father of two teens, has become a big proponent of the safety campaign.

"It's great to see the turnout of teens for this program," he said. "There's nothing so rewarding as to look into the eyes of those kids as they realize the responsibility of being a safe driver."

The Phoenix presentation will not be the end of the program, as BMR plans to continue its involvement in the teen safe driving campaigns next year. In addition to its multiple race teams, BMR is involved in the promotion of several races on the series schedule each year

Since its creation in 2007, Impact Teen Drivers has been planning, developing and delivering awareness and educational materials on teen safe driving. It was started as a partnership between the California Highway Patrol and the California Teachers Association with funding from the insurance firm California Casualty. Browning serves as the executive director of the organization.

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Final Notes From Roseville

Another win ... Eric Holmes (No. 20 NAPA Toyota) scored his fifth win of the season with a victory in the Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 150 at All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., on Oct. 16. It marked his 14th career series win.

Another pole ... Holmes also won the Coors Light Pole Award at Roseville, turning in a lap of 13.770 seconds (87.059 mph) during qualifying on the third-mile track. It was his first pole of the season and the 13th of his career.

Spotlight on newcomers ... Two drivers making their series debut captured attention at Roseville. Juan Pitta (No. 31 Cascar Machine Shop/Sharif Jewelers Chevrolet) ran a solid race and finished fifth. Jacob Gomes (No. 23 Heritage Cattle Chevrolet) qualified second quickest and led early. He battled back from a spin to finish 10th.

Podium finish ... Local driver Eric Schmidt (No. 88 Luber Finer Oil Filters/Team Viva Chevrolet) turned in another strong performance at Roseville, with a third-place finish in just his fourth series start. He finished second in the event a year ago.

Top rookie ... Leading Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Luis Martinez Jr. (No. 6 King Taco/Sunrise Ford/Lucas Oil Ford) won the Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award at Roseville. It marked the fifth event this season in which Martinez was the top finishing Sunoco rookie.

Record mark ... The Roseville event marked the 241st series race for long-time series veteran Jack Sellers (No. 15 Greyhound Adoption Center Chevrolet). He now holds the record for the most series starts in the modern era of the series (1971-present).

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Up Next: Champion To Be Crowned In Charlotte

NASCAR will return to Charlotte, N.C., with a special week of activities culminating with the 2010 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet on Friday, Dec. 10, and the NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala on Saturday, Dec. 11.

The banquets will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center's Crown Ballroom in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Awards Gala will feature the series champions and top drivers from NASCAR's regional touring series. In addition to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, the awards ceremony will include invitees from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, and the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1.

Fans throughout the U.S. and Canada, and around the globe, will again be able to watch the festivities from both nights via a live webcast on nascarhometracks.com.

In addition to the new NASCAR Hall of Fame complex, the region is the home of the NASCAR Research & Development Center in Concord, N.C., as well as a majority of today's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams.

The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards Banquet will feature the top drivers from NASCAR-sanctioned short tracks across the United States and Canada.

-source: nascar