BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — On a night where one Bill McAnally Racing teenager earned his first career win, another collected a second career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West championship.
Derek Kraus won the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame Championship 150 presented by NAPA Auto Parts at Kern County Raceway Park for his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series West victory while Todd Gilliland won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West title.
The night belonged to Gilliland. He brought his No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota home in second-place, but it was more than enough to clinch his second straight championship.
“It feels great,” the 17-year-old from Sherrills Ford, N.C., said. “All this hard work and dedication these guys put in, and it all comes down to this. To be able to get it done is very special.”
Coming into Kern, Gilliland needed to finish seventh or better, regardless of what teammate and championship rival Chris Eggleston did. Unfortunately for Eggleston, a flat tire on lap 65 forced him to go behind the wall for repairs and fall multiple laps down. He wound up finishing in 20th, three laps down.
“I was pretty confident,” Gilliland said of his mindset throughout the evening. “With the speed we had and the position we were able to ride in, I thought we were going to have a really good shot at the win. Always a little disappointed in that, but I’m very proud of our effort all season long. To be able to come home the 2017 champion two years in a row is really surreal, and we just have to take it all in.”
The title is the eighth in Bill McAnally Racing history and third consecutive (Eggleston in 2015, Gilliland in 2016 and 2017). The last time BMR won three titles in a row was from 1999-2001, when Sean Woodside and Brendan Gaughan (twice) brought home the hardware.
Kraus, Gilliland’s teammate, stopped Gilliland from winning his third consecutive race at Kern. The 16-year-old rookie from Stratford, Wisconsin, took the lead with 44 laps to go and didn’t look back. Kraus’ first career K&N Pro Series West win has been a longtime coming, he earned three runner-up finishes this season and had a win in his grasp multiple throughout the year. Most recently at Idaho’s Meridian Speedway, he had the lead on the final overtime restart, but it slipped away.
“That Meridian race was actually going through my mind those last 30 laps,” Kraus said. “But it’s been a really good night with getting Rookie of the Year and getting a race win, my first race win. That’s really great for me and my career, and will help boost me into next season.”
The win allowed Kraus to clinch the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award over Will Rodgers, who he’d been battling with down the stretch.
Riley Herbst continued the BMR podium sweep finishing third while Michael Self and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East regular Dillon Bassett rounded out the top five.
The finish:
- (2) Derek Kraus, Stratford, Wis., Toyota, 150 laps, 68.948 mph.
- (1) Todd Gilliland, Sherrils Ford, N.C., Toyota, 150.
- (3) Riley Herbst, Las Vegas, Nev., Toyota, 150.
- (8) Michael Self, Park City, UT, Ford, 149.
- (6) Dillon Bassett, Winston-Salem, NC, Toyota, 149.
- (9) Derek Thorn, Lakeport, CA, Ford, 149.
- (7) Buddy Shepherd, Bakersfield, CA, Ford, 149.
- (12) Will Rodgers, Solvang, Calif., Ford, 149.
- (16) Max Tullman, Chester Springs, PA, Ford, 149.
- (11) Nicole Behar, Spokane, WA, Toyota, 149.
- (19) Rod Johnson, Jr., Canyon Country, CA, Ford, 149.
- (10) Julia Landauer, New York, N.Y., Ford, 148.
- (17) Todd Souza, Aromas, Calif., Toyota, 148.
- (24) Stafford Smith, Eagle, Idaho., Ford, 148.
- (20) Davey Hamilton, Boise, ID, Ford, 148.
- (22) Jesse Iwuji, Carrolton, Texas, Chevrolet, 148.
- (21) Takuma Koga, Nagoya, Japan, Chevrolet, 148.
- (23) Kody Vanderwal, LaSalle, Colo, Ford, 148.
- (15) Blaine Perkins, Bakersfield, Calif., Chevrolet, 148.
- (5) Chris Eggleston, Erie, Colo., Toyota, 147.
- (26) Bill Kann, Scottsdale, Ariz., Chevrolet, 147.
- (25) Jerry DeWeert, Aartselaar, Belgiuim, Ford, 129.
- (4) Ronnie Bassett, Jr, Winston-Salem, N.C., Toyota, 110, brakes.
- (14) Ron Norman, Tucson, Ariz., Chevrolet, 103.
- (18) Matt Levin, Tucson, Ariz., Chevrolet, 73, electrical.
- (13) Trevor Cristiani, Boise, Idaho, Chevrolet, 33, engine.
- (27) Jonas Fors, Stockholm, Sweden, Toyota, 1, vibration.
Source :speedsport.com
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